Count Vorontsov m. Count Vorontsov Mikhail Semenovich: biography, photo, family. During the Russian-Turkish war

Life story
It is difficult to name another statesman of the 19th century who would have done as much for the good of Russia as was accomplished by His Serene Highness Prince Mikhail Semenovich Vorontsov. And it is difficult to name another military leader and administrator about whom we know so sadly little. Mainly based on biographies of A.S. Pushkin, where Vorontsov is traditionally portrayed as the greatest enemy and persecutor of the great poet. Indeed, “the singer David was small in stature, but he knocked down Goliath, who was both a general and, I promise, no lower than a count”...
Foggy Albion
The family happiness of Count Semyon Romanovich Vorontsov was short-lived. In August 1781, his marriage took place with Ekaterina Alekseevna, daughter of Admiral A.N. Senyavin. On May 19, 1782, their son Mikhail was born. Another year later - daughter Ekaterina. And in August 1784, after a short illness, Ekaterina Alekseevna died. Semyon Romanovich never married again and transferred all his unspent love to his son and daughter.
In May 1785, S.R. Vorontsov came to London as minister plenipotentiary, that is, Russian Ambassador to England. From that time on, Foggy Albion became a second home for Misha.
Semyon Romanovich himself supervised the upbringing and education of his son, striving the best way prepare him to serve for the good of the Fatherland. He was convinced that, first of all, it was necessary to be fluent in his native language and have a good knowledge of Russian literature and history. Unlike many of his Russian peers, who preferred to communicate in French, Mikhail, knowing excellent French and English languages, Greek and Latin, spoke Russian no less fluently.
Mikhail’s class schedule included mathematics, natural Sciences, fortification, architecture, music. He learned to wield different types of weapons and became a good rider. To broaden his son’s horizons, Semyon Romanovich took him to parliamentary meetings and social gatherings, and examined him industrial enterprises, they were also on Russian ships that entered English harbors.
Semyon Romanovich was convinced that serfdom would fall in Russia and that the peasants would divide the landowners' lands. And so that Mikhail could feed himself and have the right to participate in the political life of the new Russia, he decided to teach him a craft.
In 1798, Paul I awarded Mikhail the title of actual chamberlain. By the time he came of age, Mikhail was ready to serve the Fatherland. He was well educated and brought up. He developed certain views on the path along which Russia should develop. He considered it his sacred duty to serve in his homeland. However, knowing about the complex character of Emperor Paul, Semyon Romanovich decided to postpone his son’s departure to his homeland.
In campaigns and battles
On March 12, 1801, Alexander I ascended the Russian throne, and in May Mikhail Vorontsov was already in St. Petersburg. Here he meets and becomes close to young officers of the Preobrazhensky Regiment, members of an amateur literary circle, and decides to devote himself to military service. According to the existing situation, the rank of chamberlain corresponded to major general. But Mikhail decided to neglect this privilege and was enlisted in the Preobrazhensky regiment as a lieutenant.
However, he quickly got tired of parade parades, drills, and duties at court, and in 1803 he volunteered for the army of Prince P. Tsitsianov in Transcaucasia. Here the young officer quickly becomes the right hand of the commander, but does not sit out at army headquarters, but participates in battles. The reward for the courage and stewardship of Mikhail Vorontsov was the Order of St. Anne of the 3rd degree, St. Vladimir with bow and St. George, 4th degree, and the captain’s epaulets sparkled on his shoulders.
In 1805 - 1807 he took part in the war with Napoleon, and in 1809 - 1811 - in the war with the Turks. He is still in the thick of battle, in the forefront of the attack. Receives new orders and promotions in rank.
In 1809, Vorontsov became commander of the Narva regiment. Before him is the opportunity to put into practice his ideas about what the relationship between officers and ordinary soldiers should be. He said that “the more an officer was fair and kind in peacetime, the more in war his subordinates will try to justify these actions, and in his eyes they will be different from each other.”
Vorontsov met the Patriotic War of 1812 while commanding a combined grenadier division. In the Battle of Borodino, she defended the Semenov flushes. One of the first attacks of the French was aimed at Vorontsov's division. Five or six enemy divisions attacked it and brought down fire from about two hundred guns. The grenadiers did not retreat, but suffered huge losses. Having led one of his battalions in a bayonet attack, Vorontsov was also wounded.
At his house in Moscow, Vorontsov saw about a hundred carts that were supposed to take away from the capital the wealth accumulated by several generations of Vorontsovs. But the count ordered 50 wounded generals and officers, 100 of their orderlies and 300 soldiers to be taken on carts. On his Andreevsky estate in the Vladimir province, he organized a hospital where the wounded lived and were treated at his expense.
After recovery, General Vorontsov took part in the foreign campaigns of the Russian army. In the battle of Craon, his corps successfully resisted the superior forces of the French, commanded by Napoleon himself. The reward for this battle was the Order of St. George 2nd degree.
After the final victory over Napoleon, the troops of the victorious countries were left in France. Vorontsov was appointed commander of the Russian occupation corps. And here he establishes his own rules. He draws up a set of rules that division officers were expected to follow. The main idea of ​​the rules was to require officers to refrain from actions that degrade the human dignity of lower ranks. He is the first in the history of the Russian army to prohibit corporal punishment in his troops. He declares officers equal to soldiers before the law. “Duty of honor, nobility, courage and fearlessness,” he writes, “must be holy and indestructible; without them, all other qualities are insignificant.”
In 1818, before returning to his homeland, Vorontsov ordered the collection of information about the debts of the officers and soldiers of his corps to the French and paid them from his own funds. And the debts accumulated to one and a half million rubles. He received this amount by selling the large Krugloye estate, which he received according to the will of his aunt Princess E. Dashkova.
On April 25, 1819, the marriage of Count M.S. Vorontsov to Countess Elizaveta Ksaverevna Branitskaya took place in the Orthodox Cathedral of Paris. Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna said that the countess combines outstanding character with the charm of beauty and intelligence, and what she will do happy man, who united his fate with her. Shortly before his death, Mikhail Semenovich will say that his marriage to Elizaveta Ksaverevna gave him 36 years life together a lot of happiness. With great grief The only thing that happened to the Vorontsovs was that of their six children, four died at an early age.
Many military men saw Vorontsov’s corps as a model for reforms throughout the Russian army. However, in St. Petersburg they felt that with his liberal attitude towards the soldiers, Vorontsov undermined discipline in the corps, and his officers and soldiers were imbued with the “Jacobin spirit.” Therefore, upon arrival in Russia, the corps was disbanded.
Governor General" southern capital"
In response to the unfriendly attitude of official St. Petersburg towards him, Vorontsov submits his resignation. However, Alexander I refuses his request and appoints him commander of the 3rd Corps.
Vorontsov hesitated in accepting the corps. In 1820, he participated in the attempt to form the “Society of Good Landowners,” which aimed to liberate peasants from serfdom. Alexander I did not allow the organization of this society. But even in the conditions of the serf system that existed in the country, Vorontsov sought to create conditions for his peasants for their comfortable existence and for the development of their farms.
Vorontsov's uncertain position ended with his appointment on May 7, 1823 as Governor-General of the Novorossiysk Territory and Plenipotentiary Governor of Bessarabia. Several officers who had previously served under the Count also decided to switch to civilian service in order to continue to be under his command. Behind a short time The Governor General managed to gather around himself large group talented, energetic and business-like assistants. “Vorontsov attracted many noble persons to Odessa who wanted to serve under the count,” recalled a contemporary. “He received guests weekly in the luxurious halls of his newly built palace and lived as none of the small German princelings lived.”
Not a single aspect of the life of Novorossiya and Bessarabia went unnoticed by Vorontsov. He orders vines of valuable grape varieties and seedlings of fruit trees from abroad, grows them in his nurseries and distributes them free of charge to those who wish. With his money, fine-wool sheep are brought from the West, and these valuable animals have taken root in local flocks. He starts a stud farm, and others follow his example.
The steppe south needed fuel to heat homes and cook food. The Count organizes the search for coal deposits, and then its extraction. He builds the first steamship in these places on his estate, and a few years later shipyards appeared in a number of southern ports, from the stocks of which steamship after steamship was launched. A permanent steamship service is established between the ports of the Black and Azov Seas.
Thanks to Vorontsov, Odessa was enriched with a number of beautiful buildings built according to the designs of famous architects. Primorsky Boulevard was connected to the port by the famous Odessa stairs, at the foot of which a monument to the Duke of Richelieu was erected. And Odessa rightfully began to be considered one of the most beautiful Russian cities.
Issues of education and culture occupied a special place in the activities of the Governor-General. Newspapers were established, and the multi-page “Novorossiysk Calendar” and “Odessa Almanacs” began to be published. Educational institutions are opening one after another. The first public library is established. Archaeological excavations are underway and museums are opening. The Count supports theater companies. And that's not all.
Vorontsov was an opponent of drastic, revolutionary changes in society. Therefore, he reacted with disapproval to the Decembrist uprising. However, later, when fate confronted him with the convicted Decembrists, he always tried to come to their aid, neglecting the discontent of St. Petersburg.
In the Caucasus
Novorossiya and Bessarabia prospered under Vorontsov's beneficent leadership. And nearby in the Caucasus the situation became worse and worse. The commanders of the Separate Caucasian Corps changed, but the situation did not improve. Imam Shamil won victory after victory over the Russian army.
Nicholas I understood that the Caucasus needed a person who combined “experience in civil affairs with well-known military prowess.” He was clearly not mistaken in believing that Vorontsov was such a person. At the end of 1844, the emperor turned to the count with a proposal to become commander-in-chief of the troops in the Caucasus and governor with unlimited powers.
Vorontsov was 63 years old and was often ill. But he answered the emperor: “I am getting old and decrepit, there is little life left in me; I am afraid that I will not be able to live up to the Tsar’s expectations; but the Russian Tsar ordered me to go, and I, like a Russian, having overshadowed myself with the sign of the Savior’s cross, obey and go ".
Nicholas I, having appointed Vorontsov as commander-in-chief and governor in the Caucasus, did not free him from governing Novorossia and Bessarabia. Thus, the count was entrusted with an unprecedented burden of responsibilities.
Meanwhile, in St. Petersburg it was developed detailed plan march to the fortified village of Dargo - the residence of Shamil. And although Vorontsov asked to give him time to look around, he was obliged to act strictly according to plan.
The hike took place. Dargo was captured. But Shamil eluded the Russian troops, and the Caucasian Corps suffered heavy losses. And although in the rescript Nicholas I wrote that Vorontsov lived up to his expectations by penetrating into the depths of the Dagestan mountains and elevated him to princely dignity, in St. Petersburg they realized that Shamil could not be defeated with a swoop.
After Dargo, Vorontsov dramatically changes the tactics of the war with the mountaineers. So to speak, he prefers a shovel and an ax to a bayonet. Ermolov also ordered the expansion of clearings in the forests of Chechnya so that it would be easier for Russian troops to get to the desired area. Now the cutting of clearings and the construction of roads have taken on a wider scale. But the battles with the enemy did not stop. Particularly heated battles were fought for the capture of the fortresses of Salta and Gergebil.
Vorontsov came to the Caucasus not as a conqueror, but as a pacifier of this long-suffering region. As a corps commander, he was forced to fight and destroy. And as a governor, he happily moved from hostilities to peace negotiations as soon as such an opportunity arose. He believed that it would be more profitable for Russia if Shamil were proclaimed Prince of Dagestan and received a salary from the Russian government.
In the Caucasus national question was of paramount importance. Vorontsov understood this, and many of his orders were aimed at developing friendly relations between Russians and local residents, at ensuring equal rights for all nationalities. Vorontsov consistently advocated religious tolerance. Most of the population of the Caucasus were Muslims. Of course, they heard a rumor about how respectful Vorontsov was towards faith Crimean Tatars. His attitude towards the Muslims of the Caucasus was equally benevolent. He wrote to Nicholas I: “The way Muslims think and treat us depends on our attitude to their faith no less than on the events in Dagestan.”
Vorontsov was a true believer. That is why he did not believe that there is true faith - Christian and there are false religions, that is, that there are beliefs pleasing to God, and there are beliefs of those who are mistaken. Contrasting one religion with another leads to enmity between peoples and the impossibility of pacification. Without true religious tolerance, which Vorontsov followed, it was impossible to achieve lasting peace either in the Caucasus or anywhere else.
Vorontsov’s policy of pacification and protection of the interests of the local population brought obvious results: the number of Shamil’s supporters began to rapidly decrease. And when the Crimean War of 1853 - 1856 began and the Turks invaded the Caucasus, they did not find support from the local residents, their coreligionists.
Field marshal's baton
At the end of 1851, Vorontsov was presented with a rescript from Nicholas I, which listed his merits for 50 years of military service. The merits were exceptional. However, instead of the rank of field marshal, which was expected by many, the emperor limited himself to adding the title of “most serene” to the princely dignity. The discrepancy between the reward and his merits was explained by the fact that Vorontsov still aroused suspicion among the emperor with his constant liberalism.
By his 70th birthday, Vorontsov felt that he had no strength left to fulfill his duties with dignity. He was sick for a long time. At his request, in March 1854, he was granted six months' leave "to improve his poor health." But even after treatment abroad, my health did not improve. At the end of the same year, he asked to be dismissed from all positions in the Caucasus, Novorossiya and Bessarabia. Nicholas I granted his request.
In the summer of 1855, Mikhail Semenovich and Elizaveta Ksaverevna came to St. Petersburg. In December of this year and in January 1856, at the invitation of Alexander II, Vorontsov participated in the discussion of the draft preconditions for peace after the end of the Crimean War.
On August 26, 1856, the coronation of Alexander II took place in Moscow. A painful fever forced Vorontsov to stay at home. The grand dukes came to his home and presented him with a rescript from the emperor conferring on him the highest military rank and a field marshal's baton decorated with diamonds.
Vorontsov lived in the rank of Field Marshal for a little more than two months. Brought by his wife to Odessa, he died here on November 6 of the same year. Crowds of Odessa residents of all classes, all religions, all ages came to celebrate last way its governor general. Under cannon and rifle salvoes, the body of His Serene Highness Prince M.S. Vorontsov was lowered into a grave prepared in Odessa cathedral in the right corner of its middle part.
M.S. Vorontsov is the only statesman for whom two monuments were built using money collected by subscription - in Odessa and in Tiflis. His portrait hangs in the first row in the Military Gallery of the Winter Palace, another portrait hung in this palace in the Field Marshal's Hall. Vorontsov's name is inscribed on one of the marble plaques in the St. George Hall of the Moscow Kremlin. There is a sculptural image of him on the monument to the 1000th anniversary of Russia in Veliky Novgorod.
In conclusion, we will say that everything we have told relates to the very person about whom the majority of Russians, from generation to generation, judge by a single epigram by A.S. Pushkin: “Half-hero, half-ignoramus, and also half-scoundrel!” In fact, Mikhail Semenovich Vorontsov was a real nobleman, a hero of the War of 1812, the most educated man of his time, a statesman and military leader, a man of honor and dignity. Apparently, Alexander Sergeevich had something personal in his attitude towards Vorontsov...

