Elena Pavlovna is not the most common combination of first and middle name in the context of the history of the royal family in Russia. This is not Maria Fedorovna, not Elizaveta Petrova, and certainly not Pyotr Alekseevich, she is not mentioned in historical textbooks. Yes, and the trouble is small: she was just the wife of the fourth son of Emperor Paul I, that's where the seventh water is on jelly …
Meanwhile, Grand Duchess Elena Pavlovna Romanova is one of the most remarkable historical female figures in the Romanov royal family. And without a doubt the most underrated.
For starters, it will be useful to eliminate possible confusion with another Elena Pavlovna Romanova, the daughter of Paul I. Two signs will help us here: the daughter of Paul I was the Grand Duchess, and his daughter-in-law (our heroine) had the status of the Grand Duchess.
The second sign is more stable. They lived at different times. The imperial daughter-in-law was born in 1806, three years after the death of the princess (the daughter of Paul I died at a young age in1803).
Paris childhood
Here, Princess Elena Pavlovna had everything necessary for future Russian princesses. She was a typical semi-finished product for the production of the final product in the form of a European princess and a candidate for someone's daughter-in-law. Her maiden name was Charlotte Maria Württemberg, she was the granddaughter of King Frederick I, born in Stuttgart. It would seem that a standard and uninteresting biography of another German girl "from a good family."
But in the fates of outstanding people there are often extremely interesting facts of childhood and adolescence, which then affect the events of adult life. There are certainly such facts in the biography of Grand Duchess Elena Pavlovna.
Happy loss of stereotypes associated with the girl's father, Prince Paul Karl Friedrich August. He simply fled from his home with his family to Paris, unable to withstand the constant quarrels in the palace with his older brother, the future King William I.
Charlotte Marie fell out of the assembly line preparing German princesses for European thrones. It was the most serious test for the little girl. She had to study at a Parisian boarding house with her daughters from the new we althy bourgeois families, who treated her with all the passion of childish hatred. Problem solving, struggle with difficulties and self-affirmation: the future Grand Duchess Elena Pavlovna had to learn all this at the age of 12.
Prince Paul, father of the young Charlotte Mary, was a multi-faceted interesting man who led an activesocial life with an intellectual emphasis. He often took his daughters to the famous Parisian salon, owned by the learned biologist Cuvier, with remarkable people of the time as guests. Andre Ampère, Prosper Merimee, Alexander Humboldt, Eugene Delacroix: scientists, artists, writers and humanists eventually influenced the formation of the personality of a young girl. The future famous Thursdays of the Grand Duchess Elena Pavlovna Romanova in the Mikhailovsky Palace in St. Petersburg were organized in the image of this particular Parisian salon.
Marry at fifteen
Moving to an unfamiliar cold country at a very young age did not end the problems. It was all about the groom, it turned out to be a real disaster. Not only was Grand Duke Mikhail Pavlovich simply an ill-bred and poorly educated martinet. The icing on the cake was his astounding hatred of anything to do with marrying a German princess.
This hatred was the fruit of the influence of older brother Konstantin after his own family failure. Confirmation with the entry into the Orthodox faith, betrothal and wedding took place in 1824 under pressure from the mother of the groom, Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna. The coldness of the groom was noticed by everyone, along with this, everyone noted the good manners and charm of the young bride. All that remained was to hope for the famous Russian “be patient - fall in love.”
Literally a year after the wedding, Grand Duchess Elena Pavlovna and her husband moved to the newly completed Mikhailovsky Palace. Life together was by no means easy. Against the backdrop of the excellent education of Princess Elena Pavlovna, her husband, “a kind gloomy man,” read only one book in his life - the army charter. So, at least, members of the Romanov family spoke of him.
The young wife of Mikhail Pavlovich Grand Duchess Elena Pavlovna tried with all her heart to smooth out the roughness of life together. The couple had five girls, with whom there were also many he alth problems. Two girls survived, and only one Ekaterina Mikhailovna survived to adulthood. One of the most remarkable works of Karl Bryullov is the portrait of Grand Duchess Elena Pavlovna with her daughter. Young, beautiful, smart and well educated. These facts were recognized by everyone: they began to love and respect her. Even Mikhail Pavlovich resigned himself to marriage.
