Before you is a reprint reproduction of a book published in 1928 by the Riga publishing house Orient. The book consists of two parts - the so-called "Diary" of Anna Vyrubova, the maid of honor of the last Russian Empress, and her memoirs.
Vyrubova's "Diary" was published in 1927–1928. on the pages of the magazine "Past Days" - supplements to the evening issue of the Leningrad "Red Newspaper". O. Broshnovskaya and Z. Davydov were named as those who prepared this publication (the latter is erroneously given a female surname in this book). As for Vyrubova’s memoirs, they were not published in our country, only small excerpts from them were published in one of the collections of the series “Revolution and Civil War in the Descriptions of the White Guards”, published by the State Publishing House in the twenties.
There were many legends and conjectures around the name of Anna Vyrubova for a long time. The same can be said about her notes. If Vyrubova's memoirs, titled by the author of Pages from My Life, actually belong to her pen, then the Diary is nothing more than a literary hoax. The authors of this socially ordered hoax were the writer Alexei Tolstoy and the historian P. E. Shchegolev. It should be noted that this was done with the greatest professionalism. It is natural to assume that the “literary” part of the case (including stylization) was carried out by A.N. Tolstoy, while the “actual” side was developed by P.E. regime".
The book "The maid of honor of Her Majesty" was compiled and commented by S. Karachevtsev. By publishing the Diary and Vyrubova's memoirs under the same cover, he subjected them to significant cuts (this is especially true of the Diary). However, a book that compares these works as a whole will no doubt be of interest to today's reader, who will be able to draw his own conclusions from this comparison.
It must be said that the further fate of Anna Aleksandrovna Vyrubova was also accompanied by speculation. Back in 1926, the Searchlight magazine reported the death in exile of a former maid of honor, "a personal friend of Alexandra Fedorovna", "one of the most ardent admirers of Grigory Rasputin." The recently published Soviet Encyclopedic Dictionary (1990) cautiously states that Vyrubova died "after 1929." Meanwhile, as it became known, under her maiden name (Taneeva), the former maid of honor of Her Majesty lived in Finland for more than four decades and died in 1964 at the age of eighty; she was buried in Helsinki at the local Orthodox cemetery. In Finland, Anna Aleksandrovna led a secluded life, secluded in a quiet forest corner of the Lake District, for which, however, there were quite good reasons. First, in fulfilling her vow before leaving her homeland, she became a nun; secondly, many emigrants did not want to communicate with a person whose name was compromised by the mere mention next to the name of Grigory Rasputin.
Detailed details of the last decades of the life of A. A. Vyrubova-Taneeva were found out by Hieromonk Arseny from the New Valaam Monastery, which is four hundred kilometers northeast of the capital of Finland.
For many years, the former maid of honor worked on memoirs. But she did not dare to publish them. They were released in Finnish after her death. We think that over time this book will come to our reader.
A. Kochetov
The chariot of time rushes in our days faster than the express train, The lived years go back into history, overgrow with past, drown in oblivion. However, the inquisitive human mind cannot reconcile itself with this, prompting us to extract from the darkness of the past at least separate fragments of past experience, at least a faint echo of the day that has ceased to sound. Hence the constant and great interest in historical reading, which grew even more in our country after the revolution; it has opened numerous archives and made available parts of the past that were previously forbidden. The general reader has always been much more attracted to familiarize himself with "what was" than with "what was not" ("the fiction of the writer").
In the tragic story of the collapse of a powerful empire, the personality of the maid of honor Anna Alexandrovna Vyrubova, nee Taneeva, is inextricably linked with Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, with Rasputin, with all the nightmare that shrouded the court atmosphere of Tsarskoye Selo under the last tsar. Already from the published correspondence of the tsarina it was clear that Vyrubova was one of the main figures of that intimate court circle, where all the threads of political intrigues, painful attacks, adventurous plans, and so on intersected. Therefore, the memoirs of the maid of honor Vyrubova are of vital interest to all circles.
About her family and how she came to court, Vyrubova writes in her memoirs:
My father, Alexander Sergeevich Taneyev, held the prominent post of Secretary of State and Chief Executive of His Imperial Majesty's Chancellery for 20 years. The same post was held by his grandfather and father under Alexander I, Nicholas I, Alexander II, Alexander III.
My grandfather, General Tolstoy, was the aide-de-camp of Emperor Alexander II, and his great-grandfather was the famous Field Marshal Kutuzov. Mother's great-grandfather was Count Kutaisov, a friend of Emperor Paul I.
