Elisabeth Bagréeff-Speransky
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Elisabeth Bagréeff-Speransky (''
née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...
'' Elizaveta Mikhailovna Speranskaya; ; 5 September 1799 O.S./16 September 1799 (N.S.) – 4 April 1857) was a Russian noblewoman and writer. She was the only child of the statesman
Mikhail Speransky Count Mikhail Mikhailovich Speransky (; 12 January 1772 – 23 February 1839) was a Russian statesman and reformist during the reign of Alexander I of Russia, to whom he was a close advisor. Honorary member of the Free Economic Society (1801) a ...
and his English wife, Elizabeth Stephens. As her mother died when she was two months old, Speranskaya was raised by her grandmother Eliza (née Planta) Stephens and educated by her father. Her studies included history, composition, reading, literature, and languages – English, French, German, Italian, Latin, and Russian. In order to improve her delicate health, she spent her childhood in various places, including Saint Petersburg,
Kyiv Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...
, and
Novgorod Oblast Novgorod Oblast () is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast). Its administrative center is the city of Veliky Novgorod. Some of the oldest Russian cities, including Veliky Novgorod and Staraya Russa, are located in the oblast. The historic m ...
, but she also visited her father who was exiled from the capital from 1812 to 1821. Passing the state examination to be a home teacher in 1819, she began teaching children. In 1822, Speranskaya married Prince , the governor of the
Chernigov Governorate Chernigov Governorate was an administrative-territorial unit (''guberniya'') of the Russian Empire. It was officially created in 1802 from the disbanded Little Russia Governorate (1796-1802), Little Russia Governorate and had its capital in Cher ...
. The couple had three children, although the youngest died when two years old. They were not well-suited, as she was a charming,
salon Salon may refer to: Common meanings * Beauty salon A beauty salon or beauty parlor is an establishment that provides Cosmetics, cosmetic treatments for people. Other variations of this type of business include hair salons, spas, day spas, ...
hostess and he was somber and taciturn. Frolov-Bagreev's failure to manage his business and their personal affairs caused a split between the couple in 1838 which remained unreconciled. She sold her jewels to repay his business debts and her father had to renegotiate Frolov-Bagreev's debts to prevent the loss of their estate at in Ukraine. Speranskaya began to travel as a means of overcoming her problems, visiting European cities, including the Dutch resort of
Scheveningen Scheveningen () is one of the eight districts of The Hague, Netherlands, as well as a subdistrict () of that city. Scheveningen is a modern seaside resort with a long, sandy beach, an esplanade, a pier, and a lighthouse. The beach is popular ...
, spa villages in
Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...
, Vienna and
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in Austria,
Lucerne Lucerne ( ) or Luzern ()Other languages: ; ; ; . is a city in central Switzerland, in the Languages of Switzerland, German-speaking portion of the country. Lucerne is the capital of the canton of Lucerne and part of the Lucerne (district), di ...
in Switzerland, various places in the north of Italy. Speranskaya had begun writing in 1828, publishing stories and plays for her children and she wrote poetry on her travels. Taking over the management of Velyka Burimka in 1842, Speranskaya built schools, orphanages, a brewery and distillery, brick works, carpentry shops, factories, and mills, and reorganized the hospital. She brought in master craftsmen to train the villagers to work in these enterprises. After four years of tiring work, the death of her surviving son, and the pending marriage of her daughter, Speranskaya traveled to
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, then to
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and
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in Switzerland, and through
Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...
, Venice, and
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before making a pilgrimage to Egypt and the
Holy Land The term "Holy Land" is used to collectively denote areas of the Southern Levant that hold great significance in the Abrahamic religions, primarily because of their association with people and events featured in the Bible. It is traditionall ...
. To prevent her new son-in-law, Prince , taking over the administration of her estate, Speranskaya returned to Ukraine in 1847 and managed Velyka Burimka for the next three years until her health failed. Traveling to Vienna to seek medical treatment, she made an arrangement for her daughter and son-in-law to manage the estate and share the profits with her. Instead, they tried to sell it and managed to reduce what they owed her, knowing she was too ill to travel and contest their actions. As a distraction from her legal and physical problems, Speranskaya revived her role as hostess to a well-known salon and began to write, publishing under the surname Bagréeff-Speransky (or Bagréeff-Speranski). Between 1852 and 1857 she wrote thirty-two books, mostly in French and German. These included religious texts, travel sketches, stories of life in the
Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...
, novels, plays, and children's books. Her writing was popular with European audiences and gained favorable reviews from scholars like
Jakob Philipp Fallmerayer Jakob Philipp Fallmerayer (10 December 1790 – 26 April 1861) was a Germans, German county of Tyrol, Tyrolean traveller, journalist, politician and historian, best known for his controversial Discontinuity (Postmodernism), discontinuity the ...
and
Prosper Mérimée Prosper Mérimée (; 28 September 1803 – 23 September 1870) was a French writer in the movement of Romanticism, one of the pioneers of the novella, a short novel or long short story. He was also a noted archaeologist and historian, an import ...
. Bagréeff-Speransky died in April 1857 in Vienna. She and her father were described with unfavorable
caricature A caricature is a rendered image showing the features of its subject in a simplified or exaggerated way through sketching, pencil strokes, or other artistic drawings (compare to: cartoon). Caricatures can be either insulting or complimentary, ...
s in Count
Leo Tolstoy Count Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy Tolstoy pronounced his first name as , which corresponds to the romanization ''Lyov''. () (; ,Throughout Tolstoy's whole life, his name was written as using Reforms of Russian orthography#The post-revolution re ...
's classic novel ''
War and Peace ''War and Peace'' (; pre-reform Russian: ; ) is a literary work by the Russian author Leo Tolstoy. Set during the Napoleonic Wars, the work comprises both a fictional narrative and chapters in which Tolstoy discusses history and philosophy. An ...
'', but modern scholarship has reviewed letters exchanged by the father and daughter which disprove Tolstoy's depiction. She was included in numerous biographical lexicons in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, while in recent years interest in her life and work has been renewed.


