Matilda Feliksovna Kshesinskaya died in 1971, she was 99 years old. She outlived her country, her ballet, her husband, lovers, friends and enemies. The empire disappeared, wealth melted. An era passed with her: the people who gathered at her coffin saw off last way the brilliant and frivolous St. Petersburg society of which she was once an adornment.
13 years before her death, Matilda Feliksovna had a dream. The bells were ringing, church singing was heard, and the huge, majestic and amiable Alexander III suddenly appeared before her. He smiled and, holding out his hand for a kiss, said: “Mademoiselle, you will be the beauty and pride of our ballet...” Matilda Feliksovna woke up in tears: this happened more than seventy years ago, at the final exam at the theater school, - the emperor singled her out among everyone, and during the gala dinner he sat next to the heir to the throne, Tsarevich Nikolai Alexandrovich. This morning, 86-year-old Kshesinskaya decided to write her famous memoirs, but even they could not reveal the secrets of her charm.
There are women to whom the word “sin” does not apply: men forgive them everything. They manage to maintain dignity, reputation and a veneer of purity in the most incredible situations, smilingly stepping over public opinion, - and Malya Kshesinskaya was one of them. A friend of the heir to the Russian throne and his uncle’s mistress, the permanent mistress of the Imperial Ballet, who changed theater directors like gloves, Malya achieved everything she wanted: she became the legal wife of one of the grand dukes and turned into the Most Serene Princess Romanova-Krasinskaya. In Paris in the fifties, this no longer meant much, but Matilda Feliksovna desperately clung to her title: she spent her life trying to become related to the House of Romanov.
And first there was her father’s estate, a large light log house and a forest, where she picked mushrooms, fireworks on holidays and light flirting with young guests. The girl grew up nimble, big-eyed and not particularly pretty: vertically challenged, with a sharp nose and a squirrel chin - old photographs are not able to convey her living charm.
According to legend, Mali’s great-grandfather, in his youth, lost his fortune, the title of count and the noble surname Krasinsky: having fled to France from assassins hired by his villainous uncle, who dreamed of taking over
title and wealth, having lost the papers certifying his name, the former count became an actor - and subsequently became one of the stars of Polish opera. He lived to be one hundred and six years old and died of acne due to an improperly heated stove. Mali's father, Felix Yanovich, an honored dancer of the Imperial Ballet and the best mazurka performer in St. Petersburg, did not reach eighty-five. Malya took after her grandfather - she also turned out to be a long-liver, and like her grandfather, she also had a lot to do vitality, will and acumen. Soon after the prom, an entry appeared in the diary of the young ballerina of the imperial stage: “But still, he will be mine!”
These words, which had a direct bearing on the heir to the Russian throne, turned out to be prophetic...
Before us is an 18-year-old girl and a 20-year-old young man. She is lively, lively, flirtatious, he is well-mannered, delicate and sweet: huge blue eyes, a charming smile and an incomprehensible mixture of gentleness and stubbornness. The Tsarevich is unusually charming, but it is impossible to force him to do what he does not want. Malya performs at the Krasnoselsky Theater - summer camps are set up nearby, and the hall is filled with officers of the guards regiments. After the performance, she flirts with the guards crowding in front of her dressing room, and one fine day the Tsarevich turns out to be among them: he is serving in the Life Hussar Regiment, a red dolman and a gold-embroidered mentic are deftly sitting on him. Malya shoots her eyes, jokes with everyone, but it is addressed only to him.
Decades will pass, his diaries will be published, and Matilda Feliksovna will begin to read them with a magnifying glass in her hands: “Today I visited little Kshesinskaya... Little Kshesinskaya is very sweet... Little Kshesinskaya positively interests me... We said goodbye - I stood at the theater tormented by memories ".
She grew old, her life came to an end, but she still wanted to believe that future emperor was in love with her.
She was with the Tsarevich for only a year, but he helped her every day.
life - over time, Nikolai turned into a wonderful, ideal memory. Malya ran out onto the road along which the imperial carriage was supposed to pass, and was overcome with emotion and delight when she noticed him in the theater box. However, all this was ahead; in the meantime, he made eyes at her behind the scenes of the Krasnoselsky Theater, and she wanted to make him her lover at all costs.
What the Tsarevich thought and felt remained unknown: he never confided in his friends and numerous relatives and did not even trust his diary. Nikolai began to visit Kshesinskaya’s house, then bought her a mansion, introduced her to his brothers and uncles - and a cheerful company of grand dukes often visited Mala. Soon Malya became the soul of the Romanov circle - friends said that champagne flowed in her veins. The most despondent of her guests was the heir (his former colleagues said that during regimental holidays, Niki managed, after sitting at the head of the table all night, not to utter a word). However, this did not upset Malya at all, she just couldn’t understand why he constantly tells her about his love for Princess Alice of Hesse?
