Anna Filosofova
| Anna Filosofova | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Born |
Anna Pavlovna Diaghileva August 5, 1837 Saint Petersburg |
| Died | March 17, 1912 (aged 74) Saint Petersburg |
| Children | Dmitry Filosofov |
| Relatives | Sergei Diaghilev (nephew) |
Anna Pavlovna Filosofova (Russian: Анна Павловна Философова; August 5, 1837 – March 17, 1912) was a Russian philanthropist and feminist. She was an important charity organiser, and, alongside Maria Trubnikova (1835–1897) and Nadezhda Stasova (1835–1895), was one of the founders and leaders of the first organised Russian women's movement.
Filosofova was born into a wealthy noble family in Saint Petersburg. Her father Pavel Diaghilev was an official with the Ministry of Finance who retired in 1850 and started a distillery business. In 1855 he became fanatically religious, and the responsibility of the family business was transferred to Anna's mother. Anna was the youngest of nine children. She received her education at home, following the custom of noble families of the time. In 1855 she married Vladimir Dmitryevich Filosofov, a powerful official in the Ministry of War and Defence. Anna had six children, including the writer Dmitry Filosofov.
Anna's husband came from a serf-owning family, and after their marriage she made frequent visits to the Filosofov estate in Bezhanitsy. Filosofov's father was known as a tyrannical figure, and the lifestyle at the estate had a powerful effect on Anna. It was here that she first began to reflect on social problems, and especially the plight of poor peasants and serfs. Her first philanthropic activities concerned providing food and medicine to the poor. It was around this time that she met Maria Trubnikova, a woman interested in social change who gave Anna books on women's issues and discussed them with her. Anna said of Maria that she was "an angel, gentle and patient. She developed me, read with me. This was hard, since I didn't know anything."
In 1860, Anna, Maria, and their friend Nadezhda Stasova founded the "Society for Cheap Lodging and Other Aid to the Residents of Saint Petersburg", based on a new philanthropic method. Filosofova believed that instead of giving cash benefits to the poor, it was better to train and educate them so that they could earn a living on their own. They provided low cost housing for poor women and sewing work from local businesses. The society acquired its own building, and a large contract for sewing work from the military. Anna and her friends founded several societies including the "Society for the organisation of Work for Women" and the "Women's Publishing Artel".
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