Nina Demme

{{Family name hatnote|Petrovna|Demme|lang=Eastern Slavic}}{{Infobox person

| name = Nina Demme

| native_name = Нина Петровна Демме

| image = Nina Demme portrait, 1932.jpg

| alt = Black and white photograph of a woman whose head tilts to the right and who is gazing in that direction.

| caption = Demme, 1932

| birth_name = Nina Petrovna Demme-Ryabtseva

| birth_date = {{Birth year|1902}}

| birth_place = Kostroma, Russian Empire

| death_date = {{Death date and age|1977|1902|df=y}}

| death_place = Leningrad, USSR

| nationality = Russian

| other_names = Nina Petrovna Demme, Nina Riabtzova-Demme

| occupation = polar explorer, biologist, ornithologist

| years_active = 1921–1959

| known_for =

| notable_works =

| family = {{ill|Medem family|lt=von Medem|de|Medem (Adelsgeschlecht)}}

}}

Nina Petrovna Demme ({{langx|ru|Нина Петровна Демме}}, 1902 – 16 March 1977) was a Soviet polar explorer, biologist, and ornithologist. She was one of the first women to explore the Arctic and have charge of a polar expedition. Raised in an polyamorous household in Kostroma, she attended the first women's gymnasium in Russia from 1907 to 1914 and then studied to become a teacher. After taking workers courses under Lenin's wife Nadezhda Krupskaya, she taught collectivism in the Ufa Governorate before settling in Leningrad in 1921 to study at the Geographical Institute. For eight years, she studied geography and biology, participating in numerous field trips on polar research.

Graduating in 1929, Demme went to work at the Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute and participated in a two-year expedition to Franz Josef Land, during which she was the only woman in the group. Chosen to lead an expedition to Severnaya Zemlya, known then as the Kamenev Islands, she and her team of three men mapped the western part of the archipelago and conducted research on the plants and animals. Returning to Leningrad in 1934, she researched the commercial collective farming potential of animals of the north and for several seasons studied black foxes and the possibilities of breeding eiders. Earning her Candidate's Degree in biology in 1946, she became a professor but was discontent to remain in the classroom and continued to make research trips until she retired in 1959. In her retirement, she painted, and planted a large garden of flowers and trees, which she maintained until her death in 1977.

Early life

Nina was born in 1902 in Kostroma in the Russian Empire to Maria Ivanovna Ryabtsova and Ludwig Fedorovich Demme. She was an illegitimate child{{sfn|Николаева|2017a}}{{sfn|Муханов|1930|p=12}} of a polyamorous household which was made up of her father's first wife and nine children, and her mother's five children. Her half-siblings were Valya and Kolya named after her mother's first husband, a German surnamed Huber. Nina, Julia, and Seryozha were full siblings from her mother's relationship with her father. Because her blood siblings were all illegitimate, they were registered with the family patronymic Petrovna,{{sfn|Николаева|2017a}} after her godfather Petr Ryabtsov,{{sfn|Горяшко|2019}} and with their mother's surname, Ryabtsov. Forged papers, showing her name as Nina Petrovna Demme-Ryabtseva, allowed Demme to be the only child to carry her father's surname or enter high school (gymnasium).{{sfn|Николаева|2017a}}

Her father was a German noble, originally named Ludwig {{ill|Medem family|lt=von Medem|de|Medem (Adelsgeschlecht)}}, who changed his surname to Demme and arrived in Russia where he ran a bicycle shop in Galich. Soon he relocated to Kostroma and began a relationship with Ryabtsova, who managed a brewery left to her by her first husband. After he had sent for his first family in Germany, the blended families rented the house which would later become the Pushkin Library in Kostroma. Ryabtsova, Ludwig, and her children occupied the top floor of the building, and his first family lived in the garden house. Later, he built a house for the mixed family at #23 Pastukhovskaya. The relationships between his wives and children were friendly and they all worked together on the farm, which produced poultry, as well as fruits and flowers for local sale. Ludwig Demme was fond of birds and raised several rare breeds of pigeons, for which he was widely known.{{sfn|Николаева|2017a}}

