Nadezhda Mandelstam

Nadezhda Mandelstam, the wife of Russian poet Osip Mandelstam, is considered one of the most iconic female literature figures from Russia in the 20th century. Nadezhda was born in 1845 in the Ukrainian city of Taganrog. Coming from a wealthy family, she had a privileged upbringing and was able to receive a proper education. After her mother's death, her father allowed her to travel to St. Petersburg where she studied painting, history and philosophy at university. Nadezhda met Osip Mandelstam in 1917 and they were married shortly afterwards.

The couple's twenty-year-long relationship was typified by immense love and loyalty, despite their incredibly difficult living conditions in Josef Stalin’s Soviet Russia. Through her writings, Nadezdha brought an individual view to the lives of the Russian upper class and art world, as well as providing a unique insight into the sufferings of a society of terror. Her literary works ‘Hope Against Hope’ (1970) and ‘Hope Abandoned’ (1974) are based on her recollections of the Mandelshtam household and the repression of Soviet Russia.

Nadezhda used literature as a tool to express her ideas and to bridge the gap between time and place while ultimately speaking out against the suppression of the Stalin era. She expressed her longing for freedom and tried to remain as positive as possible during her time of exile. Her works are considered as some of the most poignant and powerful pieces of literature that emerged from the Soviet Union, and serve as an example of perseverance in the face of deep suffering and oppression.

Nadezhda’s writings paved the way for many other female authors of the twentieth century. She inspired a generation of writers with her courage and was an early teammate of the Russian literary modernism movement. Her books were published posthumously and were an instant success. The collection of her writings, 'Hope Against Hope’, published by Random House in 1970, was translated into 13 languages, and was highly acclaimed. Nadezhda’s works were also critical studies, which heavily questioned and analysed the role of women in Russia, and were key in bringing forward the idea of women’s rights in a country lacking such emancipatory movements.

The legacy of Nadezhda Mandelstam has lived on. She has been widely respected and admired for her courage and resilience over her lifetime, in addition to her literary works. Her literary works have been widely acclaimed and have been widely used in numerous academic studies. Along with being an inspiration to many, her works have opened the door to a much more thoughtful and challenging interpretation of the Soviet Union. Her impact and influence on literature, and the history of Russia, have been profound and inimitable.