Margarita Konenkova: biography, photo

In the Olympic 1980 in the heart of the festive Moscow, a woman died who in her youth conquered many representatives of the world elite with her beauty, and in the postwar years was one of the richest ladies of the capital. She died from severe exhaustion, or, more simply, from hunger. This woman was Margarita Ivanovna Konenkova, whose biography could be the basis of the fascinating novel.

A girl from the province

Two years before the revolution, a family of impoverished Vorontsovs came to Moscow from the small town of Sarapul. Despite the fact that their life had previously been going on in remote and deaf Udmurtia, these people were not at all like provincials. His daughter Margarita, born in 1894, they gave a wonderful home education, which enabled her to fluent in English, German and French. Sitting at the piano, the girl could quickly perform from a sheet of very complex plays and flaunt, though not strong, but well-delivered soprano.

In her youth, Margarita Konenkova, whose birth date is marked by the accession to the throne of the last Russian emperor, was a great success in society. But her main talent consisted not in playing music and not in the ability to conduct elegant conversation in a foreign language. This girl was sent a gift to fascinate everyone who had to communicate with her. Particularly vulnerable to her enchantment were men, and among them - those who have already reached a solid age and high social status.

New star of Moscow salons

Once in Moscow, Margarita, without any visible effort, managed to quickly enter the circle of high society, where she immediately found herself worthy patrons. Very soon, the doors of the best houses opened for her. Rotating in the cycle of secular life, she became a frequent guest in the Chaliapin family, where she got acquainted with the representatives of the highest Moscow bohemia. Among her new admirers was also recognized by that time the musical genius Sergei Rachmaninoff.

However, the first victim of the young seducer was Boris Chaliapin - the son of a famous singer, and then himself, the respected Fedor Ivanovich. He was still young - just over forty, and whether it is worth to be surprised that his father squeezed his offspring. Secular life does not happen without gossip, and many of the then beau monde claimed that Margarita also did not disappoint with the refusal and two other Russian celebrities - S. Rachmaninov and A. Blok, who often visited the hospitable house of the Chaliapins.

The wife of the venerable sculptor Margarita Konenkova

Biography, photos and other documents of those years draw to us the image of a young beauty who decided to get a winning ticket from her fate. There, in the circle of people of art, Margarita met a young Moscow sculptor Peter Bromirsky, who soon proposed to her.

Preparations for the wedding were in full swing, when Peter introduced the bride to his older friend and colleague, the sculptor Sergei Timofeevich Kononkov. This acquaintance determined all her future destiny. The famous sculptor quickly fell under the charm of a young provincial, who soon became for him a muse, a model, and a civil wife.

Officially, marriage was only concluded six years later. The reason for the delay was the unwillingness of the bride's parents to give their blessing because of the difference in age - Sergei Timofeevich was twenty-two years older than their daughter. The wedding took place in 1922, and now it's not Rita Vorontsova, but Margarita Konenkova (photo, see at the beginning of the article) became the inseparable companion of the famous sculptor for the rest of her life.

Departure overseas

In 1923, an exhibition of Russian and Soviet art was held in New York. For the government of the Bolsheviks, who recently came to power and compromised themselves with the horrors of the Civil War, it was extremely important to demonstrate to the whole world the desire to move in the general stream of spiritual progress.

The New York exhibition was a convenient pretext for this, and soon Margarita Konenkova and her husband in the Soviet delegation went overseas. It was assumed that the trip would last several months, but fate decided otherwise. They saw Moscow only twenty-two years later.

Success in the highest American society

In America, Margarita Kononkova was an extraordinary success. Beautiful by nature, elegantly dressed and fluent in English, she also easily conquered the New York high society, as in previous years Moscow. Thanks to her gift to win the sympathy of others, Margarita was soon accepted among the highest representatives of the political and business elite. Using this, she always knew how to provide her husband with expensive orders and prestigious exhibitions, so he soon became one of the most fashionable and sought-after portrait painters of America.

Muse and assistant artist

Margarita Konenkova, as is known from the memories of those who knew their family, was very necessary for her husband while working with the model. It is known that one of the main advantages of his sculptures is an extraordinary liveliness, imprinted in the features of the face. This was due to the fact that the artist's wife during the session was able to so enthrall the pleasant conversation of the person posing, that in him all sorts of traces of tension disappeared and naturalness appeared.

Secret mission of the four Konoykovs

However, the activities of the four Konenkovs were not limited to art and secular life. As it turned out much later, they also carried out a secret mission entrusted to them by the Soviet special services. The fact is that completely this side of their life has not been declassified until now, and it's possible to judge which tasks they performed, only by fragmentary data.