Despite the high position of my father, our family life was simple and modest. In addition to the service, all his vital interest was concentrated in the family and his favorite music - he occupies a prominent place among Russian composers. I remember quiet evenings at home: my brother, sister and I, seated at a round table, prepared our lessons, my mother worked, while my father, sitting at the piano, studied composition.
We spent 6 months a year at the Rozhdestveno family estate near Moscow. Neighbors were relatives - the princes Golitsyn and the Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich. From early childhood, we, children, adored the Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna (the elder sister of the Empress Empress Alexandra Feodorovna), who pampered and caressed us, giving us dresses and toys. Often we went to Ilyinskoye, and they came to us - on long lines - with a retinue, to drink tea on the balcony and walk in the old park. Once, having arrived from Moscow, the Grand Duchess invited us to tea, when suddenly it was reported that the Empress Alexandra Feodorovna had arrived. The Grand Duchess, leaving her little guests, ran to meet her sister.
My first impression of Empress Alexandra Feodorovna refers to the beginning of her reign, when she was in the prime of her youth and beauty: tall, slender, with a regal posture, golden hair and huge, sad eyes - she looked like a real queen. From the very first time, the Empress showed confidence in my father by appointing him vice-chairman of the Labor Aid, which she founded in Russia. At this time in winter we lived in St. Petersburg, in the Mikhailovsky Palace, in the summer at the dacha in Peterhof.
Returning with a report from the young Empress, my father shared his impressions with us. At the first report, he dropped the papers from the table, the Empress, quickly bending down, handed them to her greatly embarrassed father. The extraordinary shyness of the Empress struck him. "But," he said, "she has a male mind - une téte d'homme." First of all, she was a mother: holding the six-month-old Grand Duchess Olga Nikolaevna in her arms, the Empress discussed with my father the serious questions of her new institution; Rocking the cradle with the newborn Grand Duchess Tatyana Nikolaevna with one hand, she signed business papers with the other. Once, during one of the reports, an unusual whistle was heard in the next room.
Vyrubova Anna Alexandrovna (Anya, Big Baby, Disabled, Cow, Cow), 1884-1964, nee Taneeva, maid of honor, closest and most devoted friend of the Tsarina (1904-1918), ardent admirer of Grigory Rasputin, miraculously escaped death in Russia, She was tonsured as a nun abroad and buried in Helsinki.
Vyrubova (Taneeva) Anna Alexandrovna (1884-1964), daughter of the head of His Imperial Majesty's Own Chancellery A.S. Taneyev. Maid of honor (since 1904). Since 1903, the maid of honor of Empress Alexandra Feodorovna. In the papers surrounding Grigory Rasputin, she appears under the nickname "Annushka".
Since 1907, she was married to senior lieutenant A. V. Vyrubov, and soon divorced. Close friend of Alexandra Feodorovna. An ardent admirer of Rasputin, who was an intermediary between him and the royal family. During the First World War, with the money received as compensation for an injury resulting from a railway accident, she organized a military hospital in Tsarskoe Selo, where she worked as a nurse along with the Empress and her daughters. After the February Revolution, she was arrested; in March - June 1917 she was imprisoned in the Peter and Paul Fortress, then in Sveaborg. She was accused of influencing politics and having intimate relations with Rasputin. She was subjected to a special medical examination by the Extraordinary Investigation Commission (ChSK), which established Vyrubova's virginity. Released at the request of the Petrograd Soviet. For some time she lived freely in Petrograd, repeatedly met with M. Gorky; tried to organize the rescue of the royal family. After a new arrest in October 1918, she fled and hid in Petrograd. In 1920 she illegally left for Finland. She took monastic vows at the Valaam Monastery. She lived in the world as a secret nun. Died in Finland.
Anna Vyrubova (Taneeva) is an entourage of the last Empress of the Russian Empire, later a nun. For Alexandra, she was the first and closest friend, and the royal person called her "dear martyr."
How it all began
Born Taneeva, who lived the life of Vyrubova, Anna was a distant relative of the famous Kutuzov, or rather, great-great-great-granddaughter. For about two decades, the maid of honor's father worked at court as a secretary of state, ran the Imperial Chancellery as the most important person. However, this was not a surprise for Taneyev - his father worked in the same post before him, and earlier - his grandfather. The position belonged to the family under five emperors.
