Varvara Rudneva

Varvara Rudneva
Born1841 or 1842
Chausy, Mogilev Governorate, Russian Empire
Died11 May 1899(1899-05-11) (aged 57–58)
(O.S.: 29 April 1899)
Staro-Preobrazhensky, Staraya Russa, Novgorod Governorate, Russian Empire
Other namesVarvara Kashevarova Rudneva
Occupation(s)Physician, Obstetrician and Gynecologist
Known forFirst female medical doctor matriculated from a Russian medical school

Varvara Aleksandrova Kashevarova-Rudneva (c.1841–1899), was a Russian Empire medical doctor.[1][2] Rudneva was the second woman in Russia to become a doctor, after Nadezhda Suslova.[3] She was the first woman in Russia to become a doctor and to have completed their education at a Russian medical school, an event which occurred at a time when women were barred receiving training at such universities.[2] Despite the ban against women studying at medical universities, she was given a unique permission to study for her desire to treat women patients who refused to be treated by male doctors due to their religious beliefs.[4] Her attendance at St. Petersburg Medical Surgical Academy, and later medical practice, were thereby unique in Russia thus garnering attention from both the medical field and general public making her a notoriously controversial figure.[1]

  1. ^ a b Evans Clements, Barbara (2012). A History of Women in Russia: From Earliest Times to the Present. Indiana University Press. p. 121. ISBN 9780253000972.
  2. ^ a b Ogilvie, Marilyn Bailey; Harvey, Joy Dorothy (2000). The biographical dictionary of women in science : pioneering lives from ancient times to the mid-20th century. Internet Archive. New York : Routledge. ISBN 978-0-415-92038-4.
  3. ^ Clyman, Toby W.; Vowles, Judith (1999). Russia Through Women's Eyes: Autobiographies from Tsarist Russia. Yale University Press. pp. 158–185. ISBN 9780300067545.
  4. ^ Alpern Engel, Barbara (2004). Women in Russia. Cambridge. p. 75. ISBN 9780521003186.