Maria Perekusikhina
Encyclopedia
Maria Savvishna Perekusikhina (1739–1824), was a Russian memoir
Memoir
A memoir , is a literary genre, forming a subclass of autobiography – although the terms 'memoir' and 'autobiography' are almost interchangeable. Memoir is autobiographical writing, but not all autobiographical writing follows the criteria for memoir set out below...

ist, the Lady's maid
Lady's maid
A lady's maid is a female personal attendant who waits on the lady of the house. The position is very similar to a gentleman's valet. Traditionally, in eras past, the lady's maid was not as high-ranking as a lady's companion, who was a retainer rather than a servant, but the rewards included room...

 of Empress Catherine the Great of Russia. She was a close friend and confidant of Catherine and quite influential.

She was from a noble family, and was the Lady's maid of Catherine from the 1760s onward. Her brother Basil Perekusikhin received a good education and died a Senator (1724-1788). She was so trusted by Catherine that it was said that "all the favorites of the second half of last century were in the moral depending Perekusikhina". Her closeness to the monarch made her an unofficial channel for people who wanted something from Catherine. During her trip to the Crimea
Crimea
Crimea , or the Autonomous Republic of Crimea , is a sub-national unit, an autonomous republic, of Ukraine. It is located on the northern coast of the Black Sea, occupying a peninsula of the same name...

 in 1787, Catherine reprimanded Grigory Potyomkin for not seeing to the comfort of Perekusikhina. She was present at the death of Catherine, and later wrote down her memories of her.

Sources

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK