Count Nikolai Sheremetyev. Nikolay Sheremetev. Fortress Theater of Count Sheremetev

Friday, August 10, 2007 00:12 + to quote book

I am adding this story to my diary today as a sign of fulfillment of a promise. Rusinka, after exchanging mutual comments in her diary on this topic, and also as a sign of my deep respect for many Russian people from the Sheremetev family. This post is long, but I didn’t want to tear it into parts. Patient and interested in Russian history (especially the history of patronage) and partly romance, I think he will not regret the time spent reading. If this story arouses interest in a narrow circle of my readers, then over time a continuation of the story about the glorious Sheremetev family will appear here
Why exactly today, August 9, did I decide to post this story in my diary?
It was compiled by me exactly a year ago.

On this day 255 years (now 256 years) ago, Count Nikolai Petrovich Sheremetev, a brilliant and versatile educated man, was born.

Being one of the richest nobles, he was a generous benefactor of that era, so far from us. A little about the ancestors of Count N.P. Sheremetev:
The roots of the Sheremetev family go deep into the history of Russia. Together with the Golitsyns, the Sheremetevs elevated the young Mikhail Romanov to the throne in 1612. Nikolai Petrovich's grandfather, Boris Petrovich Sheremetev (1652-1719), is a famous field marshal and associate of Peter I. Father, Pyotr Borisovich Sheremetev (1713-1788), is a general, senator, chamberlain, who spent a lot of effort and money on creating a unique Kuskovo in the Moscow region palace ensemble.

I. Argunov. Portrait of Count Pyotr Borisovich Sheremetev. 1760

Kuskovo

Count Nikolai Petrovich Sheremetev was born on June 28, 1751 in St. Petersburg. Young Nikolai Sheremetev, like all his famous ancestors, was closely connected with the ruling dynasty - he grew up and was brought up together with the future Emperor Paul I, and was in great friendship with him. Many years later, Nikolai Petrovich would be one of the last to see Paul I on the eve of his tragic death in the Mikhailovsky Palace.

N. Argunov. Portrait of Count N.P. Sheremetev. 1798

At the age of eight, Sheremetev, according to tradition, was recorded as a sergeant and then lieutenant of the Preobrazhensky Life Guards Regiment.
The Count received an excellent education. There is a well-known document called “Plan for the education of a young gentleman. Composed for the young Count Sheremetev, the only son of His Excellency Count Sheremetev, by Yakov Shtelin in the winter of 1764.”

Kuskovo Estate

The education plan included the study of many disciplines: from the Law of God to international commerce. Sheremetev studied history, mathematics, geography, biology, astronomy, engineering, fortification, artillery, military regulations, heraldry, ceremonial art, and studied dancing, music, and dressage.

View of the Kuskovo estate

In addition, the plan was supposed to help the count develop good taste for judgments about works of painting, sculpture, architecture and art.

Family of serf artists

Family art gallery in Kuskovo

As a result, Sheremetev grew up and was brought up in a special atmosphere, receiving a serious musical education: he professionally played the piano, violin, cello, read scores, directed an orchestra, and participated in amateur performances in the palace and on his estates.

Fragment of the interior of the palace. Kuskovo

In 1769, the count went on a long trip to European countries.

Moscow outpost. 18th century engraving

The goal is to study at Leiden University (Holland). While traveling, Sheremetev meets Handel and Mozart (the latter, by the way, even helps him financially). He is presented to the courts of Prussia, France and England.
Upon returning to Russia, Sheremetev’s successful career at court began. In 1774, twenty-three-year-old Sheremetev was promoted to chamberlain, in 1777 he was elected Moscow district marshal of the nobility, and in 1786 he was appointed privy councilor and senator. Empress Catherine II loves and visits the Sheremetev estates more than once, especially Kuskovo.

Interior of the palace in Kuskovo

With the accession of Emperor Paul I in 1896, Count Sheremetev became one of the highest-ranking officials of the court - Chief Marshal, led all ceremonial processions and had lunch and dinner with the emperor almost every day.

In the Kuskovo Palace

In 1799 he was appointed director of the imperial theaters, then director of the Corps of Pages.
Nikolai Petrovich was known as a well-known expert on architecture and was a major client-builder.

View of the village of Ostankino. Unknown artist

Over two decades, with his participation and at his expense, a theater and palace complex in Ostankino, theater buildings in Kuskovo and Markovo, houses in Pavlovsk and Gatchina, the Champetre manor and the Fountain House in St. Petersburg were built.

No less important is the role of Sheremetev in the construction of churches: the Church of the Sign of the Mother of God in the Novospassky Monastery, the Trinity Church at the Hospice House, the temple in the name of Dmitry of Rostov in Rostov the Great and others.

Fragment of the interior of the estate in Ostankino

Count Sheremetev went down in the history of Russian culture as an outstanding theater figure, the creator of one of the best theaters in Russia. On his estate, in Kuskovo, the count created a theater school, where he taught acting to his serfs.

N. Argunov. Portrait of a boy from the Sheremetev family. 1803

The main actress of the theater, the “culprit” of its unprecedented fame, was Praskovya Kovaleva-Zhemchugova (1768-1803), the daughter of an ordinary village blacksmith.

If you wish, read the continuation of the story in the comments.

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On July 9, 1751, Count Nikolai Sheremetev, philanthropist and founder of the Hospice House in Moscow, was born.