Early life and education

Elizaveta Mikhailovna Speranskaya was born on 16 September 1799 ( N.S.) in
Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...
,
Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...
, to Elizabeth Jane (née Stephens) and
Mikhail Speransky Count Mikhail Mikhailovich Speransky (; 12 January 1772 – 23 February 1839) was a Russian statesman and reformist during the reign of Alexander I of Russia, to whom he was a close advisor. Honorary member of the Free Economic Society (1801) a ...
. Stephens was the daughter of the English woman, Eliza (née Planta) Stephens, and had moved with her mother to Russia around 1789, after the death of her father Rev. Henry Stephens. Eliza served as a governess to Countess Catherine Shuvalova, who allowed the children Elizabeth, Marianne, and Francis to live with their mother. While studying with at his summer cottage, Stephens met Mikhail Speransky in 1797. Speransky was a graduate of the and had that year entered the civil service. The couple married at the end of 1798, but Stephens died from
tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...
in November 1799, two months after their daughter's birth. Speransky was distraught over his wife's death and buried himself in his work. He sent his daughter to live with a former nurse of the Stephens family who lived along the , opposite Aptekarsky Island. He requested his mother-in-law's help in 1801, when he was promoted to serve as an "Assistant Minister of Justice, as Governor of Finland, as Privy Councillor, and as Secretary of State" to
Alexander Alexander () is a male name of Greek origin. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here ar ...
, the new
Tsar of Russia The Tsar of all Russia, formally the Sovereign, Tsar and Grand Prince of all Russia, was the title of the Russian monarch from 1547 to 1721. During this period, the state was a tsardom. The first Russian monarch to be crowned as tsar was Ivan ...
. Eliza was in
Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...
when her daughter died. Her
charge Charge or charged may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Charge, Zero Emissions/Maximum Speed'', a 2011 documentary Music * ''Charge'' (David Ford album) * ''Charge'' (Machel Montano album) * '' Charge!!'', an album by The Aqu ...
, , had married
Franz Joseph, Prince of Dietrichstein Franz Joseph, Prince of Dietrichstein (''Franz Seraph Joseph Carl Johann Nepomuc Quirin''; 28 April 1767 – 10 July 1854), was a German prince, member of the House of Dietrichstein, Major general, 8th Prince (''Fürst'') of Dietrichstein zu Nik ...
in 1797, and relocated there. In 1801, Eliza was able to return to Saint Petersburg and moved into Speransky's house to care for Speranskaya. The following year when Speranskaya's aunt Marianne married Konstantin Zlobin, Eliza's family with Speranskaya all moved into the home of Marianne's father-in-law, . Within six months the couple were having difficulties and Vasily, who was fond of his daughter-in-law suggested a temporary separation, sending Marianne and her family to
Baldone Baldone (; ) is a town in Ķekava Municipality, in the Semigallia region of Latvia. The town is famous for its sulfur water springs and was a spa resort. Viktors Arājs was born here in 1910. Gallery File:Mercendarbes muiža.jpg, Mencendarb ...
(now in Latvia) to enjoy the
sulfur water Sulfur water (or sulphur water) is a condition where water is exposed to hydrogen sulfide gas, giving it a distinct "rotten egg" smell. This condition has different purposes in culture varying from health to implications for plumbing. Chemical ...
spa there. By the time they returned in the autumn, Konstantin had abandoned the family. For more than a year, Vasily tried in vain to negotiate a reconciliation, although the couple did not divorce until 1810. The Stephens family moved back in with Speransky briefly, but because of Speranskaya's delicate health, they left Saint Petersburg for
Kyiv Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...
(now in Ukraine), where they remained until 1809. That year Speransky bought a house in Saint Petersburg near the
