Personal records of the Kshesinsky family available on the Presidential Library’s portal

On the occasion of the 150th anniversary of Matilda Kshesinskaya, the Presidential Library made publicly available electronic copies of personal records of employees of the Directorate of Imperial Theaters - Felix Kshesinsky, his wife Yulia Lede (Dominskaya) and their children: Mikhail, Yulia and Matilda.

Starting from the end of the 18th century until 1917, the Directorate of the Imperial Theaters managed "spectacles and music" in all the imperial theaters of St. Petersburg. By concluding a contract, the artist "surrendered his will", as well as all his talents and abilities "for the benefit of the imperial theaters, in whatever city they were". Unique archives testify how firmly the life of the Kshesinskys turned out to be connected with the imperial theater.

The Case of the service of the ballet troupe artist Felix Kshesinsky contains several hundred documents that cover the period from 1852 to 1905 - from the day Felix Kshesinsky arrived from Warsaw to St. Petersburg and almost until his death. Official documents testify to fifty-three years of service to the St. Petersburg stage of "the best performer of the mazurka, as well as Hungarian and gypsy dances". According to the personal record of Felix Kshesinsky we learn about his promise to the Directorate of the Imperial Theaters "to dance pantomime and other roles in all ballets, divertissements, where ordered"; about the obligation to have “a city wardrobe from oneself”, and “to be content with suits from the Directorate”; about a salary of 800 silver rubles to one of the "first dancers" of St. Petersburg.

Brief information about the wife of Felix Kshesinsky, Yulia Leda (Dominskaya), who served in the corps de ballet, can be gleaned from the Case on the service of the corps de ballet dancer Yulia Leda, dismissed with a pension, at the St. Petersburg theaters, also provided on the Presidential Library’s portal.

Joseph Kshesinsky continued the work of his parents. “Corypheus (soloist of the corps de ballet. – editor’s note) of the first category”, he served at the Mariinsky Theater from 1886 to 1928. This is evidenced by the Case of the service of the ballet troupe artist Joseph Kshesinsky II, presented on the Presidential Library’s portal. At the same time, Joseph Feliksovich taught at the St. Petersburg Theater School (now the Vahanova Academy of Russian Ballet), which is confirmed by the document the Case of the admission of the artist Kshesinsky to philanthropic society to teach students in the gymnasium to dance free of charge".

The elder sister of Matilda Kshesinskaya, Yulia, or, as she was called, Kshesinskaya 1st, also served at the Mariinsky Theater, where she was a decoration of the stage, according to the Case of the Service of the Corypheus of the Second Class Yulia Kshesinskaya.

The track record of Matilda, the most famous representative of the Kshesinsky family, dates back to 1890, when at the age of 18, after graduating from the St. Petersburg Theater School, she enters the service of the Imperial Theater. The Case of the service of the ballet troupe artist Matilda Kshesinskaya illustrates how much she was loved by "fortune and the St. Petersburg public". All requests, set out in the impeccable handwriting of one of the first beauties of St. Petersburg in official papers, returned with lightning speed with a positive result. So, for example, in one of the petitions of 1904 addressed to the Directorate of the Imperial Theaters, Matilda Kshesinskaya announces her intention to go to Paris for one month, together with the dancers of the ballet troupe of 50 people, to perform for the purpose of "gathering for military needs". The Directorate's answer was categorical: Ms. Kshesinskaya was allowed to speak alone in Paris. Organizing a trip for 50 people was not allowed.

Other numerous trips of the ballerina abroad were also not forbidden, since Ms. Kshesinskaya, according to the Directorate of the Imperial Theaters, always "returned on time".

In 1916, Kshesinskaya, who was no longer in the service at the theater, wrote a letter to the director of the imperial theaters, Vladimir Telyakovsky, in which he asked for help to “arrange” a benefit performance on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of her creative activity: “The name that I made for myself and the attitude of the public to my performances give me every reason to hope that everyone will willingly support my benefit performance, give me the opportunity to mark it with a kind word. Indeed, the benefit was soon "arranged and supported".

Electronic copies of personal records of the Kshesinsky family, available in the Presidential Library, contain "Formal Lists", as well as a list of data relating to the place of service, as well as religion, fines and participation in courts. These "Formal Lists" are the forerunners of the modern work book.

According to personal records, Kshesinsky's petitions for paid vacations, amounted to 28 working days.

Reports, petitions, explanatory notes - these seemingly “nondescript” documents containing information about the “movements” of positions held, penalties, incentives, illnesses and recoveries, demanding fees and being late for service, create a “everyday portrait” in which, despite the “ordinary nature of the story”, both the era and the fate of each of the Kshesinsky dynasty are clearly outlined.

Electronic copies of personal cases of members of the Kshesinsky family will be of interest to specialists, as well as to everyone who is not indifferent to the history of Russian ballet presented in particulars and details. The electronic copies of official cases of the Kshesinsky dynasty is available in the section Personalities. Theater in Persons, included in the Year of Theater in Russia collection on the Presidential Library’s portal.