Countess Sofya Aleksandrovna Bobrinskaya , nee. Countess Samoilova (October 4, 1797 [1] , in some sources 1799 - November 11, 1866) - Russian lady of high society, mistress of a successful Petersburg salon , maid of honor of Empress Maria Fedorovna , girlfriend of Empress Alexandra Fedorovna .
| Sofya Aleksandrovna Bobrinskaya | |
|---|---|
 Watercolor P. F. Sokolov (1827) | |
| Birth name | Sofya Alexandrovna Samoilova |
| Date of Birth | |
| Place of Birth | |
| Date of death | |
| Place of death | |
| A country | |
| Occupation | maid of honor |
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| Spouse | |
| Children | and |
Content
Biography
Origin
The youngest daughter of Count Alexander Nikolaevich Samoilov from marriage with Princess Ekaterina Sergeevna Trubetskoy . She was born in Petersburg, was baptized on November 8, 1797 in the Cathedral of St. Isaac of Dalmatia , the goddaughter of the native E. N. Davydova [2] . On her father’s side, she was the grand-niece of Potyomkin (who was the granddaughter of his older sister, Maria). Kuzina N. N. Rajewski and the great-uncle of the young ladies Engelhardt .
Primary education received at home. At thirteen, she was admitted to the Ekaterininsky Institute, which she graduated in 1814 with a small gold number [3] . In 1816 she was adopted by the maid of honor to Empress Maria Feodorovna. Had an attractive appearance, Vyazemsky wrote: “She was a gentle, pretty, captivating appearance. Her eyes and smile were feeling, thought and benevolent friendliness. ” A. Ya. Bulgakov reported in August 1818 to P. A. Vyazemsky about the Empress’s trip:
| And they are going with Maria Fedorovna: Alexander Lvovich Naryshkin for jokes, Albedil for money, Turkestanova for mind, Countess Samoilova for face ... |
Like brother Nikolai , Sophia Alexandrovna sang beautifully, besides she played music and painted. Was on friendly terms with the maid of honor Varvara Turkestanova . After her tragic death, she corresponded with Ferdinand Christine . Before his death, Christine deposited Bobrinsky with his correspondence with Turkestanova. Bobrrinskaya retained everything entrusted to her, making the correspondence a possession of history [4] . Christine wrote to her:
| You are the only person mentioned there with praise and without any criticism, which eliminates any inconvenience to put this correspondence in your hands. In addition, of all the people I know, you combine prudence with excellent correctness of mind and judgment, therefore, you will know better than anyone what to do with this correspondence ... |
Marriage
In November 1820, one of the contemporaries wrote: “Now I will tell you a secret, Alexey Bobrinsky marries Sophia Samoilova. Her mother told me about it, and no one yet knows. This will be announced only in February ... And you know how funny it is: young lovers are seen only from Countess Liven , so that no one can notice anything; the old woman is privy to the secret " [5] . On April 27, 1821, Sophia married Count Alexei Alekseevich Bobrinsky , a cousin of the emperors Alexander I and Nicholas I. Sofia brought a dowry to the family of Bobrinsky estates in Ukraine, granted to Potemkin, where they rebuilt their famous sugar factories.
Learning about this wedding, Count Perovsky , fascinated by Countess Samoilova, shot himself an index finger on his right hand. A.O. Smirnova passed on the words of Perovskiy: “Men were married to Countess Samoilov, but I don’t have them; that's all " [6] . However, according to the memoirist herself, Bobrinsky was “very happy [6] ”. After the wedding, the newlyweds lived permanently in St. Petersburg, with the exception of four years (1827–1831) spent in Mikhailovsky, a village in the Tula province , partly in Moscow [7] .