Tauride Garden The Tauride Garden () is a park in the Tsentralny District, Saint Petersburg, Tsentralny District of Saint Petersburg, Russia. It is located behind the Tauride Palace, and near the Smolny Cathedral. History The garden was laid out between 1783 a ...
and the family returned as Speranskaya's health had improved. Marianne died in 1811, leaving her estate Velikopolye in the
Novgorod Oblast Novgorod Oblast () is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast). Its administrative center is the city of Veliky Novgorod. Some of the oldest Russian cities, including Veliky Novgorod and Staraya Russa, are located in the oblast. The historic m ...
to her niece Speranskaya. In March 1812, after her father fell out of favor with the tsar, primarily because of his inability to cooperate or ingratiate himself with
Russian nobility The Russian nobility or ''dvoryanstvo'' () arose in the Middle Ages. In 1914, it consisted of approximately 1,900,000 members, out of a total population of 138,200,000. Up until the February Revolution of 1917, the Russian noble estates staffed ...
, he was sent into exile. He left a note for Speranskaya that she and her grandmother were to join him in
Nizhny Novgorod Nizhny Novgorod ( ; rus, links=no, Нижний Новгород, a=Ru-Nizhny Novgorod.ogg, p=ˈnʲiʐnʲɪj ˈnovɡərət, t=Lower Newtown; colloquially shortened to Nizhny) is a city and the administrative centre of Nizhny Novgorod Oblast an ...
, as soon as it could be arranged. Once they were reunited, Speransky developed an educational program for his daughter, teaching her history, composition, reading, literature, and various languages. She learned German by reading the Bible and
Friedrich Schiller Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller (, short: ; 10 November 17599 May 1805) was a German playwright, poet, philosopher and historian. Schiller is considered by most Germans to be Germany's most important classical playwright. He was born i ...
's work on
Joan of Arc Joan of Arc ( ; ;  – 30 May 1431) is a patron saint of France, honored as a defender of the French nation for her role in the siege of Orléans and her insistence on the Coronation of the French monarch, coronation of Charles VII o ...
and also studied the works of
William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
. She gained fluency in English, French, German, and Russian and learned to read Latin and write in Italian. In late summer 1812, Speransky was separated from his daughter and sent to the Siberian border near
Perm Perm or PERM may refer to: Places * Perm, Russia, a city in Russia **Permsky District, the district **Perm Krai, a federal subject of Russia since 2005 **Perm Oblast, a former federal subject of Russia 1938–2005 ** Perm Governorate, an administr ...
. Despite their separation, he continued to supervise Speranskaya's education. She and her grandmother were sent back to Saint Petersburg at the end of 1813, although they visited him from time to time at Perm and later when he was moved to Speranskaya's estate Velikopolye near
Novgorod Veliky Novgorod ( ; , ; ), also known simply as Novgorod (), is the largest city and administrative centre of Novgorod Oblast, Russia. It is one of the oldest cities in Russia, being first mentioned in the 9th century. The city lies along the V ...
. Historian Marc Raeff stated that Eliza and Speranskaya brought money for him to live on in exile, and both Raeff and
William Blackwood William Blackwood (20 November 177616 September 1834) was a Scottish publisher who founded the firm of William Blackwood and Sons. Life Blackwood was born in Edinburgh on 20 November 1776. At the age of 14 he was apprenticed to a firm of boo ...
noted that when Speransky had trouble getting missives delivered to Tsar Alexander describing his penury, Speranskaya was able to deliver a letter to the emperor, who allotted her father an annual stipend. At the beginning of 1814, Speransky requested that his daughter, whom he called Lisa or Lise, should move back to Velikopolye, where he joined her later in the year. That year, Speransky returned to government service in various provincial posts. In 1815, Speransky sent Eliza to live in Kyiv, where she died at the end of the year. Speranskaya returned to Saint Petersburg, where she resided with a family friend, Maria (née Amburger) Weikard, the wife of the Shuvalova family's physician.


