There's no price for love
Only one life.
“Your Excellency, if material difficulties turn out to be the only obstacle on the way to the American continent, I will be ready to purchase two schooners at the St. Petersburg shipyard at my own expense and, having given them the names“Juno”and“Perhaps”, respectively, I will be filled with determination in the early summer of 1806 set sail to the shores of the New World"
N. P. Rezanov N. P. Rumyantsev
Nikolai Petrovich Rezanov was born on March 26, 1764 in St. Petersburg. In 1778 Rezanov entered military service, served in the Life Guards of the Izmailovsky Regiment, was responsible for protecting Catherine II during her trip to the Crimea in 1780, but then left military service and entered the service in pskov civil court. Here he served until February 1788.
Then Rezanov became the head of the chancellery, first with Count Nikolai Chernyshov, and then with the Russian poet Gabriel Derzhavin. From 1797 to 1799 Rezanov - Chief Secretary of the Governing Senate. At this time, he was instructed to draw up the "Charter on workshops", which was approved by the Highest, and to establish the layout of the land tax in St. Petersburg and Moscow. He was awarded the Commander of the Order of the Maltese Cross, which was headed by Emperor Paul in Russia. The surviving memories, portraits, documents of that time paint his appearance: he is handsome, smart, educated, has outstanding business qualities.
In 1794 he visited Irkutsk, where his father served as chairman of the Conscientious Court. In Irkutsk, Rezanov meets the "Columbus of Russia" - the founder of the first Russian settlements in America - Grigory Ivanovich Shelikhov. In an effort to strengthen his position at court, Shelikhov woo his daughter, Anna, for Rezanov. The wedding took place on January 24, 1795, and from that moment on the fate of Rezanov is forever linked to Russian America. After the death of Shelikhov, Rezanov, Shelikhov's second son-in-law - M. M. Buldakov - and Shelikhov's widow Natalya Alekseevna founded the United American Company, which, through the efforts of Rezanov, who had excellent connections at court, in 1799 was transformed into the Russian-American Company under His Imperial Majesty's patronage … Rezanov becomes the representative of the RAC in St. Petersburg.
In 1801, the Rezanovs had a son, Peter, and in 1802, a daughter, Olga. Twelve days after the birth of her daughter, Anna Grigorievna died.
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From the very beginning of the RAC's activity, it was faced with the task of establishing a connection between the Russian colonies and the mother country. The most convenient and cheapest route was around Cape Horn, but no one among the Russians had ever used it. It so happened that the famous Russian sailor Ivan Fyodorovich Kruzenshtern turned to the naval ministry with a project for a round-the-world trip. The organization of the expedition was entrusted to the RAC, and Rezanov was appointed its leader (bypassing Kruzenshtern, but communications at court are a great thing!). On June 10, 1803, he was awarded the Order of St. Anna I degree, conferred the title of chamberlain of the Imperial Court and appointed envoy to Japan, which still pursued a policy of "self-isolation".
Rezanov's mission to Japan failed. The Japanese greeted the Russians unfriendly, refused to conduct any negotiations, and returned all the gifts that the Russian emperor had sent. Added to the Japanese failure was the conflict between Kruzenshtern and Rezanov. Therefore, when the round-the-world ships arrived in Okhotsk, Nikolai Rezanov refused to continue the journey on the Nadezhda. Rezanov preferred to return to St. Petersburg by land, through Siberia, having previously visited Russian America with an inspector's check.
In the first decade of the 19th century, the Russian colonies experienced difficulties in supplying food. Products supplied from Russia often came to the colonies spoiled, and contacts with the "Bostonians" - American merchants - were not yet regular trade relations. When Rezanov visited the colonies, they were in a terrible state - hunger. At the direction of Rezanov, the ship "Yuno" (Russian transcription "Juno") with all the cargo of food was bought from the American merchant John Wolfe. It turned out to be not enough, and then Rezanov decided, at his own peril and risk, to organize an expedition to California and buy food from the Spaniards. Lieutenant Nikolai Khvostov was appointed commander of the Yuno, on which an expedition to California was organized, accompanied by the schooner Avos, under the command of Captain Davydov.
On February 25, 1806, the ship departed from Novo-Arkhangelsk and a month later arrived at the fortress of San Francisco.
