Prototype of the Countess from the Queen of Spades. Natalya Golitsyna. Since you are here...
F.N. Riess: Princess Tatyana Vasilievna Golitsyna, nee Vasilchikova (1781-1841), wife of D.V. Golitsyn. Portrait 1835
This portrait of a woman is one of best works painter Franz Nikolaevich Riess. 1835 Canvas, oil. Calm, peaceful lady. Decorations are kept to a minimum. The look is suffering and compassionate at the same time. There is an unhealthy blush on the cheeks.
Tatyana Vasilievna Golitsyna, nee Vasilchakova. She doesn't have long to live, six years.
Undesirable daughter-in-law
George Dow: Dmitry Vladimirovich Golitsyn. Portrait 1823-1825 Image from wikipedia.org
Her husband was a worthy man. 28 years old, a career officer, a representative of the ancient and noble Golitsyn family, Dmitry Vladimirovich was a wonderful couple in all respects. Stately, handsome, kind, educated. At one time, Dmitry Golitsyn graduated from the University of Strasbourg and the University of Paris military school. Traveled a lot around European countries. He took part in the Polish campaign of 1794, rose to the rank of general and was the chief of the cuirassier regiment of the Military Order. At the same time he was courteous and gentle.
Family happiness was overshadowed by one circumstance - the mother of the chosen one categorically did not accept her daughter-in-law. And this was a difficult woman - the thunderstorm of all Moscow, the famous old woman Natalya Petrovna Golitsyna, nee Chernysheva, better known by the nickname “Mustachioed Princess”, and more often in French - Princesse Moustache. Over the years, thick hair has indeed appeared above her upper lip.
A maid of honor at the court of four emperors, a cavalry lady of the Order of St. Catherine and a lady of state, capricious and loud, and also the illegitimate daughter of Peter the Great (this, of course, is rumored), old Golitsyna was the thunderstorm of Moscow.
It was from her that Pushkin copied one of his most colorful characters – the Countess from “The Queen of Spades”:
“She took part in all the vanities of the big world, dragged herself to balls, where she sat in the corner, flushed and dressed in ancient fashion, like an ugly and necessary decoration of the ballroom.”
According to Usachka (a shortened version of the nickname), the Vasilchakovs were not well-born enough for the Golitsyns. It meant everything to her. It doesn’t matter that Tatyana Vasilievna’s three brothers were generals who fought French troops, that their father was the Novgorod leader of the nobility, that the wedding itself took place at the royal court.
Having reluctantly given her consent to this marriage, Natalya Petrovna tried to completely forget that she had a daughter-in-law. Although this daughter-in-law lived with her husband very close, in the Rozhdestvenno estate near Moscow. Usachka herself allocated this estate to the young people. By Golitsyn standards, the estate is modest - only 100 serf souls. And the annual maintenance is 50 thousand rubles.
The emperor himself intervened and begged Natalya Petrovna to increase these payments. And she added another 50 thousand, albeit in banknotes.
Children, flowers, landscaping
M.-E. Duffield, Peonies, roses and hollyhocks. 1862 Image from kunstkopie.nl
Tatyana Vasilyevna was not in excellent health from childhood. Quiet, timid, sickly, she preferred cozy solitude to noisy games. According to the recollections of one of her contemporaries, “the princess was not a beauty even in her youth, but it is difficult to imagine a more pleasant and friendly face. She was short, thin and in rather poor health. The prince, on the contrary, was a prominent man, quite tall, with a majestic bearing, had beautiful facial features and lovely color, and at first glance one could recognize him as an affable, benevolent nobleman.”
Nevertheless, the couple were happy.
In Rozhdestvenna Golitsyna found herself. Children, flowers, arrangement of the estate - that’s what her life consisted of. The same memoirist reported: “The princess loved flowers and was very involved in the garden: greenhouses were built, and everything was on a small scale. The house was decorated very simply inside: birch furniture covered with teak everywhere; there is no gilding or silk anywhere, but many family portraits in the living room and a wonderful collection of engraved portraits of all the famous generals of 1812.”
Publicist Ilya Arsentiev stated: “Princess Tatyana Vasilievna... was in the full sense of the word a holy woman and idolized her worthy husband. Due to her illness, balls, receptions and dinners were not given often at the Governor General’s house.”
Wickers from Big Elms
Elizabethan Institute of Noble Maidens, formerly the Moscow House of Industriousness. 1910 Image from wikipedia.org
However, there was enough strength for charity. It was through her efforts that the House of Diligence (later the Elizabethan Institute of Noble Maidens) was established in Moscow. Poor girls, often orphans, were accepted here and released only at the age of twenty. During this time they received an excellent education and, of course, all these years they did not need anything.
Through the efforts of Tatyana Vasilievna, several more orphans and educational institutions, she not only donated money for all this - she herself took a living part in helping the disadvantaged.
While recovering her health in Switzerland, she met the basket weavers there. And, returning to Russia, she established this fishery on the Bolshie Vyazemy estate, which her husband inherited. The teachers were all from the same Switzerland; the material chosen was willow broom - a countless number of these trees grew on the banks of the Vyazemka River. We started with baskets, but over time we mastered the production of wicker furniture - armchairs, sofas, screens, tables, as well as suitcases, chests, children's swings, bags and so on.
This fishery in Vyazemy exists to this day. Not so long ago, Soviet guidebooks to the Moscow region reported: “Currently, a collective farm named after Kaganovich is located on the former landowners’ lands. Besides Agriculture In Vyazemy, twig weaving of various large and small products - baskets, furniture and others - is developed. This fishery was organized back in serfdom.”
The organizer of the fishery, of course, was not mentioned.
Tatyana Vasilievna did not forget her neighbors. This, by the way, is rare - usually active service to society distracts from participation in family affairs.
Bolshiye Vyazemy. The main house of the Golitsyn estate. Modern photo from wikipedia.org
In addition to her own four children, she raised two adopted children. These were nieces, illegitimate children of her husband's brother. Their origin was carefully hidden from Usachka - otherwise there would be trouble. And Tatyana Vasilievna volunteered to educate them and keep this secret.
But there was also a third adopted daughter - also a by-product of one of the many Golitsyns and his Turkish lover.
Tatyana Vasilyevna, by the way, had her own theory, quite curious: “When there are daughters and sons in a family, the upbringing of some usually interferes with the upbringing of others; I was especially happy about this; when the upbringing of my daughters ended and I gave them away in marriage, then the upbringing of my sons began, and I could exclusively take care of them.”
And over the years, it seemed, she was only being brightened up. Daria, aka Dolly Fedorovna Fikelmon, nee Tizenhausen, wrote about the princess when she was already approaching fifty: “Golitsyna is one of those women whom I could love. She has a charming charm in her gaze, smile, and words. She is no longer young, not very beautiful, but very interesting.”
“She has long lived for heaven”
View of the Golitsyn estate in Bolshie Vyazemy. Image from nataturka.ru
Meanwhile, the husband was making a career. Being on military service from the age of eighteen, he participated in all the Napoleonic wars and was distinguished everywhere as a brave and at the same time wise military leader. And in 1820 he was appointed to the post of Moscow military governor-general. He remained in it until 1844, until his death.
Under him, the fundamental reconstruction of the city was completed after the Napoleonic devastation, hospitals were opened - First Gradskaya, Novo-Ekaterininskaya, Glaznaya, the Alexander Institute began to operate, the Triumphal Gate was erected, and a boulevard was laid out on the Moskvoretskaya embankment of the Kremlin.
Dmitry Vladimirovich had less and less time for his family. My health began to deteriorate. In 1837 - the death of his beloved mother, who left behind only 16 thousand souls as serfs, and only seven years before she lived to see her centenary. And in 1841 - the death of his even more beloved wife.
“She had long lived for heaven and as if in heaven; there, there she will receive a reward for her earthly labors,” said the obituary published in Moskovitein.
She outlived Mustache by only four years.
Tatyana Vasilievna was buried in the necropolis of the Donskoy Monastery. On the day of the funeral, a ball in the Moscow Assembly of Nobility was canceled. A year later, the first children's hospital was opened in Moscow. It began to be built on the initiative of Dmitry Vladimirovich, who decided in this way to honor the memory of his departed wife. Thus, she made her husband a benefactor as well.