Surprisingly, many contemporaries, as is known from the book of Anna Vyrubova, considered her to be of simple origin. This stereotype was wrong and wrong. Having married, the woman lost her status as a maid of honor, however, she remained the closest friendly person for the reigning empress. This, by the way, is known from the terms that the royal person applied to her loved ones: she had two "babies", a small one - a son, a large one - Anna.
Life and death are intertwined so closely
Former maid of honor, Anna Vyrubova was very different from the main imperial environment. When Alexandra, having married the Russian emperor, arrived in a new country for her, she immediately decided to accept the local faith. The woman showed responsibility, but soon noticed that people around love to talk about God, while they do not try to lead a life pleasing to the Lord. The only one who was fundamentally different from those around her was Anna, who soon became Alexandra's faithful friend for life. In many ways, this is why the Empress once called her friend "dear martyr." However, the life path of the maid of honor fully justified such a name. Demonstrating the humility due to a true Christian, Anna faced a series of difficult trials, but all of them were endured with honor.
As is known from the biography of Anna Vyrubova, at the age of eighteen, the girl suffered from typhus. At that moment, she was literally on the verge of death. The maid of honor herself explained the fact that she was able to survive by the location of John of Kronstadt, her spiritual protector and intercessor.
Troubles do not recede
11 years after the serious illness of the maid of honor of the Empress, Anna Vyrubova was the victim of a disaster on the railway. It seemed that it would not be possible to save her: numerous fractures practically did not leave hope, the victim of the accident did not come to his senses. She fell into the hands of Rasputin, who, as eyewitnesses assured, revived her.
A few more years later, in the notorious 1918, when Anna was going to be shot under the supervision of a Red Army soldier, she met a friend in the crowd - they often ended up at the same time at the burial place of the holy remains of John of Kronstadt on Karpovka. In this monastery, both pious ladies offered prayers to the Lord. The woman asked Anna not to give herself into enemy hands, said that she would pray for her, and promised salvation - it was to come from St. John. As is known from the biography of Anna Vyrubova, soon she happened to get lost in the crowd, then she met an acquaintance who had previously received help from the former maid of honor. Now it was his turn to help, and the man gave the woman 500 rubles. It seemed that Anna was saved by a miracle.
Truth and Falsehood
It is very difficult in Russian history to find another woman who would be so carefully and diligently tried to denigrate in the eyes of the people. Many are convinced that in the biography of the lady-in-waiting Anna Vyrubova, one can find only multiple vicious stories about life situations. Rumors about this spread long before the revolutionary events, and ordinary people were firmly convinced that the imperial power only suffers from such an environment. It was said that thanks to Vyrubova, Rasputin got his place near the tsar, gossiped about the atrocities that they were organizing together. Moreover, it was said that Anna was seducing the imperial wife - and she was successful in this.
A book was published by Anna Vyrubova - "Pages of my life". In it, the former maid of honor told in detail how and where rumors were born in those days. For example, Anna's sister described to her how one day Lady Derfelden proudly told early in the morning that she was creating rumors: supposedly the imperial wife was drinking her husband. People around listen, literally with their mouths open - and everyone believes what they hear.
Rumors and their basis
Anna Alexandrovna Vyrubova was slandered more than once - but people who knew her personally did not believe in the vicious rumors spread by ill-wishers. They said that just getting to know Anna could already change a person for the better. Surprising memories were preserved by Rudnev, who was chosen by the investigator in Anna's case. When he went for the first time to interrogate the former maid of honor, he was categorically unfriendly towards the woman - and this is not surprising, because he heard everything that others said about her. When he first saw her, he was impressed by her eyes, their expression - meek, literally unearthly. Further communication with the woman fully confirmed the impression formed at the first meeting.
Anna Alexandrovna Vyrubova learned well in her life what bondage is - five times she ended up in places of forced detention. For the first time she got there under Kerensky, later - under the Bolshevik regime. Anna was tortured. It is known that one of her most hated persecutors, a pockmarked soldier who constantly pursued the woman, although he did not know her personally, suddenly changed one day. On his brother's wall, he saw a photograph of Anna and said that for a year she looked after him in the hospital as if he were her son. From that day on, and as long as there were opportunities, this man tried to help Vyrubova in any way he could.
Responsibility and its absence
As is known from the memories left by Rudnev, Anna Vyrubova was persecuted while she was in prison. He himself learned about them by talking with the woman's mother. The former maid of honor did not speak about bullying, but answered a direct question that her tormentors did not understand what they were doing, which means that they could not be blamed.
