Matilda Kshesinskaya. Memories

The personality of Matilda Kshesinskaya is surrounded by an aura of mystery and scandal. A genius ballerina who drove the audience to ecstasy with her dance, a beauty and a calculating coquette. Who was this woman, whose name was on the lips of her contemporaries? Her romances with high-ranking individuals, including the heir to the throne Nikolai Alexandrovich, the future emperor Nikolai II, and grand dukes Sergei Mikhailovich and Andrei Vladimirovich, stirred the imagination of high society.

Matilda Kshesinskaya lived a long and interesting life, full of ups and downs, resembling an exciting novel. The memories of the legendary ballerina are compelling reading, where famous historical figures (the emperor and empress, Grigori Rasputin, grand dukes and duchesses, famous artists and choreographers, etc.) come to life, passions rage not only on stage but also in life, intrigues weave both behind the scenes and in the corridors. All this against the backdrop of global and terrifying historical upheavals — World War I, the revolution, and World War II…

We have preserved all the chapters of the original text, removing only some minor episodes and leaving all the most interesting and important.

The book is illustrated with numerous photographs, portraits, drawings, and caricatures by Russian and Western artists, capturing the stories and faces of that tragic time in which Matilda Kshesinskaya lived and created.