Catherine spent more than 90 million rubles from the state treasury on gifts to her favorites, of which the empress had many.
10 of her favorites even held positions as temporary workers, who also gave their own special privileges. Gifts for the Orlovs Catherine II’s affection for Orlov is explained by the fact that it was to him that the Empress owed her accession to the throne. For their assistance during the coup, the Orlov family was elevated to the rank of count by the newly-crowned empress, and Alexei Orlov was awarded the Order of Alexander Nevsky and appointed major general of the Preobrazhensky regiment. He also received lands with 800 peasant souls.
The empress gave his brother, Gregory, the village of Obolenskoye near Moscow with 2929 peasant souls and a large sum of money.
In addition, Catherine understood that Gregory was a gifted person and could benefit his Fatherland. By order of the Empress, the architect Rinaldi built the Marble Palace, which Catherine gave to Grigory Orlov. The Empress also bought the Gatchina manor for Orlov, along with nearby villages. This gift had great importance for Georgiy - Orlov’s father fought there at one time. The favorite also gave gifts to Catherine in response: -
In 1773, he presented the Empress with the Orlov diamond for her name day, the cost of which was 400,000 rubles. They decorated the pommel of the imperial scepter.
Gifts for Grigory Potemkin Trust, affection and generosity towards Potemkin on the part of Catherine were immeasurable: she gave him huge sums of money, villages, villages, towns.
Over the 11 years of his favoritism, the prince received from the empress about 18 million rubles in cash and jewelry.
For the capture of Tavria, the Empress granted Potemkin the title of prince and gave him the Tauride Palace, a masterpiece of the architect Starov. Potemkin sold the palace several times, and Catherine bought it back each time and gave it back as a gift. The Empress also gifted Grigory Potemkin with another beautiful building: the Anichkin Palace was used by the prince as a library. In addition to palaces and money, Catherine gave her favorite a set of Sevres porcelain. In order to produce all 744 pieces of the service, the entire French manufactory worked on one order. Potemkin’s return gift was a cat, which Catherine liked for its cheerful and stubborn character.
Gifts for favorites and relatives Despite the fact that the Empress's favorite, Alexander Dmitriev-Mamonov, was not faithful to her, Catherine the Great was lenient towards him. When it turned out that Mamonov had a relationship with the maid of honor Daria Shcherbatova, Catherine herself betrothed the favorite and the maid of honor and gave the groom a village with 2000 peasant souls, and the bride - jewelry.
Catherine gave Platon Zubov huge estates with thousands of peasant souls. The favorite also received the title of His Serene Highness. A curious thing happened when the Empress gave Zubov an estate that had already been given to Potemkin near Mogilev.
Symbolic gifts The Empress was a cheerful person with a good sense of humor, and sometimes her gifts were rather symbolic meaning. The Empress gave one elderly courtier, who was known for his excessive love for young girls, a parrot that could say one phrase: “It’s no good for an old man to fool around.”
The Empress gave the promiscuous lady-in-waiting a gold ring inlaid with rubies, with the words that the ring was a suitable groom for the lady-in-waiting, whom she would definitely never cheat on. Jewelry and precious stones acted not only as private gifts to those close to them, they were an official reward for services to the empress.
Only during her trip through the provinces in 1787 did Catherine II grant various officials jewelry worth more than half a million rubles.
Not counting watches and rings, among the gifts there were over 400 gold snuff boxes. To whom Catherine gave vodka High-quality “bread wine” (that’s what vodka was called) was highly valued in the 18th century and was considered a truly royal gift. The Empress gave rare varieties of Russian vodka to Western rulers and cultural figures. Voltaire, the Swedish king Gustav II, Frederick II the Great, Immanuel Kant, Johann Wolfgang Goethe and other contemporaries spoke well of domestic vodka.
Some varieties of vodka, with their subtle taste and sophistication, according to the reviews of eminent tasters, eclipsed the eminent cognacs from France.
In the 18th century, imperial favorites were very significant people in the state, they often influenced politics and participated in palace intrigues. Favorites were given expensive gifts, including palaces built by the best architects of St. Petersburg. "Kultura.RF" remembered the most interesting mansions of the imperial favorites.
Anichkov Palace
Photo: A.Savin
Mikhail Zemtsov began building the Anichkov Palace immediately after the coronation of Empress Elizabeth, and Bartolomeo Rastrelli completed the construction. The empress gave a luxurious mansion in the Baroque style to her favorite, Alexei Razumovsky. There were rumors among contemporaries (however, not confirmed by historians) that Razumovsky was Elizabeth’s secret husband and the father of her illegitimate son. The Anichkov Palace received its name years later, when the Anichkov Bridge was built nearby.