In Odessa

Commanded Narva Infantry Regiment (1809-1812),
Consolidated Grenadier Division 2nd Western Army (1812),
12th Infantry Division (1814-1815, 1818-1820),
Occupation Corps in France (1815-1818),
3rd Infantry Corps (1818-1823),
Chief of the Narva Jaeger Regiment (1836-1856),
Separate Caucasian corps (1844-1854),
Chief of the Kurinsky Jaeger Regiment (1845-1856) Battles Pultusk, Friedland, Smolensk, Borodino, Dennewitz, Dresden, Leipzig, Kraon

Biography

Early years

Count Mikhail Vorontsov was born on May 19 (30) in St. Petersburg, spent his childhood and youth with his father, Semyon Romanovich, in London, where he received an excellent education. More baby Enlisted as a bombardier-corporal in the Life Guards Preobrazhensky Regiment, he was already promoted to warrant officer at the age of 4.

In 1803 he was assigned to the Caucasian troops, led by Prince Tsitsianov. He was attached to the commander-in-chief. On January 3, 1804, he took part in the assault on Ganja. On January 15 of the same year, he almost died during Gulyakov’s unsuccessful expedition to the Zagatala Gorge.

In September 1805, as a brigade major, he was sent to Swedish Pomerania with the landing forces of Lieutenant General Tolstoy and was at the blockade of the Hamelin fortress.

During the campaign of 1806 he was in the battle of Pułtusk.

During the campaign of 1807, commanding the 1st battalion of the Preobrazhensky Regiment, he took part in the Battle of Friedland.

In 1809, Vorontsov, appointed commander of the Narva Infantry Regiment, went to Turkey, where he participated in the assault on Bazardzhik.

In 1810 he took part in the battle of Shumla, then was sent with a special detachment to the Balkans, where he occupied the cities of Plevna, Lovech and Selvi.

During the campaign of 1811, Vorontsov took part in the battle near Rushchuk, in 4 cases near Kalafat and in a successful case near Vidin.

Patriotic War and foreign campaign

Going for treatment to his Andreevskoye estate in Pokrovsky district of Vladimir province, Vorontsov refused to evacuate property from his house on Nemetskaya Street in Moscow, ordering the wounded to be taken out on carts. About 50 wounded generals and officers and more than 300 lower ranks were stationed in Andreevsky. The count took upon himself the costs of the wounded, which reached 800 rubles daily. After recovery, each soldier, before being sent to the active army, was supplied with clothes and 10 rubles.

Having barely recovered, Vorontsov returned to duty and was assigned to Chichagov’s army, and he was entrusted with a separate flying detachment. During the truce (summer of 1813) he was transferred to the Northern Army; upon the resumption of hostilities, he was in action near Dennewitz and in the battle of Leipzig.

During the campaign of 1814, Vorontsov brilliantly withstood the battle against Napoleon himself near the city of Craon. Awarded on February 23, 1814, the Order of St. George, 2nd class No. 64

Command of the occupation corps in France

In 1815-1818, Vorontsov commanded the occupation corps in France.

A certain set of rules, compiled by Vorontsov personally, was introduced in the corps, limiting the use of corporal punishment for soldiers. Notable is his opinion on the limitation of corporal punishment:

Since a soldier who has never been punished with sticks is much more capable of feelings of ambition worthy of a real warrior and son of the Fatherland, and one can more likely expect from him good service and an example to others...

In all divisions of the corps, by order of Vorontsov, Lancaster schools for soldiers and junior officers were organized. Also, the count adjusted the regularity of sending correspondence from Russia to the corps.

Before the withdrawal of the occupation corps, Vorontsov collected information about the debts of officers and soldiers to local residents and paid all the debts, the amount of which was about 1.5 million rubles, from his own funds. In order to pay off French creditors, he was forced to sell the Krugloye estate, inherited from his aunt, Princess Ekaterina Dashkova.

International connections

In 1818 he represented Russia at the Aachen Congress.

Governor-General of Novorossiya

Returning to Russia, Vorontsov commanded the 3rd Infantry Corps, and on May 19, 1823, he was appointed Novorossiysk Governor-General and Plenipotentiary Governor of the Bessarabia Region. The half-virgin Novorossiysk region was waiting only for a skillful hand to develop agricultural and industrial activities in it. Vorontsov owes: Odessa - a hitherto unprecedented expansion of its trade importance and increase in prosperity; Crimea - the development and improvement of winemaking, the construction of a magnificent palace in Alupka and an excellent highway bordering the southern coast of the peninsula, the breeding and multiplication of different types of grain and other useful plants, as well as the first experiments in forestry. At his initiative, the Society for Agriculture of Southern Russia was established in Odessa, in whose work Vorontsov himself took an active part. One of the most important branches of Novorossiysk industry, the breeding of fine-wool sheep, also owes a lot to him. Under him, in 1828, shipping on the Black Sea began. On December 29, 1826, Vorontsov was elected an honorary member of the Imperial Academy of Sciences.

On May 24, 1826 he was appointed a member of the State Council. In the same year, he was a member of the Supreme Criminal Court in the case of the Decembrists.

In 1828, he took over the leadership of the troops besieging the fortress of Varna, instead of the wounded Prince Menshikov. On August 17, Vorontsov arrived at his destination, and on September 28, the fortress surrendered. During the campaign of 1829, thanks to the assistance of Vorontsov, the troops operating in Turkey continuously received the necessary supplies. The plague, brought from Turkey, did not penetrate deep into the Russian Empire, largely thanks to the energetic measures of Vorontsov.

During the governorship of Count Vorontsov in Chisinau, and then before his eyes in Odessa, Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin was in exile (1820-1824). His relationship with Vorontsov did not work out right away; the governor viewed the exiled poet primarily as an official, gave him instructions that seemed insulting to him, and most importantly, his wife Elizaveta Ksaveryevna, née Countess Branitskaya, began a superficial affair with Pushkin to cover up her real love relationship, which greatly spoiled Pushkin’s life, since the count became the object of numerous caustic, although not entirely fair, epigrams from Pushkin: “They once told the Tsar that finally...”, “The singer David is small in stature...”, “I don’t know where, but not here...”; Pushkin ridicules their pride, servility (from his point of view) and Anglomania of the governor.

Other writers of that time - A. S. Griboyedov, G. F. Olizar, P. P. Svinin, etc. - during trips around the Crimea, visited Vorontsov’s hospitable house in Gurzuf, which the count, who constantly lived in Odessa and visited the peninsula only visits, owned until 1834. The Count cordially welcomed creative guests in his home in St. Petersburg on Malaya Morskaya; one of whom is G.V. Gerakov, who characterized Vorontsov as “ rare friend"died right there on June 2, 1838.

Vorontsov patronized the architects F. C. Boffo and G. I. Toricelli, attracted them to large government orders, expanding public construction throughout the province. They built such masterpieces as the Potemkin Staircase (1837-1841) and the merchant exchange on Primorsky Boulevard in Odessa, the Stone Staircase in Taganrog, the Temple of St. John Chrysostom in Yalta (1837), the Temple in the Name of All Crimea Holy Saints and Holy Great Martyr Theodore Stratilates in Alushta ( 1842) and many other public buildings.

As a private individual, he orders palaces in Odessa and the Alupka estate. Having invited the gardener K. A. Kebakh to Alupka for 25 years and promoting the work of the botanist H. H. Steven in the Nikitsky Botanical Garden, he laid the foundations of landscape gardening on the southern coast of Crimea.

Caucasus

In 1844, Vorontsov was appointed commander-in-chief of the troops in the Caucasus and governor of the Caucasus, with unlimited powers and retention in his previous positions. Arriving in Tiflis on March 25, 1845, he soon went to the left flank of the Caucasian line, to take command of the troops preparing for the campaign against Shamil. After occupying Andi, which involved the greatest difficulties, the troops, under the personal leadership of Vorontsov, moved to Shamil’s temporary residence - the aul of Dargo. Mastery of this point and especially further movement through impenetrable forests accompanied great dangers and huge losses. The “Dargin” expedition, in fact, did not achieve its goal, since Shamil safely left the village, and the village itself was burned before the Russian troops arrived. The convoy convoy, which was on its way to join Vorontsov’s detachment, was attacked by the highlanders and was partially captured (“Sukharnaya” expedition). The retreat from Dargo was also accompanied by losses. Here is how eyewitness writer Arnold Lvovich Zisserman responded to those events:

Anyone can imagine what impression the outcome of the entire large expedition of 1845 made on our troops, on the Christian population of Transcaucasia devoted to us and on the hostile Muslim population. There is nothing to say about the triumph of Shamil and the mountaineers. Thus, I repeat, if it were not for Count Vorontsov, who enjoyed great trust and respect from Sovereign Nikolai Pavlovich and stood above the influence of the intrigues of even the powerful Chernyshev, his Caucasian career would probably have ended with the end of the expedition...

However, despite the failure, for the campaign to Dargo, by a personal Highest decree of August 6, 1845, the Caucasian governor, adjutant general, Count Mikhail Semyonovich Vorontsov was elevated, with his descendants, to the princely dignity of the Russian Empire.

In 1848, two strongholds of Dagestan, the auls of Gergebil and Salty, were taken. In the bloody Battle of Salta, Vorontsov blocked and defeated a large detachment of highlanders from Naib Idris. In the same year, through the efforts of Vorontsov and on his initiative:

By a personal Highest decree of March 30, 1852, the Caucasian governor, adjutant general, infantry general, Prince Mikhail Semyonovich Vorontsov was awarded, with descendants, the title of lordship.