Their relationship was doomed from the very beginning: the Tsarevich would never offend his wife by having an affair on the side. At parting, they met outside the city. Malya prepared for the conversation for a long time, but was unable to say anything important. She only asked permission to continue to be on a first-name basis with him, to call him “Nicky” and to ask for help if necessary. Matilda Feliksovna rarely used this precious right; moreover, at first she had no time for special privileges: having lost her first lover, Malya fell into severe depression.
The Tsarevich married his Alice, and cavalry guards and horse guards in gold and silver armor, red hussars, blue dragoons and grenadiers in high fur hats rode along the Moscow streets, walkers dressed in gilded liveries walked, courtiers rolled
ety. When the crown was placed on the young woman’s head, the Kremlin lit up with thousands of light bulbs. Malya didn’t see anything: it seemed to her that happiness was gone forever and life was no longer worth living. Meanwhile, everything was just beginning: next to her there was already a man who would take care of her for twenty years. Having parted with Kshesinskaya, Nikolai asked his cousin, Grand Duke Sergei Mikhailovich, to look after Malya (ill-wishers said that he simply handed her over to his brother), and he immediately agreed: a connoisseur and great connoisseur of ballet, he had long been in love with Kshesinskaya. Poor Sergei Mikhailovich did not suspect that he was destined to become her squire and shadow, that because of her he would never start a family and would be happy to give her everything (including his name), and she would prefer someone else to him.
Malya, meanwhile, was getting a taste for social life and quickly making a career in ballet: ex-girlfriend Emperor, and now his brother's mistress, she, of course, became a soloist and chose only those roles that she liked. “The case of fags,” when the director of the imperial theaters, the all-powerful Prince Volkonsky, resigned due to a dispute about a suit Mala did not like, further strengthened her authority. Malya carefully cut out reviews that spoke about her refined technique, artistry and rare stage presence and pasted them into a special album - it would become her consolation during emigration.
The benefit performance was reserved for those who had served in the theater for at least twenty years, but for Mali it took place in the tenth year of service - the stage was littered with armfuls of flowers, the audience carried it to the carriage in their arms. The Ministry of the Court gave her a wonderful platinum eagle with diamonds on a gold chain - Malya asked to tell Niki that an ordinary diamond ring would greatly upset her.
On tour to Moscow, Kshesinskaya traveled in a separate carriage; her jewelry cost about two million rubles. After working for about fifteen years, Malya left the stage. Magnificently celebrated her
leaving with a farewell benefit performance, and then returned - but not to the staff and without concluding a contract... She danced only what she wanted and when she wanted. By that time she was already called Matilda Feliksovna.
Along with the century, the old life was ending - the revolution was still quite far away, but the smell of decay was already in the air: in St. Petersburg there was a suicide club, group marriages became commonplace. Matilda Feliksovna, a woman of impeccable reputation and unshakable social position, managed to derive considerable benefit from this.
She was allowed everything: to feed platonic love to Emperor Nicholas, to live with his cousin, Grand Duke Sergei Mikhailovich, and, according to rumors (most likely they were true), to be in a love affair with another Grand Duke - Vladimir Alexandrovich, who was old enough to be her father.
His son, young Andrei Vladimirovich, cute as a doll and painfully shy, became second (after Nikolai) great love Matilda Feliksovna.
It all started during one of the receptions in her new mansion, built with the money of Sergei Mikhailovich, who was sitting at the head of the table - there were few such houses in St. Petersburg. Shy Andrei inadvertently knocked a glass of red wine onto the hostess’s luxurious dress. Malya felt that her head was spinning again...
They walked in the park, sat for a long time in the evenings on the porch of her dacha, and life was so beautiful that it made sense to die here and now - the future could only spoil the unfolding idyll. All her men were involved: Sergei Mikhailovich paid Malina’s bills and defended her interests before the ballet authorities, Vladimir Alexandrovich ensured her a strong position in society, Andrei reported that when the emperor left his summer residence for a walk, Malya immediately ordered the horses to be pawned and drove up towards the road, and beloved Nicky respectfully saluted her...
She soon became pregnant; the birth was successful, and four
The Raspberry men showed touching care for little Volodya: Niki gave him the title of hereditary nobleman, Sergei Mikhailovich offered to adopt the boy. Sixty-year-old Vladimir Alexandrovich also felt happy - the child looked like the Grand Duke like two peas in a pod. Only Vladimir Alexandrovich’s wife was very worried: her Andrei, a pure boy, had completely lost his head because of this minx. But Maria Pavlovna bore her grief as befits a lady of royal blood: both men (husband and son) did not hear a single reproach from her.
Meanwhile, Malya and Andrei went abroad: the Grand Duke gave her a villa on Cap d'Ail (a few years ago she received a house in Paris from Sergei Mikhailovich). The chief inspector of artillery took care of her career, nursed Volodya and increasingly faded into the background: Malya fell head over heels in love with her young friend; she transferred to Andrei the feelings that she once felt for his father. Vladimir Alexandrovich died in 1909. Malya and Andrei grieved together (Maria Pavlovna shuddered when she saw the scoundrel in a perfectly tailored funeral dress that was beautiful to her). By 1914, Kshesinskaya was Andrei’s unmarried wife: he appeared with her in society, she accompanied him to foreign sanatoriums (the Grand Duke suffered from weak lungs). But Matilda Feliksovna did not forget about Sergei Mikhailovich either - several years before the war, the prince hit on one of the grand duchesses, and then Malya politely but persistently asked him to stop the disgrace - firstly, he was compromising her, and secondly, she was unpleasant look at this. Sergei Mikhailovich never married: he raised little Volodya and did not complain about his fate. Several years ago, Malya excommunicated him from the bedchamber, but he still continued to hope for something.
