Princess Varvara Ilynichna Turkestanova (russian: Варвара Ильинична Туркестанова; 26 December 1775 – 20 May 1819) was a

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

noblewoman of

Georgian Georgian may refer to: Common meanings * Anything related to, or originating from Georgia (country) ** Georgians, an indigenous Caucasian ethnic group ** Georgian language, a Kartvelian language spoken by Georgians **Georgian scripts, three scrip ...

origin, known for her affair with

Tsar Tsar ( or ), also spelled ''czar'', ''tzar'', or ''csar'', is a title used by East and South Slavic monarchs. The term is derived from the Latin word ''caesar'', which was intended to mean "emperor" in the European medieval sense of the ter ...

Alexander I of Russia Alexander I (; – ) was Emperor of Russia from 1801, the first King of Congress Poland from 1815, and the Grand Duke of Finland from 1809 to his death. He was the eldest son of Emperor Paul I and Sophie Dorothea of Württemberg. The son o ...

and her correspondence with the French émigré Ferdinand Christin, which describes the Russian court life of the 1810s. She committed suicide shortly after giving birth to a daughter, fathered by either Tsar Alexander or her other lover, Prince Vladimir Golitsyn. Her surname is also transliterated in Western European languages as ''Tourkestanoff'', ''Tourkestanov'', or ''Tourkestanow''.

Life

Varvara Turkestanova, a third-generation émigré of Georgian noble descent, was part of the Turkestanishvili family, established in Russia in 1724. She was born in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 millio ...

. Orphaned early in life, she was reared by her relative, General Vasily Arsenyev. Due to her charm and ingenuity, she gained popularity in the

Muscovite Muscovite (also known as common mica, isinglass, or potash mica) is a hydrated phyllosilicate mineral of aluminium and potassium with formula K Al2(Al Si3 O10)( F,O H)2, or ( KF)2( Al2O3)3( SiO2)6( H2O). It has a highly perfect basal cleavag ...

high society. She later became a lady-in-waiting of the empress Maria Feodorovna, consort of

Paul I Paul I may refer to: *Paul of Samosata (200–275), Bishop of Antioch * Paul I of Constantinople (died c. 350), Archbishop of Constantinople *Pope Paul I (700–767) *Paul I Šubić of Bribir (c. 1245–1312), Ban of Croatia and Lord of Bosnia *Pau ...

and mother of

Alexander I Alexander I may refer to: * Alexander I of Macedon, king of Macedon 495–454 BC * Alexander I of Epirus (370–331 BC), king of Epirus * Pope Alexander I (died 115), early bishop of Rome * Pope Alexander I of Alexandria (died 320s), patriarch of ...

. She became close to the tsar Alexander I in the mid-1810s, during the temporary absence of his long-time favorite, Princess

Maria Naryshkina Maria Antonovna Naryshkina (Russian: Мария Антоновна Нарышкина, 1779–1854), born Princess Maria Czetwertyńska-Światopełk, was a Polish noblewoman who was the mistress of Tsar Alexander I of Russia for 19 years. Early l ...

, abroad. By 1818, Varvara had also been in relationship with Prince Vladimir Golitsyn, a son of

Varvara Golitsyna Varvara Vasilievna Golitsyna (née von Engelhardt; 1757–1815), was a Russian Empire lady-in-waiting and noble. She was the niece and lover of Grigory Potyomkin, and the favored lady-in-waiting of Catherine the Great. Alongside her sisters, s ...

and a man 18 years her junior. In 1819, Varvara gave birth to a daughter, Maria, rumored to have been born of Tsar Alexander or Prince Golitsyn. As Princess Turkestanova was unmarried, the news made a scandal at the court. In despair, Varava ingested a fatal poison and died in

St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

, tended by the empress Maria Feodorovna. The death was officially pronounced as related to cholera. She was buried at the

Alexander Nevsky Lavra Saint Alexander Nevsky Lavra or Saint Alexander Nevsky Monastery was founded by Peter I of Russia in 1710 at the eastern end of the Nevsky Prospekt in Saint Petersburg, in the belief that this was the site of the Neva Battle in 1240 when Alex ...

. Her daughter, Maria (also known as Mimi; 1819–1843), was reared by Prince Golitsyn and eventually married Ivan Nelidov, brother of

Varvara Nelidova Varvara Arkadyevna Nelidova (Варвара Аркадьевна Нелидова, 1814–1897) was a mistress of Nicholas I of Russia from 1832 until his death in 1855. Her aunt Yekaterina Nelidova was a mistress of Nicholas' father Paul, and her ...

, mistress of

Nicholas I of Russia , house = Romanov-Holstein-Gottorp , father = Paul I of Russia , mother = Maria Feodorovna (Sophie Dorothea of Württemberg) , birth_date = , birth_place = Gatchina Palace, Gatchina, Russian Empire , death_date = ...

. Varvara Turkestanova's French-language correspondence with her friend, the Swiss–French émigré and diplomat in Russian service, Ferdinand Christin, from 1813 to 1816 details the Russian court life of the early 19th century and was published in ''Russkiy arkhiv'' (Русский архив) in 1882.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Turkestanova, Varvara 1775 births 1819 deaths Suicides by poison Nobility from Moscow Nobility from the Russian Empire Mistresses of Russian royalty Ladies-in-waiting from the Russian Empire Russian people of Georgian descent Burials at Lazarevskoe Cemetery (Saint Petersburg) Nobility of Georgia (country) 19th-century letter writers