Do good - to the best of your ability
From the diaries of Anna Vyrubova it is known that the railway paid her compensation for the injuries associated with the disaster, the victim of which the former lady-in-waiting became. In 1915, she received 80,000 rubles. In those days, it seemed like a fabulous, incredibly large sum. While the woman was recovering, the Russian Empress looked at her every day. At first, Anna could only move in a wheelchair, then she used crutches and a cane. The money received from the railway, she invested in the construction of a hospital intended for soldiers who were seriously injured in the war. The institution was conceived as a place where disabled people would be taught a trade so that these people could provide for themselves. To create an institution, the emperor allocated an additional 20,000 rubles. The finished hospital could serve about a hundred visitors at the same time. The last Russian Empress, her girls and her closest friend worked within the walls of the institution as sisters of mercy.
When they talk about the good and the holy, usually the haters of the former maid of honor mention in defiance her connection with Grigory Rasputin. Anna Vyrubova, according to popular belief, introduced this man into the imperial family. However, historical facts contradict such beliefs. As follows from reliable sources, it was the Empress who introduced her friend to an old man from Siberia. As soon as they met, the man said that Anna's main desire is to serve the imperial family until her death, and it will come true. He also predicted that Anna would be married, that her marriage would be unhappy.
Life shows...
… that Rasputin was right. The young lady-in-waiting Taneeva got married, Anna Alexandrovna Vyrubova was captured in the photo, young and happy - but not for long. Just a year after the marriage, the woman divorced.
In the future, it is Rasputin who will largely influence Anna's path. She was sure that in 1915 she survived only thanks to his efforts. Rumors related to intimacy with the elder will turn Anna into an exile among emigrants - people will be ashamed to shake hands with her, having heard about orgies and other indecencies.
The atrocities, in which Anna Vyrubova, along with the elder Grigory, allegedly took an active part, were nothing more than invented by haters. In 1918, an official medical examination confirmed that the woman was still a virgin. However, this could not calm the evil tongues.
New places and new events
The 1920s in the life of Anna Vyrubova were marked by a panicky move to Finland. The woman fled her native country with her mother. To leave Petrograd, it was decided to go through the ice of the bay - other ways seemed even more dangerous. In 1923, a new nun, Maria, appeared at the Smolensk Skete. True, her health was so weak that not a single monastery agreed to take a new one, and the woman became a secret nun, continuing to live among ordinary people. Under the name of Taneeva, she lived in Finland for more than 40 years, and died at the age of eighty in 1964.
During the emigration years, Anna Vyrubova published a book. She chose its name herself - "Pages of my memory." The first edition appeared in print in 1922 in Paris. In the USSR, they considered that such a book could destroy the image of the state, become a subversive tool against the Bolshevik ideology. Vyrubova's Diary was hastily concocted and published. The former maid of honor has nothing to do with the writing of this book, the publication is entirely a hoax and a fake. The main idea of this book is to expose the imperial family and the inner circle of these people in the most bad light possible. Nowadays, the falsity of this book has been officially proven, although sometimes even "scientists" resort to it, trying to find support for their opinions. It is assumed that Vyrubova's Diary was co-authored by Shchegolev and Tolstoy.
Life is a complicated thing, but near the king - close to death
In 1920, Anna Vyrubova was able to escape from Petrograd only thanks to the assistance of her sister, who by that time already lived in Finland. Taking their mother, with only a sled, they crossed the bay in the night. Vyrubova walked barefoot, and the guide, seeing this, gave her his own socks.
In 1926, a woman read the Searchlight, a popular magazine published in those days in the USSR. Cheerful poems in it were interspersed with chronicles and news indicating how well life is going under the councils, essays sang about the beautiful everyday life, and suddenly a photograph of Anna was published in the April issue. The article said that by that time the woman had already died, and during her lifetime she was a Rasputin fan, who largely determined the worst years of tsarist power. The article pointed to the protege of Protopopov, who allegedly came to power thanks to Anna. The obituary also indicated that appointments to many government posts passed through her.
What Anna Vyrubova felt looking at her photo, only she knows. Unfair treatment, resentment for being slandered again - such feelings could be completely natural. Perhaps the woman felt light - after all, that Vyrubova, about whom they spoke and wrote, had nothing to do with the real one, and the rumor itself buried the monster that she had created on her own.
But the beginning was so promising!
