Postcard "Count A.D. Dmitriev-Mamonov"

The original postcard is in satisfactory collectible condition. I didn't get the mail. Quite rare. The edition of the Russian Museum of Emperor Alexander III. Guarantee of authenticity.

Count (1788) Alexander Matveevich Dmitriev-Mamonov (September 19 [30], 1758, Smolensk — September 29 [October 11] 1803, Moscow) was an adjutant general and lieutenant general, one of the favorites of Catherine II. He came from the Dmitriev-Mamonov family. He was born in Smolensk on September 19 (30), 1758. His father M. V. Mamonov and General A. A. Zagryadsky were married to sisters (Boborykin), and Zagryadsky was a cousin of G. A. Potemkin's mother[2]. Thanks to these connections, Alexander was enlisted in the Izmailovsky regiment from childhood and in 1784 was appointed adjutant to Potemkin. His Serene Highness Prince Potemkin, taking care that during his prolonged absences there was a person devoted and obedient to him near the empress, introduced Dmitriev-Mamonov to Catherine in 1786, who liked him very much for his beautiful appearance and modesty. In gratitude, Alexander presented his patron with a golden teapot with the inscription Plus unis par le coeur que par le sang ("Closer to the heart than to the blood").

On July 20, 1786, Dmitriev-Mamonov was promoted from captain-lieutenant of the Guards directly to colonel and made an aide-de-camp to the Empress; in the same year he was awarded the rank of major general and the rank of full chamberlain and received a room in the Winter Palace. At first, he did not play a prominent role, but in 1787, Catherine took him on a trip to the Crimea, and the favorite had to participate in conversations with the Empress with various dignitaries and, finally, be present at her meetings with Emperor Joseph II and Polish King Stanislaw Augustus. In 1787, he also met in Kiev with the Venezuelan politician Francisco Miranda.

Since that time, Dmitriev-Mamonov began to take some part in state affairs. On May 4, 1788, the Empress appointed him her adjutant general, promoted him to lieutenant general, on May 9 of the same year she granted him the countship of the Roman Empire and, finally, ordered him to be present at the State Council. Alexander, having fallen into favor with Catherine II, used his whims and health complaints to receive gifts and awards from the Empress. Thanks to the salaries of the Empress, he became the owner of one of the largest fortunes in Russia (among the gifts he received in 1788 was the Order of St. Alexander Nevsky with diamonds worth 30 thousand rubles, and diamond aiguillettes worth about 50 thousand rubles). Income from estates reached 63 thousand rubles per year, and various payments by titles and positions exceeded 200 thousand per year.

Dmitriev-Mamonov's position seemed to be consolidated; but he unexpectedly shook it himself, falling in love with the maid of honor, Princess Daria Shcherbatova. Detractors of the favorite hastened to bring this to the attention of the Empress; on June 20, 1789, the following was recorded in the "Diary" of State Secretary Khrapovitsky: "... before the evening exit, Her Majesty herself deigned to betroth Count A.M. Mamonov to Princess Shcherbatova; they, on their knees, asked for forgiveness and were forgiven." The groom was granted 2,250 peasant souls and 100,000 rubles and ordered to leave St. Petersburg the very next day after the wedding. Shkurin's maid of honor, who helped the lovers, left with them. Having settled in Moscow, Dmitriev-Mamonov was at first pleased with his fate, but a year later he decides to remind Catherine of himself, writes her pitiful letters, asks her to return his former favor, to allow him to come to St. Petersburg. The Empress's reply soon convinced him that his hopes were in vain. However, Count Alexander Matveevich Dmitriev-Mamonov was an adjutant general in the court staff until 1797. The legend that Ekaterina, out of jealousy, sent bailiffs disguised as women to Shcherbatova, who brutally flogged her and abused her in the presence of her husband, does not correspond to reality. Emperor Pavel, to whom Dmitriev-Mamonov treated respectfully during the "favor", upon his accession to the throne, elevated him to the dignity of count of the Russian Empire on April 5, 1797, but did not summon him to court. He died in Moscow on September 29 (October 11), 1803. He was buried in the cemetery of the Donskoy Monastery.