Elena Mikhailovna Zavadovskaya is the daughter of the Polish nobleman Mikhail Fedorovich Vlodek (1780-1849) and Countess Alexandra Dmitrievna Tolstoy (1788-1847). Mikhail Fedorovich served as a cavalryman, participated in the War of the Third Coalition and the Russian-Turkish War, in which he was wounded.
Elena was born on December 2, 1807. Already at an early age she was distinguished by unusual beauty. At seventeen, she married Count Zavadovsky. Regarding the wedding, Vyazemsky wrote: "One of the northern flowers, and the most beautiful, was torn off yesterday by Zavadovsky."
Unhappy marriage
Her husband, Count Vasily Petrovich, the youngest son of Pyotr Vasilyevich Zavadovsky and Vera Nikolaevna Apraksina, was very attractive and had a huge fortune. He rose high through the ranks and became an official of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the state. Often carried out special orders of the authorities.
According to some reports, he had over 3 thousand subordinate peasants, and after his brother died, leaving him a large inheritance of half a million rubles, he became one of the richest and most respected people in St. Petersburg. Despite this, Elena ignored Vasily Petrovich for a long time, but still married him.
Their marriage was not very happy. They lived together without love and tried not to interfere with each other. Elena and Vasily were too different people. She loved social life, entertainment, balls and travel. The husband of Elena Zavadovskaya preferred to rest in solitude, was fond of reading, had a huge library. He enjoyed spending time in nature, while his wife did not like to go even to the surrounding parks. She did not agree to change her comfortable and luxurious life in a richly furnished apartment into forest thickets full of flies, mosquitoes and frogs.
The only thing that kept them close was the son, Pyotr Vasilyevich Zavadovsky. He was born in 1828 and was named after his grandfather. Peter did not live long and died at the age of 14 from an illness. The boy was not in good health from birth. He often caught a cold, constantly complained of poor health. Mother never recovered completely from the loss of her only son.
Recognized Beauty
Elena Mikhailovna Zavadovskaya had a very bright appearance. Many people with different ranks offered her a hand and a heart, meeting her at the balls, but she was indifferent to everyone. Contemporaries claimed that it was impossible to convey the charm of her face, the ease of her walk, and the gracefulness of her posture. Dolly Fikelmon said that Elena Mikhailovna struck everyone who saw her with her cold and regal charm.
Zavadovskaya gained a reputation for beauty for a reason: she had a flawless figure and high stature, gorgeous facial features. Many contemporaries described Elena as a smart and well-read beauty. She did not forget to devote time to education, loved to learn new things.
Muse for the poet
In the late 1830s, she met Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin and subsequently met with him quite often. The great poet wrote the poem "Beauty", in the image of the main character of which was Zavadovskaya. According to some versions, Elena M. Zavadovskaya became the prototype of Nina Voronskaya in the novel “Eugene Onegin” .
The Russian beauty inspired the poet to create several more poems, which later became famous. Pushkin and Zavadovskaya Elena Mikhailovna treated each other with great respect and love.
Black line
After the wedding, Elena and her husband Vasily were considered one of the most beautiful, smart, rich and cultural couples in St. Petersburg. But suddenly the unlucky days came. Vasily Petrovich began to drink, and the financial situation of the family quickly deteriorated. After some time, the count came to his senses, and together with Elena they went abroad. According to many, Elena was the most attractive woman at Paris balls.
They returned to Petersburg with a large number of foreign things, which surprised everyone in their rich house.
Death
Their huge apartment, which was sometimes even called a palace, was on 48 Nevsky Prospect. The house was luxurious both inside and out. Its maintenance was not cheap, and wealth began to melt again.
Soon the only son Peter died, and his inheritance from one of the relatives was divided between Peter's parents and his father’s brother.
At that time, the family’s mental and financial condition was terrible, they had to sell the estate. In 1855, Vasily Petrovich Zavadovsky died, and Elena became a widow. Even after all these bitter events and after so much time, according to the stories of Count Mikhail Buturlin, she looked no worse than thirty years ago.
Zavadovskaya died on March 22, 1874. They buried their entire family (Elena Mikhailovna, Vasily Petrovich and Pyotr Vasilyevich) in the Fedorov tomb of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra.
Contemporaries about Zavadovskaya
During her life, Elena attracted the attention of many famous Russian poets. A poem about her was written by the blind poet Ivan Kozlov. Vyazemsky Peter Andreevich composed a whole romance, which was called "Countess EM Zavadovskaya."
Many famous people spoke about the beauty of Elena Mikhailovna. Count Mikhail Yuryevich Vielgorsky described Elena as a beautiful woman. He assured that no man could calmly contemplate such beauty.
Count Vladimir Alexandrovich Sollogub said that it is impossible to convey in words the elusive charm of her face, attractiveness and grace, which she could charm anyone, and it was these qualities that were fundamental in her.
Russian commander Alexei Petrovich Ermolov argued that Countess Zavadovskaya was undoubtedly very beautiful, although she did not surpass Natalia Nikolaevna Goncharova, A.S. Pushkin's wife, in charm.
Beauty captured forever
Artists also did not ignore the beautiful countess. Portraits of Zavadovskaya Elena Mikhailovna decorated the walls of the hall for ceremonial receptions. Guests enjoyed the magnificent paintings with pleasure.
The artist Marya Fyodorovna Kamenskaya noted that Zavadovskaya not only danced best at balls, but also attracted the attention of all the surrounding gentlemen.
Andrei Nikolaevich Karamzin said that abroad, especially in Paris, men often told her that she was the most luxurious lady they had seen.
Countess Dolly Fikelmon said that Zavadovskaya fully justified the reputation of the fatal woman. In her opinion, Elena was an absolute and unique ideal, since it was extremely rare to meet a woman with such graceful and subtle facial features as hers.
The biography of Elena Zavadovskaya is very tragic. She was beautiful and smart, her enormous fortune could only be envied. She was distinguished by high moral and moral qualities, but fate was unfair to her. Elena had to endure many troubles. Nevertheless, she lived a worthy life.