[2] Maria was the eldest daughter of the author Decembrist Arkady Alekseevich Stolypin, and his wife, Vera Nikolaevna Mordvinova, born in Saint Petersburg and baptised on 22 October 1819, with her older brother as sponsor.

The Stolypins had three daughters, and four sons, one of them, Alexei (1816-1858) was a close friend to Lermontov since childhood and served with him in the Russian Imperial Guard's Hussar regiment.

It was there in August 1832, that Maria first met her cousin Lermontov, then 18, who had just arrived from Moscow with his grandmother Elizaveta Alekseevna Arsenyeva.

They were tasked with keeping a daily journal, and subsequently, Maria kept a diary and travel notes throughout her entire adult life.

Maria was raised here under the supervision of Agrafena Vasilyevna Koftyreva, a graduate of the Smolny Institute, and a friend of her aunt, Nadezha.

Later, in March of 1839, Mordinov reluctantly gave his consent to the appointment of his youngest granddaughter, Vera Stolypina, as maid of honour to Grand Duchess Alexandra.

She was barely 17 years old, and she was still sitting at her lessons when they sent her to say that Henrietta Alexandrovna Mordvinova was calling her, who immediately announced to her that she should marry the groom she had chosen, I.

Ivan Beck served in the Collegium of Foreign Affairs and was in the diplomatic service in Holland at the same time as Prince Vyazemsky, who later married his widow.

After the death of Beck, Maria Arkadyevna inherited a large fortune, together with a rich dowry received from her parents.

In May 1847, she and her young daughters went abroad to visit Constantinople, where her sister Vera lived with her husband, Prince D. F. Golitsy, who served at the Russian mission.

There, she met her second husband, Prince Pavel Petrovich Vyazemsky, who was the assistant secretary for the Asian Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

In his free time from service, he enjoyed exploring the surrounding area, taking walks with Maria Arkadyevna.

His father, the poet Pyotr Vyazemsky became convinced his son's choice was successful, writing "She is a beauty, well-behaved in face and soul, pious...".

Her youngest daughters, Ekaterina and Alexandra, were classmates and Friends of Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna.

Maria's good friend, and fellow maid of honour, Alexandra Andreevna Tolstaya, characterised her as a passionate person in her feelings, faithful and straightforward.