First World War did not harm her men: Sergei Mikhailovich had too high ranks to get to the front line, and Andrei, due to his weak
On health he served at the headquarters of the Western Front. But after February Revolution she lost everything: the Bolshevik headquarters were located in her mansion - and Matilda Feliksovna left home in what she was wearing. She put some of the jewelry that she managed to save in the bank, sewing the receipt into the hem of her favorite dress. This did not help - after 1917, the Bolsheviks nationalized all bank deposits. Several pounds of silverware, precious items from Faberge, diamond trinkets donated by fans - everything went into the hands of the sailors who settled in the abandoned house. Even her dresses disappeared - later Alexandra Kollontai sported them.
But Matilda Feliksovna never gave up without a fight. She filed a lawsuit against the Bolsheviks, and he ordered the uninvited guests to vacate the owner’s property in as soon as possible. However, the Bolsheviks never moved out of the mansion... The October Revolution was approaching, and the girlfriend of the former emperor, and now citizen Romanov, fled to the south, to Kislovodsk, far from the Bolshevik outrages, where Andrei Vladimirovich and his family had moved a little earlier.
Before leaving, Sergei Mikhailovich proposed to her, but she rejected him. The prince could have left with her, but chose to stay - he had to settle the matter with her contribution and look after the mansion.
The train started moving, Malya leaned out of the compartment window and waved her hand - Sergei, who did not look like himself in a long baggy civilian coat, hastily took off his hat. This is how she remembered him - they would never see each other again.
Maria Pavlovna and her son had settled in Kislovodsk by that time. The power of the Bolsheviks was almost not felt here - until a detachment of Red Guards arrived from Moscow. Requisitions and searches began immediately, but the grand dukes were not touched - they were not afraid of the new government and were not needed by its opponents.
Andrey chatted pleasantly with the commissars, and they kissed Male’s hands. The Bolsheviks turned out to be quite friendly people: when the city council of Five
Gorsk arrested Andrei and his brothers, one of the commissars repelled the grand dukes with the help of the highlanders and sent them out of the city with forged documents. (They said that the Grand Dukes were traveling on instructions from the local party committee.) They returned when Shkuro’s Cossacks entered the city: Andrei rode up to the house on horseback, wearing a Circassian coat, surrounded by guards from the Kabardian nobility. In the mountains, his beard grew, and Malya almost burst into tears: Andrei resembled the late emperor like two peas in a pod.
What happened next was like a protracted nightmare: the family fled from the Bolsheviks to Anapa, then returned to Kislovodsk, then went on the run again - and everywhere they were caught up with letters sent from Alapaevsk from Sergei Mikhailovich, who was killed several months ago. In the first, he congratulated Raspberry's son Volodya on his birthday - the letter arrived three weeks after they celebrated it, on the very day when it became known about the death of the Grand Duke. The Bolsheviks threw all the members of the Romanov dynasty who were in Alapaevsk into a coal mine - they died for several days. When the whites entered the city and the bodies were raised to the surface, a small gold medallion with a portrait of Matilda Feliksovna and the inscription “Malya” was clutched in Sergei Mikhailovich’s hand.
And then emigration began: a small dirty steamer, an Istanbul hairspray and a long journey to France, to the Yamal villa. Malya and Andrey arrived there penniless and immediately mortgaged their property - they had to dress up and pay the gardener.
After Maria Pavlovna died, they got married. The locum tenens of the Russian throne, Grand Duke Kirill, gave Mala the title of His Serene Highness Princess Romanova-Krasinskaya - this is how she became related to the Bulgarian, Yugoslav and Greek kings, the kings of Romanian, Danish and Swedish - the Romanovs were related to all European monarchs, and Matilda Feliksovna happened to be invited for royal dinners. He and Andrey to uh
About time we moved into a tiny two-room apartment in the poor Parisian district of Passy.
Roulette took the house and villa: Matilda Feliksovna played big and always bet on 17 - her lucky number. But it did not bring her luck: the money received for houses and land, as well as the funds that were obtained for Maria Pavlovna’s diamonds, went to the croupier from the Monte Carlo casino. But Kshesinskaya, of course, did not give up.
Matilda Feliksovna's ballet studio was famous throughout Europe - her students were the best ballerinas of the Russian emigration. After classes, Grand Duke Andrei Vladimirovich, dressed in a worn jacket frayed at the elbows, walked around the rehearsal hall and watered the flowers that stood in the corners - this was his household duty, they did not trust him with anything else. And Matilda Feliksovna worked like an ox and did not leave the ballet barre even after Parisian doctors found inflammation in her leg joints. She continued to study, overcoming terrible pain, and the disease subsided.
