Fun of wealthy ladies of the 18th century. The cruel entertainments of Chinese rich women, as they were

China is an ancient state with original culture, positioned as a kind of standard that needs to be imitated. Over the course of many centuries, the inhabitants of the Celestial Empire have formed their own views on sex and eroticism, as evidenced by ancient manuscripts and accompanying drawings.

Entertainment of wealthy Chinese women

Wealthy Chinese women have invented their own rather strange way of meditation. To do this, they looked for young guys, always innocent, who had not yet turned eighteen years old. For a substantial monetary reward, rich ladies offered young men to indulge in lovemaking with them. A fair question arises: what is strange and shocking here? What followed was the most brutal part of their sexual perversion. Innocent guys who agreed to take part in the entertainment of rich ladies were placed in the water so that only their head and neck remained at the top. Young men were fixed to pre-prepared devices, which were installed in the water directly above the unfortunate guy's head. The ladies sat on top of the installation so that their naked genitals were above the face of the young innocent man. According to ancient manuscripts, such strange and cruel perversion of rich Chinese ladies gave them pleasure.

The women were pleased that the innocent young man did not have the opportunity to take his eyes off the picture that opened before his eyes and they had no choice but to “see what was happening.”

Although these facts do not have scientific confirmation, but, analyzing the style of modern perversions, we can conclude that the birthplace of most of them is China or Japan.

Shocking perversions of rich Chinese men

In their numerous palaces, emperors and their courtiers organized sexual orgies, indulging in various bizarre pleasures. And such fun was explained by the fact that in this way they contribute to the harmony between feminine (yin) and masculine (yang) energy.

Entertainment of ancient Chinese rulers

A striking example demonstrating the customs of the imperial court is King Zhou Xin of the Yin Dynasty. Regular exercise and participation in fights allowed him to keep himself in excellent physical shape.

But not only martial arts with wild animals and fights with the best warriors interested royalty. In the Zhou Xin palace lived the queen, three main wives, wives of the second and third rank (nine and twenty-seven, respectively), and numerous concubines. In addition, the staff of the royal palace consisted of about three thousand girls who took part in festive events and feasts, where they were given the opportunity to show what virtues and skills they possess.

The king lined up his courtiers around the perimeter of the arena, where he showed them his sexual exploits. He could walk around the arena with a roasted leg of veal in one hand and a two-liter bronze goblet full of wine in the other.

And at this time, in his arms, with her legs wrapped around his waist, was a naked girl straddling him manhood. The woman moved up and down his erect penis, she moaned and made voluptuous sounds. This picture delighted the audience with indescribable delight.

Love joys of Chinese emperors AD

However luxurious life The ancient Chinese rulers cannot in any way compare with the lifestyle of some emperors who lived at a later time.

One of them is Emperor Yandi, who belonged to the Sui dynasty. He was born in 581 and died in 618 AD. He began his reign with the construction of one of the greatest palaces in the world, for which about two million workers were involved, collected throughout the empire. The outside of the palace was decorated with the finest marble different colors. And its interior decoration was striking in its luxury. Imperial Palace was located in a walled park area whose area was 120 square kilometers. In the center of the park there was an artificially created lake, along the banks of which sixteen palaces were built for concubines and court ladies. Emperor Yandi preferred to make love in boats, gently swaying on the waves. The emperor went for walks in the park, accompanied by thousands of court girls. Throughout the park, at a short distance from each other, there were pavilions surrounded by a low fence.

Emperor Yandi's sexual desire could arise suddenly, and then he would choose several girls to make love to in one of the pavilions. All the other women sat around, humming and playing tunes that pleased their lord.

As soon as the palace was completed, the emperor began construction of the Grand Canal, connecting the north with the south via a waterway. Palaces were also built on the banks of the canal, where Yandi stayed during his water travels. Included imperial fleet there were junks in which about a thousand wives and numerous concubines followed the emperor.

The tireless ruler, who adored lovemaking on the waves, wanted to feel something similar on land. For this purpose, a circular road with wavy surface was built. The cart, driving on such a surface, swayed, which gave even greater pleasure to the people who indulged in the pleasures of love in it. By order of the emperor, “seven wonderful chariots” were built. Externally, the chariot looked more like a coffin. In each of them there was a concubine, waiting for the ruler to pay attention to her. The emperor loved to go out early in the morning for a chariot ride to enjoy sexual games with his concubines. Throughout the day he made love to each girl he chose.

