Because of what Countess Sheremeteva was dissuaded from marrying Prince Dolgoruky, but she was never dissuaded: Female feat of love and selflessness

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

At first, two families rejoiced at the engagement of Prince Dolgorukov and Countess Sheremeteva. However, less than a month later, relatives began to dissuade the bride from this marriage, and outside her gates a real line of new suitors lined up, confident that Natalia Sheremeteva's engagement would be terminated any minute. But the 15-year-old countess did not even think to leave her fiancé, although she had very serious reasons for this.

Two opposites

Natalia Sheremeteva was born into the family of Boris Petrovich Sheremetev, an associate of Peter the Great and his wife Anna Petrovna Naryshkina, who bore the surname Saltykova from birth. By the time he met Anna Naryshkina, Boris Petrovich managed to get married twice, but both times he remained a widower, and Anna Petrovna was the widow of boyar Naryshkin.

Natalia became the eldest daughter of the spouses and from childhood was the favorite of her parents. She was only five years old when her father died, and Natalia, despite her age, became the greatest consolation for her mother, who almost went mad after the loss of her beloved spouse. The little girl is one of all children (and there were three more of them in the family, brother Sergei and two sisters Vera and Ekaterina), she was not afraid of her mother's tears. She alone could make her mother smile, listened to her long and often bitter stories, brought herself to her senses and even found some words of consolation.

However, my mother answered her with love and gratitude, trying to fulfill her daughter's every desire, whether it concerned the desire to study science or the eldest's refusal to go out. Natasha spent a lot of time reading books and communicating with her mother. The girl was barely 14 when Anna Petrovna died.

A year after the death of her mother, having endured the proper mourning, the girl began to attend social events. Her very first appearance in the assembly made a splash: the young Countess Sheremeteva had no end to the gentlemen who wanted to get the beautiful woman as a wife. Natalia Sheremeteva refused everyone, but her heart trembled at the sight of twenty-year-old Prince Dolgorukov.

Ivan Dolgorukov had a reputation as a rake and a lover of carnal entertainment. His main advantage was his friendship with the young Tsar Peter II, who loved his older comrade. However, the entire Dolgorukov family was then in favor: their influence on Peter II was almost unlimited, and 17-year-old Ekaterina Dolgorukova, Ivan's sister, was the Tsar's bride.

Natalia Sheremeteva accepted the offer of Ivan Dolgorukov immediately and was incredibly happy when on December 24, 1729, numerous guests and relatives congratulated Ivan and Natalia on their engagement and discussed preparations for the wedding.

Stronger than the disaster of the earth

But the cloudless happiness of the young bride was less than a month. On January 19, 1730, the 14-year-old Tsar Peter II died. In the last days, Ivan Dolgorukov was almost always with him, forging the will of the tsar, who allegedly transferred the throne to his bride Ekaterina Dolgorukova. He did this at the insistence of his relatives, who hoped to preserve their power, and, with luck, to get the throne. However, Anna Ioannovna became the queen, and it soon became clear: the Dolgorukov family was waiting for disgrace.

They felt sorry for Natalia Sheremeteva, believing that she should immediately break off the engagement with the disgraced count. And a new line of "suitors" has already lined up for her. But the countess did not understand how she could leave in trouble and disgrace the man whom she loves more than life. Ivan Dolgorukov did not restrain the bride, on the contrary, he was ready for a break, realizing that his fate after the death of the sovereign would be completely unenviable, and if the forgery of the will is revealed, then the life of the young prince would be in danger.

But the young Countess Sheremeteva sincerely did not understand how she could break off the engagement with the man whom she loves more than life. She was ready for any hardships, could endure any trials, just to be able to be close to her beloved. On April 8, 1730, the wedding of Natalia Sheremeteva and Ivan Dolgorukov took place. And after only a few days, the young wife went with the entire Dolgorukov family to exile in Berezov.

She did not complain either on the way, although it was very difficult for her, or upon arrival at the place. She was not with this family in the days of their glory, but completely shared disgrace, exile and deprivation. Natalia Borisovna tried not to show her husband how difficult such a life is for her. On the contrary, I was happy every day to see such dear eyes, touch his hand, stroke his cheek.

For almost 11 years the family lived in a simple hut, where instead of a floor there was trampled earth, and it was only allowed to go out from there to the church. In 1731, the firstborn of Ivan and Natalia Dolgorukovs, the son of Mikhail, was born. But even the birth of a son did not diminish Natalia's love for her husband, she continued to love him more than life.

There was no peace in the family of relatives of Ivan Dolgorukov. Quarrels often broke out, and the living conditions did not add to humility. Natalia Borisovna showed incredible patience and, as she wrote in her own notes, she was forced to humble her spirit “for her dear husband,” seeing his suffering, hope for her temper, and serve everyone.

In 1737, when Ivan Dolgorukov was arrested on the denunciation of the clerk O. Tishin, Natalia Borisovna gave birth to her second son, Dmitry, who suffered from an incurable mental illness from birth. Ivan Dolgorukov was sent first to Tobolsk, where an investigation was started, and then to Shlisselburg. In 1739 it was quartered.

Natalia knew nothing about the fate of her husband, and even learned about her widowhood a year after her husband's death, when she was allowed to join her relatives in Moscow. She could not come to terms with the loss of her beloved husband, longing for him until the end of her days. Almost 20 years after his execution, Natalia Dolgorukova was tonsured with the name of Nektarios, and in 1767 - schema. And all her life she remembered her spouse, remembering the difficult days in disgrace and exile as a great goodness bestowed on her by God. She knew the happiness of love and, until her last breath, was faithful to the person whom she fell in love with at the age of 15. Natalia Borisovna died in July 1771 at the Kiev Florovsky Monastery.

There is a legend that just before the tonsure, Natalia Dolgorukova threw into the Dnieper an engagement ring, given to her by her husband and kept throughout her life …

Royal persons and other powerful of this world more than once in history, they created love triangles with their own hands, acted as lovebirds and with all their might sought the attention of a married woman. The close ones were often terrified of such a situation, but it was rarely possible to reason with the rulers in love. History knows cases when everything ended in legal marriage.