SNOW AND SAND
By Vicka Markov SurovtsoviUniverse, Inc.
Copyright © 2010 Vicka Markov Surovtsov
All right reserved.ISBN: 978-1-4502-5057-3Chapter One
My father, Anatoli Markov, was born in 1894 at the Pokrovskoye Estate into an old established family of Russian gentry, in the fertile province of Kursk, located southeast of Moscow. His grandfather, Evgeni Markov, was a wealthy man. Besides being a well-known writer, he was a banker and the elected Marshal of the Noblemen's Association of Kursk. Evgeni believed that since he gave his four sons an excellent education, they should do very well on their own. And, with that thought in mind, he divided his land equally between them, with instructions to work hard. He left everything else to his wife, his beloved companion.
Leo, my grandfather, was Evgeni's eldest son. He married Victoria Rishkova, my grandmother, in 1888. They had known each other since childhood, as only three miles separated their two estates, which, at that time, qualified them as close neighbors.
Victoria was five years younger than Leo. During summer vacations they were part of a large group of friends who spent a lot of time together. When Victoria was eighteen Leo noticed that she was no longer the awkward teenager he had known, but had blossomed into a dark-eyed beauty. He was in his third year at the engineering school when he fell in love with her the summer she graduated from the Institute for Noble Young Women, in Voronezh.
Leo was not the only one who was attracted to Victoria. Soon he found out that he faced tough competition, for Victoria had already mastered the art of keeping a devoted following of young admirers to do her bidding. At first, she did not take his blushing declarations seriously, but Leo was persistent. He patiently courted her and eventually mustered the courage to ask her to marry him. She laughed at him, but, swayed by Leo's perseverance, gradually started to think about him differently, endowing him with qualities of romantic heroes of her French novels, and finally accepted his proposal. Her mother, who saw Leo Markov as a suitable match for her daughter, encouraged her. Leo wanted to get married right away, but his father insisted that he first finish engineering school.
The Rishkins were a prosperous family of Russian nobility. (In Russian, the masculine and feminine names have to agree, therefore Victoria [fem.] is Rishkova, and the family name [masc.] is Rishkin.) They were related to the Tsar's family through their great-grandmother, the daughter of King Nicholas I of Montenegro. Montenegro was then a tiny kingdom with a very democratic king, chosen to rule by his devoted citizens. He had a slew of daughters whom he was anxious to marry off to Orthodox princes, and Russia, a historic protector of Serbia and Montenegro, was frequently seeking alliances through marriages to suitable princes of foreign-reigning families. Thus, several exotic-looking daughters of King Nicolas I of Montenegro married into the Russian royal family, injecting new turbulent blood into their family line. The Rishkins were influential in Kursk and even today, the Moscow-Kursk train stops at the Rishkino station.
Victoria's education at the prestigious Institute for Noble Young Ladies had prepared her for the typical life of a well-born girl. She was proficient in French and German, played piano quite well, and had read all the novels by Georges Sand. However, while Victoria was indulging in fantasies of her future married life, Leo was faced with a problem of how to earn his living. Russia, at that time, had just completed the occupation of Turkestan, whose reluctant natives were not disposed too favorably towards the Russian forces, who were bent on civilizing them, Russian style. One of the most pressing problems of the Russian authorities was the absence of organized communication between Russia and the newly-acquired territory. A bold project of a network of railways was planned, and Leo applied for the job as railway engineer, rashly promising his bride that a honeymoon in Turkestan was a romantic getaway.
After the wedding, Victoria packed her elegant wardrobe, said good-bye to her family and friends, and off they went to Turkestan, traveling by horse-drawn carriage through the mountain roads. After an exhausting trip of several days, the couple reached a small frontier town in Turkestan, where they were billeted in a native house, conveniently abandoned by its owners. The military barracks were in place when Leo reported for duty, and an orderly was assigned to him to help with household chores. To Victoria's consternation, he was to be the only help around their new home. He was recently conscripted, a lad from a remote Russian village, who had just arrived with his regiment in the newly-occupied territory. No female help was available, as the natives did not allow their womenfolk to have any contact with the Russians.
Leo spent the day in a frustrating effort to learn what he was supposed to do. He arrived home that evening hungry and upset, to find his bride in tears-no food in the house, and a panicky young orderly wondering whether to desert or lie down and die. The newlyweds hadn't thought of taking along any household items, such as pots and pans for cooking. All the rosy stories of the natives welcoming the occupying forces with open arms vanished as the couple contemplated the harsh reality. Neither Leo nor Victoria was prepared for the new life. However, the problem of food took second place to the following events.
