Nikolai Petrovich Sheremetev's mother and Sheremetev. Sheremetyev Nikolay Petrovich

The roots of the Sheremetev family go deep into the history of Russia. Together with the Golitsyns, the Sheremetevs elevated the young Mikhail Romanov to the throne in 1612. We all remember Boris Petrovich Sheremetev from history - the famous field marshal, associate of Peter the Great. But in this article we will not talk about him, or even about his son, Pyotr Borisovich Sheremetev, a general, senator, chamberlain, who spent a lot of effort and money on creating a unique palace ensemble in Kuskovo near Moscow. Let's talk about the grandson of Boris Petrovich and the son of Pyotr Borisovich - Count Nikolai Petrovich Sheremetyev.

Count Nikolai Petrovich Sheremetev was born in St. Petersburg. Young Nikolai Sheremetev, like all his famous ancestors, was closely connected with the ruling dynasty - he grew up and was brought up together with the future Emperor Paul I, and was in great friendship with him. The Count received an excellent education. The education plan included the study of many disciplines: from the Law of God to international commerce. Sheremetev studied history, mathematics, geography, biology, astronomy, engineering, fortification, artillery, military regulations, heraldry, ceremonial art, and studied dancing, music, and dressage. He professionally played the piano, violin, and cello, read scores, directed an orchestra, and participated in amateur performances in the palace and on his estates.

Nikolai Petrovich was known as a well-known expert on architecture and was a major client-builder. Over the course of two decades, with his participation and at his expense, a theater and palace complex in Ostankino, theater buildings in Kuskovo and Markovo, houses in Pavlovsk and Gatchina, the Champetre manor and the Fountain House in St. Petersburg were built. No less important is the role of Sheremetev in the construction of churches: the Church of the Sign of the Mother of God in the Novospassky Monastery, the Trinity Church at the Hospice House, the temple in the name of Dmitry of Rostov in Rostov the Great and others.

Count Sheremetev went down in the history of Russian culture as an outstanding theater figure, the creator of one of the best theaters in Russia. On his estate, in Kuskovo, the count created a theater school, where he taught acting to his serfs. Thanks to him, entire generations of talented serf actors, musicians and composers grew up, and the Kuskovsky Theater became one of the best in Russia. The main actress of the theater, the “culprit” of its unprecedented fame, was Praskovya Kovaleva-Zhemchugova, the daughter of an ordinary village blacksmith. Knowing the impossibility of marriage with his own serf actress, Count Sheremetev, who fell in love with her at first sight, will forever decide for himself: “I will never marry anyone.” For a long time, Sheremetev was indeed not allowed to marry a commoner, and only Emperor Alexander I gave his consent to this marriage. The wedding took place in 1801. In 1803, Parasha Zhemchugova - the great serf actress, and then Countess Sheremeteva - gave her husband a son, Dmitry. Three weeks later she died of tuberculosis.

In memory of his beloved wife, the count built a Hospice House in Moscow. Back in the late 80s, Nikolai Petrovich and Praskovya Ivanovna, “in mutual and secret agreement,” conceived and began the construction of this house in order to “ease the suffering,” whose difficult life the Countess knew too well. A plot of land (then a remote outskirts of Moscow) was chosen for development on the “Cherkasy Gardens” near Spasskaya Street.

The initial design of the Hospice House was carried out by a talented Russian architect from former serfs, Elizvoy Nazarov. Nikolai Petrovich Sheremetev wanted to create an institution that was completely unique against the colorful background of Russian charitable institutions and societies. In April 1804, the foundation of four outbuildings took place. What was unusual about the building was the location of the Church of the Holy Trinity inside it - in the House they had to take care not only of the bodies, but also of the souls of those being cared for. In the painting of the dome, among the angels, the baby Dmitry, Sheremetev’s little son, was depicted. The church premises were decorated with special splendor. Due to the grandeur of the plans, the funds required from the count were fantastic - 2.5 million rubles. And he contributed another 500 thousand to the Treasury for the maintenance of the house. This immeasurable generosity amazed his contemporaries.

To the already famous surname of the count, another one has now been added - Merciful. Nikolai Petrovich survived his wife by only six years. He spent his last years in St. Petersburg, in the Fountain House. On January 1, 1809, Nikolai Petrovich died.

