The history of the romance "Institute" or "Black Moth". Lyrics of the song Valya Sergeeva - I am a prostitute, I am a fairy from a bar The Chamberlain's Daughter, a black mouse and a bat moth

BLACK MOTH

Don't look like that through your squinted eye,
Gentlemen, Barons and Ladies.
I couldn't get drunk in twenty minutes
From a glass of cold brandy.

My father failed to escape in October,
But he did a lot for the whites.
The time has come, and the cold word “execution” -
The verdict of the tribunal was announced.

I am a black moth, I am a bat.
Wine and men are my atmosphere,
Shelter for emigrants - free Paris!

I told the colonel: - Nate, take it!
It’s not Don “currency” to pay for this,
You will pay me in francs, sir, for love,
And everything else is road dust.

And so, I'm a prostitute, I'm a fairy from a bar,
I am a black moth, I am a bat.
Wine and men are my vibe.
Shelter for emigrants - free Paris!

Only sometimes in a fit of wild passion
I remember the birth dust of Odessa,
And then I spit into their slobbering mouths!
And everything else is a sad story.

After all, I am a schoolgirl, I am the daughter of a chamberlain,
I am a black moth, I am a bat.
Wine and men are my vibe.
Shelter for emigrants - free Paris!

The history of the famous “Institute”, “the chamberlain’s daughter” should, of course, be sought in the “shelter of emigrants” - “free Paris”.

In the memoirs of singer Lyudmila Ilyinichna Lopata “The Magic Mirror of Memories”, recorded by collector and fashion historian Alexander Vasiliev, there is a paragraph noteworthy for our history:

In Paris, I quite often staged charity performances... The evening was called "Visiting Lyudmila Lopato." We decided to make the first part not just a concert: the action was united by a single plot. The script was written for us by Maria Vega, the author of several books of poetry and numerous comic songs and cruel romances from the cabaret repertoire of those years, a woman of enormous stature, plump and with a face like a man. Her most famous hysterical romance, “Don’t look through your narrowed eyes like that, gentlemen, barons and ladies...” is still heard both in exile and in Russia Institutka.

The events described took place in the fifties of the twentieth century. This means that by that time the composition was already known, at least among the Russian diaspora in France.
M. Gulko. Institute student.

Information about the author of the song, the mysterious Maria Vega, is extremely scarce, fragmentary and sometimes contradictory, although she was undoubtedly a literary gifted woman and an extraordinary personality.

Maria Vega is the literary pseudonym of Maria Nikolaevna Volyntseva, after her husband Lang (in her second marriage, Princess Nizheradze). She was born in St. Petersburg, June 5, 1898, into an artistic family: the grandmother of the future writer A.K. Broshel shone on the stage of the Alexandrinsky Theater in the sixties of the 19th century, her sister danced at the Mariinsky Theater, the uncle of the future writer was an actor at the Saburov Theater. - M. Brochel. The great actress Maria Savina became the godmother of Masha Volyntseva. Graduated from the Pavlovsk Women's Institute. In 1918, Masha Volyntseva and her father ended up in exile. Later, her life path ran through several countries - Turkey, France, Switzerland, and the USA.

Bunin I., Paris, 1928

While living in Paris, she met with Tsvetaeva, Bunin and other famous representatives of the Russian diaspora. Maria Vega, who had already taken her “star” pseudonym, attached special significance to her meeting with Bunin: “I am grateful to Bunin for the fact that he kind of opened up my possibilities for me and expanded my horizons, strengthened in me the consciousness of the need for what I do as my own.” approval helped me work hard and be strict with my work." From the early 1920s she lived in Paris. Maria Vega's first book, a collection of poems called Wormwood, was published in 1935. It was followed by the poetry collection "Lilith", then "Major in Minor" (Some publications indicate the originally published "Major in Minor - 1938, and then "Lilith" - 1955). All these (and subsequent) foreign publications are difficult to access. In the post-war for years she was published in the magazine "Renaissance", where, in addition to the novel "The Bronze Clock" and its sequel - "The Wandering Angel", she published several translations from Rainer Maria Rilke. When compared with the original, these poems seem strange, to say the least: in "The Death of a Poet" (traditionally the poem is considered dedicated to the memory of Taras Shevchenko) - 14 lines, although this is not a sonnet; in “Sibyl” there are also 14, and this is quite a sonnet in Rilke’s understanding, both taken from the book “New Poems”. However, in the translation by Maria Vega in “The Death of a Poet” - 21 lines, in “Sibyl” - 18; the further from the beginning of the poem, the further the translations move away from the original: before us is not so much translation, how much is an “arrangement” in the sense in which Zhukovsky understood it; This method is rare in Russian poetry of the twentieth century; it is found in Mandelstam and Joseph Brodsky, but has not developed into a separate genre. It should be noted that Maria Vega lengthened Rilke’s poems even in those cases when they were “Sonnets to Orpheus” - the form was not valuable in itself for her.