It seemed that from the very birth, Taneyev's children were guaranteed a good, stable life in honors, respect and contentment. The civil servant devoted to the emperor was a relative of the famous composer, and was friends with Chaliapin. Tchaikovsky spoke well of him. Anna's father received an impeccable education and tried to give the same to his children. When girls from noble families grow up, the best of the best can become ladies-in-waiting to the Empress - the Taneyevs knew about this from an early age, and for Anna such a status was the ultimate dream. A beautiful and simple blue-eyed girl did not yet know that she would be a victim of gossip and ridicule, insinuations that would surround her until her death.
The first ball so beautiful in its girlish simplicity and innocence - and this is reflected in the old photos - Anna Vyrubova, more precisely, in those days still Taneeva, happened in 1902. It was then that she was first introduced to the imperial entourage. Shy at first, the girl soon got used to it and attended 32 balls in the first winter season alone. However, a few months later she became mortally ill and only miraculously survived. After the first aid provided by John of Kronstadt, Anna received treatment in Baden and Naples. From then until the end of her days, in her prayers, Anna will remember John and no one else, honoring him as her strongest and most caring intercessor.
Career taking shape
Anna received her unique cipher, which meant the status of an imperial maid of honor, in 1903. She was presented with initials decorated with magnificent diamonds, which meant an honorable coveted position. Subsequently, one of the personal ladies-in-waiting fell ill and the women chose Taneeva as a temporary replacement. The Empress immediately became attached to her when she saw a person close to herself that she had left nearby. The intrigues and gossip that filled the palace did not allow the woman to breathe calmly, and only the presence of Anna somewhat alleviated the painful atmosphere of the approaching catastrophe.
Born Alice, who chose the name of Alexander for herself, the empress was out of place at the Romanov court, and noble people were wary of the woman chosen by Nicholas II as his wife. She sensed an unfriendly attitude carefully masked by etiquette. The nobility valued impeccable appearance, required everyone to speak French as if in their native language, expected a person to behave impeccably and show the same manners. The empress, however, made mistakes in her speech in French, violated the small subtleties of etiquette and could not make friends with her mother-in-law, who still tried to concentrate maximum power in her hands.
Relationships and harsh reality
For others, looking at the tenderness between the royal spouses was a real torment. Alexandra was naturally shy, and this seemed to many a manifestation of arrogance. Every corner of the palace was filled with gossip, and the empress could not find a single girlfriend. And then Anna appeared - a simple and sincere, cheerful and charming girl, seemingly not yet spoiled by etiquette and the poison of society.
Girlfriends got the opportunity to talk about everything in the world, show each other photos, read lines from books. Participation and warmth are priceless things that the classics wrote about more than once in their creations, and only with the advent of Anna did they enter the life of the last Russian Empress. Having gone to the Finnish skerries with the royal family, Anna heard from the empress an amazing confession that she would never be lonely again, since she had a friend sent by the Lord.
Where is the truth?
The environment hated the young girl for the privileges of the imperial girlfriend so easily and quickly received by her. People could not believe that the young girl did not have dark intentions and hidden goals. However, as friends admitted, Anna really just disinterestedly wanted to be close to the empress she loved. The maid of honor status was quite prestigious, each of its owners lived in the palace, had a servant and a cart, a cab driver, and being a personal maid of honor - an annual salary, but the imperial girlfriend could not count on material support. Officially, in the status of maid of honor, she spent only a few months before her wedding. However, many were jealous of this, because it was believed that the ladies-in-waiting had the opportunity to enter into the most profitable possible marriage. In the case of the young Taneeva, this ended in a real nightmare.
About personal life
It so happened that the empress chose the naval officer Vyrubov as her husband for her beloved friend. He was a participant in the tragedy at Tsushima and literally survived by a miracle. The catastrophe was not in vain - the man was a victim of depression, and genetic disorders affected his mental state. From the outside, this was not noticeable, so the empress could not even imagine to whom she was giving her loved one. Almost immediately after the wedding, Anna realized that there would be no life in such a marriage, this person was dangerous for her. She lived with her husband, waiting for a divorce, a year filled with constant fear for her life.
Statuses and opportunities
Both a married and a divorced woman are not entitled to hold a maid of honor, but Anna remained at court, being like a sister to the empress. She became her close friend, was with her in anxious days and happy nights. The friends tirelessly worked side by side in a military hospital, not embarrassed by wounds and injuries. The imperial family called the woman darling.
