(about the diary)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Sophie Knorring, niece of the Velho sisters<\/a><\/strong>, was born in St. Petersburg in October 1820 and died in Reval in 1904. On her father’s side, she belonged to an ancient Estland lineage. On her mother’s side, n\u00e9e Severin, she was the granddaughter of Heinrich Severin, a prominent St. Petersburg businessman of the Alexandrian and later Nicholaevan eras, and the permanent director of the Russian-American Company. Her status was unique. In her grandfather’s house, she became acquainted with the capital’s merchant class and the titans of Russian business: the Kramers, Bacherachts, Amburgers, and others. In her uncle’s house, her conversational partners were generals, counts, and princes, the flower of the capital’s aristocracy. The fact of her kinship with Vladimir Knorring, commander of the guards cavalry corps, gave her access to St. Petersburg high society. She danced at balls with the heir to the throne and conversed with grand duchesses (“It would be a joy to see Grand Duchess Olga; she is truly my ideal of beauty”). The diary of Sophie Knorring is not merely the journal of a young noblewoman, a provincial miss. It is a portrait of St. Petersburg society<\/strong>, seen through the eyes of a young woman who simultaneously lives in a world of strict rules, family ties, and quiet personal experiences.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n (about parallels with Pushkin)<\/p>\n\n\n\n The reader will constantly catch themselves thinking, I have encountered this somewhere before. Some might even doubt, isn’t this literary fiction? Is it not a hoax, in the style of the Memoirs of Hommaire de Hell? No, it is no hoax. This is a real document, located in the Historical Archives of Estonia (EAA.5269.1.106). The diary is written in German, with occasional Russian and French words. For the reader’s convenience, the review is provided in English. And yes, Sophie Knorring’s diary rhymes surprisingly<\/strong> with “Eugene Onegin”. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n Not because she copies the novel, but because Pushkin wrote about real people, about a real environment, and Sophie Knorring belongs to this world. The published review of her diary dates back to 1841 \u2014 early 1842, when she spent the winter season in St. Petersburg. (about Sophie’s character) “I often had to set my pen aside to give free rein to my thoughts… Oh, when the heart is so full…”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n Sophie is no socialite. She is observant, sensitive, and prone to reflection. She writes about the weather, about sewing, about walks, about visits, but between the lines one can read the inner work of the soul<\/strong>, a constant turning to God, an attempt to understand her own feelings. (about nature, walks, and quiet joy and sorrow)<\/p>\n\n\n\n The diary is full of descriptions of nature, almost pastoral:<\/p>\n\n\n\n “After a terrible rain, everything turned so beautifully green… the lindens by the steps already have tiny leaves…”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n These lines are like an echo of Pushkin’s stanzas about spring at the Larins’ estate. “Sorrow has once again seized our hearts, and tears were shed upon the grave of my beloved sister…”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n Sophie is frequently ill, often writes of weakness, of sleepless nights, of prayers. But in these pages, there is no despondency, rather a resilience<\/strong>, an almost Christian one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n (about doubts before marriage)<\/p>\n\n\n\n There is a storyline in the diary that almost literally echoes the 7th chapter of “Onegin”. Sophie receives a proposal, sudden, unexpected, and she refuses:<\/p>\n\n\n\n “I had no choice but to refuse… my feelings were too faint…”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n The suitor is Otto von Kursell, a neighboring landowner. A retired major.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sophie agonizes over whether she did the right thing. She sighs, prays, looks for signs. This is a pure Tatiana Larina<\/strong>, only in real life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To distract the girl, her parents decided to send her to the capital. The journey from Paschlep to St. Petersburg, which Sophie describes in the diary, was not just a road; it was a transition from one world to another<\/strong>. She was leaving her parental home, her familiar routine, the quiet autumn days, and traveling to meet the capital’s winter, new acquaintances, new duties, and perhaps, a new destiny.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If a “stream of tears flowed from her eyes<\/strong>,” the diary did not reflect it:<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Before our departure, we stayed awake all night long, sleepless, and I immersed myself in daydreams. Papa said he would miss me.”<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n The travelers departed on September 20th. The road between the estate near Hapsal and St. Petersburg (about 450 km) took 3 days. The first stop was in the small town of Vaivara, just before Narva:<\/p>\n\n\n\n “On the approach to Vaivara, we drove through a forest. It was quiet and dark all around. The foliage rustled in the trees. We stopped in Vaivara. We had dinner, and it was very clean there.”<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n On September 21st, they passed Narva, where they wanted to visit the family of Osip Velho. He was a cousin of Sophie’s mother. Osip Velho served at the time as the commandant of Narva, and built a real palace in the city, which survives to this day. However, Osip Osipovich was not a gracious and hospitable host<\/strong>. According to the memoirs of the Marquise de Traversay, his wife “often had to blush when her grumpy, unwelcoming, and one-armed husband would kick guests out of the house at a certain hour, even if they had been invited.