Maria Vega also wrote comedies for the theater. In the Russian Theater in Paris in the 50s, the plays “The Great Schemer”, “The King of Clubs”, “The Wind”, “Vanity of Vanities” were performed; the first of them was later staged in the USSR, on the All-Union Radio). Maria Vega also dabbled in painting and, to earn money, made dolls for sale, which she wrote about in one of her poems:
Various dolls to order
I have made it more than once...
Seven princesses, five queens,
Either executed, or monks...
Squint your eyes and look:
Emma Bovary in white
Red Velvet Nana
Doused, braided.
So many years and so many troubles!
Not a single one is happy.

O. Pavenskaya.

The further fate of Maria Vega is unusual. During the Second World War, the poetess took part in the Resistance movement. Back in 1946, the writer. received a Soviet passport. Since 1962, she moved away from emigrant circles and began to publish in magazines published in the USSR by the Committee for Relations with Compatriots Abroad. The real owner of this organization was, of course, another “committee” - state security. Because of her desire to return to the USSR, she, willy-nilly, entered into confrontation with the emigrant public and at the same time never became a “persona grata” in Soviet reality. Her name was literally erased from the history of literature. After 1968, Maria Nikolaevna visited the USSR twice.
They demanded from the poetess poems about Lenin, about Lenin and again about him, his beloved. The leader's centenary was approaching. At the cost of two completely unreadable poems on this topic ("It's Accomplished!" and "Wonderland"), Maria Vega deserved the publication in 1970 in Moscow of the collection "Odolen-grass", which was distributed mainly in Russian Abroad (alas, with the same poems, but also just with good poetry), earned the right to come to the USSR in 1975, where she was given the opportunity to spend her last years in Leningrad, in the House of Stage Veterans, once founded by her godmother, the great Russian actress M.G. Savina. It was released in Moscow collections poems "Gems" (1978) and "Night Ship" (1980). The Kronstadt sailors helped her fulfill the last will of her late husband, M. Lang, a former naval officer: to scatter his ashes over the Gulf of Finland. One of the most heartfelt lyrical poems by Maria Vega, “Rose,” is dedicated to the memory of Mikhail Lang:

There was a rose on his chest.
The two of them are destined to end.
I'm not Mater Dolorosa at all,
I am a squire and a twin...
I am a twin, not Mater Dolorosa,
I'm not afraid of the close roar of fire.
I will only cry for the fact that the rose
He will burn today, not me.

The archive of Maria Vega is now located in the Central State Archives of Literature and Art of St. Petersburg. The typescript of the great novel "Attila" (in the author's spelling "Attila"), based on some little-known pages of the emigrant epic (many months of "sitting" in the Transcaucasian Gagras, a semi-ghostly, precarious existence in conditions of political uncertainty, frequent changes of authorities), was offered to the publishing house "Severo -Zapad" and died during a fire in the Leningrad House of Writers, where the publishing house was located (1994). The keeper of Maria Vega's archive, poetess Svetlana Solozhenkina, has prepared for publication a collection of her poems, which will include both translations from Rilke and translations of English poems by her husband, Mikhail Lang. The book has not yet been published.
Maria Vega had every chance to take her rightful place, if not in Soviet official culture, then certainly in the legacy of “Russian art in exile,” but it didn’t work out. The classic situation is “between two fires,” each of which scorched the wings of our heroine and no longer gave her the opportunity to rise. Her name is unfamiliar to many readers. But the song based on her poems is not only famous, but has also been one of the most popular for many decades. It is unknown who set the poem to music. Like any popular song, it was supplemented with different variations - new verses, dropped and changed words. As a result, several versions of the song are known.

Http://nadezhdmorozova.livejournal.com/

Emigrant romance in classical performance
The author of the text is poetess Maria Vega (real name Maria Nikolaevna Volyntseva), an emigrant who returned to the USSR in 1975
Don't look through the squint of your eyes,
Gentlemen, barons, and ladies.
I couldn’t get drunk in twenty minutes,
From a glass of cold brandy,

And I am a schoolgirl, I am the daughter of a chamberlain,

My father failed to escape in October,
But he did a lot for the whites.
The deadline has come, and the cold word - “execution” -
The verdict of the tribunal was announced.

