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Prince Sergei Grigorievich Volkonsky 4th (December 8, 1788 - November 28, 1865) - major general, brigade commander of the 19th infantry division (1825); hero of the Patriotic War of 1812, Decembrist.

Biography

early years

From the princely family of Volkonsky, the younger brother of N. G. Repnin. Son of Prince G. S. Volkonsky (1742-1824) - cavalry general, Orenburg Governor-General, member of the State Council. Born in Moscow in his father’s house on Volkhonka on December 8 (20), 1788, two days after the Russian troops captured the Turkish fortress of Ochakov. He enlisted as a sergeant in the Kherson Grenadier Regiment on June 1, 1796, and after several “transfers” to different regiments, he was assigned as a captain in the Ekaterinoslav Cuirassier Regiment in December 1797. He spent his adolescence in the privileged Jesuit boarding school of Abbot Nicolas, where only children from noble families were accepted to study. He began active service on December 28, 1805 as a lieutenant in the Cavalry Regiment.

In the fall of 1806, during the beginning of the second war between Russia and the French on the side of the Fourth Coalition, he was assigned as an adjutant to the retinue of the Commander-in-Chief Field Marshal M.F. Kamensky, with whom he soon arrived at the theater of military operations in Prussia. However, after a few days, the young prince was left without a place, since the old general, not wanting to fight Napoleon, voluntarily left the troops entrusted to him. This happened on December 13 (25), 1806. On the same day, he was taken under his wing - also as an adjutant - by Lieutenant General Alexander Ivanovich Osterman-Tolstoy, under whose command the next day - December 14 (26), 1806 - he received baptism of fire in the Battle of Pultusk. Then, during the battle, the Russians managed to successfully fight off the enemy. Interestingly, exactly 19 years later, on the same day, the Decembrist uprising took place on Senate Square in St. Petersburg.

In the Battle of Preussisch-Eylau, which took place on January 26-27 (February 7-8), 1807, he fought while already an adjutant to the new Russian commander-in-chief, cavalry general Leonty Leontyevich Bennigsen, and was wounded by a bullet in the right side. In the spring of the same year, his list was supplemented by the battles of Gutstadt and Friedland. Somewhat later, he observed the meeting of the Russian Tsar Alexander I with Napoleon in Tilsit. In view of Bennigsen's resignation, he returned home as a combat officer in the Cavalry Regiment, in which he continued to serve. He had the Order of St. Vladimir, 4th degree, a gold cross for Preussisch-Eylau, a gold sword with the inscription “For bravery.” In 1810-1811 he fought with the Turks and, for his distinction, was promoted to captain and awarded an aide-de-camp.

Patriotic War

In 1812, he was with the Sovereign Emperor, with the rank of His Majesty's aide-de-camp, from the opening of hostilities until the return of His Imperial Majesty to the capital; was in actual battles, in the 2nd Western Army, at Mogilev and Dashkovka; in the detachment of Adjutant General Baron F.F. Wintzingerode: July 28, near Porechye; August 1, at Usvyat; 7 - at Vitebsk; 31 - near the city of Zvenigorod and September 2, on the river. Moscow, with Orlov; On October 2, under the city of Dmitrov, and for his distinction in this battle, he was awarded the rank of colonel. On August 14, while in the flying detachment of Adjutant General Golenishchev-Kutuzov, he was in actual battles: when crossing the river. I scream, in the battle of Dukhovshchina and near Smolensk, from where he was sent with a partisan detachment, he acted between Orsha and Tolochin and opened communication between the main army and the corps of Count Wittgenstein; was also involved in crossing the enemy across the river. Berezina, for which he was awarded the Order of St. Vladimir, 3rd degree, and his pursuit from Lepel to Vilna.

In 1813, he corrected the position of duty officer in the corps of Baron Wintzingerode, was with him on a foreign campaign and was in actual battles: on February 2, near Kalisz, where he was awarded the Order of St. George, 4th class; April 16 and 18, in the vanguard affairs near the city of Weinsenfelsk, 20 - in the general battle of Lutzen; was during the retreat from the city of Lutsen until the Russian troops crossed the river. Elba, for which he was awarded the Order of St. Anne, 2nd degree, decorated with diamonds, and the Prussian Order “Pour le Mrite”, and for distinction in the battles of Gross-Beeren and Dennewitz he was promoted to major general on September 15. He distinguished himself near Leipzig and was awarded the Order of St. Anne, 1st class, and the Austrian Order of Leopold, 2nd class. He fought in France in 1814 and was awarded the Prussian Order of the Red Eagle, 2nd class, for his distinction at Laon. In 1816 he was appointed brigade commander of the 2nd Lancer Division, and in 1821 he was transferred to brigade commander of the 19th Infantry Division.

The brilliant general Sergei Volkonsky more than once shocked society with his antics, and his wife, the famous “Decembrist” Maria Volkonskaya shed many tears

In life Sergei Grigorievich Volkonsky all the most important events occurred in December: he was born on December 19, 1788, died on December 10, 1865, and the uprising on Senate Square, which occurred on December 26 (14th old style) December 1825, radically turned his fate around. In books and films, he is “painted” as a brave and gallant daredevil, but this is a very conventional portrait of a noble prince. Volkonsky was still that prankster, he did a lot of weird things in his lifetime, more than once shocking high society and his relatives.

Descendant of Rurik

Sergei Volkonsky was a representative of one of the most noble Russian families. On his paternal and maternal lines, his ancestors are Rurikovich. Father, Grigory Semenovich served with himself Suvorov, was a cavalry general. Mother, born Repnina, always received high positions under the empresses, and even when her son was arrested and interrogated after the Decembrist uprising, she took part in the coronation NicholasI.

Sergei Grigorievich was enrolled in military service as an infant. At the age of 17 he was enrolled in the elite Cavalry Regiment. His career quickly took off during the wars with Napoleon. When between AlexanderI and a temporary truce was established by the French emperor, Volkonsky was among those who were present at the signing of the treaty in Tilsit. He met the Patriotic War with the rank of adjutant of His Majesty and the owner of the golden sword “For Bravery”.

And although Sergei Volkonsky did not take part in the famous Battle of Borodino, he has many glorious deeds to his name as part of a “flying” partisan detachment under the command of Winzengerode. He fought bravely and was awarded many orders. As part of the Russian army, he took part in foreign campaigns and in 1813 was awarded the rank of major general. He had at least one and a half thousand serfs and huge land holdings in the most fertile, southern provinces of Russia.