Later, the mansion was given away more than once. And Catherine II bought the building from Razumovsky’s relatives and presented it to her favorite, Grigory Potemkin. She also gave Potemkin 100 thousand rubles for the reconstruction of the palace, which was entrusted to Ivan Starov. The architect made the palace more strict and monotonous, as dictated by the classicism that was fashionable in those years. Later, the building was rebuilt many more times: by Giacomo Quarenghi by order of Alexander I, Carl Rossi - for Nicholas I. Alexander II and Alexander III lived here. Today the Anichkov Palace houses the Palace of Youth Creativity.
Shuvalov's mansion
Photo: Florstein
The mansion of another favorite of Elizabeth Petrovna, Ivan Shuvalov, is located not far from the Anichkov Palace. From both buildings it was possible to quickly reach the Summer Palace of the Empress. Shuvalov's mansion was designed in 1749 by Savva Chevakinsky. He built a three-story baroque building, about which Catherine II wrote: “On the outside, this house, although very huge, was reminiscent of cuffs made of Alençon lace with its decorations, there were so many different decorations on it.”. Subsequently, the building was owned by Prince Ivan Baryatinsky and Prosecutor General Alexander Vyazemsky, who ordered its reconstruction in the classical style. Later, the mansion belonged to various government departments, and today it houses the Hygiene Museum.
Marble Palace
Photo: A.Savin
Grigory Orlov was one of Catherine II's favorites, he became her father illegitimate son Count Alexei Bobrinsky. The Empress gave Orlov many gifts, one of which was the palace. In 1768, Catherine II ordered the architect Antonio Rinaldi to build it near the imperial residence.
Later, the palace received the name Marble: when decorating it, the builders used 32 varieties of this stone - on the external facades and in the interiors. The walls of one of the most beautiful halls were lined with Italian, Greek, Karelian and Ural marble, as well as lapis lazuli. The Grand Staircase was made of silver marble and its decor was sculptures by Fedot Shubin.
Grigory Orlov died before construction was completed, and Catherine gave the palace to her grandson Konstantin Pavlovich. However, one of Catherine’s favorites still lived in this palace, after the death of the empress. In 1797–1798, the former Polish king Stanislaw August Poniatowski settled here.
Today the Marble Palace houses a branch of the Russian Museum.
Gatchina Palace
Photo: Litvyak Igor / photobank “Lori”
The path of life can be tortuous,
but the main question is
who defines it?
Usually, if you don't define it,
is yours life path they determine for you
others - other people
or just circumstances.
An excerpt from an article from a scientific journal on psychology.
Events take us back to the reign of Catherine II the Great in Rus'. The time when Catherine was no longer young, but had not yet turned into a fat, flabby matron. Whether this idea came to her or was suggested by one of her favorites, it was decided to create a small military detachment at court, something like a page corps. Not the one that was created under Elizabeth Petrovna and into which, by order of Catherine, only the children of nobles were allowed to be admitted, but a small detachment that was supposed to consist of very handsome young men, raised and nurtured from boys who were smart and handsome in appearance. Well, as with any rulers, the nobility, trying to please the empress, presented her with gifts in the form of pretty boys.
Pan Bartosz Vysokodvorsky, Polish general, who served at Catherine's court, was returning to St. Petersburg with his wife, Mrs. Yanka, from Lithuania from his estate near Vilna. The road led along the river at this time of year, quite deep. The ribbon of the river appeared and then disappeared behind a narrow copse separating it from the road. It was a warm autumn day. One of the days about which we can say that the weather is clinging to summer with all its might, but autumn dampness and muddy roads are about to arrive, making the roads impassable until winter. Pani Yanka did not like St. Petersburg, she was not pleased with all these luxurious houses, wide avenues, noisy balls at the court of the Empress, which they were supposed to attend. And the damp climate of St. Petersburg, and the proximity of not yet drained swamps, had a very bad effect on her health, often leading her into deep despondency.
The general's wife had a headache from the four-hour drive along the bumpy road, and she ordered the carriage to stop in some beautiful and comfortable place. Soon the coachman, an elderly Pole, stopped the carriage behind an unnamed settlement near the river. On the left, a sandy embankment descended to the very shore, forming a forest-free space. On the right side of the road there was a yellow field of sunflowers, over which the larks sang loudly, apparently trying to sing on these last warm days for the whole long winter.
“Panova, it will be comfortable for you to rest here, over there on the shore I will now put a table and benches,” said the servant who approached the carriage.
