Nikolay Pavlovich

1832. Winter, January. Russian Empire, St. Petersburg. Winter Palace, ball. Six o'clock in the evening. The Anichkov Ball in the Winter Palace was just beginning; only those personally pleasing to the imperial family or those in the family's "inner circle" were invited. The Pushkins were also invited; the emperor had summoned them solely to see Natalya Nikolaevna Goncharova, or Pushkina, again. He had met her in 1831, when the Pushkins were staying at their dacha in Tsarskoye Selo, and Nicholas I, his wife, and courtiers arrived there, hiding from the cholera epidemic. After their first meeting, Nicholas Pavlovich became literally obsessed with her. When she arrived with her husband, the Tsar always found time to waltz with her or simply chat. The medallion the Tsar wore on his chest contained an image of Natalia Nikolaevna Goncharova, whose existence no one knew but himself. When Nicholas learned that Natalie might not be coming to the ball, he simply said, "I'm busy; I won't be coming." But when Pushkina did show up, the Emperor was immediately informed, and he said, "She came? Really? Business can wait." Natalia Nikolaevna Goncharova was the leading beauty in St. Petersburg thanks to her restraint and attractiveness, while Emperor Nicholas Pavlovich Romanov I was a paragon of men's fashion, thanks to his Atlantic frame, face, and waist, which he also tightly wrapped in cloth. Upon learning that Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin would be unable to attend the ball, the Emperor approached Natalia Nikolaevna Goncharova.