Saturday, March 5, 2016

Russian Aristocrats--

Aleksander Baryatinsky.
(1814-1879)
Russian general, field marshal, prince and governor of the Caucasus.
a.k.a. Aleksander Ivanovich Bariatinsky.

Elisabed Orbeliani.
(1833-1899).
a.k.a.
Elizabeth Orbeliani-Boryatinskaya
Elisabeth Orbeliani Bariatinskaia.
Daughter of:
Dimitri Vahtangis dze Orbeliani
& Maria Luarsabis asuli Orbeliani.
Wife of:
1. Vladimir Alexandrovich Davidov
married 1833
2. Alexander Ivan Baratynsky
married 1862.
"By the early 'fifties, Prince Bariatinsky was appointed commander-in-chief of the Left Flank, and his full stature as fighter, tactician and administrator was recognized unreservedly. Though as a man---as a Lothario---there were sometimes mutterings of criticism.  Not every husband was as blind as Prince Simon Vorontzov, or Bariatinsky's staff-captain, the easy-going Davidov.  The frequent presence at the General's camp of either the Princess Marie Vorontzov , or Madame Davidova still occasioned comment.  The latter, born the Princess Elizabeth Orbeliani, was descended from the feudal princes of Erbil, in the Persian province of Iraq. . . ."  (The Sabres of Paradise: Conquest and Vengeance in the Caucasus:299)

Elisabed's physical appearance & personality:  ". . . She was a diminutive little creature, as darkly beautiful as a Persian miniature.  She was, besides, possessive and audacious. . . .."
The Sabres of Paradise: Conquest and Vengeance in the Caucasus:299)  

" . . . In fact, he was enjoying a honeymoon with his 27-year-old mistress, Elisabed Orbeliani, 'a sort of cat', one observer commented.  Elisabed's husband, Vladimir Damydov turned a blind eye as long as he was promoted for his complacency. Davydov, however, proved unpromotable: in Europe he challenged Bariatinsky to a duel, and was then induced to divorce Elisabed, whose parents Prince Dimitri and Princess Mariam Orbeliani (reputed to be 'the cleverest woman in Georgia') travelled to St. Petersburg to ensure that Bariatinsky (a bachelor) married Elisabed in 1862. . . . "  (Edge of Empire: A History of Georgia:299)

"By 1860 Bariatinsky had transformed Georgia. . . Like Vorontsov, Bariatinsky suffered ill health, and was so amorous that he was considered more dangerous to a married officer than to a Dagestani rebel.  (Armenians complained that they were never promoted in the Russian civil service because their wives rejected Bariatinsky's advances; they muttered that 'Georgian women love being under a viceroy'.). . . . "  (Edge of Empires: A History of Georgia:299)
Andrei Ivanovich Vyazemskii
by Jean-Louis Voille. 1774
a.k.a. Andrey Ivanovich Vyazemsky.

 His lover was:
Elizaveta Karlovna Sievers.
Andrei Kirillovich Razumovsky
(1752-1836)
Russian diplomat
Andrei Kirillovich Razumovsky
by Johann Baptist Lampi, 1800
@ Kunsthistorisches Museum
His lovers were:
1) Maria Josepha Hermenegild von und zu Liechtenstein
Princess Esterhazy von Galantha.
(1768-1845)
Natalia Alexeievna of Russia
by Alexander Roslin, 1776
@ Hermitage Museum
(1775-1776)
" . . . Their first stop was in Berlin where from there a flotilla of four ships, sent by the Empress Catherine, took them to Russia.  It was the Grand Duke Paul's best friend, young Andrei Razumovsky, who commanded the frigate that carried the young ladies and their mother.  He was immediately captivated by these charming passengers, and was particularly taken with Wilhelmine.  She was not insensible to the admiration of Andrei. . .   She feel in love with the charming Andrei Razumovsky and the two started an affair. Unfortunately for Natalia, the whole court knew of her infidelities.  Andrei was supposed to be sent away from the palace but Paul, who knew nothing of the situation protested against his best friend's departure.  At the same time, Natalia was pregnant, and Catherine didn't seem to care if the child was Paul's or Andrei's.  Natalia was carrying the heir to the Russian throne, and for Catherine, that was all that mattered. Natalia finally delivered a stillborn son, after a long and painful labour, on 15 April 1776. . .  Shortly after the delivery, Natalia died. . . ."  (Wikipedia)
Daria Saltykova
(1730-1801)
Russian noblewoman & serial killer

a.k.a.
Daria Nikolaevna Ivanova Saltykova
Daria, Countess Saltukova
Saltychikha.

Wife of:
Gleb Alekseevich Saltykov
Captain of the Life Guards Regiment.