The grand opening of the Hospice House took place a year and a half after the death of the founder and was timed to coincide with his birthday. By 1838 there were 140 people in the house. The charity of the House was not limited to the walls of the almshouse and hospital. Annual sums were allocated for the dowry of brides - “poor and orphaned”; a win-win lottery was held annually in favor of one hundred poor brides who, upon getting married, received from the Sheremetev account from 50 to 200 rubles, to help impoverished artisans, for benefits for raising orphans, and so on. .

The Hospital of the Hospice House (Sheremetevskaya Hospital) made a significant contribution to the development of clinical medicine in Russia. At the beginning of the 19th century, the Moscow branch of the Medical-Surgical Academy was based here. Since 1884, the Sheremetyev Hospital has become the clinical base of the university. Leading Russian scientists not only introduce advanced methods of treating patients, but also create a solid scientific foundation. During the years of wars and revolutions, the Sheremetevskaya hospital turned into a hospital: it received within its walls both the first wounded of the Borodino battle (the hospital museum contains the medical history of Prince P.I. Bagration), and the injured participants in the revolutions of 1905 and 1917.

Nikolai Sheremetev's son, Dmitry Nikolaevich, in turn, was replaced as trustee of the Hospice House by his son, Sergei Dmitrievich Sheremetev. He also continued the traditions of charity of the Sheremetev family. For a quarter of a century, the main caretaker of the Hospice House was Boris Sergeevich Sheremetev, who died in the same house at a ripe old age in 1906.

In June 1918, the very name of the Hospice House was liquidated. The church at the hospital was closed, the wooden iconostases were dismantled, and the icons were removed. The house turned into a regular hospital. In 1919, in the premises of the former Hospice House, the Moscow City Ambulance Station was organized, and from 1923 to this day, one of the buildings of the Research Institute of Emergency Medicine named after N.V. has been located here. Sklifosofsky. The Sheremetevs' coat of arms reads: "God preserves everything." Under this motto, the Sheremetevs did good.

Since ancient times, among the representatives of the highest Russian aristocracy there were patrons of the arts who contributed to the development of Russian art. Their activities gave the opportunity to reveal many national talents, which contributed to the rise of the country’s spiritual life to a new level. Among them was Count Nikolai Petrovich Sheremetev, whose biography became the basis for writing this article.

Heir to untold riches

Nikolai Petrovich Sheremetev was born on July 9, 1751. By the will of fate, he became the heir to one of the richest and most noble noble families in Russia. His father, Pyotr Borisovich, the head of the Sheremetev family, became the owner of one of the largest fortunes in the country, having advantageously married the daughter of a prominent statesman, Chancellor of Russia, Prince A. M. Cherkassky.

At one time he was widely known as a philanthropist and patron of the arts. The most valuable collections of paintings, porcelain and jewelry were kept in those belonging to Pyotr Borisovich and Moscow. However, its main glory was its home theater, the performances of which even members of the reigning House sometimes did not hesitate to attend.

Growing up in a family where performing arts was perceived as one of the highest manifestations of spirituality, his son Nikolai fell in love with the stage from an early age and at the age of 14 he already made his debut performing the role of the god Hymen. Together with him, his friend, the heir to the throne, Tsarevich Pavel, took part in the performances of his father’s theater.

Foreign voyage of the young count

In 1769, Nikolai Petrovich Sheremetev went to Europe, where, as a representative of the noblest and richest Russian family, he was presented at the courts of France, Prussia and England. He completed his journey in Holland, where he entered one of the most prestigious educational institutions of that time - Leiden University.

But the young count devoted his time to more than just academic disciplines. Moving in the highest circles of European society, he personally met many leading people of that era, among whom were the famous composers Handel and Mozart. In addition, taking advantage of the opportunity, Nikolai Petrovich thoroughly studied theater and ballet art, and also improved in playing the piano, cello and violin - instruments that he had studied since childhood.

Departure to Moscow

Upon returning to Russia, Nikolai Petrovich Sheremetev was appointed director of the Moscow Bank and was forced to change ceremonial St. Petersburg to quiet and patriarchal Moscow. It is known that Empress Catherine II, fearing the possibility of a coup d'etat, under plausible pretexts removed all friends and possible accomplices of her son, Tsarevich Paul, from the capital. Since Sheremetev had a long-standing friendship with the heir to the throne, he also became one of the undesirable persons at court.

