A Russian feminist and socialist activist, Elisabeth Dmitrieff (1851 – 1910 or 1918) actively participated in the Paris Commune. She co-founded the Union des femmes with Nathalie Lemel.
The childhood of a marginalized aristocrat
Daughter of Natalia-Carolina Dorothea Trostkievich, nurse, and Louka Kouchelev, former officer and noble landowner, Elizaveta Loukinitchna Koucheleva was born on November 1, 1851 in Volok, in the north-west of the Russian Empire. As her parents were not married at the time of her birth, she and her five sisters and brothers were considered illegitimate and saw themselves marginalized within the Russian aristocracy, notably not being able to inherit their father's titles of nobility.
The position and wealth of Elisabeth's father, however, earned her the benefit of a quality education with home teachers, access to a well-stocked library and the ability to learn several languages. In addition to this theoretical education, Elisabeth is also a direct witness of the very harsh working conditions imposed by her father and the other landowners on the peasants subjected to the serfdom regime. This experience made her aware of social inequalities and the class struggle; she is committed to the emancipation of serfs, but also that of women.
Elisabeth educates herself a lot by reading:she discovers the writings of Karl Marx in magazines and reads the novel Que faire by Nikolai Chernyshevski, recounting the experience of a free woman within a community of young people. Her thirst for emancipation and a more advanced education pushed her to tear herself away from her family:in 1868, Elisabeth made a sham marriage to access her inheritance, which she paid in part to revolutionary organizations, and left for Switzerland.
Geneva and London
Active in socialist circles in Saint Petersburg, Elisabeth Dmitrieff was no less active in Geneva, where she settled in 1868. There she met revolutionary Russian exiles and socialists of various origins, particularly French. She co-directs the publication of the newspaper La Cause du Peuple and is committed to the rights of workers – and in particular women workers – within the Russian section of the International Workers' Association (AIT), the First International. In 1870, the AIT sent Elisabeth to London to meet Karl Marx. She goes there at the end of the year and spends three months with him discussing their political ideas; in particular, she sent him copies of the newspaper La Cause du Peuple .
At the same time, in Paris, the tensions linked to the French defeat during the Franco-Prussian War of 1870, the very harsh siege of Paris by German troops during the winter and the armistice signed in January 1871 s exacerbate. In March 1871, when many Parisians, after suffering siege and famine, wanted to continue the war, the government of Adolphe Thiers sought to disarm the National Guard. In response, the population and the National Guard rise up:this is the starting point of the insurrection which will be known as the Paris Commune.
Karl Marx, who wanted to be informed about events in Paris, sent Elisabeth there as a representative of the General Council of the International. She arrived there on March 28, ten days after the start of the revolt, and two days after the election of the members of the Council of the Commune.
The Paris Commune
At first, Elisabeth Dmitrieff, who presents herself as Elise Dmitrieff, observes the events, and sends reports to Karl Marx. On the spot, she finds Russian and French socialists, met in Saint Petersburg or Geneva, who participate in the Commune, in particular the sisters Sonia Kovalevskaia and Anna Jaclard. Quickly, Elisabeth became involved in the insurrection and participated in the experience of the Commune, as an opportunity to put socialist ideas into practice. The Commune put in place a policy close to self-management and took many social measures in favor of workers, but also foreigners and women.
From April 11, Elisabeth signed the Appeal to the citizens of Paris, to encourage women to take part in the battles between Paris and Versailles, where the government had taken refuge:"Citizens of Paris, descendants of the women of the great revolution, we will defend and avenge our brothers”. Following this call, she co-founded with activist Nathalie Lemel the Union of Women for the Defense of Paris and Care for the Wounded; it will have more than a thousand adherents, dedicated to caring for the victims of the fighting.
Experienced in activism, Elisabeth took charge of the hierarchical structure and the political organization of the Women's Union and, always committed to the emancipation of women and the rights of women workers, set up cooperative workshops in the textile industry.
The Bloody Week
The Paris Commune experience lasts about two months; it ended up being bloodily repressed during Bloody Week from May 21 to 28, 1871. From May 22, the Union called women into battle. Elisabeth Dmitrieff leads women to Place Blanche, establishing a barricade manned only by women, while Nathalie Lemel goes to Place Pigalle. The activist takes part in the fighting and treats the wounded; she is also said to be in charge of logistical support, canteens and paramedics in particular.
The fighting quickly turned against the insurgents. Thousands of people are massacred, tens of thousands more arrested. Wounded on the barricades, Elisabeth manages to escape repression, both the massacres and the trial, by fleeing with the activist of Hungarian origin Leo Frankel. The two settled in Geneva, and Elisabeth resumed her name of Élisaveta Tomanovskaya so as not to be found. She no longer contacts Karl Marx, probably holding it against him for not having supported the Commune.
In October, Elisabeth is sentenced in absentia to deportation. Actively sought after by France, the noose is tightening around her and Frankel. France is asking Switzerland to extradite the communards and communardes. Although Switzerland refuses, Elisabeth returns to Russia in October.
Ivan Davidoski
In Russia, Elisabeth Dmitrieff comes up against great disappointment. After an assassination attempt on Tsar Alexander II, the atmosphere became more reactionary and she no longer found the revolutionary socialist circles she frequented in Saint Petersburg. In particular, issues relating to women's rights, which are close to her heart, are no longer on the agenda.
Returning to her family, Elisabeth established a relationship with her husband's steward, Ivan Davidoski, with whom she had two daughters. Leading the Jacks of Hearts, a band of crooks, Ivan Davidoski, from a privileged background, has a different approach to reducing social inequality based on extortion and theft from the rich.
In 1873, Elisabeth's husband died. In the following years, she devoted herself to the education of her two daughters, Irina and Vera. In 1876, Ivan was arrested and convicted for the murder of a magistrate. Elisabeth then marries him to follow him in deportation to Siberia.
Exiled
In Atchinsk, in southern Siberia, Elisabeth Dmitrieff and Ivan Davidoski buy a pastry shop, but it is boycotted by political prisoners, because Ivan is a common law prisoner and has a bad reputation. Their business will go bankrupt, and Elisabeth suffers from her husband's reputation which prevents him from integrating with the other prisoners. She then devoted herself to the education of her daughters.
Elisabeth finally left her husband between 1900 and 1902 and moved to Moscow with Irina and Vera. She works there as a seamstress. The end of the story of this communarde is not known with certainty:some sources place her death in 1910, for others it is her divorce. She would then have lived in destitution with her two daughters in Moscow until 1918. Whatever her end, Elisabeth Dmitrieff remains one of the major actresses of the Commune.
Useful links
Elisabeth Dmitrieff wikipedia page
Elisabeth Dmitrieff, the other leader of the women of the Paris Commune