From whom Catherine 2 gave birth to children. Poor Lisa

The topic of this article is the biography of Catherine the Great. This empress reigned from 1762 to 1796. The era of her reign was marked by the enslavement of the peasants. Also, Catherine the Great, whose biography, photos and activities are presented in this article, significantly expanded the privileges of the nobility.

Origin and childhood of Catherine

The future empress was born on May 2 (new style - April 21), 1729 in Stettin. She was the daughter of Prince Anhalt-Zerbst, who was in Prussian service, and Princess Johanna Elisabeth. The future empress was related to the English, Prussian and Swedish royal houses. She received her education at home: she studied French and German, music, theology, geography, history, and danced. Expanding on such a topic as the biography of Catherine the Great, we note that the independent character of the future empress appeared already in childhood. She was a persistent, inquisitive child and had a penchant for active, lively games.

Catherine's baptism and wedding

In 1744, Catherine and her mother were summoned by Empress Elizaveta Petrovna to Russia. Here she was baptized according to Orthodox custom. Ekaterina Alekseevna became the bride of Peter Fedorovich, the Grand Duke (in the future - Emperor Peter III). She married him in 1745.

Hobbies of the Empress

Catherine wanted to win the favor of her husband, the Empress and the Russian people. Her personal life, however, was unsuccessful. Since Peter was infantile, there was no marital relationship between them for several years of marriage. Catherine was fond of reading works on jurisprudence, history and economics, as well as French educators. Her worldview was shaped by all these books. The future empress became a supporter of the ideas of the Enlightenment. She was also interested in the traditions, customs and history of Russia.

Personal life of Catherine II

Today we know quite a lot about such an important historical figure as Catherine the Great: biography, her children, personal life - all this is the object of study by historians and the interest of many of our compatriots. We first meet this empress at school. However, what we learn in history lessons is far from complete information about such an empress as Catherine the Great. The biography (4th grade) from the school textbook omits, for example, her personal life.

Catherine II began an affair with S.V. in the early 1750s. Saltykov, guards officer. She gave birth to a son in 1754, the future Emperor Paul I. However, rumors that his father was Saltykov are unfounded. In the second half of the 1750s, Catherine had an affair with S. Poniatowski, a Polish diplomat who later became King Stanislav August. Also in the early 1760s - with G.G. Orlov. The Empress gave birth to his son Alexei in 1762, who received the surname Bobrinsky. As relations with her husband deteriorated, Catherine began to fear for her fate and began to recruit supporters at court. Her sincere love for her homeland, her prudence and ostentatious piety - all this contrasted with the behavior of her husband, which allowed the future empress to gain authority among the population of St. Petersburg and the high society of the capital.

Proclamation of Catherine as Empress

Catherine's relationship with her husband continued to deteriorate during the 6 months of his reign, eventually becoming hostile. Peter III openly appeared in the company of his mistress E.R. Vorontsova. There was a threat of Catherine's arrest and possible deportation. The future empress carefully prepared the plot. She was supported by N.I. Panin, E.R. Dashkova, K.G. Razumovsky, the Orlov brothers, etc. One night, from June 27 to 28, 1762, when Peter III was in Oranienbaum, Catherine secretly arrived in St. Petersburg. She was proclaimed an autocratic empress in the barracks of the Izmailovsky regiment. Other regiments soon joined the rebels. The news of the empress's accession to the throne quickly spread throughout the city. The residents of St. Petersburg greeted her with delight. Messengers were sent to Kronstadt and the army to prevent the actions of Peter III. Having learned about what happened, he began to send proposals for negotiations to Catherine, but she rejected them. The Empress personally set out for St. Petersburg, leading the guards regiments, and on the way received a written abdication of the throne by Peter III.

