Catherine Rostopchin
| Yekaterina Rostopchina | |
|---|---|
Portrait by Orest Kiprensky, 1809
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| Born |
Yekaterina Petrovna Protasova 1776 |
| Died | 14 September 1859 (aged 83) Moscow, Russia |
| Nationality | Russian |
| Occupation | Writer, aristocrat |
| Known for | Being the wife of the governor-general of Moscow |
| Spouse(s) | Fyodor Rostopchin |
Countess Yekaterina Petrovna Rostopchina (Russian: Екатерина Петровна Ростопчина; 1776 – 14 September 1859) was a Russian and writer. She was married to Fyodor Rostopchin, who served as governor of Moscow during the French Invasion of Russia.
Yekaterina was the second of five daughters born to Senator Lieutenant General Pyotr S. Protasov (d. 1794) and his wife Alexandra Ivanovna (d. 1782). She had four sisters:
Yekaterina and her sisters were orphaned at an early age. They were raised by their aunt, Anna Stepanovna Protasova, who was a lady-in-waiting and a personal friend of the Empress Catherine II. Protasova ensured that her nieces received an excellent education, most notably in foreign languages, including Latin, Greek, but neglecting Russian. They were also not so well educated in Russian history and religion. At the time of Alexander I's coronation, each of the unmarried sisters received the title of countess, at their aunt's request.
Yekaterina was tall, attractive, and possessed an expressive face, and black eyes that were full of life and fire. However, she was reserved and unsociable.
Yekaterina was granted the title maid of honour, in 1791. She married Count Fyodor Vasilievich Rostopchin, who appreciated her serious nature, in early 1794. The couple had four sons and four daughters and had a happy marriage until Yekaterina's conversion to Catholicism.
Being a free-thinker with little knowledge of the Russian Eastern Orthodox faith, Catherine, along with her sisters, converted to Roman Catholicism. This conversion destroyed the family's happiness. Her husband was Mayor of Moscow during the Fire of Moscow, and his wife, being a zealous Catholic, was to be invidiously portrayed as an enthroned mistress.
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