The gentlemen went to the river bank, waiting for everything to be arranged for them for a short rest. It was nice, warm and beautiful. The general and his wife discussed the empress’s new whim about creating a “guard of boy lovers,” as the general’s wife put it.
And then their gaze settled on a slender, thin boy of about fourteen standing a little further away, by the water. He stood holding a sunflower in his hands in front of him. The boy held it by its thick stem so that the flower itself, like a man’s face, looked at him. The boy moved his lips, talking to the flower. He seemed to be telling the plant something, while smiling at his “interlocutor”. They were struck by the child's face. It was incredibly beautiful and even seemed familiar to them. Well, of course, his face is similar to the face of the large figure of Christ carved from wood and standing in the Catholic Church in Vilna. These same thin features of a slightly elongated face. The boy was barefoot. He was wearing gray pants and a long shirt. It was impossible to say about its color, since it was sewn from different scraps, but they were chosen in such a way that it even turned out to be some kind of mysterious pattern.
The general beckoned to the boy. As he approached, they were able to get a better look at him. Long wavy hair ash color, obviously bleached by the sun, gave his face even more unusual. The boy looked at the gentlemen without fear, rather with curiosity. His Blue eyes with long eyelashes were wide open, expressing admiration. The general's wife addressed the boy in Russian, asking whose he would be. In response, the boy, smiling sweetly, somehow very gallantly handed his flower to the woman. She laughed and accepted the gift, stroking the boy on the cheek and, assuming that the child simply did not understand her, addressed the boy in Polish.
The boy said that his family lives here, very close, on the edge of the village, and that his mother calls him Leshek. The coachman approached and told the boy that he should kiss the lady’s hand. The general's wife extended her white palm to the boy. He, bending over the hand to kiss, froze and quietly said with admiration: “Bird, little bird.” Lady, laughing: “Well, why is the bird, it doesn’t look like it at all.” The general, also smiling, remarked: “But really, Janechko, I have never found such a wonderful comparison to your gentle hands.” They fell silent, apparently thinking at that moment about the same thing. “Bartish,” the wife turned to the general in Russian: “Let’s take him to St. Petersburg. It will be good gift Empress." The general immediately ordered them to be taken to the house of this boy.
The arrival of the carriage caused a stir in the small village. People poured out of their miserable houses into the street. The boy ran ahead, showing the way. He ran to the house, in front of which stood a woman surrounded by children, a few smaller ones. Leszek was probably the eldest child in the family. A short glance at this poorly dressed woman was enough to see her beauty. It became clear who the boy turned out to be so handsome. She stood smiling shyly, but there was no humiliation in her pose in front of the bright uniform of the general. The general, without leaving the stopped carriage, addressed the woman in Polish: “Pani.” The woman's eyes widened in surprise. “Lady, we would like to take your son, Leshek, to St. Petersburg. I will give you money. It will not be unnecessary for you.” The general tried to hide as deeply as possible in his words addressed to the woman the idea that they were buying her son from the poor mother.
The woman stood there, not expressing her attitude towards the general’s words.
The general, calling the servant, gave him 15 silver rubles, ordering him to give the money to the woman standing silently. The servant placed the coins in the mother's hand.
The woman didn't move. She stood with silver coins clutched in her fist.
Then the General’s wife, getting out of the carriage and approaching the woman, trying, as kindly as possible, to explain to her that the boy would receive a good education, and maybe even, like her husband, would become a general and then he would be able to help her and all her children.
What was the mother thinking at that moment? Maybe about what really, what kind of life awaits her pet here. Poverty. Or maybe she thought that with this money they would buy a new cow, because their old cow already produces almost as much milk as the neighbor’s goat, or maybe she thought that she could buy medicine for her husband, who has been sick for almost a year. You never know what you can spend this wealth on.
The woman just said: “Since God decided so, then let it be so. But how can it be like this now, all of a sudden? How will we survive this winter without an assistant?”
The general said with a sigh: “Well, we agreed, my people will go from the estate to St. Petersburg in the spring and take him with them. In the meantime, let the boy live at home.”
The servant helped his mistress get into the carriage, which immediately set off.
And now the crew with the unexpected guests disappeared into the distance around the bend. Disappeared like a fairy tale vision. Life in this beggarly outback flowed as before, slowly and tediously. A new cow appeared in the house, the children were given new shoes for the winter, only the eldest remained in his father’s torn shoes for the winter. And why spend money on him, he’ll leave in the spring anyway. Leszek himself experienced double feelings from the news that fell on him. On the one hand, he loved his mother very much, and he adored his brothers and sisters. Yes, and how will they be here without me, but on the other hand, it’s so interesting to visit other places where such beautiful ladies live as the visiting lady. But the hard work that fell on the boy’s shoulders due to his father’s illness quickly faded from his memory that fairy tale. And he already perceived everything that happened in the fall as some kind of dream. And mommy stopped crying when her gaze fell on him.
