Photos of the Stolypin sisters: Princess Shcherbatova and Countess Sheremetyeva

The original photo of the two Stolypin sisters is in excellent collector's condition. Portrait cabinet. The photo shows the sisters: on the left (sitting) Countess N.A. Sheremeteva (nee Stolypina) (1834-1905), standing – Maria Afanasyevna Shcherbatova (nee Stolypina) (1837-1901). The harmony of authenticity. Provenance is from the legacy of Colonel L-Guard. V. Svechin's Preobrazhensky Regiment.

Natalia Afanasyevna Sheremeteva, nee Stolypina (February 2, 1834 — August 22, 1905) was a philanthropist and public figure. Since May 18, 1896, she has been a Lady of the Order of St. Catherine (Lesser Cross). Natalia Afanasyevna was born on February 2, 1834[2] and was one of the three children of Afanasy Alekseevich Stolypin from his marriage to Maria Alexandrovna Ustinova (1812-1876)[3]. Sister Maria (1832-1901), the future wife of Prince Vladimir Alekseevich Shcherbatov, and brother Alexey (1838—?) grew up in the family.  Her father was one of eleven children of Alexei Yemelyanovich Stolypin. One of his brothers, Alexander, was Suvorov's adjutant, the other, Arkady, became a senator, two, Nikolai and Dmitry, rose to the rank of generals. One of the five sisters, Elizabeth, married Mikhail Vasilyevich Arsenyev. Their daughter Maria became the mother of Mikhail Lermontov. Afanasy Alekseevich himself participated in the war of 1812, was awarded a golden sword with the inscription: "For bravery" and in January 1817 he retired with the rank of staff captain[4]. Her mother was the granddaughter of Mikhail Andrianovich Ustinov (1730-1836), the "leading merchant" of Saratov province, and Alexei Davydovich Panchulidzev (1762-1834), the governor of Saratov.

The Stolypins lived "noisily and cheerfully," and their house was always crowded. They spent most of their time in the estate of Lesnaya Neyolovka, Saratov district, Saratov province (now Lesnaya Neyolovka village, Bazarno-Karabulak district), inherited by Afanasy Alekseevich from his father. He also had homes in Saratov, where the family moved for the winter, Moscow and St. Petersburg.

Maria Alexandrovna devoted herself entirely to social life, her grandmother Maria Alekseevna Ustinova was engaged in raising children. M. A. Lopukhina wrote about her death: "I especially regret her, for the sake of the children she was engaged in, the girls were almost always with her. The nun rarely sees them, she is too little at home to take care of the children." Natalia Afanasyevna received a good education, which her husband's nephew Count V. V. Musin-Pushkin called "solid" in his memoirs "The Golden Age of the Russian Family." Musin-Pushkin commented on the character of his aunt as follows: "Natalia Afanasyevna, born Stolypin, of a purely Puritanical upbringing and views, ugly, strict and often intolerant, but at heart gentle and kind." Another relative of her husband, Count Sergei Dmitrievich Sheremetev, perceived Sheremeteva differently.: "Natalia Afanasyevna was attractive, cheerful, kind and graceful. There was a special expression about her, inherent in the curves of her mouth, which gave her smile its special expressiveness. This expression of a smile is sometimes more powerful than the expression of the eyes. She was truthful and affectionate. The sight of her made one feel that she was happy. She was no stranger to village life, and this was a new link with her husband's family." B. N. Chicherin, who often visited the Stolypins' Moscow home, said of her: "The younger one, ugly, but intelligent and of excellent heart qualities, later married Sheremetev and still lives in Moscow, studying by charitable deeds and enjoying general respect[5]."

In the second half of July 1862, in Moscow, Natalia Afanasyevna married Vasily Alekseevich Sheremetev (1834-1884), the son of Alexey Vasilyevich Sheremetev and Ekaterina Sergeevna Sheremeteva. The marriage was successful, according to Musin-Pushkin, "the couple adored each other and almost never broke up," but childless. After the death of her husband, his sister Varvara (1885) and her husband Count V. I. Musin-Pushkin (1886), Natalia Afanasyevna took over the upbringing of their son Count Vladimir Vladimirovich.

Natalia Afanasyevna was actively involved in charity work. She was the founder of the Society for the Care of the Terminally Ill, a member of the Moscow Council of Orphanages and the Board of the Charitable Society at the 2nd Moscow City Hospital; a trustee of the Alexander-Mariinsky Charitable Orphanage. For her work, she was awarded the Order of St. Catherine of the Small Cross. Natalia Afanasyevna Sheremeteva died on August 22, 1905, bequeathing her fortune to her only niece Maria Vladimirovna Shcherbatova (1864-1921), the wife of Andrei Mikhailovich Katkov.