Anna Alexandrovna Vyrubova is a close friend of the last Russian empress, her nature is ambiguous, mysterious, and largely slandered. For many, Vyrubova became a real symbol of tsarism, she was considered responsible for the mistakes of the crowned patroness, including for the nomination of Rasputin and his detrimental effect on the royal family.
Childhood and youth
Anna Alexandrovna Vyrubova (nee Taneeva) was born in 1884 in St. Petersburg. On the maternal side, she was the great-great-granddaughter of commander Kutuzov. The Taneyev family was brought close to the courtyard, the girl’s father, Alexander Sergeyevich, served as state secretary and chief administrator of the imperial chancellery. The girl received excellent home education, and then passed the exam and received the right to teach independently. In 1904, young Anna was accepted at court as the maid of honor of Empress Alexandra Feodorovna.
At the age of 22, Anna married Alexander Vyrubov, a nobleman, a naval officer with excellent career prospects. However, family life from the very beginning went unsuccessfully - later Vyrubova assured that she remained a damsel, as her husband managed to get drunk before the wedding night and forever instilled in his young wife an aversion to the intimate side of marriage. A year later, Anna asked her husband for a divorce and soon received it.
After failures in her personal life, the young maid of honor focused on the service, turning into the helpful, respectful, executive confidant of the Empress. She acquaints the patroness with city gossip and rumors, entertains and comforts Alexandra Fedorovna. Together with the royal family, Vyrubova moved to Tsarskoye Selo and soon became the closest and, perhaps, the only friend of the crowned person.
At this time, the young maid of honor met Grigory Rasputin. Having penetrated the magnetism of this ambiguous personality, Vyrubova became one of the most devoted adherents of the "holy elder". It was she who introduced Rasputin to the Empress and contributed to his penetration into the closest circle of the imperial family.
