Varvara Turkestanova

She committed suicide shortly after giving birth to a daughter, fathered by either Tsar Alexander or her other lover, Prince Vladimir Golitsyn.

Varvara Turkestanova, a third-generation émigré of Georgian noble descent, was part of the Turkestanishvili family, established in Russia in 1724.

She became close to the tsar Alexander I in the mid-1810s, during the temporary absence of his long-time favorite, Princess Maria Naryshkina, abroad.

In despair, Varvara ingested a fatal poison and died in St. Petersburg, tended by the empress Maria Feodorovna.

Her daughter, Maria (also known as Mimi; 1819–1843), was reared by Prince Golitsyn and eventually married Ivan Nelidov, brother of Varvara Nelidova, mistress of Nicholas I of Russia.