<\/em>“[2] <\/sup>Sophie politely says nothing of the hosts, but finds something to praise in her uncle’s house.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “We wanted to go to Narva, to the Velhos, the next morning. Upon arrival, we were told they had left for their estate Khamuty (<\/em>correctly \u2013 Gomontovo) near Chirkovitsy. We were warmly welcomed there, and we drank tea there. The rooms, though very simple, were tastefully furnished.”<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n They had to spend the night at the post station in Kipen. Initially, by decree of Alexander I, five post stations were built on the Revel tract, located every 40 versts. Some have survived to this day. The stations were built in 1806\u20131807 according to a standard design by the architect Luigi Rusca. The main building was used to receive travelers and coachmen. One wing housed a large room and a small room for registering travelers. The second housed the stables and a forge. Both wings were connected to the main building by stone gates, creating an enclosed courtyard for the post station, where carriage houses for the equipages and a bathhouse (!) were located. Once a pearl of Alexandrian classicist architecture, the Kipen post station now lies in ruins[3]<\/sup>. Sophie’s diary sheds light<\/strong> on how a 19th-century traveler felt at the station.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “General’s wife Richter was there, and we got a very small room, some man was sleeping right in the corridor… I got a headache, but we only went to bed late in the evening. I prayed, but sleep was very uncomfortable. At 5 in the morning, we got up. I was glad to finally be able to leave my uncomfortable bed. Along with the fog, which lifted rather slowly, we finally left this area…”<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n By the evening of September 22nd, the carriage was approaching the capital, for some reason not through Krasnoye Selo, but through Strelna. As they drew closer to St. Petersburg, the impressions grew more vivid. Sophie notes:<\/p>\n\n\n\n “It was a magnificent sight; it felt as if we were in a dream as we floated through the gates, finding ourselves once again in this great city.”<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n This is one of the most poetic fragments of the diary. St. Petersburg emerges as a vision<\/strong>, as a vast stage onto which the heroine steps after a long journey. St. Petersburg continues to be present in the diary: the house on the embankment with windows facing the Neva and Vasilyevsky Island, the Winter Palace and the Peter and Paul Fortress, where her uncle arranged an excursion, walks along Nevsky Prospect and the Fontanka, the hat salon on Millionnaya Street.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n The Pushkin line aligns surprisingly well with Sophie’s first days in St. Petersburg. Barely having arrived, she finds herself in a whirlwind of family visits<\/strong>, dinners, tea parties, and endless meetings, almost literally what Tatiana Larina experiences in Moscow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In Sophie’s diary, this is reflected with utmost clarity:<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Early in the morning, Emilia Bacheracht visited us to invite us to Sunday dinner, then I studied very diligently, General von Ovander came to us and passed on many regards to Mama, after breakfast I went with Grandmamma for an hour to Aunt Louisa…” etc.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n This is a classic “vanity fair of familial introductions”: every day brings a new house, new faces, new conversations.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n Sophie lists the names of relatives as if keeping a society register:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Particularly memorable was Christmas Eve at her grandparents’ house:<\/p>\n\n\n\n “It seemed my dear Grandmamma and Grandpapa were very pleased. There were quite a few people at dinner. Aunt Jette Ovander, Monsieur Ovander with his daughter, Madame Bacheracht with Georg, Madame Amburger, Annette and Ivan Andreevich, and a few other guests. I had a lot of fun, the ladies prepared dessert, later Aunt Louisa arrived with the girls, music played, Emily Bacheracht played very sweetly…”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n Gradually, Sophie visited all her relatives. Then it was the turn of Celestine Kaulbars, her great-aunt:<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Celestine Kaulbars<\/a> sent an invitation… and I too was among those invited to the announced pouss\u00e9e”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n For Sophie, these visits are not just family routine. It is a threshold to a new life, <\/strong>where she is evaluated, scrutinized, and discussed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Every dinner is:<\/p>\n\n\n\n But Sophie, like Tatiana, remains herself: she observes, records, but does not dissolve into the vanity of high society.<\/p>\n\n\n\n (The Russian-American Company)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sophie began the winter season of 1841\/42 in St. Petersburg at the home of her grandfather, Andrey Severin \u2014 a man of remarkable destiny. Severin was a long-time director of the Russian-American Company, a strict, business-minded man, accustomed to discipline and responsibility. His house was not merely a family space, but a place where affairs, news, and decisions concerning a vast territory, from Novo-Arkhangelsk to California \u2014 were constantly discussed. A frequent guest, for instance, was Benedict Kramer, another representative of the St. Petersburg merchant class.