Education

After completing her primary education, Demme entered the private Grigorov Female Gymnasium ({{langx|ru|Григоровскую женскую гимназию}}), the first women's high school in Russia.{{sfn|Николаева|2017a}}{{sfn|Полтавская|2007}} The school was funded by nobles from the Kostroma Oblast, but because her documents listed Demme as the daughter of a peasant, she was ridiculed.{{sfn|Николаева|2017a}} Girls who attended the school were preparing to become teachers and studied dance, music, and needlework, as well as French, German, and Russian languages; geography; literature; mathematics; physics; and religion.{{sfn|Полтавская|2007}} She graduated in 1914 and then entered the teacher training seminary in Kostroma.{{sfn|Аветисов|2014|p=52}} In 1917, while participating in a community mowing project during her schooling, Demme learned of the Bolsheviks and quickly became a founding member of the Komsomol in Kostroma.{{sfn|Николаева|2017a}} By 1919, she was a leader in the Komsomol, entering the labor school commune and participating in the provincial committee.{{sfn|Аветисов|2014|p=52}} In 1920, she went to Moscow to take workers courses under Nadezhda Krupskaya, Lenin's wife, and studied collectivism. When she completed the courses, she was sent to the Ufa Governorate in the Ural Mountains to pass on the information to the masses.{{sfn|Николаева|2017a}}{{sfn|Муханов|1930|p=12}}

In 1921, Demme moved to Leningrad to study at the Geographical Institute. Among her instructors were Lev Berg, {{ill|Alexei Bialynitsky-Birulya|ru|Бялыницкий-Бируля, Алексей Андреевич}}, Białynicki-Birula Vladimir Bogoraz, {{ill|Alexei Borisyak|ru|Борисяк, Алексей Алексеевич}}, {{ill|Yakov Edelstein|ru|Эдельштейн, Яков Самойлович}}, Boris Fedtschenko, Alexander Fersman, Dmitry Nalivkin, and {{ill|Sergey Neustruev|ru|Неуструев, Сергей Семёнович}}. For eight years she studied at the institute, which later became the geography department of Leningrad University.{{sfn|Аветисов|2014|p=52}} During research trips, she participated in expeditions to the Caucasus and Crimea{{sfn|Николаева|2017a}} and worked on projects including road construction in Leningrad and dog training along the railway from Termez to Dushanbe.{{sfn|Аветисов|2014|p=52}} In 1926, Demme led an expedition to the Kara Sea;{{sfn|Soviet Union Review|1934|p=147}} in 1927, she conducted research in the Urals; afterwards, she completed field work in Central Asia around Amu Darya to prepare for land reforms.{{sfn|Аветисов|2014|p=52}}{{sfn|The Syracuse Herald|1931|p=22}} While she was in school, she met and married fellow student and polar explorer {{ill|Ivan Markieltevich Ivanov|ru|Иванов, Иван Маркелович}}.{{sfn|The Intelligencer Journal|1931|p=10}} Her husband had been part of the rescue attempt in 1928 to save Umberto Nobile, an Italian polar explorer, and his crew after they crashed their dirigible balloon.{{sfn|Николаева|2017a}}{{sfn|Аветисов|2014|p=52}}{{sfn|Wiegand|1933|p=4:2}}

