Volkonsky's portrait from the Military Gallery of the Winter Palace, by George Dawe
Nikolay Nikolayevich Raevsky
Aleksander Pushkin
(Russian edition)
Russian edition
https://www.amazon.com/Nikolaevna-Volkonskaya-M%C3%A9moires-Princesse-Volkonsky/dp/5519448906/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=maria+volkonskaya&qid=1583120912&sr=8-1
2015
Maria Nikolaevna Volkonskaya (née Raevskaya) was born on 6 January, 1806, in Voron'ky, Chernigov region, Ukraine. She was the youngest daughter of the Russian general Nikolay Raevsky and Sophia Konstantinova, granddaughter of Mikhail Lomonosov.
Popularly known in Irkutsk as the Princess of Siberia, Maria Nikolaevna founded a local hospital and opened a concert hall, in addition to hosting musical and cultural soirees in her home.
Maria Nikolaevna died of heart problems on the estate of her son-in-law Nikolay Arkadievich Kotchoubey (the Ukrainian village Voronki).
(Russian edition)
2015In 1825 Maria Nikolaevna married the future Decembrist Major General Prince Sergey Grigorievich Volkonsky. When Volkonsky was arrested and exiled to Siberia, she followed him into exile on the condition that her children born after her departure to Siberia would be forever struck from the noble estate and become bonded laborers; the threat, however, was not put into practice.
The Volkonskys had four children; two died at early age. The eldest one, Nikolay (2 January 1826 - 17 January 1828) was born before the exile and died in Saint Petersburg after his mother's departure for Siberia. The second child named Sophia died on her birthday (1 July 1830), while Mikhail (1832-1909) and Yelena Princess Kotchoubey-Rakhmanoff (1835-1916) survived into the 20th century.
Nikolay Nikolayevich Raevsky (1771-1829) was a Russian general and statesman who achieved fame for his feats of arms during the Napoleonic Wars. His family left a lasting legacy in Russian society and culture.
A number of literary works, including Alexander Pushkin's Eugene Onegin and Nikolay Nekrasov's poem Russian Women were dedicated to Volkonskaya.
In 1922, it was proved that Mariya Volkonskaya was the subject of six poems by Pushkin (written in 1820, 1822, 1824, 1825, 1828 and 1829). Pushkin also dedicated a few lines to the sudden passing of Volkonskaya's little son, Nikolai.