Savor. Pushkin
Concern about the education of growing sons forced the spouses to leave a secluded life and in the fall of 1831 to return to St. Petersburg. Bobrinsky settled in the house on Galernaya . Countess Fikelmon in her diary dated October 1, 1831, wrote: “Yesterday I paid a visit to Sophia Bobrinsky, who returned from the village where she spent several years in a row. Here she enjoys the reputation of an amiable and witty woman. I do not find her beautiful. It seemed to me amiable, the conversation leads easily, but with a slight hint of pretentiousness [8] . ” The couple were taken at court, and Sophia Alexandrovna became a close friend of Empress Alexandra, and she kept constant correspondence with her [9] . Grand Duchess Olga Nikolaevna wrote [10] :
| It was one of those of her friends, who inwardly more than anyone fit her. Sophie Bobrinsky few knew because she rarely was in society, but these few appreciated her. I have never heard a single empty word from her, and if I, as a child, could not follow what they said with Mom, then I still felt something unusual in her conversations and thoughts. If Mom took us with her to visit her, it was always a great joy for us. When she came to the Winter Palace, Mom locked herself in the red room with her. |
Alexey Alekseevich willingly attended social events, but the Countess, according to Peter Vyazemsky, was a "homebody". He recalled:
| Countess Sofya Aleksandrovna Bobrinsky, nee Countess Samoilova, was a woman of rare curiosity, calm, but irresistible charm. The Countess showed little in crowded societies. She among society, among the capitals lived a separate life — a home life; private engaged in the upbringing of their sons, reading, mental activity; she, so to speak, from afar and in absentia watched with participation and insight. Her salon was open daily in the evenings. There were a few, but favorites [11] . |
Sofia Alexandrova, who herself received an excellent education, was interested in literature, according to Vyazemsky, “European literature was familiar to her, not excluding Russian [9] ”; was familiar with many writers. People came to her salon to find “mental repose from works”, Vyazemsky, Zhukovsky (in 1819 he was carried away by her and thought about getting married), brothers Vielgorsky . Among the secular acquaintances of the countess was Pushkin , with whom, according to P. I. Bartenev , he was “on friendly terms” and was a frequent visitor to her salon [1] . On October 10, 1831, Sofia Alexandrovna wrote to her husband: “I told you that Madame Khitrovo and her daughter Dolly did me the honor of inviting me to a literary evening. There was a conversation only about Pushkin, about literature and about new works [11] . ” The poet's detractors were also accepted in her salon: Count Nesselrode and his wife , Baron Geckern , Dantes . During the intrigue against Pushkin, "the most charming of the Countess in the world" (in the opinion of V. A. Zhukovsky) actively discussed the situation with Empress Alexandra Feodorovna [K 1] and her husband. On November 23, the empress tells her friend: "From yesterday, everything is clear to me with Dantes' marriage, but this is a secret [12] ." On November 25, Bobrinskaya writes to Alexei Alekseevich: “He marries the elder Goncharova , an ugly, black and poor sister, a white-faced, poetic beauty, Pushkin’s wife . If you ask me, I will tell you that I have not been doing anything else for a week now and the more they tell me about this incomprehensible story, the less I understand anything about it. This is some mystery of love, heroic self-sacrifice, this is Jules Janin , this is Balzac , this is Victor Hugo . This is the literature of our day. It is sublime and ridiculous [13] . ” In the same letter, she reports: "Anonymous letters of the most heinous nature attacked Pushkin [14] ." However, the Countess was also worried about the fate of Dantes, during the trial she made efforts to soften his fate [1] . A note by Baron Gekkern written during the trial of Dantes: “ Madame N. and Countess Sophie B. [K 2] send you their best wishes. They are both interested in us. ”
| For a long time, researchers have hesitated whether it should be attributed to the camp of Pushkin's enemies because of her good relations with Dantes. At present, this question can be considered solved negatively. Sofia Alexandrovna did not approve of Pushkin’s behavior of the last months before the eve. Nevertheless, a thorough analysis of the Bobrinsky-Pushkin relations, which N. V. Vostokov gives [15] , based on documents from the Bobrinsky archive, convincingly shows that Sofia Alexandrovna was not hostile to Pushkin [16] . |
Recent years
Sofia Alexandrovna was engaged in charity. She was an honorary member of one of the St. Petersburg charity houses . The Countess was in charge of the women's department of the St. Petersburg school, which was called Kammer-Jungfer. In this school, children received free primary education [17] . In 1856, Count Bobrinsky left for his estate, Smela , where he fell seriously ill. Sophia Alexandrovna left St. Petersburg and settled in the Kiev estate. Ten years later, Countess Bobrinsky became ill and was forced to go abroad for treatment. The death of Sophia Alexandrovna was a real blow for her husband, Emperor Alexander II , fearing for his condition, invited the count to spend the summer with the imperial family in Livadia . P. A. Vyazemsky wrote:
| Countess Bobrinsky, who has lived in recent years inextricably, hand in hand and, with some temporary exceptions, is face to face with her husband, dies away from him. |
She died from dropsy in November 1866 in Paris [18] . Her body was transported to Russia and buried in St. Petersburg.
