Yekaterina Nelidova

Yekaterina Ivanovna Nelidova (Russian: Екатери́на Ива́новна Нели́дова; 1756–1839) was a Russian Empire noblewoman and lady-in-waiting. She was the royal mistress of Tsar Paul I of Russia.

Yekaterina Nelidova

Nelidova graduated from the Smolny Institute in 1776 and became a lady-in-waiting, first to Grand Duchess Natalya and then to Grand Duchess Maria alongside her friend and fellow graduate Natalya Borshchova. She had a relationship with Grand Duke Paul, the future monarch, and acted as a successful mediator between him and people he was in conflict with. Nelidova was also noted for her dramatic talents, which endeared her to the crown prince, who liked to stage operas with the participation of people he was close with.[1]

There are sources that refer to her as "Little Monster", a description attributed to Catherine on account of Nelidova's physical appearance.[2] Nevertheless, she was an important courtier and her position also led to her relatives' acquiring positions at court. Paul's defense of Nelidova was even documented amid issues of social conformity at Catherine the Great's court.[3] She left her position at court in 1798.

References
  1. Findeizen, Nikolai (2008). History of Music in Russia from Antiquity to 1800. Indiana University Press. ISBN 978-0-253-02352-0.
  2. Montefiore, Simon Sebag (2017). The Romanovs: 1613-1918. New York: First Vintage Books. pp. 231, 251. ISBN 9780307280510.
  3. Schönle, Andreas (2007). The Ruler in the Garden: Politics and Landscape Design in Imperial Russia. Oxford: Peter Lang. p. 173. ISBN 978-3-03911-113-8.
  • Дмитрий Григорьевич Левицкий 1735—1822: Каталог временной выставки — Государственный русский музей. — Л.: Искусство, Ленинградское отделение, 1987. — 142 с.
  • Шумигорский Е. С. Екатерина Ивановна Нелидова. Очерк из истории императора Павла. — М.: Захаров, 2008. ISBN 978-5-8159-0730-0.
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