Vorontsov - bibliophile

His father, Semyon Romanovich, and his father’s brother, Alexander Romanovich, began collecting books. Compiling book collections required a certain culture, freedom of funds, and the ability to travel around the country and abroad. The Vorontsovs had all this in abundance: their fortune was one of the largest in Russia, Semyon Romanovich lived permanently in England, Alexander Romanovich also served in the diplomatic line. Their book collections were typical of those of the 18th century, when the spiritual life of Europe was strongly influenced by the ideas of the French Enlightenment. The basis of the libraries were the works of Voltaire, Rousseau, Montesquieu; Attention was also paid to antiquities and manuscripts. Mikhail Semyonovich Vorontsov inherited a significant part of the collections of his relatives, including his aunt, Ekaterina Romanovna Dashkova. Mikhail Semyonovich himself had been collecting books since his youth and did not give up this activity in the 1810s, when he was in Paris at the head of an expeditionary force.

M. S. Vorontsov had several book collections - both in Russia and abroad. The fate of the Tiflis library has not been fully clarified, the Odessa collection, at the will of the heirs, was transferred to the local university, the St. Petersburg collection passed to his son, Semyon Mikhailovich, after whose death it was sold through the store of V.I. Klochkov, and only the Alupka library was preserved, partially, in the palace’s own interior - museum.

Last years

At the beginning of 1853, Vorontsov, feeling the approach of blindness and extreme loss of strength, asked the sovereign to dismiss him from his post, and on March 25 he left Tiflis. Monuments were erected to him in Tiflis (with funds collected from voluntary donations from the city population), Odessa and Berdyansk.

On the day of the coronation of Emperor Alexander II on August 26, 1856, Vorontsov was awarded the rank of Field Marshal.

Vorontsov died on November 6, 1856 in Odessa. For many years, stories about the simplicity and accessibility of the Supreme Governor were preserved among soldiers in the Russian troops in the Caucasus. After the death of the prince, a saying arose there: “God is high, the Tsar is far away, but Vorontsov died.”

He was buried in Odessa in the lower church of the Spaso-Preobrazhensky Cathedral.

Memory

In 1849, in honor of M. S. Vorontsov, the Eastern Embankment in Taganrog (the name “Vorontsovskaya Embankment” existed until 1924, now Pushkinskaya) and Azovsky Descent (renamed in 1920, now Komsomolsky) were named in honor of M. S. Vorontsov.

• In 1863, a monument to M. S. Vorontsov was built in Odessa.
• In 1867, a monument to M. S. Vorontsov was unveiled in Tiflis. Demolished in 1922.
• In L. N. Tolstoy’s story “Hadji Murad”, Count Vorontsov is depicted as a crafty, highly experienced courtier.
• In August 1998, a bronze bust of M. S. Vorontsov was unveiled in Yeisk on the station square.
• On August 16, 2008, a bronze monument to M. S. Vorontsov was unveiled in Yeisk near the city stadium.

Military ranks

• Enlisted as Bombardier-Corporal of the Guards (1786)
• Ensign of the Guard (1786)
• Lieutenant of the Guard (10.1801)
• Captain of the Guard (1804)
• Colonel (01/10/1807)
• Major General (04/14/1810)
• Lieutenant General (02/08/1813)
• Adjutant General (08/30/1815)
• General of the Infantry (05/29/1825)
• Field Marshal General (08/26/1856)

Achievement list

Awards

Russian:

Foreign:

Vorontsov's grave

Vorontsov and his wife, Elizaveta Ksaverevna Vorontsova, who died on April 15 (27), 1880, in recognition of their services to Odessa, in view of their pious lifestyle and numerous acts of mercy, were buried with honors in

His Serene Highness Prince Vorontsov Mikhail Semenovich - famous statesman, adjutant general, field marshal general, and most serene prince (since 1845); Bessarabian and Novorossiysk Governor-General; member of the St. Petersburg Scientific Academy. He contributed to the construction of Odessa and developed the region economically.

The parents of the future field marshal, Semyon Romanovich and Ekaterina Alekseevna (daughter of Admiral A.N. Senyavin) got married in 1781. On May 29, 1782, they had a son, Mikhail, and a year later, a daughter, Catherine. But family happiness the Vorontsov couple did not last long. Ekaterina Alekseevna died in August 1784 after an illness. She was buried in Venice, in the Greek Church of St. George. Semyon Romanovich never married again and transferred all his unspent love to his daughter and son. In May 1785, Vorontsov S.R. moved to London for work. He held the position of minister plenipotentiary, that is, he was ambassador to England from Russia. So Great Britain became a second home for little Mikhail.

Semyon Romanovich carefully monitored the training and upbringing of his son. He tried to prepare him as effectively as possible for serving his homeland. The boy’s father was convinced that the most important thing was a good command of his native language and knowledge of Russian history and literature. The future Count Vorontsov was very different from his peers. They preferred to speak French, and Mikhail, although he was fluent in this language (as well as Latin, Greek and English), still preferred Russian.

The boy’s class schedule included music, architecture, fortification, natural sciences, and mathematics. He learned to ride a horse and was proficient in various types of weapons. To broaden the boy’s horizons, Semyon Romanovich took him with him to social gatherings and parliamentary sessions. Also, the younger and older Vorontsovs inspected industrial enterprises and visited Russian ships that entered English harbors.

Semyon Romanovich was sure that serfdom would soon fall, and the landowners' lands would go to the peasants. And so that his son could feed himself and participate in creating the future political course of Russia, he taught him his craft well.

In 1798, Count Vorontsov Jr. received the title of chamberlain. It was assigned to him by Paul I. It must be said that by the time he came of age, Mikhail was completely ready to serve for the good of his homeland. He was excellently brought up and educated. He also developed certain views on which path Russia should take. Serving the fatherland became a sacred duty for him. But, knowing the difficult character of Paul I, Semyon Romanovich was in no hurry to send his son home.

In March 1801, Alexander I became emperor, and in May Vorontsov Jr. arrived in St. Petersburg. Here he met members of a literary circle, became close to the soldiers of the Preobrazhensky Regiment and decided to make a military career. At that time, Mikhail’s rank of chamberlain was equivalent to the rank of major general, but Vorontsov did not use this privilege. He was enlisted in the Preobrazhensky Regiment as an ordinary lieutenant.

However, the count quickly became tired of duty at court, drill and parade parades. In 1803, he went to Transcaucasia as a volunteer to join the army of Prince Tsitsianov. Here the young Count Vorontsov quickly became the commander's right hand. But he did not sit at headquarters, but actively participated in the battles. Therefore, it is not surprising that the captain’s epaulets appeared on his shoulders, and on his chest three orders: St. George (4th degree), St. Vladimir and St. Anna (3rd degree).

In 1805-1807, Count Vorontsov took part in battles with Napoleon, and in 1809-1811 he fought with the Turks. Mikhail, as before, stood in the forefront of the attackers and rushed into the thick of the battles. He was again promoted and awarded orders.

Mikhail met the Patriotic War of 1812 as the commander of a combined grenadier division. She actively participated in the defense of the Shevardinsky redoubt and the Semyonov flushes. The first blow of the French fell precisely on Vorontsov’s division. It was attacked by 5-6 enemy units at once. And after the attack, the fire of two hundred French guns fell on her. The grenadiers suffered huge losses, but did not retreat. Mikhail himself led one of his battalions in a bayonet attack and was wounded.

At the entrance to the Military Gallery of the Winter Palace hangs a painting by the German battle painter Peter von Hess “The Battle of Borodino”, depicting the most intense moment of the battle. In the center of the picture, in its foreground, the wounded General P.I. Bagration gives his last orders. And to the left, on a cart, they are transporting the division commander, General M.S. Vorontsov, who was wounded in the leg.

Peter von Hess "Battle of Borodino"

Several hundred carts arrived at the Moscow palace of Count Vorontsov to remove family property and wealth accumulated over centuries. Nevertheless, Mikhail Semenovich gave the order to take not property, but 450 military personnel onto the carts.

After recovery, Vorontsov immediately set off with the Russian army on a foreign campaign. Near Craon, his division successfully resisted the French, led by Napoleon himself. For this battle, Mikhail Semenovich was awarded the Order of St. George.

After the final defeat of France, the armies of the victorious countries remained on its territory. The Russian occupation corps was headed by Vorontsov, and he established his own rules. The count compiled a set of rules that his soldiers and officers had to follow. The main idea of ​​the new charter was the refusal of senior ranks to belittle the human dignity of lower ranks. Mikhail Semenovich was also the first in history to abolish corporal punishment.

According to some reports, Mikhail Semenovich, being the commander of the occupation corps, was forced to sell the inherited estate in order to pay off in full the French creditors for the sprees of officers and hussars, who, as a rule, went on a spree in debt. According to available information, total amount The “feasting” of the Russian army in France in 1814-1818 amounted to more than one and a half million rubles.

In April 1819, Mikhail Semenovich married Elizaveta Ksaverevna Branitskaya. The celebration took place in the Paris Orthodox Cathedral. Maria Feodorovna (empress) spoke positively about the countess. She believed that Elizaveta Ksaveryevna perfectly combined intelligence, beauty and outstanding character. “36 years of marriage have made me very happy” - this is exactly the statement that Count Vorontsov made at the end of his life. The military leader's family consisted of a wife and six children. Unfortunately, four of them died at an early age.

In St. Petersburg they did not react very well to Vorontsov’s army innovations. There they believed that the count was undermining discipline with the new code, so upon arrival at his homeland, Mikhail Semenovich’s corps was disbanded. The count immediately resigned. But Alexander I did not accept it and appointed him commander of the 3rd Corps. Vorontsov delayed accepting the corps until the last minute.

His uncertain position ended in May 1823, when the count was appointed governor-general of the Novorossiysk region and governor of Bessarabia. Several officers who previously served with him left service to join Vorontsov’s team. In a short time, Mikhail Semenovich gathered around him many businesslike, energetic and talented assistants. There were quite a few Englishmen among them - for example, the engineer J. Upton, who built and.

Half virgin Novorossiysk region He was waiting only for a skillful hand to develop agricultural and industrial activities in him. Vorontsov participated in all spheres of life in the territories entrusted to him. He ordered tree seedlings and vines of rare grape varieties from abroad, grew them in his own nurseries and distributed them free of charge to those who wanted them.

When the steppe south needed fuel for cooking and heating homes, Mikhail Semenovich organized the search for, and then the extraction of, coal. Vorontsov built a steamship on his estate, and a few years later opened several shipyards in southern ports. The production of new ships made it possible to establish good communications between the ports of the Azov and Black Seas.

Vorontsov owes: Odessa - a hitherto unprecedented expansion of its trade importance and increase in prosperity; Crimea - the development and improvement of winemaking, the construction of the magnificent Vorontsov Palace in Alupka and the excellent highway bordering the southern coast of the peninsula, the breeding and multiplication of different types of grain and other useful plants, as well as the first experiments in forestry. On his initiative, the Society was founded in Odessa Agriculture Southern Russia, in the works of which Vorontsov himself took an active part. One of the most important branches of Novorossiysk industry also owes a lot to him - the breeding of fine-wool sheep, which he brought from the West with his own money.

The Governor-General devoted enough time to issues of culture and education. Several newspapers were established, on the pages of which photographs of Count Vorontsov and the results of his activities were periodically published. Multi-page “Odessa almanacs” and “Novorossiysk calendar” began to be published. Educational institutions opened on a regular basis, the first public library appeared, etc. The Odessa collection of Vorontsov’s books was transferred to the local university by the will of his heirs.

During the time when Mikhail Semenovich led the Novorossiysk region, he, according to his contemporaries, left an indelible mark on the history of Odessa, the region and the entire country with his “brilliant in beneficial successes” activities. It is no coincidence that on the “Millennium of Russia” monument, erected in 1862 in Novgorod, Vorontsov is depicted among 26 figures of “statesmen” next to Emperor Nicholas I.

Monument "Millennium of Russia". Fragment. From left to right: Alexander I, Mikhail Speransky, Mikhail Vorontsov, Nicholas I

During the governorship of Count Vorontsov in Chisinau, and then before his eyes in Odessa, Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin was in exile. His relationship with Vorontsov did not work out right away; the governor viewed the exiled poet primarily as an official, gave him instructions that seemed insulting to him, and most importantly, his wife Elizaveta Ksaveryevna began a superficial affair with Pushkin to cover up her real love relationship, which greatly spoiled Pushkin’s life, since the count became the object of numerous caustic, and Pushkin’s epigrams are not entirely fair: “They once told the Tsar that finally...”, “Half-my lord, half-merchant...”, “The singer David is even small in stature...”, “I don’t know where, but not with us...”; in them, Pushkin ridicules the pride, servility (from his point of view) and Anglomania of the governor.