Private bussiness

Nikolai Petrovich Sheremetev(1751 - 1809) was the son of the general-in-chief, chief chamberlain of the imperial court and field marshal Pyotr Sheremetev. Received home education. The curious “Plan for raising a young gentleman” has been preserved. Composed for the young Count Sheremetev, the only son of His Excellency Count Sheremetev, by Yakov Shtelin in the winter of 1764,” which included the study of many disciplines: from the Law of God to international commerce. The young count studied history, mathematics, geography, biology, astronomy, engineering, fortification, artillery, military regulations, heraldry, and studied dancing, music, and dressage. In addition, the plan was supposed to help the count develop good taste for judgments about works of painting, sculpture, architecture and art. In addition to studying science, Nikolai was seriously involved in music. He played the cello, violin, and piano, read scores, and directed the orchestra. To complete his education, Nikolai Petrovich traveled abroad. He attended lectures at Leiden University, traveled around England, Germany, Switzerland, took music lessons, and became acquainted with theatrical life.

Since, according to the custom of that time, Nikolai Sheremetev was enrolled in military service from an early age and was on leave “until he completed his studies,” by the time he completed his studies he had already received a fairly high rank. Having started his career with the rank of chamber cadet, in 1798 he was already chief chamberlain. In 1777, he was appointed chief director of the Moscow Noble Bank. He was also a member of various departments of the Senate. In 1794 he became a holder of the Order of Alexander Nevsky, and three years later - the Order of St. Andrew the First-Called.

In 1800, Nikolai Sheremetev retired and, settling in Moscow, devoted his time to the serf theater. On November 6, 1801, he married his former serf actress Praskovya Zhemchugova-Kovaleva, having received special permission from the emperor for this marriage. On February 3, 1803, Praskovya Zhemchugova gave birth to a son, Dmitry, and died three weeks later. In memory of his wife, Sheremetev decided to build a Hospice House in Moscow in order to “give the homeless an overnight stay, the hungry a meal and a dowry for a hundred poor brides.”

What is he famous for?

Sheremetev rebuilt his father’s theater and began special education of serf children “destined for the theater.” Their training program included Russian literacy, foreign languages, music, singing, dance, diction, and social manners. After returning from abroad, Sheremetev not only closely followed all the events of Moscow theatrical life, but also regularly took his troupe to performances at the Medox Theater, and also invited leading artists of the Petrovsky Theater to teach serf artists. Among the teachers were Sila Sandunov and Pyotr Plavilshchikov.

From his father’s small home theater, Nikolai Sheremetev created a troupe capable of “presenting operas and allegorical ballets.” In Russia, from the second half of the 18th century to the 40s of the 19th century, more than one hundred and seventy serf theaters operated, of which fifty-three were in Moscow. The home theaters of Count Alexander Vorontsov and Prince Nikolai Yusupov, the director of the Imperial Theaters in 1791 - 1799, were famous for their troupes and repertoire. But the Sheremetev Theater became the most popular. The owners of other theaters even complained to the city authorities that Sheremetev was taking spectators away from them. The performances were initially given on two stages - the city stage (in a theater wing specially attached to the Sheremetevs' Moscow house on Nikolskaya Street) and the estate stage in Kuskovo.

At the beginning of 1790, Sheremetev decided to move the serf theater from Kuskov to Ostankino. The Italian architect Francesco Camporesi, who created the original project, took part in the creation of the Ostankino Palace; serf architect Alexey Fedorovich Mironov, architect Ivan Egorovich Starov; decorative artist and architect Vincenzo Brenna, serf architect of Count Sheremetev Pavel Ivanovich Argunov. The hall with six rows of stalls and three rows of the amphitheater could accommodate 250 spectators. It was equipped with theatrical machines that provided quick changes of scenery and sound effects of rain, wind and thunder. The creator of theatrical machinery was the serf carpenter and mechanic Fyodor Pryakhin.

What you need to know

The hospice house was completed and opened on June 28, 1810. According to the charter, “persons of both sexes and every rank, the poor and the disabled” were admitted there completely free of charge. The house was designed for approximately 100 people (50 people in the almshouse and 50 people in the hospital). By 1838, there were 140 people in the Hospital for Hospitality (“Sheremetevskaya Hospital”, as the Muscovites called the house); in the “cholera years” the number of patients increased sharply; special wooden buildings were built for them. In 1876, a department for visiting patients was opened at the Hospice House. During the Russian-Japanese and First World Wars there was an infirmary here. Before the revolution, the Hospice House was supported by income from the estates of the Sheremetev counts. In 1919, a city ambulance was created there. The house founded by Nikolai Sheremetev still exists today (Bolshaya Sukharevskaya Square, building 3). It houses the Research Institute of Emergency Medicine named after N.V. Sklifosovsky.

Direct speech

« Possessing a great estate, do not be blinded, I repeat to you, by wealth and splendor, in order to avoid all excesses and vicious pleasures, but manage and dispose of the numerous incomes collected from it so that one part satisfies your needs, and the other is dedicated to the common benefit, the good others, for the benefit and consolation of oneself. There are enough means, enough opportunities to do useful things, choose from them those that will be to your heart » , - “Testamentary letter of Count Nikolai Petrovich Sheremetev to his young son”