The house church at this hospital was consecrated in honor of the holy martyr Tatiana, the heavenly patron of Tatyana Vasilievna.
There was no strength to live. A year before his death, he went to France for treatment - and suddenly became disgraced. So much so that it was scary to think about at that time. Baron Modest Korf lamented: “At the end of his days, Golitsyn, unfortunately, lost himself a lot in the opinion of both Moscow and the entire public, through a love affair with one married woman, whom he even took with him abroad, going there for treatment, but who died during the very first stages of their journey back in Berlin. He was married to Prince Vasilchikov’s sister, one of the most virtuous women of her time, who went to her grave several years before him.”
Apparently, Dmitry Vladimirovich could not bear the shame - he defamed not only himself, but also the memory of two women - and all the advancing illnesses. His body was taken to the Mother See and buried in the same Donskoy Monastery. Despite the heavy rain, “the entire Moscow population” followed the coffin from Tverskaya to the cemetery, according to one of his contemporaries.
Another page in the history of Moscow charity was turned.
Remember, from Pushkin in “The Queen of Spades”: “The Countess... was capricious, like a woman spoiled by the world, stingy and immersed in cold selfishness, like all old people who had fallen out of love in their age and were alien to the present. She participated in all the vanities big world, dragged to balls, where she sat in the corner, made up and dressed in the old fashion, like an ugly and necessary decoration of the ballroom ... "
It is known that the prototype of the old countess was Princess Natalya Petrovna Golitsyna. Alexander Sergeevich writes in his diary on April 7, 1834: “My Queen of Spades is in great fashion. Players punt on three, seven and ace. At court they found a similarity between the old countess and the prince. N<атальей>P<етровной>and they don’t seem to be angry.”
Natalya Petrovna Golitsyna (1741 - 1837) was an extraordinary, colorful personality. Born Countess Chernysheva. Daughter of Pyotr Grigorievich Chernyshev, senator, prominent diplomat. In 1766, she married the dull handsome Prince Vladimir Borisovich Golitsyn, in whom she respected only his birth. Natalya Petrovna herself was “a skinny person.” Her grandfather Grigory Petrovich Chernyshev served as an orderly for Peter I, and was elevated by him. Empress Elizaveta Petrovna elevated the former orderly to the dignity of count. Nevertheless, Vladimir Borisovich revered his wife, “he was afraid like fire.” Their children, being already adults, awarded high ranks and ranks, they did not even dare to sit down in her presence. Poets were also timid in front of her. Vasily Lvovich Pushkin, uncle of Alexander Sergeevich, dedicated the following lines to Princess Golitsyna:
You commanded our destinies!
We are all yours, we live by you...
Smart, widely educated, Natalya Petrovna also had business acumen and great fortune. Occupying a brilliant position at court, she outlived five Russian tsars, became acquainted with Louis XV and Louis XVI, and was friends with Marie Antoinette. English king George II, as a sign of admiration, gave Natalya Petrovna his watercolor portrait with a kind inscription. Cavalier of the highest Russian orders, keeper of ancient ceremonies and traditions, Natalya Petrovna enjoyed unquestioned authority in court circles until the end of her long life. The girls who began to go out into the world had to be introduced first of all to her, Princess Golitsyna. Young officers who received their first rank, according to an unwritten rule, came to her as if to Supreme Commander. On name days, the old princess was visited by everyone royal family which she took while sitting in a chair. She stood only in front of the emperor.
Natalya Petrovna Golitsyna died in the year of Pushkin’s death, having outlived him by several months.
Pushkin met Natalya Petrovna in 1830, but was favorably noticed by her much earlier. On March 18, 1823, she asked Vyazemsky: “What can you say about “Prisoner of the Caucasus”? It seems to me that he is very good...” And Alexander Sergeevich was brought into Golitsyna’s house, most likely by her grandson, a close acquaintance of the poet Sergei Grigorievich Golitsyn ( "Firs"). It was he who told Pushkin the story of “three lucky cards,” which he allegedly heard from Natalya Petrovna and which Pushkin put into Tomsky’s mouth.
Pushkin forever captured Natalya Petrovna Golitsyna in the image of a powerful, despotic old woman. This is the only way it appears to us now. But she was also young... Let's take a closer look at the few images of her from that time.
One of them is found in the portrait of the family of Count P.G. Chernyshev by the Englishman Luders, completed in 1744 - 1745. The Count was then Russia's envoy to England. His youngest daughter here resembles a cute doll.
Court painter French king, member of the Paris Academy of Arts F. Drouet (1727 - 1775) painted Natalya Petrovna in 1762. Under his brush she emerged as a “lovely marquise.” Most likely, this portrait was paired with a portrait of her sister, D.P. Chernysheva, now in the State Museum fine arts named after A.S. Pushkin. Miniaturist Sido captured the girlish profile of Natalya Petrovna. We see her, young, in an engraving by the Englishman Williams Peter.
We can judge that Natalya Petrovna was very beautiful by the personal gold medal that twenty-five-year-old Countess Natalya Chernysheva received in 1766 at the “carousel” - a magnificent celebration at the court of Catherine II. She received this award for her beauty and “most pleasant agility” in dancing. Specially made for this occasion in a single copy gold medal, on which the name of the winner of the “beauty contest” was minted, was presented by a recognized connoisseur, the elderly Count Minich. On the front side there is a relief portrait of Catherine II, on the back there is a genre painting: Neva, a soaring eagle... The diameter of the medal is 43 millimeters, weight is 51 grams. This is the work of the outstanding master Timofey Ivanov (1729 - 1802), the author of many medals and memorial signs dedicated to the most important historical events of the times of Peter I and Catherine II.
After the death of Natalya Petrovna, the medal passed to her daughter, Sofya Vladimirovna, in her marriage to Stroganova, and then ended up in the famous numismatic collection of Count S.G. Stroganov. Now kept in the State Hermitage.
The mature beauty of Natalya Petrovna is captured in a portrait located in the Arkhangelsk Art Museum. Here she is in her early thirties. She is filled with the joy of being. You wouldn't think that this is the future Queen of Spades.
The history of the attribution of the portrait is very complicated. It came to the museum in the 1970s from an antique store: an unknown woman holding a child. The author is also unknown. The attribution was handled by the deputy director of the museum, E.I. Ruzhnikova. Working in libraries and archives, looking through reference books, albums and catalogs did not give any tangible results. Chance helped. In one of the halls of the Hermitage, Ruzhnikova drew attention to the portrait of E.P. Stroganova, again painted by an unknown artist, but in manner, composition and color scheme very similar to the Arkhangelsk one. Both portraits were clearly painted by the same artist. But by whom?
In an old album, Ruzhnikova found a reproduction of the portrait of A.S. Stroganov, the husband of E.P. Stroganova, paired with her portrait. It was performed by the Swede A. Roslin (1718 - 1793), who worked in Russia for a long time. Who did he depict on the Arkhangelsk canvas?
The search took on a purposeful “Roslyn” character and was ultimately crowned with success. One of the reference books indicated that it was at that time that the artist painted... Natalya Petrovna Golitsyna. And more than once. The second time a little later, in 1775 - 1777: a paired portrait with her husband Vladimir Borisovich Golitsyn. Natalya Petrovna was 37 years old, and Vladimir Borisovich was 47.
From here it is clear that Pushkin knew Golitsyna not only as an old woman - after all, he saw these portraits that he mentions in his story. Remember, when Hermann found himself in the bedroom of the old countess, he was struck by “two portraits painted in Paris by Mme Lebrun. One of them depicted a man of about forty, ruddy and plump, in a light green uniform and with a star; the other depicted a young a beauty with an aquiline nose, combed temples and a rose in her powdered hair." One of them depicted Natalya Petrovna Golitsyna. Only the portrait was performed not by E. Vigée-Lebrun, but by A. Roslin. Alexander Sergeevich “confused” the artists, clearly for tactical reasons.
At the beginning of our century, these paintings were in the family estate of the Golitsyns, Maryino, Novgorod province. After 1917 they disappeared. Today we only have reproductions.