Be different from everyone else

For two centuries, researchers have been asking the question: why did the well-born, wealthy and then even unmarried Volkonsky need to get into the heat of the conspiracy? After all, the prince called Alexander I the most important liberal in the country. The question is, what was he missing?

Many people like to point out the strange things that happened to members of the Volkonsky family. For example, Father Grigory Semenovich could not match Suvorov in valor, but he diligently copied all his quirks: together with Alexander Vasilyevich he crowed “rooster”; he could put a robe on his naked body, and on it all his orders; being a governor, driving through the streets of Orenburg and hearing bell ringing, could crash straight into the dirt and bow to the ground.

His daughter suffered from kleptomania. She went to visit with a bag in which she put treats. The most interesting thing is that all this was considered “cute eccentricities” that rich and well-born people allowed themselves simply out of boredom.

Young Sergei Volkonsky was also having a blast. He honestly admitted in his memoirs what kind of life the cavalry guards led. Drunkenness, regular trips to ladies of a certain behavior - that was nothing. Volkonsky could ride a horse down the street naked. Once, he and his friends trained a dog to rush at passers-by on the command “Bonaparte!”

Alexander I, of course, heard rumors about Volkonsky’s mischief, and the emperor was very dissatisfied. After 1813, the prince's career stalled. And it is quite possible that he was looking for some way to break out of this boredom and again become different from everyone else. He even tried to be a Freemason, but, despite the fact that the “free masons” welcomed the rich and noble prince, he was not interested in this matter.

In 1819 he meets his old comrade, also a major general, Orlova, who was already a member of a secret society. Orlov invited Volkonsky to the meeting, and it was as if the prince’s “eyes were opened.” Then he was sent on duty to Tulchin (Vinnytsia region - editor's note) and there he became close to Pavel Pestel. Pestel - a smart, sharp, authoritarian man - became his idol.

At the same time, Volkonsky did not intend to occupy any positions if the uprising was successful; he understood that he would lose a significant part of his wealth. But, nevertheless, he regularly served the secret society and even carried out some delicate assignments. For example, by forging a seal, he opened the correspondence not only of official officials, but also of his comrades - future Decembrists.

Bad omen

In August 1824, the no longer young Sergei Volkonsky unexpectedly wooed Maria Raevskaya, who was exactly half her age. It would seem that there is nothing strange that a noble general asks for the hand of the daughter of another brilliant general, a hero of the War of 1812 Nikolai Raevsky. Moreover, Maria Nikolaevna was beautiful, sang beautifully, played the piano, and French and English languages She owned it better than her family. The only bad thing was that the bride and groom practically did not know each other before the wedding. The senior general was well aware of the scandalous reputation of his future son-in-law, and Maria did not want to marry an “old man” unknown to her, but Raevsky’s word in the family was decisive. Apparently, he hoped that the Volkonskys’ wealth would save his own family from ruin, on the verge of which the Raevskys were then on the verge.

Once, after the engagement, Sergei and Maria danced at a ball. The girl accidentally touched the burning candles with her sleeve, and her dress caught fire. Fortunately, Maria was not injured, but then she cried for a long time and repeated: “Bad omen!”

They got married on January 11, 1825. The newlyweds were together very little. After the “honey period,” the prince left for his duty station, leaving his wife pregnant. Maria complained about her husband’s difficult character and even called him “unbearable.” Then they saw each other in November, and then Volkonsky again left for Tulchin. Through his influential friends, he learned about the fatal illness of Alexander I; the uprising was just around the corner.

And although Volkonsky worked not for the Northern, but for the Southern secret society, it was the entry of the Decembrists into Senate Square that decided his fate. Three days after the events in St. Petersburg, the Chernigov regiment rebelled. There were arrests and interrogations. On January 2, Maria Volkonskaya gave birth to her first child, and a few days later her husband was arrested. Since the young princess’s birth was very difficult, she, of course, was not told anything.

Into the depths of Siberian ores

Much later, she learned that her husband was in the fortress, and also that some of the wives of those arrested decided to follow their husbands to Siberia and petitioned the emperor. From that moment on, there was a sharp turn in Maria’s feelings for her husband. As some researchers note, the young princess seemed to have decided to “take revenge” for the first unsuccessful months of her marriage. Now her husband already needed her. The prince's family also supported her in this, while General Raevsky was horrified that his daughter would go to Siberia.

Meanwhile, Maria Nikolaevna’s departure itself was arranged completely differently than, for example, the princess’s trip to Siberia Ekaterina Trubetskoy. Trubetskoy, who adored her husband, one might say, quickly got ready without unnecessary noise. Maria spent a long time visiting her family and visiting various salons, where everyone called her a heroine. She also visited the famous salon of her famous relative Zinaida Volkonskaya. Myself Pushkin expressed admiration for her. He wanted to give her the poem “In the depths of the Siberian ores...”, but, as Maria Nikolaevna said, he didn’t have time, and took the immortal message to the Decembrists Alexandra Muravyova.

Of course, the trip of a young, pampered woman to the Siberian mines was already a feat. But it is unlikely that Maria was fully aware of what she was doing. She was not stopped even by the fact that Nicholas I forbade the Decembrists to take children with them. The Volkonskys' firstborn, left without a mother and with his paternal grandmother, died at the age of two.

As Maria Volkonskaya later admitted in her memoirs, she did not expect to live in Siberia for many years. But, while already on the way, she learned about the emperor’s new order: those wives who went to fetch the exiles do not have the right to return. Nicholas I generally swore that all the exiled Decembrists would never be released during his lifetime.

Arriving in Siberia, finally reaching the casemates, she saw her husband shackled. And first Maria kissed the chains, and then her husband.

The end of a fairy tale

For Sergei Volkonsky, in addition to enormous moral support, the princess’s arrival also had a very important practical significance: thanks to her presence, he was able to recover from tuberculosis. In addition, both she and Trubetskoy helped other prisoners as much as they could, wrote letters for them (personal correspondence was prohibited to the exiles), and obtained food and clothing.

But later, despite the fact that conditions for the Decembrists gradually softened, the Volkonskys experienced complete discord. Sergei Grigorievich, according to eyewitnesses, “said goodbye,” “became a peasant,” constantly communicated with men and became interested in agriculture. Maria Nikolaevna, on the contrary, when the opportunity arose, she started her own “salon”, where her husband could come almost in a sheepskin coat, smeared with manure. As a result, she ordered him not to be allowed in.

