Natalya “My family is multiplying, growing, making noise around me. Now, it seems, there is nothing to grumble about life and there is nothing to be afraid of old age. A bachelor is bored in the world: he is annoyed to see new, young generations; one father of the family looks without envy at the youth surrounding him. From

Matryona Kochubey. You - Mazepa They rang for mass, but Matryona was in no hurry - God will hear your prayer everywhere, even in the temple, even in the house, even in the field. It was cold in the cell. Although what to expect from a monastery built a century ago? It is always cold here, even in the July heat.

Ivan Mazepa and Matryona Kochubey Some personalities leave such a deep mark on history that the echoes of their activities are heard not even decades, but centuries. Undoubtedly, Ivan Mazepa, the hetman of the Zaporozhian army, was such an outstanding personality.

Chapter twenty-four. Albina Viktorovna 1. Her first letter, dated December 26, 1980, I quote almost in its entirety: “Dear Semyon Efimovich! I had a very great grief - my long-suffering friend Vasily Lavrentievich died] 6 / XI - 80<…>The last one and a half, and especially

Her face is familiar to many thanks to the wonderful portraits painted by O. Kiprensky, A. Bryullov and P. Sokolov. Many researchers call her Pushkin's first love, and some argue that she was his "hidden love", encrypted in the Don Juan list under the initials NN and became the prototype of the married Tatyana Larina. Countess Natalya Viktorovna Stroganova, nee Kochubey, was a brilliant salon hostess and trendsetter, and no one disputed this. But contemporaries left very conflicting reviews about her behavior and personal qualities.

Kochubey Natalya Viktorovna (1800-1854)

In the surviving "Autobiography Program" under 1813, Pushkin wrote: "Countess Kochubey. Death of Malinovsky ..." This entry refers to Countess Natalya Viktorovna Kochubey, daughter of one of Alexander I's closest associates V.P. Kochubey, later chairman of the State Council and Committee ministers. According to M. A Korf, she was "Pushkin's first love", the young poet's early passion.

Pushkin's acquaintance and meetings with Kochubey date back to the first years of his stay at the Lyceum, when she lived with her parents in Tsarskoye Selo. The poet's feelings for the young Kochubey, apparently, were reflected in the poems "Treason" (1815) and "Intoxicated with Remembrance" (1819). In 1820, Kochubey married Count A. G. Stroganov. Her meetings with Pushkin became quite rare and belong to the last decade of the poet's life. They met in St. Petersburg secular society, and, by his own admission, Pushkin used the living nature of Kochubey to depict Tatiana in the eighth chapter of Eugene Onegin (1829-1830).

She was unhurried, Not cold, not talkative, Without an insolent look for everyone, Without pretensions to success ...

In the last years of his life, Pushkin met with Kochubey at the Karamzins, where she was a regular visitor, and with other mutual acquaintances. Shortly after the poet's death, when St. Petersburg society was divided into defenders and enemies of Pushkin, Kochubei-Stroganova spoke "with great fervour" in defense of the poet. The image of Kochubey was reflected in the plans of the novel "Russian Pelam" (1834-1835). The unrealized plan was to give a broad picture of St. Petersburg society in the 1820s, and Kochubey was to be one of the representatives of the big world.

Since ancient times, it was customary to draw beauties, whose portraits conquered the hearts and minds of millions for many years to come. They did not bypass the complexity of posing and the very young Natasha. She is only twelve years old. But everything in her already speaks of the charm of her springtime, and of the mystery inherent in any, even a small woman, and of a strong character and knowing her own worth.

Kiprensky O.A. taught a lesson in beauty this time to all beauties, depicting the muse of his generation, discovering her talent to inspire great works that have become known to many art lovers. Who is that girl? How is her beauty affected? What if she were my contemporary?

It seemed to me that Natasha Kochubey, judging by the portrait, was a rather serious young girl. Her head is gracefully turned away from the painter, it seems that she allows herself to be painted, that's how regal she looks now. Her eyes also look away, her cheeks flushed with anger. Or other feelings overwhelm her? Or was she very upset before this scene itself, or maybe she doesn’t want to pose at all, which is why she is so unfriendly? What happened to her is unknown. But even in this state, she looks incredibly pretty.

It is known that in just a few years she will give inspiration to others to create. Indeed, true beauty does not need additional embellishment. There is nothing expensive on her, and nothing exquisite surrounds her. Only a simple, fresh white dress, a blue scarf tied at the chest, modestly styled hair, and even the pose does not attract attention. But it is precisely this, natural, that she is most of all good.

It is easy to imagine this girl in our time. Her beauty does not belong to one century. It is always relevant at all times. Such as she can easily shine on the covers of fashion magazines in just a couple of years. And everyone will stop looking and understand that without a doubt, a sweet and young creature is a real star, shining with sincerity and purity of poetry.

Biography

“She has a graceful figure, she dances beautifully, in general, she is exactly what you need to be to charm. They say that she has a lively mind, and I readily believe this, since her face is very expressive and mobile.