After a few months, Victoria realized she was pregnant. She wanted to return home, but winter had already set in and the mountain roads were impassable, so she had to face the fact that she must remain in the Turkestan village. There was no doctor and no women to advise her, and Victoria went through a difficult pregnancy. Alone, with the help of a military male nurse, she gave birth to a stillborn boy, whom she and Leo named Eugene. They buried him under a shady tree in their yard. Leo had been doing some serious thinking for the first time in his life. He came to the conclusion that since he was not about to get any financial help from his wealthy father, he might as well use his brains and think of a way to take care of his family.
Victoria, grieving for her lost child, was about to give up on life when Leo told her that he was going to resign from his job and that they would return to Russia. She was delighted to hear that their ordeal was over and she would be returning to her family and friends. Although still mourning for her son, her natural optimism took over and she was looking forward to their departure. A month later, Leo and Victoria traveled back to Russia. The return journey was as difficult as the arrival, but this time, Victoria was immersed in thoughts of happy reunions, while Leo was weighing the possibilities of developing the Pokrovskoye Estate, where Eugene had retired. He hoped to convince his father to let him have a free hand in modernizing the family estate.
Upon their return, Victoria's indifference to all that pertained to the practical aspects of living only increased as time passed. It was not unusual for girls of her class to be mainly interested in the lighter facets of life, such as giving parties, hunts and picnics. Leo secretly hoped that she would show more interest in the running of their household, which she left to the servants. (In those almost feudal days, both Leo's and Victoria's families being very wealthy, it was not uncommon for in-laws to share their peasants with newlyweds. It was considered part of the dowry.) Leo only confided in his brother, Nicholas, who argued that Victoria was as yet too young. So he held his peace and watched indulgently as Victoria plunged into the social life that she had missed so much.
Leo was able to persuade his father to go along with his proposal and Evgeni Markov moved with his wife to his Alexandrovka Estate, abandoning the Pokrovskoye to Leo, on condition that he develop the adjoining land owned by his widowed Aunt Sophia. As far as ideas were concerned, Leo was the worthy son of his father. Within five years, he not only increased his yearly income from the sale of rye and wheat crops, but also added a dairy farm, which proved to be a thriving enterprise. He was able to repay his debt to his father, and even purchased a stable of Arabian horses that won prizes at the local fairs.
* * *
After a troublesome start, Leo and Victoria did enjoy a happy married life. They had three children before the turn of the century: Nicholas, Anatoli (my father), and Sonia. According to my father, Victoria was a devoted and loving mother. The young children enjoyed the freedom of country life, playing with neighbors and cousins. Both Nicholas and Anatoli were encouraged to play with peasant boys, with whom they bonded for life. Both boys attended cadet schools in Voronezh, while Sonia was a student at the Smolensk Institute in Moscow. When the children were home from school, they had governesses who taught them German and French. But to my father, nothing could equal the joy of returning to his home during the school breaks. Since his early years, he was irresistibly drawn to the beautiful countryside surrounding their estate. He never forgot the lessons he learned from his peasant friend Yasha. Yasha taught him how to recognize the call of different birds and the best places to fish along the shores of the River Tim. It was Yasha, also, who instilled in him a deep love of nature, which stayed with Father to the end of his days. Nicholas, too, was always welcome among the peasant families and often helped them at harvest time. At seventeen, he fell in love with the beautiful Anfisa, Yasha's sister. This was the first and last love of his tragically short life.
* * *
At Pokrovskoye, the twentieth century began ominously, with the death of my great-grandfather, Evgeni Markov. Although expected for some time, this sad event shook the foundations of the Markov clan, from which they never recovered.
During his lifetime, Evgeni Markov, due to his boundless energy and diplomacy, was able to advise and counsel his sons, inspiring them to use their talents constructively. His son Rostislav was an aspiring writer, while Nicholas was just beginning to be well known in the Russian Duma (Parliament) as the conservative member for Kursk, whose radical ideas earned him many enemies among the liberal members of the Duma. The sons and their families were at the center of the Kursk society, enjoying well-deserved reputations untouched by scandals. After Evgeni's death, this started to change.
While the foundations of Russia started to shake, the moral standards of its society deteriorated. In the small world of Leo Markov's family, rumbling echoes of impending doom seemed to reflect the political climate.
Victoria discovered, with some surprise, that she was pregnant again. Nicholas and Anatoli were already in the cadet school at Voronezh while Sonia was in her first year at the Institute for Young Ladies at Voronezh. . Although she never had any difficulties during her earlier pregnancies, she felt this one was different. She had several fainting spells and a specialist was summoned. To everybody's surprise, she was diagnosed with a chronic heart condition. The physician advised her to rest as much as possible, and Leo decided to hire a woman who would take care of his wife and also help her after the birth of the child.
