Vera Sergeyevna Aksakova or Vera Axakova (; 19 February 1819 – 9 March 1864) was a

Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

writer known for her diaries at the time of the

Crimean War The Crimean War was fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the Ottoman Empire, the Second French Empire, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and the Kingdom of Sardinia (1720–1861), Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont fro ...

in a Slavophile family.

Life

Aksakova was born in

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

in 1819. She was the eldest daughter of

Sergey Aksakov Sergey Timofeyevich Aksakov (, ) (—) was a 19th-century Russian literary figure remembered for his semi-autobiographical tales of family life, as well as his books on hunting and fishing. Early life According to the Velvet Book of Russia ...

and his wife Olga Semyonovna Zaplatina (1793—1878). Her mother was the daughter of Major General Semyon Grigorievich Zaplatina and a captured

Turkish Turkish may refer to: * Something related to Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities in the former Ottoman Empire * The w ...

woman. Her brothers

Konstantin The first name Konstantin () is a derivation from the Latin name '' Constantinus'' ( Constantine) in some European languages, such as Bulgarian, Russian, Estonian and German. As a Christian given name, it refers to the memory of the Roman empe ...

and

Ivan Aksakov Ivan Sergeyevich Aksakov (; , village Nadezhdino, Belebeyevsky Uyezd, Orenburg Governorate – , Moscow) was a Russian littérateur and notable Slavophile. Biography Aksakov was born in the village of Nadezhdino (then Orenburg Governorate, no ...

were both noted

Slavophiles Slavophilia () was a movement originating from the 19th century that wanted the Russian Empire to be developed on the basis of values and institutions derived from Russia's early history. Slavophiles opposed the influences of Western Europe in Rus ...

. When her father began to write "The History of My Acquaintance with Gogol" she acted as his assistant and as he lost his eyesight she became his amanuensis. Aksakova is known for her diary which gives an interesting insight into Russian life during the

Crimea War The Crimean War was fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the Ottoman Empire, the Second French Empire, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and the Kingdom of Sardinia (1720–1861), Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont fro ...

. It starts on 14 November 1854 and ends a year later on 15 November. She reports hopefully on the death of

Tsar Nicholas I Nicholas I, group=pron (Russian language, Russian: Николай I Павлович; – ) was Emperor of Russia, List of rulers of Partitioned Poland#Kings of the Kingdom of Poland, King of Congress Poland, and Grand Duke of Finland from 18 ...

in a three page entry. She feels regret that a man has died but is optimistic about his successor. She later records the loss of national prestige with her country's defeat at the

Siege of Sebastopol A siege () . is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition, or by well-prepared assault. Siege warfare (also called siegecrafts or poliorcetics) is a form of constant, low-intensity conflict characte ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aksakova, Vera 1819 births 1864 deaths People from Buguruslansky District People from the Russian Empire of Turkish descent Writers from the Russian Empire Women writers from the Russian Empire