Career

=Arctic exploration=

File:Nina Demme, 1931.jpg

File:Northern Russia and the Arctic Ocean.svg

In 1929, Demme graduated and went to work at the Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute which was founded in 1930.{{sfn|Аветисов|2014|p=52}}{{sfn|Wiegand|1933|p=4:2}} Because of her extensive experience and research background, Demme was selected to participate in an expedition on the icebreaker George Sedov, which planned to winter on Franz Josef Land. Ivanov was sent to manage the polar station in Tikhaya Bay on Hooker Island, with the 11 scientists being led by Otto Schmidt.{{sfn|Аветисов|2014|p=52}} Demme was the only woman among them{{#tag:ref|The 11 members of the crew included Ivanov, geographer and the leader; Danilov, musher; Demme, biologist; Golubenkov, meteorologist; Ioylev, radio operator; Khatanzey and Kuznetsov, Nenet hunters; Dr. Kutlyaev, camp physician, who was studying polar effects on human blood; Mukhin, hydrologist; Ploskonosov, mechanic; and Postanov, cook.{{sfn|Громов|1930|p=19}}|group="Notes"}} and international news coverage at the time claimed she was the first woman to have explored the Arctic.{{sfn|The Intelligencer Journal|1931|p=10}}{{sfn|The Star Tribune|1932|p=7}}{{sfn|Муханов|1930|p=12}}{{#tag:ref|Demme was not the first woman to explore the Arctic. Among others, Maria Pronchishcheva explored with her husband on the Kamchatka Peninsula from 1733 to 1736; {{ill|Yerminiya Zhdanko|ru|Жданко, Ерминия Александровна}} and Juliette Jean-Sessin ({{langx|ru|Жюльетта Жан-Сессин}}) were lost on explorations in 1912;{{sfn|Горяшко|2019}} and Louise Arner Boyd made six expeditions between 1928 and 1941 to places like East Greenland, Franz Josef Land, Jan Mayen Land and Spitsbergen.{{sfn|Kafarowski|2019}} Boyd also had led an expedition in 1931,{{sfn|Kafarowski|2017|p=156}} after Demme's 1926 trip{{sfn|Soviet Union Review|1934|p=147}} but prior to her 1932 trip,{{sfn|Kafarowski|2017|p=156}} and Irina Rusinova ({{langx|ru|Ирина Леонидовна Русинова}}) wintered in the Arctic in Novaya Zemlya in 1928, prior to Demme.{{sfn|Горяшко|2019}}|group="Notes"}} Her work involved both geographical and biological studies, and the crew wintered for two years on the island.{{sfn|The Intelligencer Journal|1931|p=10}}{{sfn|Wiegand|1933|p=4:2}} When not making expeditions to study the wildlife and plants, Demme assisted the hydrologist in his measurements.{{sfn|The Tipton Daily Tribune|1931|p=2}}{{sfn|Riadtzova-Demme|1931|p=3}} During the expedition, Demme and Ivanov divorced, and she married another of the scientists. When they returned from the trip, that marriage ended, and she married Gabriel Ignatievich Ioylev, a radio operator.{{sfn|The Sunday Mail|1932|p=22}}{{sfn|Власова|2009|p=32}}{{#tag:ref|Аветисов notes that there is sourcing for Demme's marriage to Ivanov on the web, but the archives of the Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute indicate only that her husband was Petr Gavrilovich Skvortsov ({{langx|ru|Скворцов Петр Гаврилович}}). He also states that she wrote no personal information in her memoirs,{{sfn|Аветисов|2014|p=52}} which is confirmed by Николаева.{{sfn|Николаева|2017a}} Her relatives stated in an interview with Николаева that Demme was married at least four times and the known husband's names were "Ganya, Petr, Vanya, and Volodya".{{sfn|Николаева|2017b}}|group="Notes"}}

File:Nina Demme, 1932.jpg

In 1932, she led a team of three men, including a hunter, meteorologist, and her husband, Ioylev, the radio operator, to winter in the Kamenev Islands, and newspapers reported that she had been the first woman to lead a polar expedition.{{sfn|Wiegand|1933|p=4:2}}{{sfn|The Miami News|1933|p=6}} The group sailed on the Roussanov, arriving on 14 August{{sfn|Pierre|1935|p=5}} and settling into the cabin which had a large bedroom with bunk beds and a library, as well as a large dining table, where they listened to concerts and news broadcasts each evening during dinner.{{sfn|La Lutte Syndicale|1939|p=3}} She was made governor of the archipelago and had the authority to direct commerce, immigration, and other affairs of state.{{sfn|The Miami News|1933|p=6}} The group was to remain one winter and evaluate the commercial possibilities for the flora and fauna of the islands.{{sfn|The Edmonton Journal|1933|p=8}} They gathered geological and botanical samples, studied the various animals on their expeditions,{{sfn|Pierre|1935|p=5}} and mapped the western part of Severnaya Zemlya.{{sfn|La Lutte Syndicale|1939|p=3}} As icebreakers were unable to reach, them the team ended up spending a second year in the Arctic.{{sfn|The Miami News|1933|p=6}}{{sfn|Pierre|1935|p=5}} Various mishaps befell the crew, including one when, while out hunting, the men mistook Demme for a polar bear and she began to sing an aria from La traviata so they would know she was not their prey.{{sfn|La Lutte Syndicale|1939|p=3}} In September 1934, Alexander Alexiev, a government pilot, flew from Siberia and was able to extract Demme and her crew, as well as Boris Lavrov and his pilot, who had been on an expedition of the Lena River before their plane crashed and they walked 185 miles to reach the Kamenev station.{{sfn|The Los Angeles Times|1934|p=2}}

