Maria Alexandrovna Gartung is the eldest daughter of Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin and Natalia Goncharova. She was curly and slightly similar to her African ancestors, but she was distinguished by a rare beauty. It was from her that Lev Tolstoy wrote his Anna Karenina.
Childhood
Maria Alexandrovna Hartung was born in 1832 in St. Petersburg. The happy young father coquettishly called her "a lithograph of his person", hinting that she was like two drops of water like him. Maria was the only child who remembered her brilliant father - the rest of the children were still too young at the time of his tragic death.
Masha grew up a lively and inquisitive child, at the age of nine she already spoke three languages fluently. The mother often worried that her daughter was ugly, but Maria, growing up, gradually turned from an ugly duckling into a beautiful swan.
Education
Masha received a good education at home. Then she studied at the then prestigious Catherine Institute, and her father's friends chose teachers for her.
After graduation, she was granted a maid of honor and was at the court of Emperor Alexander II.
Marriage
Maria Alexandrovna got married late, at twenty-eight years old. Despite the huge army of fans, the girl did not dare to marry for a long time.
The spouse of Mary was the young Major General Leonid Gartung, the manager of the imperial stud farms. Their marriage lasted seventeen years and ended very tragically. Maria Alexandrovna's husband was unjustly accused of embezzling state funds, and he shot himself right in the courtroom, leaving a note that he was innocent, but forgives his offenders.
But Maria Alexandrovna could not forgive her husband's offenders. The blood of great African ancestors leapt into it. They say that in character she went to her famous father, who never forgave offenses, for which he paid with his life. Maria never married again, lived with relatives, helped raise other people's children, since she did not have time to give birth to her own.
Acquaintance with Tolstoy
At one of the social receptions in Tula, Maria met the famous writer Leo Tolstoy. He was immediately fascinated by the exotic beauty of the woman. And when he found out whose daughter she was, he exclaimed: "Now it is clear where she got these noble curls on the back of her head."
Leo Tolstoy chose Maria Gartung as the prototype of his Anna Karenina. But the similarity was only in appearance, the character of Mary was very strict.
last years of life
After the revolution, Maria Alexandrovna was forced to move to Moscow and rent a small room there in Dog Lane. Her life was difficult both physically and financially, and there was no one to take care of her. The daughter of Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin died of hunger at the age of eighty-six.