And now - I'm a prostitute, I'm a fairy from a bar,
I am a black moth, I am a bat.
Wine and men are my vibe!
Hello emigrants - free Paris!

I told the colonel: - Nate, take it!
Not with melancholy, but with “currency” to pay for it.
You will pay me in francs, sir,
And everything else is road dust.

And here I am - a schoolgirl, I am the daughter of a chamberlain,
I am a black moth, I am a bat.
Wine and men are my vibe!
Hello emigrants - free Paris!

Only sometimes, under the cover of wild passion,
I remember the birth dust of Odessa.
And then I spit into their slobbering mouths!
And everything else is sad dust.

After all, I am a schoolgirl, I am the daughter of a chamberlain,
I am a black moth, I am a bat.
Wine and men are my vibe.
Down with emigrants - free Paris! Emigrant song in classic design
Lyricist - poet Maria Vega (real name - Maria Nikolaevna Volintsev), an immigrant, in 1975 returned to the Soviet Union
Do not look, you have through squint your eyes,
Gentlemen, barons and ladies.
I could not get drunk for twenty minutes,
From a cold glass of brandy,

And I - a schoolgirl, I"m the daughter of the chamberlain,
I - black mole, I - bat.
Wine and men - my atmosphere!

My father was not able to escape in October,
But he did a lot of white.
The term has come, and cold call - "shooting" -
There was a tribunal verdict.

And now - I am a prostitute, I"m a fairy from the bar,
I - black mole, I - bat.
Wine and men - my atmosphere!
Hello immigrants - Free Paris!

I said to the colonel: - Here you are, take it!
Do not sorrow, and "currency" to pay for it.
You Franks me, sir, pay,
But everything else - road dust.

And here I am - a schoolgirl, I"m the daughter of the chamberlain,
I - black mole, I - bat.
Wine and men - my atmosphere!
Hello immigrants - Free Paris!

Only here sometimes, under the cover of wild passion,
I remember Odessa darling dust.
And then I spit in their slavering jaws!
But everything else - the sad dust.

After all, I - a schoolgirl, I"m the daughter of the chamberlain,
I - black mole, I - bat.
Wine and men - my atmosphere.
Down with the emigrant - the free Paris!

The author of the famous emigrant song “Institute” (“After all, I am an institute, I am the chamberlain’s daughter, / I am a black moth, I am a bat”) poetess Maria Vega (real name Maria Nikolaevna Volyntseva, married to Lang; June 15, 1898, St. -Petersburg - January 27, 1980, Leningrad)

BLACK MOTH

Don't look like that through your squinted eye,
Gentlemen, Barons and Ladies.
I couldn't get drunk in twenty minutes
From a glass of cold brandy.

My father failed to escape in October,
But he did a lot for the whites.
The time has come, and the cold word “execution” -
The verdict of the tribunal was announced.

I am a black moth, I am a bat.
Wine and men are my atmosphere,
Shelter for emigrants - free Paris!

I told the colonel: - Nate, take it!
It’s not Don “currency” to pay for this,
You will pay me in francs, sir, for love,
And everything else is road dust.

And so, I'm a prostitute, I'm a fairy from a bar,
I am a black moth, I am a bat.
Wine and men are my vibe.
Shelter for emigrants - free Paris!

Only sometimes in a fit of wild passion
I remember the birth dust of Odessa,
And then I spit into their slobbering mouths!
And everything else is a sad story.

After all, I am a schoolgirl, I am the daughter of a chamberlain,
I am a black moth, I am a bat.
Wine and men are my vibe.
Shelter for emigrants - free Paris!

The history of the famous “Institute”, “the chamberlain’s daughter” should, of course, be sought in the “shelter of emigrants” - “free Paris”.

In the memoirs of singer Lyudmila Ilyinichna Lopata “The Magic Mirror of Memories”, recorded by collector and fashion historian Alexander Vasiliev, there is a paragraph noteworthy for our history:

In Paris, I quite often staged charity performances... The evening was called "Visiting Lyudmila Lopato." We decided to make the first part not just a concert: the action was united by a single plot. The script was written for us by Maria Vega, the author of several books of poetry and numerous comic songs and cruel romances from the cabaret repertoire of those years, a woman of enormous stature, plump and with a face like a man. Her most famous hysterical romance, “Don’t look through your narrowed eyes like that, gentlemen, barons and ladies...” is still heard both in exile and in Russia Institutka.

