This diplomat was loved and hated by his contemporaries. He was considered the poisoner of his own wife, but they could not deny themselves a visit to his house, where all guests were welcome.
It is very easy to judge others. Our hero also fell victim to word of mouth. His sincere interest in science and high office, which did not allow him to devote his life, made this aristocrat a suspicious person. Participation in palace intrigues and an original opinion about politics only reinforced bad suspicions about him.
Childhood
Sasha was born in January 1733 into a noble and wealthy family. He was the only son of Baron Sergei Stroganov. The kid did not see his grandfather, but it was to him that the family owed its position - he financed the military campaigns of Peter I and tried to become a monopoly on the salt and tobacco market. He took his son's wife from the Naryshkins.
The heir to such a powerful family should have had all the best. Parents made sure that their child grows up surrounded by good teachers. While the head of the family was buying up land and factories, the child mastered advanced knowledge and made tremendous progress. A real gift for the teenager was the decision of his father to send his son abroad to study at European universities.
Youth
In 1752 the young man began his journey abroad. Alexander was admired by western cities and examples of the work of artists and sculptors of past centuries. He attended lectures in Paris, Bologna and Geneva, dimly imagining his future. According to papa, a literate person could occupy any high position in the state, making a contribution to the prosperity of the Fatherland.
At this time in Russia, Empress Elizaveta Petrovna was looking for a groom for her distant relative, the maid of honor of her court, Anna Vorontsova. She remembered that Baron Stroganov had a son and demanded that he immediately summon him to St. Petersburg. He could not disobey the order, however, in a letter to his son he indicated the reason for the rush. The young man was enraged that the empress unceremoniously interfered with the personal life of her subjects, and refused to come. Papa stopped sending money to the rebel, was very worried, fell ill and died. In 1758 Alexander received the mournful news of the death of his parent and hastened to his homeland. There he was forced to lead a girl who had just turned 15 to the altar.
Diplomat
After becoming a husband, our hero had to find a job. The Empress has already taken care of everything. She granted the newlywed a chamber junker and sent him to Frankfurt to represent Russia at the court of Franz Stephen. The emperor graciously received the envoy, and a few years later elevated him to the dignity of the count.
At first, marriage was a joy to Alexander Stroganov. Annushka turned out to be a beauty with French manners, however, her dislike for her husband and frivolity did not contribute to the strengthening of the marriage. Soon, everyone called the count a cuckold. He did not pay any attention to gossip, since a high post required maintaining at least the illusion of well-being. The scandal erupted when the couple returned to their homeland after the death of Elizabeth Petrovna. Anna's family supported Peter III, and our hero took the side of Catherine. Disputes about politics led to the fact that Madame simply went to live with her parents.
the villain
The brawler was not limited to one escape. She scolded her ex-husband at every corner, demanded that the empress give her a divorce. She died in 1769. Rumors spread that the young woman's sudden death was not accidental. Everyone remembered that the widower in his youth was fond of chemistry. The fact that he did not see Anna in the last days of her life did not matter. Alexander Stroganov became a killer in the eyes of the world.
Alexander Sergeevich added fuel to the fire by remarrying in the same year when his first wife was buried. This time, Ekaterina Trubetskaya became his chosen one. To hide her from rumor, Stroganov immediately after the wedding organized a trip to Paris. There Katya learned the happiness of motherhood, and her faithful met many famous thinkers of the Enlightenment. At first, the diplomat's young wife liked this society, when she was at home, she would certainly tell who and how praised her beauty. And in 1779 she met the nobleman Ivan Rimsky-Korsakov and left her husband.
Reputation
The aristocrat endured all the blows of fate with dignity. He did not shy away from society, where he was invented offensive nicknames and gossiped about his connection with the Freemasons. The count returned to Russia and continued to pursue a career as a statesman. He made a number of proposals for the organization of schools for peasant children, contributed to the compilation of the Academic Dictionary. From 1776 he was a member of the Imperial Academy of Sciences, and in 1783 received a position at the Imperial Russian Academy.
Alexander Stroganov lived in St. Petersburg, collected art, received in his house both the Russian nobility and foreign nobles. The dark biography of the rich man dimmed next to the prospect of visiting him, where there were always outlandish delicacies and amazing fun. In 1784 he was unanimously elected leader of the local nobility.
In 1799 he received a letter from his ex-wife Catherine. The fugitive begged to intercede for the one who took her out of the house. Paul I recalled to Ivan Rimsky-Korsakov that he had an affair with his mother before Mrs. Stroganova, and sent the adulterer into exile. Alexander Sergeevich put in a word for the one who destroyed his happiness. The slandered good man died in 1811.