The portrait of N.P. Golitsyna from 1790 by the outstanding Russian artist F.S. Rokotov (1735 - 1808) was also not easily attributed. For more than a hundred years, the canvas remained in complete oblivion in the Apraksins' estate, Olgovo, near Moscow, near the city of Dmitrov. It was first shown in 1912 at an exhibition of Russian portraits in St. Petersburg. There was no author's signature. The signature on the back said that it was P.I. Myatleva.
In the early twenties, I.E. Grabar established that the portrait was created by Rokotov and even presented it at an exhibition of works by this painter. Later, art critic I.A. Smirnov suggested: the portrait depicts not P.I. Myatleva, but D.P. Saltykova, the wife of Field Marshal P.S. Saltykov and the sister of N.P. Golitsyna. Only in the fifties did O.Ya. Kochik, after painstaking restoration and careful study, prove that N.P. Golitsyna posed for Rokotov. Here she is over fifty. An intelligent and strong-willed woman looks at us sharply and intensely - not yet the Queen of Spades, but already the same Golitsyn to whom S.G. Golitsyn introduced Pushkin.
The most characteristic is the portrait of Natalya Petrovna, painted in the early 1800s by the French artist B.S. Mituar (year of birth unknown, died after 1830). He, like A. Roslin, lived in Russia for a long time and was elected a member of the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts. There are several versions of the portrait and its copies. The original is most likely kept in the All-Russian Museum of A.S. Pushkin in St. Petersburg. Two portraits of N.P. Golitsyn by Mituar are in the State Pushkin Museum in Moscow. Finally, a miniature executed by Mituar based on his own pictorial original is exhibited in the Dmitrov Museum of Local Lore.
Mituar's Natalya Petrovna is a stern, domineering old woman with cold, piercing eyes and an aquiline nose. There is no longer a shadow of the former friendliness, openness, or goodwill in his face. The artist flattered Golitsyna, “missed” one feature of her appearance that appeared in last years life: Natalya Petrovna began to grow... a mustache! She was even nicknamed “the mustache princess.” By the way, Pushkin, when describing the old countess, also says nothing about a mustache...
Nevertheless, it is the portraits of Natalya Petrovna Golitsyna by Mituar that most go back to Pushkin’s “Queen of Spades” and give a visible idea of her.
Princess Natalya Petrovna Golitsyna, born Chernysheva(January 17 or, Berlin, Germany - December 20, St. Petersburg) - maid of honor “at the court of five emperors”; State lady and cavalry lady of the Order of St. Catherine (in 1801 - 2nd degree, in 1826 - 1st degree), was known in society as “Princesse Moustache” (“Mustachioed Princess”) (from the French. mustache- mustache) or “Fée Moustachine” (“Mustachioed Fairy”). The prototype of the main character of A. S. Pushkin’s story “The Queen of Spades”.
Biography
Origin
Daughter of diplomat and senator Count Pyotr Grigorievich Chernyshev from his marriage to Ekaterina Andreevna Ushakova. She came from a family of so-called new people who appeared at the beginning of the 18th century surrounded by Peter the Great.
Her grandfather on the male line was the orderly of Peter I, a representative of a poor and unnoble noble family, Grigory Petrovich Chernyshev. The rapid rise of the imperial orderly's career began when Peter I married him to a 17-year-old beauty, dowryless Evdokia Rzhevskaya, giving her a dowry of 4,000 souls. And then he gave money and villages to the sons born from this marriage.
There was a rumor in secular circles that Natalya Petrovna was the emperor’s own granddaughter. Empress Elizaveta Petrovna, like her father, showered the Chernyshevs with special favors, granted them profitable estates, count titles, and soon the Chernyshevs became one of the richest families in Russia. On her mother's side, Natalya Petrovna was the granddaughter of Count A.I. Ushakov, famous for his cruelty, the head of the search office.
Youth
Her father, Count Chernyshev, was recalled from Berlin and appointed envoy to London in 1746. So we can say with confidence that Natalya Petrovna was born in 1744.
She spent her childhood in England. Her mother took advantage of her long stay abroad and gave her daughters an excellent European education. They were fluent in four languages, but did not know Russian well.
Having become a princess, Natalya Petrovna was not constantly at the Court and was there only occasionally, when the highest commands were announced or when she received the highest invitation. Natalya Petrovna lived for a long time on the estates of her father and husband, raising and educating her children. Energetic, with a strong masculine character, she took control of her husband’s household into her own hands and soon not only put it in order, but also significantly increased it.
Life in St. Petersburg
The princess turned her house into a high society salon for the French emigration. F. F. Vigel wrote:
Golitsyna with her son Peter, 1767
Natalya Petrovna was literally the model of a court lady. She was showered with honors. At the coronation of Alexander I, she was awarded the Cross of St. Catherine, 2nd degree. At her ball on February 13, 1804, the entire imperial family was present. In 1806 she was already a lady of state. Initially, the sign of the lady of state was received by her daughter, Countess Stroganova, who returned it with a request to grant it to her mother. At the coronation of Nicholas I, she was awarded the Order of St. Catherine, 1st degree. The attentiveness of the authorities to Natalya Petrovna was amazing: when she began to see poorly, enlarged solitaire cards were made especially for her; at her request, court singers could be sent to Golitsyn’s estate in Gorodnya. According to the memoirs of Feofil Tolstoy, music critic and composer:
| On certain days the whole city went to worship her, and on her name day the entire royal family honored her with a visit. The princess received everyone, with the exception of the Emperor, sitting and not moving from her place. One of her close relatives stood near her chair and called the guests, since the princess had been seeing poorly lately. Depending on the rank and nobility of the guest, the princess either bowed her head or uttered a few more or less friendly words. And all the visitors were apparently very pleased. But they will not think that Princess Golitsyna was attracted to her by the luxury of the premises or the splendor of the treats. Not at all! Her house in St. Petersburg was not particularly luxurious; the only decoration of the front living room were damask curtains, and even then they were quite faded. There was no dinner, no temporary buffets set with rich wines and sets, and from time to time orchards, lemonade and simple sweets were served. |
IN highest degree wayward, Golitsyna was arrogant with her equals in position and friendly with those whom she considered inferior to herself. Another contemporary of the princess, V. A. Sollogub, recalled:
| Almost all the nobility were related to her by blood or marriage. The emperors expressed almost filial love to her. In the city she ruled with some kind of unconditional power recognized by all. After being introduced to the court, each young girl was taken to pay her respects; the guards officer, who had just put on his epaulettes, appeared to her as to the commander-in-chief. |
Along with her successes at court, Natalya Petrovna was zealously involved in housekeeping. She then introduced a new crop - potatoes - to her estates, expanded and equipped the factories owned by the Golitsyns with new equipment. In 1824, Princess Golitsyna became an honorary member of the Scientific and Economic Society.
Family
Princess Natalia Golitsyna
Artist Mituar, 1810s
All contemporaries unanimously noted the steep, arrogant disposition of the princess, her character, devoid of any feminine weaknesses, and her severity towards loved ones. The whole family was in awe of the princess; she was very strict with the children even when they themselves had long outlived their youth, and until the end of their lives she called them by their diminutive names.
Managing all the estates herself, Natalya Petrovna gave her daughters 2 thousand souls as a dowry, and gave her son Dmitry only the Rozhdestveno estate of 100 souls and an annual allowance of 50 thousand rubles, so he was forced to incur debts, and only at the request of Emperor Nicholas I she added another 50 thousand rubles in banknotes, thinking that she was generously rewarding him. Only after the death of his mother, having lived his whole life, having almost nothing, seven years before his death, Prince Dmitry Vladimirovich became the owner of his 16 thousand souls.
Once angry with her eldest son Boris Vladimirovich, Golitsyna had absolutely no contact with him for about a year and did not answer his letters. Prince Boris never married, but died, leaving orphans two illegitimate daughters from a gypsy woman who bore the surname Zelensky. They were brought up in the family of Dmitry Golitsyn, and their existence was hidden from Natalya Petrovna.
...Yesterday was the birth of old woman Golitsyna. I went in the morning to congratulate her and found the whole city there. Empress Elizaveta Alekseevna also came. In the evening the whole city was there again, although no one was invited. Yesterday, it seems, she turned 79 years old, and I admired her appetite and vigor... There is no happier mother than the old woman Golitsyna; you need to see how the children look after her, and the children already have grandchildren.
