Barykova, Anna Pavlovna (1839–1893)

Russian poet of the Revolutionary period. Name variations: Barýykova. Born Anna Pavlovna Kamenskaia in St. Petersburg, Russia, on December 22, 1839; died atRostov on Don, Russia, on May 31, 1893; daughter of Maria Kamenskaia (a writer); granddaughter of Fyodor Tolstoi (an artist); educated at Ekaterininskii Institute; married twice; children: four.

Selected writings:

My Muse (1878); Tale of How Tsar Akhreian Went to Complain to God (1883); A Votary of Aesthetics (1884).

Politics have often deeply marked both the rise and suppression of Russian women writers. The career of poet and satirist Anna Pavlovna Barykova was no exception, as it represented the populist, revolutionary spirit of the 1870s and 1880s. Raised in an artistic family, Barykova had both her grandfather, artist Fyodor Tolstoi, and her mother, writer Maria Kamenskaia , as creative examples. Such heritage gave her the advantage of education, though mediocre, at a state boarding school in Moscow, and at St. Petersburg's Ekaterininskii Institute, as well as at home. Barykova learned several languages and began writing poetry as a teenager. Employed as a translator for Lev Tolstoy's publishing company called Intermediary, she was almost 40 years old when her first volume of poetry was released.My Muse (1878) was publicly followed by A Votary of Aesthetics (1884). The two volumes were separated by Barykova's satiric portrait of Alexander III, Tale of How Tsar Akhreian Went to Complain to God, published anonymously in 1883. Like many of her peers, she was imprisoned briefly for her political beliefs. Barykova died at age 53, as her writing career was on the ascendance.

Crista Martin , freelance writer, Boston, Massachusetts