The Emancipation of Varvara Dyakova: Hegel, Sex and the Call to Actuality in Russian Social Thought, 1835–1855

This article explores the sexual dimensions of Hegelian thought in mid-nineteenth-century Russia. It tells the story of a conspiracy organised by the young Mikhail Bakunin to 'liberate' his sister Varvara from her unhappy marriage to a provincial nobleman. Justified by appeals to reason and history, 'Varinka's liberation' was an ultra-Romantic affair. Over time, however, Dyakova began to experience doubts about the philosophical meaning that her brother assigned to her experiences. Her letters open a window on how Hegel's first Russian readers understood the role of gender and sexual conduct in his vision of human development.