=Academic career=

Returning to Leningrad, Demme began post-graduate studies at the Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute, where she also taught courses in biology and zoology. She was interested in researching the commercial collective farming potential of animals of the north and for several seasons studied black foxes.{{sfn|Николаева|2017a}}{{sfn|Аветисов|2014|p=53}} Because she could not get the institute to finance her expeditions, Demme chartered small fishing boats to take her to remote Arctic huts so that she could carry out her research.{{sfn|Аветисов|2014|p=54}} Beginning around 1940, she utilized methods established in Iceland to create experimental eider farms in Novaya Zemlya and on Vaygach Island.{{sfn|Posnett|2019|p=26}}{{sfn|Киприянов|2019}} By setting up nesting shelters and killing the predators of the birds, locals under her leadership were able to collect {{convert|5354|kg|lb}} of eiderdown over a five-year period.{{sfn|Киприянов|2019}}{{sfn|Goryashko|2017}} Demme completed her dissertation, Гнездовые колонии гаги обыкновенной на Новой Земле и организация гагачьего хозяйства (Nesting Colonies of the Common Eider on Novaya Zemlya and the Organization of the Eiderdown Economy) in 1946, earning her Candidate's Degree in biology.{{sfn|Николаева|2017a}}

Demme was made an associate professor in 1949, but did not like the confinement of the classroom. She continued to hire small commercial vessels to allow her to study wildlife in the Arctic into the 1950s.{{sfn|Аветисов|2014|p=54}} In 1949, she conducted research in the Kandalaksha Nature Reserve on the White Sea, extending her work on eiders. At the reserve, she attempted to develop domesticated hatcheries, which she had unsuccessfully tried to establish in Novaya Zemlya. Though successful, the group of chicks she brought back to Leningrad at the end of the season failed to thrive and all died. In 1952, Demme made her last trip to the Arctic, working in the northern parts of the Gulf of Ob in Siberia, and focusing on raising animals there. She did not return to the Kandalaksha Reserve, though others continued to study eider chicks there. Though she was not involved,{{sfn|Горяшко|2019}} her experimental eiderdown farms operated until 1954, when they were closed and the native inhabitants of Novaya Zemlya were removed in preparation for nuclear tests.{{sfn|Киприянов|2019}} In 1959, she retired and wrote her autobiography.{{sfn|Аветисов|2014|p=54}} She was allowed to buy a summer house on the Black Sea coast and chose a place between Sochi and Tuapse near Volkonskaya, where she built a home and an extensive garden, which had various kinds of flowers and trees. An accomplished musician and skilled artist, she also created paintings.{{sfn|Николаева|2017b}}

Death and legacy

Demme died on 16 March 1977 in Leningrad{{sfn|Аветисов|2014|p=54}} from phlegmon after she was given an injection for a congenital heart defect. She was cremated there, and her remains were taken to Kostroma for burial. The family was unable to convince local authorities to allocate marble for a tombstone.{{sfn|Николаева|2017b}} In 2017, her grave was located in the local cemetery on Kostromskaya Street. She is remembered as one of the first women polar explorers.{{sfn|Kostroma Today|2017}} There has been renewed interest in the 21st century in her work on eiderdown production.{{sfn|Киприянов|2019}}{{sfn|Goryashko|2017}}