13 facts about Nikolai Sheremetev

Andrei Kobyla, mentioned in the chronicle of 1347, is considered the ancestor of the Sheremetevs. His youngest son was called Fyodor Koshka, from him came many famous boyar families, including the future royal dynasty of the Romanovs. Fyodor’s great-grandson, Andrei Konstantinovich, received the nickname Sheremet. Most likely, this nickname is of Turkic origin and means “having a light step.” Since “horse” nicknames were popular in this family (Andrey Kobyla, Semyon Stallion), it is likely that the word Sheremet was an epithet of a horse. The descendants of Andrei Sheremet began to bear the surname Sheremetev from the end of the 15th century.
In the 17th century, the Sheremetevs were one of sixteen clans, whose representatives were promoted to boyars, bypassing the rank of okolnichy.
Field Marshal Boris Petrovich Sheremetev (1662 - 1719) was promoted to count for pacifying the uprising in Astrakhan. It is about him in Pushkin’s “Poltava” that it is said: “...Noble Sheremetev.” From him came the count branch of the Sheremetev family.
On the coat of arms of the Sheremetev counts there was the motto Deus conservat omnia - “God preserves everything.”
Nikolai Sheremetev began performing at the age of 13 in his father’s home theater, and then “at the large court theater.” In 1765, Nicholas performed the role of the god Hymen in the mythological ballet Acis and Galatea.
While in Paris, Nikolai Sheremetev met Mozart.
At the opening of the Ostankino Theater on July 22, 1795, the lyrical drama “Zelmira and Smelon, or the Capture of Izmail”, dedicated to the capture of Izmail by the Russian army in 1790, was shown. Participants in the assault were invited to the premiere.
In 1798, Nikolai Sheremetev participated in a special commission that established the procedure for admitting Russian nobles to the Order of Malta, of which Emperor Paul I became grandmaster that same year.
Nikolai Sheremetev and Praskovya Kovaleva got married in the Moscow Church of Simeon the Stylite on Povarskaya, which has survived to this day.
Architect Vincenzo Brenna designed the theater hall of the Ostankino Palace so that after a performance it could be transformed into a ballroom in less than an hour.
In his will, Count Sheremetev ordered himself to be buried “in the worst possible way” - in a simple plank coffin, and the money intended for the funeral to be distributed to the poor and monasteries. The count allocated 500 thousand rubles for the Hospice House.
Nikolai Sheremetev also bequeathed a village and villages in the Tver province for the maintenance of the Hospice House. From the income from this estate it was necessary to feed and care for those in need, help families in trouble, and give dowries to poor brides. The dowry was allocated annually on February 23, the anniversary of the death of the count's wife.
The total amount donated by the count to the Hospice House was three million rubles.

Materials about Nikolai Sheremetev

Nikolay Sheremetyev and Praskovya Zhemchugova

It is not for nothing that the love story of the serf Praskovya and her master, the illustrious Count Sheremetyev, is called the most touching story of the 18th century, and this is indeed so.

Praskovya Zhemchugova. Nikolay Argunov

Praskovya Kovaleva was born into the family of a serf blacksmith. However, the girl lived in her father’s house only until she was six years old - then she was taken to Kuskovo and given to be raised by Marfa Dolgorukaya. The girl was taken away from her parents with a long-range view: contemporaries wrote that the future star of the Sheremetyev serf theater had an amazing, bewitching voice from early childhood. Having heard this voice once, twenty-two-year-old Count Nikolai Sheremetyev could never forget it.

The talented daughter of a blacksmith was raised as a future prima. Praskovya perfectly mastered musical notation, playing the harp and harpsichord, spoke and sang in both French and Italian. Not every noblewoman of that time could boast of such a diverse education!

However, the girl was not at all prepared for a happy marriage - Praskovya began performing on the stage of the famous Sheremetyev serf theater, which thundered throughout Russia, at the age of eleven. At first, Parashenka performed under the pseudonym Gorbunova, but then the count himself began to come up with euphonious surnames for his serf actresses: Yakhontova, Granatova, Biryuzova... So Praskovya became Zhemchugova.

History has brought to us many versions of the first date between Parasha and Nikolai, but the only thing that can be considered reliable is that the count noticed the gifted girl when she was still a baby and then followed her fate from afar. Praskovya’s talent was so outstanding that Empress Catherine the Great herself, who was present at the play “Samnite Marriages” to Grétry’s music, in which Praskovya Zhemchugova sang the part of Eliana, was shocked by the young artist’s performance and presented her with a diamond ring from her own hand.

A fragile, seemingly sickly girl, entering the stage, was completely transformed. In addition to her stunning soprano, bewitching listeners, Zhemchugova also had undoubted stage talent. In addition, the young actress was characterized by a meek disposition, modesty and selflessness.

Nikolai Sheremetyev did not even dream of calling Praskovya his own before God: serf girls taken as mistresses, be they laundresses or actresses, were intended for only one thing - to bring carnal pleasure. However, Nikolai’s exalted nature did not find any pleasure in corrupt or forced caresses.

The sudden death of his beloved father had such an effect on the young Count Sheremetyev that he became a heavy drinker and became depressed. It was the same Praskovya who brought him back to normal life, and then, feeling enormous gratitude to the girl, the count decided to commit an act unprecedented at that time - to marry a serf.

Praskovya Zhemchugova, with whom her talent and the count’s decision played a cruel joke, found herself between two fires: high society did not accept the “girl” and the “slave,” and her former village environment also rejected the young actress, who had gone far from the peasant way of life. In addition, Catherine II, who patronized the actress, died, and Paul I, who ascended the throne, did not want to give permission for the marriage of a serf and a count.

Nikolai Sheremetyev was distinguished by enviable tenacity, and the emperor’s refusal did not bother him: he decided to achieve his goal, if not by perseverance, then by cunning. The count invited the sovereign to his palace to listen to the serf choir. Paul I, who had never seen or heard of Zhemchugova before, but only heard from the courtiers about the “insolent girl,” was so shocked by both the voice and appearance of this extraordinary artist that he immediately gave Count Nikolai Petrovich consent to the marriage.

Praskovya Zhemchugova and Count Nikolai Sheremetyev got married only 17 long years after the start of their romance, in 1801, in Moscow, in the Church of Simeon the Stylite on Povarskaya. The wedding was almost secret - only two obligatory witnesses were present at the wedding.

The count took the love of his life to St. Petersburg, but the damp climate of the capital did not benefit the singer: Praskovya, who was prone to tuberculosis, became seriously ill. The newly-made Countess Sheremetyev herself considered her illness a punishment for the years spent in the sin of adultery, but, as if wanting to dissuade her from this, God gave her unexpected joy - she became pregnant. The pregnancy was difficult, but both Praskovya herself and Nikolai Petrovich were in seventh heaven, dreaming of a long-awaited heir. It was during Praskovya’s pregnancy that the artist Ivan Argunov painted her famous “Portrait of Zhemchugova in a Striped Bonnet.”

