Vera Figner

Vera Figner was born into a family of aristocrats and seemingly grew up with all of the benefit and privilege afforded to persons of similar means in Russia, at the time. Yet, she describes this upbringing as Spartan (Figner 37). To some extent, the "Spartan" characteristic of her upbringing could have been due to some level of exploitation of the lower level of the "aristocratic" class by the Tsar. While there was clear exploitation of the peasant, working class (the serfs), Figner's portrayal of her youth demonstrates that some of this exploitation occurred within in the lower levels of landed gentry, such as her father, as well. This may also explain why her father had to work in a bureaucratic job to help make ends meet for his family.

Vera appears to have been a very attractive young woman and likely was determined to be successful at whatever she chose to accomplish. The example of the padlock (Figner 22) is the first glimpse the reader gets pertaining to her character and strength of will and determination. This particular example demonstrates what would be a lifelong characteristic of being able to take a high level of accountability for her actions, whether these actions were right or wrong.

For Vera, her domestic life appears to have been typical of others of her station until 1861 when the serfs were emancipated and the social order in Russia began to change for the first time. While her father was an overbearing, blustering aristocrat and government bur

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