Finding himself in this “honorable exile,” Nikolai Petrovich did not consider himself deprived of fate, but, taking advantage of the opportunity, began the construction of a new theater premises in the Kuskovo family estate near Moscow. From that time on, the Sheremetevs' serf theater began to give performances on two stages - in a previously erected extension to their house on Nikolskaya Street and in a newly built building in Kuskovo (photo of the latter is placed below).

Fortress Theater of Count Sheremetev

According to contemporaries, the level of productions of the Sheremetev troupe could not be rivaled by the performances of any serf theater in Russia in those years. Thanks to the knowledge acquired abroad, Nikolai Petrovich was able to provide high artistic design for performances, as well as create a professional orchestra. Particular attention was paid to the composition of the troupe, recruited from the serfs who belonged to him.

Having recruited artists from among the most gifted peasants, the count spared no effort and money in teaching them stage skills. Professional actors from the Imperial Petrovsky Theater were hired as teachers. In addition, Count Nikolai Petrovich Sheremetev sent newly-minted actors to study at his own expense not only in Moscow, but also in St. Petersburg, where, in addition to the main disciplines, they studied foreign languages, literature and poetry.

As a result, the entire aristocratic Moscow, as well as guests from the capital, including members of the reigning family, came to the performances of the Kuskovsky Theater, which opened in 1787. The popularity of his troupe was so great that the owners of other private Moscow theaters complained to the mayor that for the sake of his amusement, the count - a man already fabulously rich - was taking away their audience and depriving them of income. Meanwhile, for Nikolai Petrovich, serving Melpomene was never fun. Now the theater became the main thing of his life.

The Earl's architectural heritage

Another hobby of Count Sheremetev was architecture. Having sufficient funds, over two decades he built many buildings recognized as true masterpieces of Russian architecture. Among them are theater and palace complexes in Ostankino and Kuskovo, houses in Gatchina and Pavlovsk, the Hospice House in Moscow (photo above), the Fountain House in St. Petersburg and a number of other buildings, including several Orthodox churches.

Period of royal favors

A sharp turn in the count's life came in 1796, when, after the death of Catherine II, her son Pavel took the Russian throne. Feeling sincere affection for Sheremetev, as a friend of his childhood, one of his first decrees granted him the rank of chief marshal and thus included him among the most influential state dignitaries.

From then on, orders, titles, privileges, gifted estates and other royal favors rained down on him one after another. Since 1799, he has been the director of the imperial theaters, and after some time - the head of the Corps of Pages. However, during these years Sheremetev tried to achieve something completely different from the emperor, and this is exactly what the subsequent story will be about.

Love for a serf actress

The fact is that at the age of 45, Count Sheremetev Nikolai Petrovich was not married. Possessing a colossal fortune, which made him richer than the emperor himself, and excellent appearance, the count was the most enviable groom in Russia, with whom many brides from the highest strata of society dreamed of marriage.

However, the count's heart was firmly occupied by the serf actress of his theater, Praskovya Zhemchugova. Possessing amazing natural beauty and a wonderful voice, she nevertheless remained in the eyes of society just a serf girl - the daughter of a village blacksmith.

Once in childhood, the count noticed this vocal girl and, giving her a decent upbringing, made her a first-class actress, whose talent was tirelessly applauded by the most discerning spectators. Her real name is Kovaleva, but the count himself made it Zhemchugova, considering such a stage name more sonorous.

Obstacles to marriage

However, existing traditions did not allow them to legitimize the relationship. From the point of view of the aristocracy, it is one thing to enjoy the singing of a serf actress, and quite another to allow her to enter high society, recognizing her as an equal. The protests of the count’s numerous relatives, who saw Praskovya as a contender for the inheritance, also played an important role. It is interesting to note that in that era, people in the acting profession generally had such a low status that it was even forbidden to bury them in the church fence.

Of course, in such a situation, marriage was impossible. The only way out of this situation could be given by the highest permission, for which Sheremetev personally addressed the emperor, hoping that Paul I would make an exception for him from the general rule. However, even the memory of childhood friendship did not force the autocrat to violate the order that had been established for centuries.

