April 22, 1762
In St. Petersburg, in the Summer Palace, in an atmosphere of strict secrecy, Catherine II gave birth to an illegitimate son. So that the legal spouse Peter III Without suspecting anything, one of the empress's supporters set fire to his own house: the emperor was very fond of putting out fires.
He comes from very strange people, and in many ways was born from them (from a letter from Catherine II about her son)
The real father of the baby Alexey there was a count Grigory OrlovThe boy was given to a family immediately after birth. Vasily Shkurin, who looked after the royal wardrobe.
Just two months later, Catherine II staged a palace coup and ascended the throne herself. However, she did not return her son: until the age of eight, he grew up with Shkurin's children, then was educated in a German boarding school.
The boy was "weak, timid, shy, and obedient." By the age of 12, he spoke French and German, had a basic understanding of arithmetic, and "a rudimentary understanding of geography."
Catherine II supported her son financially. At 13, he was given an estate near Tula, in the village of Bobriki. It was then that he acquired his surname. Bobrinsky.
He only learned that his mother was an empress when he was 19 years old.
I know that your mother, being oppressed by various hostile and powerful enemies, due to the troubled circumstances of that time, saving herself, was forced to hide your birth. (from a letter from Catherine II to Bobrinsky)
After this, the boy ceased to be modest: he caroused wildly in Europe and racked up gambling debts. A furious Catherine sent him to the Reval fortress, where he lived until her death.
He is young and can be involved in very bad company; he has driven those who were with him out of patience. (from a letter from Catherine II about her son)
The new Emperor Paul recognized Bobrinsky as a brother, gave him the title of count, lands near Tula and a palace in St. Petersburg (which belonged to Count Orlov).
After this, Bobrinsky moved to Tula, where for the rest of his life he was engaged in agricultural experiments and observed the stars at night.
He died in July 1813 of paralysis. He left behind two daughters and three sons (one of whom was born out of wedlock).