The winter, which was very snowy that year, was approaching April, the spring-like sun had already begun to warm up, but the general’s people still did not leave. Mom has already come to terms with both her son’s future departure and the fact that he will stay at home. Or maybe she thought that it was just a gift from God for all the hardships of their life, and no longer expected changes in her.
But the general’s train arrived anyway, and it happened at the end of May, it was already quite warm and everyone around was happy about the coming summer.
Leszek was at that age when the thirst for new adventures becomes equivalent to attachment to home, to loved ones, and just a small push was needed for the scale of his desires to swing in one direction or another.
“And besides, I’m not leaving forever,” the boy thought.
“I’ll be back, Mommy,” he shouted from the carriage taking him away from his parents’ house.
Did his mother hear his words through the screams of the children running after the cart? She stood at the threshold of the house. Her shoulders were slumped, her arms hung like lashes along her body. She didn’t cry; everything had already been cried out the day before. She stood and just prayed to the Lord that at least her eldest would have a good life.
They traveled quickly and reached St. Petersburg in 5 days. They entered the city when it was already deep night. There was that hour when the white night gave way only one hour to darkness. Gas lamps dimly illuminated the huge house into which he was led by Uncle Zbigniew, the coachman, the only person in the train who spoke Polish. Leszek was so exhausted from the trip that he instantly fell asleep on the bench that was shown to him for the night, wrapped in a sheepskin coat that he had received from the coachman during the trip.
When Leszek woke up, it was already daylight. He looked around: the room had a high ceiling, in the middle there was a long wooden table, around which benches were placed. Two women stood in front of Leszek, one spoke to the other in a language he did not understand, pointing a finger at him. But then the uncle coachman came and, having driven the women away, explained to the boy that he was now assigned to Leszek to show and explain everything, since no one here, except the gentlemen and him, understood the Polish language. He took the boy out into the yard to the restroom. Then, returning to the house, he showed him a place at the table, where there was already a large clay bowl with porridge and next to it a mug of milk, near which lay a wooden spoon. Leshek looked up in fear at his uncle the coachman, not understanding how much he was allowed to eat from this bowl. Mommy put about the same bowl of stew on the table for all of them. big family. He just asked, “Is this for me?”
Uncle Zbigniew laughed and stroked the boy’s head with a heavy, warm palm, saying: “Eat, Leszek, eat. And then we’ll go with you to the bathhouse, you got dirty on the road. And the lady general’s wife has already inquired about you. She’ll come to your bathhouse.” " Leszek didn’t know what “banya” was, but for some reason he really trusted this big good man. The boy ate hastily, but when he was a little full, as if he had come to his senses that he needed to leave this for someone else, he put the spoon on the table, making it clear that he was ready for the next miracles that could await him here.
They went out into the yard. It was warm, satisfying and pleasant. But then his uncle the coachman pushed him and stopped himself, bowing his head. Leszek turned around and saw the general's wife. He even stopped breathing, she was so beautiful. The lady was now dressed in a loose dress, her head was not covered with a shawl, like the first time, back then, in their shtetl, and her long white hair spilled over her shoulders. She smiled at him affectionately, saying: “Boy, how you have grown over the winter! Let’s quickly go to the bathhouse, we need to get you in order, then you will tell me everything about yourself.”
The woman was interested in the boy’s story, but she no less wanted to look at him without clothes, since having heard a lot about the morals of the Empress, she understood that the future page should have not only a beautiful face, mind and figure, but also have masculine “dignity” small sizes. It is possible that the latter was decisive in the choice of a candidate for the detachment of Catherine’s pages.
The general's wife turned and headed towards a separate building made of thick logs. On the way, she ordered something in Russian to the little man who was following her. The uncle coachman explained that this was Solomon the tailor and he would take Leszek’s measurements in order to sew him a dress.
Entering wooden house, the lady ordered with a sign that the coachman and tailor should remain in the first room, and she herself followed Leszek into the next. When the general's wife and the boy disappeared behind the door, the tailor smiled slyly and winked at the coachman, saying that everything was clear. The whims of gentlemen, they say.
In this spacious room, into which Leszek and the lady entered, it was very warm; in the middle there was a huge trough filled with water.
The lady general impatiently ordered Leshek to take off all his clothes and get into this bathtub, as she put it, to “soak.”