Chapter Two
Thus Maria Vassilivna became part of the Markov family. In his diary, Father described the scene when he first saw her.
During our Easter vacation, Mother called the three of us into her room and said, "Children, I want you to meet Maria Vassilivna. She will live with us as my companion and as my friend, I hope. In addition to that, she will assist the three of you with your lessons when you will be here on holidays."
A tall young lady in her twenties rose from her seat near Mother and said, "What beautiful children! Hello, I hope we soon will be good friends." She shook Nick's and my hand, and embraced Sonia.
Maria Vassilivna was in her late twenties. Tall and slender, she held herself very erect. Blond tresses crowned her head and I thought she was very beautiful.
Father was twelve years old at that time.
Maria proved to be a jewel. She helped Victoria in every possible way and soon they became very close. When friends visited Victoria, Maria would always stay and participate in the conversations, as part of the family.
The new companion came from an impoverished family of small gentry from Voronezh. Having finished the city gymnasium, she studied accounting; these skills enabled her to help Leo in the evenings after Victoria retired for the night.
Maria was invaluable when Victoria's son, Evgeni, was born. Still frail after giving birth, Victoria asked Maria Vassilivna to take over the care and feeding of the baby, for whom a wet nurse was soon found from the neighboring village.
When Victoria recovered, her natural good disposition returned and she resumed her former role of social hostess. By that time, everybody knew that Maria Vassilivna was more than a companion to Victoria. In fact, she was now introduced to friends as Victoria's "best friend." When little Evgeni started to talk, he referred to Maria as "blond mama" and "dark mama" to his mother. Everyone thought it was very cute.
No one was surprised when at Christmas and Easter, Leo would give equal gifts to both Victoria and Maria Vassilivna. Father remembered in his diary when Leo gave both Victoria and Maria similar expensive saddles for their horses. He also mentioned that Nick thought that it was quite unnecessary.
Father never spoke to me about the tragic day when everything started to unravel. After his death I read his diary, where he described what happened.
I was fourteen years old and we were all home for the summer holidays. It was noon and as I made my way to the dining room, I heard loud voices. All the family was already seated at the table with the exception of Mother, who was standing. Father was sitting with his gaze fixed upon Mother, with an expression of surprise and anguish. Her face was in tears. I did not recognize her usually soft voice. She pointed her finger at Maria Vassilivna, whose head was bowed. She was crying softly.
"So you have been his mistress for three long years," cried Mother. "You! My best friend! I trusted you with my life. I practically gave you my child and you deceived me with this weak man, whom I despise. Whose love you have taken away from me. Whom you stole from me as a thief in the night. And you!" She then whirled around to face Father, her black eyes raging. "And you! Have I been a bad wife to you? I gave you four beautiful children. How can you face them after what you have done to me? Oh my God! Oh my God, help me!"
She rushed from the dining room and ran up the stairs. I could hear her slam the door to her room. The servants, frightened by the commotion, crowded in the corridor, chattering among themselves. Father approached Nastia, Victoria's old nurse.
"Go to her, Nastia," he said. "Try to talk to her. Calm her down."
Nastia gave him a hard look and pushed him away from her.
"I'll go to her, Barin, but you just stay away from her for now. My poor golubka [dove], my poor angel."
Nastia, who was Mother's old nanny, knocked at Mother's door and spoke softly, while Nick, Sonia, and I huddled in a corner. After a while Mother opened her door and Nastia went in.
In the meantime, Maria Vassilivna and Father disappeared from the dining room. An hour later, a hired carriage arrived at our front door and Maria Vassilivna, her valise in hand, hurriedly got in.
Nastia opened the door to Mother's room.
"You can go in, children," she said. "She needs you with her."
We all went in. Mother was sitting on the couch. She put her arms around us and sobbed. "My poor little darlings," she said. Evgeni, who was frightened by the events, started to cry and soon fell asleep on her knees.
"She left," said Nick. His voice sounded like a growl and as I looked at him, I saw not a boy of sixteen, but a man. An angry man. He embraced Mother. "She is gone, that bitch," he said. "I hate her and I hate him, too. You don't need him, Mother, I will protect you."
"I hate her too," said Sonia, "but I don't understand. What happened, Mother? Tell me, please. Why are you crying?"
This page in Father's diary had many lines crossed out, and then there was more writing, obviously much later, as the ink was fresher and blue instead of black. I read on.
(Continues...)
Excerpted from SNOW AND SANDby Vicka Markov Surovtsov Copyright © 2010 by Vicka Markov Surovtsov. Excerpted by permission.
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