Selected works

{{cite news |ref=none |last1=Riadtzova-Demme |first1=Nina |title=Arctic Is Described by Woman Explorer (2 parts) |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/51942961/the-miami-herald/ |access-date=23 May 2020 |agency=United Press International |date=8 January 1931 |newspaper=The Miami Herald |location=Miami, Florida |pages=[https://www.newspapers.com/clip/51942961/the-miami-herald/ 1], [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/51943006/the-miami-herald/ 5]|via=Newspapers.com}}
{{cite news |last1=Riadtzova-Demme |first1=Nina |title='Northernmost Woman in World' Tells of Year Spent Near North Pole: Its Beauties and Hazards |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/51942628/the-columbus-telegram/ |access-date=24 May 2020 |agency=United Press International |date=2 December 1931 |newspaper=Columbus Telegram |location=Columbus, Nebraska |page=3 |via=Newspapers.com}}
{{cite thesis |ref=none |last1=Демме-Рябцова |first1=Нина Петровна |title=Гнездовые колонии гаги обыкновенной на Новой Земле и организация гагачьего хозяйства |url=https://docviewer.yandex.ru/view/0/?page=1&*=r3myoqhkOoGDo2lJbG3OQyI47lV7InVybCI6InlhLWRpc2stcHVibGljOi8vR3lLdUtkSkoySFBOTWVpcGRJS2hJNk5ndGpERVUwTFBucW5yeUNVYjlKc3p1WkZuSFpMdnNSZVZFeldhMjI1L3EvSjZicG1SeU9Kb25UM1ZvWG5EYWc9PSIsInRpdGxlIjoiZGVtZS1yeWFidHNvdmExOTQ2X2duZXpkb3Z5ZSBrb2xvbmlpIGdhZ2kgbmEgbm92b2kgemVtbGUucGRmIiwibm9pZnJhbWUiOmZhbHNlLCJ1aWQiOiIwIiwidHMiOjE1OTA0MzYyNjg0MTIsInl1IjoiMzc2MzA5MTE1ODE4MDYwNjYifQ%3D%3D |location=Leningrad |date=1946 |language=ru |trans-title=Nesting Colonies of the Common Eider on Novaya Zemlya and the Organization of the Eiderdown Economy}}
{{cite journal |ref=none |last1=Демме |first1=Н.П. |title=Бобры на р. Сеза Архангельской области |url=https://priroda.ras.ru/djvu/1947-11.djvu |journal=Природа |issue=11 |date=November 1947 |publisher=Академиздатцентр «Наука» |location=Moscow |language=ru |pages=73–75 |issn=0032-874X}}

