Aleksandr Aleksandrov

Common card · No. 266519

Alexander Andreevich Alexandrov (born Nadezhda Andreyevna Durova; 17 September 1783 – 21 March 1866) was a Russian cavalry soldier and writer who participated in the Napoleonic Wars. Alexandrov was assigned female at birth, but solely presented as a man in adulthood. At twenty-three, Alexandrov fled his home, and enlisted in an uhlan (light cavalry) regiment, dressing as a male soldier and taking on the name Alexander Sokolov. He served from 1806 to 1816, and received the Cross of St. George for bravery. After his service, he published a memoir, originally titled, "Notes of Alexsandrov", one of the earliest autobiographies in the Russian language. To his outrage, publishers disregarded the chosen name and title, re-titling it "Notes of N.A. Durova", and eventually The Cavalry Maiden. Historians have traditionally regarded him as a female wartime cross-dresser, while several modern scholars describe him as a transgender man.

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