Here's P's chronicle.<етер>Burgskaya: yesterday we celebrated the centenary of Princess Nat.<альи>Peter.<овны>, there was no dancing, but the convention was quite crowded. Several generations crowded around the great-great-grandmother; homegrown roses twined around a century-old oak tree<…>The Emperor sent the princess two magnificent vases.
Princess Golitsyna was very rich. After her death, there were 16 thousand serf souls, many villages, houses, estates throughout Russia. Only N.P. Golitsyna, the only one, could afford to hire 16 horses to travel from Moscow to St. Petersburg. The most that the richest travelers allowed themselves was 6 horses for the same journey
MEMORIES OF PRINCESS NATALIA PETROVNA GOLITSYNA
1744-1783
“Notes on the events of my life. N: K nya Galitsyn”
Princess Natalya Petrovna Golitsyna was born on January 17, 1744 and died on December 20, 1837 according to the old style; she belonged to the highest aristocracy Russian society XVIII-XIX centuries The youngest daughter in the family of Count Pyotr Grigoryevich Chernyshev and his wife Ekaterina Andreevna, Natalya Petrovna spent her childhood and youth in European countries and received an education there, good for her time and rare for women during the reign of Empress Elizabeth Petrovna.
After returning with her parents from abroad, she became a maid of honor at the court of the young Empress Catherine II. Perhaps the main advantage of maids of honor was the opportunity, when getting married, to make a brilliant match. Natalya Petrovna was no exception to these rules; in 1766 she married Prince Vladimir Borisovich, a wealthy landowner who belonged to the famous and ancient princely family of Princes Golitsyn, but not of high rank: as they said in the world, she became just a “foreman” , i.e. the wife of a foreman, who also retired shortly after his marriage. Upon her marriage, Princess Golitsyna was probably expelled from the Court, but retained the right to be presented to the Empress and to be invited to balls and other court ceremonies and holidays with her husband, regardless of his military rank.
During the reign of Alexander I and Nicholas I, Princess Golitsyna was awarded all the highest awards of Russia intended for women: the Order of St. Catherine, 2nd degree in 1801, a double portrait of Empresses Maria Feodorovna and Elizaveta Alekseevna, decorated with diamonds, to be worn on the chest on the blue ribbon of the Order of St. Andrew the First-Called in 1806, the Order of St. Catherine, 1st degree - in 1826; in 1807 she became a lady of state at the Small Court of Grand Duchess Catherine Pavlovna (sister of Emperor Alexander I), a lady of state at the court of both empresses in 1808 and then at the court of Empress Alexandra Feodorovna (wife of Emperor Nicholas I).
The archives preserve the original rescript of the Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna, sent from Moscow on August 22, 1826, which stated: “Princess Natalya Petrovna! As proof of OUR excellent goodwill towards you, WE, with the consent of the Emperor, OUR most dear son, accepted you as one of the Dames of the Grand Cross of the Order of the Holy Great Martyr Catherine, whose signs we present here so that you may place them on yourselves. We remain in your favor in other respects. Maria." A rescript for the Order of St. Catherine, 2nd degree, was not found in the archives, however, in a letter to Natalya Petrovna from the Chapter of Russian Imperial and Tsarist Orders, the circumstances and details of awarding the princess this award are specified: “Gracious Empress Princess Natalya Petrovna! Regarding the Most Gracious award of you on the 15th day of last September as a Knight of the Order of St. Catherine of the Lesser Cross... I read one printed copy of the report of the Most High, confirmed on the 27th day of October 1797, according to which Your Excellency is obliged to deliver 200 rubles to the chapter at a time. November 14th day 1801.” .
In the archive fund “Vyazemy” OR RSL there is an extract on French, which was made by the princess’s son Dmitry Vladimirovich Golitsyn from the book “Biographie universelle, ancienne et modeme”, published in Paris in 1838. In it, among information about the origins of the family of princes Golitsyn, an entire page is devoted to Natalya Petrovna: “Princess Natalya Galitsina lived 97 years. She was known among the top of the European aristocracy under the name Princess Voldemar[underlined in document. — T. P.] Despite the fact that no phenomenon of great significance touched her existence, the life she lived still deserves attention, first of all, because of its duration, and then, as one of the last examples of a way of life that was both patriarchal and aristocratic, which is no longer an integral part of present-day morals. Having lived in France with Count Chernyshev, her father, Catherine II's ambassador at the court of Louis XV, and then visited England and Germany, she achieved for herself in St. Petersburg the position of the most noble and most brilliant. Surrounded by two generations of heirs, who were all at the highest level of the social ladder, Princess Voldemar remained until last day a measure of a respectable society in St. Petersburg. She is almost comparable to what the wife of Marshal de Luxembourg was in France, if the purity of her reputation had not served the princess as a shelter from her parallel, and if the [Russian] sovereigns themselves had not added to her glory by lavishing favors on her and tenderness, one might say, almost filial. On her name day, Emperor Alexander, the Empress Mother, the Grand Dukes and their wives visited Princess Waldemar and added their congratulations to those expressed by members of her family. Becoming emperor Grand Duke Nicholas strictly observed this tradition. Princess Waldemar died at the age of 97, a few days after the fire in the imperial palace, the first stone of which was laid in the year of her birth. Almost the entire Russian aristocracy was related to her by family or marriage. The funeral service for her, led by her son, General-in-Chief Prince D[mitry] Volodimirovich[em] Golitsyn, the governor of Moscow, was attended by the emperor, prominent dignitaries and the diplomatic corps. The princess was the empress’s lady of state.”
What epithets were not awarded to the princess in Russia by her contemporaries. Field Marshal Count B.-H. von Minich called her “the brilliant Countess” and “the lovely Countess, who fills me with respect.” Golitsyna’s Parisian friend Countess de Segur spoke of her as a lady “whom she fell in love with for the rest of her life and next to whom she would like to live without being separated.” The children of N.P. Golitsyna addressed her in their letters with the words “tender mother.” For Prince A.M. Beloselsky-Belozersky, she was a “loving Cousin,” “dearest and most pleasant cousin.” K. Ya. Bulgakov perceived the princess as a “good old lady.”
Through the centuries, Princess Golitsyna has been followed by a trail of legends, stories and gossip. The extraordinary personality of Natalya Petrovna, the events of her long life attracted the attention and aroused the respect of many contemporaries and descendants, among the first were members of the Romanov family, representatives of the Russian and foreign nobility of the 18th-19th centuries. Thus, Emperor Nicholas I in 1837 granted the princess’s son, Moscow Governor-General Prince D.V. Golitsyn, his “portrait” decorated with diamonds, which was worn on the chest on the ribbon of the Order of St. Andrew the First-Called. The Emperor reported on December 4, 1837 to Minister of War A.I. Chernyshev: “We have received news that Princess Natalya Petrovna Golitsyna is dying; paralysis has robbed her of the movement of one arm, and she urgently wants to see her son again. Prince Dmitry Vladimirovich is traveling today. Meanwhile, my intention was, to commemorate my gratitude to him for his long-term service in such an important place, to present him with my portrait on December 6; order to prepare a rescript about this and demand a portrait from Prince Volkonsky, and when both can be delivered to him before his departure; but with a note: December 6.” Everything in this document is unusual, the sovereign’s orders violated existing practice, giving Golitsyn’s award the features of an exception to the rule: the award on the name day of Nicholas I (December 6) expressed the special favor of the emperor, the discrepancy between the actual award (December 4) and the date in the rescript (December 6 ) demonstrated the sovereign’s haste. The circumstances surrounding D.V. Golitsyn’s award seem unique, and in the award documents Imperial Russia To date, there are no other examples of the expression of such attention and care of the reigning person for the mother in connection with the awarding of her son. It should also be noted that granted portraits were issued only at the personal discretion of the emperor from His Cabinet Imperial Majesty, and not from the Chapter of the Russian Imperial and Tsarist Orders, like all orders. Their status in the Russian award system, production and other issues have not been sufficiently studied. But, according to experts, they were highest award Russian Empire, complained to prominent dignitaries and statesmen who had all Russian orders, including the diamond insignia of the Order of St. Andrew the First-Called. They are very rare. During the reign of Emperor Nicholas I (1825-1855), about 20 portraits were issued. They were awarded, for example, to the Chairman of the State Council Count V.P. Kochubey, the Minister of the Imperial Court Prince P.M. Volkonsky, Field Marshal General Count I.F. Paskevich-Erivansky, the Minister of War Count A.I. Chernyshev and others.
