A Real Russian Rebel: The Living Legacy of Count Sheremetev
By Stephen Wilson, one of our reporters abroad
The life of Count Sheremetev remains so incredible it still moves people. It can also confound people who ask, “Did those events really happen or is it just legend?”
Count Nicholas Petrovich Sheremetev was real!
In his time he was known as 'the Charitable Count,' who along with his wife helped the poor, the homeless, and the sick. After the death of his wife, the heart-broken count built a hospital to help the poor and the homeless devoted to her memory. The count was a real rebel unafraid of breaking taboos or breaking ranks with his class. While he would be praised today, he was shunned and ostracized for 'marrying a serf.' As the historian Orlando Figes succinctly puts it “He died in 1809, the richest nobleman in the whole of Russia, and no doubt the loneliest as well” {“Natasha's Dance: A Cultural History of Russia,” 2003, London and New York: Penguin Books, page 37}.
The audacity of the count can be deemed significant for three reasons: for his outstanding contribution to establishing the Russian theater; for his devotion to the poor; and for the legends surrounding his life which have passed into Russian folklore.
At a first glance, the count would not strike you as your typical hero. In appearance, he was hardly handsome, was a bit stout and prone to melancholia, hypochondria, and cursed by poor health. But he was a hopeless romantic who adored art and music which Praskovya the singer and actress also shared. The difference between those who went to the theater and the count was that he had the audacity to live out the scenario of those plays. They only watched. He acted out his dream on the stage of life.
In the late 18th century a major plot of many operas and plays was how a lover from a lower background fell in love with a richer person and their love was thwarted by the strength of social conventions and taboos. For instance, a count would never marry a serf. That was just not done.
But Count Sheremetev dared do this!
The count was the richest man in Russia. His wealth was staggering. The Sheremetev clan possessed over 800,000 hectares and 200,000 listed serfs. They lived on an enormous income which was derived from the rewards of military service as well as the income derived from trade and industry. The count spent much of this money on building vast estate palaces in Kuskova and Ostankino. He created his own theater and opera houses that he offered free of charge to guests. This annoyed one of the founders of the Bolshoi Theater, Michael Maddox, who claimed he could not compete with this.
I once had a student who worked as an excursion guide at the Kuskova estate musuem. This palace can be found buried in a huge forest where there remains a pond which was once used to allow guests to enjoy rowing, dine at his extravagant parties, and watch lively firework displays. She told me how every night he would come to the doors of his female servants and drop a particular handkerchief which served as a secret signal for her to drop into his bedroom. She told me, "Sheremetev liked to played pranks on his guests. At the dining table he would serve them drinks out of special cups where a sculptor had previously made the figure of an insect or creature. The guest would get a big fright when he noticed what kind of cup he was drinking out of. He also liked to make realistic cardboard cut outs of people and stand them up on the garden to deceive guests." Natasha also told me that the staff in the museum who stayed overnight had reported 18th century music being played from the concert hall. "People think the old palace is haunted by ghosts of the orchestra."
That was how I first heard about the count. It was 20 years ago. Then, I immediately got the impression he was a spoiled playboy who had more money than brains. But that misleading impression missed the mark. Count Sheremetev was a very generous soul who really did fall in love and was genuinely devoted to helping the poor and homeless.
He fell in love with a very talented serf actress and singer Praskovya. He confessed, "I felt the most tender and passionate feelings for her." He further stated, "I observed the qualities of the subject of my love for a long time, and found a virtuous mind, sincerity, love of mankind, constancy and fidelity. I found an attachment to the holy faith and a sincere respect for God. These qualities charmed me more than her beauty, for they are stronger than all external delights and they are extremely rare" {“Natasha's Dance: A Cultural History of Russia,” by Orlando Figes, 2003, page 29}.