Kshesinskaya far outlived her husband, friends and enemies - if fate had allowed her another year, Matilda Feliksovna would have celebrated her centenary.
Shortly before her death she saw again a strange dream: drama school, a crowd of students in white dresses, rain raging outside the windows.
Then they sang “Christ is Risen from the Dead,” the doors opened, and Alexander III and her Nicky entered the hall. Malya fell to her knees, grabbed their hands - and woke up in tears. Life passed, she got everything she wanted - and lost everything, realizing in the end that none of it mattered.
Nothing except the notes that a strange, withdrawn, weak-willed young man made in his diary many years ago:
"Saw little M again."
“I was at the theater - I really like little Kshesinskaya.”
“Farewell to M. - I stood at the theater, tormented by memories...”
Source of information: Alexey Chuparron, magazine "CARAVAN OF STORIES", April 2000.
In October of this year, viewers expect the premiere of the best-selling film “Matilda” (Kshesinskaya). The film by Teacher Alexey was shot in the genre of historical melodrama. Its main character is the favorite of the Russian Tsarevich Nikolai Alexandrovich in 1892-1894, prima ballerina Mariinsky Theater.
The public expects the show to be an event in cultural life countries. The film's budget is $25 million. More than 5,000 costumes were made for filming. The script was written by Russian writer Alexander Terekhov, laureate of the “Big Book” and “National Bestseller” competitions. The role of Nicholas II is played by German actor Lars Eidinger, who gives a sensational interpretation of Shakespeare's Richard III and Hamlet. The role of Kshesinskaya will be played by twenty-four-year-old Polish actress Michalina Olshanskaya.
The official trailer posted on the Internet presents the upcoming film as the main Russian historical blockbuster of 2017. The catchy advertisement does not skimp on epithets: “the secret of the House of Romanov,” “the love that changed Russia.” Filmmakers are trying to create maximum intrigue around this premiere.
And they seem to be succeeding. The Russian viewer was interested in the person who became the prototype main character paintings. Many wondered what she really was like, Matilda Kshesinskaya.
Controversial personality
Did Kshesinskaya’s love, as the film interprets it, really “change the history of Russia”? For the sake of objectivity, it should be said that for Nicholas II she was only the subject of a brief affair in her youth. Let's be honest: Kshesinskaya, who lived according to the principles of Madame Pompadour, as a person was not worth a candle to the sovereign.
The emperor was a deep, tragic person. He loved his wife Alexandra until his very end, adored his four daughters and sick son Alexei. He, an intelligent and gentle man, inherited huge problems in the country that he could not cope with. The brutal murder of him and his entire family ended the path of the earthly sovereign.
So who is she, the beautiful, slender, charming woman looking at us from the portraits? Is the angel what he seems? The last director of the imperial theaters, Vladimir Telyakovsky, wrote about her objectively: “an extraordinary, technically strong, but morally impudent, insolent, cynical ballerina, living with two great princes at once...”.
Matilda's appearance
Matilda Kshesinskaya was distinguished by her miniature and surprisingly well-cut figure. The ballerina's height - 1 meter 53 centimeters - undoubtedly contributed to the self-affirmation of the man standing next to her. Russian Emperor, undoubtedly, also instinctively felt her feminine fragility. According to the recollections of contemporaries, in her youth the girl was unusually lively and cheerful, she seemed as mobile as mercury, and had a light and cheerful disposition.
In a circle of mostly thin Mariinsky ballerinas feminine beauty and Matilda Kshesinskaya was especially distinguished by her proportional forms. She weighed slightly more than her colleagues, but not significantly.
Childhood, youth
The heroine of this article was born in acting family Russified Poles on August 19, 1872. Her dad, Felix Kshesinsky, danced on the stage of the Mariinsky Theater. The father of the future prima had European fame as an unsurpassed mazurka dancer. It was as a performer of his favorite dance that Emperor Nicholas I discharged him from Warsaw. The mother of the future prima, Julia Dominskaya, was a remarkable woman in her own way. She married Felix Kshesinsky, already having five children, and then gave birth to three more. Matilda was the youngest.
From the age of eight, my father gave youngest daughter student at the ballet school. In addition to Malechka (that’s what her family called her), dance was also done by her elder sister- Yulia Kshesinskaya. Matilda graduated from the Imperial School theatrical arts. She had a decent ballet education. The girl was given lessons by well-known teachers in Europe:
- choreographer of the Mariinsky Theater Lev Ivanovich Ivanov, famous for his classic productions of “The Nutcracker” and “Swan Lake”;
- dancer and teacher Christian Joganson, who stayed in Russia out of love, leading dancer of the Stockholm Royal Opera (before Marius Petipa best performer male ballet parts);
- prima of the Mariinsky Theater Ekaterina Vazem, trained in ballet by the French dancer E. Huguet.