Notes

References

=Citations=

=Bibliography=

{{cite journal |ref={{harvid|Аветисов|2014}}|last1=Аветисов (Avetisov) |first1=Г. П. (G. P.) |title=Полярным Кругом: Нина Петровна Демме: Первая Женщина — Начальник Полярной Станции |journal=Российские Полярные Исследования |date=2014 |volume=2 |issue=16 |pages=52–54 |url=http://www.aari.ru/misc/publicat/sources/RPR-16.pdf |access-date=23 May 2020 |trans-title=Beyond the Arctic Circle: Nina Petrovna Demme, The First Woman Head of a Polar Station |publisher=Типография «Моби Дик» for the Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute |location=St. Petersburg, Russia |language=ru |issn=2218-5321 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190819082219/http://www.aari.ru/misc/publicat/sources/RPR-16.pdf |archive-date=19 August 2019}}
{{cite journal |last1=Goryashko |first1=Alexandra |title=Attempts to Establish Eider Farms in the USSR, and Why These Failed |journal=Arcadia |date=Summer 2017 |issue=14 |url=http://www.environmentandsociety.org/arcadia/attempts-establish-eider-farms-ussr-and-why-these-failed |access-date=24 May 2020 |publisher=De Gruyter |location=Berlin |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200222105217/http://www.environmentandsociety.org/arcadia/attempts-establish-eider-farms-ussr-and-why-these-failed |archive-date=22 February 2020 |issn=0003-7982}}
{{cite web |ref={{harvid|Горяшко|2019}} |last1=Горяшко (Goryashko) |first1=Александра (Alexandra) |title=Демме в Кандалакшском заповеднике. Неизвестные страницы биографии знаменитой полярницы |url=https://goarctic.ru/work/demme-v-kandalakshskom-zapovednike-neizvestnye-stranitsy-biografii-znamenitoy-polyarnitsy/ |website=Go Arctic |publisher=Arctic Development Project Office |access-date=25 May 2020 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20200525185022/https://goarctic.ru/work/demme-v-kandalakshskom-zapovednike-neizvestnye-stranitsy-biografii-znamenitoy-polyarnitsy/ |archive-date=25 May 2020 |location=Moscow |language=ru |trans-title=Demme in the Kandalaksha Reserve: Unknown Pages of the Biography of the Famous Polar Woman |date=3 December 2019 |url-status=live }}
{{cite magazine |ref={{harvid|Громов|1930}}|last1=Громов (Gromov) |first1=Борис (Boris) |title=Мы завоевываем Крайний Север |magazine=Смена |date=November 1930 |issue=172 |pages=13, 19 |url=http://smena-online.ru/sites/default/files/32_-_1930.pdf |access-date=26 May 2020 |trans-title=We Conquer the Far North |publisher=изд-во «Правда» |location=Moscow |language=ru |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171021014707/http://smena-online.ru/sites/default/files/32_-_1930.pdf |archive-date=21 October 2017 |issn=0131-6656}}
{{cite magazine |last1=Kafarowski |first1=Joanna |title=The Double Life of a California Socialite Who Became a Leading Arctic Explorer |url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/double-life-california-socialite-who-became-leading-arctic-explorer-180971499/ |magazine=Smithsonian Magazine |publisher=Smithsonian Institution |access-date=25 May 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200125163543/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/double-life-california-socialite-who-became-leading-arctic-explorer-180971499/ |archive-date=25 January 2020 |location=Washington, D.C. |date=14 February 2019 |issn=0037-7333}}
{{cite book |last=Kafarowski |first=Joanna |title=The Polar Adventures of a Rich American Dame: A Life of Louise Arner Boyd |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9Aq8DQAAQBAJ&pg=PA156 |date=2017 |publisher=Dundurn |location=Toronto, Ontario |isbn=978-1-4597-3971-0}}
{{cite web |ref={{harvid|Киприянов|2019}}|last1=Киприянов (Kipriyanov) |first1=Владимир (Vladimir) |title=Гагачье хозяйство в СССР |url=https://proza.ru/2019/09/10/1573 |website=Проза.ru |publisher=Union of Russian Writers |access-date=24 May 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200524165417/https://proza.ru/2019/09/10/1573 |archive-date=24 May 2020 |location=Moscow |language=ru |trans-title=Eider Economy in the USSR |date=10 September 2019}}