It is traditionally believed that in the person of the old countess in the story “The Queen of Spades” A.S. Pushkin portrayed Princess Natalya Petrovna Golitsyna. He wrote: “My Queen of Spades is in great fashion... At court they found similarities between the old Countess and Princess N[atalya] P[etrovna] and, it seems, they are not angry...”.
So far it has not been possible to discover archival sources, be it correspondence, memoirs or diary entries that A.S. Pushkin visited the house of Princess Golitsyna, listened to “legends of deep antiquity” from her, as was the case with his wife’s aunt, as well as a peer and a contemporary of Princess Natalya Petrovna, Natalya Kirillovna Zagryazhskaya.
However, searches in the archives made it possible to find out that some people from the poet’s inner circle were relatives of the princess. Zinaida Aleksandrovna Volkonskaya (1792-1862), poetess, singer, was the hostess of a literary salon in Moscow. In 1824-1829. in her house in Kozitsky Lane she “...hosted a select society. She had evenings attended by Pushkin, Prince Vyazemsky, Davydov, Venevitinov, A.N. Muravyov, Prince. V. F. Odoevsky...” . A. S. Pushkin wrote that in the house of V. F. Karamzina he met with Sofia Fedorovna Timiryazeva, her husband Lieutenant General I. S. Timiryazev was on friendly terms with P. A. Vyazemsky, a friend of the poet. The poet visited Prince S. M. Golitsyn (1774-1859) in Moscow on Volkhonka at balls in the spring of 1830 and even intended to marry N. N. Goncharova in the prince’s home church in 1832. With the prince’s wife, E. I. Golitsyna, the poet met after graduating from the Lyceum in 1817, and until 1825 her name does not leave the pages of Pushkin’s correspondence with friends.
The ease and even some ordinariness of the poet’s diary entries when mentioning the princess’s name in his diaries may have come from his acquaintance and friendly relations with Natalya Petrovna’s close relatives. For example, Princess Z. A. Volkonskaya, nee Princess Beloselskaya-Belozerskaya. She was the cousin of N.P. Golitsyna; their correspondence has been preserved, according to which Princess Golitsyna took part in the fate of her niece. The same family relations connected Sofya Fedorovna Timiryazeva with Pushkin’s “The Queen of Spades”. Finally, the husband of the notorious Princess Evdokia Ivanovna, Prince Sergei Mikhailovich Golitsyn, although not closely related to Natalya Petrovna, knew well and visited her house.
Pushkin’s “Queen of Spades” “...about sixty years ago, she went to Paris and was in great fashion there,” and Princess Golitsyna was also in France, but, unlike the heroine of A.S. Pushkin’s story, twice. The first time was in 1762 with her parents, the second time she came there in 1783 with her husband and two daughters; She arrived in France through Strasbourg, where her sons were studying. Golitsyna stayed in France for more than six years, during this time she made many new high-society acquaintances, and was brought closer to the court of King Louis XVI and his wife Queen Marie Antoinette.
The princess spoke about what she experienced and saw in her memoirs.
She called the early ones in chronology “Various small Notes and anecdotes from the time of the Birth of Princess Natalya Galitsina, née Countess Chernysheva” (hereinafter in the text we will call “Notes...”).
Researchers and specialists knew about the existence of the memoirs of Princess N.P. Golitsyna, but they were never translated or published. The famous historian Andrei Grigorievich Tartakovsky in one of his books ranked “Notes...” of Princess Golitsyna, among two or three other similar works by Natalya Petrovna’s contemporaries, as the first examples of the memoir genre in Russian literature of the 18th century, which was emerging at that time in Russia.
Published materials are stored in the OR of the RSL. They once formed part of the large family archive of the Golitsyn princes, located in the Bolshie Vyazemy estate. This archival document, handwritten in ink by Princess Natalya Petrovna Golitsyna in French, is in good condition. There are small inclusions of words in Russian. The handwriting is smooth and easy to read. The pages of the manuscript are sewn and bound into a book with a dark red cover, on which there is a clear inscription in French, made in gold embossing: “Notes on the events of my life. N: Knya Galitsyna.” On the second page at the top of the sheet there is a subtitle, also handwritten in French in ink: “Small notes and anecdotes recorded from the Birth of Princess Natalia Galitsyna, née Countess Chernysheva.” The recording of memories begins on the back of the second page. The numbering of the manuscript is page by page, made in the upper right corner at a later time in pencil by archivists. All dates (year, month and less often date) are indicated by Natalya Petrovna in the text of the manuscript, at the beginning or middle of paragraphs. The manuscript contains two notes in the margins of sheets No. 3 and 34, marked with an “x” and written in the same handwriting by the princess herself, supplementing some paragraphs of the text. There is one mistake or typo of the princess in the manuscript - on fol. 31 volume: Natalya Petrovna wrote the date February 30, instead of February 3, which is restored from the sequence of events described.
The memoirs themselves, written by the princess in French, include 42 leaves with turns; the remaining 31 sheets of the archival document are not memoirs, but represent materials written by an unknown clerk and report on the uprising of E. Pugachev. They contain the decrees of Catherine II and lists of victims of this uprising. They are preceded by the princess’s entry in French: “Without in any way mentioning in the course of my diary the rebellion raised in 1774 within the country by a certain Cossack named Pugachef . who called himself Peter the third, and since this event is very well known everywhere, I do not go into the description of any details of it; however, I believe that it is not at all uninteresting to know all the manifestos that appeared on this event, as well as the list of persons who turned out to be victims of this robber, and a notebook of which I am enclosing to this in order to remind you of this unfortunate event.”
“Notes...” presents approximately the first 39 years of the princess’s life (the date of her birth, in various sources, is presented with a difference of 2 to 5 years: 1739, 1741 and 1744). If you follow Natalya Petrovna’s notes, then, having been born in Berlin, at the age of two she moved with her parents to London, where she remained until she was 8 years old. After this, in the period from 1752-1762, i.e. Until she was 18, she lived in Russia, where her father was recalled. Then, at the end of the reign of Empress Elizabeth Petrovna in 1762, she and her parents left for France, where they spent two years.
Of the 39 years of the princess’s life described in the memoirs, 22 years occurred before her marriage in 1766. Less than 10 pages are devoted to this period in the memoirs. The next 17 years of her life in Russia (until 1783), i.e. before the departure of her sons to study in Strasbourg, the remaining large part of the “Notes...” is devoted. The form of diary entries is not followed anywhere in the manuscript. By literary genre“Notes...” are not diary entries, when what happens is recorded every day, but memories; the year of their creation is not indicated by the author. According to some of Natalya Petrovna’s phrases, for example, “This is the most beautiful family I have seen in my life” - l. 3 rev; “... I believe that even what I remember will not be difficult to write down with this” - l. 38, it can be assumed that she created her work after the events, in the early 70-80s of the 18th century.
“Notes...” captures the events that took place in Russia and beyond its borders during the reign of two Russian empresses - Elizabeth Petrovna and Catherine II, a short period of reign Peter III not mentioned at all. At the beginning of the story (the period before marriage), Natalya Petrovna’s memories are not so great in terms of volume and eventfulness. For example, for the period from his birth until his final return with his parents to Russia in 1764, i.e. for 20 years, moves from one capital of a European state to another, the deaths of the princess’s brothers and sisters are noted, occupying 3 sheets. Actually, she began to write down her memories, according to the contents of the manuscript, when she lived in Russia, shortly before 1762, and this period in “Notes...” is allocated a little more than 20 lines (fol. 3, 3 vol.).