Fairy tales do not always have a happy ending: the love story of the serf singer and the count ended on a tragic note. Praskovya died on the twentieth day after giving birth, leaving her son Dmitry to her inconsolable husband. In memory of his untimely death, the count built a hospice house on Sukharevka, which today houses the Research Institute of Emergency Medicine named after. N.V. Sklifosovsky.

Count Sheremetyev was never able to find consolation from other women, and he did not look for it. He outlived his beloved Pashenka by only six years...

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(1751-07-09 ) Date of death: Father: Mother:

A. P. Sheremeteva

Awards and prizes:

Graph Nikolai Petrovich Sheremetev(1751-1809) - head of the Sheremetev family, son of Count Pyotr Borisovich; patron of the arts, philanthropist; musician. Chief Chamberlain, Actual Privy Councilor, Senator, Director of the Moscow Noble Bank, founder of the Hospice House in Moscow and the Nevsky Almshouse in St. Petersburg.

Biography

Received home education. In 1761 he was promoted to chamber cadet and the next year, accompanied by V. G. Wroblewski, went on a four-year trip abroad; visited Holland (listened to lectures at Leiden University), England, France (studied cello with the Parisian musician Ivar), Switzerland and Germany and, upon returning to Russia, again took a court position, reaching the rank of chief chamberlain in 1798.

From 1777 he was the chief director of the Moscow Noble Bank; in 1786-1794 was present in the fifth department of the Senate in Moscow; in 1796-1800 - in the survey department of the Senate, and in 1798 he participated in a special commission consisting of gr. Litta, gr. N.I. Saltykov, Senator V.V. Engelhardt and Prosecutor General P.V. Lopukhin, and had the goal of establishing a procedure for admitting Russian nobles to the Order of the Knights of Malta, of which Emperor Paul became a grandmaster in the same year.

After retiring in 1800, he settled in Moscow in a block along Vozdvizhenka, which he bought from his brother-in-law A.K. Razumovsky. On June 28, 1794 he was awarded the Order of St. Alexander Nevsky. On February 1, 1797, he was awarded the Order of St. Andrew the First-Called. In 1797, Sheremetev moved to St. Petersburg - to the Fountain House. On November 6, 1801, he married his serf actress P.I. Zhemchugova-Kovaleva, to whom he gave his freedom back in 1798. On February 3, 1803, their son Dmitry was born, and Praskovya Ivanovna died three weeks later, on February 23, 1803.
After the death of his wife, Nikolai Petrovich Sheremetev, fulfilling the will of the deceased, devoted his life to charity. According to Praskovya Ivanovna’s will, he donated part of the capital to help poor brides and artisans, and also began construction of the Hospice House in Moscow, opened after the death of its founder, in 1810. By decree of April 25, 1803, Emperor Alexander I ordered that Count Nikolai Petrovich be presented at the general meeting of the Senate with a gold medal with an image of his portrait on one side and the inscription on the other: “as a pledge of universal gratitude for such an elegant act and so that its memory is preserved and unforgettable in posterity”, and, in addition, awarded him the Order of St. Vladimir, 1st degree.

In addition, Sheremetev’s funds were used to build a theater and palace complex in Ostankino, theater buildings in Kuskovo and Markovo, houses in Pavlovsk and Gatchina, the Champetre manor and the Fountain House in St. Petersburg. No less important is the role of Sheremetev in the construction of temples: the Church of the Sign of the Mother of God in the Novospassky Monastery, the Trinity Church at the Hospice House, the Demetrius Cathedral of the Spaso-Yakovlevsky Monastery in Rostov the Great and others.

He was buried in St. Petersburg in the family tomb of Counts Sheremetev in the Alexander Nevsky Lavra.

Sheremetev Theater

Initially, the performances of the Sheremetev Theater were given on two stages - the city stage (in a theater wing specially attached to the Sheremetevs' Moscow house on Nikolskaya Street) and the estate stage - in Kuskovo, where training was organized for serf actors, the number of whom reached 95 people. Talented serf musicians and artists of the Sheremetev Theater studied in St. Petersburg and Moscow.

In 1804, the serf theater of Count N.P. Sheremetev ceased to exist.

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Notes

Literature

// Russian biographical dictionary: in 25 volumes. - St. Petersburg. -M., 1896-1918.
The fate of talent. Theater in pre-revolutionary Russia. Comp., intro. Art. and comment. L. V. Mankova. - M., Pravda, 1990. - ISBN 5-253-00109-3
Douglas Smith The Pearl. A True Tale of Forbidden Love in Catherine the Great’s Russia (New Haven, Yale University Press 2008).
Rogov A. Sheremetev and Zhemchugova. - Vagrius, 2007.