The main role was played by another exiled Decembrist, a certain Poggio. And many claimed that the Volkonsky children, Michael And Elena, born in Siberia, are in fact not of princely blood at all.

In 1856, the Volkonsky couple returned from exile. Poggio remained close to the family. He outlived both Maria Nikolaevna and Sergei Grigorievich and was buried with them on the Volkonsky estate in the Chernigov province. Maria Volkonskaya died on August 10, 1863. Sergei Grigorievich had a hard time with the death of his wife, he was even paralyzed. He outlived her by two years. Unfortunately, the grave of the Volkonskys, over which their daughter Elena built a church, disappeared from the face of the earth along with the church in the 1930s.

Hero of the Patriotic War of 1812, Prince Sergei Grigorievich Volkonsky(1788-1865) was born into a wealthy family, came from an old family of Chernigov princes (belonged to the 26th tribe of Rurikovich). His father, Grigory Semenovich Volkonsky, was a cavalry general, Orenburg military governor, and a member of the State Council. Mother, Alexandra Nikolaevna, was the daughter of Field Marshal Prince Nikolai Vasilyevich Repnin. A relative of S. G. Volkonsky was Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy. The writer's mother, Maria Nikolaevna Tolstaya (née Volkonskaya), was his second cousin.

The active service of Sergei Volkonsky began at the end of 1805; He took part in many battles and was distinguished by great courage and humanity towards his subordinates. At one time, Volkonsky was a member of the Suite of Emperor Alexander I, who called him “Monsieur Serge” (the title of aide-de-camp to Sergei Grigorievich was granted in 1811). In 1813, at the age of 24, he became a major general. In 1819, Volkonsky joined the “Union of Welfare,” and in 1821 he joined the Southern Society (from 1823, together with V.L. Davydov, he headed the Kamensk board of the society). In January 1825 he married Maria Nikolaevna Raevskaya. In January 1826, Volkonsky was arrested, and in July 1826 he was sentenced to 20 years of hard labor (later the term was reduced to 10 years). He served hard labor at the Blagodatsky mine, in, on. Since 1837 Volkonsky lived in a settlement with his family near the village. Urik, and from 1845 - in Irkutsk itself.

S. G. Volkonsky stood out, like many of his close relatives, for some quirks. If his young years were distinguished by “hussarism” (and with large debts), then in Siberia he began to lead a simple, peasant lifestyle, turning into a prudent owner who earned money through his labor. He spent the summer in the fields, and in the winter he liked to go to markets. Volkonsky communicated more with peasants, but rarely met with Decembrists. He lived mostly in Urik, but when he came to Irkutsk, he lived not in the house itself, but in a people’s hut in the courtyard of the estate. S. G. Volkonsky returned from Siberia in 1856. last years During his life he worked on memoirs (his “Notes” were published in 1901). S.G. Volkonsky was buried next to his wife in the village. Funnels of Chernigov province.

Maria Nikolaevna Volkonskaya(1805-1863) was the daughter of the hero of the Patriotic War of 1812, General Nikolai Nikolaevich Raevsky. Her mother, Sofya Alekseevna (nee Konstantinova), was the granddaughter of M.V. Lomonosov. Maria was educated at home, spoke fluent French and English, and had a wonderful voice and musical abilities. She was friends with A.S. Pushkin, who dedicated poems to her. At the age of 19, at the behest of her father, she married Sergei Volkonsky, almost without knowing the groom. When Volkonsky was sentenced to hard labor, despite the resistance of his relatives, Maria Nikolaevna decided to share his fate. After Nicholas I allowed her to follow her husband, she left her first-born Nicholas with relatives and in February 1827 arrived at the Blagodatsky mine in the Nerchinsk mining district. The arrival of his wife encouraged Sergei Volkonsky, since the living conditions in hard labor were very difficult.

In Siberia and took place most of life of Maria Volkonskaya. Here she helped people a lot and acted as the personification of spirituality and support. Life gradually got better. In 1832, the Volkonskys had a son, Mikhail, and in 1835, a daughter, Elena. In Irkutsk, Maria Volkonskaya made her home the center of public life: it was often noisy, there were many guests, performances, masquerades, and balls took place. In the summer of 1855, Maria Nikolaevna was allowed to leave for treatment in

S.G. Volkonsky. Portrait sent
Vladimir Leonidovich Chernyshev, associate professor of NTU “KhPI”, Kharkov.

Volkonsky Sergei Grigorievich (1788-1865) participant in the war with the rank of colonel; Decembrist: was a member of the “Southern Society”, a Freemason; on December 14, 1925 he was a major general. By court verdict, he was deprived of ranks and nobility, served a sentence in Siberia - 20 years of hard labor; from August 1836 on the settlement. Married, had two children.

Volkonsky Sergei Grigorievich (1788 - 1865, village of Voronki, Chernigov province) - Decembrist. He came from an old princely family. He received his education at home and in the private boarding school of Abbot Nicolas in St. Petersburg. Enlisted in the army in 1796. Volkonsky has been in active service since 1805. He distinguished himself during the war against Napoleonic army in 1806 - 1807 and in the Turkish campaign of 1810-1811, receiving a golden sword for bravery and becoming an aide-de-camp to Alexander I. Participated in the Patriotic War of 1812 and foreign campaigns 1813 - 1815, was promoted to major general and awarded many orders. A member of several Masonic lodges, a wealthy landowner and owner of more than 20 thousand peasants, who had a brilliant military career, Volkonsky joined the Union of Welfare in 1820, and in 1821 became a member of the Southern Society. A supporter of P.I. Pestel's "Russian Truth", Volkonsky "agreed both to the introduction of republican rule and to the extermination of all persons of the imperial family." But under various pretexts he refused to take decisive action: he did not arrest Alexander I in 1823 during a review in Bobruisk and did not raise the division he commanded to revolt in 1825. Much later, in “Notes,” Volkonsky explained that, in his opinion, Russia needs to be placed “in terms of citizenship on a level with Europe and contribute to its rebirth, similar to the great truths expressed at the beginning of the French Revolution, but without the hobbies that plunged France into the abyss of anarchy." He was convicted of the first category, but the death penalty was replaced by 20 years of hard labor, later reduced to 9 years. In Siberia, he organized material support for poor comrades and made friends with local peasants, providing them with medical and other assistance. In 1856 he was amnestied, came to Moscow, traveled abroad several times, and then settled on his estate. The author of Notes, remarkable for their historical and cultural value, Volkonsky retained his democratic convictions about the need for civil freedom in Russia until the end of his life.