Attended the college graduation exam imperial family. Alexander III then singled her out among her fellow students. During the gala dinner, the monarch seated Matilda, frozen with happiness, next to Tsarevich Nicholas. Obviously, this was no accident. Perhaps it was the will of Emperor Alexander III, who singled her out among the graduates of the school, for his son to become a man before the wedding.
Matilda Kshesinskaya understood perfectly well: ballet dancers have always been loved by the powers that be. And she didn't miss her chance at the prom.
Theater ballerina
Upon completion of her studies in 1890, ballerina Matilda Kshesinskaya was accepted into the troupe of the Mariinsky Theater. At first, the actors called the new girl Kshesinskaya the second, since Kshesinskaya the first was her older sister.
In her first season, she took part in 21 operas and 22 ballets. However, this demand was explained not only by talent. Tsarevich Nicholas wanted to see the ballerina on stage.
Continuing acquaintance with the Tsarevich
The spectacular Matilda Kshesinskaya managed to interest the emperor even at the prom. And as a result, their romance lasted for two years.
And on the day of their first meeting, Matilda Kshesinskaya and Nikolai were spinning in a waltz. The twenty-year-old Tsarevich undoubtedly felt that the dance and this young girl were one whole. As if flying home on wings, his dance partner poured out her impressions in her diary. The text ended with a phrase regarding the heir to the Russian throne: “He will be mine anyway!”
The second time, Malya found the opportunity to meet the Tsarevich while performing at the Krasnoselsky Theater. Guards camps were set up near him, where the Tsarevich served in the Life Hussar Regiment.
At the end of the performances, the dancer made it a rule to flirt with the young officers. One day Nikolai found himself between them. He was literally charmed by the radiant, magnificent Matilda Kshesinskaya. The photos given in the article can confirm this impression.
The emperor clearly sympathized with the girl; an entry appeared in his diary: “Champagne flows in her instead of blood.”
The serious relationship between the crown prince and the ballerina began after Nicholas, in the uniform of a life hussar, came to her house incognito, calling himself Volkov. Then he gave the girl a gold bracelet with precious stones. It is noteworthy that for the time being their love was completely approved by their family. In particular, the Tsarevich bought gifts for Matilda, taking money from a separate family fund.
And soon Matilda Kshesinskaya lived in her own mansion. The memoirs of Grand Duke Sergei Mikhailovich testify that this house became a place of fun and young pranks of the Romanov men. The little girl attracted them all like a magnet. Did you know what was happening in former house Rimsky-Korsakov on English Avenue, Alexander III? Without a doubt!
Kshesinskaya and theater
For Kshesinskaya, the Mariinsky Theater was not the holiday that it seemed to Tsarevich Nicholas. For her, he was associated with intrigue and the struggle for life. After all, on the same stage with her, who came and went, danced one of the best ballerinas of the 20th century, Anna Pavlova, as well as the famous prima with filigree technique, Yulia Sedova.
We must pay tribute to Matilda’s hard work. Not having Pavlova's talent, the ballet dancer through persistent training achieved recognized purity of movements. She was the first among Russian ballerinas to perform thirty-two fouettés in a row, for which she took private lessons in complex rotations and finger techniques from the Italian choreographer Enrico Cecchetti.
Kshesinskaya Matilda on the stage of the Mariinsky Theater performed the ballet roles of Odette-Odile (Swan Lake), the Sugar Plum Fairy (The Nutcracker), Princess Aurora (The Sleeping Beauty), Nikia (La Bayadère).
The ballerina’s idol was the Italian prima Virginia Zucchi, who danced with her on the same stage for several years. This Italian woman received applause as soon as she appeared on stage; Chekhov mentioned her name in his stories, and Stanislavsky highly appreciated the Italian woman’s dramatic style of dancing. However, Matilda, unlike Virginia, did not intend to devote her entire life to ballet.
In 1896, Matilda Kshesinskaya became a prima ballerina of the imperial theaters. This is the top of the Russian ballet hierarchy. The objectivity of such an assessment remains controversial. The choreographer of the Mariinsky Theater, Marius Petipa, also disagreed with her. However, he could only bow his head to the will of the august persons in whose circle Matilda moved.
How Kshesinskaya prepared for performances
Matilda was talented and disciplined in her own way. She always separated her theatrical and personal life. She performed infrequently, but at the height of the season. A month before the performance, the ballerina devoted herself entirely to the gym, without taking anyone, went to bed early, followed a diet, and controlled her weight. Before the performance, I lay in bed for 24 hours, taking only a light breakfast. Two hours before the performance, Matilda arrived at the theater for makeup.
But the dancer allowed herself long breaks. She loved gambling with cards. She was always laughing and cheerful. According to the memoirs of the Mariinsky ballerinas, sleepless nights did not spoil her appearance.
Diamond Ballerina
But after a couple of years, Kshesinskaya began to abuse high patronage. Matilda even danced as a beggar woman wearing diamond earrings and a pearl necklace. She always appeared before the audience in a new fashionable dress and combed in a Parisian style. The ballerina sparkled on stage with diamonds and sapphires - gifts from men from the Romanov family.