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Russian-American Company (RAC)<\/strong> was an important instrument of Russia’s economic policy in the 19th century.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For Sophie, this meant one thing: she found herself in a house where business and social life intertwined, where conversations about balls stood alongside discussions of trades, forts, and trade routes. However, she did not delve deeply into business affairs. The diary only mentions the RAC in passing a few times:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cUncle Pontus went to a meeting of the American Company\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n The 1842 reform of the Russian-American Company’s charter became a turning point in its history, transforming the company from a relatively autonomous trading enterprise into an instrument of state policy in the Pacific. (Sophie’s social circle in St. Petersburg<\/em>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n When Sophie’s mother returned to Paschlep, the young woman moved in with her uncle and aunt, into the home of Vladimir Knorring, commander of the Guards Reserve Cavalry Corps. Knorring was a prominent figure: a military man, a man of the capital’s inner circle, and simultaneously, one of the leading shareholders of the Russian-American Company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Life in the Knorring household gave Sophie access to very diverse circles:<\/p>\n\n\n\n But amidst all this, Sophie remains an observer. She notes the details but does not dissolve into the environment. Her diary is the gaze of a person who sees more than she says, and feels deeper than she shows.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n (<\/strong>The generals around Sophie<\/em>. <\/strong>A sketch in the style<\/em><\/strong> of Hommaire de Hell)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Generals appeared almost daily at the Knorrings’ house in the Chevalier Guards. It is difficult to say with certainty whether they came on business, following social tradition, or to admire Sophie. In any case, she frequently mentions their visits in her diary, never overstepping the bounds of respectfulness. But the generals’ wives preferred not to let them go alone to the Knorring household.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He would enter the drawing room with the air of a man who had long ago reconciled himself to the fact that the world is imperfect, yet still intended to keep it in order. Sophie recorded one day:<\/p>\n\n\n\n “General Strandmann and his wife, a beautiful woman, were here for dinner…”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n And indeed, he appeared so often that it seemed the clocks in the house were set by his visits. He spoke little, but every word sounded like an order, even if it was about the weather.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If Strandmann was the embodiment of discipline, Prittwitz was its opposite. He spoke a lot, willingly, and with the pleasure experienced by a man certain that he is being listened to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “General Prittwitz came for tea; he talked a lot.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n Sophie, of course, was too well-mannered to admit that his speeches sometimes reminded her of endless marches on the parade ground, steady, loud, and without end.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n Among all the generals, it was he who possessed that rare quality which the French call bonhomie<\/em>, a good-naturedness not devoid of dignity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “General Gr\u00fcnewald was with us for tea; he was very upset…” “General Gr\u00fcnewald… is very amiable in his own way.”<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n He knew how to listen to music as if every note had been familiar to him since childhood, and Sophie, playing for him, felt almost like an artist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Through his mother, Kursell, he was practically a relative of the suitor. Perhaps his love for music played a role in Sophie’s final choice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He appeared late and left late, as if time for him were nothing more than a recommendation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “General Klupfeld… arrived and stayed quite late.<\/em>“<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n Sophie treated him evenly, but his wife, as she noted, was “very pleasant.” Tellingly, Sophie does not romanticize<\/strong> these meetings. She describes them calmly, without rapture, without hints of infatuation, as an observer, not a participant in the social game.<\/p>\n\n\n\n (Sophie and the ladies of high society)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n If she is reservedly correct toward the men, she still cannot help but evaluate the women. Primarily, their outfits (and what woman could resist!)<\/p>\n\n\n\n In her diary, Sophie mentions no fewer than 15 ladies of high society<\/strong>, including the empress, grand duchesses, countesses, and famous socialite lionesses. These episodes demonstrate her inclusion in the courtly milieu<\/strong>, although she herself describes the brilliance and manners with a mild, distanced admiration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Empress Alexandra Feodorovna<\/strong> \u2014 a white dress adorned with many marabou flowers; on the sides, red roses with stones between them; the waist and flower calyxes are encrusted with diamonds; on her head, a diadem of diamonds of the highest order, with two marabous; around her neck \u2014 a necklace of diamonds of incredible size.