Elisaveta Nikitichna Shakhova
Elisaveta Nikitichna Shakhova was a notable 19th-century Russian poet and religious figure, born on March 30, 1822, in St. Petersburg to a noble family with Persian, Tartar, and German roots. Displaying remarkable intellectual abilities from a young age, she began writing poetry as a child, with her first collection published at the age of fifteen. Her poetry often explored themes of fate, suffering, love, and spirituality, resonating with contemporary critics who praised her innocent and heartfelt sentiments. Over the years, Shakhova published several poetry collections, with her works reflecting both personal and broader social themes, including the experiences of women. In 1845, she entered a monastery, aligning her life with her deep religious convictions while continuing to write and translate works of other authors. Her later works often drew on Biblical motifs, such as her drama in verse celebrating the courage of the Serbs during the 1877 conflict. Shakhova's literary contributions and her commitment to faith have earned her recognition as an early female voice in Russian literature. She passed away on July 5, 1899, in a monastery in Moscow, leaving behind a legacy celebrated in a posthumous three-volume collection of her works.
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Elisaveta Nikitichna Shakhova
- Born: March 30, 1822
- Birthplace: St. Petersburg, Russia
- Died: July 5, 1899
- Place of death: Moscow, Russia
Biography
Elisaveta Nikitichna Shakhova was born in St. Petersburg, Russia, on March 30, 1822, to an old noble family of Persian, Tartar, and German ancestry. Her father was a naval officer and her mother of German descent. Shakhova received an excellent education and displayed great intellectual abilities. She began writing poetry when she was a child and a small booklet of her poems, Opyt v stikhakh piatinadtsatietnei devitsy, was published when she was fifteen years old. These poems deal with themes that foreshadow the future direction of her life and her development as a poet: fate, suffering, friendship, nature, and, above all, love of God. Critics praised the purity and innocence of her sentiments and feminine concerns.
The social status of her family enabled Stakhova to meet writers, critics, and scholars who advised her about her writing. Her second poetry collection, Stikhotvoreniia, appeared in 1839, expressing the same genuine feelings as her first collection. Her next book of poems, Povesti v stikhakh (1842), features women protagonists and met with a mixed reception from the critics.
In 1845, Shakhova followed her long-held religious inclinations and entered a monastery in Moscow. She withdrew from the world but continued to write and publish. Another book of poems, Marianka i otshel’nitsa, appeared in 1849. She took her vows as Mother Maria and was sent to Vilna, Poland, on an assignment. While in Vilna, she translated the works of other writers. After the turmoil in the Balkans resulted in a war between Russia and Turkey in 1877, Shakhova wrote a drama in verse, Iudif’, hailing Serbia’s assistance to other Balkan countries in their uprising against the centuries- old Turkish occupation. Shakhova used the Biblical motifs of Judith inspiring male warriors to praise the courage of the Serbs against the common enemy.
Shakhova was later sent on an assignment in St. Petersburg. At the end of her life, she moved to Moscow and took the strictest monastic vows. She lost her eyesight in the last year of her life and died at the monastery on July 5, 1899. She is remembered as an early Russian female writer who expressed, with sincere piety, her faith and love of God in a highly artistic manner. A three- volume edition of her collected works, Sobranie sochinenii v stikhakh, was published posthumously in 1911.