Book materials used: Shikman A.P. Figures of Russian history. Biographical reference book. Moscow, 1997

J.-B. Izabe. Portrait of S.G. Volkonsky. 1814

Volkonsky Sergei Grigorievich, Decembrist, major general (1817). Military He began his service in 1805 in a cavalry regiment. Participant in the campaign of 1806-1807 during the Napoleonic wars, the war with Turkey 1806-12, the Fatherland, the war of 1812 and abroad. Russian hikes troops 1813-14. Participated in more than 50 battles. He particularly distinguished himself at Pultusk (1806), Preussisch-Eylau (1807), Watin (1810) and Kalisz (1813). Since 1820 secret society of the Decembrists - “Union of Welfare”, from 1821 - South. Society of Decembrists. Together with V.L. Davydov he headed the Kamensk administration of Yuzh. about-va. Established connections with Sev. Society of Decembrists. In 1825 he participated in negotiations with representatives of the secret revolutionary Polish society on the development of plans for joint action. After the Decembrist uprising of 1825, he was arrested and sentenced to death, commuted to hard labor. In 1827, his wife Maria Volkonskaya, daughter of the hero of the Fatherland, the war of 1812, voluntarily went to the place of hard labor. from the cavalry of H. N. Raevsky. In 1856 V. returned from Siberia. Until the end of his life he remained faithful to revolutionary views. He sharply criticized the reforms of the 60s. for their half-heartedness. He approved of the views of A.I. Herzen and N.P. Ogarev, whom he met in the late 50s - early. 60s Abroad.

Materials from the Soviet Military Encyclopedia in 8 volumes, volume 2 were used.

VOLKONSKY Sergei Grigorievich, Prince. (12/8/1788 - 11/28/1865). Major General, commander of the 1st Brigade of the 19th Infantry Division of the 2nd Army.
Father - member of the State Council, cavalry general Prince. Grigory Semenovich Volkonsky (25.1.1742 - 17.7.1824), mother - kzh. Alexandra Nikolaevna Repnina (25.4.1756 - 23.12.1834) daughter of Field Marshal Prince. N.V. Repnina), State Lady (from August 22, 1826) and Chief Chamberlain. He was raised at home until the age of 14 under the guidance of the foreigner Frieze and retired lieutenant colonel Baron Kahlenberg (in 1798 he spent several months in the boarding house of Jacquinot, teacher of the 1st Cadet Corps), then in the boarding house of Abbot Nicolas in St. Petersburg (1802-1805). Enlisted as a sergeant in the Kherson Grenadier Regiment - 1.6.1796 (at the age of 8), enlisted as a staff-furier in the headquarters of Field Marshal Suvorov-Rymniksky - 10.7.1796, appointed adjutant in the Aleksopol Infantry Regiment - 1.8.1796, transferred as regimental quartermaster to The Staroindermanland Musketeers regiment - 10.9.1796, was appointed by the adjutant outbuilding and “renamed” the captain in the Yekaterinoslav Kirasir Regiment - 19.3.1797, transferred to the Rostov Dragoon Regiment - 11/18/1797, returned to the Yekaterinoslav Kirasir Regiment - 12/15/1797. In active service from December 28, 1805, when he was transferred as a lieutenant to the Life Guards. Cavalry regiment, participant in the campaign of 1806-1807 (distinguished himself in a number of battles, earning the Order of Vladimir 4th class with a bow, a gold badge for Preussisch-Eylau and a golden sword for bravery) and 1810-1811 in Turkey, staff captain - 12/11/1808, granted to adjutant wing - 6.9.1811, captain - 10.18.1811, participant in the Patriotic War of 1812 and foreign campaigns of 1813-1815, participated in almost all major battles, for distinction in which he was promoted to colonel - 6.9.1812, major general - 15.9. 1813 with retention in the retinue and awarded the orders of Vladimir 3rd class, George 4th class, Anna 2nd class. with diamond signs, Anna 1 tbsp. and several foreign ones. In 1814 he was attached to the head of the dragoon division, appointed brigade commander of the 1st brigade of the 2nd Ulan division - 1816, appointed commander of the 2nd brigade of the 2nd hussar division - 4/20/1818 (he was not in the brigade and did not begin service in it), 7/27/1818 was dismissed on leave abroad until the illness was cured (but did not go abroad) and 5.8 was expelled from command of the brigade and assigned to the head of the same division, appointed brigade commander of the 1st brigade of the 19th infantry division - 14.1.1821. Mason, member of the United Friends lodge (1812), Sphinx lodge (1814), founder of the Three Virtues lodge (1815) and honorary member of the Kyiv lodge of the United Slavs (1820). Behind him there are 1046 souls in the Nizhny Novgorod province and 545 souls in the Yaroslavl province; in 1826 there were up to 280 thousand of them. rub. debt, in addition, he owned 10 thousand acres of land in the Tauride province and a farm near Odessa.

Member of the Welfare Union (1819) and the Southern Society, from 1823 he headed together with V.L. Davydov Kamenskaya Council of the Southern Society, an active participant in the Kyiv congresses “on contracts”, liaised between the Northern and Southern societies.

Order of arrest - December 30, 1825, arrested on January 5, 1826 in the 2nd Army, delivered to St. Petersburg on January 14 and imprisoned Peter and Paul Fortress in No. 4 of the Alekseevsky ravelin (“sent by Prince Sergei Volkonsky to be imprisoned either in the Alekseevsky ravelin, or where it is convenient but so that his imprisonment is unknown. January 14, 1826”).

Convicted of the first category and upon confirmation on July 10, 1826, sentenced to hard labor for 20 years.

