A Widow's Legacy

The word “Borodino” is sacred to every Russian. It was on Borodino field that the Russian army fiercely fought the French, paving the way to the victory over Napoleon (see Russian Life, October 1995). 

Not surprisingly, many places near Borodino were named after the heroes of the Great Patriotic War of 1812. One station on the way to Borodino is Tuchkovo, named after General Alexander Tuchkov, a hero of Borodino—the “Tuchkov battery” was one of the strongest points of resistance to the French. But the most beloved homage to Tuchkov is Spaso-Borodinsky (Borodino’s Savior) Convent. Established eight years after the battle by the general’s widow, Margarita Tuchkova, the convent stands on the site of the Tuchkov battery.

The story of Tuchkova and her convent holds a special place in Russian history. Margarita Tuchkova’s father was of the noble family Naryshkin (Natalya Naryshkina was the mother of Peter the Great). Her mother’s roots were equally esteemed—she was a Volkonsky. At 16, the pretty, well-educated Margarita was married off to a man who turned out to be a scandalous rake. A divorce was arranged and Margarita retreated to her parents’ protection. At about this time, she fell in love with Alexander Tuchkov, a handsome officer of the Revel regiment. At first, Margarita’s parents refused Tuchkov’s proposal of marriage, fearing a repeat scandal. But he persisted and, in 1806, at the age of 25, Margarita married Alexander Tuchkov. She was utterly devoted to him and he to her. She even accompanied him on his long campaigns, acting as nursemaid to the wounded. In 1811, during a long march, Margarita gave birth to a son, Nikolai.

Yet their happiness was short-lived. When war broke out in 1812, Tuchkov, now a general, joined the Russian defense of Smolensk. On August 26, 1812, He died defending his position against the French at Borodino. 

Margarita’s father had the unenviable task of bearing the bad news. He entered her room carrying her 16-month-old son Nikolai in his arms. Choking back tears, he murmured: “Margarita, you should take care of yourself for the sake of your son. Your husband fell on Borodino field ...”

As soon as Smolensk and then Moscow were liberated from the French, Margarita rushed to Borodino field to find her husband’s corpse. She was determined to succeed at any price, despite warnings of the sight that awaited her: the Russian and French armies left as many as 90,000 unburied corpses on the field. And days had passed since the battle ... Margarita had a monk help her search for her husband’s corpse and a soldier pointed them to where he had fallen. But she found nothing, except his wedding ring under a pine tree.

Tuchkova erected a cross on the site of her husband’s death. She then returned to her family estate in Tula, where for a long period she was stricken with grief and depression. By 1818, she had recovered and had developed a plan to honor her husband and those who fell. After purchasing a land plot from the village of Borodino, she laid the first stone of a church in this same spot. Alexander I learned of her noble intentions and donated ten thousand rubles—an immense sum for those times—to the church’s construction. The church was completed in 1820 and dedicated Spaso-Borodinskaya. Inside the church Tuchkova installed a marble cross with the inscription “Remember, O Lord, in Thy Kingdom, Alexander, killed in battle.”

During this time, Margarita had moved to Moscow and increasingly focused her efforts on raising and educating her son Nikolai, her devotion increasing as she suffered through the loss of both her parents. Then, in 1826, at the age of 15, Nikolai died suddenly of scarlet fever. Tuchkova was shattered. She buried him in a crypt at Spaso-Borodinskaya and entered a long period of spiritual unease. She finally decided to settle at her modest lodge near Borodino, so that should could daily visit the church where rested the memories of the two men most dear to her heart.

Shortly thereafter, she met a poor old monk, Gorlenko, whose two sons also died at Borodino, and she invited him to live on a hut on her property. She began to offer shelter and comfort to those who came to visit Borodino, taking care of the sick and giving money to the poor. She founded a shelter to help women abused and helpless, elderly and homeless. By 1833, an informal community of over 40 women had gathered. It was established under the Orthodox Church as a “female community” (zhenskaya obshchina). Tuchkova sold off all her possessions and estates to ensure the community’s long term survival, and the community’s renown spread throughout Russia, earning it generous support from numerous benefactors.

In 1837, on the 25th anniversary of the Battle of Borodino, a special ceremony was held on the battlefield and Tsar Nicholas I was in attendance. Margarita was not, as she had been overtaken by emotion. So the tsar visited her in her lodge. When he asked her if there was anything he could do to help her, she replied that he could release her brother, Mikhail Naryshkin, who Tsar Nicholas had banished to Siberia for participating in the Decembrist uprising. A few months later, he was released.

Soon thereafter, Margarita was urged by her long-time friend and spiritual counselor Metropolitan Filaret to take the cloth. In parallel, Tuchkova’s obshchina was being considered for elevation in status to convent. The latter occurred in 1838. Margarita became a nun in 1840 and was given the name Maria, becaming the convent’s first Mother Superior.

