According to historians, Empress Catherine 2 is the embodiment of absolutism in Russia. But we must not forget that in her reign our country has become one of the most important players in the world political arena and has begun to take the first steps towards the development of entrepreneurship and industry. So, Crimea was annexed to Russia, reforms were carried out that changed the internal administrative structure of the state, as well as many transformations in the economic sphere. However, the personal life of the empress aroused and causes no less interest. In particular, at all times, the townsfolk had a lot of questions regarding why Count Bobrinsky, the son of Catherine 2, born out of wedlock, grew up far from the yard.
Grigory Orlov
The story of who was Count Bobrinsky, the son of Catherine 2, cannot be started without mentioning his father, Grigory Orlov. This officer, then still young and very attractive, appeared at the court of Elizabeth 1 in 1760 and immediately gained the reputation of Don Giovanni. Soon he became interested in the wife of Tsarevich Peter Fedorovich - Catherine, who managed to achieve the appointment of a lover to the important post of treasurer of the main artillery and fortification office. The young courtier began to play a particularly important role in the life of the future empress after the death of Elizabeth 1. And when Catherine ascended the throne, Orlov became an omnipotent favorite and achieved all conceivable honors.
Illegitimate son
Relations between Orlov and the princess were not a secret for anyone, in addition, her husband - after his accession to the throne - moved his unloved wife to the other end of the palace and never visited her. Therefore, Catherine carefully concealed her pregnancy, which in no way could be passed off as “legal”. Fortunately, everything worked out, because when the empress began giving birth on April 11, 1762, the valet Vasily Shkurin set his house on fire and Peter Fedorovich and the courtiers ran to watch the fire. Thus, only a few close associates of Catherine knew about the birth of the boy , and she managed to avoid scandal and imprisonment in the monastery.
Count Bobrinsky, son of Catherine 2: the early years
The parents named Alexei a child born in secret from the emperor and the court, and since it was impossible to leave him in the Winter Palace, they transferred him to the family of valet Shkurin, ordering him to marry the baby for his son. Two months after these events, a famous coup took place, making the mother of little Alyosha the sovereign of a huge state, and her father - one of the most influential nobles of the Russian Empire. But all these events did not affect the fate of the child, and up to the age of 12 he grew up in the same conditions as the other children of the four Skurins. Although it must be said that the valet’s family was by no means destitute, and in 1770 his sons, together with Alexei, were sent to study at Leipzig at public expense. At the end of the course, he was returned to Russia, and by order of the Empress they began to call him Alexei Grigorievich Bobrinsky.
Origin of the surname
A modern person may be perplexed: why an omnipotent father could not recognize a child from his beloved woman? However, what happened to the illegitimate son of Catherine 2, for the people of the nobility who lived in the 18th century, was quite in the order of things. In particular, the royal mother acquired for him the village of Spasskoye, or, as he was also called, Bobriki, located in the Epifansky district of the Tula province, and ordered him to be given a surname by the name of this estate. From that moment, funds for supporting the young man should not come from the treasury, but from the income from their own serfs. So the estate was founded, known today as the estate of counts Bobrinsky.
The life of the illegitimate son of Catherine 2 before the accession of Paul 1
Having received primary education abroad, Alexey Bobrinsky was admitted to the Ground Cadet Corps, which he graduated in 1782 with a gold medal. After that, the young man was enlisted in the army with the rank of lieutenant. However, before embarking on his duties, he, along with other most distinguished graduates of the mentioned educational institution, was sent on a long journey through the cities of Russia and then Europe. At the end of the trip, the young man was in Paris and decided to stay there, leading a wild life of a rich rake. After various adventures, rumors of which upset Catherine 2, the future Count Alexei Bobrinsky appeared in Russia only in the winter of 1788. Mother did not want to see him and ordered to leave from Riga directly to Revel, where he was to serve as second-captain. But the military career did not appeal to the young man at all, and in 1790 he wrote a report with a letter of resignation, which was granted. After some time, the future Count Bobrinsky (son of Catherine 2) bought, with the permission of matter, the castle of Ober-Palen and married Anna Ungern-Sternberg. After the wedding, the newlyweds visited the capital and were affectionately received by the empress, who asked the daughter-in-law, how was she not afraid to marry a man whose love affairs had earned him the glory of a real womanizer? However, Catherine 2 did not invite the young people to live at the court. Therefore, Alexei Bobrinsky returned with his wife to Ober-Palen and lived there until the death of his mother. Then he could not imagine what changes await him in the future.