The princess's memories seem fragmentary; by her own admission, she wrote down only what was interesting to her. For 1782, the largest number of entries was made - 11, and for 1770 - only one entry for May, associated with the birth of the princess's eldest daughter. In other years, the number of entries by month varies from two to ten, and in general the distribution of entries by year and month is as follows: in 1767 - January, August; in 1768 - November; in 1769 - January, May, September; in 1770 - May; in 1771 - June, July, August, September, October; in 1772 - May, November; in 1773 - May, June, August, September; in 1774 - July, December; in 1775 - May, July, October, November, December; in 1776 - January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, November, December; in 1777 - June, July, September, December; in 1778 - January, April, May, June, July, September, October, November; in 1779 - March, April, June, September, November; in 1780 - January, February, March, May, July, October, December; in 1781 - March, May, July, August, September; 1782 - January, February, April, May, June, July, August, September, December; in 1783 - January, March.
Not all records are equivalent in their completeness, saturation with vivid images and comparisons, the presence of reasoning and conclusions of the princess in connection with a particular episode. There are moments of moral and psychological assessment of events in “Notes...”, but in small quantities, for example, when describing a folk festival in St. Petersburg, which was organized by a certain tax farmer Loginov with his own money, when describing the 2nd issue of “Smolyanka”, when describing fire and flood in St. Petersburg, the visit of the head of the papal throne to Vienna, etc.
Golitsyna’s notes and memories allow us, on the one hand, to look into inner world princess and expand our information about her and her family members, and on the other hand, see the ordinary and official life of Russia and Europe through her eyes. They are very subjective in nature, which seems quite natural: the author’s intention was to capture events own life, family life, immediate relatives and address your work to posterity. The narration is always told on behalf of Natalya Petrovna, and extra-family events are linked and interspersed with purely personal ones.
The geography of her “Notes...” is very extensive, from European capitals to small towns in Russia: Bykhov, Karachev and others associated with the estates of the princess, her husband, his cousins and his brother, Natalya Petrovna’s father and the husband of the princess’s sister in Orlovskaya, Kaluga , Moscow provinces, the vicinity of St. Petersburg with imperial residences (Tsarskoe Selo, Krasnoe Selo, Peterhof, Oranienbaum) and the dacha of the princess’s mother on the Peterhof road. Going beyond the center of the empire, it spreads to Courland with the cities of Narva and Revel, beyond Russia to the territory of the Kingdom of Poland (Lithuania) to the cities of Vilna and Shklov, as well as to Vienna, Warsaw and Paris.
“Notes...” describes Russian reality at the end of the 18th century, in its various aspects: life, traditions, customs and ceremonies at the Russian imperial court, folk festivities on occasion of celebrations in imperial family, historical events, the establishment of Russian orders, the formation of Russian statehood, epidemics, fires, floods that claimed many lives, the construction of cities and villages, the construction and opening of monuments, visits to Russia by high-ranking guests, travel, including the empress and members of her family. The princesses did not go unnoticed by the realities of provincial life through the eyes of their participant or eyewitness, which, in fact, is why “Notes...” are valuable as a primary source, because, in addition to emotional, instructive and other characteristics, they contain a cognitive component. On the one hand, the Confederate rebellion in Poland in the 60s of the 18th century, the first Russian-Turkish war and the conclusion of peace, the process of formation of provinces in Russia during the reign of Catherine II are already known to researchers from existing publications and do not contain anything fundamentally new. At the same time, their description by Princess Golitsyna demonstrates the assessment of these phenomena by a representative of a certain social group, conveys the emotional shades of not a generalized and averaged, but a personal perception of these events, and by an extraordinary person.
As a witness of her contemporary era, as a person who had access to the imperial court, Natalya Petrovna paid due attention to court festivities, solemn court ceremonies and presented them with more or less detail.
The first of the court ceremonies described in the memoirs, chronologically, is the court equestrian carousel. This was the first Russian carousel, established by Empress Catherine II, held on Palace Square in St. Petersburg in a specially built arena. It included a series of alternating horse or chariot races with military exercises at the four gates of the arena, in which both ladies and gentlemen took part. The collection of the State Hermitage contains a gold medal of the first magnitude with the name of Countess Natalya Petrovna Chernysheva carved on its back: it was awarded to her by Marshal Minich. Countess Anna Sheremeteva, who participated in the same carousel, received the “Third Prize”, which consisted of two gold medals of the first and second magnitude.
Her memories give reason to support the prevailing opinion that she was a maid of honor and then a lady of state at the court of the young Empress Catherine II, although this fact has not been documented by researchers or subsequent empresses. For example, her participation, then Countess Chernysheva, in the court equestrian carousel, the episode of her marriage in 1767, when Catherine II, who was present when Natalya Petrovna was dressed for the wedding ceremony, decorated the bride’s hair with her own diamonds, the blessing and wedding in the Winter Church palace, a small number of guests to the wedding dinner.
As indicated in the reference literature, upon marriage, ladies-in-waiting, due to their position at court, were not allowed to widely celebrate the wedding, not to mention the fact that only they could be the actors in court festivities. Without directly calling herself a maid of honor and a lady of state of the court of Catherine II, in the text of the manuscript Natalya Petrovna, however, fleetingly gives indications of her position and honorary title and, accordingly, some of her court duties and court service.
It should be noted that the topic of court ranks and honorary titles for women at the Russian imperial court has been little studied, and some researchers note that in the 18th century. The composition, structure and customs of the Russian imperial court were in their infancy, took shape over more than a century and were formed only during the reign of Emperor Nicholas I.
As is known, the award of the honorary title of maid of honor was accompanied by the provision of a diamond maid of honor cipher - the monogram of the empress, which was worn on a blue (the color of the ribbon of the Order of St. Andrew the First-Called) bow. However, not a single portrait of the young countess is known where she is depicted with this sign.
Numerous trips around Russia to her father’s estates, given in “Notes...” allow us to conclude that Natalya Petrovna did not live and was not permanently at the Court, was not part of the so-called “retinue”, did not have a court rank or permanent courtiers responsibilities. On the contrary, she was on vacation for a long time and appeared at the Empress’s Court only occasionally, when the highest orders appeared. So, she retired from the Court for 9 years after her marriage in 1766, then for 4-6 months in 1776, 1780 and 1781.
It seems that the evidence of Princess Golitsyna may be relevant for studying questions about the time of the appearance in Russia of the institution of maids of honor and ladies of state, their status, the time of the appearance of maid of honor ciphers and other “ladies’” signs, where they were made, in what quantity and at what price, how consider them as a breastplate or a sign of belonging to a certain group of courtiers, etc.
Thus, in an entry dated January 20, 1778, she reported that she was among the ladies and gentlemen of the court who received orders to come to the palace, and that “we” (meaning ourselves) were honored with a kiss on the hand of Grand Duchess Maria Feodorovna. Entries of the same nature were made on December 12 and 20, 1777 and on April 27, 1779, the first in connection with the news of the birth and baptism of Grand Duke Alexander Pavlovich, when, by order of the Empress, Natalya Petrovna, among others, court officials arrived at the Church of the Winter Palace for a thanksgiving service and baptism, and the second - on the occasion of the birth of Grand Duke Konstantin Pavlovich - in Tsarskoe Selo to participate in the same ceremonies, etc.
Princess Golitsyna also captured foreign policy events in her memoirs, such as visits of family members of the royal houses of Europe to the Court Russian empress and trips of members of the imperial house to “ foreign countries”, as well as trips to Europe by prominent foreign figures: the arrival in Russia of the King of Sweden, the brother of the King of Prussia, the Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, German princesses - brides of Grand Duke Pavel Petrovich, travel to the provinces of Catherine II (for example, to Belarus), trips to Europe Grand Duke Pavel Petrovich, alone and with his second wife), the trip of Pope Pius VI to the court of the Holy Roman Empire, etc.
By the frequency of reference to the same range of phenomena, by their content, one can imagine the interests of Natalya Petrovna, her preferences, and by the nature of the presentation - the level and breadth of her horizons, the degree of education. For example, about her family, the princess wrote a lot and in detail, often sharing her experiences, concerns and feelings and sensations experienced at that moment, so we can conclude how much her family, children, husband, their health, success and well-being meant in her life. Natalya Petrovna alternated descriptions of events family life with what amazed her was what was happening in Moscow, St. Petersburg and in Russia as a whole. However, she tied these “external” events to the main thing for her, to what her family lived with.