California at that time belonged to Spain, and Spain was an ally of Napoleon, for whom Russia was then an enemy. At any moment, France could declare war on Russia, which would also mean the beginning of a war between Russia and Spain.
Rezanov faced a difficult task - the Madrid court did not welcome the external relations of its colonists, bypassing the metropolis. But the desire for mutual trade and the surplus of grain in the Spanish colony, as well as the considerable diplomatic talent of Rezanov (who, however, did not help him in Japan), played a role. During his six weeks in California, Rezanov established good relations with the Governor of Upper California, Jose Arliaga, and became a frequent guest at the house of the commandant of the San Francisco fortress, Jose Dario Arguello.
One of the most romantic and tragic stories of that time is connected with the commandant's daughter Konchita and Rezanov - the love story of a fifteen-year-old Catholic girl for a forty-two-year-old Russian tsarist chamberlain.
In the front room of the commandant's house, Nikolai Petrovich, getting acquainted with its inhabitants, first saw Her - fifteen-year-old Maria de la Concepcion, or as she was called in the family - Conchita.
She was called the beauty of two California. She immediately attracted the attention of everyone who had the good fortune to see her. Georg Langsdorf, naturalist and personal physician of Rezanov, who fell in love with Conchita at first sight, describes her in his diary as follows: “She stands out with a majestic bearing, her facial features are beautiful and expressive, her eyes captivate. Add to this a graceful figure, wonderful natural curls, wonderful teeth and thousands of other delights. Such beautiful women can be found only in Italy, Portugal or Spain, but even then it is very rare."
Conchita, like all girls of her age around the world, dreamed of meeting a fairy-tale prince, naturally, that Rezanov, the commander and chamberlain of His Imperial Majesty, a strong, handsome man, made a deep impression on the young Spanish beauty. Rezanov was the only Russian delegation who spoke Spanish well, so he could share any conversation with Conchita. He often told her, largely of her own free will, about Petersburg, Europe, the imperial court.
He admired her with his nobility, education, tact, self-control, she did not try to hide this admiration. It was her spontaneity, frankness and sincerity that fascinated him. In addition, he saw how smart she was: Conchita gave him a lot of practical advice and opened his eyes to the political situation in California. In conversations, they got to know each other more and more with each meeting.
Everything would be fine if it were not for Rezanov's responsibility for the settlements and the people left by him there, in the North of the American continent, who are waiting for him with food. After all, the main purpose of this was to establish trade relations with California in order to prevent the extinction of Russian settlements due to hunger. He was a very responsible person, he knew that Russia needed him and his help. So, seeing that the situation with the delivery of bread on board the Yuno is not changing for the better, and from day to day waiting for the news of the beginning of the war between Russia and Spain, which would ruin all plans for a deal on the exchange of bread for goods located aboard the Yuno, Rezanov decided to go to extremes.
From a report to the Minister of Commerce: “In anticipation of the governor, we spent every day in the hospitable Arguello's house and got acquainted quite briefly. Of the Commandant's beautiful sisters, Donna Concepsia is known for the beauty of California.
Daily courtesy of the Gishpan beauty, I noticed her enterprising nature, unlimited ambition, which, at the age of fifteen, was already making her homeland unpleasant for her alone from the whole family. “Beautiful land, warm climate. There is a lot of bread and cattle, and nothing else. " I introduced her to a stricter Russian, and, moreover, abundant in everything, she was ready to live in it, and finally I insensibly settled in her an impatience to hear from me something more serious to the point that I just offered her a hand, and then received consent."
Too much then depended on Rezanov. He could not, did not have the right, to miss a lucky chance, which was salutary for all Russian settlements in America. He, an experienced man, wise in life, already guessed about Conchita's love for him, and she fell in love with Rezanov with all her heart. When he proposed to her, she agreed without a moment's hesitation.
Conchita's parents were amazed to learn of Nikolai Petrovich's intention to marry their daughter. They were even more horrified when they realized that Conchita would never give up her love, despite all the persuasions of the holy fathers who, pointing out the impossibility of marriage due to the difference of religions, hoped to reason with the stubborn girl, focusing on her sense of devotion and fidelity to the Catholic faith. Conchita, selflessly defending her love for Rezanov, did not think to "change" her faith, because it seemed to her that God would understand their feelings, for her the difference of religions was not an obstacle to marriage.