Marriage and family life

Speranskaya passed the state examination to be a home teacher in 1819 and began teaching children. In 1821, Speransky returned to Saint Petersburg. Blackwood states that it was because of an inappropriate love interest between his daughter and a military officer, who historian identifies as Georg Weikard. The relationship was terminated but Speranskaya became despondent and attempted suicide. Speransky began to draft plans to reorganize the provincial governments for more efficiency and took charge of finding Speranskaya a suitable husband, hosting numerous social events to allow her the opportunity to mix with society. She became the companion of , who treated her as if she were a daughter and Speranskaya resigned herself to allow her father to choose her husband. That year, she was appointed as a
lady-in-waiting A lady-in-waiting (alternatively written lady in waiting) or court lady is a female personal assistant at a Royal court, court, attending on a royal woman or a high-ranking nobility, noblewoman. Historically, in Europe, a lady-in-waiting was o ...
to Elizabeth Alexeievna, Empress of Russia. In August 1822, Speranskaya married Prince , the governor of the
Chernigov Governorate Chernigov Governorate was an administrative-territorial unit (''guberniya'') of the Russian Empire. It was officially created in 1802 from the disbanded Little Russia Governorate (1796-1802), Little Russia Governorate and had its capital in Cher ...
. Frolov-Bagreev was the nephew of Kochubey's husband, the brother of his mother, Agrafena Pavlovna Kochubey. Initially, they lived in
Chernihiv Chernihiv (, ; , ) is a city and municipality in northern Ukraine, which serves as the administrative center of Chernihiv Oblast and Chernihiv Raion within the oblast. Chernihiv's population is The city was designated as a Hero City of Ukraine ...
, but in May 1824 the couple moved to Saint Petersburg when Frolov-Bagreev took a post in the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Empire. The couple were not well-suited, as Speranskaya's circle were intellectuals and artists while Frolov-Bagreev was a dull simpleton. He was described by Speranskaya's biographer, , as "" (selfish and distrustful), although he exhibited polite manners. He was often silent, behaving with an air of superiority and completely ignoring his wife. Speranskaya was a charismatic and charming hostess whose
salon Salon may refer to: Common meanings * Beauty salon A beauty salon or beauty parlor is an establishment that provides Cosmetics, cosmetic treatments for people. Other variations of this type of business include hair salons, spas, day spas, ...
was attended by Saint Petersburg's celebrated artists, scientists, and statesmen. Among her frequent guests were
Alexander Alexander () is a male name of Greek origin. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here ar ...
and
Karl Bryullov Karl Pavlovich Bryullov ( Bryullo; ; – ) was a Russian painter and draughtsman during the Romantic period, remembered among the greatest visual artists in the history of Russian art. Biography Karl Bryullov was born on 12 (23) December 179 ...
,
Nikolay Karamzin Nikolay Mikhailovich Karamzin () was a Russian historian, writer, poet and critic. He is best remembered for his fundamental ''History of the Russian State'', a 12-volume national history. Early life Karamzin was born in the small village of ...
,
Adam Mickiewicz Adam Bernard Mickiewicz (24 December 179826 November 1855) was a Polish poet, dramatist, essayist, publicist, translator and political activist. He is regarded as national poet in Poland, Lithuania and Belarus. He also largely influenced Ukra ...
,
Alexander Pushkin Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin () was a Russian poet, playwright, and novelist of the Romantic era.Basker, Michael. Pushkin and Romanticism. In Ferber, Michael, ed., ''A Companion to European Romanticism''. Oxford: Blackwell, 2005. He is consid ...
,
Ivan Turgenev Ivan Sergeyevich Turgenev ( ; rus, links=no, Иван Сергеевич ТургеневIn Turgenev's day, his name was written ., p=ɪˈvan sʲɪrˈɡʲe(j)ɪvʲɪtɕ tʊrˈɡʲenʲɪf; – ) was a Russian novelist, short story writer, poe ...
, and Pyotr Vyazemsky. Pushkin remained a close friend until his death. At the beginning of 1824, the couple had a son, whom they named Mikhail, and two years later, a daughter, Maria. During this time, Frolov-Bagreev had mismanaged funds at the bank and lost a large sum of money, which Speranskaya rectified by selling her jewels. In 1825, Tsar Alexander died and was succeeded after the
Decembrist revolt The Decembrist revolt () was a failed coup d'état led by liberal military and political dissidents against the Russian Empire. It took place in Saint Petersburg on , following the death of Emperor Alexander I. Alexander's brother and heir ...
by his brother,
Nicholas Nicholas is a male name, the Anglophone version of an ancient Greek name in use since antiquity, and cognate with the modern Greek , . It originally derived from a combination of two Ancient Greek, Greek words meaning 'victory' and 'people'. In ...
. Speranskaya brought an English governess to help her with the children and in 1828 published her first book, ' (''Readings for Young Children'') for them. She wrote other children's stories and short plays for them and began publishing stories anonymously in local newspapers. Her second son, Alexander, was born around 1830 but died when two-years old. In 1831, Speransky borrowed money and bought his daughter an estate, , where she raised her children. The estate covered and encompassed seven villages. Devastated by her son's death, Speranskaya left the Russian Empire for the first time in 1833 and traveled to the Dutch seaside resort of
Scheveningen Scheveningen () is one of the eight districts of The Hague, Netherlands, as well as a subdistrict () of that city. Scheveningen is a modern seaside resort with a long, sandy beach, an esplanade, a pier, and a lighthouse. The beach is popular ...
, where she wrote poetry in English and Russian. Under the arrangement agreed upon by Speransky and his son-in-law, Frolov-Bagreev was to repay the amount which had been borrowed to purchase the estate, while also managing it. Although Speranskaya created model farms, wood distribution facilities, dispensaries, and schools to ensure the welfare of her family and community, her husband's mismanagement of the estate and failure to pay even the interest on the loans for three years found them facing foreclosure. With great difficulty, an agreement was reached by 1838 to ward off the loss of the estate, but the relationship did not survive and the couple thereafter lived separately. In early 1839, Tsar Nicholas made Speransky a count and granted him an income, but he died on 23 February (O.S.). Speranskaya asked if her son could bear the name Speransky, keep the title, and as was customary, receive her father's pension for six years, but her request was denied. To prevent her estranged husband from seizing her father's estate, Speranskaya sent their son to a boarding school and in July traveled abroad with their daughter, on the pretext that she needed a spa cure. They went to
Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...
and stayed at
Bad Kissingen Bad Kissingen () is a German spa town in the Bavarian region of Lower Franconia and County town, seat of the Bad Kissingen (district), district Bad Kissingen. Situated to the south of the Rhön Mountains on the Franconian Saale, Franconia ...
and then
Bad Gastein Bad Gastein ( is a spa town in the St. Johann im Pongau District. Picturesquely situated in a high valley of the Hohe Tauern mountain range, it is known for the Gastein waterfall and a variety of grand hotel buildings. Geography Bad Gastein i ...
before wintering in
Frankfurt Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...
. They returned to the Bavarian baths in the summer of 1840. She also took short trips to England to visit her family there and to
Darmstadt Darmstadt () is a city in the States of Germany, state of Hesse in Germany, located in the southern part of the Frankfurt Rhine Main Area, Rhine-Main-Area (Frankfurt Metropolitan Region). Darmstadt has around 160,000 inhabitants, making it the ...
in Germany. Speranskaya and her daughter then visited the
Duchy of Salzburg The Duchy of Salzburg () was a Cisleithanian crown land of the Austrian Empire and Austria-Hungary from 1849 to 1918. Its capital was Salzburg, while other towns in the duchy included Zell am See and Gastein. Before becoming a crown land, Sal ...
and traveled by
steamboat A steamboat is a boat that is marine propulsion, propelled primarily by marine steam engine, steam power, typically driving propellers or Paddle steamer, paddlewheels. The term ''steamboat'' is used to refer to small steam-powered vessels worki ...
down the
Danube The Danube ( ; see also #Names and etymology, other names) is the List of rivers of Europe#Longest rivers, second-longest river in Europe, after the Volga in Russia. It flows through Central and Southeastern Europe, from the Black Forest sou ...
to Vienna. In May 1841, they left the Austrian capital and traveled to
Styria Styria ( ; ; ; ) is an Austrian Federal states of Austria, state in the southeast of the country. With an area of approximately , Styria is Austria's second largest state, after Lower Austria. It is bordered to the south by Slovenia, and cloc ...
, continuing through the
Illyrian Provinces The Illyrian Provinces were an autonomous province of France during the First French Empire that existed under Napoleonic Rule from 1809 to 1814. The province encompassed large parts of modern Italy and Croatia, extending their reach further e ...
to
Lucerne Lucerne ( ) or Luzern ()Other languages: ; ; ; . is a city in central Switzerland, in the Languages of Switzerland, German-speaking portion of the country. Lucerne is the capital of the canton of Lucerne and part of the Lucerne (district), di ...
in Switzerland and on to northern Italy. During her travels, she wrote poetry in English. They returned to Austria, staying first in
Baden Baden (; ) is a historical territory in southern Germany. In earlier times it was considered to be on both sides of the Upper Rhine, but since the Napoleonic Wars, it has been considered only East of the Rhine. History The margraves of Ba ...
and then wintering in Vienna. In answer to a letter from her husband, she advised that they might return to Saint Petersburg in the summer of 1842.