Links

An excerpt characterizing Sheremetev, Nikolai Petrovich

“Lanciers du sixieme, [Lancers of the sixth regiment.],” said Dolokhov, without shortening or increasing the horse’s stride. The black figure of a sentry stood on the bridge.
– Mot d’ordre? [Review?] – Dolokhov held his horse and rode at a walk.
– Dites donc, le colonel Gerard est ici? [Tell me, is Colonel Gerard here?] - he said.
“Mot d'ordre!” said the sentry without answering, blocking the road.
“Quand un officier fait sa ronde, les sentinelles ne demandent pas le mot d"ordre...,” Dolokhov shouted, suddenly flushing, running his horse into the sentry. “Je vous demande si le colonel est ici?” [When an officer goes around the chain, the sentries do not ask review... I ask, is the colonel here?]
And, without waiting for an answer from the guard who stood aside, Dolokhov walked up the hill at a pace.
Noticing the black shadow of a man crossing the road, Dolokhov stopped this man and asked where the commander and officers were? This man, a soldier with a sack on his shoulder, stopped, came close to Dolokhov’s horse, touching it with his hand, and simply and friendlyly said that the commander and officers were higher on the mountain, on the right side, in the farm yard (that’s what he called the master’s estate).
Having driven along the road, on both sides of which French conversation could be heard from the fires, Dolokhov turned into the courtyard of the manor’s house. Having passed through the gate, he dismounted from his horse and approached a large blazing fire, around which several people were sitting, talking loudly. Something was boiling in a pot on the edge, and a soldier in a cap and blue overcoat, kneeling, brightly illuminated by the fire, stirred it with a ramrod.
“Oh, c"est un dur a cuire, [You can’t deal with this devil.],” said one of the officers sitting in the shadows on the opposite side of the fire.
“Il les fera marcher les lapins... [He will get through them...],” said another with a laugh. Both fell silent, peering into the darkness at the sound of the steps of Dolokhov and Petya, approaching the fire with their horses.
- Bonjour, messieurs! [Hello, gentlemen!] - Dolokhov said loudly and clearly.
The officers stirred in the shadow of the fire, and one, a tall officer with a long neck, walked around the fire and approached Dolokhov.
“C”est vous, Clement?” he said. “D”ou, diable... [Is that you, Clement? Where the hell...] - but he did not finish, having learned his mistake, and, frowning slightly, as if he were a stranger, he greeted Dolokhov, asking him how he could serve. Dolokhov said that he and a friend were catching up with their regiment, and asked, turning to everyone in general, if the officers knew anything about the sixth regiment. Nobody knew anything; and it seemed to Petya that the officers began to examine him and Dolokhov with hostility and suspicion. Everyone was silent for a few seconds.
“Si vous comptez sur la soupe du soir, vous venez trop tard, [If you are counting on dinner, then you are late.],” said a voice from behind the fire with a restrained laugh.
Dolokhov replied that they were full and that they needed to move on at night.
He gave the horses to the soldier who was stirring the pot, and squatted down by the fire next to the long-necked officer. This officer, without taking his eyes off, looked at Dolokhov and asked him again: what regiment was he in? Dolokhov did not answer, as if he had not heard the question, and, lighting a short French pipe, which he took out of his pocket, asked the officers how safe the road was from the Cossacks ahead of them.
“Les brigands sont partout, [These robbers are everywhere.],” answered the officer from behind the fire.
Dolokhov said that the Cossacks were terrible only for such backward people as he and his comrade, but that the Cossacks probably did not dare to attack large detachments, he added questioningly. Nobody answered.
“Well, now he’ll leave,” Petya thought every minute, standing in front of the fire and listening to his conversation.
But Dolokhov again began the conversation that had stopped and directly began asking how many people they had in the battalion, how many battalions, how many prisoners. Asking about the captured Russians who were with their detachment, Dolokhov said:
– La vilaine affaire de trainer ces cadavres apres soi. Vaudrait mieux fusiller cette canaille, [It’s a bad thing to carry these corpses around with you. It would be better to shoot this bastard.] - and laughed loudly with such a strange laugh that Petya thought the French would now recognize the deception, and he involuntarily took a step away from the fire. No one responded to Dolokhov’s words and laughter, and the French officer, who was not visible (he was lying wrapped in an overcoat), stood up and whispered something to his comrade. Dolokhov stood up and called to the soldier with the horses.
“Will they serve the horses or not?” - Petya thought, involuntarily approaching Dolokhov.
The horses were brought in.
“Bonjour, messieurs, [Here: farewell, gentlemen.],” said Dolokhov.
Petya wanted to say bonsoir [good evening] and could not finish the words. The officers were whispering something to each other. Dolokhov took a long time to mount the horse, which was not standing; then he walked out of the gate. Petya rode beside him, wanting and not daring to look back to see whether the French were running or not running after them.
Having reached the road, Dolokhov drove not back into the field, but along the village. At one point he stopped, listening.
- Do you hear? - he said.
Petya recognized the sounds of Russian voices and saw the dark figures of Russian prisoners near the fires. Going down to the bridge, Petya and Dolokhov passed the sentry, who, without saying a word, walked gloomily along the bridge, and drove out into the ravine where the Cossacks were waiting.
- Well, goodbye now. Tell Denisov that at dawn, at the first shot,” said Dolokhov and wanted to go, but Petya grabbed him with his hand.
- No! - he cried, - you are such a hero. Oh, how good! How great! How I love you.
“Okay, okay,” said Dolokhov, but Petya did not let him go, and in the darkness Dolokhov saw that Petya was bending down towards him. He wanted to kiss. Dolokhov kissed him, laughed and, turning his horse, disappeared into the darkness.

X
Returning to the guardhouse, Petya found Denisov in the entryway. Denisov, in excitement, anxiety and annoyance at himself for letting Petya go, was waiting for him.
- God bless! - he shouted. - Well, thank God! - he repeated, listening to Petya’s enthusiastic story. “What the hell, I couldn’t sleep because of you!” Denisov said. “Well, thank God, now go to bed.” Still sighing and eating until the end.
“Yes... No,” said Petya. – I don’t want to sleep yet. Yes, I know myself, if I fall asleep, it’s over. And then I got used to not sleeping before the battle.
Petya sat for some time in the hut, joyfully recalling the details of his trip and vividly imagining what would happen tomorrow. Then, noticing that Denisov had fallen asleep, he got up and went into the yard.
It was still completely dark outside. The rain had passed, but drops were still falling from the trees. Close to the guardhouse one could see black figures of Cossack huts and horses tied together. Behind the hut were two black wagons with horses standing, and in the ravine the dying fire was red. The Cossacks and hussars were not all asleep: in some places, along with the sound of falling drops and the nearby sound of horses chewing, soft, as if whispering voices were heard.
Petya came out of the entryway, looked around in the darkness and approached the wagons. Someone was snoring under the wagons, and saddled horses stood around them, chewing oats. In the darkness, Petya recognized his horse, which he called Karabakh, although it was a Little Russian horse, and approached it.
“Well, Karabakh, we’ll serve tomorrow,” he said, smelling her nostrils and kissing her.