Leszek, who grew up in a poor town, did not know how to behave. On the one hand, it’s not good, as mommy said, to appear naked in front of the girls, but the lady is so good and kind. He took off everything he was wearing and turned to face the general’s wife. Something happened here that scared the boy.
The general’s wife, having only glanced at him briefly, sat down on the bench, pressing her palm to her lips. No, it wasn’t the size that struck her, they were convincing. But.....
She asked the boy to come closer to the window, it was brighter there.
Then the coachman and tailor sitting in the dressing room heard a surprised, frightened, angry voice: “Jew!”
Solomon immediately flew into the bathhouse, confident that the general’s wife was calling him.
But the lady, angrily waving at him, shouted: “Get out!” - but immediately added: “No, wait, come here, talk to him in your language.” The general’s wife still hoped that this was some kind of misunderstanding. Well, maybe there is some kind of men who have these things in this form, or maybe he’s just still small, and then, when he grows up, everything will be like everyone else’s.
"Kendale, baby, how are you so handsome?" - Solomon addressed affectionately in Yiddish to the boy, frightened by the sudden change in the general’s behavior. Hearing the familiar language, Leszek smiled. His face now expressed such tender, shy joy that the lady general sighed. All her hopes were dashed. Now there could be no question of any gift to the Empress.
Leszek was ready to rush and cling to this stranger, who spoke, albeit with a different accent, the language spoken in their town. But he was embarrassed to show his joy in front of the angry woman.
Mrs. Vysokodvorskaya, seeing the child’s face, illuminated by the rays of the sun penetrating through the small window of the bathhouse, immediately went limp; she again saw this biblical face, like that of a statue from a church.
But what to do with the boy? Of course I'll send it back, but he's so cute.
The general's family did not have their own children. Their firstborn died before reaching the age of one. She was no longer able to get pregnant again, and she had already reached the age when she and her husband came to terms with this.
Let the husband decide, thought Mrs. Janka, Bartosz is returning home today after a five-day inspection trip. Although in her heart she well understood that the decision would ultimately be hers. And she, it seems, has already decided this question for herself.
The general’s wife ordered the tailor to take measurements and sew a decent dress for the boy as quickly as possible and added: “You, Solomonka, ask him in your own way, in the Jewish way. Then I want to know what you think about this child.” Mrs. Yanka, looking once again at the boy’s slender naked body, sighed deeply, left the bath room, but then, opening the door again, lowering her voice to a whisper, she said: “If you tell someone that he’s not... well, In general, I’m not a peasant - I’ll rot in a hole!” Turning around, she threw it into the dressing room, turning to the coachman: “And this concerns you, I suppose you heard everything. Yes, and pick up some more decent clothes for him from the servant there. Don’t put his rags on him again. And tell Porfiryka, let him come yes He will cut his hair and do his nails cleanly. But let him not cut it short like the servants, but with beauty."
With this she left the bathhouse.
Uncle the coachman came in and, putting Leshek in the trough to soak, left him with Solomon, and he himself went to carry out the order of the lady general’s wife.
Solomon, sitting down on a bench near the trough, began asking Leszek about his family, about his first impressions after leaving his home.
But Leszek wanted to first ask the tailor what could have caused the lady’s anger. He understood that the reason was in him, but what could he have done wrong to upset this kind, affectionate woman?
“Tsa, tsa, tsa,” Solomon clicked his tongue, repeating slyly: “Kind and affectionate? Be careful with her, boy. The mood of gentlemen is changeable, like the wind over the Neva Bay. Yes, you must be careful and smart and constantly give "Teach yourself and be always and in everything interesting to gentlemen: it may happen that when interest in you disappears, then the attitude towards you will change to bad."
To the boy’s question, Solomon answered like this: “Kendele, son, it’s not your fault. This is how it happened in ancient times, when the world was divided into Jews and non-Jews. It’s good that this injustice has not yet touched you. Now tell me, baby. What's your real name?"
The boy, not understanding anything from Solomon’s explanation, began to tell him about himself, about what especially struck him on the road from home. They spoke Yiddish, it was theirs mutual language- Solomon did not know Polish, and Leszek did not understand Russian.
“I was written down in the book at the synagogue as Label, but I was never called that, and I was already accustomed to the name Leszek. What surprised me most on the journey?
Uncle Solomon, the horses were fed oats on the road. Real, large, yellow oats. I know what is it. Mommy sometimes cooked us oat stew. But those grains were small and often completely black." The boy fell silent, thinking about something of his own, distant.
Uncle Zbigniew entered. He brought clothes and helped the boy, who had relaxed in the warm water, get up, and wiped him with a large soft rag.