Her lover was:
Nikolai Tyutchev.
"One day Saltykova met a young and very handsome Nikolay Tyutchev (the grandfather of well-known Russian poet, Fyodor Tyutchev. As she was getting older and was very lonely, the affair with him raised her spirits a little bit. She soon learned that Tyutchev had a love affair with a young girl and they were even secretly married in church. In blind fury, Saltykova nearly killed her unfaithful lover. Tyutchev and his wife escaped to his relatives’ estate in Moscow and soon fled from the region. Out of revenge Saltykova wanted to kill them, the opportunity was lost."  (Klevantseva) [Bio2] [Bio4]

Ivan Mikhailovich Orlov.
Aide-de-camp to Emperor Peter I of Russia

His lovers were:
1) Avdotya Chernysheva.

 2) Mary Hamilton.
Lover in 1716

(1892-1974)

a.k.a.
Baroness Moura Budberg
Maria Ignatievna Budberg
Countess Benckendorfft
Baroness Budberg
the Red Mata Hari

Russian adventuress and double agent.
Russian-Anglo literary hostess & writer.

 Her lovers were:
1) Herbert George Wells.
Lover in 1920.
"The highlight of the second trip (to Russia in 1920) for Wells, true to form,  the addition of a new lover.  She was his interpreter, Baroness Moura Budberg (1892-1974)...." (The Book of the dead: Lives of the Justly Famous and the Undeservedly Obscure: n.p.) 

 2) Maxim Gorki.

 3) Robert Bruce Lockhart.
British spy
Personal & Family Background: "...Another fact about Moura that emerged only after her death:  She was a direct descendant of Peter the Great.  Her ancesto Count Zakrevsky had been a son of the Empreee Elizabeth and her morganatic husband, Alexis Razoumovski.  It figured."  (Richardson, 2000, p. 52)

Spouses & Children: "...The Baroness had been married twice, first to the tsarist diplomat Count Johann Benckendorff and them, after he was shot by the revolutionary authorities in 1919, to Baron Nikolai von Budberg-Bonningshausen...."  (The Book of the Dead: n.p.) [Ref1] [Bio2:Lettre de Paris]
Nikolai Golovin
Nikolai Nikolaievich Golovin.
(1759-1821)

His lovers were:
Madame Karlin
Wife of Herr Karlin, resident minister of  Duke of Hesse in Paris:
 ". . . He had a liaison with the wife of Mr. Karlin, Resident Minister of the Duke of Hesse in Paris, and left a daughter born in Montpellier, who later married Auguste Louis Jean Baptiste Riviere, Hessian Ambassador to St. Petersburg, painter and friend of Mme Vigee-Lebrun. . . . "  (Vigee Le Brun)

Theroigne de Mericourt
". . . From another liaison with Theroigne de Mericourt, he left a son, Fedor Nicolaevich Lovin.  They had four daughters: Prascovia (m. Countess (sic) Jan Maxymilian Fredro), Elisaveta (m. Countess (sic) Leon Potocki), and two others two died in infancy." (Vigee Le Brun)

"Countess Golovina was married at the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg 4 Oct. 1786 to Count Nicolai Nicolaevich Golovin (b. 1759, d. 31 May 1821) son of Count Nicolai Alexandrovich Golovin and his wife nee Anastasia Stepanovna Lopukhina.  He was made a Senator in 1799, and later Grand Cupbearer of the Imperial Court and an Acting Privy Councillor. . . . "  (Vigee Le Brun)
(1751-1809).

 a.k.a.
Nikolai Petrovich Shremetev.
[Ref1]
Nikolai Petrovich Shremetev
(1751-1809)

His lovers were:
1) Anna Ivanovna.
"One of his mistresses was apparently a Kuskovo serf by the name of Anna Ivanovna.  

Natural Offspring:
On 2 June 1780, Anna gave birth to a son.  A year later Nicholas took the boy to him as his 'ward,' the term Russian nobles favored for their illegitimate children.  He was given the name Ivan Yakimov.  Nicholas loved Vaniusha, as he always called him, dearly and doted on the sickly little boy. After his death in 1804, Nicholas recalled that 'he was never not by my side; on short and long trips, on visits and at home, on the briefest walks in silence, he always accompanied me.' As a young boy Ivan showed artistic talent.  He was a gifted drawer and dancer, later appearing on his father's stage as Cupid.  Nicholas later commissioned a ballet in his name---Vaniushin---in which Ivan starred."  (Smith, 2008, p. 56)
(1768-1803)
Russian serf actress and soprano opera singer.

a.k.a.
Pasha
Praskovia Almazova
Praskovia Gorbunova (pseud.)
Praskovia Granatova
Praskovia Kovalova
Parasha Kovaleva
Praskovia Zhemchugova
the Pearl
the Pearl of the Russian Stage.