Read more about the palace coup

As a result of a palace coup on July 9, 1762, Catherine II came to power. It happened as follows. Because of Passek's arrest, all the conspirators rose to their feet, fearing that the arrested person might betray them under torture. It was decided to send Alexei Orlov for Catherine. The Empress at that time lived in anticipation of the name day of Peter III in Peterhof. On the morning of June 28, Alexei Orlov ran into her bedroom and reported Passek’s arrest. Catherine got into Orlov's carriage and was taken to the Izmailovsky regiment. The soldiers ran out into the square to the beat of drums and immediately swore allegiance to her. Then she moved to the Semenovsky regiment, which also swore allegiance to the empress. Accompanied by a crowd of people, at the head of two regiments, Catherine went to the Kazan Cathedral. Here, at a prayer service, she was proclaimed empress. Then she went to the Winter Palace and found the Synod and Senate there already assembled. They also swore allegiance to her.

Personality and character of Catherine II

Not only the biography of Catherine the Great is interesting, but also her personality and character, which left an imprint on her domestic and foreign policy. Catherine II was a subtle psychologist and an excellent judge of people. The Empress skillfully chose assistants, while not being afraid of talented and bright personalities. Catherine's time was therefore marked by the appearance of many outstanding statesmen, as well as generals, musicians, artists, and writers. Catherine was usually reserved, tactful, and patient in dealing with her subjects. She was an excellent conversationalist and could listen carefully to anyone. By the empress’s own admission, she did not have a creative mind, but she caught worthwhile thoughts and knew how to use them for her own purposes.

There were almost no noisy resignations during the reign of this empress. The nobles were not subject to disgrace; they were not exiled or executed. Because of this, the reign of Catherine is considered the “golden age” of the nobility in Russia. The Empress, at the same time, was very vain and valued her power more than anything in the world. She was ready to make any compromises to preserve it, including to the detriment of her own convictions.

Religiosity of the Empress

This empress was distinguished by her ostentatious piety. She considered herself the protector of the Orthodox Church and its head. Catherine skillfully used religion for political interests. Apparently her faith was not very deep. The biography of Catherine the Great is noted for the fact that she preached religious tolerance in the spirit of the times. It was under this empress that the persecution of the Old Believers was stopped. Protestant and Catholic churches and mosques were built. Nevertheless, conversion to another faith from Orthodoxy was still severely punished.

Catherine - opponent of serfdom

Catherine the Great, whose biography interests us, was an ardent opponent of serfdom. She considered it contrary to human nature and inhumane. Many harsh statements on this issue were preserved in her papers. Also in them you can find her thoughts on how serfdom can be eliminated. Nevertheless, the empress did not dare to do anything concrete in this area for fear of another coup and noble rebellion. Catherine, at the same time, was convinced that Russian peasants were spiritually undeveloped, therefore there was a danger in granting them freedom. According to the empress, the life of the peasants is quite prosperous under caring landowners.

First reforms

When Catherine ascended the throne, she already had a fairly definite political program. It was based on the ideas of the Enlightenment and took into account the peculiarities of the development of Russia. Consistency, gradualism and consideration of public sentiment were the main principles of the implementation of this program. In the first years of her reign, Catherine II carried out a reform of the Senate (in 1763). His work became more efficient as a result. The following year, 1764, Catherine the Great carried out the secularization of church lands. The biography for children of this empress, presented on the pages of school textbooks, necessarily introduces schoolchildren to this fact. Secularization significantly replenished the treasury and also alleviated the situation of many peasants. Catherine in Ukraine abolished the hetmanate in accordance with the need to unify local government throughout the state. In addition, she invited German colonists to the Russian Empire to develop the Black Sea and Volga regions.