Solomon quickly took all the measurements necessary for the new clothes and left, hastening to the lady general’s wife to retell what he had heard from the boy.
In the dressing room, the barber who came did his job, putting the boy’s head and hands in order.
Before the general’s wife, the boy appeared as a clean, white, handsome man with short hair. After the little tailor described the boy as a wonderful storyteller, the general’s wife certainly wanted to hear Leszek’s stories herself.
“Takkk, that means you’re Label. No, that’s not good. I’ll call you Leshek, no, better than Alyosha. You’ll be our Alexey,” the general’s wife began her conversation.
"Alexey, can you read?" - “Yes, lady, I can write and read in Polish. I was taught this by a teacher from a Polish village, for whom dad, while he was healthy, sewed shoes. Dad and I went there, and we lived in his house while dad sewed shoes for The whole family of the teacher fed us there, and in order to pay for the shoes, as my mother asked, the teacher gave me Polish lessons."
“Could you tell me what you saw around you on the way to St. Petersburg, what you felt when you were coming here?” - and after a short pause she added: “Alyosha. You can sit next to me, on this chair.”
Only now the boy looked around. He was in a bright room; high tables, chairs with real backs, beautiful fabrics hanging on the windows. The lady was now dressed in another, blue, long dress with a beautiful pattern on the collar. Around his neck, on a yellow chain, hung a yellow cross. He saw such a cross, only large and wooden, on the wall of a Polish teacher.
Leszek did not know where to start his story, what could be interesting to such a noble Polish lady. But, remembering Solomon’s instructions that one must maintain interest in oneself at all times, he began right from the very first minutes of the trip.
“The road turned out to be a very wonderful thing! Everything that I could see from the covered wagon was striking in its unusualness. The road, with its miracles, suddenly tore me away from thoughts about the house from which I was taken. Looking at the beauty that opens around, you involuntarily turn your gaze to yourself, you begin to think about how small you are compared to the greatness of the whole world. And how big and endless this world is. Then my thoughts turned me to dreams and hopes for the future. The road involuntarily encourages me to calmly think about everything, because it’s faster anyway. life won't run while you're driving.
We passed through many Russian villages. I saw women working in the fields. The convoy was crossing wide rivers. When we stopped for the night, I could see the sunrise - it’s fabulously beautiful........” The boy glowed as he told his story. He charged the woman with his delight at what he saw. It was as if she herself was with him at that river and I saw the dawn above her.
At some point, Leszek, carried away by his story, touched the lady general’s hand, but immediately fell silent, his cheeks turning pink from embarrassment. “Sorry, lady,” he said, lowering his head.
The woman, amazed at the boy’s ability to so beautifully convey in the story all the shades of nature’s play, became emotional and gently stroked Leszek’s cheek, she was ready to kiss him handsome boy, but restrained her impulse when she heard the noise of an approaching carriage outside the window.
The general's wife shouted to the uncle-coachman and, entrusting the boy to him, went to meet her husband who had arrived.
The general, who had been absent from the house for almost a week, was amazed both by the changes in his wife’s mood (she was so cheerful, and there was not even a shadow of her usual Petersburg melancholy) and by the news about the boy who had arrived.
His first impulse, of course, was to immediately send him back to his parents, but seeing how his beloved Yanechka was shining, calling the boy affectionately Alyosha, he gave up. In the end, let it stay. It's a joy for the wife, let him have fun with him. And then, maybe God will give and we will baptize him, and he will be a true Catholic.
The teachers invited to Alyosha’s house noted his amazing abilities. Within a short time he spoke Russian well.
A year has passed. Alyosha turned into a well-mannered young man with good manners. His speech in Russian was correct, the foreign accent in it was almost imperceptible. Pani Yanka spent a lot of time with Alyosha. She taught him politeness and dancing.
They went to the center of St. Petersburg. Their house was located outside the city on the Petrograd side, and in order to get to the Nevsky Prospect, they had to cross the Nikolaevsky Bridge to Vasilievsky Island, then, driving along the Neva embankment along the luxurious palace of Count Menshikov, move to the opposite side of the river along the wide St. Isaac's Bridge. But before that, the carriage always stopped at the recently opened magnificent monument to Peter the Great. Noble people were walking around there. Then they drove to Nevsky Prospekt, marveling at the fresh colors of the façade of the Winter Palace.
Pani Yanka admired Alyosha, his delight, which he constantly experienced while driving through the city.