Sent in chains to Siberia - 7/23/1826 (signs: height 2 arshins 8 1/4 vershoks, “clean face, gray eyes, oblong face and nose, dark brown hair on head and eyebrows, light beard, has a mustache, medium-sized body, right leg in the shin has a wound from a bullet, wears false teeth with one natural front upper tooth"), the term was reduced to 15 years - 8/22/1826, delivered to Irkutsk - 8/29/1826, soon sent to the Nikolaev Distillery, returned from there to Irkutsk - 6.10, sent to the Blagodatsky mine - 8.10, arrived there - 10.25.1826, sent to the Chita prison - 20.9.1827, arrived there - 29.9, arrived at the Petrovsky plant in September 1830, the term was reduced to 10 years - 8.11.1832. At the request of his mother, he was released from hard labor and sent to settle in the Petrovsky plant - 1835; the highest decree allowed him to be transferred to live in the village. Urik, Irkutsk province - 2.8.1836. where he arrived - 26.3.1837, in 1845 he finally moved to Irkutsk. According to the amnesty on August 26, 1856, the nobility was returned to him and his children and allowed to return to European Russia, the children were given the princely title - August 30, left Irkutsk - September 23, 1856. The place of residence was determined to be the village of Zykovo, Moscow district, but he lived almost constantly in Moscow, from October 1858 to August 1859, in 1860-1861, from 1864 abroad, from the spring of 1865 he lived in the village. Funnels of the Kozeletsky district of the Chernigov province, where he died and was buried with his wife.

Wife (from 1/11/1825 in Kyiv) - Maria Nikolaevna Raevskaya.

Brothers: Nikolai Grigorievich Repnin-Volkonsky (1778 - 1845), cavalry general, with highest resolution added to his surname the name of his grandfather, Field Marshal N.V. Repin, who left no heirs in the male line, in 1826 the Little Russian military governor, Nikita (1781 - 1841), retinue major general, sister Sophia (1785 - 1868), married to the Minister of the Court and Appanages, Prince. P.M. Volkonsky.

VD, X, 95-180; GARF, f. 109, 1 exp., 1826, d. 61, part 55.

Materials used from Anna Samal’s website “Virtual Encyclopedia of the Decembrists” - http://decemb.hobby.ru/

ON THE. Bestuzhev. S.G. Volkonsky with his wife in the cell,
allocated to them in Petrovskaya prison. 1830

Memoirs of a contemporary

Old Volkonsky - he was already about 60 years old at that time - was known in Irkutsk as a great original. Once in Siberia, he somehow abruptly broke ties with his brilliant and noble past, transformed into a busy and practical owner, and simply became simpler, as it is commonly called today. Although he was friendly with his comrades, he was rarely in their circle, and was more friendly with the peasants; in the summer he spent whole days working in the fields, and in the winter his favorite pastime in the city was visiting the bazaar, where he met many friends among the suburban peasants and loved to chat with them from heart to heart about their needs and the progress of the economy. The townspeople who knew him were quite shocked when, walking through the market on Sunday from mass, they saw how the prince, perched on the beam of a peasant's cart with piled up bags of bread, was having a lively conversation with the peasants who surrounded him, having breakfast right there with them on a piece of gray wheat bread. When the family moved to the city and occupied a large two-story house, which later always housed governors, the old prince, gravitating more towards the village, lived permanently in Urik and only visited the family from time to time, but even here - the lordly luxury of the house was not so was in harmony with his tastes and inclinations - he did not stay in the house itself, but set aside a room for himself somewhere in the yard - and his own room looked more like a pantry, because various junk and all sorts of agricultural supplies were lying in great disorder in it ; It also could not boast of being particularly clean, because the prince’s guests, again, were most often peasants, and the floors constantly bore traces of dirty boots. Volkonsky often appeared in his wife’s salon, stained with tar or with scraps of hay on his dress and in his thick beard, perfumed with barnyard aromas or similar non-salon odors. In general, in society he represented an original phenomenon, although he was very educated, spoke French, like a Frenchman, greatly grading, he was very kind and with us children, always sweet and affectionate; There was a rumor in the city that he was very stingy. Since I will hardly have to return further to old Volkonsky, here, by the way, I will tell you my last meeting with him, which took place several years after the amnesty, in 1861 or 1862. I was already a doctor then and lived in Moscow, passing my doctor’s exam; One day I receive a note from Volkonsky asking me to visit him. I found him, although white as a harrier, but cheerful, lively and, moreover, so smart and dapper as I had never seen him in Irkutsk; his long silver hair was carefully combed, his equally silver beard was trimmed and noticeably groomed, and his entire face with delicate features and crisscrossed with wrinkles made him such an elegant, picturesquely beautiful old man that it was impossible to pass by him without admiring this biblical beauty . Returning to Russia after the amnesty, traveling and living abroad, meetings with surviving relatives and friends of his youth, and the reverent honor with which he was greeted everywhere for the trials he endured - all this somehow transformed him and made the spiritual decline of this troubled life unusually clear and attractive. He became much more talkative and immediately began to vividly tell me about his impressions and meetings, especially abroad; political issues again occupied him greatly, and it was as if he had abandoned his agricultural passion in Siberia, along with all his surroundings there as an exiled settler.

Belogolovy N.A. From the memories of a Siberian about the Decembrists. In the book: Russian memoirs. Featured Pages. M., 1990.

Volkonsky and Pushkin

Volkonsky Sergei Grigorievich (1788-1865). Participant in the Patriotic War of 1812 and foreign campaigns of 1813-1814, commander of the infantry division of the 2nd Army, major general, member of the Welfare Union and one of the leaders of the Southern Society. Supporter of the abolition of serfdom and the establishment of a republican system in Russia. Sentenced to 20 years of hard labor in Siberia.

Pushkin's meetings with Volkonsky date back to May 1820 and early 1821 during the poet's visit to Kyiv. They resumed in Odessa. “Pushkin writes Onegin and occupies all his friends with himself and his poems,” Volkonsky reported to P. A. Vyazemsky in June 1824. The Decembrist’s friendly disposition towards the poet can be seen from his letter dated October 18 of the same year, in which he informs Pushkin, who was in Mikhailovsky exile, about his upcoming engagement to M.N. Raevskaya and simultaneously expresses the hope that the poet will choose “the subject of his poetic creations” ancient Novgorod and Pskov.

Volkonsky was instructed by the leadership of the Southern Society to accept Pushkin as a member of the society, but he, “recognizing his great talent, foreseeing his glorious future and not wanting to expose him to the accidents of political punishment, refrained from fulfilling the assignment assigned to him.”

L.A. Chereisky. Contemporaries of Pushkin. Documentary essays. M., 1999, p. 127-128.

Read further:

Volkonskaya (Raevskaya) Maria Nikolaevna(1805-1863), wife of S.G. Volkonsky.

Patriotic War of 1812(chronological table).

Participants in the Napoleonic Wars(biographical reference book).

Literature on the Napoleonic Wars(bibliography)

Russia in the 19th century(chronological table).

France in the 19th century(chronological table).

