“I could hardly be called an ignorant fanatic”. Ekaterina Breshko-Breshkovskaia and the Construction of a Revolutionary Autobiography

Felicitas Fischer von Weikersthal

doi:10.25430/2281-6992/v6-035-057

“I could hardly be called an ignorant fanatic”. Ekaterina Breshko-Breshkovskaia and the Construction of a Revolutionary Autobiography

Felicitas Fischer von Weikersthal

Abstract

Ekaterina Breshko-Breshkovskaia is one of the better-known protagonists of the Russian Revolution, often referred to as the grandmother (babushka) of the revolution. Her auto/biographical writings have been composed in different periods and to different audiences. Therefore, the question of whether the presentation of babushka’s autobiography and of the revolutionary movement changed over the course of time and in view of the audience is of particular interest. How did Breshko-Breshkovskaia represent the revolutionary cause, the revolutionary biography, and the ideals of a revolutionist’s life? Which strategies did she use to attract the audience and how did she explain her pathway to radicalization? What does this tell us about the self-perception of the revolutionaries – and especially female revolutionaries – or at least of babushka’s concept of a revolutionary life?

Keywords

Breshko-Breshkovskaia; Russian Revolution; autobiography; self-perception; female revolutionaries

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.25430/2281-6992/v6-035-057

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AvtobiografiЯ
Journal on Life Writing and the Representation of the Self in Russian Culture

Dipartimento di Studi Linguistici e Letterari
Via Elisabetta Vendramini 13
35137 PADOVA

ISSN: 2281-6992
Registrazione del Tribunale di Padova 23-04-2013, n. 2326 Registro della Stampa,
Variazione: Tribunale di Padova 27-10-2014, n. 3197 Registro della Stampa.