On July 9 (June 28, old style), 1751, Nikolai Petrovich Sheremetev (Sheremetyev) was born - a representative of one of the most noble Russian families, the son of Count Pyotr Borisovich Sheremetev, a highly educated courtier, favorite of Paul I, chief marshal of the highest court. He married the serf actress Praskovya Kovaleva-Zhemchugova, and in memory of her he built the Hospice House in Moscow (now the building of the N.V. Sklifosofsky Research Institute of Emergency Medicine). He entered the history of Russian culture as an outstanding theater figure, patron of the arts, collector, musician, philanthropist and philanthropist.

Family and early years

Nikolai Sheremetev's father, Count Pyotr Borisovich Sheremetev, was also famous for his love of art, music and theatrical performances. He had a large collection of paintings and art objects, his own home theater, which was also visited by royalty as spectators. Sheremetev Jr. was raised from childhood at the court of Catherine II, together with the future Emperor Paul I. Being a childhood playmate, he remained friends with the heir for life, and thanks to this, he subsequently had many privileges, but also suffered from the whims of this unbalanced man . Nikolai Sheremetev was one of the last to see Paul I alive on the eve of the murder (he shared his last dinner with him in the Mikhailovsky Castle) and subsequently sincerely grieved over his death.

Since childhood, young Sheremetev performed in his father’s home theater. At the age of 14, he performed the role of the god Hyminaeus, which had previously been performed by Tsarevich Pavel.

In 1769, the young Count Sheremetev went to study at one of the most prestigious educational institutions - Leiden University in Holland. In addition to his studies, he masters theater, stage, decorative and ballet arts, moves in the highest circles of European society, and gets acquainted with Mozart and Handel. Count Sheremetev was introduced to the courts of England, France and Prussia. Among his talents there is also professional playing of musical instruments such as violin, cello, and piano. He knew how to read scores, conduct an orchestra, and in his youth dreamed of being a conductor.

"Life is a theater..."

Catherine II, as you know, did not favor people close to the heir Pavel Petrovich. Fearing a new palace coup, the empress sought to remove from the court those nobles whom Paul could trust and whose support he could count on in his desire to create opposition to the sovereign mother. Therefore, upon returning to Russia, Nikolai Sheremetev immediately received the position of director of the Moscow Bank and “settled” away from St. Petersburg - in provincial, patriarchal Moscow.

However, this did not upset the count at all. A faithful admirer of Melpomene, he immediately launched the construction of a new theater on his Kuskovo estate near Moscow. The extension to the Sheremetev house on Nikolskaya Street, where the serf theater of Pyotr Borisovich was previously located, turned out to be small for the grandiose plans of his heir. Initially, performances were given on two stages: on Nikolskaya and in Kuskovo, but soon Nikolai Petrovich completely moved to the estate. In Kuskovo he created a theater that none of the famous serf theaters of that time could compete with. The Sheremetev Theater was distinguished by correctly selected scenery, an excellent orchestra and, of course, actors. Nikolai Petrovich replenishes the troupe of serfs hastily recruited by his father with new “folk” talents. He sends his actors for training to artists of the Petrovsky Theater specially assigned for this purpose. Many actors undergo training in Moscow and St. Petersburg, receiving the most versatile education with the money of the master-philanthropist: in addition to performing arts, vocal and music lessons, they study foreign languages, literature, and poetry. Sheremetev himself creates his own theater orchestra, buys rich scenery, orders costumes, and invites the best musicians.

Kuskovo estate. Castle.

The new Kuskovsky Theater was officially opened in 1787 and enjoyed enormous popularity. All the nobility of Moscow came to his performances, and high-ranking spectators from St. Petersburg specially arrived for some performances. The owners of private theaters complained to the mayor that Count Sheremetev (already a rich man) was taking away their audience for his own amusement. But for Sheremetev the theater was not fun. The theatrical business gradually turned into the work of his whole life.

In addition to music and theater, Nikolai Petrovich was known as a famous expert on architecture. Over the course of two decades, a theater and palace complex in Ostankino, theater buildings in Kuskovo and Markovo, houses in Pavlovsk and Gatchina, the Champetre manor, the Fountain House in St. Petersburg and the Hospice House in Moscow were built with his funds. No less important is the role of Sheremetev in the construction of churches: the Church of the Sign of the Mother of God in the Novospassky Monastery, the Trinity Church at the Hospice House, the temple in the name of Dmitry of Rostov in Rostov the Great and others.

The Count’s ability to not chase after fashionable European architects and artists, but to discover talents in his serfs, is striking. The famous building of the theater and palace complex in Ostankino was built by serf architects Count A. Mironov and P. Argunov according to the designs of Camporesi, Brenna and Starov.

The artist N. Argunov subsequently immortalized the memory of Sheremetev by painting portraits of himself and Praskovya Kovaleva (Zhemchugova). By the way, one of the Sheremetevs’ serf talents was violin maker I. A. Batov, whose instruments are rightfully compared to the works of such masters as Guarneri and Stradivari.

The palace in Ostankino was opened in the summer of 1795. The premiere took place on July 22. The heroic opera “The Capture of Ishmael” was prepared for the opening. Sheremetev's troupe became the best among the serfs at that time, eclipsing even the famous theater of Count Vorontsov. The original layout of the Ostankino Theater hall made it easy (literally within an hour) to transform it into a ballroom. Today, the Ostankino Theater is the only theater in Russia that has preserved the stage technology of the 18th century - the stage, auditorium, make-up rooms and part of the engine room mechanisms. In terms of its acoustic qualities, it is the best hall in Moscow.