Decembrists(biographical reference book).

Nechkina M.V. Decembrists.

Decembrist movement(Bibliography).

Rumyantsev V.B. And they went out to the square...(A view from the 21st century).

"Russian Truth" P.I. Pestel.

Volkonsky's correspondence:

M.S. Lunin - S. G. Volkonsky. 1843 Beginning.

M.S. Lunin - S.G. Volkonsky. Beginning 1844

M.S. Lunin to M. S. Volkonsky.

Essays:

Notes. Ed. 2nd. St. Petersburg, 1902;

Letters to P. D. Kiselev. 1814-1815.- “Katorga and exile”, 1933, book. 2.

Literature:

Decembrist uprising: Materials. M., 1953. T. 10;

Volkonskaya M.N. Notes. Chita, 1960.

Volkonsky Sergei Grigorievich (1788-1865), prince, Decembrist.

Born on December 19, 1788 in St. Petersburg into a family that belonged to an old princely family. He received his education at home and in the private boarding school of Abbot Nicolas in St. Petersburg. In 1796 he was enlisted to serve as a sergeant in the Kherson Grenadier Regiment. Since 1805 he was in active service.

Volkonsky distinguished himself during the war against Napoleonic army in 1806-1807.

and in the Turkish campaign of 1810-1811. He received a golden sword for bravery and became the aide-de-camp of Alexander I.

Brief biography of Sergei Volkonsky

During the Patriotic War of 1812, he was in a military partisan detachment operating near Moscow; participated in foreign campaigns of 1813-1815, was promoted to major general (1813) and awarded many orders.

A member of several Masonic lodges (1812-1822), the owner of more than 20 thousand peasants, who had a brilliant military career, Volkonsky became a member of the secret society of the Decembrists “Union of Welfare” (1819) and the Southern Society (1821), and since 1823

together with V.L. Davydov, he headed the board of the Southern Society in the city of Kamensk. Nevertheless, Volkonsky, under various pretexts, refused to take decisive action.

Arrested in January 1826, he was convicted of the first category and sentenced to 20 years of hard labor, but the term was reduced to 15 years. Volkonsky served hard labor in the Blagodatsky mine near the city of Kushva (now in Sverdlovsk region) (1826-1827), in the Chita fort (1827-1830) and Petrovsky Factory (now the city of Petrovsk-Zabaikalsky, Chita region) (1830-1835), then lived in a settlement in the village of Urik, Irkutsk province and since 1845

In Irkutsk.

Under the amnesty of 1856, he and his family returned to the European part of Russia and, officially living with friends in the villages of Petrovskoye-Zykovo and Petrovsko-Razumovskoye not far from Moscow, actually lived in Moscow until October 1858.

In October 1858, Volkonsky went abroad. Upon his return, he settled on his estate in the village of Voronki, Kozeletsky district, Chernigov province, where he ended his days.

Maria Volkonskaya - a woman of amazing destiny

Alina Alekseeva-Markezin

Maria Nikolaevna Volkonskaya, ur. Raevskaya. Unknown artist.

There were only eleven women - wives and brides of the Decembrists, who shared the difficult fate of their chosen ones.

Their names have been remembered for almost 200 years.
But still, most poetic works, historical studies, stories and novels, theatrical performances and films are dedicated to Maria Volkonskaya - one of the most mysterious and attractive women Russia XIX V.
Several generations of historians and simply lovers of antiquity have been trying to unravel the mystery of this woman, the riddle of her character and fate.

Her name has become legendary.

She was born in April 1807 on the Voronki estate in the Chernigov province.
Father - Raevsky Nikolai Nikolaevich (1771 - 1829), cavalry general, participant in all military campaigns of the late 18th - early 19th centuries, hero of the Patriotic War of 1812.

(especially distinguished himself at Borodino: defense of Raevsky’s battery), participant in foreign campaigns of 1813-1814, until 1825 commander of a corps in southern Russia, member of the State Council.
Mother - Sofya Alekseevna Konstantinova (since 1794)

- Raevskaya), daughter of the former librarian of Catherine II, granddaughter of M.V. Lomonosova, who in her youth was called the “Maiden of the Ganges,” did not come to terms with her daughter’s action until her death: to follow her husband to Siberia.

Maria Nikolaevna was raised at home, played the piano, sang beautifully, and knew several foreign languages.

Maria Volkonskaya and Pushkin.

Maria Nikolaevna’s early youth was marked by a meeting with A.S.

Maria Volkonskaya and Pushkin are a special topic that gave rise to a stable version that Maria Nikolaevna was the great “hidden” love of the great poet... At the end of her life, Volkonskaya, wise from harsh experience, remembering Pushkin, once dropped: “In essence, he loved only his muse and clothed everything he saw in poetry.”

Maybe the princess was right.

In October 1824, A.S. Pushkin received a letter from his old acquaintance in Kyiv and Odessa, Sergei Grigorievich Volkonsky. “Having experienced your friendship for me,” wrote Volkonsky, “and being confident that any good news about me will be pleasant to you, I inform you about my engagement to Maria Nikolaevna Raevskaya - I will not tell you about my happiness, my future wife is known to you "

In the winter of 1825, in Kyiv on Pechersk, in the ancient Church of the Savior on Berestov, Prince Sergei Volkonsky married the young beauty Maria Raevskaya. The bride was not yet twenty, the groom was thirty-seven.

Known in his youth as a handsome man and a rake, at that time, according to the recollections of his contemporaries, he already “wore false teeth with one natural upper front tooth.”

In his Notes, Volkonsky recalled: “Having been in love with her for a long time, I finally decided to ask for her hand.” Maria Nikolaevna knew nothing about his hesitations, just as she hardly knew her fiancé. Obediently, at the behest of her father, she married a very noble and wealthy prince.
A participant in significant battles, who had many orders and medals, at the age of twenty-four he received the rank of major general for military distinction.

Volkonsky's portrait was painted for the Military Gallery Winter Palace(after the uprising, by order of Nicholas I, it was confiscated).

“My parents thought that they had provided me with a brilliant, in the opinion of the world, future,” Maria Nikolaevna wrote at the end of her life...

Even before marriage, she was able to test the power of her charm. She was wooed by the Polish Count Olizar, whom her father did not want to see as his son-in-law because of his nationality.
Finding herself the wife of a middle-aged general, Maria Nikolaevna, in fact, did not even have time to get to know him properly before his arrest in January 1826; in the first year they lived together for no more than three months.

