Princess Natalia Borisovna Dolgorukova (née Countess Sheremeteva; russian: Княгиня Наталья Борисовна Долгорукова née Графиня Шереметева; 1714–1771), was one of the first Russian

women writers Women have made significant contributions to literature since the earliest written texts. Women have been at the forefront of textual communication since early civilizations. History Among the first known female writers is Enheduanna; she is also ...

. She has been called the most accomplished Russian

memoirist A memoir (; , ) is any nonfiction narrative writing based in the author's personal memories. The assertions made in the work are thus understood to be factual. While memoir has historically been defined as a subcategory of biography or autobiog ...

of the 18th century.

D.S. Mirsky D. S. Mirsky is the English pen-name of Dmitry Petrovich Svyatopolk-Mirsky (russian: Дми́трий Петро́вич Святопо́лк-Ми́рский), often known as Prince Mirsky ( – c. 7 June 1939), a Russian political and lit ...

. ''A history of Russian literature from its beginnings to 1900''. Northwestern University Press, 1999. Page 60. Natalia's father was Count Boris Sheremetev, Russia's first native

field marshal Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, ordinarily senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army and as such few persons are appointed to it. It is considered as ...

. He died when she was 4. She was betrothed to Prince Ivan Dolgorukov, an intimate friend of the young

Peter II of Russia Peter II Alexeyevich (russian: Пётр II, Пётр Алексеевич, ''Pyotr Vtoroy'', ''Pyotr Alekseyevich'', – ) reigned as Emperor of Russia from 1727 until his untimely death at the age of 14. He was the only son of Tsarevich Alexei ...

and his brother-in-law. After the Emperor's sudden death, Dolgorukov fell into disgrace, but Natalia did not desert her lover, and insisted on getting married. She was 16 at the time. Several days after the wedding, the entire

Dolgorukov family The House of Dolgorukov () is a princely Russian family of Rurikid stock. They are a cadet branch of the Obolenskiy family (until 1494 the rulers of Obolensk, one of the Upper Oka Principalities) and as such claiming patrilineal descent from ...

was exiled to Beryozov, a remote Arctic town. She gave birth to two sons in exile but was allowed to return to Moscow ten years later, after her husband's execution. She took the veil in

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Kiev Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the List of European cities by populat ...

, but not before her children had grown up and married. Her short memoir was written shortly before that date. It appeared in print in 1810.

References

External links

The 1913 edition of Dolgorukova's reminiscences

''The Ballad of Natalia Dolgorukova''
by

Kondraty Ryleyev Kondraty Fyodorovich Ryleyev, also spelled Kondraty Feodorovich Ryleev (, September 29 (September 18 Julian calendar, O.S.), 1795 – July 25 (July 13 Julian calendar, O.S.), 1826) was a Russians, Russian poet, publisher, and a leader of the D ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sheremetev, Natalia 1714 births 1771 deaths Women writers from the Russian Empire Memoirists from the Russian Empire Nuns from the Russian Empire Natalia Dolgorukov family Women memoirists