In 1796, significant changes occurred in the biography of Count Sheremetev. His childhood friend, Paul I, ascends the throne. Nikolai Petrovich instantly becomes chief marshal and one of the most influential people in the country. They say that the first order of the newly-minted emperor was the order to urgently find and return to the court his confidant, Count Nikolai Sheremetyev. And I must say, Nikolai Petrovich was not pleased with this turn of fortune. By nature, he was a kind Moscow gentleman - a theatergoer, a hospitable person, a contemplator. He served, but did not try to make a career and did not like fuss as a courtier. And then he again turned into a toy in the hands of a wayward and eccentric autocrat, he found himself literally chained to the banks of the Neva, unable to do what he loved, come to Ostankino and Kuskovo, stage new performances, or personally control his troupe. Only in 1799 Sheremetev was appointed director of the imperial theaters, and then director of the Corps of Pages. Favors and honors rained down on the courtier as if from a cornucopia. For his many-sided activities at court, the count was awarded Russian and foreign orders more than once; he was granted titles, estates, and various privileges. But Nikolai Petrovich did not crave honors and glory from his sovereign. Paradoxically, the most ardent desire of the imperial favorite during these years was to arrange his personal and family life...

Kovaleva-Zhemchugova

Count Nikolai Petrovich Sheremetev also glorified his name with a world-famous love story in which he acted as a handsome but unhappy prince. After all, the love of his life - serf actress Praskovya Kovaleva (on stage - Zhemchugova) - in all respects, was listed as a “Cinderella”...

She received the surname Zhemchugov at the whim of Nikolai Petrovich himself. Looking for precious talents among the crowds of serf children, the count preferred to name them accordingly: Granatova, Almazov, Biryuzova...

In fact, Praskovya was the daughter of a hunchbacked blacksmith - a “farrier”, and she came to the count’s theater at the age of seven, Parashka Kovaleva. The vocal girl was noticed by Sheremetev’s relative, Princess Marfa Mikhailovna Dolgorukaya, who took her as a pupil and gave the serf a good education. Parasha knew Italian and French, took singing lessons from the best masters, and knew how to play the harp and harpsichord. Already at the age of 13, she shone on stage, performing the deeply touching role of Louise from Seden's drama The Runaway Soldier. From the age of 16, Kovaleva-Zhemchugova was deservedly considered the prima of the Sheremetev Theater, hypnotizing audiences with her soulful dramatic acting, unusual for such a young girl, and her flexible lyric-dramatic soprano. Zhemchugova easily transformed from a tragic heroine into a comedic talker, or into a young page - her slender, fragile figure allowed her to do this. And she always received a standing ovation. Count Sheremetev, as soon as he saw Praskovya on stage, fell madly in love with her.

Despite the protests of his relatives, Nikolai Petrovich made a vow: if he cannot marry his beloved, then he will not marry anyone. After his father’s death, he openly moved to a house specially built for Praskovya in Kuskovsky Park. Everyone knew about their relationship - in those days, landowners falling in love with young serfs did not surprise anyone. However, after his unexpected rise at court, Count Sheremetev had to change his “village” lifestyle. Together with Zhemchugova, he moved to the capital, and high society became agitated. Nikolai Petrovich was already 45 years old, he was single, and besides, he was fabulously rich and handsome. Many beauties of noble families burned with envy and hatred of the poor serf actress. After all, such a promising groom was leaving their hands! It was in Kuskovo that Praskovya Zhemchugova was elevated to Olympus - in prudent Petersburg, where connections and origin ruled the ball, the world spoke of her only as a courtyard girl.

The Count was terribly burdened by the awareness of guilt before his beloved. He more than once turned to Paul I with a request to allow, as an exception, an official marriage with Zhemchugova. The Emperor did not directly refuse Sheremetev, but looked at his favorite’s relationship with the actress as a strange eccentricity. He sincerely admired Praskovya’s performance on stage, but did not allow him to create a precedent by placing the actress, the daughter of a serf blacksmith, on a par with representatives of noble families.

The northern winds of St. Petersburg and constant travel from the capital to Moscow and back soon undermined the actress’s health. Praskovya caught a cold and lost her magnificent voice. In addition, her hereditary tuberculosis worsened. Having long ago received her freedom from the count, Zhemchugova lived in St. Petersburg as a simple kept woman - and the bitterness of this situation killed her.

Only after the death of Paul I did Count Nikolai Petrovich decide to use the trick of forging documents. He composes a legend about the origin of Praskovya Ivanovna Kovaleva from the family of Polish nobles Kovalevsky, who allegedly once lived on his estate Kuskovo. In 1801, fifty-year-old Count Sheremetev received from the young Emperor Alexander I a truly royal gift - a special edict that gave him the right to marry the Polish noblewoman Paraskeva Kovalevskaya. Perhaps there was some blackmail here: Count Sheremetev could not have been unaware of the impending conspiracy against Paul I, as well as the participation of the heir himself in it. Sheremetev did not participate in the conspiracy, but he did not warn Pavel about the danger that threatened him, although he was almost the last person to speak to him on the eve of the murder. Having actually betrayed his sovereign and benefactor, the chief marshal most likely counted on the gratitude of Alexander I. He soon received it.

The lovers secretly got married on November 8, 1801. According to the Sheremetev family legend, the ceremony took place in the Moscow Church of Simeon the Stylite on Povarskaya Street. Only recently was a record of a wedding found in the church register of the Church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, which once stood on Sapozhkovskaya Square near the Trinity Gate of the Kremlin. There, most likely, the sacrament of this marriage took place.

Nikolai Petrovich did not tell anyone, not even his own brothers and sisters, that he was married. Despite the imperial approval, Praskovya Sheremeteva would not have been accepted in high society - the title of actress was no better than the status of a former serf, because at that time they even buried actors behind the cemetery fence.