Desired but short-lived marriage

Only after the assassination of Paul I by the conspirators The count managed to carry out his plan by forging the documents of his bride, as a result of which Praskovya Zhemchugova began to be listed as the Polish noblewoman Paraskeva Kovalevskaya. Alexander I, who succeeded his father on the throne, gave Sheremetev consent to the marriage, but even in this case the wedding was secret, taking place on November 8, 1801 in one of the small Moscow churches.

In 1803, a son was born into the Sheremetev family, who received the name Dmitry in holy baptism. However, the father’s joy soon turned into sorrow: twelve days after the birth of the child, his wife Praskovya died, having never been able to recover from childbirth.

Construction of the Hospice House

Since ancient times, the following custom existed in Orthodox Rus': when a loved one died, to repose his soul, spend money on charitable deeds. Voluntary donations could be different - everything depended on material capabilities. Sheremetev, in memory of his deceased wife, built a Hospice House in Moscow, in the premises of which today the Research Institute of Emergency Medicine is located. Sklifosovsky (photo No. 4).

Work on the construction of this building, well known to Muscovites, was carried out under the guidance of an outstanding architect of Italian origin - Giacomo Quarenghi, who was a passionate admirer and connoisseur of the talent of the late actress. Created exclusively for poor and disadvantaged people, the Hospice House was designed to accommodate 50 patients receiving inpatient treatment, as well as 100 “suspected”, that is, beggars who had no means of subsistence. In addition, there was also a shelter for 25 orphan girls.

To ensure financing for this institution, the count deposited capital sufficient for those times into the bank account, and also assigned several villages with serf souls for the maintenance of the Hospice House. In addition to direct expenses, from these funds, according to the count's will, it was necessary to help families in trouble and annually allocate certain amounts for dowries for low-income brides.

The end of the count's life

Nikolai Petrovich died on January 1, 1809, outliving his wife by only six years. He spent the last years of his life in his St. Petersburg palace, known as the Fountain House (photo that concludes the article). His ashes, resting in the Sheremetevskaya tomb of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra, were interred in a simple plank coffin, since the count bequeathed all the money allocated for the funeral to be distributed to the poor.

In average cultural usage, not much is supposed to be known about Count Nikolai Petrovich Sheremetev (1751–1809): well, he owned the “theater” estates of Kuskovo and Ostankino near Moscow; Well, he married his own serf actress Parasha Kovaleva-Zhemchugova. All? Not enough.

In fact, in the life of the count, marriage and ownership of estates are not the most important thing. Or maybe not the most interesting thing.

On a dim November day in 1796, a government courier from St. Petersburg on lathered horses raced from the Tverskaya Zastava to the Kremlin. And whispers and rumors spread across Moscow:

– Do you already know? Mother Empress Ekaterina Alekseevna suffered an apoplexy.

- How! How! How! You probably know this?

- Oh yeah. I will say more. Under the new sovereign, Pavel Petrovich, Count Nikolai Sheremetev came into great power. Ours, Moscow. Peter Borisovich's son.

The rumors were confirmed.

Empress Catherine was still breathing when the heir, Tsarevich Pavel, settled down in the chambers of the Winter Palace and gave his first order:

- Tell Chief Marshal Baryatinsky to leave his service, go home, and not come to the palace at all.

Summoning the Chief Chamberlain Count Sheremetev, Pavel announced:

- You will correct the position of chief marshal.

The roots of this “changing of the guard” go back to the 18th century. Baryatinsky in 1762 participated in the deposition of Tsar Peter III, Paul's father. And Tsarevich Pavel had been friends with Nikolka Sheremetev since childhood: they played together, studied, and looked after their ladies-in-waiting. Once, in a masquerade, the young Grand Duke was dressed as a shah, and his friend Nikolka was dressed as a vizier. Strange are the ways of fate. Now the old children's game was acquiring the features of a sovereign reality. Paul became the emperor (as if the shah), and Nicholas became the chief marshal (as if the vizier), the first rank of the court, the manager of all court life.

Count Nikolai Petrovich was not pleased with this turn of fortune.

