Praskovya Bruce
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{{Infobox noble , name = Praskovya Bruce , title = , image = Jean Samsois - Prascovie Alexandrovna Bruce - circa 1756.jpg , caption = Portrait, {{circa, 1756 , alt = , CoA = , more = no , succession = , reign = , reign-type = , predecessor = , successor = , suc-type = , spouse = Count
James Bruce James Bruce of Kinnaird (14 December 1730 – 27 April 1794) was a Scottish traveller and travel writer who physically confirmed the source of the Blue Nile. He spent more than a dozen years in North and East Africa and in 1770 became the fir ...
, spouse-type = , issue = , issue-link = , issue-pipe = , full name = , styles = , titles = , noble family = , house-type = , father = , mother = , birth_date = 1729 , birth_place = , christening_date = , christening_place = , death_date = {{death year and age, 1785, 1729 , death_place = , burial_date = , burial_place = , religion = , occupation =
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 ...
, memorials = , url = , module = Countess Praskovya Aleksandrovna Bruce ({{langx, ru, Прасковья Александровна Брюс}; {{nee, Rumyantseva; 1729–1785) was a Russian
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 ...
and
noblewoman A noblewoman is a female member of the nobility. Noblewomen form a disparate group, which has evolved over time. Ennoblement of women has traditionally been a rare occurrence; the majority of noblewomen were linked to the nobility by either their ...
who was a confidante of
Catherine the Great Catherine II. (born Princess Sophie of Anhalt-Zerbst; 2 May 172917 November 1796), most commonly known as Catherine the Great, was the reigning empress of Russia from 1762 to 1796. She came to power after overthrowing her husband, Peter I ...
.{{Cite book , last=Craveri , first=Benedetta , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KBl5DwAAQBAJ&dq=Praskovya+Aleksandrovna+Bruce&pg=PA28 , title=The Last Libertines , date=2020-10-20 , publisher=New York Review of Books , isbn=978-1-68137-341-6 , language=en{{Cite book , last=Anderson , first=Ian G. , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TUIdAAAAMAAJ&q=Praskovya+Aleksandrovna+Bruce , title=Scotsmen in the Service of the Czars , date=1990 , publisher=Pentland Press , isbn=978-0-946270-74-3 , language=en{{Cite book , last=Walker , first=Gina Luria , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_mkiEQAAQBAJ&dq=Praskovya+Bruce&pg=PT306 , title=Memoirs of Women Writers, Part II, Volume 7 , date=2024-10-28 , publisher=Taylor & Francis , isbn=978-1-040-25030-3 , language=en


Life

{{unreferenced section, date=October 2022 Countess Praskovya Aleksandrovna Rumyantseva was born into the noble Rumyantsev family. She was the sister of Marshal Count
Pyotr Rumyantsev Count Pyotr Alexandrovich Rumyantsev-Zadunaisky (; – ) was one of the foremost Russian generals of the 18th century, and is widely considered to be one of Russia's greatest military leaders, and one of the greatest military commanders in ...
and married to Count
James Bruce James Bruce of Kinnaird (14 December 1730 – 27 April 1794) was a Scottish traveller and travel writer who physically confirmed the source of the Blue Nile. He spent more than a dozen years in North and East Africa and in 1770 became the fir ...
,
governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...
of
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 ...
. She became the lady-in-waiting of Catherine soon after Catherine's arrival in Russia in 1744 and continued in that position after Catherine's elevation to the throne in 1762. Bruce was described as an attractive woman and as the "right hand" of Catherine. Bruce was called "Brussja" by Catherine, who entrusted her with her most intimate personal affairs. Catherine said that Bruce was "the person to whom I can say everything, without fear of the consequences". Bruce was described as Catherine's closest confidante in her private affairs. Bruce is best known in history as ''l'éprouveuse'' for the role that she allegedly played in Catherine's love life. According to legend, Bruce would "test" any prospective lovers sexually before they became the lovers of Catherine after they had been suggested by
Grigory Potemkin Prince Grigory Aleksandrovich Potemkin-Tauricheski (A number of dates as late as 1742 have been found on record; the veracity of any one is unlikely to be proved. This is his "official" birth-date as given on his tombstone.) was a Russian mi ...
, chosen by Catherine and examined by a doctor. The same role has been attributed to Bruce's successor as lady-in-waiting, Anna Protasova. That is unconfirmed, and it is unknown how much truth there is, despite that being a well-reported story. Bruce played an important role in developing the relationship between Catherine and Potemkin, notably as a messenger, and played that role until the relationship was consummated in 1773. Bruce was then given the task of persuading Potemkin to leave his exile and enter a relationship with Catherine. In 1779, Catherine was directed into a room, where she witnessed her latest lover, Ivan Rimsky-Korsakov, having sex with Bruce.{{Cite book , last=dell'Isola , first=Francesco , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cQOkDwAAQBAJ&dq=Praskovya+Bruce&pg=PA33 , title=Big-(Wo)men, Tyrants, Chiefs, Dictators, Emperors and Presidents: Towards the Mathematical Understanding of Social Groups , date=2019-07-19 , publisher=Springer , isbn=978-981-13-9479-9 , language=en The person who directed her is believed to have been Aleksandra von Engelhardt, on the order of Potemkin, who wished for the removal of both Korsakov and Bruce from court. That resulted in the fall of both Korsakov and Bruce. Korsakov was sent in exile to
Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...
. Bruce soon followed him, but their relationship soon ended. She returned to her spouse and was dismissed as a lady-in-waiting and replaced by Anna Protasova (1745–1826), the cousin of Alexej Orlov, who is mentioned as ''l'éprouveuse'' in the poems of
Lord Byron George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron (22 January 1788 – 19 April 1824) was an English poet. He is one of the major figures of the Romantic movement, and is regarded as being among the greatest poets of the United Kingdom. Among his best-kno ...
.


Portrayal

Bruce was played by
Gina McKee Georgina McKee (born 14 April 1964) is an English actress. She won the 1997 BAFTA TV Award for Best Actress for '' Our Friends in the North'' (1996), and earned subsequent nominations for '' The Lost Prince'' (2003) and '' The Street'' (2007) ...
in the 2019 TV miniseries ''
Catherine the Great Catherine II. (born Princess Sophie of Anhalt-Zerbst; 2 May 172917 November 1796), most commonly known as Catherine the Great, was the reigning empress of Russia from 1762 to 1796. She came to power after overthrowing her husband, Peter I ...
''.


See also

* Maria Choglokova


References

{{Reflist * Simon Sebag-Montefiore : ''Potemkin och Katarina den stora'' (2005) * Marie Tetzlaff : ''Katarina den stora'' (1998) {{authority control {{DEFAULTSORT:Bruce, Praskovya Countesses of the Russian Empire Ladies-in-waiting from the Russian Empire 1729 births 18th-century women from the Russian Empire 18th-century people from the Russian Empire 1785 deaths Court of Catherine the Great State Ladies from the Russian Empire