Marta Lepp Explained
| Marta Lepp |
| Other Names: | Sophia Vardi (pseudonym), Marta Kirschbaum (after 1913), Marta Utuste or Maarda Utuste (after 1927) |
| Birth Name: | Marta Kirschbaum |
| Birth Date: | 12 November 1883 |
| Birth Place: | Varbola, Governorate of Estonia, Russian Empire |
| Death Place: | Tartu, Estonia |
| Occupation: | Writer, editor, educator, political leader |
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.
Early life
Lepp 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
For 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.
Personal life
Lepp married soldier Gustav Vladimir Kirschbaum (later known as) in 1913. Their son Reljo Utuste was born in Tallinn in 1923. Their nephew was writer . She died in 1940, the day before her 57th birthday, in Tartu. There is a collection of her papers at the University of Minnesota.[7]
Notes and References
- Web site: Reinart . Heili . 2018-02-13 . Mässaja Marta Lepp - teekond revolutsionäärist Eesti taarausuliste ühendamiseni . 2022-07-19 . Postimees . et.
- Book: Biin . Helen . https://books.google.com/books?id=zR4yAQAAQBAJ&dq=Marta+Lepp&pg=PA115 . The Struggle for Female Suffrage in Europe: Voting to Become Citizens . Albi . Anneli . 2012-06-07 . BRILL . 978-90-04-22991-4 . 115 . en . Suffrage and the Nation: Women's Vote in Estonia.
- Web site: Marta Sophia Lepp (1883-1940) . 2022-07-20 . Kreutzwaldi sajand / Eesti kultuurilooline veeb.
- News: Loschi . Countess Maria . November 7, 1919 . Women of Esthonia Work for Freedom . 14 . The Altoona Mirror . July 19, 2022 . NewspaperArchive.com.
- Book: Altnurme, Lea . https://books.google.com/books?id=AzdIEAAAQBAJ&dq=Marta+Lepp&pg=PA13 . Old Religion, New Spirituality: Implications of Secularisation and Individualisation in Estonia . 2021-09-06 . BRILL . 978-90-04-46117-8 . 13 . en . The History of the Marginalization of Christianity in Estonia, 1857-2017.
- Book: Västrik, Ergo-Hart . Contemporary Pagan and Native Faith Movements in Europe: Colonialist and Nationalist Impulses . 2015-06-01 . Berghahn Books . 978-1-78238-647-6 . Rountree . Kathryn . 1 . 134–135 . In Search of Genuine Religion: The Contemporary Estonian Maausulised Movement and Nationalist Discourse . 10.2307/j.ctt9qctm0.11. j.ctt9qctm0 .
- Web site: Collection: Maarda Lepp-Utusete (nee Marta Sophia Lepp) papers . 2022-07-19 . University of Minnesota Archival Collections Guides.