Odessa was a subject of special concern to the Governor General. Here he continued the work of his famous predecessors, devoting a lot of time and care to the city. Odessa is growing, improving, prospering and taking on the appearance of the southern capital of Russia. So, if in 1823 the city had about 32 thousand inhabitants, then by 1845 their number almost doubled. The number of houses exceeded 3,600, there were 28 educational and 10 charitable institutions in the city, and 54 factories and factories appeared. The beauty and pride of Odessa - Primorsky Boulevard - was erected by his order. It was there that he built, surrounded by a garden, setting an example to follow. It was there, on his initiative, that the first work of I.P. Martos in Odessa was erected. Count Vorontsov took the initiative to present and approve by Emperor Nicholas I in August 1828 the estimate for the general development of Odessa: the construction of a stock exchange and a hospital, a bridge across the Military Balka (), construction of a road through the Quarantine Balka... Construction work in the port was estimated at 1.7 million rubles.

The scale of trade was also striking. In 1844, Odessa, which turned into the southern sea gate of the empire, took second place in terms of monetary turnover among all ports, second only to St. Petersburg.

Under Vorontsov and his direct participation, a shipping company was founded on the Black Sea.

These successes are not accidental. They could not but be helped by the count's remarkable personal qualities, noted by many contemporaries. One of them was the ability to find and attract intelligent, diligent, decent people. It was through the efforts of his comrades in many areas of activity, among whom there were many military men, that both Odessa and the region “were excited for a new, confident and fruitful movement forward.”

In 1828, together with twelve like-minded people, he opened the Society for Agriculture of the South of Russia in Odessa and became its lifelong president. Through his efforts, government subsidies were provided to the society, which made it possible to successfully develop sheep breeding, winemaking, horticulture and forestry in the region.

The Odessa Society of History and Antiquities dates back to 1839. One of its creators and recognized honorary president was M.S. Vorontsov. Thanks to his petition, the society was provided with significant government assistance and a number of advantages in its activities were provided. Mikhail Semyonovich was one of the initiators of the creation of the first museum of antiquities in Odessa, opened on August 9, 1825. Personal donations to the museum of Count M.S. are impressive. Vorontsov: this is a wonderful collection of ancient vases from Pompeii, sent by him from Italy in 1844, and a collection of rare coins, sent in 1847 from Tiflis.

Among the many concerns of the Governor-General, perhaps the development of the education system occupies a special place. Schools were established in Odessa oriental languages, Jewish and for raising deaf and mute children; the charter of the Institute of Noble Maidens was revised and significantly expanded; The Richelieu Lyceum has been transformed in a new way. This was greatly facilitated by the establishment in Odessa of the Higher educational management for the entire Novorossiysk region. A charity home for orphans was opened, in which helpless babies and adolescents “found kindred care and compassionate upbringing and useful education.”
The first years of the governor’s activity were marked by the appearance in Odessa in 1828 of the newspaper “Odessa Herald” in two languages ​​- Russian and French, and since 1833 it has been published with the supplement “Literary Leaflets”.

An equally important event in the cultural life of Odessa and the entire region was the opening of the city public library in 1830. It was Count Vorontsov, in order to “give mental food to those who wish,” who obtained not only permission to open it, but also state support, which was mentioned in the rescript of Emperor Nicholas I of September 13, 1829. It is noteworthy that the library was largely supported by generous book and monetary donations. One of the most generous donors was Mikhail Semyonovich himself. Thus, before leaving for the Caucasus in 1844, he donated 368 volumes of rare and expensive publications to the library.

The 20-30s and the first half of the 40s of the 19th century - the period of the reign of M. S. Vorontsov - are considered by experts to be the best era of Italian opera in Odessa, remembered by famous performers: Marini, Graziani, Marikani, Caroda. Here is an assessment of Mikhail Semyonovich’s attitude to the theater, given by the magazine “Vek”: “A theater lover, Prince Vorontsov, almost runs the theater himself.”

For a number of years, under the direct and constant control of Count M.S. Vorontsov carried out research that began in 1829 healing properties Kuyalnitsky estuary. In 1834, a hospital was opened there, the fame of which spread far beyond the borders of the Novorossiysk region.

Count M.S. Vorontsov, as governor-general, actively contributed to the strengthening of statehood in the region and fully encouraged the formation of the Orthodox Church as the basis for the moral and patriotic education of the people. Under him, Orthodox churches were built and restored. He paid special attention to the expansion and decoration of the main temple of Odessa -. It is noteworthy that on the finally rebuilt bell tower of the cathedral, the main bell was cast from 28 Turkish cannons - trophies of the campaign of 1828-1829, brought by Count Vorontsov, the hero of the decisive battles and this war.

The plague epidemic in 1829 and 1837 became a serious test for the city. Thanks to the wise and energetic leadership headed by Mikhail Semyonovich, it was possible to quite successfully cope with the terrible disease. Between these two plagues, Odessa, like most of Russia, was shaken by the famine of 1833. A very heavy burden fell on the shoulders of Count Vorontsov - to feed more than a million starving people in a huge region. The balanced, but quick and decisive actions of the Governor-General made it possible to find grain not only to provide the population with bread, but also for sowing. And here the best human qualities of the Vorontsov couple appeared, who used significant personal funds to purchase grain.

Thanks to Vorontsov’s competent management, Bessarabia and Novorossiya prospered. And in the neighboring Caucasus the situation worsened every day. Changing military leaders did not help. Imam Shamil defeated the Russians in any battle.

Nicholas I understood that it was necessary to send a person to the Caucasus who had good military tactics and significant experience in civil affairs. Mikhail Semenovich was the ideal candidate. But the count was 63 years old, and he was often sick. Therefore, Vorontsov responded to the emperor’s request with uncertainty, fearing not to live up to his hopes. Nevertheless, he agreed and became commander-in-chief in the Caucasus.

The plan for the march to the fortified village of Dargo was developed in advance in St. Petersburg. The Count had to follow it strictly. As a result, Shamil’s residence was taken, but the Imam himself eluded Russian troops, hiding in the mountains. The Caucasian Corps suffered huge losses. After this there were new battles. The heaviest battles were fought during the conquest of the fortresses of Gergebil and Salta.

It should be noted that Vorontsov came to the Caucasus not as a conqueror, but rather as a peacemaker. As a commander, he was forced to destroy and fight, and as a governor, he used every opportunity to negotiate. In his opinion, it would be more profitable for Russia not to fight with the Caucasus, but to appoint Shamil as the prince of Dagestan and pay him a salary.

At the end of 1851, Count Mikhail Vorontsov received a rescript from Nicholas I, which listed all his merits for half a century of military service. Everyone expected that he would be awarded the rank of Field Marshal. But the emperor limited himself to the title “most serene.” This discrepancy was explained by the fact that the count, with his constant liberalism, aroused suspicion among Nicholas I.

After his 70th birthday, Mikhail Semenovich’s health began to decline. He simply did not have the strength to fulfill his own responsibilities. He was sick for a long time. Early in 1854 he asked for six months' leave to improve his health. Treatment abroad did not produce results. So at the end of the year, Count Vorontsov asked the emperor to remove him from all posts in Bessarabia, Novorossiya and the Caucasus. Mikhail Semenovich's request was granted.

In August 1856, the coronation of Alexander II took place in the capital. Count Vorontsov was unable to attend because he was suffering from fever. Mikhail Semenovich was visited at home by the grand dukes and solemnly presented him with an imperial rescript, according to which the count was awarded the highest military rank and given a field marshal's baton, decorated with diamonds.

Vorontsov lived in his new rank for a little more than two months. His wife transported him to Odessa, where the Field Marshal General died on November 6, 1856. Crowds of city residents of all ages, religions and classes came out to see off their governor-general on his last journey. Under rifle and cannon salvoes, the body of Prince Vorontsov was buried in. Later, in 1880, his wife Elizaveta Ksaverevna was buried next to him.

In 1863, it was installed in Odessa on Cathedral Square. Residents of 56 provinces of Russia - from western to eastern borders- donated for its construction. By mid-1862, over 37 thousand rubles had been collected, more than 13 of which were given by Odessa. Soon the monument became a landmark of the city.

It’s amazing how this monument managed to survive during the days of revolutionary change. For example, the Bolsheviks destroyed the monument to Vorontsov in Tiflis in 1922. And he could not resist - in 1936 it was destroyed by the Bolsheviks, the grave of the Governor General was desecrated, and the ashes of the Vorontsovs were simply thrown into the street. At the same time, the metal capsule with the prince’s ashes was opened, and precious weapons and orders were stolen. After this, the townspeople secretly reburied the remains of the Vorontsovs at the Slobodskoye cemetery in Odessa.

In 2005, the ashes of the Vorontsovs were reburied in the lower church of the revived.

Count M. S. Vorontsov was the only statesman to whom two monuments were erected using funds raised by subscription: in Tiflis and Odessa. Two of his portraits hang in the Military Gallery of the Winter Palace. The count’s name is also inscribed on a marble plaque located in the St. George’s Hall of the Kremlin. And he deserves it all. After all, Mikhail Semenovich was a hero of the War of 1812, one of the most educated people of his time, a military and statesman, as well as a man of dignity and honor.

Odessa and Odessa residents honor the memory of Mikhail Semyonovich Vorontsov, a man with whose name the history of the entire southern region and their glorious city is closely connected. Vorontsovsky Lighthouse, Vorontsovsky Lane, Vorontsovsky Palace, the opera “Mikhail Vorontsov” by composer A. Krasotov, with a libretto by R. Brodavko, staged at the Odessa Opera and Ballet Theater for the 200th anniversary of the city, A. Surilov’s novel “Field Marshal Vorontsov”, books by O. Zakharova “Field Marshal General, His Serene Highness Prince M.S. Vorontsov. Knight of the Russian Empire", "Palace of M.S. Vorontsov in Odessa” and, finally, published in 2004 in the series “Life of Remarkable People”, the biography of Field Marshal General, Adjutant General, His Serene Highness, Novorossiysk and Bessarabian Governor-General, Governor-General in the Caucasus, Commander of the Separate Caucasian Corps, Mikhail Semenovich Vorontsov - all this reminds Odessa residents of Vorontsov every day and makes everyone who comes to our city take an interest in him.

“His deeds and labors are so great and varied that in his person it was not just one person who worked and labored, but a certain collection of people - and all of them are reasonable and useful to everyone, and all are worthy of respect and love.”

—————————————————————————————

On May 20, 1819, Liza Branitskaya left the Parisian Orthodox Church as Countess Elizaveta Vorontsova. Elizaveta Ksaveryevna and Count Mikhail Semyonovich Vorontsov lived together for almost 40 years, until the death of Mikhail Semyonovich.

Her father is Count Ksaviry Petrovich Branitsky, a Pole, the Great Crown Hetman - the owner of the large estate of Belaya Tserkov in the Kyiv province. Mother, Alexandra Vasilievna, née Engelhardt, Russian, was Potemkin’s niece and was known as an incredibly rich beauty. Lisa was brought up in strictness and lived in the village until she was twenty-seven years old. Only in 1819 did she go on her first trip abroad, here in Paris and met Count Vorontsov.

Empress Elizaveta Alekseevna, wife of Alexander I, knew and adored Liza Branitskaya well. Therefore, apparently fearing that Mikhail Semyonovich’s father, Count Vorontsov Semyon Romanovich, who served as the Russian ambassador in London for many years, would be against his son’s marriage to a Polish woman, she wrote to him: “The young countess combines all the qualities of an outstanding character, to which are added all the charms beauty and intelligence: she was created to make happy a respected person who will unite his destiny with her.”

However, Lisa and her mother also had concerns about the impossibility of marriage. After all, Lisa’s father decided that only noble gentlemen from a noble family would be the husbands of his daughters. Her older sisters Ekaterina and Sophia had already married Polish gentlemen from the Potocki family.

Lisa, waiting for their marriage, as the youngest, spent too much time in the maidens (she was born on September 8 (19), 1792), and of course dreamed of marriage. And then Natasha Kochubey, her distant relative, told her with enviable joy that her engagement to Lieutenant General Count Vorontsov was about to be announced. How did it all happen? After all, the count came to meet his future, and suddenly Lisa... Indeed, both the count and Natasha were not at all against the upcoming marriage, but most likely only because he, at 37 years old, finally decided to start a family, and she, like any girl, wanted this. And what an enviable groom.