{{cite news |ref={{harvid|Николаева|2017a}} |last1=Николаева (Nikolaeva) |first1=Зинаида (Zinaida) |title=Арктическая повесть Нины Демме |url=http://www.rgo.ru/ru/article/arkticheskaya-povest-niny-demme |access-date=23 May 2020 |date=27 April 2017 |newspaper=Костромская народная газета |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190301135507/http://www.rgo.ru/ru/article/arkticheskaya-povest-niny-demme |archive-date=1 March 2019 |location=Kostroma, Russia |language=ru |trans-title=The Arctic Tale of Nina Demme |via=Russian Geographical Society}}
{{cite magazine |ref={{harvid|Муханов|1930}} |last1=Муханов (Mukhanov) |first1=Леонид (Leonid) |title=Первая Полярница |url=http://www.polarpost.ru/forum/download/file.php?id=16003&sid=726403dc4820b50112f6d95fb8012d29&mode=view |magazine=Работница |issue=42 |date=November 1930 |publisher=Communist Party of the Soviet Union |access-date=26 May 2020 |location=Moscow |language=ru |trans-title=The First Polar Woman |pages=[https://web.archive.org/web/20180705180216/http://www.polarpost.ru/forum/download/file.php?id=16003&sid=726403dc4820b50112f6d95fb8012d29&mode=view 12], [https://web.archive.org/web/20180705175832/http://www.polarpost.ru/forum/download/file.php?id=16004&mode=view 13]|issn=0131-8047}}
{{cite news |ref={{harvid|Николаева|2017b}} |last1=Николаева (Nikolaeva) |first1=Зинаида (Zinaida) |title=Арктическая повесть Нины Демме, Часть 2 |url=http://www.rgo.ru/ru/article/arkticheskaya-povest-niny-demme-chast-2 |access-date=24 May 2020 |date=25 May 2017 |newspaper=Костромская народная газета |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190301132820/http://www.rgo.ru/ru/article/arkticheskaya-povest-niny-demme-chast-2 |archive-date=1 March 2019 |location=Kostroma, Russia |language=ru |trans-title=The Arctic Tale of Nina Demme, Part 2 |via=Russian Geographical Society}}
{{cite news |last1=Pierre |first1=André |title=Miss Pôle Nord reine spirituelle de l'Arctique la seule femme des Terres du Nord |url=https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k76407842/f5.item |access-date=24 May 2020 |date=21 January 1935 |newspaper=Paris-Soir |location=Paris, France |page=5 |via=Gallica |language=fr |trans-title=Miss North Pole: Spiritual Queen of the Arctic the Only Woman from the Northern Lands}}
{{cite journal |ref={{harvid|Полтавская|2007}}|last1=Полтавская (Poltavskaya) |first1=Елена Игоревна (Elena Igorevna) |title='Григоров-вальс': к истории создания первой женской гимназии в России |journal=Школьная библиотека |date=2007 |issue=3 |pages=66–69 |url=http://library-21.narod.ru/articles/grigorov/grigorov.html |access-date=23 May 2020 |trans-title='Grigorov Waltz': The History of the Creation of the First Female Gymnasium in Russia |publisher=Detskaya Literatura |location=Moscow |language=ru |issn=1994-6465 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191022042227/http://library-21.narod.ru/articles/grigorov/grigorov.html |archive-date=22 October 2019}}
{{cite book |last=Posnett |first=Edward |title=Harvest: The Hidden Histories of Seven Natural Objects |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RMRuDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT26 |year=2019 |publisher=Viking Press |location=New York, New York |isbn=978-1-4735-2445-3}}
{{cite journal |ref={{harvid|Власова|2009}}|last1=Власова (Vlasova) |first1=Валентина (Valentina) |title=Из истории освоения Арктики: Полярный радист Евгений Гиршевич |journal=Архангельская старина |date=2009 |issue=1 |pages=[http://polarpost.ru/forum/download/file.php?id=25870&sid=fd36569f8f0b45abc9ce2336144b0297&mode=view 31], [http://polarpost.ru/forum/download/file.php?id=25871&sid=fd36569f8f0b45abc9ce2336144b0297&mode=view 32], [http://polarpost.ru/forum/download/file.php?id=25872&sid=fd36569f8f0b45abc9ce2336144b0297&mode=view 33], [http://polarpost.ru/forum/download/file.php?id=25873&sid=fd36569f8f0b45abc9ce2336144b0297&mode=view 34], [http://polarpost.ru/forum/download/file.php?id=25874&sid=fd36569f8f0b45abc9ce2336144b0297&mode=view 35], [http://polarpost.ru/forum/download/file.php?id=25875&sid=fd36569f8f0b45abc9ce2336144b0297&mode=view 36] |url=http://polarpost.ru/forum/download/file.php?id=25870&sid=fd36569f8f0b45abc9ce2336144b0297&mode=view |access-date=27 May 2020 |trans-title=From the History of Arctic Exploration: Polar Radio Operator Evgeny Girshevich |publisher=Новодвинка |location=Arkhangelsk |language=ru |issn=1815-7912}}