Even at a young age, in 1828, Grand Duchess Elena Pavlovna received two of the most important institutes of the then Russian he alth care from Empress Maria Feodorovna: the Mariinsky and Midwifery. There was enough to do from the very beginning of married life.
The marriage lasted twenty-six years. The main events in the life of the princess began after the death of her husband Mikhail Pavlovich in 1849.
Madame Michel's new life
Widowhood began at forty-two. This age in women of the nineteenth century was traditionally considered very mature, little was expected of them. But here, too, Elena Pavlovna fell out of the stereotype. Everyone around her noted her beauty and charm, in addition to her active social life. It should be noted that the princess wore mourning for her husband all her life until her death.
The Mikhailovsky Palace has acquired a new meaning, becoming the place of "the center of the entire intelligent society" of St. Petersburg. The receptions of Princess Elena Pavlovna Romanova were unique. These were the famous "morganatic" Thursdays, where members of the royal family and people who officially could not be presented to the royal court gathered and met.
This was possible thanks to the personal qualities of the princess. Now this would be called charisma, empathy and high emotional intelligence. Then there were no such concepts, but Elena Pavlovna possessed these skills to the fullest. Her ability to build a conversation and make sure that all participants in the conversation are comfortable and interesting has become legendary. She was up to everything: both highly intelligent forums and brilliant holidays, which were always distinguished by originality.
Everyone loved her evenings, no one missed the opportunity to drop in at the Mikhailovsky Castle for a reception. These Thursdays have become a place for discussion of many progressive transformations and reforms in the Russian state. Everything that happened in Russia during the significant period of 1860-1870s was discussed and planned at the receptions of the Grand Duchess.
Conservatory in the Palace
Patronage has long been accepted in European aristocratic circles. Support for the arts and science in the form of august attention was an obligatory attribute of persons from royal families. It's nice to leave a mark on history, philanthropy does little to oblige, and good entertainment in a routine life scheduled by the minute.
Elena Pavlovna has everythingit wasn't like that. She gave herself to her many initiatives with all her heart and with real donations. To, for example, to establish and open a conservatory in St. Petersburg, she sold her diamonds. Moreover, the initial conservatory classes were opened in the place where she lived - in the Mikhailovsky Castle.
As a result, her patronage of the Russian Musical Society and the St. Petersburg Conservatory was “legalized” by the decree of Emperor Alexander II.
Russian artists, musicians and writers found in her a reliable friend, colleague and like-minded person. A considerable number of picturesque portraits of Grand Duchess Elena Pavlovna are a good confirmation of this. Artists loved to paint it, they did it from the heart. This can be seen in the portraits.
Now for public he alth
The Grand Duchess was an excellent, as they would say now, top manager. She has succeeded in transforming an entire industry that is traditionally the most difficult and thankless in the social field - he althcare, including child he alth.
In memory of her dead daughters, she founded and opened orphanages near Moscow in Pavlovsk. The Maximilian Polyclinic was the first in Russia where patients were admitted regardless of class and gender. Elena Pavlovna brought administrative order there, additionally creating a stationary department. Subsequently, this hospital of the "new generation" was constantly in the area of attention of the princess, she began to be part of the informal association "Department of the Grand Duchess Elena Pavlovna." Therealso included the Elisabeth Children's Hospital with St. Helena's School, in which she was the main trustee.
St. Petersburg Medical Academy of Postgraduate Education (Imperial Clinical Institute of Grand Duchess Elena Pavlovna) owes its appearance to the princess, who, together with her close associate Professor E. E. Eichwald, invested a lot of effort in creating a new type of educational clinic. For the he althcare system of that time, this was a truly revolutionary form of training and advanced training for doctors.
Era of Mercy: blood, war and prejudice
The main thing in the field of he alth protection was associated with the concept of mercy, which for Russia at that time was also new. Grand Duchess Elena Pavlovna organized the Ex altation of the Cross Community of Sisters of Mercy. Dressing stations and mobile infirmaries in its composition were an important, but not the most difficult component of the work.
The main obstacle was the dense prejudice of the public against the involvement of Russian women in helping the wounded and sick. The main address of the appeal of the princess with calls for help were women without family responsibilities (there were many of them). To overcome public resistance, Princess Elena Pavlovna, sister of mercy, went to hospitals every day and dressed bleeding and purulent wounds in front of everyone.