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Heiress to the Throne<\/strong> \u2014 a white dress with white roses in which diamonds sparkle; the diadem and waist are also decorated with diamonds; roses are woven into her hair.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Maria Nikolaevna<\/strong> \u2014 a white dress trimmed with a white ribbon; a diamond diadem; the waist and front of the dress encrusted with stones; on her neck \u2014 a necklace with a large blue stone; gloves decorated with blue inserts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Olga Nikolaevna<\/strong> \u2014 pink roses on her dress and arm, a diamond diadem and necklace; the roses on the dress are also adorned with diamonds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Among the grand ladies of society, she cannot help but appreciate the brilliance, manners, and noble birth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “It was very pleasant for me to see ladies from high society, such as Madame Sukhozanet, Mary Golitsyn, Mlle Myatleva, Madame Kr\u00fcdener, who is truly very beautiful, and Madame Zakharzhevskaya<\/em>“<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n Pushkin’s lines \u2014 “But in them no change is seen; everything in them is after the old pattern…”<\/em> \u2014 seem specifically written about the visits that fill her days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “There were many visitors that day, including Countess Orlova-Denisova”<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n Countess Orlova-Denisova was an almost legendary figure, a “lioness” of high society, a woman whose name resonated in the salons of St. Petersburg as a sign of belonging to the very highest circle. For Sophie, her appearance is not merely a visit, but a touch of a world she herself does not strive for, yet observes with curiosity<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “When I entered the study after my lesson, Madame Dyakoff was with Aunt Louisa. She is a very sweet woman; though she is 40 years old, she looks 25.”<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n In this entry, there is admiration and astonishment. Sophie sees in her not only social pleasantness but also a rare feminine harmony<\/strong> that does not depend on age. Such women are the adornments of salons, and Sophie senses this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “A little later, General Richter’s wife arrived with her entire family, consisting of two sons and her daughter Natalie. Though she is not a beauty, she has a very pleasant face and manners… and after tea, we engaged in music. Natalie played quite well, Karl always boldly pranced at a gallop.<\/em>“<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n This is one of the warmest episodes. Sophie sees in the general’s wife a simplicity and kindness<\/strong> that are closer to her than the cold prudery of courtly ladies. Music, children, liveliness, all this creates an atmosphere of domestic coziness, so rare in St. Petersburg.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Finally, there is one visit that Sophie mentions in passing, almost casually, but which was apparently orchestrated by her relatives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “At breakfast were Countess Toll with her daughter and Landrat Gr\u00fcnewald.”<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n Countess Toll, n\u00e9e Strandmann, was the sister of General Strandmann and a lady of the Order of St. Catherine. The daughter, evidently the eldest daughter, Elizabeth, Sophie’s peer and a maid of honor at court, was at that moment the fianc\u00e9e of Ernst Ungern-Sternberg, a career diplomat (since 1835 a State Councilor and Minister Resident in the Republic of Krak\u00f3w. In 1841 he was promoted to Active State Councilor!, and from 1847 to 1860 \u2014 envoy to Copenhagen!!). Their wedding took place in February 1842 in St. Petersburg.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Evidently, this visit was meant to show her the prospects she was giving up by marrying a provincial major. Sophie deliberately says little about them, as if she had nothing much to say. However, one can imagine what a storm raged in her soul.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n (about Sophie’s singing lessons)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Singing lessons occupied a special place in Sophie’s life; they were not merely vocal exercises, but a small island of personal freedom where she could be herself. In the diary, these moments appear unexpectedly, but always with a tinge of joy and inner stirring.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In St. Petersburg, they hired an Italian tutor for her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That this was comprehensive vocal training is evidenced by her following entry:<\/p>\n\n\n\n “At 7:30, Tambroni arrived, and I had my singing lesson. Never before had I learned so much in an hour as I did that day. He was in such a good mood and so charming. He stayed with us for more than an hour and a half. I was very glad to spend the evening with him. I sang Bordogni’s fourth exercise, and at first, of course, I managed to keep the rhythm.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n Sophie writes of Tambroni with a warmth she rarely permits herself regarding adult men.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “After dinner Tambroni arrived, and with great joy I took my lesson…”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n In the Knorring household, music was inseparable from social life. The hosts “treated” their guests to Sophie’s singing; it was, as it were, part of the cultural program of the Knorring salon. Sophie sings when guests arrive, and her repertoire elicits sincere admiration:<\/p>\n\n\n\n “I also sang ‘Soave Imagine’ …”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n *The article uses images generated by AI. <\/p>\n\n\n\n **The headings and text of this article feature quotations from Alexander Pushkin’s Eugene Onegin<\/em>. For the English rendition of these verses, the author has utilized the classic translation executed by Vladimir Nabokov (Source: nabokov-lit.ru<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/alfoart.com\/derionzini\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Picture6.png\")