By nature he was a kind Moscow gentleman - a theatergoer, a hospitable person, a contemplator. I served, of course. What is it like in Russia without service? But he did not try to make a career and did not like the fuss of the courtier. Please participate every day in ceremonial exits, duties, celebrations, and liturgies. Mother Empress Catherine was strict about this. If you slip a little, say you’re sick, now you’ll have to pay a large fine: to the doctor for treatment, and to the priest for a prayer service for the health of the servant of God, Chamberlain Sheremetev.

And under my friend Pavel Petrovich, the court rules will probably be even stricter. Oh, I wish I could leave this cold Northern capital and run away to dear Moscow, to Kuskovo, to Ostankino. I would like to wander through the alleys of parks, inhale the aromas of greenhouses, and practice roles with actresses in a home theater. Decorate and nurture the domestic Versailles behind the Moscow outpost.

It is forbidden. Service.

The ancient Sheremetev family has stood at the royal throne for a century. Grandfather, Boris Petrovich, first Russian field marshal. Favorite of Peter the Great. Hero of Poltava Victoria and many other battles. Once, having recaptured Riga from the Swedes, Boris Petrovich fell in love with a resident of Riga, the Lithuanian peasant woman Marta Skavronskaya, whom Peter I would later make empress. Does our count have a hereditary penchant for peasant women? Is this the reason for his marriage to Parasha?

Nothing foreshadowed such a misalliance.

Nikolai Petrovich went through all the stages of a noble upbringing - good manners, dancing, knowledge of European languages. Of course – a trip to foreign lands: Holland, England, France. In Paris, he was presented to the future King Louis XVI and his august wife Marie Antoinette. They have fun and turn life into an eternal holiday. And they don’t know that there is a great revolution ahead - a bloody executioner awaits both.

In the meantime, young Sheremetev is delighted with the Parisian theaters, with the magical kingdom of Corneille, Racine, Moliere. In the luggage of the Moscow nobleman there are countless Parisian plays, opera librettos, musical notations, sketches of theatrical costumes and scenery drawings.

In the theater chairs of Kuskov and Ostankin sat Catherine the Great, Paul I, the Polish King Poniatowski, a host of Moscow and St. Petersburg nobles, diplomats, and major dignitaries. Nikolai Petrovich “treated” him to his performances. His serf actresses, recruited from their ancestral villages, received real education and upbringing. The best European mentors taught them not only the performing arts, but also foreign languages, sciences, and secular manners.

Few aristocratic ladies who came to the Ostankino performance could compete in education with yesterday's Sharks and Malashkas who performed before them on stage.

On November 5, 1780, twelve-year-old Parasha Kovaleva-Zhemchugova first performed the main role in the comic opera "Colony". Did thirty-year-old Sheremetev know that this was his fate? His happiness? Hardly. Parasha is the daughter of a hunchbacked blacksmith. Kindergarten. Actress. And again - strange, inscrutable are the ways of fate. One of Parasha's roles is the soldier's daughter Lorette

and in the opera of the same name by composer Demero. There, the opera count fell in love with an ordinary girl and offered her his hand and heart. An unpretentious, naive performance. But in life everything turned out exactly as it did on stage: the count fell in love with his peasant actress. The secret of this passion was kept for many years - in Kuskovo, in Moscow, in St. Petersburg.

During the short reign of Paul I, Nikolai Petrovich was chained to the banks of the Neva. The necessary trips to Moscow and back are difficult for Parasha. The St. Petersburg climate accelerates her already fleeting consumption. In a letter to his sister, Varvara Petrovna Razumovskaya, the count complains: “Being constantly busy with my job, I have almost no time to think about my own affairs. I extremely regret that, due to poor health, as you know, I barely have the strength.”

And another letter to the estate manager:

“The main supervision is over musicians, dancers and other people. Children, Germans, Italians remain here in the house, who, in my absence, will have fun. Girls, actresses, dancers also remain here, for whom there is also supervision - so that there are no indiscretions. Be also obedient, don’t get drunk, don’t sing in other people’s churches.”