A special place where Alexey visited and which served as the impetus for his choice of his further direction in the study of sciences was the Kikin Chambers. The Kunstkamera Museum was transferred there from the Summer Palace, where a collection of rarities and identified evidence of anatomical deformity was collected. At that time, you could still see living exhibits there - monsters, dwarfs, giants who lived at the museum. Perhaps what he saw there had such an influence on the young man, or maybe Mrs. Yanka’s frequent ill health, but he firmly decided for himself that he would study medical science.
The only place where the general’s wife did not take the young man with her was the Catholic Church of St. Catherine located in the city center, on Nevsky Prospekt.
Mrs. Yanka sometimes very carefully tried to talk to Alyosha about the Bible, about Christ, but the boy did not understand much of her story.
Sometimes the lady asked to tell Alyosha about his faith. But what could Alexey tell about this? He didn’t really know anything, just general phrases that were uttered by a drunken rabbi in their local synagogue during Saturday prayers.
For the young man, it was a great holiday to see the tailor Solomon in the house. Pani left them alone, and Alyosha could plunge into Yiddish again. Solomon usually did not stay long, explaining that his path to home was very long. Solomon and his large family lived on the island of Kotlin, on the opposite edge of the island from the Kronshlot fortress, and he had to get there by longboat.
When the young man asked why he didn’t move to St. Petersburg, since all his main rich clients lived here, Solomon, laughing, replied: “Kendele, Jews, by the greatest decree of the empress, are forbidden to settle in the capital. The only exception is for merchants of the first guild and for some other women, but you, boy, are not supposed to know about them yet.
Solomon, lowering his voice, although who in this house besides them could understand Yiddish, almost whispered: “But sometimes I spend the night in the city. I rent a small outbuilding in a poor area of St. Petersburg, where I made myself a sewing workshop. In the outbuilding I have Sewing machines to make small adjustments to clothing. Yes, and there are two tailors working for me, to whom I entrust simple tailoring work."
Later Alyosha asked Mrs. Yanka about the island of Kotlin, where the tailor lives. Pani herself didn’t really know anything about this place, but she promised to ask her husband, who often sails to the island to inspect the fortress.
The general said that the residential part of the island has many good houses, churches, public buildings, but there are also a large number of small houses, empty places, unpaved, often dirty streets. There is also German and English church. There are many merchants and all kinds of artisans there from those peoples who are forbidden to live in the capital. After a big fire, which destroyed almost all the buildings of the island, it is being restored according to a single plan, and not haphazardly. The empress decided to ennoble the island; there, land was given out, almost for nothing, for the construction of houses to noble gentlemen. “But you, dear, go there with Alyosha, and if you like the place, then we can build a house there, and it’s more convenient for me for service. And I’ll send just a little man with you, let him immediately register this plot for us ..............."
The further fate of these people can only be traced dotted line.
It is known that Mrs. Yanka’s health had deteriorated sharply, and her German doctor, who had been treating her all these years, strongly recommended that they leave damp St. Petersburg. General Bartish Vysokodvorsky left military service, and the couple decided to move to their estate in Lithuania. Alexey, having become a real St. Petersburger, studied medical sciences, but, having never accepted Christianity, could not remain living in the capital. It was decided that he would stay to finish his studies, and then God willing. From Mr. Bartosh and Mrs. Yanka he received the surname Vysokodvorsky and a house on the island of Kotlin, today called Kronstadt.
So this island became the place from where, like from a spring that gave rise to a long family of Vysokodvorskys, the descendants of Alyosha-Label scattered in streams all over the world.
The story is dedicated to my wife, nee Vysokodvorskaya.
Here you will meet one of the descendants of this Alyosha.
The left glove, a steel bed, the village of Zavidovka, homemade chess and other items that the Empress gave to her closest and complete strangers
Prepared by Elizaveta Kanatova
In 1887, the writer Mikhail Pylyaev in the book “Old Petersburg” said that the empress gave a certain bride a ring with her own image in men’s clothing, a bribe-taker - “a purse an arshin long”, and someone unknown - “a simple washstand with water”, from whose old ring fell out. Arzamas remembered ten no less amazing gifts from Catherine, which can still be seen today.
Coach
Catherine II's carriage National Museum of the Republic of TatarstanIn this carriage in 1767 the Empress entered Kazan. According to legend, there she presented it to the Archbishop of Kazan and Sviyazhsk Veniamin, although the carriage was not listed in the inventory of the bishop's house. Nevertheless, it is known for sure that in the summer of 1889, Archbishop Pavel of Kazan handed over the carriage to the City Duma, which, in turn, donated it to the Kazan City Museum. The length of the carriage is 6 meters, the height is 2.8 meters, the diameter of the rear wheels is 1.8 meters. The sides depict Zeus, Neptune, Venus, Neptune's chariot and boat.