Foundation of educational institutions and the new Code

During these same years, a number of educational institutions were founded, including for women (the first in Russia) - the Catherine School, the Smolny Institute. In 1767, the Empress announced that a special commission was being convened to create a new Code. It consisted of elected deputies, representatives of all social groups of society, except serfs. For the commission, Catherine wrote “Instructions,” which is, in essence, a liberal program for the reign of this empress. However, her calls were not understood by the deputies. They argued over the smallest issues. Deep contradictions between social groups were revealed during these discussions, as well as the low level of political culture among many deputies and the conservatism of most of them. The established commission was dissolved at the end of 1768. The Empress assessed this experience as an important lesson, which introduced her to the sentiments of various segments of the state's population.

Development of legislative acts

After the Russian-Turkish war, which lasted from 1768 to 1774, ended, and Pugachev’s uprising was suppressed, a new stage of Catherine’s reforms began. The Empress herself began to develop the most important legislative acts. In particular, a manifesto was issued in 1775, according to which it was allowed to establish any industrial enterprises without restrictions. Also this year, a provincial reform was carried out, as a result of which a new administrative division of the empire was established. It survived until 1917.

Expanding on the topic “Brief biography of Catherine the Great,” we note that the Empress issued the most important legislative acts in 1785. These were letters of grant to cities and nobility. A letter was also prepared for state peasants, but political circumstances did not allow it to be put into effect. The main significance of these letters was associated with the implementation of the main goal of Catherine’s reforms - the creation of full-fledged estates in the empire on the model of Western Europe. The diploma meant for the Russian nobility the legal consolidation of almost all the privileges and rights that they had.

The last and unimplemented reforms proposed by Catherine the Great

The biography (summary) of the empress we are interested in is marked by the fact that she carried out various reforms until her death. For example, education reform continued into the 1780s. Catherine the Great, whose biography is presented in this article, created a network of school institutions in cities based on the classroom system. In the last years of her life, the Empress continued to plan major changes. The reform of the central government was scheduled for 1797, as well as the introduction of legislation in the country on the order of succession to the throne, the creation of a higher court based on representation from the 3 estates. However, Catherine II the Great did not have time to complete the extensive reform program. Her short biography, however, would be incomplete if we did not mention all this. In general, all these reforms were a continuation of the transformations begun by Peter I.

Catherine's foreign policy

What else is interesting about the biography of Catherine 2 the Great? The Empress, following Peter, believed that Russia should be active on the world stage and pursue an offensive policy, even to some extent aggressive. After her accession to the throne, she broke the alliance treaty with Prussia concluded by Peter III. Thanks to the efforts of this empress, it was possible to restore Duke E.I. Biron on the Courland throne. Supported by Prussia, in 1763 Russia achieved the election of Stanislav August Poniatowski, its protege, to the Polish throne. This, in turn, led to a deterioration in relations with Austria due to the fact that it feared the strengthening of Russia and began to incite Turkey to war with it. In general, the Russian-Turkish war of 1768-1774 was successful for Russia, but the difficult situation within the country prompted it to seek peace. And for this it was necessary to restore previous relations with Austria. Eventually a compromise was reached. Poland fell victim to it: its first division was carried out in 1772 by Russia, Austria and Prussia.

The Kyuchuk-Kainardzhi Peace Treaty was signed with Turkey, which ensured the independence of Crimea, beneficial for Russia. The Empire took neutrality in the war between England and the colonies of North America. Catherine refused to help the English king with troops. A number of European states joined the Declaration of Armed Neutrality, created on Panin’s initiative. This contributed to the victory of the colonists. In subsequent years, the position of our country in the Caucasus and Crimea was strengthened, which ended with the inclusion of the latter into the Russian Empire in 1782, as well as the signing of the Treaty of Georgievsk with Irakli II, the Kartli-Kakheti king, the following year. This ensured the presence of Russian troops in Georgia, and then the annexation of its territory to Russia.

Strengthening authority in the international arena

The new foreign policy doctrine of the Russian government was formed in the 1770s. It was a Greek project. His main goal was the restoration of the Byzantine Empire and the announcement of Prince Konstantin Pavlovich, who was the grandson of Catherine II, as emperor. In 1779, Russia significantly strengthened its authority in the international arena by participating as a mediator between Prussia and Austria in the Teschen Congress. The biography of Empress Catherine the Great can also be supplemented by the fact that in 1787, accompanied by the court, the Polish king, the Austrian emperor and foreign diplomats, she traveled to Crimea. It became a demonstration of Russia's military power.