In addition to wealth, nobility of the family, intelligence and courageous appearance, he had something to be proud of. His bravery on the battlefields of the War of 1812 has been widely reported. In the Battle of Borodino, he himself led soldiers in a bayonet attack and was wounded. And when he learned that carts had come from his family estate of Andreevsky to take property from their Moscow palace, he ordered to leave the things and take the wounded on the carts. Thus, hundreds of wounded were taken out from Moscow, which Napoleon was advancing on, and the manor house in Andreevsky turned into a hospital.

As everyone knows, the war with Napoleon ended with the complete defeat of his army (Napoleon was the first to flee Russia, leaving his army in the Russian snows), and Russian troops entered Paris. Before the corps, commanded by Count Vorontsov, returned home, he paid all financial debts from his own funds to the local population from his subordinates.

It’s good that they didn’t have time to announce the engagement of the Count and Natasha Kochubey. And soon, to the surprise of friends and acquaintances, Mikhail Semyonovich asks Lisa’s hand in marriage from her mother Alexandra Vasilyevna Branitskaya. Taking advantage of the absence of the father, who referred to being busy, mother and daughter agreed to the marriage. Lisa and her mother's trip to Europe ended with a wedding.

At this time, a portrait of Lisa was painted on porcelain, which was sent to London to the count's father. Semyon Romanovich noted the attractiveness of the girl and added that the colors on the porcelain do not darken over time. Indeed, the portrait of Mikhail Semyonovich’s bride still looks beautiful today, because beauty is eternal.

In 1823, Count Vorontsov was appointed governor-general of the Novorossiysk region and governor of Bessarabia. A.S. was in exile in these same places. Pushkin, and of course the poet’s fate was intertwined with the fate of the Vorontsovs. The poet admired the countess, her grace, intelligence and beauty. But nowhere and never in the rest of his life does he mention her, only numerous profiles of a beautiful female head could be seen on all the papers of the poet from the Odessa period of his life.

Many tried to find a secret in their relationship, but... if there was this secret, let it remain in eternity. E.K. Until the end of her days, Vorontsova retained the warmest memories of Pushkin and read his works almost every day.

In 1844, Nicholas I invited the count to become governor of the vast territory of the Caucasus. Mikhail Semyonovich doubted whether he could justify this trust; he felt that his health had deteriorated, but still accepted the tsar’s offer. And from that moment on, the south of Russia - Crimea, the North Caucasus and Transcaucasia came under his control. He had to solve the most complex issues of the Caucasus, torn apart by acute contradictions. And he, with the constant participation of his wife Elizaveta Ksaveryevna, successfully solved them.

From the memoirs of Count Vorontsov’s colleagues, it is known that Elizaveta Ksaveryevna was always close to her husband. She was his life-giving force, “...the whole region was illuminated by her smile, benevolence, and ardent participation in useful and charitable deeds.” Always calm, friendly, everyone saw her kind look and heard kind word. She was next to Mikhail Semyonovich in all his affairs, helping to draw up documents.

In addition to the affairs and concerns assigned to them by duty, Elizaveta Ksaveryevna passionately loved gardening. She knew botany well. In Alupka, where the Vorontsov palace was built, there were two gardens - upper and lower, which were planted with rare imported plants.

Under her personal leadership, tree and shrub species and her favorite flowers, roses, were planted. The best gardeners of their time worked on Count Vorontsov's park. But the countess herself was in charge of arranging the rose garden and selecting varieties of roses. The luxurious collection was constantly maintained and replenished.

In Odessa, with the assistance of Elizaveta Ksaveryevna, a women's charitable society was founded, which established a home for orphans, a shelter for the elderly and crippled women. And in Tiflis, through her care, the educational institution of St. Nina Equal to the Apostles was founded for the children of employees of the Caucasian governorship. The same establishments were opened in Kutaisi, Erivan, Stavropol, Shemakha.

Her services were highly appreciated at court. Already in 1838 she was granted a lady of state, and in 1850 she was awarded the Order of St. Catherine of the Grand Cross - a scarlet ribbon and a star, decorated. After the death of her beloved husband, she completely withdrew from social life, and in Odessa she maintained homes for orphans, boys and girls, as well as shelters for the elderly and sisters of mercy.

She dedicated the Mikhailovo-Semyonovsky orphanage to her husband’s memory. Over the years, dedicated only to charity, Vorontsova has given away more than 2 million rubles. So many of the best Russian people imagined the best use of wealth on earth. Elizaveta Ksaverevna, died at the age of 87 on April 15 (27), 1880 in Odessa and was buried in the Odessa Cathedral next to her husband.

1.1.2.4.4.5.1. Mikhail Semyonovich Vorontsov (1782-1856) - Russian statesman, His Serene Highness Prince, Field Marshal General, Adjutant General; honorary member of the Imperial St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences (1826); Novorossiysk and Bessarabian governor-general (1823-1844). He contributed to the economic development of the region, the construction of Odessa and other cities. In 1844-1854 governor in the Caucasus. Son Semyon Romanovich Vorontsov And Ekaterina Alekseevna Senyavina. Godson of Empress Catherine II.

George Dow. Portrait of Mikhail Semyonovich Vorontsov (Military Gallery of the Winter Palace, State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg)

Mikhail Vorontsov was born on May 19 (30), 1782 in St. Petersburg, spent his childhood and youth with his father, Semyon Romanovich, in London, where he received an excellent education. Enrolled as a bombardier-corporal in the Life Guards Regiment as an infant, he was already promoted to warrant officer at the age of 4.

Vorontsov Mikhail Semenovich in childhood (State Russian Museum)

Cosway R.. Vorontsov Mikhail Semenovich and Ekaterina Semenovna (1786, Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts, Moscow)

At the age of sixteen, in September 1798, Emperor Paul I granted him the honorary court position of chamberlain. If he were at the Court, he would have to wear a uniform with gold embroidery on the collar, cuffs, pocket flaps and on the brim of a triangular hat with a plume, as well as the symbol of the Guardian - a gold key with diamonds on a bow of blue St. Andrew's ribbon.
The rank of chamberlain then corresponded to the rank of major general, but Mikhail Vorontsov neglected this privilege given to him, obtained permission to begin service from the lower ranks, and in October 1801 he was enlisted as a lieutenant of the Life Guards in the Preobrazhensky Regiment.
In England, Semyon Romanovich Vorontsov chose to educate his son at home, providing him with exemplary tutors and teachers. At the age of ten, the young count translated from English into Russian, read and spoke French, and studied German, Greek and Latin. The training was accompanied by daily horse riding, playing chess and going out to sea on a yacht.
Semyon Romanovich spoke only Russian to his son, as he was preparing him to serve Russia and understood that only in the process of studying the Russian language and Russian literature would the young count be able to learn the history and culture of Russia and become a Russian person not only by origin, but also by spirit.
Since Russia at that time did not conduct any military operations in Europe, in 1803 Mikhail Vorontsov decided to go as a volunteer to the Caucasus, to Georgia, where there was a war with the mountain peoples, in the army of Prince P.D. Tsitsianov, an outstanding Russian military leader, student A.V.Suvorova.
Russia was on the eve of serious military operations in the area. Russia's penetration into Transcaucasia would inevitably lead to a clash with Persia and Turkey. Tsitsianov, under whose command Russian troops entered the war with Persia, became the first combat mentor of M.S. Vorontsov.
In December 1803, for the battle with the Persians, which ended with the Russian occupation of the outskirts of Ganja, young Vorontsov was awarded his first military award - the Order of St. Anne, 3rd degree.
At the end of June 1804, during an attack on the Persian camp near the Erivan fortress, for the bravery of the Preobrazhensky Life Guards Regiment, Lieutenant Count Vorontsov, upon presentation to the Emperor by Prince Tsitsianov himself, was awarded the Order of St. George, 4th degree.
After the campaign against Erivan, Tsitsianov’s Russian troops, who had previously fought under the scorching sun, found themselves among the mountains and eternal snow in Ossetia. M.S. Vorontsov wrote in December 1804 that never before had troops climbed such steep slopes and up to their necks in snow, but despite this, they fought fierce battles.
As a result of this campaign, Mikhail Semenovich became very ill and was forced to leave for treatment in Moscow in February 1805. From there he went to Andreevskoye, the estate of his uncle, the Russian Chancellor Count Alexander Romanovich Vorontsov. The uncle could be pleased with his nephew - a holder of the orders of St. George, 4th degree, St. Vladimir, 4th degree with a bow, and St. Anne, 3rd degree, promoted from lieutenant to captain, twenty-two-year-old Count Mikhail Semenovich Vorontsov with honor endured his baptism of fire .

Vorontsov M.S. (prince)

In 1805 - 1807, during the Russian-Prussian-French wars, Vorontsov took part in battles with Napoleon. For his courage and stewardship in the battle near the Polish city of Pultusk, which took place in December 1806, Vorontsov was promoted to colonel.
In 1809, Count Vorontsov was appointed commander of the Narva Infantry Regiment and was assigned to the army of General of Infantry Prince P.I. Bagration, who fought in the Balkans against the Turks who began the war with Russia in 1806. Having started the war, the Turks intended to reassert their influence in the Danube principalities and put an end to the national liberation movement in Serbia and other areas of the Ottoman Empire.
On May 22, 1810, at the age of 28, Mikhail Semenovich participated in the assault on one of the strongest fortresses of the Porte in its European possessions - the Bazardzhik fortress, where the corps of one of the prominent Turkish commanders Pelivan was defeated. For this operation, M.S. Vorontsov was promoted to major general, awarded the Order of St. Vladimir, 3rd degree, and his Narva regiment was awarded banners.
In the same year, Vorontsov took part in the battle of Varna, the general battle of Shumla and the battle of Batyn. In October 1810, Vorontsov, commanding a special detachment, occupied Plevna, Lovcha and Selvi, for which he received the Order of St. Anna, 1st degree.
In the 1811 campaign, led by M.I. Kutuzov, Vorontsov distinguished himself in the battle of Rushchuk and was awarded a golden sword with diamonds.
At the end of September 1811, General Vorontsov received an order from the commander-in-chief of the Russian army M.I. Kutuzov to cross at the head of his detachment to the right bank of the Danube behind enemy lines and force him to retreat. On October 7, Vorontsov crossed the Danube. As a result of several battles, the Turks were completely defeated. For the battle of Viddin, Vorontsov was awarded the Order of St. George, 3rd degree.
On April 1, 1812, Vorontsov was appointed head of the Consolidated Grenadier Division of the 2nd Army, whose commander-in-chief was Prince P.I. Bagration.

A. Molinari. Mikhail Vorontsov, (1812/1813)

In June, the French army crossed the Danube. The Patriotic War of 1812 began.
August 26th was approaching - the famous Borodin Day. On August 24, the battle for the Shevardinsky redoubt took place.

“On the 26th, at dawn, the battle, or rather the massacre, began at Borodino. All forces French army were thrown against our left flank, namely on the flushes defended by my division; more than a hundred artillery pieces fired at our position, and a significant part of the selected French infantry under the command of Marshals Davout and Ney attacked us frontally. Our flushes were taken by storm after stubborn resistance, then were repulsed by us, again captured by the French, and again repulsed, and soon, in the end, we lost them again, due to the superior forces that the enemy threw at them.
I was wounded in the thigh by a musket zero in our first counter-attack on the flushes, my gallant division was completely disorganized: of nearly 5,000 there remained not more than 300 with one field officer who was not wounded or only slightly wounded; 4 or 5 of our divisions defending the flushes suffered almost the same fate.
... They bandaged my wound right on the field, removed the bullet, and for the first 3 or 4 miles I was carried in a small peasant cart, one of the wheels of which was hit by a cannonball, and we managed to ride on the remaining three.”

