Biography
Ekaterina Ivanovna Trubetskaya is the first of the Women of Decembrists, who sent to the Siberian reference following the Opt husband, Prince Sergey Trubetsky. She was a heroic example, which was followed by Maria Volkonskaya, Praskovya Annenkova, Alexander Muravyeva, Elizaveta Naryshkin and other female Decembristians. The feat of the Princess Trubetskaya is described in the poem Nikolai Nekrasov "Russian women".Childhood and youth
Ekaterina Ivanovna Trubetskaya was born on December 3, 1800 in St. Petersburg. Her father is Jean Laval, the French emigrant who came to Russia at the end of the 18th century and hidden from the events of the French revolution. In the new homeland, he took the name Ivan Stepanovich, served in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Mother Alexander Grigorievna Kozitskaya - the daughter of the famous Siberian industrialist Ivan Meysicov, the owner of the salon in St. Petersburg.
Family couples were born 6 children - 2 sons and 4 daughters. The firstborn of Catherine, or as her affectionately called his relatives, Kolasha, grew by a very lively and inquisitive girl. Neither she nor her sisters knew the refusal of entertainment, outfits, walks. At the same time, the girls received the best education, studied literature, art, musitis.
Kolasha had a wonderful voice from nature, which was a decoration of balls and secular evenings. Contemporaries describe Catherine as a pretty person, not a classic beauty, but, undoubtedly, having a charm and a cheerful temper. Family, low growth, blonde, with alive and clever eyes - such a princess appears on the portraits of artists of those times.
The future emperor Nicholas I myself, being another great prince, is fascinated by her on one of the balls and calls it "the most enlightened maiden of the highest light."
Sisters Laval lived with parents in Europe and on return were legislators of the metropolitan fashion - brought new outfits, fabrics, decorations. In the St. Petersburg mansion of boils on the English embankment, which was more like a palace, the most magnificent balls were arranged in the capital.
Is it worth saying that the future rich herenits had a high position in society and were enviable brides. In a word, the existence of Catherine Laval in his youth was happy and carefree. Fate as if she gave her a chance to enjoy the fullness of being, before plunging into life, complete deprivation and tests.
Personal life
The changes in the personal life of Young Catherine Ivanovna happened away from their native St. Petersburg. In Paris, a 19-year-old girl at one of the balls get acquainted with Prince Sergei Petrovich Trubetsky. The representative of the glorious noble family was 10 years older and had a brilliant biography, a brilliant biography: the years of military service, the war was held 1812, for the difference in which awarded near orders.
As historians write, the Union of Trubetsky was not concluded on passionate and instant love. The first impressions of the girl were by no means enthusiastic: the difference in the age was complemented by no brilliant appearance and closure of the prince. But having acquainted closer, Kolasha appreciated his mind, manners and nobility. And he, in turn, was fascinated by her good character and wellness.
Marriage approved by both parties was registered on May 16, 1820. A year later, the newlyweds returned to St. Petersburg, where the Trubetsky granted the rank of Colonel. By this time, he was already quitted from the system service and was in the status of a senior adjutant at a military headquarters. Chet Trubetsky settled in the house of Lavali, from where Catherine became more and more likely to leave abroad. The woman could not conceive the child and was very worried about this.
Unlike Mary Volkonsky Princess, Trubetskaya knew about the political views of her husband and even tried to convince the rebels, to dissuade from the conceived. Therefore, the December events of 1825 did not become a surprise for a woman. But the position of Trubetsky was very dangerous. It was complicated by the fact that the nobleman was one of the leaders of conspirators, although it did not go to the Senate Square to avoid even greater bloodshed.
In the summer of 1826, Sergey Trubetsky was sentenced to death. However, soon the emperor changed the sentence to the eternal catguard. Among the reasons who prompted the sovereign to do this, historians call the memories of Nicholas I about the "smart princess Trubetskoy."
The same motive was manifested and when Catherine asked permission to follow the spouse. Nicholas I did disagree it in every way from this step. But Trubetskaya turned out to be adamant and, having received a high allowance, left for Siberia on July 24, 1826, the same day after her hot her husband had steadged under the convoy.