Another contemporary noted that Natalya Viktorovna "is quite beautiful, full of talents and well-educated." Speaking about the character of the girl, Speransky noted in a letter to his daughter: “The young countess, I think, is simply fearful and shy, this is often found in the most extensive societies ...” Count I. I. Vorontsov-Dashkov and A. F. Orlova. Princess Kochubey actively held on to the first candidate, she really wanted to marry her daughter to him, but Orlov seemed to her of the wrong origin. Natalya herself did not want either one or the other groom.

Natalia and Alexander Stroganov

In September 1820, Natalia Viktorovna became the wife of Baron Alexander Grigoryevich Stroganov (1795-1891). Their family life from the very beginning was unsuccessful. Already in January 1821, rumors circulated in St. Petersburg that Stroganov did not get along very well with his wife, and that it came to violence. Some said that the reason for the disagreement was the neglected illness of her husband, others - his irresistible attraction to the old theatrical affection, and also that both families with mutual claims were to blame for everything. According to a contemporary, "on the part of the baron, it was a marriage of convenience, and love was only on the part of the bride." In the future, the relationship of the spouses did not go beyond the boundaries of secular decency.

In 1841, Count Stroganov was retired and left Russia with his family for several years, spending the winter in Paris and the summer on Bohemian waters, in Karlsbad, Teplitz and Aachen. At this time, Countess Stroganova became close to Sofia Petrovna Svechina, who converted to Catholicism. S. M. Solovyov, who accompanied the Stroganovs as a teacher of their children, wrote:

Interest in Catholicism and visits to Catholic churches, not hidden by Stroganova, led to rumors spreading in the world about the conversion of the countess to another faith. In recent years, Natalya Viktorovna's life has not been calm. In 1839, a seventeen-year-old daughter died, three years later - the youngest son, who "on the way from Dresden to Weimar, choked on a chicken bone that his mother herself gave him."

In 1853, she also lost her second daughter. The marriage turned out to be unhappy: both spouses allowed themselves connections on the side. Countess Natalia Viktorovna Stroganova died on 24 January 1855 in Saint Petersburg and was buried at the Tikhvin Cemetery of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra.

Pushkin

A. S. Pushkin in 1810

Acquaintance and meetings of Natalia Kochubey with Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin date back to the first years of his stay at the Lyceum. Spending the summer months with her parents at the dacha in Tsarskoe Selo, the Countess often met with Lyceum students. Later, in the sketches for his autobiography, under the period “1813”, Pushkin writes: “Gr. Kochubey. According to M. A. Korf, " it was hardly she (and not Bakunin) who was Pushkin's first love". Possibly, the poems Treason (1815) and Intoxicated with Memory (1819) are dedicated to her.

Like other secular beauties of the early 1820s, Natalia was considered by early Pushkinists as a candidate for the role of the poet's "hidden love". Namely, P. K. Huber in his book “Don Juan List of A. S. Pushkin” (1923), refuting Shchegolev’s assumption, put forward a different hypothesis for decoding the initials “NN” (which, however, did not receive any support):

Later, already a married lady, Countess Stroganova met Pushkin in the light: at the Karamzins, in whose salon she was a regular visitor, and with mutual friends. The first ball that Pushkin attended with his young wife took place in the mansion of Natalia Viktorovna's father, Count V.P. Kochubey, on November 11, 1831. The owner’s daughter was also present at the same ball, along with her husband, Count Alexander Stroganov (who was the second cousin of N. N. Pushkina), who in October 1831 was promoted to the rank of major general and appointed to His Majesty’s retinue. In the first half of November, in the eighth chapter of Eugene Onegin, lines appear in which, according to Pletnev, the poet described precisely Countess Stroganova:

The lady approached the hostess,
Behind her is an important general.

Working in 1834-1835 on the novel "Russian Pelam", Pushkin introduces N. Kochubey and her father as the main characters, who are mentioned either under the name "Kochubey" or "Chukolei". According to the poet's plan, the heroine, ignoring the opinion of the world, sends an encouraging letter to the hero, rejected by society.

Natalia Viktorovna was also drawn into the poet's family drama. P. I. Bartenev conveyed the words of Princess V. F. Vyazemskaya: “On the eve of the New Year, the Vyazemsky had a big evening. As a groom, Gekkern appeared with his bride. There was no reason to refuse him from the house. Pushkin and his wife were right there, and the Frenchman continued to be near her. Countess Natalya Viktorovna Stroganova told Princess Vyazemskaya that he looked so terrible that if she were his wife, she would not have dared to return home with him. S. N. Karamzina wrote in 1836 about the celebration of her name day on September 17, which was attended by Pushkin and his wife, sisters Goncharova and Dantes, who “without leaving a single step from Ekaterina Goncharova, cast passionate glances at Natalie from afar, and in the end, he nevertheless danced a mazurka with her.

Countess Stroganova, in contrast to her husband's sister Idalia, whom Pushkin scholars consider one of the main figures in this intrigue, remained a true friend of Pushkin even after his death. Alexander Karamzin wrote:

According to P.K. Huber, one of the reasons why contemporaries and the first Pushkinists avoided talking about Pushkin’s relationship with N.V. Kochubey was her husband’s longevity (he lived to be 95 and died in 1891), while life of which mention of this hobby in the press was impossible.