Mariya Volkonskaya

Princess Maria Nikolaevna Volkonskaya (née Raevskaya; ; December 25, 1805August 10, 1863) was a Decembrist wife of Prince Sergey Volkonsky who followed her husband into Siberian exile after his trial. Early life Childhood Mariya Volkonskaya was a Ukrainian aristocrat and the youngest of five children to General Nikolai Raevsky and Sofia Raevskaya. She was born on her family's Ukrainian estate on December 25, 1804; however, the family often moved due to her father's military status.  She grew up speaking mainly French, English, which she spoke perfectly, and German.  Russian was the most difficult of her languages. Like many Russian aristocrats, Mariya was educated at home. She enjoyed reading books and was great at playing the piano and sang semi-professionally.  Her favorite interests, though, were history and literature, according to a testimony of her son, Michael.  Her father's work left him absent for much of Mariya's upbringing, along with her four siblings. Her mother, Sofia, was most present in her children's upbringing. Sofia had a temper and a petty character.  Despite this, Maryia respected and loved her mother throughout her life, but the head of the family was always Nikolai, who his family always obeyed. A relationship Mariya held with another man other than her husband was that of Alexander Pushkin. Born in 1799, Pushkin shared a relative closeness in age with Mariya and had a relationship with the family, spending months abroad with the Raevskys. The two are thought to have never been more than friends, although some believe he had strong feelings for her.  The most notable was the relationship with Gustav Olizar, the leader of the nobility who frequently visited the Raevsky house. He proposed to Maryia, but the proposal was refused by her father. Although Nikolai decided everything for his daughter,  it is unknown if the refusal came directly from Mariya or her father.