Career


Estate manager (1842–1850)

After receiving a letter from the foreman at the Velyka Burimka estate, Speranskaya decided to go there instead, as in her absence Frolov-Bagreev had once again mismanaged it and the
serfs Serfdom was the status of many peasants under feudalism, specifically relating to manorialism and similar systems. It was a condition of debt bondage and indentured servitude with similarities to and differences from slavery. It developed dur ...
were struggling. Traveling through Galicia, she and her daughter made their way through
Podolia Podolia or Podillia is a historic region in Eastern Europe located in the west-central and southwestern parts of Ukraine and northeastern Moldova (i.e. northern Transnistria). Podolia is bordered by the Dniester River and Boh River. It features ...
to
Volhynia Volhynia or Volynia ( ; see #Names and etymology, below) is a historic region in Central and Eastern Europe, between southeastern Poland, southwestern Belarus, and northwestern Ukraine. The borders of the region are not clearly defined, but in ...
and Kyiv before arriving in
Poltava Poltava (, ; , ) is a city located on the Vorskla, Vorskla River in Central Ukraine, Central Ukraine. It serves as the administrative center of Poltava Oblast as well as Poltava Raion within the oblast. It also hosts the administration of Po ...
near her estate. She found miserable conditions – starvation due to famine and bad harvests, as well as rampant disease, such as
dysentery Dysentery ( , ), historically known as the bloody flux, is a type of gastroenteritis that results in bloody diarrhea. Other symptoms may include fever, abdominal pain, and a feeling of incomplete defecation. Complications may include dehyd ...
,
scurvy Scurvy is a deficiency disease (state of malnutrition) resulting from a lack of vitamin C (ascorbic acid). Early symptoms of deficiency include weakness, fatigue, and sore arms and legs. Without treatment, anemia, decreased red blood cells, gum d ...
and
whooping cough Whooping cough ( or ), also known as pertussis or the 100-day cough, is a highly contagious, Vaccine-preventable diseases, vaccine-preventable Pathogenic bacteria, bacterial disease. Initial symptoms are usually similar to those of the common c ...
. She immediately took measures to rectify the situation bringing in wheat, meat, and vegetables and setting up child care centers and
orphanage An orphanage is a residential institution, total institution or group home, devoted to the care of orphans and children who, for various reasons, cannot be cared by their biological families. The parents may be deceased, absent, or abusi ...
s to serve children whose parents were unable to provide for them. She bought livestock to distribute to those who had lost their animals and reorganized the village hospital, which had fallen into ruin. Speranskaya finally returned to Saint Petersburg in August 1842 and was greeted by her son, who had become an officer in the
Russian Imperial Guard The Russian Imperial Guard, officially known as the Leib Guard ( ''Leyb-gvardiya'', from German ''Leib'' "body"; cf. Life Guards / Bodyguard), were combined Imperial Russian Army forces units serving as counterintelligence for preventing sabot ...
. She rented a house near her son's garrison and informed her husband that since he did not want the responsibility, she was taking control of the estate at Velyka Burimka. The expense of living in Saint Petersburg and the need to provide for her estate forced Speranskaya to sell one of her father's estates near
Penza Penza (, ) is the largest types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and administrative center of Penza Oblast, Russia. It is located on the Sura (river), Sura River, southeast of Moscow. As of the 2010 Russian census, 2010 Census, Penza had ...
and return to the south in February 1843. By hiring master craftsmen to train the local peasants as apprentices, she was able to restore the brewery and the stables, and to establish not only a brickyard, carpentry shop, distillery, forge, saltpetre factory, and a sawmill, but also
windmill A windmill is a machine operated by the force of wind acting on vanes or sails to mill grain (gristmills), pump water, generate electricity, or drive other machinery. Windmills were used throughout the high medieval and early modern period ...
s,
watermill A watermill or water mill is a mill that uses hydropower. It is a structure that uses a water wheel or water turbine to drive a mechanical process such as mill (grinding), milling (grinding), rolling, or hammering. Such processes are needed in ...
s, and a spinning mill. She created elementary schools for children and trade workshops for teenagers who were not yet ready to work in the fields or enter professions. In February 1844 her son Mikhail was transferred to a garrison near her Ukraine estate and her daughter, whom she had educated herself, was sent to live with her father to complete her education. Mikhail died a few months later, when during an expedition in the Caucasus he tried to stop two drunken soldiers from fighting and was slashed with a sword. Speranskaya's daughter returned to live with her and became engaged to Prince later in 1844. Her husband died from a stroke without the couple reconciling the following year. For a second time, she chose to travel to distract herself from distress over the loss of her son. She left Velyka Burimka in January 1846 to take a cure for
gout Gout ( ) is a form of inflammatory arthritis characterized by recurrent attacks of pain in a red, tender, hot, and Joint effusion, swollen joint, caused by the deposition of needle-like crystals of uric acid known as monosodium urate crysta ...
at Baden bei Wien. After four months in Vienna, Speranskaya spent two months in Paris and then traveled on to Brussels,
Basel Basel ( ; ), also known as Basle ( ), ; ; ; . is a city in northwestern Switzerland on the river Rhine (at the transition from the High Rhine, High to the Upper Rhine). Basel is Switzerland's List of cities in Switzerland, third-most-populo ...
, Geneva,
Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...
and Venice, before arriving in
Trieste Trieste ( , ; ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital and largest city of the Regions of Italy#Autonomous regions with special statute, autonomous region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, as well as of the Province of Trieste, ...
where her daughter was married that year on 19 November. After the wedding, Speranskaya resumed traveling, going to Egypt and
Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...
. During her absence, she hired a series of administrators to take care of the estate. Accusing one of them of mismanagement, her new son-in-law, Cantacuzène, attempted to take over as steward. To prevent him doing do, she returned to Ukraine in June 1847 and resumed management. For the next two years, Speranskaya worked to restore the profitability of Velyka Burimka but her efforts impacted her health. In July 1850, she reached an agreement with her daughter whereby the Cantacuzènes could take over the estate on condition they shared the profits, while she proceeded to Vienna to seek medical treatment.


Writer (1850–1857)