Wars with Turkey and Sweden, further divisions of Poland

The biography of Catherine 2 the Great continued with the fact that she started a new Russian-Turkish war. Russia now acted in alliance with Austria. Almost at the same time, the war with Sweden also began (from 1788 to 1790), which tried to take revenge after the defeat in the Northern War. The Russian Empire managed to cope with both of these opponents. In 1791 the war with Turkey ended. The Peace of Jassy was signed in 1792. He consolidated Russia's influence in Transcaucasia and Bessarabia, as well as the annexation of Crimea to it. The 2nd and 3rd partitions of Poland took place in 1793 and 1795 respectively. They put an end to Polish statehood.

Empress Catherine the Great, whose brief biography we reviewed, died on November 17 (old style - November 6), 1796 in St. Petersburg. So significant is her contribution to Russian history that the memory of Catherine II is preserved by many works of domestic and world culture, including the works of such great writers as N.V. Gogol, A.S. Pushkin, B. Shaw, V. Pikul and others. The life of Catherine the Great, her biography inspired many directors - creators of such films as "The Caprice of Catherine II", "The Tsar's Hunt", "Young Catherine", "Dreams of Russia", " Russian revolt" and others.

The history of the relationship between the Russian Empress Catherine II and men is no less than her state activities. Many of Catherine's favorites were not only lovers, but also major statesmen.

Favoritism and Catherine's childrenII

The development of relationships between the rulers of European countries and the opposite sex in the 17th – 18th centuries created the institution of favoritism. However, you need to distinguish between favorites and lovers. The title of favorite was practically a court one, but was not included in the “table of ranks.” In addition to pleasures and rewards, this brought the need to fulfill certain state duties.

It is believed that Catherine II had 23 lovers, and not every one of them can be called a favorite. Most European sovereigns changed sexual partners much more often. It was they, the Europeans, who created the legend about the depravity of the Russian Empress. On the other hand, you can’t call her chaste either.

It is generally accepted that the future Catherine II, who came to Russia at the invitation of Empress Elizabeth, was married in 1745 to Grand Duke Peter, an impotent man who was not interested in the charms of his young wife. But he was interested in other women and periodically changed them, however, nothing is known about his children from his mistresses.

More is known about the children of the Grand Duchess, and then Empress Catherine II, but there are even more unconfirmed rumors and assumptions:

There are not that many children, especially given that not all of them necessarily belonged to Catherine the Great.

How Catherine diedII

There are several versions of the death (November 17, 1796) of the Great Empress. Their authors never cease to mock the sexual irrepressibility of the empress, as always “not seeing the beam in their own eye.” Some of the versions are simply full of hatred and clearly fabricated, most likely, by revolutionary France, which hates absolutism, or by its other enemies:

1. The empress died during sexual intercourse with a stallion raised above her on ropes. Allegedly, it was he who was crushed.
2. The Empress died while having an affair with a wild boar.
3. Catherine the Great was killed in the back by a Pole while relieving herself in the toilet.
4. Catherine, with her own weight, broke a toilet seat in the toilet, which she had made from the throne of the Polish king.

These myths are completely baseless and have nothing to do with the Russian Empress. There is an opinion that unflattering versions of death could have been invented and spread at court by the son who hated the empress, the future Emperor Paul I.

The most reliable versions of death are:

1. Catherine died on the second day after she suffered a severe heart attack.
2. The cause of death was a stroke (apoplexy), which found the empress in the restroom. In painful agony, without regaining consciousness for about 3 hours, Empress Catherine died.
3. Paul organized the murder (or untimely provision of first aid) of the empress. While the empress was in her death throes, her son Paul found and destroyed the will transferring power to his son Alexander.
4. An additional version of death is the gallbladder ruptured in a fall.