Assignment of Count title to Alexei Bobrinsky
Almost immediately after her accession to the throne, the successor of Catherine 2 recalled her half-brother. The fact is that Paul 1 had no reason to envy or hostility towards the illegitimate offspring, since neither one nor the other never knew maternal love. He invited him to St. Petersburg, and the letter said that from now on Alexey Grigoryevich Bobrinsky could come to the capital and leave from there at any time he pleased. In addition, by imperial order he was elevated to count dignity. Thus, the notorious Russian politicians, military leaders, manufacturers and writers Bobrinsky are counts who received this title from their relative - Emperor Paul 1.
last years of life
Pavel 1 also decided to return to Bobrinsky the rightful part of Orlov’s inheritance and granted the father’s house in St. Petersburg and the command in Gdovsky County. Moreover, on the day of his coronation, the emperor personally promoted him to major general. But Count Bobrinsky, whose photo depicts a portrait of which indicates a strong external resemblance to Catherine 2, did not like military service. Therefore, a year later he asked for rest and decided to take up the household. Since that time, the estate of Count Bobrinsky in Bogoroditsk has turned into one of the most prosperous and exemplary in Russia. In addition, the retired major general took up mineralogy and astronomy, even built a small observatory in his mansion in the capital.
Bobrinsky (counts)
On the line of the illegitimate son from Count Orlov, Catherine 2 had four grandchildren, among whom Aleksey Alekseevich Bobrinsky, who became a famous specialist in the field of agriculture and is the founder of the industrial production of beet sugar in Russia, deserves special mention. No less famous was his younger brother - Vasily Alekseevich, who was one of the first to join the Southern Society of the Decembrists. Luckily, on the day when the December uprising took place in St. Petersburg, he was with his family in Paris, and therefore was not arrested. Upon his return to Russia, he was engaged in a lot of natural sciences and charity work, especially in the field of public education.
Bobrinsky estate today
In 1933, the estate of this famous count family was turned into a museum complex, which is one of the main attractions of the Tula region. Among its most significant buildings are the Palace of Counts Bobrinsky, an exposition of the museum of local lore, a family tomb, a planetarium and a magnificent park, which was built in the late 18th century. A church built in 1774-1778 was also preserved on the estate.
Museum in Bogoroditsk: collection
Art objects and various rarities were of interest to the first owner of the estate. Therefore, it was the collection that Count Bobrinsky (the son of Catherine 2) collected, and became the basis of the funds of the museum complex in Bogoroditsk. Today they include several thousand exhibits. Among the most valuable are the following:
- paleontological collection of parts of skeletons of animals from the Pleistocene era;
- archaeological finds, such as stone axes of the Bronze Age;
- lifetime editions of the works of K. E. Tsiolkovsky;
- personal belongings of representatives of the Bobrinsky clan.
Bobrinsky Palace
Tourists visiting the Tula region are recommended to visit Bogoroditsk. The palace and park ensemble located there is a creation of the famous architect I.E. Starov and an excellent example of architecture from the end of the Catherine era. Today it is difficult to believe that Count Bobrinsky’s palace in Bogoroditsk was badly damaged during the Second World War - only a part of the walls remained from it. Thanks to extensive restoration work carried out in the mid-1970s, this magnificent architectural structure was restored, and the interiors were recreated from preserved sketches and recollections of eyewitnesses. By the way, few people know that the estate of Counts Bobrinsky was well known to Leo Tolstoy, who lived in Yasnaya Polyana, located near these places. By the way, it was her who he described her in “Anna Karenina” as the estate of Alexei Vronsky. And the museum of Count Bobrinsky in Bogoroditsk participated in the All-Russian competition “7 Wonders of Russia”, which was held in 2007-2008. And went to the semifinals!
When traveling in the Tula region, be sure to try to visit the museum of Count Bobrinsky, the building of which is a real architectural pearl, which invariably arouses admiration among tourists who did not expect to see such splendor in the province.