Within six months of arriving in Vienna, Speranskaya's daughter wrote to her wanting to reduce the payments due and Cantacuzène asked the emperor to allow Speranskaya to sell her estate so that she could expatriate. Although she had no intention of selling, Speranskaya was too ill to return home to fight their claims and agreed to have her income reduced. She wrote to the tsar explaining her situation and begged him to allow her to remain in Vienna. He agreed, provided the estate was not sold. Despite the tsar's intervention, she often had trouble renewing her residency permit with the Ministry of Justice in Vienna until 1854, when
Alexander Gorchakov Prince Alexander Mikhailovich Gorchakov (Russian: Алекса́ндр Миха́йлович Горчако́в; 15 July 1798 – 11 March 1883) was a Russian diplomat and statesman from the Gorchakov princely family. He has an enduring reput ...
replaced the previous minister. During this time, as a distraction from her legal and physical problems, Speranskaya began to write, using a French spelling of her married surname Bagréeff-Speransky (or Bagréeff-Speranski), sometimes rendered in English as Speransky-Bagréeff. She also revived her role as hostess to a well-known salon, often attended by notables like
Franz Grillparzer Franz Seraphicus Grillparzer (15 January 1791 – 21 January 1872) was an Austrian writer who was considered to be the leading Austrian dramatist of the 19th century. His plays were and are frequently performed at the Burgtheater in Vienna. He ...
and Betty Paoli. She traveled to Paris and various places in Germany in 1856, visiting friends like
Alfred de Falloux Alfred may refer to: Arts and entertainment *'' Alfred J. Kwak'', Dutch-German-Japanese anime television series * ''Alfred'' (Arne opera), a 1740 masque by Thomas Arne * ''Alfred'' (Dvořák), an 1870 opera by Antonín Dvořák *"Alfred (Interl ...
, Sophie Swetchine and Maria Soldan. When she returned, she offered her father's papers to the new tsar, Alexander II, who not only accepted the gift, but granted her a pension. The first of these works was ' (''Christian Meditations''), written in 1852 and published in Vienna in 1853. Before her death, Bagréeff-Speransky published thirty-two works in French, German, and Russian covering a variety of
genre Genre () is any style or form of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other fo ...
s. She wrote religious texts, travel sketches, stories of life in the Russian Empire, as well as novels, plays, and children's books. She also acted as an advisor to Korff who was preparing a biography of her father's life. Among her most popular works were ' (1853), ' (''Russian Pilgrims in Jerusalem'', 1854), ' (''The Last Hours of Emperor Nicholas'', 1855), ' (''Life in the Ukrainian Chateau'', 1857), ' (''The
Old Believer Old Believers or Old Ritualists (Russian: староверы, ''starovery'' or старообрядцы, ''staroobryadtsy'') is the common term for several religious groups, which maintain the old liturgical and ritual practices of the Russian ...
and His Daughter'', 1857), ' (''A Tunguz Family'', 1857) and ' (''The Islands of the
Neva The Neva ( , ; , ) is a river in northwestern Russia flowing from Lake Ladoga through the western part of Leningrad Oblast (historical region of Ingria) to the Neva Bay of the Gulf of Finland. Despite its modest length of , it is the fourth- ...
in Saint Petersburg'', 1858). ' told of her pilgrimage to Palestine, ' chronicled her experiences in and around Kyiv and contained a collection of short stories, and ' described the vicinity of the capital city of the
Tsardom of Russia The Tsardom of Russia, also known as the Tsardom of Moscow, was the centralized Russian state from the assumption of the title of tsar by Ivan the Terrible, Ivan IV in 1547 until the foundation of the Russian Empire by Peter the Great in 1721. ...
. ' related her experiences in Siberia and spoke of the customs of the
Evenk people The Evenki, also known as the Evenks and formerly as the Tungus, are a Tungusic people of North Asia. In Russia, the Evenki are recognised as one of the indigenous peoples of the Russian North, with a population of 38,396 ( 2010 census). In C ...
and their encounters and clashes with Christians and
Cossacks The Cossacks are a predominantly East Slavic languages, East Slavic Eastern Christian people originating in the Pontic–Caspian steppe of eastern Ukraine and southern Russia. Cossacks played an important role in defending the southern borde ...
who traveled to their traditional homelands, uprooting their nomadic lives. Her novel ''Irene'' focused on the benefits of education and was compared by Blackwood to the works by
Maria Edgeworth Maria Edgeworth (1 January 1768 – 22 May 1849) was a prolific Anglo-Irish novelist of adults' and children's literature. She was one of the first realist writers in children's literature and a significant figure in the evolution of the novel i ...
. The novella "Pokritka" ("The Evicted One"), published shortly before her death, was a tragedy about an old woman being removed from her estate. Her works were reviewed favorably by scholars like
Jakob Philipp Fallmerayer Jakob Philipp Fallmerayer (10 December 1790 – 26 April 1861) was a Germans, German county of Tyrol, Tyrolean traveller, journalist, politician and historian, best known for his controversial Discontinuity (Postmodernism), discontinuity the ...
and
Prosper Mérimée Prosper Mérimée (; 28 September 1803 – 23 September 1870) was a French writer in the movement of Romanticism, one of the pioneers of the novella, a short novel or long short story. He was also a noted archaeologist and historian, an import ...
. Mérimée said that he found her works so interesting that he wanted to visit Russia.