{{cite news |last1=Wiegand |first1=Charmion Von |title=Russia Takes the Lead in Arctic Exploration |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/51947887/pittsburgh-sun-telegraph/ |access-date=23 May 2020 |date=12 March 1933 |newspaper=Pittsburgh Sun-Telegraph |location=Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |page=4:2 |via=Newspapers.com}}
{{cite news|ref={{harvid|The Tipton Daily Tribune|1931}} |author= |title=All's Well |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/51943548/alls-well-30-january-1931-tipton/ |access-date=24 May 2020 |date=30 January 1931 |newspaper=The Tipton Daily Tribune |location=Tipton, Indiana |page=2 |via=Newspapers.com}}
{{cite news |ref={{harvid|Kostroma Today|2017}} |author= |title=Захоронение первой в мире женщины-полярницы нашли в Костроме |url=https://regnum.ru/news/society/2289064.html |access-date=24 May 2020 |agency=REGNUM News Agency |date=16 June 2017 |newspaper=Kostroma Today |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170616121541/https://regnum.ru/news/society/2289064.html |archive-date=16 June 2017 |location=Kostroma, Russia |language=ru |trans-title=Burial of the World's First Polar Woman Found in Kostroma}}
{{cite news |ref={{harvid|La Lutte Syndicale|1939}} |author= |title=Femmes d'aujourd'hui: Miss Pôle Nord |url=https://newspaperarchive.com/science-clipping-aug-26-1939-1773975/ |access-date=27 May 2020 |date=25 August 1939 |newspaper=La Lutte Syndicale |location=Bern, Switzerland |pages=3 |language=fr |trans-title=Women of Today: Miss North Pole |via=Newspaperarchive.com}}
{{cite news |ref={{harvid|The Intelligencer Journal|1931}} |author= |title=Interest in Message Shown by Soviets |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/51974906/intelligencer-journal/ |access-date=23 May 2020 |agency=United Press International |date=9 January 1931 |newspaper=Intelligencer Journal |location=Lancaster, Pennsylvania |page=10 |via=Newspapers.com}}
{{cite news|ref={{harvid|The Syracuse Herald|1931}} |author= |title=Party May Be Kept in Arctic Three Years |url=https://newspaperarchive.com/science-clipping-jan-08-1931-1773971/ |access-date=26 May 2020 |agency=United Press International |date=8 January 1931 |newspaper=The Syracuse Herald |location=Syracuse, New York |page=22 |via=Newspapers.com}}
{{cite news|ref={{harvid|The Los Angeles Times|1934}} |author= |title=Reds Save Ice-Trapped Scientists |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/51942052/the-los-angeles-times/ |access-date=24 May 2020 |date=2 September 1934 |newspaper=The Los Angeles Times |location=Los Angeles, California |page=2 |via=Newspapers.com}}
{{cite news|ref={{harvid|The Miami News|1933}} |author= |title=Russia's Woman Explorer |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/51943133/russias-woman-explorer-11-december/ |access-date=24 May 2020 |date=11 December 1933 |newspaper=The Miami News |location=Miami, Florida |page=6 |via=Newspapers.com}}
{{cite news|ref={{harvid|The Star Tribune|1932}} |author= |title=Soviet Woman Arctic Explorer |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/51942817/soviet-woman-arctic-explorer-9/ |access-date=23 May 2020 |agency=Associated Press |date=9 September 1932 |newspaper=The Star Tribune |location=Minneapolis, Minnesota |page=7 |via=Newspapers.com}}
{{cite journal |ref={{harvid|Soviet Union Review|1934}} |author= |title=Soviet Women |journal=Soviet Union Review |date=July 1934 |volume=XII |issue=7 |pages=146–148 |url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.l0079764031&view=1up&seq=21 |access-date=26 May 2020 |publisher=Soviet Union Information Bureau |location=Washington, D.C. |oclc=1766278}}
{{cite news|ref={{harvid|The Edmonton Journal|1933}} |author= |title=Woman Governs Island |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/51942431/woman-governs-island-6-april-1933/ |access-date=24 May 2020 |date=6 April 1933 |newspaper=The Edmonton Journal |location=Edmonton, Alberta |page=8 |via=Newspapers.com}}
{{cite news|ref={{harvid|The Sunday Mail|1932}} |author= |title=Woman Scientist in Arctic Wastes: Soviet Appointment |url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/97931572?searchTerm=Nina%20demme&searchLimits= |access-date=24 May 2020 |date=28 August 1932 |newspaper=The Sunday Mail |location=Brisbane, Queensland |page=22 |via=Trove}}