One day, the director of the Imperial Council of Theaters, Volkonsky, even fined Kshesinskaya for ignoring his order to act in a special costume. She complained, and a few days later the Minister of the Household canceled the fine.
After this, Prince Volkonsky resigned. This momentary victory outraged the Russian theater world, because Volkonsky was respected by the artists.
Could the Mariinsky's choreographer, Maurice Petipa, argue with an influential favorite who fired his minister? The last director of the Imperial Theaters, Telyakovsky, later wrote in his memoirs that ballet for her was not a way of life, but a means of gaining influence.
Supported by the imperial family, Kshesinskaya acted as if the repertoire of the Mariinsky Theater belonged to her. She appointed artists to roles, and completely deprived those who were undesirable of the opportunity to dance.
Her name was in the first lines of the posters, but strangely it turned out to be in no way connected with the Great Ballet productions. Petipa staged several performances especially for Kshesinskaya: “The Awakening of Flora”, “The Seasons”, “Harlequinade”, “La Bayadère”.
In the last performance on the list, the choreographer condescended to have Matilda assisted by artists above her class: Anna Pavlova, Mikhail Fokin, Yulia Sedova, Mikhail Obukhov. From a ballet point of view, this was absurd.
Will the October blockbuster reflect the fact that prima Matilda Kshesinskaya actually failed the performances of “The Mikado’s Daughter” and “The Magic Mirror”? The film will most likely remain silent about this.
About Kshesinskaya’s relationship with the Romanovs
The date of Nikolai's engagement to Alice of Hesse - April 7, 1894 - became the point of no return in the relationship between the ballerina and Nikolai. They parted as friends; she was allowed to address him as “you” in her letters. The Emperor also generously promised to help the ballerina in everything she asked. Did Matilda Kshesinskaya suffer from a breakup with the main groom of Russia? A photo of her smiling in the company of her next lover, Grand Duke Sergei Mikhailovich, will be the answer. Nicholas I entrusted his retired mistress to the care of his cousin.
In 1902, the son of Matilda Kshesinskaya, Vladimir, was born, whose paternity remains controversial to this day. At her benefit performance at the Mariinsky Theater, the master of fouetté began an affair with Grand Duke Andrei Vladimirovich, and turned the latter’s head so that he behaved inappropriately for the Romanov family.
The fate of Grand Duke Sergei Mikhailovich, shot near Sverdlovsk by the Bolsheviks and thrown into a mine without burial, is unenviable. During his lifetime, Kshesinskaya turned him into her shadow, a squire, and then abandoned him. Poor Sergei Mikhailovich did not start a family until the end of his days.
It is noteworthy that the patronymic of the ballerina’s son Vladimir was Sergeevich until he was ten years old, then he became Andreevich.
Benefit
In 1900, in honor of Kshesinskaya, who devoted only ten years of her life to the stage, the Mariinsky Theater gave a benefit performance. Although according to theatrical rules, for this it was necessary to dance twice as long. The Ministry of the Court presented her with a platinum eagle with diamonds on a gold chain (Malya told Niki that the usual ring for these occasions would upset her).
In 1904, Kshesinskaya resigned from the Mariinsky, signing a contract with him to participate in individual performances. She knew how to keep herself in shape.
If we judge “in ballet terms,” then Kshesinskaya left the big ballet prematurely. Temptation rich life took her away from art. In 1908, she was persuaded to perform as a guest ballerina, and Matilda successfully toured the Grand Opera (Paris), demonstrating her 32 fouettés to the public. According to experts, this was the peak of her form.
Here she begins an affair with the artist Vladimirov, which ends in his duel with Grand Duke Andrei Vladimirovich.
Kshesinskaya's ambitions
Malya, feeling that she pulled out happy ticket in life, she lived large. There was a running joke in St. Petersburg that most of items from the Romanov court jeweler Faberge eventually end up in her box.
The fact remains: from a poor dancer she turned into richest woman in Russia. Matilda Kshesinskaya, whose biography contains more questions about this than answers, clearly had more than the salary of the Mariinsky prima and even the gifts of Tsarevich Nicholas allowed her.
It is significant that in 1984 Kshesinskaya acquired a palace in Strelna, overhauled it and even electrified it by building a private power station. In the spring of 1906, she built herself a palace on Kronverksky Avenue. In its design, according to the ballerina’s plan, all European architectural trends alternate, but the Russian Empire style dominates Louis XVI. The palace is furnished and lit according to the Paris catalogue.
The question of where such significant investments were taken from, apparently, could be answered by her lover, Grand Duke Sergei Mikhailovich, who had access to the Russian military budget. This is not an unfounded accusation. In the diary of the Grand Duke, researchers found his complaint that Kshesinskaya’s appetites were preventing him from purchasing provisions.
The decline of Kshesinskaya's life
Matilda was a caliph for an hour, a lady who dreamed of wealth and found it from rich lovers. She was a gambler throughout her life; in the casino she was nicknamed “Madame 17” for her frequent bets on this number. She was hated by the Russian theater world for her intrigue. If it were possible to create such scales, on one side of which we put her achievements in art, and on the other - the damage she caused to the ballet of Russia and the authority of the royal house, then the second scale would confidently pull down.