The assassination of Paul I in 1801 was difficult for Nikolai Petrovich. The count himself, of course, did not participate in the conspiracy - God forbid. But most likely he knew about the impending atrocity. All the St. Petersburg sparrows on the roofs were tweeting about him. Nikolai Petrovich, apparently, remained faithful not so much to Paul as to his own rule: to be on the sidelines, not to get involved in court intrigues.

The fifty-year-old count knew the new sovereign as a boy. Therefore, I felt freer with him. After the coronation, Alexander I leaves for St. Petersburg, and Nikolai Petrovich finally remains at home in Moscow.

He's getting married in a few weeks. No bell ringing. Quiet, mysterious. So that even Moscow mothers and brides did not know anything about the wedding of the richest groom in Russia.

Nikolai Petrovich prepared his wedding with Parasha ahead of time. Still, it’s not right for a count to marry a simple serf girl. He had long ago set his beloved free. And now - money is omnipotent - the count, in deep secrecy, straightens her out with new papers. There is no more girl Parashka, no more theater actress Zhemchugova. There is a noble Polish noblewoman Paraskeva Kovalevskaya.

On November 6, 1801, wedding carriages stop at the church. But which church? The Sheremetev family tradition and Moscow legend say that this is the Church of Simeon the Stylite on Povarskaya Street. And only recently was an entry found in the church book of the Church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, which once stood on Sapozhkovskaya Square near the Trinity Gate of the Kremlin. There the sacrament of this marriage took place.

The happiness turned out to be short-lived.

Just a year and a half later in St. Petersburg, Parasha will die in childbirth, leaving Nikolai Petrovich with a son, Dmitry. The Sheremetev Palace on the Fontanka was dressed in deep mourning. In the next century, the inhabitant of the palace, Anna Akhmatova, would write about this:

What are you muttering, our midnight?

Parasha died anyway,

The young mistress of the palace.

It smells like incense from all the windows,

The most beloved curl has been cut off,

And the oval of the face darkens.

Nikolai Petrovich's widowhood was difficult and painful. I neglected my service. He avoided amusements. Didn't go to the court. Everything reminded him of years of happiness - so complete and so short. Parasha’s clear voice sounded for him in empty halls and abandoned stages. And I kept dreaming of Moscow, the walls of the Hospice House in the scaffolding.

Long ago, back in 1792, Nikolai Petrovich began to build an almshouse near the Moscow Sukharev Tower. The place was called Cherkasy vegetable gardens and once belonged to the count's mother. The construction of the shelter was undertaken by the architect Elevzoy Nazarov, one of the Sheremetev serfs. And the great architect Giacomo Quarenghi completed the project. Under his brilliant pencil, a marvelous church rotunda, a high white colonnade, and the confident span of the palace wings were born.

Outside is a palace; inside is a refuge for the sick, homeless, and crippled.

In it, in the Hospice House, the Count now saw the meaning and justification of his entire life. He allocated a huge capital for the maintenance of the almshouse - 500 thousand rubles. Yes, he bequeathed to her “for eternity” the village of Molodoy Tud with villages in the Tver province - eight thousand souls. From those funds it was necessary to feed and care for those in need, help families in trouble, and give dowries to poor brides. The dowry was awarded until February 23, the anniversary of the death of Countess Praskovya Ivanovna.

Then, already beyond the earthly life of the count, the wounded will be treated in the Hospice House - the heroes of 1812, the battles of Shipka and Plevna, the defenders of Port Arthur

Pavel Sergeevich Sheremetyev(May 19, 1871-November 20, 1943, Moscow) - historian, artist.

born into the family of Count Sergei Dmitrievich Sheremetev and Ekaterina Pavlovna, née Vyazemskaya. Graduated from the Faculty of History and Philology of the Imperial St. Petersburg University.

For a year he served compulsory military service in the Life Guards Izmailovsky Regiment. He retired to the reserve with the rank of warrant officer. In 1899-1911 - Zvenigorod district leader. In 1900 he received the rank of chamber cadet, in 1906 - college councilor, in 1910 - chamberlain. Participant in the Russian-Japanese War (1905-1906). He was a representative of the Russian Red Cross Society from the Moscow nobility. With his participation, a military hospital with 1000 beds was organized in Vladivostok, and a sanitary warehouse was equipped in the village of Novokievskaya. In 1906 he was awarded the Red Cross medal “For labors incurred during military operations for the benefit of sick and wounded soldiers.” With the outbreak of the First World War, reserve ensign Count Sheremetev was drafted into the militia, where he also helped the wounded. He spent the whole of 1915 in the active army.

