Yelizaveta Kovalskaya
Encyclopedia
Yelizaveta Nikolayevna Kovalskaya (Solntseva) .1851 or 1849 – 1943) was a Russia
n revolutionary
, narodnik
, and founding member of Black Repartition
.
both her and her mother. In 1857, Kovalskaya's father agreed to grant her and her mother their freedom. When he died he unexpectedly left his large estate to his illegitimate daughter.
, she used one of her inherited houses as a college for young women seeking education.
In 1869, she met Sophia Perovskaya and began attending her women's meeting, both joining Zemlya i volya (The Land and Liberty).
When Zemlya i volya split in 1879, Kovalskaya joined the Black Repartition
, while her colleague Perovskaya joined Narodnaya Volya (The Peoples Will). Black Repartition rejected terrorism, while Narodnaya Volya felt that terrorist acts where an appropriate method in forcing reforms. Kovalskaya worked with Black Repartition to support a socialist propaganda campaign among workers and peasants.
In 1880, together with Nikolai Schedrin
, she took part in organizing the Worker's Union of Southern Russia in Kiev
. Although only involved in propaganda work, she was arrested in 1881, found guilty of being a member of an illegal organization and sentenced to an open-ended katorga
in 1881. In 1882, Kovalskaya was transferred to the Kara katorga
. During the next twenty years, she went through several hunger strikes and made two unsuccessful prison escapes as well as knifed a prison guard.
She was finally released in 1903, moving to Geneva
and joining the Socialist Revolutionary Party. In 1903-1917, she was in exile
in Switzerland
and France
.
In 1918, Kovalskaya became a research worker at Petrograd Historical Revolutionary Archive and member of the editorial board of the Katorga and Exile magazine.
She had been married twice and there was never any mention of having children.
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n revolutionary
Revolutionary
A revolutionary is a person who either actively participates in, or advocates revolution. Also, when used as an adjective, the term revolutionary refers to something that has a major, sudden impact on society or on some aspect of human endeavor.-Definition:...
, narodnik
Narodnik
Narodniks was the name for Russian socially conscious members of the middle class in the 1860s and 1870s. Their ideas and actions were known as Narodnichestvo which can be translated as "Peopleism", though is more commonly rendered "populism"...
, and founding member of Black Repartition
Black Repartition
Black Repartition , Party of Socialists-Federalists, a revolutionary populist organization in Russia in the early 1880s....
.
Early life
Kovalskaya was the illegitimate daughter of a wealthy land owner, who ownedSerfdom
Serfdom is the status of peasants under feudalism, specifically relating to Manorialism. It was a condition of bondage or modified slavery which developed primarily during the High Middle Ages in Europe and lasted to the mid-19th century...
both her and her mother. In 1857, Kovalskaya's father agreed to grant her and her mother their freedom. When he died he unexpectedly left his large estate to his illegitimate daughter.
Revolutionary life
Kovalskaya went on to join the Kharkov society for the promotion of literacy. She was inspired by the women's movement in the 1860s and so she was always interested in feminist and socialist views. Impressed by the work of Robert OwenRobert Owen
Robert Owen was a Welsh social reformer and one of the founders of utopian socialism and the cooperative movement.Owen's philosophy was based on three intellectual pillars:...
, she used one of her inherited houses as a college for young women seeking education.
In 1869, she met Sophia Perovskaya and began attending her women's meeting, both joining Zemlya i volya (The Land and Liberty).
When Zemlya i volya split in 1879, Kovalskaya joined the Black Repartition
Black Repartition
Black Repartition , Party of Socialists-Federalists, a revolutionary populist organization in Russia in the early 1880s....
, while her colleague Perovskaya joined Narodnaya Volya (The Peoples Will). Black Repartition rejected terrorism, while Narodnaya Volya felt that terrorist acts where an appropriate method in forcing reforms. Kovalskaya worked with Black Repartition to support a socialist propaganda campaign among workers and peasants.
In 1880, together with Nikolai Schedrin
Nikolai Schedrin
Nikolay Pavlovich Schedrin was a Russian revolutionary and narodnik.Nikolay Schedrin graduated from a military gymnasium in Omsk. In 1876, he joined Zemlya i volya in St.Petersburg. After its split in 1879, Schedrin became a member of the Black Repartition...
, she took part in organizing the Worker's Union of Southern Russia in Kiev
Kiev
Kiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....
. Although only involved in propaganda work, she was arrested in 1881, found guilty of being a member of an illegal organization and sentenced to an open-ended katorga
Katorga
Katorga was a system of penal servitude of the prison farm type in Tsarist Russia...
in 1881. In 1882, Kovalskaya was transferred to the Kara katorga
Kara katorga
Kara katorga was the name for a set of katorga prisons of extremely high security located along the Kara River in Transbaikalia and part of the system of Nerchinsk katorga.It existed from 1838 to 1893...
. During the next twenty years, she went through several hunger strikes and made two unsuccessful prison escapes as well as knifed a prison guard.
She was finally released in 1903, moving to Geneva
Geneva
Geneva In the national languages of Switzerland the city is known as Genf , Ginevra and Genevra is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie, the French-speaking part of Switzerland...
and joining the Socialist Revolutionary Party. In 1903-1917, she was in exile
Exile
Exile means to be away from one's home , while either being explicitly refused permission to return and/or being threatened with imprisonment or death upon return...
in Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
and France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
.
In 1918, Kovalskaya became a research worker at Petrograd Historical Revolutionary Archive and member of the editorial board of the Katorga and Exile magazine.
She had been married twice and there was never any mention of having children.