Katorga in Siberia
Arriving at first in Irkutsk, the princess could not find out where she sent her spouse. The local governor Ivan Zeidler revenge her all sorts of obstacles, hoping that the woman would give up and go back to St. Petersburg. But it was not like Kolasha. She wrote to Ceidler a long, a detailed letter, after which Trubetskoy was sent to the Nerchinsky mines, pre-forcing the paper, depriving her titles, property and other rights.
In Nerchinsk, she meets the princess Maria Volkonskaya, also who came after her husband. Together, women went to the place of the cortician of their husbands, in the grateful mine. It was the beginning of a big friendship for many years, which will end, alas, so ridiculous.
Since February 1827, life has begun in a religious village near the mine. They removed the wooden hubar and began to survive in conditions that were fundamentally different from the same luxury. Accustomed to the help of servants, ladies from morning until the evening of the firewood, they wore water, they burned the oven, cooked food.
They did not have their money, they lived on meager subsidies from the prison authorities, for each speech spent a strict report. In such a situation, women sometimes have eaten a day only on a piece of black bread, to send a hot husband to jail. There was even a speech about buying clothes, Ekaterina Ivanovna worn out the shoes so much that he walked the half-eyed, which was going to slightly sharply.
And on these heroic women lay the commitment of moral support. They visited the cortex, wrote letters for them to their families and brought news from the house, discharged newspapers and read the metropolitan news. No wonder the Decembrists wrote in memoirs that the arrival of these high-technical specimen was for them a sip of fresh air.
It is not known how much the sophisticated aristocrats in such cruel conditions would be sustained, but fortunately, by the end of 1827, the Katorzhan transferred to a new Chita prison, and the wives followed them. Here life was already better: especially for the Decembrist wives built a street with wooden barracks, subsequently called the ladies.
But the biggest happiness for the princess was that the long-awaited primient Trubetsky was born in Chita - Sasha's daughter. In total, the couple had 9 children, of which 5 died in the juvenile age. 4: Alexander, Elizabeth, Zinaida and the younger son Ivan.
In 1839, the cortic term of Sergei Petrovich, he was allowed to move to the settlement in the town of Ook near Irkutsk. Here Trubetskaya began to dive into agriculture, and Ekaterina Ivanovna, who received an excellent education, herself was engaged in children (and other children of the Decembrists were brought up with family in the family), she taught their literacy, writing, music.
However, the growing daughters needed to receive a pension education, and in 1845 the princess achieved for the family permission to move to Irkutsk. Countess Alexander Laval sent the daughter of money to buy a house in the Siberian capital.
According to evil rock, both Decembristians - and Trubetskaya, and Volkonskaya - the house of the former Governor of Ceidler was liked. Probably, both were waiting for concessions from each other, but Trubetskaya eventually acquired real estate, for which Maria Nikolaevna was mortally offended by a girlfriend and cut off all ties with her.
In 1846, the father of Catherine Ivanovna died, the old Graf Laval. Nicholas I did not allow the princess to come to St. Petersburg to say goodbye to his father. Ekaterina Ivanovna herself survived the Father for 8 years, having time to make many noble and good deeds for the Decembrists and their families during this time.
Death
Despite decades of cortics in the most deaf corners of Siberia, incredibly heavy moral and physical trials of Ekaterina Trubetskaya lived a happy life, because there was a beloved person, children, faithful friends nearby.
She did not wait for only one - the complete end of the history of the Decembrists, their liberation and return to her former life. The princess died on October 14, 1854 from the lung cancer on his hands from his beloved spouse. The funeral was held in the Znamensky monastery, in which she was a good fequent. To say goodbye to his beloved princess came the whole district.
Sergey Petrovich so thorough about the death of his wife, that after the announcement of the amnesty in 1856 refused to leave Irkutsk. And only the need to educate the 13-year-old Ivan forced to go to the capital. Before leaving, the widower came to the grave of Catherine, where he broke up to unconsciousness. Prince Trubetskaya died on November 22, 1860 in Moscow.