Maria Bezobrazova

Maria Vladimirovna Bezobrazova (1857-1914) was a philosopher, historiographer, educator, journalist and women's rights activist from the Russian Empire. She was "the first among Russian women to receive training in philosophy". Life Maria Bezobrazova was born in Saint Petersburg: her father was an economist, and her mother was a writer. She was a founding member of the Russian Women's Mutual Philanthropic Society, taking lecture courses for women from academics including the chemist Dimitri Mendeleev and the botanist Andrei Beketov. She then studied philosophy at the University of Leipzig and the University of Zurich, gaining her doctorate from the University of Berne in 1891. Influenced by Tolstoy, she advocated an 'ethical idealism'. Bezobrazova wrote for feminist publications, and was active in the Russian women's rights movement throughout her life. She rejected traditional ideas of gender identity and marriage: Bezobrazova died in Moscow in 1914.