The official and generally accepted version when determining the causes of the empress’s death is a stroke, but what actually happened is not known or has not been conclusively proven.

Empress Catherine II the Great was buried in the Peter and Paul Fortress in the Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul.

The personal life and death of people of great importance for the history of the state always gives rise to a lot of speculation and rumors. The corrupted “free” Europe, as soon as it saw the results of European “enlightenment” in Russia, tried to prick, humiliate, and insult the “wild” one. How many favorites and lovers there were, how many children Catherine the Great had are not the most important questions for understanding the essence of her reign. What is more important for history is what the empress did during the day, not at night.

We managed to find the book “General alphabetical list of members of the Imperial Moscow Society of Natural Scientists” for 1838 (posted on the MOIP page on Wikipedia). We were surprised to learn that, along with other outstanding people of Russia, members of the MOIP were the grandchildren of Catherine II - Alexey Alekseevich and Vasily Alekseevich Bobrinsky.

Empress Catherine had two children - a legitimate son, Pavel Petrovich (born in 1754) and an illegitimate son, Alexei Grigorievich (1762).

Alexey Grigorievich was the son of Catherine the Great and Count Grigory Orlov, born during the reign of Peter III. During the birth of the baby, a palace servant set fire to his house to distract the sovereign's attention. The emperor went to the fire, and the born boy was immediately taken to a distant estate. Soon Catherine bought for him the village of Bobriki, located in the Tula province. So the surname Bobrinsky was assigned to Alexey Grigorievich - after the name of the estate. He subsequently received the title of count.

The large family of counts Bobrinsky dates back to Alexei Grigorievich Bobrinsky. Alexey was born on April 11, 1762, shortly before his mother’s accession to the throne. Subsequently, Catherine’s legitimate son Pavel Petrovich, having become Emperor, recognized his brother. A.G. Bobrinsky was promoted to major general and elevated to the dignity of count of the Russian Empire. Emperor Paul I introduced him in the Senate as his brother and a member of the imperial family.

Many representatives of the Bobrinsky family left a bright mark on the history of Russia. The Bobrinsky family produced ministers, governors general, members of the State Council and the State Duma, the capital's leaders of the nobility and court dignitaries, as well as the largest sugar refiners and railroad builders. One of them (Alexei Pavlovich Bobrinsky) under Alexander II was the Minister of Railways and did a lot for the development of railway transport in Russia. The Bobrinskys also produced a major Russian zoologist, a professor at Moscow University and a member of the MOIP.

Alexey Grigorievich Bobrinsky (1762–1813) from his marriage to Baroness Anna Vladimirovna Ungern-Sternberg (1769–1846) had four children - a daughter and three sons. Among them are Alexey Alekseevich Bobrinsky, Pavel Alekseevich and Vasily Alekseevich.

Alexey and Vasily subsequently became members of the Moscow Society of Natural Scientists. They were accepted as members of the MOIP for practical activities in the field of plant selection and introduction, publication of scientific papers, and exemplary farming. The sons of A.G. Bobrinsky were cousins ​​of Emperors Alexander I and Nicholas I, although they did not have the right to the Russian throne.

All Bobrinskys were, to one degree or another, interested in natural science, agriculture, and horse breeding. This hobby led some representatives of the Bobrinsky family to become members of the Imperial Moscow Society of Natural Scientists.

Alexey Grigorievich Bobrinsky himself, like all young people of that time, began his life’s journey in the army. In 1798 (at the age of 36) he retired from military service and retired to the Tula province, where he spent most of the year. He was engaged in agriculture, mineralogy and astronomy (he built a tower above his house that served as an observatory for him). He died in 1813 and was buried in the family crypt in Bobriki.