The events described took place in the fifties of the twentieth century. This means that by that time the composition was already known, at least among the Russian diaspora in France.
M. Gulko. Institute student.

Information about the author of the song, the mysterious Maria Vega, is extremely scarce, fragmentary and sometimes contradictory, although she was undoubtedly a literary gifted woman and an extraordinary personality.

Maria Vega is the literary pseudonym of Maria Nikolaevna Volyntseva, after her husband Lang (in her second marriage, Princess Nizheradze). She was born in St. Petersburg, June 5, 1898, into an artistic family: the grandmother of the future writer A.K. Broshel shone on the stage of the Alexandrinsky Theater in the sixties of the 19th century, her sister danced at the Mariinsky Theater, the uncle of the future writer was an actor at the Saburov Theater. - M. Brochel. The great actress Maria Savina became the godmother of Masha Volyntseva. Graduated from the Pavlovsk Women's Institute. In 1918, Masha Volyntseva and her father ended up in exile. Later, her life path ran through several countries - Turkey, France, Switzerland, and the USA.

Bunin I., Paris, 1928

While living in Paris, she met with Tsvetaeva, Bunin and other famous representatives of the Russian diaspora. Maria Vega, who had already taken her “star” pseudonym, attached special significance to her meeting with Bunin: “I am grateful to Bunin for the fact that he kind of opened up my possibilities for me and expanded my horizons, strengthened in me the consciousness of the need for what I do as my own.” approval helped me work hard and be strict with my work." From the early 1920s she lived in Paris. Maria Vega's first book, a collection of poems called Wormwood, was published in 1935. It was followed by the poetry collection "Lilith", then "Major in Minor" (Some publications indicate the originally published "Major in Minor - 1938, and then "Lilith" - 1955). All these (and subsequent) foreign publications are difficult to access. In the post-war For years she was published in the magazine "Renaissance", where, in addition to the novel "The Bronze Clock" and its sequel, "The Wandering Angel", she published several translations from Rainer Maria Rilke.

When compared with the original, these poems seem at least strange: in “The Death of a Poet” (traditionally the poem is considered dedicated to the memory of Taras Shevchenko) there are 14 lines, although it is not a sonnet; in “Sibyl” there are also 14, and this is quite a sonnet in Rilke’s understanding, both taken from the book “New Poems”. However, in Maria Vega's translation there are 21 lines in “The Death of a Poet” and 18 in “The Sibyl”; the further from the beginning of the poem, the further the translations move away from the original: what we have before us is not so muchtranslation , how much is an “arrangement” in the sense in which Zhukovsky understood it; This method is rare in Russian poetry of the twentieth century; it is found in Mandelstam and Joseph Brodsky, but has not developed into a separate genre. It should be noted that Maria Vega lengthened Rilke’s poems even in those cases when they were “Sonnets to Orpheus” - the form was not valuable in itself for her.

Maria Vega also wrote comedies for the theater. In the Russian Theater in Paris in the 50s, the plays “The Great Schemer”, “The King of Clubs”, “The Wind”, “Vanity of Vanities” were performed; the first of them was later staged in the USSR, on the All-Union Radio). Maria Vega also dabbled in painting and, to earn money, made dolls for sale, which she wrote about in one of her poems:
Various dolls to order
I have made it more than once...
Seven princesses, five queens,
Either executed, or monks...
Squint your eyes and look:
Emma Bovary in white
Red Velvet Nana
Doused, braided.
So many years and so many troubles!
Not a single one is happy.

O. Pavenskaya.

They demanded from the poetess poems about Lenin, about Lenin and again about him, his beloved. The leader's centenary was approaching. At the cost of two completely unreadable poems on this topic ("It's Accomplished!" and "Wonderland"), Maria Vega deserved the publication in 1970 in Moscow of the collection "Odolen-grass", which was distributed mainly in Russian Abroad (alas, with the same poems, but also just with good poetry), earned the right to come to the USSR in 1975, where she was given the opportunity to spend her last years in Leningrad, in the House of Stage Veterans, once founded by her godmother, the great Russian actress M.G. Savina. It was released in Moscowcollections poems "Gems" (1978) and "Night Ship" (1980). The Kronstadt sailors helped her fulfill the last will of her late husband, M. Lang, a former naval officer: to scatter his ashes over the Gulf of Finland. One of the most heartfelt lyrical poems by Maria Vega, “Rose,” is dedicated to the memory of Mikhail Lang:

There was a rose on his chest.
The two of them are destined to end.
I'm not Mater Dolorosa at all,
I am a squire and a twin...
I am a twin, not Mater Dolorosa,
I'm not afraid of the close roar of fire.
I will only cry for the fact that the rose
He will burn today, not me.