Anna was kind and they knew about it, they used it. She helped the wounded, but not only - constantly the pockets of her dresses were filled with notes from those who pleaded for assistance. People convinced themselves that the former lady-in-waiting was all-powerful, and turned to her for everything from help in obtaining a high post to assistance in acquiring an overcoat so that they could go to school. Yes, but Anna had little strength, and any patronage on her part harmed rather than benefited - she was so disliked at court. Of course, Anna could not refuse, she tried to help to the best of her ability, and for this she was considered an intriguer.
In total, 12 years have passed under the patronage of the empress at the court. Anna admitted in her memoirs that these years were the happiest for her. She walked the way of the cross with her loved ones to the very end. She supported Alexandra at the moment when her husband abdicated and wrote a memorable phrase in his diary, recognizing that only cowards and traitors surrounded him. Together with Alexandra, she nursed the royal children who fell ill with measles - until she herself became infected from them.
how it all ends
After ordeals at home, Anna ended up in Finland, where for the first time the authorities treated her with respect. She was interrogated, clarified plans. First, the woman and her mother settled in Terijoki, from there they moved to Vyborg. Life was difficult, health let down, I had to survive in poverty. Other emigrants avoided Anna, and she herself did not try to maintain contact with them. Instead of communication, she chose prayer for herself. In 1939, it was decided to move again - the Soviet Union started a war with Finland and there were serious fears that Vyborg would fall under the rule of the Soviets. Hideout was found in Sweden, where Alexandra's niece, Anna's former childhood friend, was queen at this point. The royal person gave Anna a small pension, which turned out to be sufficient to live out the rest of her life in Helsinki, on Topelius Street. Near her home, Anna was buried - at the Ilyinsky cemetery. The woman died of old age on July 20, 1964.
Anna Alexandrovna Vyrubova(nee Taneeva; July 16, Russian Empire - July 20, Helsinki, Finland) - daughter of the chief administrator of His Imperial Majesty's Own Chancellery A.S. Taneyev, great-great-great-granddaughter of Field Marshal Kutuzov, maid of honor, closest and most devoted friend of the Empress Alexandra Feodorovna. She was considered one of the most ardent admirers of Grigory Rasputin.
A life
Anna Vyrubova for a walk in a wheelchair with V.D. Olga Nikolaevna, 1915-1916 (photo from Beinecke Library)
Taneeva spent her childhood in Moscow and in the family estate Rozhdestveno near Moscow.
In 1902 she passed the exam at the St. Petersburg educational district for the title of a home teacher.
In January 1904, Anna Taneeva "received a code" - she was appointed a city maid of honor, whose duties were to be on duty at balls and exits under Empress Alexandra Feodorovna.
After that, becoming a close friend of the Empress, she stayed close to the imperial family for many years, accompanied them on many trips and trips, and attended private family events.
Taneeva was well acquainted with Grigory Rasputin. At her dacha in Tsarskoe Selo, he repeatedly met with members of the imperial family.
In 1907, Anna Taneeva married naval officer Alexander Vyrubov in Tsarskoe Selo, but the marriage was short-lived and broke up the very next year.
With the outbreak of the First World War, Vyrubova began working in the hospital as a nurse, along with the Empress and her daughters. She also participated in many other events aimed at helping the front and disabled soldiers.
On January 2 (15), 1915, while leaving Tsarskoye Selo for Petrograd, Anna Vyrubova got into a railway accident, receiving such severe injuries (including head injuries) that doctors expected an imminent death. However, Vyrubova survived, although she remained a cripple for life: after that she could only move in a wheelchair or on crutches; in later years - with a stick. After that, her attending physician was accused of disability Vera Gedroits, with whom she was in a tense relationship.
She organized a military hospital in Tsarskoye Selo for monetary compensation for the injury.
After the February Revolution, she was arrested by the Provisional Government and, despite her disability, was kept in difficult conditions for several months in the Peter and Paul Fortress on suspicion of espionage and treason, after which she was released "for lack of corpus delicti".
At the end of August 1917, the Provisional Government decided to send her abroad, a message appeared in the newspapers indicating the day and hour of her departure. In Finland, at the Rihimyakki station, a huge crowd of soldiers put her off the train and she was taken through Helsingfors to the imperial yacht Polar Star, which headed for Sveaborg. A whole month was spent on troubles, and at the end of September, N. I. Taneeva (Vyrubova's mother) secured the release of her daughter through Trotsky. A. A. Vyrubova was returned from Sveaborg, taken to Smolny and released again. However, the threat of an imminent new arrest still weighed on her.