Mikhail Semenovich Vorontsov in his memoirs did not mention at all further events related to his arrival in Moscow and his subsequent departure to his family estate. You can learn about all this, about the spiritual kindness and humanity of the count from the “Notes” of A.Ya. Bulgakov, published in the “Russian Archive” in 1900.
At his house in Moscow, the wounded Vorontsov saw many people arriving from his family estate near Moscow, the Andreevskoe cart, who were supposed to take out from the capital the accumulations of several generations of Vorontsovs: paintings, an extensive library, bronze and others historical values and family heirlooms. But having learned that in neighboring houses and hospitals there is a large number of the wounded did not have the necessary help, the count ordered the carts to be unloaded and used to transport the crippled people to his estate. Much of what was left was later lost in a fire. Mikhail Semenovich also ordered that all wounded people encountered along the road be invited to also go to Andreevskoye. So the old estate became a hospital, where up to 50 officers, a hundred of their orderlies and up to 300 privates were treated. All these hundreds of people and up to a hundred horses belonging to the officers were on full content graph. Two doctors and several paramedics continuously monitored the wounded. The purchase of medicines necessary for dressing materials and everything else was carried out at the expense of M.S. Vorontsov. As one of the count’s household told A.Ya. Bulgakov, the latter’s expenses amounted to 800 rubles daily and lasted about four months until the wounded fully recovered. Leaving the manor's house, each soldier received shoes, underwear, a sheepskin coat and 10 rubles. Having said goodbye to the wounded who were left to continue treatment, Vorontsov, leaning on a cane, returned to duty at the end of October 1812 and was sent to the army of General P.V. Chichagov, where he received command of the vanguard of the 3rd Western Army.
Emperor Alexander II foresaw that Napoleon would never come to terms with defeat in Russia and, despite the objections of M.I. Kutuzov, a campaign was announced on January 1, 1813.
Vorontsov's flying detachment, which included three Cossack and two Jaeger regiments, several hussar and lancer squadrons, grenadier battalions and artillery companies, was extremely mobile and took part in many battles.
After the capture of Poznan on February 1, 1813, M.S. Vorontsov was promoted to lieutenant general.
The Russian army, liberating the occupied territories, moved forward. A general battle was brewing.
On October 4, 1813, one of the greatest battles of the Napoleonic era began near Leipzig - the Battle of the Nations. Russian, Prussian, Austrian and Swedish troops fought on the Allied side, numbering 220 thousand people at the beginning of the battle. On Napoleon's side were the French, Poles, Belgians, Dutch and Italians, totaling 155 thousand people. The battle lasted three days. Napoleon retreated. Leipzig was taken. For the battle near Leipzig, Count Vorontsov was awarded the Order of St. Alexander Nevsky. At the end of February 1814, on the territory of France, near the Craon Heights, the outcome of the campaign took place - the Battle of Craon. In this battle, Lieutenant General Vorontsov, who had no more than 15 thousand people, opposed twice the French troops, commanded by Napoleon himself. For the battle at Kraon, M.S. Vorontsov was awarded the “Order of St. George, 2nd class, Grand Cross.”
Despite the desperate resistance of the French troops, the Russian army, together with the allied forces, fought through France, approaching Paris. In February 1814, having entered the city of Rethel, in the north-west of France, M.S. Vorontsov drafted an appeal to the local population, in which it was reported that the Russians would not allow themselves to behave in the same way on French soil as the French had distinguished themselves in Moscow.
The decisive battle for the capital began on the morning of March 18. On the same day, Paris capitulated. On March 19, 1814, the allied troops solemnly entered the city.
.

George Dawe Vorontsov Mikhail Semenovich (1822-1823, State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow)

After the victory over Napoleon, the troops of the victorious countries were left in France. The 33-year-old Count Vorontsov was appointed commander of the Russian occupation corps, which numbered about 29 thousand people. During this period, the best human qualities of Mikhail Semenovich were especially clearly manifested. They introduced many restrictions on the use of corporal punishment, and soldiers who had insignia were generally exempt from corporal punishment. “Since a soldier who has never been punished with sticks is much more capable of feelings of ambition worthy of a real warrior and son of the Fatherland, and one can more likely expect good service and an example from him to others...

In 1818, before returning to his homeland, Vorontsov ordered to collect information about the debts of the officers and soldiers of his corps to the French and paid them from his own funds. And the debts accumulated to one and a half million rubles. He received this amount by selling the large Krugloye estate, left to him by the will of his aunt, Princess Ekaterina Romanovna Dashkova, the first president of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
As a sign of respect for their commander, all the corps officers presented Vorontsov with a silver vase with their names engraved on it.
In the same year, the Paris Mint issued a gold commemorative medal with a diameter of 50 millimeters, which the residents of the Vouziers district presented to the count “as a sign of respect and gratitude.”

During the Congress of Aachen, when in October 1818 Alexander I and King Frederick William of Prussia reviewed the allied forces stationed in France, the emperor expressed dissatisfaction with Vorontsov about the fact that the regiments were moving at an accelerated pace, in his opinion. Vorontsov’s answer, which was subsequently passed on from mouth to mouth, became known to everyone: “Your Majesty, with this step we came to Paris.”
In St. Petersburg at this time, rumors about Vorontsov’s liberalism, the Jacobin spirit in his troops and the fact that he left much to be desired were in full swing. best discipline soldier. And Mikhail Semenovich decides to retire.
However, after personal meeting with Alexander I in November 1820, awarding the Order of St. Vladimir, 1st class, publication in newspapers of a rescript with laudatory reviews of Vorontsov’s corps and the actions of its commander in France, Mikhail Semenovich made the final decision to remain in the service.

In Paris, 36-year-old Lieutenant General Mikhail Semyonovich Vorontsov met Elizaveta Branitskaya.

Miniature by Moritz Daffinger, 1835/1837
Your Serene Highness Princess Elizaveta Ksaverevna Vorontsova, nee Branitskaya (September 8, 1792, - April 15, 1880, Odessa) - lady of state, honorary trustee in the management of women's educational institutions, maid of honor, cavalry lady of the Order of St. Catherine; recipient of many poems by A. S. Pushkin; wife of Novorossiysk Governor-General M. S. Vorontsov; sister of Major General Count V. G. Branitsky
The youngest child of the Polish magnate Count Xavier Branicki and nieces of His Serene Highness Prince Grigory Potemkin Alexandra Engelhardt, the family had five children, two sons and three daughters. Elizabeth spent her childhood and youth on her parents’ rich estate in Bila Tserkva.
Raising children for Alexandra Branitskaya was the main thing in life. All five received an excellent education at home and were under her care for quite a long time, especially her daughters. From her own experience, she knew that the longer the girls stayed away from the temptations of capital and court life, the better it would be for them.

Unknown artist. Portrait of E.K. Vorontsova. (1810s. Podstanitsky collection)

In 1807, Elizabeth, together with her sister Sophia, was granted maid of honor. Soon Sophia married an officer of the Polish troops, Arthur Pototsky, while Elizabeth continued to live with her strict mother on the estate. Gustav Olizar recalled how at one time Xavier Branicki complained that there were no good suitors for his youngest daughter:
Pototsky is looking after her, but I have both older daughters with Pototsky, and, perhaps, they will say that he gave his family ownership to this house. However, I would like my third daughter to marry a Pole as soon as possible, because after my death my wife will decide otherwise.
Alexandra Vasilievna was in no hurry to give out youngest daughter married Until the age of 26, Elizaveta lived almost constantly with her parents in Bila Tserkva, although she had been listed as a maid of honor for more than ten years.
At the beginning of 1819, Countess Branitskaya and her daughter went on a long trip around Europe, primarily to Paris. This trip became decisive in her fate

George Dow (1781-1829). Countess Elisaveta Ksaverevna Vorontsova (1792-1880) (1820)

Wigel F.F. described the story of the count’s marriage as follows:

During the days of his good agreement with Alekseev, my sister jokingly insisted that it was time for him to get married, and with great praise she spoke to him about the little Branitskaya... At that very time, Countess Branitskaya arrived in Paris, and he, under the pretext of finishing some business there went. There he saw, if not young, then very youthful, his betrothed. He couldn’t help but like her: it couldn’t be said that she was pretty, but no one except her had such a pleasant smile, and the quick, gentle look of her cute little eyes pierced right through him. In addition, Polish coquetry made its way in her through the great modesty to which her Russian mother had taught her from an early age, which made her even more attractive.

On the pages of his diary, Mikhail Vorontsov wrote:

Having escorted... the corps to the Russian border..., I returned to Paris in January 1819. There I met Countess Lisa Branicka and asked her mother for her hand in marriage. Having received consent, in February I went to London to see my father to receive his blessing for the marriage...

The wedding took place on April 20 (May 2), 1819 in Paris in the Orthodox Church, for both it was a brilliant party. Elizaveta Ksaveryevna brought her husband a huge dowry, Vorontsov’s fortune almost doubled. Alexandra Branitskaya gave all her daughters a significant dowry, so that later, according to the will, she would not divide the family estates, but would leave everything to her son Vladislav.

But still, not without hesitation, Count Vorontsov decided to marry the daughter of a Polish magnate; in his letter to Count Rostopchin F.V., the newlywed solemnly promised not to allow him to government activities not a single Pole. About the relationship between Vorontsov and Countess Alexandra Branitskaya, A. Ya. Bulgakov wrote:

Vorontsov loves as a lover. She admires her son-in-law, but he does not love her.

After the wedding, the young couple settled in Paris and led an open lifestyle there. They visited aristocratic salons, met famous European scientists, musicians, and artists. In September, the Vorontsovs left Paris and arrived in Bila Tserkva in November. Having stayed there for a short time, in December they arrived in St. Petersburg, where at the beginning of 1820 Elizaveta Ksaveryevna gave birth to a daughter, who died a few days later. K. Ya. Bulgakov wrote to his brother:

On January 31, at five o’clock, after lunch, Vorontsov’s daughter Katerina gave birth, both quickly and safely. The next day I dined with Count Mikhail Semyonovich, who was delighted; everything is going well for them... Poor Vorontsov did not enjoy the happiness of being a father for long; the child has already died. I feel sorry for Vorontsov, his wife, his old father, to whom it was written... Yesterday evening (February 3) at 6 o'clock we buried a baby in Nevsky. Pushkin, Vanisha, Loginov, Benkendorf and I went there and lowered the angel into the ground. Poor Vorontsov is extremely upset. They won’t tell his wife before ten days; It couldn't be better for her health. She was assured that she could not bring the child because it was cold in the hallway. She agreed to wait ten days. Poor mother!

In an effort to soften the bitterness of loss, the Vorontsov couple left for Moscow in June, then to Kyiv, and abroad in September. Traveling, they visited Vienna, Venice, then Milan and Verona, from Turin they came to Paris, then in mid-December to London. In June 1821, K. Ya. Bulgakov informed his brother:

Count Mikhail Semyonovich writes to me that his wife safely gave birth to a daughter on May 29 in London. She is named Alexandra. He is glad, especially since he was afraid, following the example of the first birth.

In July, the Vorontsovs attended the coronation of George IV, and then went to the Countess of Pembroke at the ancient estate of Wilton House, and then to Leamington.

Lawrence Thomas. Vorontsov Mikhail Semenovich (1821, State Hermitage Museum)

In October 1821, the Vorontsovs returned to London, having stayed there for 15 days (it was at this time that T. Lawrence completed the portrait of M. S. Vorontsov), they went to Paris for the winter, where they stayed until mid-April 1822. In the summer, the Vorontsovs returned to Russia and settled in Belaya Tserkov, where in July Elizaveta Ksaveryevna gave birth to a son, Alexander.

Pyotr Fedorovich Sokolov (1791-1848) Portrait of E.K. Vorontsova (c. 1823)

Returning to Russia, Vorontsov commanded the 3rd Infantry Corps, and on May 19, 1823, he was appointed Novorossiysk Governor-General and Plenipotentiary Governor of the Bessarabia Region. The half-virgin Novorossiysk region was waiting only for a skillful hand to develop agricultural and industrial activities in it. Vorontsov owes: Odessa - a hitherto unprecedented expansion of its trade importance and increase in prosperity; Crimea - the development and improvement of winemaking, the construction of the magnificent Vorontsov Palace in Alupka and the excellent highway bordering the southern coast of the peninsula, the breeding and multiplication of different types of grain and other useful plants, as well as the first experiments in forestry. At his initiative, an agricultural society was established in Odessa, in the works of which Vorontsov himself took an active part. One of the most important branches of Novorossiysk industry, the breeding of fine-wool sheep, also owes a lot to him. Under him, in 1828, shipping on the Black Sea began.

K.K. Gampeln. Vorontsov M.S. (1820)

On June 22 (July 4), 1823, Elizaveta Ksaveryevna was granted a Dame of Cavalry of the Lesser Cross. She arrived in Odessa to join her husband on September 6, in the last months of pregnancy, and lived in the country while the city house was being rebuilt. In October she gave birth to a son, Semyon, and in December she appeared in society.