Gloves
Gloves of Catherine IIOn April 20, 1767, Catherine II visited an orphanage “in Kitay-Gorod near the Varvarsky Gate” and gave her pair of gloves to two orphan boys: the left one to Ivan Gerasimov, the right one to Mikita Andreev. This is indicated by the inscriptions on the envelopes included with the gloves, written in Russian and German. 156 years later, the gloves were again found in the collection of the Historical Museum.
Glasses
Gift from Catherine II to Novoseltsev State Historical Museum The Empress gave her own glasses to the Vice-Governor of St. Petersburg Novoseltsev. Novoseltsev ordered a case, on the lid of which the following inscription was made: “The glasses stored here from the Great Empress’s own consumption were granted to the St. Petersburg vice-governor Novoseltsev on November 4, 1786, upon the occasion of the most merciful consideration of his headache.” Apparently, Ekaterina advised Novoseltsev to wear glasses to get rid of headaches, and immediately donated her own.
Children's drum
Children's drum of Grand Duke Alexander Pavlovich. Around 1782 State Hermitage Museum Among the toys given by Catherine II to her grandson, Grand Duke Alexander Pavlovich, was this silver drum with the Grand Duke's monogram on the body. Alexander grew up, but the drum remained in the children's rooms of the Winter Palace, and the following crown princes played with it. Unfortunately, the miniature sword, which the empress personally made for her grandson from a pin, which was mentioned in the “Guide to the Study of Peter the Great and the Gallery of Jewels” back in 1901, apparently has not survived.
Saber
Saber given by Catherine II to her grandson Alexander Moscow Kremlin Museum-Reserve It is believed that this saber was also among the gifts given by Catherine II to her beloved grandson Alexander. It was apparently made in the late 1770s. The blade is inscribed in gold with the following inscriptions: “Century of Sultan Suleiman, year 957 (1540/1541)”, “There is no God but Allah”, “God Almighty” and “Allah protects”. The word “well-being” is repeated three times on the butt of the blade. On the blade, in the recess, an inscription was made using the same technique Greek: “Judge, O Lord, those who offend me, overcome those who fight me. Take the weapon and the shield and rise up to help me, Heraclius.” On the front side of the handle there is an image of Emperor Augustus, on the back - Alexander the Great.
Chess
Chess carved by Catherine II, from the Moscow Kremlin Museum-Reserve User Raina-rai / fotki.yandex.ru The bone chess set with fine carvings was carved by the Empress herself, as evidenced by the inscription on the case: “Churning by Her Imperial Majesty Catherine the Second.” Received 1766: February 25 days.” Dmitry Ivanov, who worked as head of the Armory from 1922 to the 1930s, suggested that the empress gave the chess to her personal secretary Ivan Betsky. Betskoy ordered the case himself.
Service
Ice cream cups from the cameo service. 1777-1788 State Hermitage Museum The Empress ordered this service in 1777 as a gift to Prince Grigory Potemkin. It consisted of more than 700 items created in forms that had never been used for other sets. The service was decorated with a floral monogram of Catherine II and images of cameos from antique originals from the collection of Louis XV.
Steel bed
The bed became a wedding gift to Prince Potemkin’s niece Alexandra Vasilyevna Engelhardt, who in 1781 married the Polish Grand Crown Hetman Francis Xavier Branicki. The bed was made by special order of the Empress at the Tula Arms Factory. The lower part of the columns is decorated with diamond edges. Now the bed is in the Lviv Museum of Ethnography and Arts.
Villages
Church in the village of Popovka (Lenino) K. Shastovski / radzima.org In 1779, Catherine granted her cabinet secretary Zavadovsky the villages of the Mogilev province - Popovka, Veselovka, Zavidovka and others with a population of 3950 male souls "for his service<…>during the war... under Field Marshal General Rumyantsev-Zadunaisky.”
Castle
From the album “Plan of the capital city of St. Petersburg with images of its most notable avenues.” Engraving by Y. Vasiliev based on a drawing by M. Makhaev, painted with watercolors. 1753 Russian National Library Anichkov Palace began to be built in 1741 by decree of Empress Elizabeth Petrovna, who had just ascended the throne, for her favorite Alexei Razumovsky. In 1776, Catherine II bought the baroque palace (the last architect to work on it was Rastrelli) from Kirill Razumovsky, brother of Alexei, and presented it to her favorite, Prince Grigory Potemkin.
Prince Potemkin first ordered the architect Ivan Starov to rebuild the old-fashioned palace, and then sold it to the merchant Shemyakin. But he failed to refuse the royal gift: Catherine II bought the palace again
and again gave it to Potemkin.