“My proposal struck down her (Conchita's) parents brought up in fanaticism. The difference of religions and the separation from their daughter ahead were a thunderous blow for them. They resorted to missionaries, they did not know what to decide on. They took poor Concepsia to church, confessed her, persuaded her to refuse, but her determination finally calmed everyone."
As a result, it was decided to "seek permission" for this ("mixed", ie between a Catholic and an Orthodox) marriage from the Holy See of Rome. But Rezanov did not stop there and achieved an engagement, which, unlike betrothal and wedding, was not a church rite, so the engagement was announced immediately.
“The Holy Fathers left the permission of the Roman See, and if I could not finish my marriage, I made a conditional act and forced us to get engaged, it was agreed that this should be a secret until the permission of the Pope. From that time, putting myself as a commandant in the appearance of a close relative, I already managed the port of the Catholic Majesty in the way that my benefit also demanded, and the governor was extremely surprised and amazed to see that it was not at the right time to assure me of the sincere dispositions of this house and that he himself, so to speak, was my guest …"
Of course, before making an offer, Rezanov thought about a lot. The age difference did not bother him as much as the metropolitan rumor. In Russia, marriages of convenience are not uncommon, and the age difference was little taken into account. So this circumstance did not bother the commander. There were also more significant differences in years. As for the metropolitan rumor, then the situation was more serious. The opinion of the world in Russia has always meant a lot, so one should be wary of rumor. Rezanov will write in a letter to his patron and friend, the Minister of Commerce, Count Nikolai Petrovich Rumyantsev, that the reason that prompted him to offer his hand and heart to the young Spanish woman was the benefit of the Fatherland, for which he was ready to sacrifice much in his personal life.
In his last letter dated January 24-26, 1807 to his brother-in-law, the director of the RAC, Mikhailo Buldakov, Rezanov speaks of his Californian fiancée: “From my Californian report, do not consider me, my friend, an anemone. My love is with you, in Nevsky, under a piece of marble, and here is a consequence of entuziasm (Rezanov's spelling) and another sacrifice to the fatherland. Contensia is sweet, kind-hearted, loves me, and I love her and cry that there is no place for her in my heart."
Dr. Langsdorff made a similar remark in his diary: “Still, we must give justice to the Oberkamerger von Rezanov, that for all his shortcomings, he still has great administrative abilities. And not everything human is alien to him. One would think that he immediately fell in love with this young Spanish beauty. However, in view of the prudence inherent in this cold person, it would be more careful to admit that he simply assumed some diplomatic views on her.
Yes, there is no doubt that there was love between them, but Rezanov, an experienced courtier and statesman, first of all viewed this marriage as mutually beneficial. Yes, this eventual marriage helped Russian America to survive one of the most difficult periods in its history: a variety of food products flowed into the holds of the Juno in great abundance. The initial trading experience with California was thus very successful. But, sincere love for the 40-year-old chamberlain brought the beautiful Conchita too little joy and too much grief.
June 11 (May 8) 1806 "Yuno" set off on the return journey. The noble groom watched the receding shores of California from the deck of the heavily laden Yuno. He saw them for the last time, he was not destined to meet again with Conchita.
Inspired with hope, the young Spanish woman counted the days until her lover returned. She often went to the cape, sat on the stones and looked at the ocean for a long time to see if a sail with a Russian flag would appear.
Ten years have passed in anticipation
You're on your way. You are getting closer to me.
To make it light on the way
I leave a candle in the window
Days, weeks, months passed. Parents urged Conchita to be prudent. The sailors brought news from Russia that Rezanov had caught a cold in Alaska and, without waiting for his recovery, continued his journey to Petersburg. He was in a hurry, dogs were replaced by deer, deer were replaced by horses, Rezanov's heart could not stand it. He died in Krasnoyarsk on March 1, 1807 … A year later, in 1808, in a letter to Conchita's brother, Don Luis Arguello, the main ruler of Russian America, Alexander Baranov, announced Rezanov's death and freed Conchita from her promise, but Conchita did not believe the stories and continued wait.
Twenty years have passed in anticipation
You're on your way, you're getting closer to me.
You will overcome the worldwide evil …
I leave the candle in the window.
