The Presidential Library marking the Day of Family, Love and Faithfulness

July 8, 2020 Russia celebrates the Day of Family, Love and Faithfulness. The holiday emerged thanks to Prince of Murom, Peter and his wife Fevronia, whom Orthodox Christians have long venerated as patrons of family and marriage.

The Right Prince Peter had been ruling Murom for a quarter of a century. In advanced years, the prince and his wife Fevronia took tonsure. They prayed to God to die in one day, and bequeathed to bury themselves together. The couple died at the same time, July 8, 1228. Their bodies were laid in different places, but the next day they were together. Peter and Fevronia were numbered by the Russian Orthodox Church. Now their relics rest in the Holy Trinity Convent in Murom.

The Presidential Library’s collections contain a rare collection donated to the institution by representatives of the Fevronia Publishing House and the Holy Trinity Convent of the city of Murom. The book “The ideal of love and fidelity - Saints Peter and Fevronia. The history of the Russian Orthodox Church”.

Thanks to the Presidential Library, one can find a lot of electronic copies of materials illustrating the history of marriage, wedding ceremonies, attitude to the concept of the family at different periods of time, as well as personal documents that reveal the secrets of the hidden family life of famous writers, poets, historical political figures, representatives of the Romanov Imperial House.

The Presidential Library’s portal, in particular, provides photographs surrounded by relatives of Alexander II, Alexander III, Nicholas II and other unique materials.

The essay “Emperor Nicholas” (1894), provides a point of view on the family of Emperor Nicholas I: shortly before his marriage to Alexandra Feodorovna, while traveling abroad in one of the Swiss cities he was informed that he had the opportunity to visit Paris passing through this city Vienna to Napoleon’s wife I. Knowing that Maria Louise was traveling alone, without Napoleon, “Nikolai Pavlovich remarked: “The place of the empress... with her husband, and not here”. All his life he remained true to his exalted gaze, in which, as if, apart from his will, a purely Russian trait was manifested ... As a family man, Nikolai Pavlovich was generally impeccable". 

The contemporaries gave the same commendable character to Nicholas II. For many years, the valet serving at the court said Volkov: “I don’t know how to talk about the characters of the royal family, because I am an unlearned person, but I will tell you how I can. I’ll simply say about them: it was the holiest and purest family”.

The Presidential Library’s portal gives an access to the electronic pages of the diary of Nicholas II, which deals not only with government affairs, but also with relationships with my wife Alexandra Feodorovna: “I can’t express how I enjoy such quiet, quiet evenings face to face with my dearly beloved wife. Involuntarily, the heart turns to God with a grateful prayer for the granting of such complete unlimited happiness on earth. ” The emperor was attentive to significant dates for the family: “Anniversary of our engagement!” Never in my life, it seems, I will not forget this day, as I was then happy in every way”.  

The library’s portal provides free access to photo album “Photographs about the stay of Nicholas II Romanov with his family in Tobolsk” and unique newsreel shots capturing hours of joint family leisure.

The leading statesman of the Russian Empire Pyotr Arkadyevich Stolypin was also a caring husband. The Presidential Library’s portal contains a separate electronic collection dedicated to him, which includes a large number of archival materials, including letters to his wife. “My Beloved”, “my dear sweetheart”, “my beloved treasure”, “kind angel Olechka”, “my dear love” - this is the only way that the Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Russian Empire affectionately addressed his wife Olga Borisovna. "Visual Materials" section features home-made "Photographs of Pyotr Stolypin and his family".

...In 1841, being in his 59th year of life, Vasily Andreevich Zhukovsky married to Elizabeth Reiter, who was almost three times younger. The poet describes this happy day for him: “At five o’clock in the afternoon on May 21 on Mount Rothenberg, in the church of St. Catherine my marriage was completed; accomplished quietly, nothing disturbed the lordship of this minute; there was not a single stranger's face, the day was captivatingly clear and quiet, - in a word, the most important moment of my life was given to me as soon as I could wish for it... In Wildbad, nobody knows... I spent the first two weeks of my family life; these days were akin to me with my wife and I in the depths of my heart recognized, with thanks to God, that he had sent me his angel to life companions... ” These words of the poet are cited by the 1886 edition of Russian Figures Engraved by Academician Lavrenty Seryakov.