After the revolution, its palaces were looted. And on February 19, 1920, Kshesinskaya sailed to Istanbul on the Semiramida liner. In 1921, she married Grand Duke Andrei Vladimirovich. She was given the title of Most Serene Princess Romanowska-Krasinskaya. The husband recognized her son Vladimir as his relative. IN controversial situation, thanks to the ballerina’s influence on the sovereign, the son received a noble title and the supposedly returned surname of his bankrupt ancestors - Krasinsky.
In 1929, Matilda Kshesinskaya opened her ballet studio in Paris, which enjoyed great success. People even flew there from overseas to study. And the ballerina died at the age of 99. She was buried in the Russian cemetery of Saint-Genevier in Paris.
Conclusion
What was she like? The richest ballerina in Russia, Matilda Kshesinskaya? The film, which will be released this fall, will try to instill in us: passionate, romantic.
It should be admitted that the Russian lady of Polish origin had ballet talent, but was not eager to write her name in the history of art. Social life was more important to her. Ballet was only a means to attract the attention of crowned persons. Matilda lived not by the impulses of her soul, but by calculation and intrigue, trampling upon decency. Having secured the support of the sovereign, she arranged a comfortable, but ignoble life for herself, having affairs with two grand dukes at the same time, taking out the government money available to them from each.
Famous prima ballerina
She was the mistress of Emperor Nicholas II and two Grand Dukes, and later became the wife of Andrei Vladimirovich Romanov. Such women are called fatal - she used men to achieve her goals, weaved intrigues, and abused personal connections for career purposes. She is called a courtesan and seductress, although no one disputes her talent and skill.
Matilda's parents Julia and Felix Kshesinsky Maria-Matilda Krzezinska was born in 1872 in St. Petersburg into a family of ballet dancers who came from the family of bankrupt Polish counts Krasinski. Since childhood, the girl, who grew up in an artistic environment, dreamed of ballet.
Nicholas II and Matilda Kshesinskaya At the age of 8 she was sent to the Imperial Theater School, from which she graduated with honors. Her graduation performance on March 23, 1890 was attended by the imperial family. It was then that the future Emperor Nicholas II saw her for the first time. Later, the ballerina admitted in her memoirs: “When I said goodbye to the Heir, a feeling of attraction to each other had already crept into his soul, as well as into mine.”
Matilda Kshesinskaya 
After graduating from college, Matilda Kshesinskaya was enrolled in the troupe of the Mariinsky Theater and in her first season took part in 22 ballets and 21 operas. On a gold bracelet with diamonds and sapphires - a gift from the Tsarevich - she engraved two dates, 1890 and 1892. This was the year they met and the year they began their relationship. However, their romance did not last long - in 1894, the engagement of the heir to the throne to the Princess of Hesse was announced, after which he broke up with Matilda.
Famous prima ballerina 
Matilda Kshesinskaya in the ballet *Pharaoh's Daughter*, 1900 Kshesinskaya became a prima ballerina, and the entire repertoire was selected specifically for her. The director of the imperial theaters, Vladimir Telyakovsky, without denying the dancer’s extraordinary abilities, said: “It would seem that a ballerina, serving in the directorate, should belong to the repertoire, but then it turned out that the repertoire belongs to M. Kshesinskaya. She considered the ballets her property and could give or not let others dance them.”
Famous prima ballerina 
Ballet star with a scandalous reputation 
Photo portraits of Kshesinskaya based on the ballet *Comargo*, 1902 Prima weaved intrigues and did not allow many ballerinas to go on stage. Even when foreign dancers came on tour, she did not allow them to perform in “her” ballets. She chose the time for her performances herself, performed only at the height of the season, and allowed herself long breaks, during which she stopped studying and indulged in entertainment. At the same time, Kshesinskaya was the first Russian dancer to be recognized as a world star. She amazed the foreign audience with her skill and 32 fouettés in a row.
Matilda Kshesinskaya 
Grand Duke Andrei Vladimirovich and his wife Matilda Kshesinskaya Grand Duke Sergei Mikhailovich looked after Kshesinskaya and indulged all her whims. She went on stage in insanely expensive jewelry from Faberge. In 1900, on the stage of the Imperial Theater, Kshesinskaya celebrated her 10th anniversary creative activity(although before her ballerinas gave benefit performances only after 20 years on stage). At a dinner after the performance, she met Grand Duke Andrei Vladimirovich, with whom she began a whirlwind romance. At the same time, the ballerina continued to officially live with Sergei Mikhailovich.