His son, Count Alexey Alekseevich Bobrinsky (1800–1868) received an excellent education at home, which he continued at the Moscow School of Column Leaders, served in a hussar regiment, and retired in 1827 with the rank of staff captain. Later he served in the Ministry of Finance. Alexey Alekseevich Bobrinsky, being an educated man, had extensive knowledge of mathematics, finance, chemistry, mechanics, and photography. Prince Pyotr Andreevich Vyazemsky wrote about him as an ardent patriot, an unusually inquisitive, active and enthusiastic person. " It would not have been enough for him, like Columbus, to discover America alone; he would like to open several of them... He was a liberal in the best and most sublime sense of the word».

Alexey Alekseevich Bobrinsky is a well-known agriculturalist, sugar manufacturer and florist in Russia. He was engaged in the selection of roses, developed several new varieties, one of them received his name. He laid a solid foundation for the beet-sugar industry in Russia. Over the course of 10 years, he built four sugar factories: Smelyansky sand and refinery in 1838; Balakleysky sugar factory in 1838; Grushevsky sugar factory in 1845; Kapitanivsky sugar factory in 1846

A breeding station was organized at the Kapitanovsky plant to develop new sugar-containing beet varieties. The Smelyansky sand and refinery plant was a school of highly qualified personnel. So, out of 40 technologists who worked for Bobrinsky, 24 eventually became directors and independent entrepreneurs. Classes organized in Smela (Ukraine) to train specialists eventually grew into a school, and later (1921) into the Institute of the Sugar Industry.

A.A. Bobrinsky published: “Statistical materials for the history of the beet-sugar industry in Russia” (1856) and “On the application of protective and free trade systems in Russia” (1868). In addition, he was known as an expert in the exact sciences and an engineer (he created a mechanical plant in Smela).

A.A. Bobrinsky was a member of the Imperial Moscow Society of Naturalists, the Society of Agriculture, and a member of the statistical committee. According to his friend P.A. Vyazemsky, there was “ one of the noblest and most compassionate personalities" He died on October 4, 1868 in Smela, and was buried in St. Petersburg in the Alexander Nevsky Lavra.

Alexey Alekseevich Bobrinsky had several children, among whom were an archaeologist, a writer, a military leader, a musician, a governor general, and even a minister of railways.

Pavel Alekseevich Bobrinsky's children were politicians, the Minister of Railways (he replaced his cousin in this post in 1874). One of the sons of Pavel Alekseevich, Alexey Alekseevich Bobrinsky (1864–1909) and his wife Varvara Nikolaevna Lvova (1864–1940), had a son, Nikolai Alekseevich (1890–1964), who later became a major Russian zoologist and geographer.

The third and youngest son of Count Alexei Grigorievich Bobrinsky was Vasily Alekseevich, who was also a member of the Moscow Society of Natural Scientists.

Vasily Alekseevich retired with the rank of guard lieutenant, traveled extensively throughout Europe, returning to Russia, lived in the Tula province. He was elected Tula provincial leader of the nobility. On his estate, Bobriki founded a cloth factory in 1834, and in 1854, following the example of his brother Alexei, a beet sugar factory. He was involved in the introduction and breeding of rare tree species such as Amur velvet and cork. I intended to use their bark to make cork. He was a member of the Moscow Society of Natural Scientists.

V.A. Bobrinsky was actively involved in charitable activities, donating money for the opening of a public library and a boarding school at a classical gymnasium in Tula. Vasily Alekseevich died in 1874 in Moscow and was buried in the family tomb in the village of Bobriki.

His son Alexey Vasilyevich was the Moscow leader of the nobility, and his grandson Alexey Alekseevich Bobrinsky (1861–1938) was a traveler and ethnographer. At the end of the 19th century, he participated in several expeditions to Central Asia and the Pamirs, partially financing them from his own funds. The materials of the expeditions are stored in the Ethnographic Museum of St. Petersburg. In 1888, he founded a stud farm on the Bobriki estate and continued his father’s afforestation work.