It also describes the relationship of a Russian diplomat, writer, composer Alexander Griboedov (a separate collection is also dedicated to him) with his wife. On August 22, 1828, his wedding was celebrated with Princess Nina Chavchavadze, and already in September Griboedov set off as ambassador to Persia. The princess at that time was only the 16th year. Griboedov passionately loved his young wife. “Love my Ninochka”, - he wrote to one of his friends' ladies. “Do you want to know her?” In St. Petersburg, in the Hermitage, immediately upon entering, to the right, there is Madonna, in the form of a shepherdess, Murillo. This is she". “My precious friend, I feel sorry for you, it’s sad without you as much as possible. Now I truly feel what it means to love. Before, I parted with many, to whom I was also firmly attached, but the day, two, a week, and longing disappeared, now the farther from you, the worse. We will tolerate a few more, my Angel, and we will pray to God that we will never be separated after that”, - Griboedov wrote to his young wife during his last official trip to Tehran, from which he was not destined to return.

The library’s collections also contain materials that reveal the attitude of Alexander Pushkin to his wife and family values. They are available in the collection “Alexander Pushkin (1799–1837)” on the Presidential Library’s portal.

Perhaps this readiness for difficulties has become the core of the marriage of the greatest poet and first beauty of the highest society? “Aleksandr Sergeyevich had the happiest character for family life: no penalties, no whims” - these words of Sergei Goncharov, brother of Natalia Nikolaevna, were published in the May issue of the magazine Russian Antiquity for 1880. Here are excerpts from the poet’s letters to his wife: “Wife, wife! I drive along big roads, live for three months in the wilderness, stop in the dirty Moscow that I hate - for what? For you, wife, so that you are calm and shine on your health, as it is decent in your summers and with your beauty".

Caring for the family manifested itself in the last hours of Pushkin's life. Evidence of this is the publication "Pushkin’s Talks" of 1929, which includes quotes from the poet and the memories of those close to him. In particular, this: "The patient experienced terrible torment ... Ready to cry out, he only moaned, afraid, as he said, that his wife would not hear, so as not to frighten her". In a memoir published in the journal Russian Antiquity for September 1875, an eyewitness to the poet’s death writes: “The first word to his wife, when they brought him into the room of the wounded man and laid him on the sofa, was as follows:“ How happy I am! I am still alive, and you are beside me! Be calm: you are innocent, I know that you are innocent “... Saying goodbye to the children, he baptized them. He said goodbye to his wife several times and always spoke to her with tenderness and love”.

The difficult family life of Leo Tolstoy is reflected in the collection dedicated to him on the Presidential Library’s portal. Among the materials are “The Diaries of Sophia Andreevna Tolstoy: Records of the Past: Memoirs and Letters” which also contain the revelations of the writer himself: “September 12, 1862. I am in love, as I did not believe, so that you could love. I'm crazy, and I’ll shoot myself if this continues. It was their evening. She is charming in every way... ", "September 13, 1862... Tomorrow I’ll go get up and say everything, or shoot myself... 4 o’clock in the morning... Oh my God, how I am afraid to die. Happiness, and such, seems impossible to me. Oh my god, help me!”

Here are the confessions of Sophia Nikolaevna made by her in the first year of her married life: “Leo gives me too much happiness. I love his gaiety, his nonsense, his kind, kind face, meekness, frustration, all this is so well expressed that he almost never offends the feeling... When he returns, I always feel somehow painful, joyful. No matter how you assure me, he cannot love me as much as I do”.

Although their quiet family idyll did not last long - at first petty quarrels and passing quarrels eventually turned into major scandals and complete misunderstanding of each other, they lived together for 48 years, giving life to nine sons and four daughters.

Here are two more excerpts from the correspondence of famous people - the first Russian emperor Peter I to his wife Ekaterina Alekseevna and the empress Alexandra Feodorovna to Nicholas II - the last emperor of the Russian Empire.

“Katerinushka, my friend, hello! I hear that you are bored, and me too; however, you can argue that things do not need to be changed for boredom <...> Although I want to see you, you have a lot more tea, for I was 27 years old and you were not 42 years old; we should wait for a bit to make it more fun to come. Peter" (from the publication "Letters of Russian sovereigns and other persons of the royal family").

“I know that I should not say this and that for an old married woman this may seem ridiculous, but I cannot do anything. Over the years, love grows, and it’s hard for me to remain without your milieu of society... Ah, if our children could also be happy in their married life!.. My dear, my light, my love... God bless and protect you and may the saints the angels and all the strength of my deep love will protect you... Forever your dear old wife" (from the publication "Letters of Empress Alexandra Feodorovna to Emperor Nicholas II" (1922)).