Speaking of Russo-French relations, one of the closest and most enduring was between Turgenev and Pauline Viardot. It lasted over twenty years and only death parted them.
Pauline was the wife Turgenev never had – never because she was already married to Louis Viardot. But, not a problem. Turgenev also became Louis’ best friend, even buying him a handsome villa on the banks of the Seine at Bougival.
Here the three all shared the same passions: 
music, literature and human rights. Turgenev had been a force in the abolition of serfdom, while Louis’ republican politics brought him into conflict with Napoleon. The three were obliged to spend several years in exile in Baden Baden, in another villa supplied by Turgenev. When war broke out, they simply moved to London.
Pauline was a celebs celeb. Opera singer, concert pianist and composer, she socialised with Chopin, Schumann, Liszt, Gounod and entertained Prussian royalty. Turgenev supplied the libretto for her own works. Together they were words and music.
At Bougival, Turgenev built himself a dacha in the gardens of the Villa Viardot and it was here that he spent his last days. In a curious twist of fate, Pauline lost both her ‘husbands’ in the same year. Louis had died a few months earlier.
In 1983 the dacha was restored and transformed into a museum by L’association des amis d’Ivan Tourguéniev. The wonderful location, however, means it has to continually fight off the attentions of property developers. Currently, it is a musée en danger and would appreciate your support.
The statue of Turgenev above is in St. Petersburg’s Italian Square.
[...] Petersblurb writes about the relationship of Ivan Turgenev, Pauline Viardot, and her husband. Cancel this [...]