Terrible tsarinas

«97»

Terrible Tsarinas

Footnotes 1. The “Frenchified” version of his name, plus a pejorative ending, was used to indicate the excesses committed by Buhren and his clique.

2. Ancestor of Bismarck, the “Iron Chancellor.” 3. His great-grandson Dmitri Miliutin, War Minister under Alexander II, would retain these evocative emblems on his blazon.

4. Cf. Brian-Chaninov, op. cit.

5. Cf. Kraft: Description de la maison de glace, and K. Waliszewski, op. cit.

6. Cf. Daria Oliver, op. cit.

7. Letter dated 10 December 1740, cited by K. Waliszewski, op. cit.

8. Cf. Brian-Chaninov, op. cit.

9. Comments reported in K. Waliszewski, op. cit.

Still dazed by her sudden accession to power, Anna Leopoldovna was not so much interested in her political triumph as in the return to St. Petersburg of her last lover, whom the tsarina thought she had skillfully removed from the picture by marrying Anna to the insipid Anthony Ulrich. As soon as the coast was clear, the count of Lynar returned, ready for the most exciting adventures. Casting her eyes upon him once again, she fell under his spell instantly. He hadn’t changed a bit in the months of separation. At the age of 40, he looked barely 30. Tall and slender, with a fine complexion and sparkling eyes, he always wore clothes in soft colors - sky blue, apricot or lilac - and used plenty of French perfumes and a pomade to keep his hands soft. They said he was an Adonis in his prime, or a Narcissus who never aged.

There is no doubt that Anna Leopoldovna made her bed available to him again immediately; and there is no doubt either that Anthony Ulrich accepted this sharing arrangement without blinking an eye. No one at the court was surprised by this eternal triangle, which they had immediately suspected would be reconstituted.