A brilliant court of Polish and Russian aristocracy developed around the Vorontsovs. Countess Elizaveta Ksaverevna loved fun. She herself and her closest friends Countess Choiseul and Olga Naryshkina participated in amateur performances and organized the most sophisticated balls in the city. Elizaveta Ksaveryevna was an excellent musician; in Odessa she had her own portable organ and was considered one of the first performers on this instrument in Russia.

Elizaveta Ksaveryevna enjoyed success with men and was always surrounded by admirers, among whom was the poet A. S. Pushkin during his southern exile (June 1823 - July 1824).

Orest Adamovich Kiprensky (1782-1836) Portrait of Alexander Pushkin (1827, State Tretyakov Gallery)

During the governorship of Count Vorontsov in Chisinau, and then before his eyes in Odessa, Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin was in exile (1820-1824). His relationship with Vorontsov did not work out right away; the governor viewed the exiled poet primarily as an official, gave him instructions that seemed insulting to him, the count became the object of numerous caustic, although not entirely fair, epigrams from Pushkin: “They once told the tsar that finally...”, “Half my lord, half merchant... ", "The singer David is small in stature...", "I don’t know where, but not here..."; Pushkin ridicules their pride, servility (from his point of view) and Anglomania of the governor.

Among the poet's biographers there is no consensus on what role Vorontsova played in the poet's fate. It is believed that it was Vorontsova that Pushkin dedicated such poems as “The Burnt Letter”, “The Rainy Day Has Extinguished...”, “The Desire for Glory”, “The Talisman”, “Keep Me, My Talisman...”. In terms of the number of portrait drawings made with Vorontsova by Pushkin’s hand, her image surpasses all others.

A.S. Pushkin. Countess Elisaveta Ksaverevna Vorontsova (1829)

Some researchers talk about the love “quadrangle” Pushkin - Vorontsova - Vorontsov - Alexander Raevsky. The latter was a relative of Countess Vorontsova. Having received an appointment to Odessa, Raevsky, as his own man, settled in the Vorontsovs’ house. He was passionately in love with Elizaveta Ksaveryevna, was jealous of her and once caused a public scandal. But in order to ward off the count’s suspicions, he, as contemporaries testify, used Pushkin.

Count P. Kapnist wrote in his memoirs:

Pushkin served as cover for Raevsky. It was at him that the count's gaze was directed with suspicion.

For Pushkin, Vorontsova’s passion was devoid of any calculation and promised death rather than happiness. The collision in Odessa with Raevsky - with his sophisticated cunning, unexpected deceit and even outright betrayal - became one of the most severe disappointments in the poet’s life.

Apparently, it was Raevsky who “set up” a humiliating business trip for Pushkin to fight locusts in May 1824. He convinced Alexander Sergeevich to write a sharp message to Vorontsov asking for his dismissal. But Vorontsov forestalled him by sending an insidious letter to Chancellor Nesselrode.

“If Count Vorontsov had reason to be jealous, then his subsequent behavior becomes completely understandable and not as criminal as is commonly said,” says literary critic Nina Zababurova. - Naturally, he needed to remove the person who was encroaching on his family well-being... Count Vorontsov, naturally, could not help but notice the poet’s passionate feelings for his own wife. This could not but strengthen the mutual antipathy between the governor-general and the ordinary official of his office. In March 1824, Pushkin’s famous epigram “Half Milord, Half Merchant...” appeared. Apparently, by May 1824 the situation had become extremely aggravated, and in M. S. Vorontsov’s letter to Nesselrode there was undisguised irritation. It seems that his usual aristocratic restraint has betrayed him: “... I repeat my request - spare me from Pushkin: he may be an excellent fellow and a good poet, but I would not like to have him longer either in Odessa or in Chisinau...”.

The result in the summer of 1824 was the highest order to send Pushkin to the Pskov province to the estate of his parents, under the supervision of the local authorities.

Dow George (George Dawe) engraver Turner Charles. Vorontsova Elizaveta Ksaverevna (Countess) (1829, GLM)
“She was already over thirty years old,” recalls Vigel, “and she had the right to seem like the youngest. With innate Polish frivolity and coquetry, she wanted to please, and no one succeeded in doing this better than her. She was young in soul, young in appearance. She did not have what is called beauty; but the quick, tender gaze of her cute little eyes pierced right through; the smile of her lips, the likes of which I have never seen, seemed to invite kisses.”

There is an assumption that Elizaveta Ksaveryevna gave birth to a daughter, Sophia, from Pushkin on April 3, 1825. However, not everyone agrees with this point of view: as evidence, the words of V. F. Vyazemskaya, who lived at that time in Odessa and was the former “the only confidant of his (Pushkin’s) sorrows and a witness of his weakness,” are cited that the feeling that he had in At that time, Pushkin was “very chaste” towards Vorontsova. And it’s only serious on his part.”

By Lawrence (1769-1830). PORTRAIT OF COUNTESS ELIZAVETA KSAVERIEVNA VORONTSOVA (1828)

Lawrence Thomas. Elizaveta Ksaverevna Vorontsova (Countess) (Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts) The portrait was created in London during the stay of the spouses there, visiting the old Count Vorontsov, the Russian Ambassador to England

G. P. Makogonenko, who devoted an entire section to the relationship between Pushkin and Vorontsova in the book “The Work of A. S. Pushkin in the 1830s,” came to the conclusion that the novel between Vorontsova and Pushkin was “a myth created by Pushkinists.” Biographers of N. N. Pushkina, I. Obodovskaya and M. Dementyev, believe that the poet’s wife, knowing about all his hobbies, did not attach importance, despite the fact that she was very jealous, to his relationship with Vorontsova: in 1849, having met Elizabeth Ksaveryevna at one of the social evenings, she talked warmly with her and was going to introduce her to the poet’s eldest daughter Maria. It is known that Pushkin’s wife was introduced to Vorontsova in 1832.

At the end of 1833, Elizaveta Ksaveryevna, in connection with the publication of a literary almanac in Odessa for charitable purposes, turned to Pushkin with a request to send something for publication. The poet sent her several scenes from the tragedy and a letter dated March 5, 1834:

Countess, here are a few scenes from the tragedy I had in mind to write. I wanted to lay something less imperfect at your feet; Unfortunately, I have already disposed of all my manuscripts, but I preferred to offend the public rather than disobey your orders. Do I dare, Countess, to tell you about the moment of happiness that I experienced when I received your letter, at the mere thought that you had not completely forgotten the most devoted of your slaves? I remain with respect, Countess, your lowest and most humble servant. Alexander Pushkin.

No other letters from Vorontsova to Pushkin have survived.

Joseph Eduard Teltscher (1801-1837) Portrait of Countess Elisaweta Woronzowa (1792-1880) (1830)

The name of Elizaveta Ksaverevna appears in the Don Juan list. When Pushkin left Odessa on August 1, 1824, Vorontsova gave him a ring as a farewell gift. The poet’s biographer, P.I. Bertenev, who knew Vorontsova personally, wrote that she retained warm memories of Pushkin into old age and read his works every day. The memories of her youth were connected with him.

Raevsky’s romance with Elizaveta Ksaverevna had a rather long continuation. After Pushkin left Odessa, Mikhail Vorontsov’s attitude towards Alexander Raevsky remained friendly for some time. Raevsky often visited Belaya Tserkov, where Vorontsova also visited with her children. Their connection was known, and Count Vorontsov could not help but guess about it.

Portrait of Alexander Nikolaevich Raevsky (1820)

Raevsky managed to avert his suspicions for a while with the help of Pushkin. Perhaps Alexander Raevsky was the father of Elizaveta Ksaverevna’s daughter. Count Vorontsov knew that little Sophia was not his child. In his memoirs, written by him on French for his sister, Vorontsov lists all the dates of birth of the children, only he does not mention the birth of Sophia in 1825 in his notes.

At the beginning of 1826, Raevsky was arrested in Bila Tserkva on suspicion of involvement in the Decembrist conspiracy, but was soon released with an apology and returned to Odessa in the fall to be near his beloved. But Elizaveta Ksaverevna removed him from her. At the beginning of 1827, the Vorontsovs left for England to improve the health of Mikhail Semyonovich.

At the beginning of 1828 they returned to Odessa, Elizaveta Xaverien continued to avoid Raevsky. Raevsky began to act strangely and indulge in acts that were clearly indecent.

In June 1828 it broke out loud scandal. At this time, the Vorontsovs received Emperor Nicholas I and his wife in Odessa. The guests lived in the luxurious Vorontsov palace on Primorsky Boulevard. One day, Elizabeth Xaverien was heading to Empress Alexandra Feodorovna from her dacha. On the way, Vorontsova’s carriage was stopped by Alexander Raevsky, holding a whip in his hand, and began to speak insolently to her, and then shouted to her:

Take good care of our children... (or)... our daughter.

Watercolor by N.I. Alekseev. Elizaveta Ksaverevna Vorontsova (1792-1880) with her daughter Sofia Mikhailovna (1825-1879), married. Shuvalova. (late 1840s)

Raevsky considered three-year-old Sofia his child. The scandal was incredible. Count Vorontsov again lost his temper and, under the influence of anger, decided to take a step that was completely unheard of; he, the Governor-General of Novorossiya - as a private individual - filed a complaint with the Odessa police chief against Raevsky, who was not allowing his wife passage. But Vorontsov soon came to his senses. Realizing that an official complaint could make him ridiculous, he resorted to another means; three weeks later, the highest order was received from St. Petersburg for the immediate deportation of Raevsky to Poltava for talking against the government. So Raevsky parted with Vorontsova forever.

The story with Raevsky was discussed for a long time in the Moscow and St. Petersburg world. In December 1828, A. Ya. Bulgakov wrote to his brother:

My wife visited Shcherbinina yesterday, who said that Vorontsov was killed by the story of the countess you know, that he keeps everything to himself for the sake of his father and the old woman Branitskaya, but that his family happiness is lost. This saddens me excessively... I still don’t want to believe it... Who is more worthy of being happy than Vorontsov?... But this thorn for a sensitive soul like Vorontsov is terrible!

Not everything went smoothly in the Vorontsov family life. Count Mikhail Semyonovich Vorontsov had a love affair with best friend wife and mistress of the Crimean estate Miskhor Olga Stanislavovna Naryshkina, née Pototskaya (1802-1861).

Henri-François Rizener (1767-1828) Olga Stanislavovna Pototskaya (1802-1861), wife from 1824 of L.A. Naryshkin. (1820s)

In the world it was believed that Vorontsov arranged the marriage of Olga Pototskaya with his cousin in 1824 Lev Naryshkin to cover up his own affair with her. Even before marriage, Olga Pototskaya had an affair with P. D. Kiselev, married to her older sister Sophia. Sophia was never able to forgive the betrayal, although she continued to love her husband all her life, but lived separately from him.

Count Vorontsov not only took on many of the costs of maintaining Miskhor, but also paid Naryshkin’s gambling debts. In 1829, the Naryshkins had a long-awaited child, a girl named Sophia.

Paul Delaroche (1797-1856) Shuvalova Sofya Lvovna(1829-1894), daughter of L.A. Naryshkin and O.S. Pototskaya (1853), was married to (1819-1900), chamberlain

Evil tongues claimed that she was the daughter of Mikhail Vorontsov. Indeed, Sofya Lvovna Naryshkina had a much greater resemblance to Vorontsov than his own children. Portraits of Olga Stanislavovna and her daughter were always kept among Vorontsov’s purely personal belongings and even stood on the desktop of the front office of the Alupka Palace.

In 1834, Pushkin wrote in his diary what he heard from the official Ya. D. Bologovsky, who came from Odessa:

Bolkhovskoy told me that Vorontsov’s hair was washed according to a letter from Kotlyarevsky (the hero). He speaks very angrily about life in Odessa, about Count Vorontsov, about his seductive relationship with O. Naryshkina, etc. etc. — He praises Countess Vorontsova very much.

I. Solferini, Vorontsova E.K. (1834)

Having assumed the office of governor, Mikhail Vorontsov begins to buy vast lands in Crimea, especially in south coast. By 1823, he owned estates in Martyan, Ai-Danil, and Gurzuf. In 1824, Vorontsov acquired Alupka and decided to make it his summer residence. The palace in Alupka, a real castle in a romantic style, its beauty and luxury of decoration, and the magnificent park that surrounded it, were remembered with delight by everyone who had ever visited here.