Children
Three sons were born in marriage [K 3] :
- Alexander (May 17, 1823 - February 24, 1903), genealogist, chief chamberlain, governor of St. Petersburg. He was married to Countess Sofya Andreyevna Shuvalova .
- Vladimir (October 2, 1824 - May 28, 1898), Lieutenant-General, Governor of Grodno, Minister of Transport. He was not married.
- Lev (November 8, 1831 - March 23, 1915), founder of 37 educational institutions, 23 factories and plants. He was married to Alexandra Alekseevna Zolotareva, Abaza’s previous marriage (1831–1900)
Alexey Alekseevich,
husbandAlexander Alekseevich,
a sonSofya Andreevna
daughter in lawVladimir Alekseevich,
a son
Notes
Comments
- ↑ In 1962, E. Gershtein published a correspondence between the Empress and Bobrinsky “Around Pushkin's Death: According to New Materials”
- ↑ A number of researchers of Pushkin's creative work ( E. G. Gershtein , A. Akhmatova) believe that this is Countess Bobrinsky. Schegolev and A. S. Polyakov called her name presumably, preferring Countess Sofya Ivanovna Borkh . N.N. Petrunina also speaks against Bobrinsky [9] .
- ↑ But A.O. Smirnova-Rosset, perhaps mistakenly, wrote: “They had four children, all boys [6] ”
Sources
- ↑ 1 2 3 Chereysky LA S.A. Bobrinsky // Pushkin and his surroundings (1989). The date of circulation is May 3, 2013. Archived May 18, 2013.
- ↑ TsGIA SPb. f.19. op.111. d. 122. p. 8. // Metric books of the Cathedral of St. Isaac of Dalmatia.
- ↑ Kartsov N. S. Some facts from the life of the St. Petersburg School of the Order of St. Catherine. - SPb., 1898. - p. 51.
- ↑ Christin F. & La Princesse Tourkestanow. Lettres ecrites de Petersbourg et de Moscou: 1817-1819. Christen Ferdinand and Princess Turkestanova [Varvara Ilyinichna (1775–1819)]. Letters written from Petersburg and Moscow: 1817-1819. Appendix to the "Russian Archive". Moscou: Imprimerie de l'Universite Imperiale (M. Katkow) [Typography of the Moscow Imperial University], 1883 // Russian Archive , 1882.
- ↑ A.V. Neklyudov. Old portraits, family chronicle. - Paris: Book Business "Spring" (La Source), 1932.
- ↑ 1 2 3 Smirnova-Rosset A.O. Memories. Letters / Comp., Intro. Art. and approx. Yu.N. Lubchenkova. - M: True, 1990. - P. 544. - 100 000 copies.
- ↑ Russian Archive. - 1910. - Vol. 1-4. - p. 317.
- ↑ Mrochkovskaya-Balashov S. The Secret Wife of Dantes . The appeal date is May 5, 2013.
- ↑ 1 2 3 Schegolev, 1987 , p. 525.
- ↑ Memories v.kn. Olga Nikolaevna's “The Dream of Youth” (1825–1846)
- ↑ 1 2 Sergey Lebedev. The charm of Alexandrovna or the Count couple of the Bobrinsky, forgotten contemporaries of Pushkin . The date of circulation is May 3, 2013. Archived May 18, 2013.
- ↑ Abramovich, 1991 , p. 413.
- ↑ Schegolev, 1987 , p. 477-478.
- ↑ Abramovich, 1991 , p. 420.
- ↑ Vostokov N. V. Pushkin on the Bobrinsky archive. // Prometheus . V. 10, 1974.
- ↑ Raevsky N. A. Portraits began talking . The date of circulation is May 5, 2013. Archived May 18, 2013.
- ↑ Sovremennik t.11 . The appeal date is May 5, 2013.
- ↑ TsGIA SPb. f.19. op.123. 22 Metric books of Orthodox churches abroad.
Literature
- Schegolev, P. Ye. Duel and the death of Pushkin. Research and materials. - M .: Book, 1987. - 576 p. - (Writers about writers). - 200 000 copies
- Abramovich S.L. Pushkin. Last year: Chronicle: January 1836-January 1837. - M: Soviet writer, 1991. - 624 p. - 50 000 copies - ISBN 5-265-00919-1 .
- Danilova A. The necklace of the Most High. Niece prince Potyomkin. Biographical Chronicles. - M: Eksmo, 2006. - p. 407-419. - 608 s. - ISBN 5-699-09107-6 .