village and a couple of years older than Pyotr. Nadezhda was also not a serf. As part of the clergy class, she sat above Pyotrâs station: Clergy maintained more comfortable lifestyles, in general, than those of peasants. Pyotr and Nadezhda married on May 21, 1850, when Pyotr was just nineteen years old.
The marriage, like most at the time, was probably arranged by the familyâs patriarchs. They would have deemed the union a win for both sides. The Smirnovs could attach themselves to a socially superior family while the Yegorovs gained ties to people with a foothold in Moscow and with promising economic prospects. Nonetheless, this marriage was still far from traditional.
In nineteenth-century Russia, the mixing of classes was about as popular as the mixing of vodka. It simply was not done. And when it was done, the unions were fraught with risk. They could even be scandalous. That the Smirnovs would snub convention suggests that they were more progressive than most other peasants, at least when it furthered their own aspirations.
The same could have been said about Count Nikolay Petrovich Sheremetev, whose romance with one of his serfs is perhaps the most infamous account of a mismatched coupling and its tragic ramifications. As the son and grandson of great men who were part of the inner circle of Russian royalty from Peter the Great to Catherine the Great, Nikolay was the epitome of high society. The Sheremetevs were the largest landowners in Russia, except for the tsar, and they had an army of more than 200,000 serfs. Their palaces were legendary and opulent, full of the finest European furnishings and the grandest artworks.
Nikolay carried on the familyâs noble tradition. He held the titles of count, senator, and marshal at various stages in his life. He was also a personal friend of Tsar Pavel I, dating back to their childhoods. Like his father, Nikolay was a leading patronof the arts, building opera houses, establishing theaters and troupes, and launching special drama schools aimed at educating serf children.
Privately, Nikolay was every bit as notorious a playboy as some of his aristocratic brethren. He maintained a harem of serfs, women who often traveled with him and serviced him in any way he chose. Nikolay, short and thick-bodied but exceedingly charming, would peruse the rooms of his favored serf girls while they were working and drop a white handkerchief through the window of whomever he wanted to see that evening. He would then return to the room at night, satisfy his sexual desires and, before leaving, ask that his handkerchief be returned. 3
Nikolayâs promiscuity was nothing unusual for a noble, but his relationship with Praskovya was. She had come to sing for Nikolay when she was just seven years old. He was twenty-four. Nikolay was mesmerized by the girlâs melodious voice and delicate features, never mind that she was the daughter of a serf blacksmith. Sheremetev wanted to transform this child into a world-class actress and operatic diva. First, as he did with all his favorite serf actresses, Sheremetev changed Praskovyaâs surname. He always preferred to call his starlets by names derived from precious stones. So Kovalyova became Zhemchugova, a name derived from zhemchug , meaning pearl. Nikolay saw to it that his jewel was educated by the best teachers money could buy. It did not take long for the girl to become one of the most beloved sopranos in all of Russia and a favorite of the emperor.
Praskovya matured into an enchanting young woman. She was a natural beauty, with dark hair and milky white skin. It is not clear when Nikolayâs admiration for her artistic talents bloomed into a deep love, but that is what happened. The two had a tortured, secret affair, forbidden to show the true passion between them. It was not until Praskovya fell ill with tuberculosis that Nikolay overcame his devotion to societyâs mores. He freed his serf and then, in secret, married
The marriage, like most at the time, was probably arranged by the familyâs patriarchs. They would have deemed the union a win for both sides. The Smirnovs could attach themselves to a socially superior family while the Yegorovs gained ties to people with a foothold in Moscow and with promising economic prospects. Nonetheless, this marriage was still far from traditional.
In nineteenth-century Russia, the mixing of classes was about as popular as the mixing of vodka. It simply was not done. And when it was done, the unions were fraught with risk. They could even be scandalous. That the Smirnovs would snub convention suggests that they were more progressive than most other peasants, at least when it furthered their own aspirations.
The same could have been said about Count Nikolay Petrovich Sheremetev, whose romance with one of his serfs is perhaps the most infamous account of a mismatched coupling and its tragic ramifications. As the son and grandson of great men who were part of the inner circle of Russian royalty from Peter the Great to Catherine the Great, Nikolay was the epitome of high society. The Sheremetevs were the largest landowners in Russia, except for the tsar, and they had an army of more than 200,000 serfs. Their palaces were legendary and opulent, full of the finest European furnishings and the grandest artworks.
Nikolay carried on the familyâs noble tradition. He held the titles of count, senator, and marshal at various stages in his life. He was also a personal friend of Tsar Pavel I, dating back to their childhoods. Like his father, Nikolay was a leading patronof the arts, building opera houses, establishing theaters and troupes, and launching special drama schools aimed at educating serf children.
Privately, Nikolay was every bit as notorious a playboy as some of his aristocratic brethren. He maintained a harem of serfs, women who often traveled with him and serviced him in any way he chose. Nikolay, short and thick-bodied but exceedingly charming, would peruse the rooms of his favored serf girls while they were working and drop a white handkerchief through the window of whomever he wanted to see that evening. He would then return to the room at night, satisfy his sexual desires and, before leaving, ask that his handkerchief be returned. 3
Nikolayâs promiscuity was nothing unusual for a noble, but his relationship with Praskovya was. She had come to sing for Nikolay when she was just seven years old. He was twenty-four. Nikolay was mesmerized by the girlâs melodious voice and delicate features, never mind that she was the daughter of a serf blacksmith. Sheremetev wanted to transform this child into a world-class actress and operatic diva. First, as he did with all his favorite serf actresses, Sheremetev changed Praskovyaâs surname. He always preferred to call his starlets by names derived from precious stones. So Kovalyova became Zhemchugova, a name derived from zhemchug , meaning pearl. Nikolay saw to it that his jewel was educated by the best teachers money could buy. It did not take long for the girl to become one of the most beloved sopranos in all of Russia and a favorite of the emperor.
Praskovya matured into an enchanting young woman. She was a natural beauty, with dark hair and milky white skin. It is not clear when Nikolayâs admiration for her artistic talents bloomed into a deep love, but that is what happened. The two had a tortured, secret affair, forbidden to show the true passion between them. It was not until Praskovya fell ill with tuberculosis that Nikolay overcame his devotion to societyâs mores. He freed his serf and then, in secret, married
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