Their Words, Their Deeds. The January Uprising in the Memory of Women (1864–1914)

This article examines lesser-known dimensions of women’s memory of the January Uprising, focusing on the emotional experiences of female participants and observers of the events of 1863–1864. It primarily considers autobiographical memory, reconstructed from diaries and memoirs written by women who lived through the insurrection. These personal narratives are enriched by literary imagery and metaphors that shaped not only how women recalled the uprising but also how they understood their role within it. Women’s memories were not detached from the male world—they were informed by shared revolutionary experiences, mutual inspirations, and aspirations for emancipation. Their involvement in the uprising and in shaping its legacy extended into the male-dominated spaces of tsarist prisons and detention centers, where emotional experiences in captivity helped shape individual, gendered identities. This analysis highlights the emotional landscape of women’s engagement with the January Uprising

Autobiographical memory · Collective memory · Historical record · Holocaust survivors · Lived experience · Memoir · Narrative · History of Emotions Research · Memory, Trauma, and Commemoration · Soviet and Russian History