 Daughter of:
Ivan Kovalev
a skilled blacksmith
Praskovia Zhemchugova as Eliana
the heroine of the opera "Samnite Marriages"
by Gretry
" . . . One leading actress and singer from serf background was Praskovia Kovaleva (1768-1803), nicknamed the 'Pearl' (Zhemchugova). The mistress of Count Nikolai Sheremetev (whom she married clandestinely in 1801), she performed extensively at the Sheremetev family theatre at Kuskovo (one of Russia's leading musical venues) throughout the 1780s and 1790s. . . ." (Women in Nineteenth-Century Russia: Lives and Culture: 1 23)

" . . . Born a serf around 1770, she caught the eye of her owner, Count Nikolai Sheremetev, at the age of 16.  Sheremetev was the scion of the no noble Sheremetev family, the wealthiest nobleman in all of Russia.  Praskovya was trained in voice, and could perform operatic repertoire in French, German and Italian.  Sheremetev refused to allows Praskovya to be married off to a local serf, instead taking her to be his mistress.  Over time, Sheremetev rid himself of all his other mistresses, falling deeply in love with Praskovya.  He was tormented over the question of weather or not he should marry her, as marriage between a noble and a serf was unheard of and akin to social suicide. With his recall to St. Petersburg, the Count was once again involved in intrigue, with prospective marital matches constantly rumored and time after time proven false.  It was only after Praskovya fell ill that Nikolai Petrovich reevaluated their relationship.  The two were married in 1801,after the Count liberated Praskovya from her servitude to him.  However, she soon died of tuberculosis."  (Praskovya Sheremeteva: Individual Agency and Serfdom)

"Praskovia Kovaleva was the daughter of a serf blacksmith.  at the age of eight she was assigned to work in the theater belonging to Count N. P. Sheremetev, the grandson of Peter the Great's field marshal and the nephew of Natalia Dolgorukaia. . .  The count himself was not only the owner but also the producer, director, and musical maestro.  He invested all the income from his vast landholdings in this theater, and it became famous throughout Russia. Count Sheremetev himself carefully selected the most beautiful and talented serf children to attend the theatrical school he had established on his estate. . . ."  (Women in Russian History: From the Tenth to the Twentieth Century: 151)
Personal & Family Background:  She was the daughter of Ivan Gorbunoiv (a.k.a. Kovalyov), a serf smith of the Shremetevs.

References: [Pix2] [Ref1] [Ref2:150] [Ref3:Telegraph] [Ref4] [Ref5]

 3) Tatiana Bedenkova.
Russian actress.
"The actress Tatiana Bedenkova appears to have been his first mistress from the troupe. . . Bedenkova may have been the mother of Nicholas's second illegitimate child. . . . "  (Smith, 2008, p. 56)

 Nikolai's Penchant for Peasant Pulchritude:  "Anna wasn't the only serf Nicholas found himself attracted to.  Legend has it that Nicholas had numerous mistresses among his serf actresses.  A spectator of a Sheremetev performance observed, 'It goes without  saying that the actresses and the ballerinas are practically the same as the bench on which the count sits while watching performances, . . . that is, his property, and so must they also please him in another way in those instances when one of them strikes his fancy and he drops his handkerchief at her feet. . . . "  (Smith, 2008, p. 56)

Nikolai Yusupov.
(1883-1908)
"The couple had two sons: Nikolai, born in 1883, and Felix, in 1887. Nikolai had been the jewel of his parents' eye. He graduated from the law faculty of St. Petersburg University, was a gifted writer (publishing under the pen name 'Rokov'), an amateur actor and founder of a comedy troupe. He had plans to join one of the elite guards regiments when he was killed in a duel in June 1908 at the age of twenty-five by Count Arvid Manteifel, after falling in love with the count's wife, Countess Marina Heiden. Zinaida was devastated and never fully recovered. She turned to holy men for spiritual guidance, eventually placing her faith in John of Kronstadt, who she, and Felix, believed was capable of cures via prayers. Both mother and son were convinced his prayers had once saved her life when the doctors announced she was beyond all hope." (Rasputin: Faith, Power and the Twilight of the Romanovs: 185)

Prince S. Trubetskoy.
Her lover was:
Lavinia Alekseievna Zhardimirskiy.