Maria Vega had every chance to take her rightful place, if not in Soviet official culture, then certainly in the legacy of “Russian art in exile,” but it didn’t work out. The classic situation is “between two fires,” each of which scorched the wings of our heroine and no longer gave her the opportunity to rise. Her name is unfamiliar to many readers. But the song based on her poems is not only famous, but has also been one of the most popular for many decades. It is unknown who set the poem to music. Like any popular song, it was supplemented with different variations - new verses, dropped and changed words. As a result, several versions of the song are known.

The history of the song "Institute"

The history of the song "Institute" or "Black Moth"

We forget those who have passed away. This is the property of our memory, to forget. But the pages of books remember, preserve memory. Sometimes they appear from the nooks and crannies of vaults, like ghostly ships. And people remember those who lived, suffered, and loved on this earth before them. And it is right. When you know that there is someone to remember, then life is not scary.

This story begins, of course, in the “shelter of emigrants” - “free Paris”.
Let's turn to the memoirs of Lyudmila Ilyinichna Lopato. This singer, performer of Russian songs and romances, star of Russian cabarets in Paris and Hollywood, owner of the famous Parisian restaurant “Russian Pavilion”, lived a long (1914 - 2004) life full of amazing events and meetings, and even managed to appear in film in the early 2000s in the documentary film by Eldar Ryazanov “The Prince’s Nest”. In her book “The Magic Mirror of Memories,” she wrote about the events of the fifties of the twentieth century:
“In Paris, I quite often staged charity performances... The evening was called “Visiting Lyudmila Lopato.” We decided to make the first part not just a concert: the action was united by a single plot. The script was written for us by Maria Vega, the author of several books of poetry and numerous comic songs and cruel romances from the cabaret repertoire of those years, a woman of enormous stature, plump and with a face similar to a man. Her most famous hysterical romance “Don’t look through your narrowed eyes like that, gentlemen, barons and ladies...” is still heard both in emigration and in Russia.”

Maria Vega (real name Maria Nikolaevna Volyntseva, after her husband Lang; June 15, 1898, St. Petersburg - January 27, 1980, Leningrad) - poetess,
Born into an intelligent family in St. Petersburg, her godmother was the great Russian dramatic actress, who performed on the stage of the Alexandrinsky Theater M. G. Savina. Graduated from the Pavlovsk Women's Institute in St. Petersburg. After the revolution she went into exile. From the early 1920s she lived in Paris. She composed poetry and wrote for the émigré press, and published several translations from Rainer Maria Rilke. However, her translations of Rilke differ from the original in a large number of lines - these are no longer translations in the usual sense, but literary adaptations.
There, in France, collections of poems were published: “Wormwood” (1933), “Major in Minor” (1938), “Lilith” (1955).
Apparently, her name and work were well known in “Russian” Paris.

The further fate of Maria Vega is unusual. Since 1962, she moved away from emigrant circles and began to publish in magazines published in the USSR by the Committee for Relations with Compatriots Abroad. The real owner of this organization was, of course, another “committee” - state security. They demanded poems about Lenin from the poetess. In addition, the leader’s centenary was approaching, and she sculpted several absolutely unreadable works on an epoch-making theme. For this “feat”, her book “Odolen-grass” was published in the USSR that same year. The loyalty shown allowed her to return to Leningrad in 1975 and, as they say, “die in her homeland.” She died in 1980 in the home of stage veterans, once founded by her godmother, the great Russian actress M. G. Savina. During her lifetime, several more collections of her poems were published: “Gems” (1978) and “Night Ship (1980)
We can conclude that Maria Vega composed a lot of poems. Nevertheless, her name is unfamiliar to many readers. But the song based on her poems is not only famous, but has also been one of the most popular for many decades. This is the song "Institute".
It is unknown who set the poem to music. Surely this is our Russian emigrant musician. Among the performers are Arkady Severny, Mikhail Gulko, Tatyana Tishinskaya, Valya Sergeeva, Alena Apina, Laima Vaikule, Larisa Krylova and a huge number of contemporary singers.
Here is one of the modern performers Daria Lovat.

