Annelise Rüegg (1879–1934) was a working-class Swiss

communist Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...

pacifist Pacifism is the opposition to war or violence. The word ''pacifism'' was coined by the French peace campaigner Émile Arnaud and adopted by other peace activists at the tenth Universal Peace Congress in Glasgow in 1901. A related term is ''a ...

women's rights activist Women's rights are the rights and entitlements claimed for women and girls worldwide. They formed the basis for the women's rights movement in the 19th century and the feminist movements during the 20th and 21st centuries. In some countries, ...

and writer. She travelled widely, lecturing in Russia, Australia and the United States. She is remembered for two autobiographical publications: ''Erlebnisse einer Serviertochter'' (A Waitress's Experiences, 1914) and ''Im Kriege durch die Welt'' (Through the World in Wartime, 1918).

Early life and family

Born into a working-class family in

Uster Uster (; , ) is a town and the capital of the Uster District in the Swiss canton of Zürich. The importance of the town of Uster has grown considerably with the construction of the S-Bahn network of the Zürich Transport Network. With over 36,0 ...

on 9 April 1879, Annelise Rüegg was the daughter of the

machinist A machinist is a tradesperson or trained professional who operates machine tools, and has the ability to set up tools such as milling machines, grinders, lathes, and drilling machines. A competent machinist will generally have a strong mechan ...

Heinrich Rüegg and his wife Maria née Kägi. In 1921, she married the Russian chess champion

Alexander Alekhine Alexander Aleksandrovich Alekhine. He disliked when Russians sometimes pronounced the of as , , which he regarded as a Yiddish distortion of his name, and insisted that the correct Russian pronunciation was . (March 24, 1946) was a Russian ...

. Together they had a son, Alexander, born on 2 November 1921 after Annelise Rüegg had returned to Switzerland. The marriage was dissolved in 1926.

Career

After her father's early death, when she was 14 Rüegg had to contribute to the family's income by working in a factory and taking on other odd jobs. At 16, she started to work as a waitress until a year later the

Canton of Zürich The canton of Zurich is an administrative unit (Swiss canton, canton) of Switzerland, situated in the northeastern part of the country. With a population of (as of ), it is the most populous canton of Switzerland. Zurich is the ''de facto'' Capi ...

restricted employment of waitresses to women who were at least 20 years of age. Thereafter she worked as a house maid in French-speaking Switzerland and later as a waitress in

Lugano Lugano ( , , ; ) is a city and municipality within the Lugano District in the canton of Ticino, Switzerland. It is the largest city in both Ticino and the Italian-speaking region of southern Switzerland. Lugano has a population () of , and an u ...

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

, San Remo and

Baden-Baden Baden-Baden () is a spa town in the states of Germany, state of Baden-Württemberg, south-western Germany, at the north-western border of the Black Forest mountain range on the small river Oos (river), Oos, ten kilometres (six miles) east of the ...

. In 1910, now 20, while working in Zürich's luxury hotel

Baur au Lac Baur au Lac is a luxury hotel at Talstrasse, Zurich, Switzerland. The hotel was founded in 1844 by Johannes Baur, and is still owned by the Baur family. It was completely renovated between 2008 and 2010. It is a member of the Leading Hotels of ...

she was attracted by

social democracy Social democracy is a Social philosophy, social, Economic ideology, economic, and political philosophy within socialism that supports Democracy, political and economic democracy and a gradualist, reformist, and democratic approach toward achi ...

but when she attempted to interest her colleagues in the cause, she was fired. In 1911 and 1913, she worked in

Oran Oran () is a major coastal city located in the northwest of Algeria. It is considered the second most important city of Algeria, after the capital, Algiers, because of its population and commercial, industrial and cultural importance. It is w ...

, Algeria. From the income she received from her successful ''Erlebnisse einer Serviertochter'' published in 1914, she was able to travel to

Colombo Colombo, ( ; , ; , ), is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. The Colombo metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of 5.6 million, and 752,993 within the municipal limits. It is the ...

Ceylon Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

and to Australia before returning to Switzerland in 1915 during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. After her biographical ''Weitere Erlebnisse'' was published in 1916 and ''Im Kriege durch die Welt'' in 1918, in 1920 she was able to travel to the Soviet Union where she met

Lenin Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov ( 187021 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin, was a Russian revolutionary, politician and political theorist. He was the first head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 until Death and state funeral of ...

but the trip put an end to her political ambitions. While in Russia that she met and married the chess player Alexander Alekhine. In 1926, she attempted to make a lecture tour of the United States but was not admitted as she was unable to cover the cost of the required bond. Annelise Rüegg died in

Lausanne Lausanne ( , ; ; ) is the capital and largest List of towns in Switzerland, city of the Swiss French-speaking Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Vaud, in Switzerland. It is a hilly city situated on the shores of Lake Geneva, about halfway bet ...

on 2 May 1934.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ruegg, Annelise 1879 births 1934 deaths People from Uster Swiss communists Swiss autobiographers Swiss women writers Swiss pacifists Pacifist feminists Women's rights activists