Memoirs and "diary" Vyrubova
In exile, Anna Taneeva wrote an autobiographical book, Pages of My Life.
In the 1920s, the so-called. "Vyrubova's Diary", but its falsity was almost immediately exposed even by Soviet critics and scientists. Since the Diary began to be reprinted abroad as well, Vyrubova herself had to come forward with a public refutation of its authenticity. (A number of forged letters written in the Soviet era were also attributed to her.)
The most likely authors of the Diary are considered to be the Soviet writer A. N. Tolstoy and history professor P. E. Shchegolev (who jointly wrote the play The Empress's Conspiracy with a very similar plot and leitmotifs in the same period). In the book of the head of the Federal Archival Service of Russia, Corresponding Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences V.P. Kozlov, it is written on this occasion:
The whole set of elements of the "cover" of falsification, the richest factual material suggests that the pen of the falsifier was in the hands of a professional historian, who not only was well versed in the facts and historical sources of the turn of the century, but also possessed the appropriate professional skills. Already the first critical speeches hinted at the name of the famous literary critic and historian, archeographer and bibliographer P. E. Shchegolev. It is difficult to doubt this even now, although documentary evidence of this conjecture has not yet been found.
Biography and episodes of life Anna Vyrubova. When born and died Anna Vyrubova, memorable places and dates of important events in her life. maid of honor quotes, Photo and video.
Years of life of Anna Vyrubova:
born July 16, 1884, died July 20, 1964
Epitaph
“Faithful to God, the Tsar and the Fatherland. Anna Alexandrovna Taneeva (Vyrubova) - nun Maria.
From the book of Anna Vyrubova "Pages of my life"
Biography
Once Anna Alexandrovna Taneeva received an invitation from Her Majesty Alexandra Feodorovna Romanova to accompany her on a family trip. It so happened that one of the ladies-in-waiting of the Empress fell ill, and therefore she needed a replacement. As a result, Anna Alexandrovna fell in love with the Empress and the entire royal family so much that their fates were no longer divided until her death. “I thank God that I have a friend,” Romanova recalled about her acquaintance with the maid of honor Anna.
Some time later, when Anna Alexandrovna finally gained a foothold at court, the empress decided to find a good match for her friend. The choice fell on naval officer Alexander Vyrubov, who distinguished himself in an attempt to break through the blocked harbor of Port Arthur. The young people got married, but the marriage broke up after a year and a half. It turned out that Vyrubov could not survive the horrors of the war and was sent to Switzerland for treatment with severe psychosis.
Further more. In 1915, a turning point occurred in Vyrubova's biography. Leaving Tsarskoye Selo for Petrograd, the girl got into a railway accident and only miraculously survived. From the resulting injuries, Anna lost the ability to move independently, and only a few years later she managed to start walking, leaning on a stick. Empress Alexandra Feodorovna carefully looked after the sick maid of honor all the time of her illness.
However, the real horrors in Vyrubova's life began with the February Revolution. One of the first tasks of the Provisional Government was to discredit the royal family in order to strengthen their own image. And to accomplish this task, the staff of a specially created emergency commission did not stop at nothing. In particular, the imperial family, including all courtiers, was subjected to unprecedented slander, accusations of debauchery, betrayal, etc. Anna Vyrubova was arrested and, despite her disability, imprisoned in the Peter and Paul Fortress. There is evidence that, while under arrest, the maid of honor was repeatedly subjected to bullying, up to and including physical beating. In the end, Vyrubova was released due to the lack of corpus delicti. But the persecution didn't end.
Finally, after three years of repression, Anna Vyrubova found a way to escape to Finland. There she fulfilled her long-standing promise before God, saying that if I manage to leave Russia, I will devote the rest of my life to serving the Lord. Vyrubova did take the tonsure, but she was never accepted into any monastery community for health reasons. The rest of the days Vyrubova lived as a lay nun, surrounding herself with harsh austerities.
Vyrubova's death occurred on July 20, 1964, which was a few days after her birthday. The last month of Vyrubova's life was spent in illness, but meanwhile the old lady-in-waiting managed to say goodbye to a few friends, confess and take communion. After the death of Anna Vyrubova, it turned out that she, the daughter of a noble family, the maid of honor of Her Majesty, hardly had enough money for a coffin. And yet, thanks to the efforts of well-wishers, the funeral of Anna Vyrubova took place at the Orthodox cemetery in Helsinki. The monument on the grave of Vyrubova was erected by the church community of the Helsingfort parish.
life line
July 16, 1884 Date of birth of Anna Vyrubova.