Conclusion

China is one of ancient states in the world, with its own unique culture, which is fundamentally different from the culture of the West. This can be clearly seen in such an important and intimate area. human life like erotica. Based on the above, it can be seen that Chinese men and women have been looking for new ways of sexual pleasure since ancient times. Sometimes it was cruel and shocking entertainment ordinary people with its perversity.

It is generally accepted that in the entire centuries-old history of our state, it was the Elizabethan era (1741-1762) that was the most fun, the most carefree, the most festive, and so on. In principle, there is every reason for this - how many balls were held back then, how many boxes of champagne were drunk, how many overseas fabrics were spent on sewing outfits! But only a narrow stratum called the nobility had fun in this way. All the rest were forced to work day and night so that the masters would always be in good location spirit.

And if the owner doesn’t like something, then he won’t be ashamed - he’ll recoup himself as he should. After all, almost every landowner's house of those times was equipped with a real torture chamber. Well, this is what Catherine the Second wrote in her diaries, and this, you see, is an authoritative source. Torture was generally considered the most common occurrence. Any young gentleman, when designing his house, took its presence into account in advance. Here is where the living room will be, here is the bedroom, here is the office, then the kitchen, the servants' room, and right there, right behind the sheepfold, the torture room. Everything is like with people, as they say.

What about people? Cruelty, cruelty and more cruelty. And completely unreasonable. And one of the most famous such examples is the Russian landowner Daria Nikolaevna Saltykova. Initially, her life developed quite normally: she was born into a noble family, married a noble officer, and gave birth to two sons. But trouble happened to her at the age of 26 - she became a widow. She didn’t grieve for a long time, but this is understandable - the woman is still young. I decided to occupy myself with something, and bad luck - only rods came to hand, and only serfs came into view. In general, since then, Daria Saltykova has turned into a formidable and ruthless Saltychikha.

The full number of its victims remains unknown, but the fact that the number was in the hundreds is beyond doubt. She punished her “servants” for any offense, even for tiny wrinkles in ironed linen. Moreover, she did not spare either men, women, or children. Old people too, therefore. And what she did, what she did. She exposed her to the cold, scalded her with boiling water, tore out her hair and tore off her ears. Well, she also didn’t shy away from something simpler, like banging her head against a wall.

And one day, she learned that someone had gotten into the habit of hunting in her forest. Instantly she ordered to be caught and imprisoned for further “fun”. As it turned out, this uninvited hunter turned out to be another landowner, Nikolai Tyutchev, the future grandfather of the great Russian poet Fyodor Ivanovich. And Saltychikha could not catch him, because Tyutchev himself was no less cruel a tyrant. Moreover, they even started love relationship. That's it, it's not just opposites that attract. It almost didn't come to the wedding, but last moment Tyutchev nevertheless came to his senses and quickly wooed some young girl. Daria Nikolaevna, of course, became furious and ordered her peasants to kill the newlyweds. Those, thank God, disobeyed. And then Catherine II came to power, and almost the first thing she did was deprive Saltykova of her noble title and imprison her in a dungeon for life. After spending three years in captivity, Saltychikha died. This happened in 1801.

And so ended the story of one of the most famous serial killers in history. Russian Empire. Alas, this did not end the noble tyranny, because the same Catherine, although she organized a show trial of Saltykova, subsequently freed the hands of the nobles even more and further aggravated the situation of the serfs.

Until 1917, merchants were favorite targets of newspaper feuilletonists and cartoonists. Who hasn’t practiced wit at the address and “your degrees.” What were they like in reality - Russian rich people? How did you spend your wealth, how did you have fun?...

Merchants Club

First of all, the Russian merchant was famous as a lover of good food. In Moscow hallmark The merchant club wanted to emphasize in every possible way the superiority of the moneyed aces over the pillar noble aristocracy, which was losing its former importance in the state.

Merchants Club in Moscow

If the nobles who had not yet gone bankrupt preferred French cuisine, the merchants in their club emphasized ancient Russian dishes: “sterlet fish soup; two-yard sturgeon; beluga in brine; “banquet” veal; creamy white turkey, fattened walnuts; “halved” pies made from sterlet and burbot livers; pig with horseradish; pig with porridge" and much more.

Piglets for Tuesday dinners at the Merchant Club were bought at a huge price from Testov, the same ones he served in his famous tavern. He fattened them himself at his dacha, in special feeders in which the piglet’s legs were blocked with bars, “so that he wouldn’t kick the fat!” - explained Ivan Testov.