Ballet star with a scandalous reputation 
Famous prima ballerina In 1902, Kshesinskaya had a son. Paternity was attributed to Andrei Vladimirovich. Telyakovsky did not choose his expressions: “Is this really a theater, and am I really in charge of this? Everyone is happy, everyone is happy and glorifies the extraordinary, technically strong, morally impudent, cynical, arrogant ballerina, who lives simultaneously with two great princes and not only does not hide it, but, on the contrary, weaves this art into her stinking cynical wreath of human carrion and depravity "
Matilda Kshesinskaya
Prima ballerina of the Imperial Theater Matilda Kshesinskaya was not only one of brightest stars Russian ballet, but also one of the most scandalous and controversial figures in the history of the twentieth century. She was the mistress of Emperor Nicholas II and two Grand Dukes, and later became the wife of Andrei Vladimirovich Romanov. Such women are called fatal - she used men to achieve her goals, weaved intrigues, and abused personal connections for career purposes. She is called a courtesan and seductress, although no one disputes her talent and skill.
Matilda's parents Julia and Felix Kshesinsky
Maria-Matilda Krzezinska was born in 1872 in St. Petersburg into a family of ballet dancers who came from the family of bankrupt Polish counts Krasinski. Since childhood, the girl, who grew up in an artistic environment, dreamed of ballet. 
Famous prima ballerina
Nicholas II and Matilda Kshesinskaya
At the age of 8 she was sent to the Imperial Theater School, from which she graduated with honors. Her graduation performance on March 23, 1890 was attended by the imperial family. It was then that the future Emperor Nicholas II saw her for the first time. Later, the ballerina admitted in her memoirs: “When I said goodbye to the Heir, a feeling of attraction to each other had already crept into his soul, as well as into mine.” 
Matilda Kshesinskaya
After graduating from college, Matilda Kshesinskaya was enrolled in the troupe of the Mariinsky Theater and in her first season took part in 22 ballets and 21 operas. On a gold bracelet with diamonds and sapphires - a gift from the Tsarevich - she engraved two dates, 1890 and 1892. This was the year they met and the year they began their relationship. However, their romance did not last long - in 1894, the engagement of the heir to the throne to the Princess of Hesse was announced, after which he broke up with Matilda. 
Famous prima ballerina
Matilda Kshesinskaya in the ballet *Pharaoh's Daughter*, 1900
Kshesinskaya became a prima ballerina, and the entire repertoire was selected specifically for her. The director of the imperial theaters, Vladimir Telyakovsky, without denying the dancer’s extraordinary abilities, said: “It would seem that a ballerina, serving in the directorate, should belong to the repertoire, but then it turned out that the repertoire belongs to M. Kshesinskaya. She considered the ballets her property and could give or not let others dance them.” 
Famous prima ballerina
Ballet star with a scandalous reputation
Photo portraits of Kshesinskaya based on the ballet *Comargo*, 1902
Prima weaved intrigues and did not allow many ballerinas to go on stage. Even when foreign dancers came on tour, she did not allow them to perform in “her” ballets. She chose the time for her performances herself, performed only at the height of the season, and allowed herself long breaks, during which she stopped studying and indulged in entertainment. At the same time, Kshesinskaya was the first Russian dancer to be recognized as a world star. She amazed the foreign audience with her skill and 32 fouettés in a row. 
Matilda Kshesinskaya
Grand Duke Andrei Vladimirovich and his wife Matilda Kshesinskaya
Grand Duke Sergei Mikhailovich looked after Kshesinskaya and indulged all her whims. She went on stage wearing insanely expensive jewelry from Faberge. In 1900, on the stage of the Imperial Theater, Kshesinskaya celebrated 10 years of creative activity (although before her ballerinas gave benefit performances only after 20 years on stage). At a dinner after the performance, she met Grand Duke Andrei Vladimirovich, with whom she began a whirlwind romance. At the same time, the ballerina continued to officially live with Sergei Mikhailovich. 
Ballet star with a scandalous reputation
Famous prima ballerina
In 1902, Kshesinskaya had a son. Paternity was attributed to Andrei Vladimirovich. Telyakovsky did not choose his expressions: “Is this really a theater, and am I really in charge of this? Everyone is happy, everyone is happy and glorifies the extraordinary, technically strong, morally impudent, cynical, arrogant ballerina, who lives simultaneously with two great princes and not only does not hide it, but, on the contrary, weaves this art into her stinking cynical wreath of human carrion and depravity " 
Left – Matilda Kshesinskaya with Grand Duke Andrei Vladimirovich and son Vladimir, 1906. Right – Matilda Kshesinskaya with her son, 1916
On the left is M. Thomson. Portrait of Matilda Kshesinskaya, 1991. On the right is Matilda Kshesinskaya, photo in color
After the revolution and the death of Sergei Mikhailovich, Kshesinskaya and her son fled to Constantinople, and from there to France. In 1921, she married Grand Duke Andrei Vladimirovich, receiving the title of Princess Romanovskaya-Krasinskaya. In 1929, she opened her own ballet studio in Paris, which was successful thanks to her big name. 
Matilda Kshesinskaya at her ballet school
Matilda Kshesinskaya, 1954
She died at 99, having outlived all her eminent patrons. Disputes about her role in the history of ballet continue to this day. And from her entire long life, only one episode is usually mentioned: what connected the ballerina Matilda Kshesinskaya and Nicholas II
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