Soon after the wedding, she fell ill and went to Odessa for treatment, but Volkonsky did not receive leave from the division and could not accompany his wife.

In November 1825, when Maria Nikolaevna was in the last month of pregnancy, her husband took her to the Raevsky estate, and he himself returned to his place of service, where he was immediately arrested and transported to St. Petersburg.

Convicted of the 1st category, deprived of ranks and nobility.

On June 10, 1826, he was sentenced to “cut off his head,” but by the Highest Confirmation of July 10, 1826, the death sentence was commuted to 20 years of hard labor in Siberia.

Difficult childbirth, two-month fever... Maria Nikolaevna, who had just given birth to a son, was not told for a long time about the true state of affairs, but she suspected something was wrong, and having learned the truth, she firmly decided to share her husband’s fate. Volkonskaya was isolated from the wives of other Decembrists; She went on her first date with Sergei Grigorievich not alone, but accompanied by a relative.

General Raevsky, who in 1812, without hesitation, threw himself into the enemy’s fire, now could not stand it.

“I will curse you if you don’t come back in a year!” – he shouted, clenching his fists. Before his death, old man Raevsky, pointing to the portrait of his daughter Maria, said: “This is the most amazing woman I have ever known!”

Maria Volkonskaya's decision to leave for Siberia was, in essence, the first manifestation of her extraordinary character. Maria rebelled not only against those around her, but above all against herself, her daughter’s obedience, the female obedience instilled in her from childhood.

But she tore her own heart in half: she was not allowed to take her son with her, she had to say goodbye to her old father, whom all the Raevsky children dearly loved.

But she went! Neither her father’s pleas nor the intrigues of her brother Alexander, who became her real jailer, helped.

Volkonskaya was the second of the Decembrists to come to Siberia. In Irkutsk, painful explanations awaited her with the local governor.

The life path of the Decembrist Sergei Volkonsky

He advised the princess to return home, and after refusing, he offered to sign a renunciation of the princely title, nobility and all rights. From now on, she is “the wife of a state criminal,” and the children who are born in Siberia will be registered as simple peasants. She signed these humiliating conditions.

She was allowed to go to Nerchinsk, and there she was confronted with a fact: convicts are deprived of the right to family life.

That is, Sergei will be kept behind bars, and she will have to rent a corner in a peasant hut. She agreed to this too. The next day she arrived at the Blagodatsky mine and went to look for Volkonsky. Sergei Grigorievich, rattling his shackles, ran to his wife.

“The sight of his shackles,” Maria Nikolaevna recalled many years later, “moved and touched me so much that I threw myself on my knees in front of him and kissed first his shackles, and then him.”

Together with Ekaterina Ivanovna Trubetskoy, Volkonskaya learned the basics of cooking from the books she brought with her, learned all kinds of everyday wisdom, including saving every penny.

Nature generously gifted Volkonskaya, giving her a unique beauty, intelligence and character, polished by a good upbringing and reading books (she spoke both English and French as a native language), a wonderful voice and musical abilities.

But this was not the main thing in the daughter of General Raevsky.

Zinaida Volkonskaya once wrote that Maria Nikolaevna’s life was “imprinted by duty and sacrifice.” Once Maria Nikolaevna was scolded for purchasing canvas and ordering linen for convicts.

“I’m not used to seeing half-naked people on the street,” she answered. The embarrassed commandant abruptly changed his tone, and her request was fulfilled.

Fate did not spoil Maria Nikolaevna.

The hardest were seven months in the Blagodatsky mine, then three years in the Chita prison. And over the years - three heavy losses: in January 1828, two-year-old Nikolenka Volkonsky died, left in the care of relatives.

Pushkin writes an epitaph that was inscribed on the tombstone:

In radiance and joyful peace,
At the throne of the eternal creator,
With a smile he looks into earthly exile
He blesses his mother and prays for his father.

In September 1829, his father, General Raevsky, died, having forgiven Maria Nikolaevna before his death; in August 1830 - daughter Sophia, born in Siberia and not living a day.

Neither her brothers nor her mother ever forgave Maria Nikolaevna for her “misdemeanor,” considering her to be the culprit in the death of her sixty-year-old father.

After this family loss, Alexander, Nikolai and Sofya Alekseevna Raevsky did not answer letters from their sister and daughter.

Maria Nikolaevna received only one message, full of reproaches, from her mother: “You say in your letters to your sisters that it’s as if I died for you... Whose fault is it? Your adored husband... A little virtue was needed not to marry when a person belongs to this damned conspiracy.

Don’t answer me, I order you!”

Her relationship with her husband did not always go smoothly: they were very different people. Family happiness did not work out.

But, to the credit of both, until their very last days they spoke of each other with the greatest respect and raised their children in this tradition.
“...the relationship between the spouses did not work out, the alienation became more and more profound and obvious to others,” says Doctor of Philology Nina Zababurova.

– In “Notes”, talking about life in Irkutsk exile, Maria Nikolaevna essentially does not mention her husband... The beauty of thirty-year-old Maria Nikolaevna did not fade: Odoevsky sang her in verse.

Among the exiled Decembrists there were many lonely people and even those who experienced the tragedy of female betrayal (for example, the wife of the Decembrist A.

And many sincerely admired her, so Maria Nikolaevna did not suffer from a lack of male attention, although some spoke hostilely and harshly about her.

Mikhail Lunin turned out to be one of those for whom she corresponded, which was forbidden to the exile. Most of his letters to his sister, E. S. Uvarova, were written in the hand of Maria Nikolaevna. He did not hide the fact that he had a strong feeling for her.

The Volkonskys' son, named Mikhail, was born in 1832, and there were persistent rumors that his father was the Decembrist Alexander Viktorovich Poggio... This version cannot in any way be considered proven, but the extraordinary mutual affection and closeness of Alexander Viktorovich and Mikhail throughout their subsequent lives clearly has element of conscious kinship...

In 1835, Maria Nikolaevna gave birth to a daughter, Elena, whose father was also considered not to be Sergei Volkonsky, but to Poggio.

Elena was also Poggio’s favorite, and when he became seriously ill in his declining years, he went to die with her, on her Voronki estate, although he had his own family.”

Imperceptibly, Maria Nikolaevna’s character and outlook on life gradually changed: she increasingly strived for earthly well-being, and mainly not for herself, but for her children.

By hook or by crook, she enrolled her son Misha in the Irkutsk gymnasium.