It was the Soviet intelligence officer Margarita Konenkova, even before the outbreak of World War II, that she informed Moscow that the development of nuclear weapons was under the leadership of Robert Oppenheimer. But this was preceded by an extraordinary romantic story, which lasted several years and became one of the brightest pages of her life.

Moving Einstein to America

It all started when, in 1933, when Hitler came to power and began to conduct an anti-Semitic policy, many Jews living in Germany, scientists and artists, were forced to leave the country. Among them was a professor at the University of Berlin Albert Einstein. He immigrated to America, where he was received with great joy.

Soon the directorate of the scientific center, in which he started to work, wished to have a bust of his deserved employee. Margarita Konenkova, rotating in the highest circles, managed to make it so that her husband received the order. As a result, the brilliant physicist was in their house, at first as a model, and very soon became a friend of the sculptor and his wife.

The society lioness

There is much evidence that, being among the creams of New York society, Margarita did not always reject courtship of the most interesting of his representatives. Despite the status of a married lady, many of the most famous politicians and businessmen of those days found in her heart. So the friendly relations with the scientists who had become involved in their house soon turned into a love affair.

As her former acquaintances recall, Margarita Konenkova, whose personal life attracted the attention of biographers more than once, possessed in her thirty-five years, as in her early youth, an unusual attraction, the secret of which lurked mainly in the gaze of her radiant green eyes. They were both vicious and innocent at the same time, so that Sergei Timofeevich for a long time was in a happy ignorance of the adventures of his loving wife. However, this is by no means a rarity.

Margarita and the "father of the atomic bomb"

Albert Einstein and Margarita Konenkova were very frank with each other, and the scientist knew about her cooperation with Soviet special services, but he was sympathetic to this. For him, the Jew, the main enemy was Hitlerite Germany, and the Soviet Union, in his opinion, was the main force capable of resisting this evil. After the death of Einstein's wife in 1936, Margarita often went to his house. Here constantly gathered physicists, among whom was the "father of the atomic bomb" Robert Oppenheimer.

Despite the fact that much of her activity is still hidden in the archives of special services, it is reliably known that it was at that time that information arrived from Moscow about the development of nuclear weapons by the Americans. It is difficult to say how she managed to extract them. Einstein had nothing to do with secret works, therefore, she could not learn anything from him. It is also unlikely that the conversations at the table concerned forbidden topics. It remains to be assumed that Konenkova managed to arrange for himself and Oppenheimer himself.

Glory and fame

The peak of Margarita's popularity in the higher American circles falls on the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, when the Society for Assistance to Russia is being created in the United States. Its members are many outstanding figures of the Russian emigration of those years. Her husband Sergei Timofeevich is elected a member of the Central Council, and Margarita becomes his managing secretary.

On the pages of newspapers, her photographs are printed in a variety of ways. It is at the center of society's attention and acquires even greater fame. Among close friends Kononkova appears Eleanor Roosevelt - the wife of the President of America. The demand is again rising, and with it the price of sculptures made by her husband. Perhaps this is the best period of her stay abroad. She is happy, rich, popular and beloved by men.

Returning to Moscow

But everything comes to an end. In 1945, two people who love each other forever - Albert Einstein and Margarita Konenkova. The biography of this woman makes an unexpected turn. It is then that Moscow orders to return to their homeland, and the spouses are preparing to see Russia again after twenty-two years of separation. Over the years, spent in America, they acquired so much property that for its transportation to the Soviet Union it was required to rent a whole steamer.

In Moscow, however, they expected a rather cold reception. The war was just over, and the country was recovering from heavy losses. People lived poorly, often huddling large families in the cages of communal apartments. It is understandable that rich gentlemen who came from abroad and immediately received a huge luxury apartment in the center of the capital provoked general irritation. The couple were in isolation.

last years of life

Margarita Konenkova, whose photo of those years finishes the article, tried even to seek support from L.Beria herself, sending him a letter with a list of her and her husband's merits. It is not known whether she received an answer, but they have since led a very closed life. In 1971, Sergei Timofeevich died.

The last years of her life are very sad. Left alone and without any of the close people, Margarita Ivanovna becomes a victim of a swindler, who, using the helplessness of this eighty-year-old woman, shamelessly robs her. Beggar, all forgotten, she died in 1980, the Olympic year, in the center of the festive Moscow. So Margarita Ivanovna passed away from the life of Konenkov. Biography, a photo of this woman and the memories of her acquaintances formed the basis of this article.