Her name is associated with architectural gems that still stand in Tbilisi and western Georgia, some of which continue to be subject of rumors surrounding the countess' eventful life and her tragic, solitary demise.

[3] Her father Constantine died young in 1860 when Agrippina was just five years old and her mother Melania moved to Kutaisi with her two daughters, where she remarried to a fellow widowed Georgian nobleman.

[6] Agrippina is thought to have given Tariel at least several children (possibly Miquel, Levanti, and Nino), although this claim is disputed by sources close to the family,[5] with others disagreeing on the number and gender of offspring.

In the 1880s, Kutaisi became a new location for the 1st Cavalry Regiment of the Hopersky Kuban Cossacks, commanded by Duke Constantine Petrovich of Oldenburg, who had previously participated in the Russo-Turkish War (1877–78) and later became a general.

There are many rumors as to how Oldenburg convinced Tariel to accept a divorce, with the prevailing opinion being that the Duke offered him an enormous sum of one million gold rubles, although there is no concrete proof of this extravagant transaction.

[2] Despite the initially cold reception and criticism from Count Witte that Agrippina's French was not good enough,[5] many at the Imperial court, including Tsar Nicholas II, were charmed by her, with later Western newspaper reports describing her as "an exceedingly lovely girl...from one of the most picturesque regions [of the Empire]".

The Grand Duke was gravely ill and because his weak lungs could not take the weather of St. Petersburg, he was moved to southern Georgia near Likani, where the air is particularly beneficial for people with chronic respiratory disorders.

"[12] Because George Alexandrovich was considered of very weak health and expected to die within years, the Emperor Alexander III refrained from banishing and depriving his disobedient son of his rank.

Despite this tragedy and the increasingly volatile situation, Countess von Zarnekau stayed in Russia so that she could care for her mentally impaired daughter Nino, who was once famous for her alleged ability to summon spirits[13] and was being treated in Kislovodsk, a town renowned for its spas.

It is possible that these rumors were triggered by the prolonged neglect of the property, which made the Gothic structure look very grim; after the Russian takeover, the mansion's unique chandeliers were taken down, its crystal floor destroyed, wall-decorations painted over and the building converted into a school for the deaf-mute.