After all, it is only in the movies that sisters of mercy walk among the wounded in elegant snow-white aprons and starched scarves. A hospital with the wounded is always blood, pus, a terrible smell and suffering. In addition to dressingsthe ship must also be taken out from under a bedridden patient, who is not at all a quiet angel in terms of upbringing and behavior.
The work was hard in every sense, so Princess Elena Pavlovna considered the strength of the religious faith of the sisters of mercy the most reliable way to cope with difficulties. Mercy here was real.
On a significant day, November 5, 1854, acting as a sister of mercy, Princess Elena Pavlovna presented a cross with St. Andrew's ribbon to each sister from the first Ex altation of the Cross issue. The next day, all thirty-five graduates left for Sevastopol to Nikolai Ivanovich Pirogov, the great Russian surgeon and another faithful ally of the princess. In total, under the patronage of Nikolai Ivanovich, about two hundred sisters of mercy of the new generation worked. This was the beginning of a new important stage in the development of public he alth not only in Russia.
The principles of organizing work in emergency conditions have been adopted by the modern International Red Cross. Its founder Henri Dunant once wrote that the Red Cross is indebted to the Crimean military experience of Her Highness Grand Duchess Elena Pavlovna…
Russian reforms from the Mikhailovsky Palace
For more than twenty years, the famous “morganatic” Thursdays have been held with the discussion of problems and issues of culture, politics, literature, etc. There was nothing like it in the Russian history of the 19th century. In addition to the wide and varied agenda of discussions, their quality and depth were noted. To the Mikhailovsky Palacethe best minds of society were invited, regardless of their status, rank and social position. Such a feature was of extremely high value, since the sovereign with the empress and other persons from the royal family of the Romanovs were regular guests of the princess.
Thus, Alexander II had a unique opportunity to communicate with individuals whose views were alien to him, and who could never get his audience outside the walls of the Mikhailovsky Castle. And advanced people had the opportunity to convey their ideas directly to the tsar's ears, which they could not have done without the tact and communication talent of Grand Duchess Elena Pavlovna. Few people understood how she managed to form groups of guests in such a way that the sovereign did not get tired, and the guests were comfortable, and the atmosphere was relaxed.
The princess believed that a narrow circle of communication only brings harm, in which the horizon narrows, and instead of a strong will, stubbornness is formed. This heart asks for convenient and comfortable communication with friends. And the mind does not need to be pampered, it needs contradictions, new ideas and knowledge of everything that is done outside the walls of one's home.
The famous Thursdays of Princess Elena Pavlovna were for the progressive minds of Russia in the middle of the 19th century a place that would now be called a social platform. Well, the princess herself played the role of a top-level content manager. All the great reforms of that time began with discussions right there, in the Mikhailovsky Palace. The abolition of serfdom including.
The Charles Initiative and the abolition of serfdom
Elena Pavlovna was very we althywoman. She owned many villages in different Russian provinces. One of the pearls in her possessions was the subsequently famous estate of Karlovka, located near Poltava. It is with him that the famous "Karlovskaya initiative" is connected.
The fact is that Elena Pavlovna's participation in reform projects has always been the most resourceful. For the conservatory, she sold diamonds, for the community of sisters of mercy, gave an entire wing of the palace for storage, and even financed nursing education.
Well, when the question of the abolition of serfdom began to be discussed in the most serious way, Elena Pavlovna stopped petty things altogether. In an effort to set an example for the Russian nobility, she freed about fifteen thousand peasants in her Karlovka in 1856.
As usual with responsible people, it was not just a liberation, but a carefully developed project with a phased plan for the personal liberation of each peasant with allotment of land for a ransom. After agreeing with Sovereign Alexander II, Elena Pavlovna turned to the landowners of Poltava and neighboring provinces with a request for assistance in the release of serfs within the framework of general rules and justifications.
The analytical note compiled and comments on the course of this most difficult reform were handed over to Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolayevich for further use of the experience in Karlovka as a successful example of reform.
Many called Elena Pavlovna the first and therefore the main spring of the abolition of serfdom in Russia. Mainthe developer and ideologist of the reform N. A. Milyutin was the closest associate of the princess, and the Milyutin working group for planning and implementing the reform simply lived in her palace on Kamenny Island during the entire time the plan was being implemented.