Like any popular song, it was supplemented with different variations - new verses, dropped and changed words. As a result, several versions of the song are known. One of them:

Don't look like that through the squinting of your eyes,
Gentlemen, barons and dandies!
I couldn't get drunk in twenty minutes
From a glass of cold brandy.

My father didn’t have time to escape in October,
But he did a lot for the whites.
The deadline has come, and the cold word: “execution” -
The verdict of the tribunal was announced.
And now I'm a prostitute, I'm a fairy from a bar,
I am a black moth, I am a bat...
Wine and men are my vibe!
Shelter for emigrants - free Paris...
I told the colonel: “Nate, take it!
It’s not Don currency to pay for this.
You will pay me in francs, sir.
And everything else is road dust!"
After all, I'm a prostitute, I'm a fairy from a bar,
I am a black moth, I am a bat.
Wine and men are my vibe!
A haven for emigrants - free Paris.
And only sometimes through the cover of false passion
I remember the birth dust of Odessa.
And then I spit into their slobbering mouths!
And everything else is a sad story.
After all, I am a schoolgirl, I am the daughter of a chamberlain,
I am a black moth, I am a bat.
Wine and men are my vibe!
Shelter for emigrants - free Paris!

A version performed by Valya Sergeeva, who is remembered only by rare fans, and she was the “Queen of the criminal song” in the vastness of the USSR (not to be confused with a la criminals, who are like crap on the collective farm right now), long before Uspenskaya. In some ways, her fate resembles the fate of Maria Vega.
It is not even known whether she is alive; according to some rumors, she seems to have died in the mid-90s, immediately after her husband, the also famous chansonnier V. Sorokin (Orshulovich), but this is not certain.
For my taste, this is the most complete and best performance, without cheap overkill like Lyuban’s, and without Jewish folklore like Zvezdinsky’s.

In the third film of the “State Border” series, “Eastern Frontier,” filmed in 1982, the action takes place in the late 20s on the Soviet-Chinese border. Chekist Olga Anisimova (played by the soloist of the Moscow Operetta Theater Inara Guliyeva), who penetrated the White Guard center in Harbin, and border guard Alexei Mogilov (actor Vladimir Novikov) prevent a number of provocations on the Chinese Eastern Railway, uncover a conspiracy between the White Chinese and the White Guard center in Harbin. It was in this film that the “White Guard chanson” was heard - the romance “The Institute”.

Don't look so judgmental about everything
To the antics of a hungry cocotte.
I got completely drunk in twenty seconds
From a glass of banana vodka

After all, I am a schoolgirl, I am the daughter of a chamberlain -
Here is a fragment of the past, a bloody ruby.
Now pimps are my vibe...
Hello expats! Free Harbin!

My father failed to escape in October,
But he did a lot for the white flag.
The time has come, and the short order is to shoot
The verdict of the tribunal was announced.

And here I am - a schoolgirl, I am the daughter of a chamberlain,
And my father's uniform, betrayed to shame.
And there is no longer any meaning or purpose in life,
Hello expats, free Harbin.

Why, Colonel, is your brow so furrowed?
Shake off the bitter dust of your dear Motherland!
We are yellow leaves, and the storm drives us,
And this, unfortunately, is a sad reality...

Yes, I'm a prostitute, I'm the chamberlain's daughter,
And there is no forgiveness for me, and there is no mercy!
And there is no more God, and there is no more faith -
Hello expats! Last hello!

An institute is a student of a women's educational institution in the Russian Empire. Maria Vega (Maria Volyntseva) graduated from the Pavlovsk Women's Institute.
The institute began with a military orphanage founded in 1798 by decree of Paul I for the children of officers and soldiers who died in battle. In 1807, a special “girls’ school” was opened, renamed in 1829 to the Pavlovsk Women’s Institute.
Girls of ten or eleven years old were admitted to the institute. The duration of training was seven years. Girls from impoverished noble families, mostly orphans, daughters of officers and employees in the military department, studied at the Pavlovsk Institute.

The pupils were protected from the outside world and spent all their time at the institute; They were allowed home only for Easter, Christmas and the summer holidays. Since the girls who studied here were not rich, they were prepared for a modest family and work life. In addition to general education subjects, such as French and German, girls were taught cutting, sewing, and housekeeping. Graduates received a diploma with the title of home teacher.

Performed by Daria Lovat.

Text from Wikipedia, supplemented from the Internet.

BLACK MOTH