"...[T]here once lived a rich merchant, Aleksey Zhardimirskiy, who had a very beautiful wife, Lavinia. She was unhappy in her marriage and attracted the attentions of Nicholas I. Rather than become his mistress, she ran away with Prince S. Trubetskoy but the pair were caught. He was at first imprisoned in the 'Secret House' in the Fortress of SS Peter and Paul; on release he was stripped of his title and rank and despatched to the Caucasus. She went to live at his house in the country and waited for him. In due course he came back, and, Zhardimirskiy having died in the interim, they married and, it is believed lived happily ever after." (The Companion Guide to St. Petersburg: 101)

(1822-1892)
Russian diplomat, administrator & general.
Husband of:
Varvara Yourievna Troubetzkoy.
div 1870
[Ref1] [Ref2]

His lovers were:
Ada Winans
Princess Troubetzkoy
 (1831-1917)
1) Ada Winans.
(1831-1917)
American pianist, opera & lyric singer
"In 1865 he went to Florence on a diplomatic mission which included the supervision of the Russian church there.  In Florence he met Ada Winans, an American lyric singer, and with her moved to Ghiffa on Lake Maggiore.  Troubetzkoy divorced Varvara in 1870 and married Ada.  He could then recognize his three sons born from Ada:  Pierre (husband of American novelist Amelie Louise Rives), Paul and Luigi. . . ."  (Wikipedia)

"Prince Pyotr [Pierre] Troubetzkoy fell in love with the 'incomparable Ada. . . an American opera singer,' while vacationing in northern Italy in the 1850s (Taylor 1973:69).  This statement is supported by the letter Ada wrote to her school friend Mary Haines in 1853 . . . Troubetzkoy (1822-1892) was married to a close relative of the Tsar and had three daughters.  Not long after Ada returned to Europe in 1861 and had attained some distinction as a vocalist, [and surely before 1864 when she gave birth to her son], she and Troubetzkoy embarked on a prolonged love affair.  The Tsar tried to convince Troubetzkoy to return to his wife but he refused.  Like her mother, Ada became a common-law spouse. . . ."  (Tales of Gotham, Historical, Archaeology, Ethnohistory and MIcrohistory of New York City: 342)

2) Marianna Hahn.
"In 1884, owing to the financial disaster of the Panama canal construction he was forced to sell the villa in Ghiffa and, separated from Ada, he retired with Marianna Hahn first in Milano where was born their natural son Pietro Troubetzkoy Hahn in 1886, and finally to Menton (France) where he died in 1892."  (Wikipedia)
Pyotr Vasilyevich Lopukhin
Russian politician  

 His lover was:
Anastasia Jessy.
(1782-1855).
"In 1781 Guthrie married Marie Dunant (d.1800), a Frenchwoman (nee Romaud-Survenes) who had been acting Directress of the Smol'nyi Institute for Young Noblewomen and was recently widowed.  Two of the three daughters of the marriage survived childhood and made excellent match.  The elder of the two, Anastasia Jessy (1782-1855), married the fifty-eight-year-old Charles Gascoigne in 1707...; Anastasia won a reputation for her beauty and for being mistress of the father of Paul's favourite, Anna Lopukhina.  She was one of three women described by the malicious pen of Count Golovkin as being particularly influential at court in Paul's reign...."  (Cross, 1996, pp. 147-148).
Yekaterina Trubetskaya
Princess Stroganovna
by Baptiste, 1793
a.k.a. Yekaterina Petrovna Trubetskaya.

Her lover was:
Ivan Nikolaevich Rimsky-Korsakov.
"The crossing of the Bratovka and Skhodonya rivers in northwest Moscow is home to the city's least known noble estate: Brattsevo, a classic Italian villa upon a hill.  This spot once nurtured one of the most shocking romances in Catherine the Great's scandal-strewn court: the love between vivacious socialite Yekaterina Petrovna Stroganova (nee Trubetskaya), the wife of Count Alexander Stroganov, and Ivan Rimsky-Korsakov, a singing, guitar-strumming 24-year-o;d who'd previously bedded Catherine herself. In a rather unusual arrangement, Petrovna resided openly with Rimsky-Korsakov on her husband's Moscow estate -- with the latter's full approval. . . . "  (The Moscow News)

Spouse & Children:  She married Count Alexander Sergeevich Stroganoff (1733-1811), the President of the Academy of Arts.  Pavel Stroganoff was born in Paris in 1774.  His mother, Ekaterina (or Catherine) Petrovna, nee Princess Trubetskaya, soon fell in love with another man and left her husband and small son...."  (Olga's Gallery) [Ref1:abcgallery.com]
(1743-1810)
a.k.a.
Ekaterina Romanovna Vorontsova.

Daughter of:
Count Roman Vorontsov

Wife of:
Prince Mikhail Ivanovich Daskov
(1736-1764)
(married in 1759)

Her alleged lover was:
Nikita Panin.

Eketarina Romanova Vorontsova, Princess Dashkova:  "...Nikita Panin was rumoured to have had an affair with his nieve (by marriage) Princess Dashkova---though she denied it...."  (Montefiore, 2005, p. 193) [Ref1]
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