For selflessness in the cause of the liberation of the peasants, Alexander II awarded the princess with a gold medal "Reformist".
What does the image of Elena Pavlovna definitely not need?
Not to mention the dense thicket of pseudo-historical literature that grows at a catastrophic rate around every more or less prominent figure in the Russian historical landscape.
The princess is confused not only with the daughter of Paul I, Princess Elena Pavlovna, which is not a big deal. The name of the Grand Duchess is surprisingly associated with the strange book of Elena Horvatova “Maria Pavlovna. Drama of the Grand Duchess. A novel of dubious quality belongs to the literary variety of sugary female melodramas. It doesn’t matter what era they are written about, as long as the heroine is “Great”, and that she necessarily suffers. From unrequited love, of course. Apparently, readers of this kind of novels are misled by two adjacent words: "great" and "princess".
It is not clear, for example, why Baron Rosen is often singled out in requests - "an entourage of Grand Duchess Elena Pavlovna." The princess had many close associates, like-minded people too, there was also a military engineer, Baron Rosen, one of many, not the closest … Apparently, somewhere in the thickets of historical cranberries, a baron who loved the Grand Duchess wormed his way. Or she loved her unrequitedly. And calledhis Rosen…
All these cranberries have nothing to do with the real portrait of Princess Elena Pavlovna. Moreover, her life is so interesting and rich that she does not need spices to revive the image. It would be nice to make a high-quality series about the princess, because there will be little widescreen film according to the duration limits. One story with the arrival of Richard Wagner in Russia is worth something. How she helped the artist Ivanov… How she published Gogol… But the script needs a lot of work with the involvement of professional historians to exclude any hints of cheap melodrama or historical distortions.
Nobody has yet written a literary work about Grand Duchess Elena Pavlovna. But in vain. The novel could have been a hit. And no stories, just a novel. Big and real. To then receive a literary Nobel Prize for it. Elena Pavlovna is worth it. Let's wait.
Personal qualities and an attempt at a resume
She was always learning something. She was interested in everything. Elena Pavlovna was swift in everything: in her gait, in making decisions and in her ability to charm others.
Old age did not change her. After all, if you figure it out, you can grow old even at thirty, this is not a matter of physiology, but a state of mind.
Nature and circumstances did a great job on her as a child. The first gifted her with a sense of beauty, a lively mind, a willingness to change and learn. The circumstances of life have taught her to take a hit, to protect her dignity and exceptional patience. If we add here an excellent education and the opportunitymeet the great minds of our time, the silhouette of an amazing woman will begin to emerge, who has become a real gift of fate for the Russian royal court.
It seems that one of the main personal qualities of Elena Pavlovna was her unique innate empathy - the ability to understand, empathize and put herself in the place of another. There was never any tension or artificiality in her relations with people. Her sincere sensitivity was visible to everyone at once. That is why the princess was always surrounded by many people devoted to her.
Elena Pavlovna knew how to make friends: she was a faithful companion, ready to help in difficult times. Help has always been quick, efficient and effective, and her undoubted managerial talents were in this matter.
If we speak in the language of modern headhunters who search and hunt for the best top leaders, then the business experience, professional achievements and personal qualities of the Grand Duchess will not fit on one page. For example, the unconditional personal competencies of Princess Elena Pavlovna briefly:
- emotional intelligence;
- interpersonal skills and conflict management;
- attracting talented employees and building an effective team;
- ability to make complex multi-level decisions;
- the ability to think in a global perspective;
- strategic vision;
- efficient resource management;
- efficient planning;
- result driven, etc. (list goes on) …
You know what we havehappened? Universal model of competencies of a modern leader. Such a model is being built for the development of top management, so that they strive for it in the course of their career, gradually gaining the missing skills.
Elena Pavlovna's list already has everything. And if we add to it the functional responsibilities and the results achieved (as they write in modern resumes), we get a description of a rare type of leader who really influenced state and world processes with the help of unique personality traits. And add a real photo of the Grand Duchess Elena Pavlovna, everything is in order with him too. It is immediately clear that this is a major leader.
She died of illness in 1873 at the age of sixty-seven. Ivan Sergeevich Turgenev sadly remarked then that hardly anyone would replace her. He was right, there were never other such princesses.