The rigidity and inflexibility of character turned out to be clearly hereditary.

For some reason, having separated from her best friend, Ekaterina Trubetskoy, from her difficult Siberian years, Maria Nikolaevna did not come to her funeral and never visited her grave... Despite the almost complete break with her family, Volkonskaya tried to hold on; Her whole life was now spent caring for her children.

Volkonsky settled in 1837. At first, the Volkonsky family lived in the village. Urik. Then permission was received for Maria Nikolaevna and her children to move to Irkutsk (1845).

Two years later, permission to live in Irkutsk was given to Volkonsky.

The disgraced princess sought to turn her house here into best salon Irkutsk. The Volkonsky house No. 10 on Remeslennaya Street (now Volkonsky Street) has survived to this day. Now it houses the Volkonsky Museum-Estate.

She, in her own way and in defiance of both Volkonsky and Poggio, arranged the fate of her beautiful daughter: as soon as she turned fifteen, she married her to a successful Siberian official L.

V. Molchanov, who turned out to be a bad person. Having squandered government money, he was put on trial, after which he became seriously ill and, paralyzed, went crazy and died.

The second husband of the younger Volkonskaya, Nikolai Arkadyevich Kochubey (the surname accidentally coincided with the name of the hero of Pushkin’s “Poltava”, dedicated to Maria Nikolaevna), died early from consumption.

Only the third marriage of Elena, twice a widow, with Alexander Alekseevich Rakhmanov was successful.

In 1856, Mikhail Volkonsky, who was already living in St. Petersburg, brought the news of liberation to the Decembrists. After this, his father returned from Siberia. Quite ill, Maria Nikolaevna left a year earlier.

Returning to her homeland, she began to write memoirs about her experiences.

From the very first lines of the story, it becomes clear that the Volkonskys’ marriage was not concluded out of mutual love... By the way, Maria Nikolaevna wrote her “Notes” only for her son.

He, by 1904 a very successful official, not without hesitation, took up the publication of his mother’s memoirs. Her smart and modest “Notes” went through many editions. One of the first, still in manuscript, was read by the poet N.

Maria Nikolaevna, accompanied by her beloved Elena, went abroad for treatment, but this did not help.

Princess Volkonskaya was buried in the already mentioned village of Voronki, Chernigov province, which belonged to the family of her daughter Elena. Her last days Poggio, who came to say goodbye forever, shared with her... Approximately at the burial site in 1975.

a granite stele with a bronze bas-relief portrait was installed.

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His father, Grigory Semenovich Volkonsky, was a cavalry general, Orenburg military governor, and a member of the State Council. Mother, Alexandra Nikolaevna, was the daughter of Field Marshal Prince Nikolai Vasilyevich Repnin. A relative of S. G. Volkonsky was Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy. The writer's mother, Maria Nikolaevna Tolstaya (née Volkonskaya), was his second cousin.

The active service of Sergei Volkonsky began at the end of 1805; He took part in many battles and was distinguished by great courage and humanity towards his subordinates.

At one time, Volkonsky was a member of the Suite of Emperor Alexander I, who called him “Monsieur Serge” (the title of aide-de-camp to Sergei Grigorievich was granted in 1811). In 1813, at the age of 24, he became a major general. In 1819, Volkonsky joined the “Union of Welfare,” and in 1821 he joined the Southern Society (from 1823, together with V.L. Davydov, he headed the Kamensk board of the society). In January 1825 he married Maria Nikolaevna Raevskaya. In January 1826, Volkonsky was arrested, and in July 1826 he was sentenced to 20 years of hard labor (later the term was reduced to 10 years).

He served hard labor at the Blagodatsky mine, in the Chita prison, and at the Petrovsky plant. Since 1837, Volkonsky lived in a settlement with his family near Irkutsk in the village. Urik, and from 1845 - in Irkutsk itself.

G. Volkonsky stood out, like many of his close relatives, for some quirks. If his young years were distinguished by “hussarism” (and with large debts), then in Siberia he began to lead a simple, peasant lifestyle, turning into a prudent owner who earned money through his labor. He spent the summer in the fields, and in the winter he liked to go to markets. Volkonsky communicated more with peasants, but rarely met with Decembrists. He lived mostly in Urik, but when he came to Irkutsk, he lived not in the house itself, but in a people’s hut in the courtyard of the estate.

S. G. Volkonsky returned from Siberia in 1856. In the last years of his life, he worked on memoirs (his “Notes” were published in 1901). S.G. Volkonsky was buried next to his wife in the village. Funnels of Chernigov province.

Maria Nikolaevna Volkonskaya(1805-1863) was the daughter of the hero of the Patriotic War of 1812, General Nikolai Nikolaevich Raevsky.

Her mother, Sofya Alekseevna (nee Konstantinova), was the granddaughter of M.V. Lomonosov. Maria was educated at home, spoke fluent French and English, and had a wonderful voice and musical abilities. She was friends with A.

Decembrist Sergei Grigorievich Volkonsky and Maria Nikolaevna Volkonskaya

Pushkin, who dedicated poems to her. At the age of 19, at the behest of her father, she married Sergei Volkonsky, almost without knowing the groom. When Volkonsky was sentenced to hard labor, despite the resistance of his relatives, Maria Nikolaevna decided to share his fate.

After Nicholas I allowed her to follow her husband, she left her first-born Nicholas with relatives and in February 1827 arrived at the Blagodatsky mine in the Nerchinsk mining district. The arrival of his wife encouraged Sergei Volkonsky, since the living conditions in hard labor were very difficult.

Maria Volkonskaya spent most of her life in Siberia. Here she helped people a lot and acted as the personification of spirituality and support.

Life gradually got better. In 1832, the Volkonskys had a son, Mikhail, and in 1835, a daughter, Elena. In Irkutsk, Maria Volkonskaya made her home the center of public life: it was often noisy, there were many guests, performances, masquerades, and balls took place. In the summer of 1855, Maria Nikolaevna was allowed to travel to Moscow for treatment.

The feat of Maria Volkonskaya was immortalized by N. A. Nekrasov in the poem “Russian Women” (at one time Nekrasov became acquainted with her memoirs, which were written in French for children and grandchildren; “Notes of Princess Maria Nikolaevna Volkonskaya” was first published in 1904).

For Russian society, M. N. Volkonskaya was a symbol of duty, love, courage, and dedication. General Raevsky said about his daughter: “This is the most amazing woman I have known.”