Even after visiting the Presidio in 1806, Nikolai Rezanov had an idea to found a settlement in California so that it would become a breadbasket for agricultural products for Novo-Arkhangelsk and all of Russian America. At that time, the territories lying north of the San Francisco Bay, in accordance with an agreement signed by England, Spain and Russia, were considered free.
Rezanov had amazing plans. While in the Presidio, he felt that Spain was burdened by its colonies in Northern California and was ready to negotiate their future fate. In his dreams, Rezanov already saw California as Russian. Rezanov wrote to the directors of the RAC after returning from California to Alaska:
“Little by little, we can extend further south to the port of San Francisco. Over the course of ten years, it can be strengthened to such an extent that the California coast must always be kept in such a way that at the slightest coincidence of circumstances it could be included in the number of Russian accessories. Guishpants are very weak in this region."
According to Rezanov's instructions, the ruler of Russian America, Alexander Baranov, sends detachments of his people to the south to find a suitable place. In 1812, such a place was found. On March 15, a detachment under the command of Ivan Kuskov began construction of the settlement. In the fall, on September 11, the grand opening of the new colony took place. It consisted of a small fortress and several houses outside it. The population was 95 Russian industrial people and 80 Aleut hunters. The fortress was named Fort Ross.
Later, small settlements were built in the Rumyantsev Bay and on the Slavyanka River. However, the place for the settlement was not chosen well. The bay did not provide reliable shelter for ships; it was open to winds and waves from the ocean. And a narrow strip of land between the ocean and the mountains could not give birth to enough bread and vegetables to feed the Russian population of Alaska. Frequent fogs from the ocean nullified all the efforts of farmers. Thirty years later, in 1842, Fort Ross was sold to Sutter.
Thirty years have passed in anticipation
You're on your way, you're getting closer to me.
My wing is growing!
I left a candle in the window …
Conchita had been waiting for Count Rezanov for 35 years. The beauty of California was wooed by the best suitors, but they were always refused. Only in 1842, the English traveler George Simpson, arriving in San Francisco, told her the exact details of his death. Believing in his death only thirty-five years later, Conchita made a vow of silence, and a few years later she took monastic vows at a Dominican monastery in Monterey. In New California, she was called La Beata (Blessed). In the early 1840s, Donna Concepcion entered the third Order of the White Clergy. After the founding of the monastery of St. Dominic in 1851, she became a monk under the name Maria Dominga.
Conchita died at the age of 67 on December 23, 1857 and her body was buried in the monastery cemetery, and in 1897 was transferred to a special cemetery of the Order of St. Dominic.
In Alaska, near Sitka, the former capital of Russian America, there is a small island called Arguelo. The last greetings that Nikolai Rezanov sent to his betrothed, calling the island by her last name.
“Concepcion turned out to be not only an outwardly beautiful, headstrong and passionate woman. She turned out to be a strong spirit, able to endure everything with her head held high and without complaint or compromise come to her bitter end,”American writer Hector Chevigny writes about the first beauty of California in the novel“The Lost Empire”.
Rezanov was buried in 1807 at the cemetery near the Resurrection Cathedral in Krasnoyarsk, where he died. In 1960, his ashes were transferred to the Trinity cemetery and buried there not far from the church. In 2000, a new tombstone for Rezanov was erected at the Troitskoye cemetery in the form of a large white marble cross, on which you can read the inscription “I will never see you. I will never forget you . In the same year, a symbolic act of reunification of lovers was performed: the sheriff of the city of Monterey (California, USA) Harry Brown brought a rose and a handful of earth from the grave of Donna Concepcion Arguello to Krasnoyarsk and scattered it over the grave of Nikolai Rezanov. In turn, he took from Russia a handful of earth from the grave of Rezanov, which was scattered on the grave of Conchita in the cemetery of St. Dominic in Benicia.
One hundred years later, in 1970, Andrei Voznesensky dedicated the poem “Perhaps!” To the history of Count Rezanov and Conchita. Seven years later, he also creates the libretto of the rock opera Juno and Avos to the music of Alexei Rybnikov, which was directed by Mark Zakharov at the Lenkom Theater. The premiere of the opera Juno and Avos took place on July 9, 1981. The phrase “I will never see you, I will never forget you” became its catchphrase. One of our finest rock operas.
