Sofia Ivanovna Blyuvshtein: aka Sonia the Golden Hand
A triumphant and charming woman, Sofia Blyuvshtein robbed men not only of their hearts but quite literally robbed them all. The media was charmed by Bluvshtein’s work and portrayed her as a Robin Hood. The media helped her gain immense popularity but ruined her undercover guise.
She was a con artist living in the Russian Empire. She planned and executed several robberies, including robbing a diamond jeweler and a banker. Around 1890, a famous book, “Sakhalin Island,” was written about Sofia. It was a book about the author Anton Chekov’s encounter with Sofia.