Background
Alena Arzamasskaia was born to a peasant family in the Volga region of Russia in the mid-seventeenth century.
Alena Arzamasskaia was born to a peasant family in the Volga region of Russia in the mid-seventeenth century.
In the women's Nikolaev monastery, near Arzamas, Alena studied literacy and artificial healing with herbs.
After an early marriage, she entered the Nikolaevskii Monastery as a nun but was unhappy with the strictly regulated life of the convent. In 1669 she ran away, cut her hair, donned a male disguise, and joined the peasant revolt led by Cossack Stepan ("Stenka") Razin. Razin's revolt was initially successful in southern Russia. Arzamasskaia claimed to be a (male) Cossack commander and began rallying forces for Razin; eventually, she led as many as 6,000 soldiers. Her troops subjugated the fortress city of Temnikov and held it for two months. Arzaniasskaia's leadership was affirmed by local rebels, and Arzamasskaia was acknowledged as an intelligent leader and excellent archer. In 1670 she was captured by tsarist forces and tortured but refused to name other peasant leaders. She was legally condemned not only for her rebellion against the tsar but also because she committed the crime of dressing like a man.
Alena was from a family of healers, she knew conspiracies and how to treat with herbs; such healers were afraid of people, although they often came to them for help.
Arzamasskaia was burned at the stake; an eyewitness reported that she showed no fear and made no sound when she died.
Alena’s marriage was short-lived, her husband fell ill and died from hard work. After the death of her husband, Russian women had two ways: with a bag to walk around the world or go to a monastery, Alena chose the second variant.