Another outstanding person from the Bobrinsky family was also a member of the MOIP (since 1916). This is Count Nikolai Alekseevich Bobrinsky (1890–1964) - Russian zoologist and geographer. Nikolai Alekseevich Bobrinsky is a famous Russian zoologist, professor at Moscow University, author of the wonderful book “Animal World and Nature of the USSR”, one of the most prominent representatives of the Moscow school of ornithologists and zoogeographers of the first half of the 20th century. His portrait hangs in the Department of Vertebrate Zoology, Faculty of Biology, Moscow State University named after M.V. Lomonosov. Nikolai Alekseevich Bobrinsky was a member of the MOIP.

In 1908, he entered the natural sciences department of the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics of Moscow University. At the university, Nikolai Alekseevich showed great interest in ornithology and zoogeography and immediately began working under the leadership of M.A. Menzbier (president of MOIP at that time) and his employees. In 1911–1912 he went on an ornithological expedition to Armenia, to the low-lying plains surrounding Greater and Lesser Ararat. Based on the results of the expedition in 1916, he published several scientific articles. In 1914, Nikolai Alekseevich made another expedition - to the mountainous Bukhara, but when the war began, he enlisted as a volunteer in the Izyum Hussar Regiment. While fighting, he earned two soldiers' George medals and was soon promoted to officer.

Nikolai Alekseevich's scientific interests are focused on the zoogeography of Central Asia. He worked especially hard on birds, bats, and snakes, published guides to game animals and birds, and wrote monographs on marmots and domestic cats. His theoretical works also went out of print: in 1922 - on the history of the study of Central Asian birds, in 1927 - “Zoogeography and Evolution”. In 1932, a textbook on anatomy was published. In the late 1930s - early 1940s. Bobrinsky, being a professor at Moscow University, was intensively involved in processing his own materials and publishing textbooks for universities and pedagogical colleges.

In 1943, for his fruitful scientific and pedagogical activities, Bobrinsky was awarded a doctorate without defending a dissertation. Nikolai Alekseevich’s great contribution to the development of domestic zoology was the repeatedly published textbooks on zoogeography, including the “Course of Zoogeography” published in 1951, which is still used by students today. For several decades, this book was one of the best textbooks on zoogeography for high school.

Since 1948, he left his teaching job and devoted himself to work at the Moscow Society of Natural Scientists. The last years of Nikolai Alekseevich’s life were overshadowed by a serious illness that confined him to bed. He died in 1964 at the age of 74 and was buried at the Vostryakovsky cemetery.

Bobrinsky N.A. Fauna and nature of the USSR. M.: Publishing house Mosk. Islands of Nature Testers, 1949. –216 p.

Source “https://ru.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bobrinsky,_Vasily_Alekseevich&oldid=74266922

Moscow Island of Natural Scientists (until 1917). General alphabetical list of members of the Imperial Moscow Society of Natural Scientists. - Moscow, 1838.

"https://ru.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bobrinsky&oldid=73271808"

"https://ru.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bobrinsky,_Alexey_Alekseevich&oldid=73668823"

https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki

A.P. Sadchikov,

Professor of Moscow State University named after M.V. Lomonosov,

Vice-President of the Moscow Society of Natural Scientists

(http://www.moip.msu.ru).

Catherine II had 23 lovers and at least three illegitimate children. At the lecture “Secrets of the Imperial House” at the Tretyakov Gallery, I learned many interesting, funny and sad facts from the life of the Empress.

Namely:

Pavel is not the son of Catherine the Great

Historians suggest that the first-born Paul (the future Emperor Paul I) is not the son of Catherine the Great at all, but one of the illegitimate children of Empress Elizabeth Petrovna. As if in fact Catherine II gave birth to a girl, but during childbirth she was changed to a boy who was completely different from her mother. The version is confirmed by the fact that Elizabeth raised Pavel herself from the first minutes of birth, and Catherine treated him coolly all her life.