1902 The maid of honor takes the exam for the title of home teacher at the St. Petersburg educational district.
1904 Anna Vyrubova "receives the cipher" of the city's maid of honor and becomes a close friend of the imperial family.
1907 Anna marries officer Alexander Vyrubov, but their union soon breaks up.
1915 Vyrubova gets into a railway accident and, as a result, becomes a cripple.
1917 Anna Vyrubova is arrested by the Provisional Government on suspicion of espionage and treason.
1920 Anna Vyrubova illegally leaves Russia and flees to Finland, where she takes the veil as a nun.
1922 In Paris, the memoirs of the maid of honor "Pages from my life" are published, which have become the subject of gross falsifications by the Provisional Government.
July 20, 1964 Date of death of Anna Alexandrovna Vyrubova.
Memorable places
1. The village of Rozhdestveno near Moscow, where Anna Vyrubova spent her childhood.
2. Tsarskoe Selo (now the city of Pushkin), where Anna Alexandrovna's dacha was located.
3. Peter and Paul Fortress in St. Petersburg, where Vyrubova was kept under arrest.
4. The city of Terijoki, where Vyrubova's family dacha was located.
5. Vyrubova's house in Vyborg, where the maid of honor lived with her mother in the 1930s.
6. Orthodox cemetery in Helsinki, where Vyrubova is buried.
Episodes of life
Having moved to Finland, the maid of honor Anna set to work on her diaries. As a result, in 1922, the first edition of the memoirs "Pages from my life" was published in Paris. Since the topics about the life of the royal family were very hot and relevant at that time, Vyrubova even managed to make some money on the book. True, all the money went to the maintenance of herself and her old mother, who lived with Anna in Helsinki. After the release of the memoirs, even during Vyrubova's lifetime, attempts were made to make literary forgeries under her authorship. Until now, some of these fakes are in "scientific circulation".
While Anna Vyrubova was under arrest, the hot-tempered and scandalous Dr. Serebrennikov was appointed as her attending physician. He unconditionally encouraged all kinds of bullying of the prisoner and himself repeatedly took part in her beatings and humiliations. In front of the convoy, he could strip the maid of honor naked and, yelling that she had become stupefied with debauchery, whip her on the cheeks. Note that Vyrubova was accused of espionage, interaction with dark forces, orgies with Rasputin and the royal family. At the same time, the results of the medical examination repeatedly confirmed the chastity of the lady-in-waiting.
Testaments
“I am sure that in the future, historical newspapers will be researched and written a lot about the life of the Family of the Last Tsar - and I feel that it is my duty to describe and preserve for history those circumstances, among which, keeping pace with the life of the Royal Family, I had to fight for a life. The memories will stay with me forever."
“Both my mother and I had a soul full of inexplicable suffering: if it was hard in our dear Motherland, now it is sometimes lonely and difficult without a home, without money. But we, with all the exiled and remaining sufferers, in the tenderness of our hearts, appealed to the merciful God for the salvation of our dear Fatherland. The Lord is my Helper, and I will not be afraid of what man does to me.”
The plot about Anna Vyrubova from the series of programs "Women in Russian History"
condolences
“The life of A. A. Vyrubova was truly the life of a martyr, and one needs to know at least one page of this life in order to understand the psychology of her deep faith in God and why A. A. Vyrubova found the meaning and content of her deeply unhappy life. And when I hear the condemnation of A. A. Vyrubova from those who, not knowing her, repeat the vile slander created not even by her personal enemies, but by the enemies of Russia and Christianity, the best representative of which was A. A. Vyrubova, then I am surprised not so much to human malice, but to human thoughtlessness ... "
Nikolai Zhevakhov, statesman and religious figure
“An example of the most rigorous life was one of the closest admirers of Rasputin, a friend of the Empress Anna Vyrubova. She devoted her life to serving the royal family and Rasputin. She did not have a personal life. A healthy, beautiful woman completely obeyed the most stringent monastic requirements. In fact, she turned her life into a monastic ministry ... "
Oleg Platonov, historian
“Vyrubova is a gentle, kind person with a childlike soul, faithful to her empress, not only in joy, but also in grief, ready to link her fate with her forever. For that alone, she deserves full respect."
Elsa Brandstrom, writer
