Marta Sophia Lepp Utuste (born Marta Kirschbaum; 12 November 1883 – 11 November 1940), also known as Sophia Vardi and Maarda Lepp-Utuste, was an Estonian writer, editor, educator, and political and religious leader.
Marta Lepp | |
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![]() Marta Lepp, photographed as a young woman, from a 1936 book | |
Born | Marta Kirschbaum 12 November 1883 |
Died | 11 November 1940 Tartu, Estonia | (aged 56)
Other names | Sophia Vardi (pseudonym), Marta Kirschbaum (after 1913), Marta Utuste or Maarda Utuste (after 1927) |
Occupation(s) | Writer, editor, educator, political leader |
Early life
editLepp was born in Varbola, the daughter of Priidik Lepp and Maria Sassi Lepp. She attended schools in Tallinn and trained as a teacher in Saint Petersburg.[1]
Career
editFor her revolutionary activities,[2] Lepp was imprisoned in Siberia in 1905, 1907, and 1910; she escaped at least once before her official release in 1910.[3] In 1917, she returned to Estonia, where she taught Estonian language and history in Tallinn; she was also head of a women's political organization, and was editor of a newspaper, Our Free Land.[4] She and her husband were adherents and leaders of Taaraism, an Estonian neo-pagan religion.[5][6] Her writing included short stories, an opera libretto, a novel, and a three-volume memoir.[1]
Personal life
editLepp married soldier Gustav Vladimir Kirschbaum (later known as Kustas Utuste ) in 1913. Their son Reljo Utuste was born in Tallinn in 1923. Their nephew was writer Henn-Kaarel Hellat . She died in 1940, the day before her 57th birthday, in Tartu.[1] There is a collection of her papers at the University of Minnesota.[7]
References
edit- ^ a b c Reinart, Heili (2018-02-13). "Mässaja Marta Lepp - teekond revolutsionäärist Eesti taarausuliste ühendamiseni". Postimees (in Estonian). Retrieved 2022-07-19.
- ^ Biin, Helen; Albi, Anneli (2012-06-07). "Suffrage and the Nation: Women's Vote in Estonia". The Struggle for Female Suffrage in Europe: Voting to Become Citizens. BRILL. p. 115. ISBN 978-90-04-22991-4.
- ^ "Marta Sophia Lepp (1883-1940)". Kreutzwaldi sajand / Eesti kultuurilooline veeb. Retrieved 2022-07-20.
- ^ Loschi, Countess Maria (November 7, 1919). "Women of Esthonia Work for Freedom". The Altoona Mirror. p. 14. Retrieved July 19, 2022 – via NewspaperArchive.com.
- ^ Altnurme, Lea (2021-09-06). "The History of the Marginalization of Christianity in Estonia, 1857-2017". Old Religion, New Spirituality: Implications of Secularisation and Individualisation in Estonia. BRILL. p. 13. ISBN 978-90-04-46117-8.
- ^ Västrik, Ergo-Hart (2015-06-01). "In Search of Genuine Religion: The Contemporary Estonian Maausulised Movement and Nationalist Discourse". In Rountree, Kathryn (ed.). Contemporary Pagan and Native Faith Movements in Europe: Colonialist and Nationalist Impulses (1 ed.). Berghahn Books. pp. 134–135. doi:10.2307/j.ctt9qctm0.11. ISBN 978-1-78238-647-6. JSTOR j.ctt9qctm0.
- ^ "Collection: Maarda Lepp-Utusete (nee Marta Sophia Lepp) papers". University of Minnesota Archival Collections Guides. Retrieved 2022-07-19.