Member of the Society of Lovers of Ancient Literature; Russian Genealogical Society, Historical and Genealogical Society, competitive member of the Imperial Society of History and Russian Antiquities at Moscow University, member of the St. Petersburg and Yaroslavl Scientific Archival Commissions, member of the Society for the Protection and Preservation of Monuments of Art and Antiquity. Since 1903 - a member of the liberal circle "Conversation", of which V.I. Vernandsky was a member.

Member of the Patriarchal Conversation circle. Member of the committee for preparations for the celebration of the 100th anniversary of the Patriotic War of 1812. Member of the committee for preparing the celebration of the 300th anniversary of the House of Romanov.

Since 1916 - member of the State. Council from noble societies.
Together with the engraver Nikolai Panov, he published the historical and artistic collection “Russian Estates”, in which Sheremetev wrote texts.

Since 1921, he has been married to Praskovya Vasilievna (nee Princess Obolenskaya; 1883-1941), who worked with her husband at the Ostafyevo Museum in 1922-1928. The marriage produced a son:
Vasily (1922-1989) - artist.

, Elizaveta Petrovna, Catherine II. P.B. Sheremetev was passionate about theater and passed on his passion to his son. N.P. Sheremetev was born on June 28 (July 9), 1751, and spent his early youth at court. From the age of 13–14 he began performing in his father’s home theater, and then “at the large court theater.” In 1765 he performed the role of the god Hymen in the mythological ballet Acis and Galatea, in which his childhood friend, the future Paul I, distinguished himself before him. Having a special passion for music, he masterfully played the cello. He spent the years from 1769 to 1773 traveling abroad: listening to lectures at the University of Leiden (Holland), traveling around England, Germany, Switzerland, taking music lessons, and getting acquainted with theatrical life. In France, he became interested in comic opera.

Returning to Moscow and receiving the position of director of the Moscow Bank for Nobles, Sheremetev began to rebuild his father’s theater: he began special education of serf children “dedicated to the theater” (Russian literacy, foreign languages, music, singing, dance, diction, secular manners). Having sensed an extraordinary talent in one of his students, Parasha Kovaleva, he paid more and more attention to her, preparing the stellar career of the future Zhemchugova. Sheremetev’s performances attracted the Moscow nobility - from the small home theater of Count P.B. Sheremetev, he grew into a troupe capable of “presenting operas and allegorical ballets.” Since his return from abroad, Sheremetev not only closely followed all the events of Moscow theatrical life, but regularly took his troupe to performances at the Medox Theater, and later invited leading artists of the Petrovsky Theater (Medox Theater) to teach serf artists. At the beginning of 1790, Sheremetev decided to transfer the serf theater from Kuskovo to Ostankino. On July 22, 1795 the theater opened with the premiere of the heroic opera Capture of Ishmael(libretto by P. Potemkin, music by I. Kozlovsky). The Sheremetev Theater left numerous serf troupes far behind (the only exception is the theater of Count A.R. Vorontsov).

In 1796 Sheremetev was appointed senator, and in March he went to St. Petersburg to the court of Catherine. On November 6, 1796, Catherine II died, the throne was inherited by Paul I, who granted Sheremetev the honorary title of Chief Marshal. Sheremetev's life took place alternately in St. Petersburg, then in Pavlovsk, then in Gatchina; he was involved in theater much less. Due to the incurable illness of Zhemchugova, his serf wife, the count closed the theater in Ostankino, and on November 6, 1801 entered into a secret marriage with the actress, having previously selected facts in the archive that testify to her “origin” from the Polish noble family of Kovalevsky. The marriage became public only after Zhemchugova’s death (February 23, 1803). Sheremetev wrote a letter to the Tsar, announcing his marriage to a woman, “whose origins irrefutably have a noble origin,” and the birth of a son-heir. Six years later, on January 2 (14), 1809, Sheremetev died. In his will, the count ordered himself to be buried “in the worst possible way” - in a simple plank coffin, and the money intended for the funeral to be distributed to the poor and monasteries.