<\/a>“Might he not be, in fact, a parody?”<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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<\/a>
Her doubts are Tatiana’s. Her social everyday life is that of the Larins. Her prayers are from the exact same era as Pushkin’s lines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n“She was unhurried, not cold, not talkative…”<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
The narrative begins in the spring of 1841 in Paschlep, the family estate in the Estland province. In the first lines, there is tranquility, needlework, prayers, and family cares. But already here one can hear what Pushkin would have called the “anguish of an agitated soul.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
She does not rush, does not plunge into passions, but experiences everything deeply.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/alfoart.com\/derionzini\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/\u0421\u043e\u0444\u0438-\u041a\u043d\u043e\u0440\u0440\u0438\u043d\u0433-\u043f\u0440\u043e\u0433\u0443\u043b\u043a\u0430.png\")
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n“She\u2026 keeps brooding, and wanders in the woods alone.”<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Nature for Sophie is a solace, a space for prayer and reflection. She writes of gardens, walks, and how her “heart was refreshed” after a sermon.
There are many sad lines in the diary. The death of her sister is a wound that runs through the entire text:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
“Buya\u0301nov offered: was rejected. Same thing with Ivan Petushko\u0301v”<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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“Farewell, pacific sites! Farewell, secluded refuge!”<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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“And our maid tasted viatic tedium in full”<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n“At stages the bedbugs and fleas do not give one a minute’s sleep.”<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n“There flicker by: watch boxes, peasant women, urchins, shops, street lamps, palaces, gardens, monasteries\u2026”<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n“And now, on rounds of family dinners they trundle daily to present…”<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n
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\n\n\n\n“When it has got the simple product<\/em>.”<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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The reform also changed the rules for profit distribution: the state secured a larger share of the revenues, while shareholders received guarantees of stable, but smaller, dividends. In its trade policy, the company was obliged to act in accordance with the foreign policy interests of the empire, rather than merely for commercial gain. Thus, the 1842 charter turned the RAC into a semi-state colonial apparatus<\/strong>, designed to strengthen the Russian presence in North America and on Pacific routes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n“In the World’s deadening intoxication.”<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n
“<\/strong>But meantime does not take his eyes
off her a certain imposing general.”<\/h2>\n\n\n\nGeneral Strandmann (Karl Gustavovich Strandmann \u2014 General of the Cavalry)<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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General Prittwitz (Baron Karl Karlovich Prittwitz \u2014 General of the Cavalry, Adjutant General)<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\nGeneral Gr\u00fcnewald (Rodion Yegorovich Greenwald \u2014 General of the Cavalry)<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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General Klupfeld (Vladislav Filippovich Klupfel \u2014 General of the Cavalry, Adjutant General)<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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\n\n\n\n“Capricious belles of the grand monde!<\/em>“<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Countess Orlova-Denisova: a shadow of high society<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Madame Dyakova: a beauty untouched by time<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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General Richter’s wife and her children: society without affectation<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Countess Toll: a prospective mother-in-law who wasn’t?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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![\"\"](\"https:\/\/alfoart.com\/derionzini\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/\u0441\u043e\u0444\u0438-\u043a\u043d\u043e\u0440\u0440\u0438\u043d\u0433-\u0437\u043d\u0430\u043a\u043e\u043c\u0441\u0442\u0432\u0430-683x1024.png\")
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\n\n\n\n“\u0410nd would be occupied by singing.”<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/alfoart.com\/derionzini\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/\u0441\u043e\u0444\u0438-\u043f\u0435\u043d\u0438\u0435-682x1024.jpg\")
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\n\n\n\nSources:<\/em><\/summary>\n
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