Death and legacy

Bagréeff-Speransky died in Vienna on 4 April 1857 from an ear infection, a severe headache, or tuberculosis, and was buried in St. Marx Cemetery. Her daughter Maria inherited the Velyka Burimka estate and lived there until her death in 1887. Celebrations in honor of the centennial of Speransky's birth were held in Saint Petersburg in 1872, and Maria, over her husband's objection, successfully asked Tsar Alexander II to have Speransky's title granted to her son, (born 1847). Mikhail married Elizabeth Sicard and their oldest son Mikhail became the husband of Julia Dent Grant, granddaughter of United States President
Ulysses S. Grant Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was the 18th president of the United States, serving from 1869 to 1877. In 1865, as Commanding General of the United States Army, commanding general, Grant led the Uni ...
in 1899. The estate was burned and looted by the
Bolsheviks The Bolsheviks, led by Vladimir Lenin, were a radical Faction (political), faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (RSDLP) which split with the Mensheviks at the 2nd Congress of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party, ...
during the
Ukrainian–Soviet War The Ukrainian–Soviet War () is the term commonly used in post-Soviet Ukraine for the events taking place between 1917 and 1921, nowadays regarded essentially as a war between the Ukrainian People's Republic and the Bolsheviks (Russian SFSR a ...
in 1918. When the area became
Soviet Ukraine The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, abbreviated as the Ukrainian SSR, UkrSSR, and also known as Soviet Ukraine or just Ukraine, was one of the constituent republics of the Soviet Union from 1922 until 1991. Under the Soviet one-party m ...
in 1919, the family fled, first to Kyiv and then abroad to
Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...
,
Malta Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...
, and eventually
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
. At the time of her death, Bagréeff-Speransky was remembered for the
memoir A memoir (; , ) is any nonfiction narrative writing based on the author's personal memories. The assertions made in the work are thus understood to be factual. While memoir has historically been defined as a subcategory of biography or autob ...
s she had published about Russia. Both she and her father were discussed in Count
Leo Tolstoy Count Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy Tolstoy pronounced his first name as , which corresponds to the romanization ''Lyov''. () (; ,Throughout Tolstoy's whole life, his name was written as using Reforms of Russian orthography#The post-revolution re ...
's classic novel ''
War and Peace ''War and Peace'' (; pre-reform Russian: ; ) is a literary work by the Russian author Leo Tolstoy. Set during the Napoleonic Wars, the work comprises both a fictional narrative and chapters in which Tolstoy discusses history and philosophy. An ...
'', (Volume II, Part III). According to scholars Raeff and Sara Dickinson, Tolstoy made an unfavorable
caricature A caricature is a rendered image showing the features of its subject in a simplified or exaggerated way through sketching, pencil strokes, or other artistic drawings (compare to: cartoon). Caricatures can be either insulting or complimentary, ...
of Speransky and depicted Bagréeff-Speransky as a lonely child, who lacked her father's attention. Raeff maintained Tolstoy's depiction of Speransky was incorrect, while Dickinson emphasized that letters exchanged between father and daughter showed that even during their periods of separation, they had a close and affectionate relationship. Dickinson noted that Bagréeff-Speransky was not included in the 1994 ''Dictionary of Russian Women Writers'' edited by Marina Ledkovsky, Charlotte Rosenthal, and Mary Zirin, possibly because she lived abroad, wrote anonymously, published infrequently, and rarely produced work in Russian. However, Bagréeff-Speransky is included in numerous earlier biographical dictionaries, such as the '' Biographical Encyclopedia of the Austrian Empire'' (1858), ''
Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary The ''Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopaedic Dictionary'' (35 volumes, small; 86 volumes, large) is a comprehensive multi-volume encyclopaedia in Russian. It contains 121,240 articles, 7,800 images, and 235 maps. It was published in the Russian Em ...
'' (1902), ''
Nordisk familjebok (, 'Nordic Family Book') is a Swedish language, Swedish encyclopedia that was published in print from between 1876 and 1993, and that is now fully available in digital form via Project Runeberg at Linköping University. The public domain edit ...
'' (1904), and the ''
Russian Biographical Dictionary The ''Russian Biographical Dictionary'' (''RBD''; ) is a Russian-language biographical dictionary published by the Imperial Russian Historical Society and edited by a collective with Alexander Polovtsov as the editor-in-chief An editor-in-c ...
'' (1901). Still earlier, Duret published ' (''A Russian Portrait'', 1867) which gave a biographical account of her life and various writings, both published and unpublished. Duret edited and posthumously published her reflections and diary, written between 1845 and her death, under the title "" ("A Woman's Book") for the first time in 1867. A review in the ' (''Magazine for Foreign Literature'', Berlin) published that year indicated that it was a work which would appeal to religious women who were self-reflective.
Daniil Mordovtsev Daniil Lukich Mordovtsev (; December 19, 1830 in Danilovka, Don Host Oblast, Russian Empire – June 23, 1905 in Kislovodsk, Russian Empire) was a Russian writer and historian. Biography Mordovtsev was born in Danilovka, Volgograd Oblast, Russi ...
included a chapter on her in his book ' (''Russian Women of Modern Times'', 1874), which covered correspondence from Bagréeff-Speransky and her father. According to Dickinson, modern scholarship is revisiting her life and works.


Selected works

* * * * * * * *


Notes


References


Citations


Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * (As both volumes number from 1, pages are denoted as 1: p# for volume 1 and 2: p# for volume 2.) * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bagreeff-Speransky, Elisabeth 1799 births 1857 deaths Writers from Saint Petersburg Philanthropists from the Russian Empire Russian women philanthropists Salon holders from the Russian Empire 19th-century women writers from the Russian Empire 19th-century women philanthropists Immigrants to the Austrian Empire Planta family People from the Russian Empire of Swiss descent