Unfortunately, the count's family, many friends and the public did not see it this way. They looked on his love and marriage to Praskovya as a betrayal and a disgrace. They broke off contact with him, and they shunned and avoided him. Tragically, Praskovya died from tuberculosis soon after giving birth which severely weakened her health. Very few people came to her funeral.
The count was shattered by her death. He died not long after. But before his death he thought that the best way he could honor her memory was to actively help the sick, the poor and homeless as much as possible. This was something which Praskovya seriously committed herself to. So the count founded a hospital where the poor and the homeless could receive free medical treatment.
This hospital is still in use and is named the Sklifosovski hospital which provided legendary surgery as well as ambulance services.
Count Nicholas Petrovich Sheremetev
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Cynics might claim that the count was only helping people to soothe his own bad conscience and appease his remorse. But a careful study of his letters and recollections quickly dispels such notions. He wrote, “My wife's death has shocked me to the point that the only way I know how to calm my suffering spirit is to devote myself to her behest of caring for the poor man and the sick.” For years after his death the count would walk around the streets of Saint Petersburg, under the cloak of pitch darkness, and hand out money to the poor. This was done incognito.
If you study Russian folklore, Praskovya's name often surfaces. There is a legend that before her death she encountered an old hag in Ostankino who approached her and warned, "Don't play the role of a heroine in a play twice or you will fall ill and die" {This is a common Russian superstition held by some in the theater.} The actress ignored her warning. She played in two of Shakespeare's plays Othello and Cleopatra. Both the heroines in this play die. And shortly after Praskovya died.
Who was the old hag? For centuries people at Ostankino have reported witnessing an old hag coming up and warning of terrible imminent events. For instance, before the Tower of Ostankino went on fire at the turn of the 20th century, she approached a security man warning, "I smell fire." The name Ostankino is Russian for human remains as an ancient graveyard once stood on this territory. The old hag is thought to be the special guardian of this graveyard.
On a more positive note patients at the hospital of Sklifosovoski have reported seeing her ghost come to their beds to comfort them. The patients find her presence warm, calm, and reassuring. As a result they make a full recovery.
So Praskovya's presence as a guardian angel still looms up in the hospital which was originally built in her memory. And the legacy of Count Sheremetev endures!
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Further reading
1. Orlando Figes, “Natasha's Dance: A Cultural History of Russia,” London and New York: Penguin Books, 2003, London and New York. This must be one of the best accounts of the story behind the love between the Count and Praskovya. Figes is a brilliant storyteller, and he puts everything into an overall cultural and social context.
2. Orlando Figes, “A People's Tragedy: The Russian Revolution,” London: The Bodley Head, 2017 edition. One of the best accounts of the troubled relationships among the peasants, the nobility, and the working class. What is striking is che contrast between the 18th and 19th century idealization and worship of the peasant to the extreme opposite where the workers and so many people swung to the other extreme where they despised and hated the village which they perceived as barbaric, primitive, and backward. The peasant's world no longer inspired but became a source of shame even for former villagers.
3. Simon Morrison, “Bolshoi Confidential: Secrets of the Russian Ballet From the Rule of the Tsars to Today,” London: Fourth Estate, 2017. If you 'd like to know something about the background of the Russian theater you'll be captivated by this book. Who would have thought that the Bolshoi theater was partly founded by an English con-artist by the name of Michael Maddox?! Not surprisingly, the Bolshoi Theater are very reticent about this shameful chapter in their history.
4. Ирина Сергиеская, Москва Таиственная, зксмо алгоритм:,москва, 2011. Unfortunately, this book 'Mysterious Moscow', has not been translated into English. It contains an absorbing account of the legends behind Ostankino and Praskovya.
5 Сухарева башня издательский дом линва ф москва, 2018. This book is a gem! It is beautifully illustrated and a gold mine for storytellers and folklorists. Again it is not in English but it states in Russian that “At the end of the 18th century the architect E. Nazarov undertook a project for the construction of a building” for the sick and homeless” {page 68}. This was the project supported and funded by Count Sheremetev.