Elizaveta Ksaveryevna took upon herself all the worries regarding the artistic design of the palace and park. Possessing a subtle artistic taste, brought up in the bosom of one of the most beautiful parks in Europe (Alexandria (arboretum), she tried to delve into the smallest details of the landscapes created in Alupka. In 1837, during a trip to the south of Russia, Nicholas I, Alexandra Fedorovna and their eldest daughter, Princess Maria.During an impromptu performance, which was staged in honor of the guests, Countess Vorontsova, playing the piano, replaced the orchestra

The life of the Vorontsovs in the palace on the seashore, according to Wiegel, could be compared with the life of a “ruling German duke.” The doors of their palace were wide open to local society, and not only representatives of the aristocracy and officials, but also foreign merchants and bankers were allowed to attend luxurious balls and receptions. With her constant friendliness, luxury of clothes and jewelry, Elizaveta Ksaveryevna overshadowed the former secular “queens” of Odessa, Countesses Guryeva and Langeron, and was for them “a sharp knife in the heart.”

There were many artists among the Vorontsov couple’s entourage. The Vorontsovs patronized the theater decorator A. Nannini, the architect G. Toricelli, the artist N. Cherentsov, C. Bossoli, I. Aivazovsky, G. Lapchenko, K. Galpern. They were trained at their own expense, sent abroad, and encouraged with orders and recommendations to others.

The Vorontsovs used every trip outside Russia to acquire new paintings, books, and archaeological rarities.

George Hayter (1792-1871) Portrait of Elzbieta Branicka-Woroncow (1792-1880) (1839, State Hermitage Museum)

In the fall of 1826, Vorontsov, together with Ribopierre, took part in the congress authorized representatives in Akkerman to regulate relations between Russia and the Ottoman Porte.
For the successful conduct of these negotiations with conditions favorable to Russia, he was awarded the diamond insignia of the Order of St. Alexander Nevsky.
Turkey, however, did not make the concessions demanded by the allies, and in the spring of 1828 Russia declared war on Turkey. Nicholas I orders the Russian troops stationed in Bessarabia to enter Turkish possessions, and on August 16, 1828, Vorontsov from Odessa departs for the area of ​​​​military operations near Varna. On September 29, Russian troops occupied all the bastions of the fortress, which no one could take before. For this operation, M.S. Vorontsov was awarded a gold sword studded with diamonds with the inscription: “For the capture of Varna.” During the campaign of 1829, thanks to the assistance of Vorontsov, the troops operating in Turkey continuously received the necessary supplies. The plague, brought from Turkey, did not penetrate deep into the Russian Empire, largely thanks to the energetic measures of Vorontsov.
In 1834 for tireless civil works and military merits, Count Vorontsov was awarded the Order of St. Andrew the First-Called. He became the third in the Vorontsov family to receive this highest Russian award.

Engraving by an unknown German artist, Mikhail Semenovich Vorontsov (1845-1852)

On November 27, 1844, Vorontsov, who was in Alupka, received a personal message from the emperor, in which he informed him about the aggravation of the situation in the Caucasus, where a leader had emerged among the disunited tribes, uniting everyone under his leadership.
The head of the mountaineers was Imam Shamil, a cunning and brave man who united the fanatical mountaineers under his religious authority and discovered a certain military talent in successfully waging war with the Russians.
Emperor Nikolai Pavlovich, in a letter to Vorontsov, emphasized that, due to his special respect for him, he wanted to know the count’s opinion on this matter, and only then publish the order on his appointment. Vorontsov was then 63 years old. After reading the letter, Mikhail Semenovich uttered words that contained the main meaning of the count’s life: “I would not be Russian if I dared not to go where the Tsar ordered.” So he became the commander-in-chief of the Russian troops in the Caucasus and at the same time the Caucasian governor with unlimited powers, without being freed from the administration of Novorossia and Bessarabia.
On March 7, 1845, Mikhail Semenovich left Odessa for his new destination and arrived in Tiflis two weeks later.
Arriving in Tiflis on March 25, 1845, he soon went to the left flank of the Caucasian line to take command of the troops preparing for the campaign against Shamil. After occupying Andia, which involved the greatest difficulties, the troops, under the personal leadership of Vorontsov, moved to Shamil’s temporary residence - the village of Dargo. The capture of this point and, in particular, further movement through the dense Ichkerian forests were accompanied by great dangers and huge losses. The expedition known as “Sukharnaya” or “Darginskaya”, in fact, did not achieve its goal, since Shamil safely left the village, and the village itself was burned before the Russian troops arrived. The lagging convoy was destroyed and further retreat led to the loss of most of the detachment. Here is how eyewitness writer Arnold Lvovich Zisserman responded to those events:

Anyone can imagine what impression the outcome of the entire large expedition of 1845 made on our troops, on the Christian population of Transcaucasia devoted to us and on the hostile Muslim population. There is nothing to say about the triumph of Shamil and the mountaineers. Thus, I repeat, if it had not been for Count Vorontsov, who enjoyed great trust and respect from Sovereign Nikolai Pavlovich and stood above the influence of the intrigues of even the powerful Chernyshev, his Caucasian career would probably have ended with the end of the expedition...

Nikolay Danilevsky (1822-1885). Portrait of Prince Vorontsov The Caucasus and its mountain inhabitants in their current situation (1846)

According to rumors, after returning to Tiflis, Vorontsov discovered mailbox to his office an anonymous letter with the following content:

Hey, you dog Vorontsov! May Allah break your legs, cut off your hands, blind your eyes and make your tongue dumb. You brought misfortune upon us. Because of your misfortune, five disasters fell upon us. You destroyed most of our men, driving them to the place of death. Cholera attacked us. Clouds of locusts swooped down on us and brought famine upon us. A strong earthquake occurred, which destroyed houses and some villages. And all this is because of your misfortune. We were delighted with your arrival and, rejoicing at you, we wasted three million...

However, despite the failure, for the campaign to Dargo Vorontsov was elevated to princely dignity in August 1845.

Edmund Spencer, Travels in Circassia, Krim-tartary, &c: including a steam voyage down the Danube, from Vienna to Constantinople, and round the Black sea

In 1848, two strongholds of Dagestan, the villages of Gergebil and Salty, were taken.

In the same year, through the efforts of Vorontsov and on his initiative: the Caucasian educational district was founded, the port city of Yeisk was founded.

Constant travel through unhealthy terrain broke the prince. In 1851, he fell ill with a fever, which completely undermined his strength and forced him to think about rest. At the beginning of 1852, when the 50th anniversary of Vorontsov’s military service was celebrated, the title “Most Serene” was added to his princely dignity by a rescript from Nicholas I

Lithograph from the original by K. Blaas. PORTRAIT OF COUNTESS ELIZAVETA KSAVERIEVNA VORONTSOVA (1852)
even at 60 years old, according to Sollogub, she could turn men’s heads: “Short in stature, with somewhat large and irregular features, Princess Elizaveta Ksaveryevna was nevertheless one of the most attractive women of its time. Her whole being was imbued with such soft, charming, feminine grace, such friendliness, such strict panache that it is easy to explain to yourself how people like Pushkin, and many, many others, fell madly in love with Princess Vorontsova.”
She took lively participation in the artistic life of Odessa, in the Odessa Society of Fine Arts, created in 1865, which united artists and musicians.

At the beginning of 1853, Vorontsov, feeling an extreme loss of strength, asked the sovereign to dismiss him from his post, and on March 25 (April 6) he left Tiflis.

Villevalde Bogdan Pavlovich. Prince Mikhail Semyonovich Vorontsov (1856)

Vorontsov Mikhail Semenovich (His Serene Highness Prince)

Vorontsov Mikhail Semenovich (engraving) (1856)

In the summer of 1855, Mikhail Semenovich and his wife Elizaveta Ksaveryevna moved to St. Petersburg, and in August 1856, when the coronation of Alexander II took place in Moscow, the Grand Dukes came to Vorontsov, who was sick with fever, and handed him a rescript from the emperor conferring on him the highest military rank of general - field marshal and decorated diamond field marshal's baton. But he had just over two months to live. Brought by his wife to Odessa, the Most Serene Prince, who suffered especially greatly in recent years from attacks of fever that tormented him, died on November 6 from apoplexy at the age of 75.

On November 10, the streets of Odessa were crowded with people seeing off funeral procession, heading towards the Transfiguration Cathedral. There, in the crypt, His Serene Highness Prince Mikhail Semenovich Vorontsov was buried with great honors. Odessa residents of all nationalities and religions mourned the death of a respected and beloved dignitary. Everyone remembered the generous charity of the deceased and his wife, who donated about three million rubles from their own fortune to charitable causes. For many years, stories about the simplicity and accessibility of the Supreme Governor were preserved among soldiers in the Russian troops in the Caucasus. After the death of the prince, a saying arose there: “God is high, the Tsar is far away, but Vorontsov died.”
On November 9, 1863, a monument to Vorontsov, built with donations from citizens of the Russian Empire, was inaugurated in Odessa. The first contribution to the monument construction fund in the amount of three thousand rubles was made from Emperor Alexander II’s own funds.

Monuments were erected to him in Tiflis (with funds collected from voluntary donations from the city population) and Berdyansk.

Berdyansk

Vorontsov and his wife, Elizaveta Ksaverevna Vorontsova, who died on April 15 (27), 1880, in recognition of their services to Odessa, in view of their pious lifestyle and numerous works of mercy, were buried with honors in the Transfiguration Cathedral of Odessa. However, in 1936, the cathedral was destroyed by the Bolsheviks, the grave was desecrated, and the ashes of the Vorontsovs were simply thrown into the street. At the same time, the metal capsule with the prince’s ashes was opened, and precious weapons and orders were stolen. After this, the townspeople secretly reburied Vorontsov’s remains at the Slobodskoye cemetery in Odessa.

In 2005, the city council decided to rebury the ashes of the Vorontsovs in the lower church of the revived Transfiguration Cathedral. Metropolitan Agafangel of Odessa and Izmail also gave his blessing for the transfer of the ashes of the Vorontsov spouses from the Slobodskoye cemetery. The reburial ceremony took place on November 10, 2005.

Ceremony of reburial of the remains of the Vorontsov spouses in Odessa (funeral procession; military parade; monument to M.S. Vorontsov)

M. S. Vorontsov at the Monument “1000th Anniversary of Russia” in Veliky Novgorod

1.1.2.4.4.5.1.1. Katerina (1820—1820)

1.1.2.4.4.5.1.2. Alexandra (17.05.1821 — 22.09.1830)

1.1.2.4.4.5.1.3. Alexander

1.1.2.4.4.5.1.4. His Serene Highness Prince Semyon Mikhailovich Vorontsov(1823-1882) - infantry general, participant in the Caucasian campaigns
He received his education at the Odessa Richelieu Lyceum, from which he was released in 1842 with the right to the rank of XII class and in the same year entered service in the Department of External Relations of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In 1845, he was promoted to collegiate secretary and placed at the disposal of his father, who at the same time received the post of governor of the Caucasus.

Semyon Mikhailovich Vorontsov

From the very beginning of his stay in the Caucasus, Vorontsov Jr. took part in campaigns against the highlanders and in 1846, for his distinction in the Dargin campaign, he was promoted to titular adviser with the award of the rank of chamber cadet.

On October 2, 1847, Vorontsov transferred from civil service to military service, was enlisted as a staff captain in the Preobrazhensky Life Guards Regiment and was appointed aide-de-camp. In the same year he was on business near Gergebil and Saltami and at the beginning of 1848 he was awarded the Order of St. Vladimir 4th degree with a bow. In the campaign of 1849, he also acted with distinction and was promoted to captain and almost immediately to colonel; on October 6, he was awarded a gold half-saber with the inscription “For bravery” and was subsequently appointed commander of the Kurinsky Jaeger Regiment.

On February 1, 1852, Vorontsov was awarded the Order of St. George, 4th degree (No. 8839 according to the cavalry list of Grigorovich - Stepanov)

In retribution for the distinction rendered in January 1852, in cases against the Highlanders, who were under the personal leadership of Shamil.

During the Crimean War, Vorontsov was in the ranks of the active army and repeatedly took part in affairs with the Anglo-French near Sevastopol, where he was wounded; for distinction he was awarded the Order of St. Stanislaus 1st class with swords (in 1855) and St. Vladimir 3rd degree with swords (in 1856); On December 6, 1856 he was appointed adjutant general.