Scheduled dates

“Son” Pavel was taken from Catherine immediately after the birth and was shown only 40 days later. In 9 months, the woman saw the child only 3 times. Another confirmation of Elizaveta Petrovna’s motherhood: it was probably she who breastfed Pavel.

“Second Madame” for her own husband

Catherine II's husband, Peter III, did not love his wife, called him “second madam” and openly started affairs. It is known that Peter preferred to play soldiers on the first wedding night. “I saw very clearly that the Grand Duke did not love me at all,” Catherine later recalled, “two weeks after the wedding, he told me that he was in love with the girl Carr, the Empress’s maid of honor. He shared with Count Divier, his chamberlain, that there is not even any comparison between this girl and me.”

How to hide pregnancy from your husband?

Catherine took lovers and gave birth to children from them. At the same time, she easily managed to hide her pregnancy from her husband (remember how comfortable the dresses were for this!). When Alyosha (the son of Grigory Orlov) was born out of wedlock in 1762, she ordered a servant to distract her husband with an impromptu fire. Pyotr Fedorovich loved to watch other people’s houses burn. When he returned from the “fun”, the child was no longer in the palace. The wife stood smart and slender, as if nothing had happened. However, as soon as Peter left, the exhausted Catherine fainted. This woman had amazing fortitude!

"Left" son

He had to give up his beloved son Alyosha. The first time Catherine saw him was only a year after birth. But even being separated from him, Catherine actively arranged Alexei’s life: she bought estates with serf souls, sent cadets to school, and supplied them with money. In addition, she maintained a constant correspondence with his guardians, asking everything about him.

What is Alyosha like?

Alyosha grew up shy and meek. In children's portraits, he looks more like a girl, like a small clone of Catherine herself.

The guardians did not hide the fact that the boy was in poor health, withdrawn and indifferent to games. “Isn’t he mentally weak?” - the mother was worried. The boy has bad heredity: his grandmother on his father’s side went crazy, and later the same thing happened to Alyosha’s father, Count Orlov.

Beavers are kind

Catherine's favorite word was “beavers.” :). It is no coincidence that she bought Alyosha the Bobriki estate and then gave him his last name - Bobrinsky. This has nothing to do with loving animals. Newborn Alyosha was carried away from the house in a beaver skin.

Snub noses

Catherine was the first in Russia to be vaccinated against smallpox. And her “son” Pavel was the first person whose nose tip rotted due to complications after sinusitis. He survived, but remained snub-nosed.

Smolyanki and cadets

At one of the cadet balls, Alyosha, who did not yet know about his origin, was squeezed into a dark corner by a noble girl from the Smolensk Institute and began to make friends. “We’re both shy, we’re both orphans, we need to be together!” - the girl hinted. Frightened Alyosha complained to Catherine. The enterprising mother took urgent measures: she married the girl off, and also gave her dresses as a dowry. Needless to say, after this incident the girls of the Smolensk Institute rushed at Alyosha in droves. :).

First love

When Alyosha fell in love with Potemkin's niece Katenka, he lost his former modesty. The Empress describes it this way: “Little Bobrinsky says that Katenka has more intelligence than all the other women and girls in the city. They wanted to know on what he bases this opinion. He said that, in his opinion, this was proved only by the fact that she wore less rouge and adorned herself with jewels than others. At the opera, he decided to break the bars of his box, because it prevented him from seeing Katenka and being seen by her; Finally, I don’t know how he managed to enlarge one of the lattice cells - and then, goodbye to the opera, he no longer paid attention to the action.” To cool her son's feelings, the empress finally reveals to him the secret of his birth. But that's a completely different story :).

And where do melodrama screenwriters look...

Lecturer— Marina Petrova, candidate of art history, leading researcher at the State Tretyakov Gallery.