Nicholas I made generous donations for the construction of a warm winter church and a stone fence. On September 7, 1839, the tsar was again at Borodino, this time to unveil a monument to the heroes of Borodino. He introduced Margarita Tuchkova to the numerous guests who gathered at the inauguration. “Here is the honorable widow of General Tuchkov, who anticipated me and erected this inimitable monument,” he said, pointing to the Spaso-Borodinsky Convent. 

Margarita Tuchkova died on April 29, 1852, in her 72nd year. She was buried next to her husband and son. Before her death, she burned all her husbands’ letters and verses to her. She loved him until the end, even though she was his wife for only 6 years, and for 40 years his widow ... 

Over a century and half has passed since Tuchkova’s death. Up until 1917, the convent led the same life as under Mother Superior Maria—indeed, it was a model for the creation of other modern convents in Russia. There was more construction: St. Vladimir Cathedral and the Refectory Church of St. John the Baptist. The number of nuns also grew.

But, as at many other religious institutions, everything changed with the Bolshevik Revolution. Nuns were ordered to leave the convent and different Soviet organizations used the grounds for economic purposes. During WWII, when the Nazis invaded the Moscow region, the convent was used for a short period of time as a concentration camp.

In 1962, on the eve of the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Borodino, a group of enthusiasts, including a descendant of a battle participant, begin restoration work on the devastated convent. They cleaned up the Tuchkov crypt, returned all the scattered coffins to their original places and began restoring the convent itself.

In the 1990s, Tuchkova’s creation was completely rejuvenated. All of the churches, icons and frescoes were restored, as was the lodge where Maria lived (it was burned down in 1942). This lodge now features an exhibition recounting the story of the four Tuchkov brothers: Alexander (Margarita’s husband) and Nikolai Tuchkov perished at Borodino; Pavel was seriously wounded and taken prisoner; only Sergei came back from the battle safe and sound. 

In addition to its heroic history, the convent is famous for two very Russian creations. First, Spaso-Borodinsky convent, as one legend has it, was the site where the now-famous Borodinsky bread was first baked. It was made of a blend of rye (85%) and wheat (15%) flour and included other ingredients like sugar, molasses, coriander and caraway. Today this bread is especially popular with Russian cosmonauts—they take it along to space as it has great aroma and a long shelf-life. 

(Another version has it that the recipe simply came from a baker named Borodin. But some locals stick to yet another, more exciting, explanation: During the Battle of Borodino, a flour cart was hit by a cannonball. The different flours were mixed up with a sack of caraway seeds and the baker simply had to use the mixture as is.)

Second, the convent is known for its beautiful sewn icons, and especially for its splendid iconostasis in the refectory. In ancient Russia, sewn icons were held in the same honor in Russian churches as regular wooden icons, and were blessed by the priests. Manuscripts date the creation of sewn icons to the 16th century, though historians believe Russians began the art form much earlier. From time immemorial, Russian seamstresses were famous for their handiwork and many copied sewn icons from wooden ones. Sewn icons were taken into battle, and were an important part of solemn state and religious ceremonies. Artists making sewn icons used precious materials—such as satin, velvet and silk, often adding gold and silver fibers. 

During the Soviet era, the art of sewn icons was almost irretrievably lost. Only in recent years, with the revived role of the Orthodox Church in Russia, have sewn icons been resurrected. And this art has been pursued by the laity, who studied the ancient craft and only later joined the church. Thanks to one such person, Irina Brilling, a PhD and research fellow, Spaso-Borodinsky convent became one of the centers of the resurrection of sewn icons. 

Irina’s journey resembles much the story of Margarita Tuchkova: after many trials and tribulations, Irina found her way to God to become a nun at the convent. She read much about the art of sewn icons, studied the iconography and, upon taking the cloth, received a blessing for sewing icons (under Orthodox canons, only a highly spiritual person, faithful to God, can be blessed to portray holy images).

Irina’s sewn icons were highly valued at the convent, and she donated her works to this and other convents. She soon spread her craft and knowledge around the convent and now nuns produce sewn icons at a local workshop. Following religiously the orthodox canons of iconography, Irina  nevertheless has her own personal style in combining the traits of ancient iconography with modern trends. 

What Russian poet Maximilian Voloshin once said about sewn icons holds especially true for those created at Spaso-Borodinsky Convent: “True, Russian iconography developed like a canonical art. But canons were mostly applicable to the drawing and the composition ... Yet, a wide and free stream of creativity flowed alongside the rigid canonical form. The blossoming of sewn icons reflect life in all its entirety. All the exuberant juvenile joy of the Slavs is found in the colors of sewn works.”  RL