Thanks to “Notes...”, we learn a lot of new things about Natalya Petrovna’s wife, Prince Vladimir Borisovich Golitsyn, for example, unknown facts about his military service. Other archival documents make it possible to supplement what the princess did not report about her husband, and, on the basis of a set of sources, to restore, thus, his service record, for what, for what and when he was granted the empress. Thus, in the original rescript signed by Catherine II it is noted: “It is known and known to everyone that the author of this, Prince Volodimer Golitsyn, is in OUR military service was in 1742, and a colonel on April 1763, 1763, and being in OUR service, he acted in everything and supported himself as an honest, faithful, obedient, brave soldier and skilled officer should. And on the 22nd day of December last 1769, at his request, he was dismissed from OUR service with the rank of brigadier; as evidence of this, WE signed this with OUR own hand, and ordered it to be sealed with a grave seal. Given in St. Petersburg in the summer of 1770. February 20 days. Catherine" . And in the highest decree of March 13, 1770 it was reported that “Rewarding the excellent services rendered to US by the foreman Prince Golitsyn and ... [9 more people. — T. P.] WE honored them with OUR Military Order of St. George the Victorious... [Prince Golitsyn] 3rd degree.”
The memoirs contain unknown information about the princess's brothers and sisters, her parents, and her own children and family. As you know, of all the children in the family of Count Chernyshev, only two survived: Natalya Petrovna and her sister Daria Petrovna, the princess’s other two sisters died in Russia.
The first son of the princess, Prince Peter, is dedicated in “Notes...” in connection with his tragic death; it contains the mother’s sad regrets about the irreparable loss that befell her, expressed in words coming from the depths of her soul. New information is also provided about the circumstances of the birth of all her other four children, and the departure of her sons to study in France in Strasbourg is described in great detail. Prince Boris Vladimirovich, son of the princess, lieutenant general, was a participant Patriotic War 1812, but very little information about his biography has been preserved, and his service record has not been preserved in the archives. We managed to reconstruct his biography using unknown documents from the archives of Moscow and St. Petersburg, literally bit by bit. One of such information is contained in the memoirs of Natalya Petrovna - the award of her son as the first officer rank in 1782, and under what circumstances this happened.
Excerpts of this aspect from the memoirs date back to the time of the establishment and to the first years of existence in Russia, according to the decrees of Catherine II of 1776, governorships and provinces, in particular, Kaluga, Oryol, Novgorod, Moscow and St. Petersburg governor-generals.
The prototype of A. S. Pushkin’s story “The Queen of Spades” - Princess Natalya Petrovna Golitsyna
Artist A. Roslin.
Natalya Petrovna is the daughter of diplomat and senator Count Pyotr Grigoryevich Chernyshev from his marriage to Ekaterina Andreevna Ushakova. She came from a family of so-called new people who appeared at the beginning of the 18th century surrounded by Peter the Great.
Count Pyotr Grigoryevich Chernyshev (March 24, 1712—August 20, 1773) - Russian diplomat, active privy councilor, active chamberlain and senator. Artist A. Roslin.
Countess Ekaterina Andreevna Chernysheva (née Ushakova; October 22, 1715 - September 25, 1779) Artist A. Roslin.
Count Pyotr Grigorievich Chernyshev with his wife Ekaterina Andreevna, with daughters Daria, Natalya, Anna and son Grigory. 1750s.
David Luders (1710-1759)
Her grandfather on the male line was the orderly of Peter I, a representative of a poor and unnoble noble family, Grigory Petrovich Chernyshev. The rapid rise of the imperial orderly's career began when Peter I married him to a 17-year-old beauty, dowryless Evdokia Rzhevskaya, giving her a dowry of 4,000 souls. And then he gave money and villages to the sons born from this marriage.
There was a rumor in secular circles that Natalya Petrovna was the emperor’s own granddaughter. Empress Elizaveta Petrovna, like her father, showered the Chernyshevs with special favors, granted them profitable estates, count titles, and soon the Chernyshevs became one of the richest families in Russia. On her mother’s side, Natalya Petrovna was the granddaughter of Count A.I. Ushakov, famous for his cruelty, the head of the search office.
Count Grigory Petrovich Chernyshev (January 21 (January 31) 1672 - July 30 (August 10) 1745) - Russian military leader and statesman, one of the associates of Peter I; ancestor of the Chernyshev counts.
Countess Avdotya (Evdokia) Ivanovna Chernysheva, née Rzhevskaya, general’s wife, nicknamed “ Avdotya boy-baba", given to her by Peter I (February 12, 1693 - June 17, 1747) - one of the mistresses of Peter the Great, according to Vilboa, " her erratic behavior had a harmful effect on Peter’s health"; mother of the Chernyshev brothers, prominent figures in the reign of Catherine II.
Count Andrei Ivanovich Ushakov (1672 - 1747) - Russian military and statesman, associate of Peter I, general-in-chief, head of the secret investigative office in 1731-1746.
Painting by N.V. Nevrev entitled “The Head of the Secret Chancellery A.S. Ushakov interrogates Princess Yusupova.”
Youth
Numerous sources call the exact year of birth of Natalya Petrovna differently - 1741 or 1744. She herself wrote in her notes:
“... I was born in Berlin at a time when Father was a minister there; when I was two years old, Father was sent as a minister to London, where we remained for nine years. When leaving London, only 5 children remained in the family (out of 11 children): one brother and 4 sisters. ."
Her father, Count Chernyshev, was recalled from Berlin and appointed envoy to London in 1746. So we can say with confidence that Natalya Petrovna was born in 1744.
London 18th century, Samuel Scott
She spent her childhood in England. Her mother took advantage of her long stay abroad and gave her daughters an excellent European education. They were fluent in four languages, but did not know Russian well.
In 1756, the Chernyshev family returned to Russia, but four years later they left for France, where the count was appointed envoy to the court of Louis XV. Educated, smart and beautiful Natalya Petrovna shone at the court balls in Versailles, she was familiar with Louis XV. The best painters - Luders, Drouet painted the Chernyshev sisters. In 1762, P. G. Chernyshev was granted a senator; This ended his diplomatic career, and the whole family returned to Russia.
Louis XV
Versailles, Pierre Patel
At 21, Natalya Petrovna becomes one of the most prominent ladies-in-waiting of Catherine II. In February 1765, she attracted the attention of the Empress by playing in a home performance by Count P. B. Sheremetev; then, in the summer of 1766, she became the winner in St. Petersburg and Moscow in high-society entertainment - the carousel tournament. For beauty and " most pleasant agility“In dancing, she received a personal gold medal specially made for this occasion in a single copy with the image of Catherine II.
Natalya Petrovna Chernyshova, François-Hubert Drouais
Portrait of Catherine II. F. S. Rokotov,
Marriage
Being a maid of honor, on October 30, 1766, Natalya Petrovna married the very handsome 35-year-old Prince Vladimir Borisovich Golitsyn, a retired foreman, a man with a large but disordered fortune. The Empress herself decorated Natalya Petrovna's hair with her diamonds, blessed her in the Court Church and was present at the wedding.
Prince Golitsyn Vladimir Borisovich, Artist Roslin A.
In her, according to contemporaries, weak-willed and simple-minded husband, Natalya Petrovna honored her surname more. On this occasion, historian I.M. Snegirev wrote:
“...She scolds all surnames and puts no one above the Golitsyns, and when she praised Jesus Christ in front of her 6-year-old granddaughter, the girl asked: “Isn’t Jesus Christ from the Golitsyn surname?” ."
Princess Natalya Petrovna Golitsyna, née Chernysheva
Having become a princess, Natalya Petrovna was not constantly at the Court and was there only occasionally, when the highest commands were announced or when she received the highest invitation. Natalya Petrovna lived for a long time on the estates of her father and husband, raising and educating her children. Energetic, with a strong masculine character, she took control of her husband’s household into her own hands and soon not only put it in order, but also significantly increased it.
Golitsyna with her son Peter, 1767
In 1783, Golitsyna and her family left for France, for “about children's education and husband's health". At court their departure was not understood and condemned. Grand Duchess Maria Feodorovna said that young men should not go to France for their education, since Russia has its own university.