In 1803, a son, Count Dmitry, was born into the Sheremetev family. Naturally, such an unforeseen turn stunned all the greedy relatives, who happily accepted the fact that Nikolai Petrovich would no longer leave behind a direct heir. “Our eldest relative is an excellent thing,” Anna Semenovna Sheremeteva, one of the contenders for Count Nikolai Petrovich’s considerable inheritance, angrily remarked in her memoirs.

With his marriage, Sheremetev finally secured for himself the title of madman, which he had been awarded for his entire life. But that didn't bother him anymore. Twenty days after the birth of her son, Praskovya Sheremeteva-Zhemchugova also died.

The count's life lost its meaning. In 1804, he finally dissolved his serf theater and became involved in charity work.

Hospice

In memory of his wife, Sheremetev founded the Hospice House (almshouse) in Moscow (now the building of the Moscow Institute of Emergency Medicine named after N.V. Sklifosovsky).

The count began building the orphanage building back in 1792. The place near the Sukharev Tower was called Cherkasy Gardens and once belonged to his mother. The construction of the building was initially undertaken by the architect Elevzoy Nazarov, one of the Sheremetev serfs, a student of Bazhenov. But after the death of Praskovya Zhemchugova, the great architect Giacomo Quarenghi, a great admirer of the work of the late actress, completed the project. Under his brilliant pencil, a marvelous church rotunda, a high white colonnade, and the confident span of the palace wings were born. Outside is a palace; inside is a refuge for the sick, homeless, and crippled. The house consisted of a hospital for 50 “suffering from illnesses”, an almshouse for 100 “those in need” (50 men and 50 women) and a shelter for 25 orphan girls. A library with a reading room was also organized. In the side galleries there are chambers for the infirm, and at the top there is a special section for the poor who had no means of subsistence and lived here dependent on this house.

Having spent a huge capital on the construction of the building - more than one and a half million rubles, Sheremetev put another 500 thousand rubles for the maintenance of the almshouse and bequeathed to it “for eternity” the village of Molodoy Tud with villages in the Tver province - eight thousand souls. From these funds it was necessary to feed and care for those in need, help families in trouble, and give dowries to poor brides. The dowry was awarded every year - February 23, the day of the death of Countess Praskovya Ivanovna.

Then, beyond the count’s earthly life, the wounded will be treated in the Hospice House - the heroes of 1812, the battles of Shipka and Plevna, the defenders of Port Arthur.

The building of Sheremetev's Hospice House is considered a masterpiece of Russian architecture, an excellent example of Russian classicism of the late 18th - 19th centuries. This is the only charitable institution in Russia that was built and maintained at the expense of one private individual.

Memory and descendants

Nikolai Petrovich survived his wife by only six years. He spent his last years in St. Petersburg, in his palace on the Fontanka (Fontanny House). Died on January 1, 1809. The count was buried next to his wife, in the Sheremetev tomb of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra, in a simple plank coffin - Count Sheremetev bequeathed to distribute all the money allocated for the rich funeral of the highest persons to the poor.

“I had everything in life. Fame, wealth, luxury. But I did not find peace in any of this. Remember that life is fleeting, and only good deeds can we take with us beyond the doors of the coffin.”- it is said in his will to his son.

The son of Nikolai Petrovich Sheremetev, Dmitry Nikolaevich, not only continued the traditions of patronage established by his father, but also developed them many times over. In his time, the saying “live on Sheremetev’s account” appeared among the people, since the count, being the trustee of the Hospice House, spent huge sums not only on it, but also on other institutions. At the expense of Count Sheremetev, Moscow churches, monasteries, gymnasiums, orphanages and, partly, St. Petersburg University existed. The count's help played a decisive role in the transformation of the Lazarus Church in the Alexander Nevsky Lavra. Throughout his life, Dmitry Nikolaevich provided financial support to artists, singers and musicians, often donating the halls of the Fountain House in St. Petersburg to the workshops of both famous and unknown painters.

The grandchildren of Nikolai Petrovich - the eldest son of Dmitry Nikolaevich Sergei and the youngest son Alexander - also became famous philanthropists. Sergei Dmitrievich Sheremetev was a prominent statesman, collector and historian, and was also a member of many societies, including the Russian Society for the Protection of Animals.

Count Alexander Dmitrievich Sheremetev (1859-1931) founded a private orchestra in 1882, with which he began giving public (public) symphony concerts in 1898. In 1908, he donated 20 thousand gold rubles to establish a scholarship to N.A. Rimsky-Korsakov at the St. Petersburg Conservatory. On his initiative, memorial plaques to Alexander Dargomyzhsky, Mily Balakirev, Alexander Serov and Modest Mussorgsky were installed in St. Petersburg, and an all-Russian fundraiser was held for the monument to Tchaikovsky. Since 1910, public concerts of the Sheremetev Orchestra have become free. They were attended mainly by low-income audiences - those that later made up the audience of the Leningrad Philharmonic, the Opera and Ballet Theater. Kirov, MALEGOTA.

At the beginning of the 20th century, the Sheremetev family still remained the richest in Russia, but 1917 happened. The youngest grandson of the famous philanthropist N.P. Sheremetev - Alexander Dmitrievich - ended up in Europe, where he decided to wait out the “time of troubles”, like many other Russian aristocrats. The wait dragged on; he never returned to Russia. Abroad, the representative of the richest Sheremetev family had nothing to live on. The grandson of a man whose wealth at one time exceeded that of the Emperor, ended his days in France in a shelter for poor Russian emigrants and was buried in a common grave, for lack of funds for a more dignified burial. Alas, this is how the glory of the world passes away!

The motto of the Sheremetev noble family was: “God preserves everything.” But today only archival documents make it possible to reconstruct the events of two centuries ago and pay tribute to people driven by noble ideas of enlightening society, helping the unfortunate and disadvantaged. Representatives of the count branch of the ancient Sheremetev family were characterized to the highest degree by the need for selfless service to national culture - as a creation of good, noble deeds that compatriots and descendants will be proud of.