The Golitsyns lived in Paris. Natalya Petrovna was received at the court of Marie Antoinette. She was an indispensable participant in all receptions and balls, where she was called “ Moscow Venus».
Marie Antoinette plays the harp, Jean-Baptiste André Gautier d'Agoty
In 1789, Natalya Petrovna traveled with her husband and daughters to London. Upon their departure from England, the future King George IV, who courted Natalya Petrovna, gave her his autographed portrait as a souvenir.
In 1790, the Golitsyns returned to Paris, just at the time when Catherine II, alarmed by news from France, ordered " announce to the Russians a speedy return to the fatherland". Having sent their sons to Rome, the Golitsyns returned to Russia and settled in St. Petersburg on Malaya Morskaya, building 8. She kept her house open, she had balls every Wednesday, and her sister, Daria Petrovna Saltykova, had balls on Sundays.
Life in St. Petersburg
The princess turned her house into a high society salon for the French emigration. F. F. Vigel wrote:
“...A company was formed on shares, into which titles, wealth, and credit at court were contributed. Catherine favored this society, seeing in it one of the throne’s strongholds against freethinking, and Paul I even patronized it.
Natalya Petrovna was literally the model of a court lady. She was showered with honors. At the coronation of Alexander I she was awarded the Cross of St. Catherine, 2nd degree. At her ball on February 13, 1804, the entire imperial family was present. In 1806 she was already a lady of state. Initially, the sign of the lady of state was received by her daughter, Countess Stroganova, who returned it with a request to grant it to her mother.
Princess Natalya Petrovna Golitsyna, née Chernysheva
Engraving of Peter, from the portrait of F.Yu. Drouet
Sofia Stroganova. Watercolor by P. F. Sokolov
At the coronation of Nicholas I, she was awarded the Order of St. Catherine, 1st degree. The attentiveness of the authorities to Natalya Petrovna was amazing: when she began to see poorly, enlarged solitaire cards were made especially for her; at her request, court singers could be sent to Golitsyn’s estate in Gorodnya.
Shmarinov D.A. - The Countess in her youth.
Illustration for A.S. Pushkin’s story “The Queen of Spades”
According to the memoirs of Feofil Tolstoy, music critic and composer:
“The whole city went to worship her on certain days, and on her name day the entire royal family honored her with a visit. The princess received everyone, with the exception of the Emperor, sitting and not moving from her place. One of her close relatives stood near her chair and called the guests, since the princess had been seeing poorly lately. Depending on the rank and nobility of the guest, the princess either bowed her head or uttered a few more or less friendly words. And all the visitors were apparently very pleased. But they will not think that Princess Golitsyna was attracted to her by the luxury of the premises or the splendor of the treats. Not at all! Her house in St. Petersburg was not particularly luxurious; the only decoration of the front living room were damask curtains, and even then they were quite faded. There was no dinner, no temporary buffets set with rich wines and sets, and from time to time orchards, lemonade and simple sweets were served. »
A.N. Benois. Illustration for A.S. Pushkin's story "The Queen of Spades"
Highly willful, Golitsyna was arrogant with her equals in position and friendly with those whom she considered inferior to herself. Another contemporary of the princess, V. A. Sollogub, recalled:
“Almost all the nobility were related to her by blood or marriage. The emperors expressed almost filial love to her. In the city she ruled with some kind of unconditional power recognized by all. After being introduced to the court, each young girl was taken to pay her respects; the guards officer, who had just put on his epaulettes, appeared to her as to the commander-in-chief. »
Princess Natalya Golitsyna, V. Borovikovsky
Along with her successes at court, Natalya Petrovna was zealously involved in housekeeping. She then introduced a new crop - potatoes - to her estates, expanded and equipped the factories owned by the Golitsyns with new equipment. In 1824, Princess Golitsyna became an honorary member of the Scientific and Economic Society.
Family
All contemporaries unanimously noted the steep, arrogant disposition of the princess, her character, devoid of any feminine weaknesses, and her severity towards loved ones. The whole family was in awe of the princess; she was very strict with the children even when they themselves had long outlived their youth, and until the end of their lives she called them by their diminutive names.
Princess Natalya Golitsyna. Artist Mituar, 1810s
Her son Dmitry Vladimirovich, the famous Moscow governor-general, could not afford to sit in the presence of his mother without her permission. Dissatisfied with his marriage to Tatyana Vasilchikova, since she considered this marriage unequal, the princess forced her quiet and kind daughter-in-law to endure a lot of grief from her.
Portrait by François Risse
Portrait by François Risse
Managing all the estates herself, Natalya Petrovna gave her daughters 2 thousand souls as a dowry, and gave her son Dmitry only the Rozhdestveno estate of 100 souls and an annual allowance of 50 thousand rubles, so he was forced to incur debts, and only at the request of Emperor Nicholas I she added another 50 thousand rubles in banknotes, thinking that she was generously rewarding him. Only after the death of his mother, having lived his whole life, having almost nothing, seven years before his death, Prince Dmitry Vladimirovich became the owner of his 16 thousand souls.
His Serene Highness Prince Dmitry Vladimirovich Golitsyn (1771-1844) is a military leader of the Napoleonic Wars (cavalry general), who governed Moscow for a quarter of a century (1820-44, as military governor-general).
Portrait by George Dow.
Princess Tatiana Vasilievna Golitsyna, née Vasilchikova (1781-1841)
Reichel Karl Yakovlevich
Once angry with her eldest son Boris Vladimirovich, Golitsyna had absolutely no contact with him for about a year and did not answer his letters. Prince Boris never married, but died, leaving orphans two illegitimate daughters from a gypsy woman who bore the surname Zelensky. They were brought up in the family of Dmitry Golitsyn, and their existence was hidden from Natalya Petrovna.
Prince Boris Vladimirovich Golitsyn (1769-1813) - Russian commander of the Napoleonic wars, lieutenant general, owner of the Vyazema estate near Moscow.
Artist J. B. Isabey
Anna Borisovna Bakunina, ur. Zelenskaya (1802-1835). Illegitimate daughter of Prince B.V. Golitsyn
E.P. Bakunina
Anna Borisovna Bakunina, ur. Zelenskaya (1802-1835). Illegitimate daughter of Prince B.V. Golitsyn, wife of Alexander Pavlovich Bakunin.
Bryullov Karl Pavlovich
...Yesterday was the birth of old woman Golitsyna. I went in the morning to congratulate her and found the whole city there. Empress Elizaveta Alekseevna also came. In the evening the whole city was there again, although no one was invited. Yesterday, it seems, she turned 79 years old, and I admired her appetite and vigor... There is no happier mother than the old woman Golitsyna; you need to see how the children look after her, and the children already have grandchildren.
A.S. Pushkin. Queen of Spades
A. I. Turgenev - A. Ya. Bulgakov, 01/18/1837:
Here's P's chronicle.<етер>Burgskaya: yesterday we celebrated the centenary of Princess Nat.<альи>Peter.<овны>, there was no dancing, but the convention was quite crowded. Several generations crowded around the great-great-grandmother; homegrown roses twined around a century-old oak tree<…>The Emperor sent the princess two magnificent vases.
"The Queen of Spades", Elena Kunina
Princess Golitsyna was very rich. After her death, there were 16 thousand serf souls, many villages, houses, estates throughout Russia. Only N.P. Golitsyna, the only one, could afford to hire 16 horses to travel from Moscow to St. Petersburg. The most that the richest travelers allowed themselves was 6 horses for the same journey.
Natalya Petrovna died on December 20, 1837, several years short of her centenary. She was buried in Moscow, in the Golitsyn tomb at the Donskoye Cemetery.
Golitsyna and Pushkin
In her youth, Natalya Petrovna was known as a beauty, but with age she acquired a mustache and beard, for which in St. Petersburg they called her “for her eyes.” Princess Mustache", or more delicately, in French " "Princesse mustache"(from the French moustache - mustache), although this feature is not visible in any portrait. It was this image of a decrepit old woman, who had a repulsive, unattractive appearance “combined with a sharp mind and royal arrogance,” that arose in the imagination of the first readers “ Queen of Spades».
Lacquer miniature painting. Valentina Smolenskaya.
Three, seven, queen