Interiors of the Merchant Club

Capons and poultry came from Rostov-Yaroslavsky, and “banquet” veal came from Trinity, where calves were fed with whole milk... In addition to the wines that were being consumed by the sea, especially champagne, the Merchant Club was famous throughout Moscow for its kvass and fruit waters, the secret of which was Only one long-term club housekeeper knew - Nikolai Agafonovich.

Frenchwoman for two hundred thousand

Well, after that you could taste other earthly joys:

“At dinners, Stepan Ryabov’s orchestra played, and choirs sang - sometimes Gypsy, sometimes Hungarian, and more often Russian from Yar. The latter enjoyed special love, and his owner, Anna Zakharovna, was held in high esteem by the traveling merchants because she knew how to please the merchant and knew who to recommend which singer; the latter carried out every order of the mistress, because the contract placed the singer at the complete disposal of the choir owner.”

However, for the most part, smaller merchants were content with the enslaved singers. Financial aces preferred higher-flying women who required huge expenses. The record holder in this regard was Nikolai Ryabushinsky, for whom the Frenchwoman Fagette cost two hundred thousand rubles, spent in two months.

For just one necklace with pearls and diamonds from Faberge, Ryabushinsky paid ten thousand two hundred rubles. It is worth recalling that at that time a payment of fifty kopecks per working day was considered a good price for a worker.

But Nikolai Pavlovich was by no means going to limit himself to just one Frenchwoman. Relatives, frightened by the insane scale of the young rake's spending, managed to establish guardianship over him, which he managed to remove only a few years later. And now he has turned around with all his might.

Ryabushinsky Nikolai Pavlovich (1877-1951)

It is curious that, in addition to his ineradicable passion for women, Ryabushinsky turned out to be, perhaps, one of the first Russian reckless drivers. His luxurious red Daimler with 60 horsepower (which was at that time the last word technology) Muscovites quickly learned to recognize.

Several times he was brought to justice for violating the rules of newfangled automobile driving, and once he had to pay a substantial compensation to a hit pedestrian.

But Nikolai Ryabushinsky hosted the main fun at his own villa “Black Swan” in Petrovsky Park, where, as Muscovites excitedly gossiped, “Athenian nights with naked actresses were held.”

Villa "Black Swan" in Petrovsky Park in Moscow, where Nikolai Ryabushinsky organized evenings for bohemians. Photo from the beginning of the 20th century.

Interiors of the Black Swan Villa before the fire of 1915. On the walls are paintings from the Ryabushinsky collection, which included works by Bruegel and Poussin.

Apparently, in order to make these very nights more fun, Ryabushinsky decorated the villa with a collection of poisoned arrows from New Guinea.

The fact is that when traveling in my youth exotic countries, Nikolai Pavlovich visited the cannibal Papuans and even allegedly drank wine from a skull defeated enemy from the leader of a hospitable tribe. Is it true, gossips claimed that this story was suspiciously reminiscent of a “skull Prince of Kyiv Svyatoslav”, from which the Pechenegs who killed him loved to drink strong drinks.

Be that as it may, the number of ladies wanting to visit the scandalous Black Swan villa did not decrease. Passion to female Nikolai Ryabushinsky kept it for life.

N. P. Ryabushinsky. Photo from the 1940s.

Already in old age, when he was over seventy, working in art gallery"Hermitage" in Monte Carlo, he experienced his last infatuation - with a young refugee from Germany, three times his age.

Tigress and scientist pig

The passion for creating mansions built on the principle of being more expensive and fancier could end badly for its owner very sadly - Arseny Morozov, for example, became a Moscow laughing stock, having built a house that is well known to today's Muscovites - the building of a society for friendship with foreign countries, which is opposite the Khudozhestvenny cinema.

The mansion of Arseny Abramovich Morozov, built in 1895-1899 by architect V. A. Mazyrin in the Spanish-Moorish style with Art Nouveau elements. Since 1959 - House of Friendship with the Peoples of Foreign Countries.

To the architect's question about what style the house should be built in, Morozov answered - in all, there is enough money. The architect complied with the instructions, amusing the townspeople thoroughly.

The poorer merchants, of course, could not afford such a financial scale, so they came up with something cheaper and more primitive. No money for a trip to Egypt or New Guinea- but you can “drunk to death” and leave Moscow to “hunt crocodiles in Africa.” True, such trips usually ended somewhere in Tver, in a station restaurant.

If the millionaire merchant and famous eccentric Mikhail Khludov appears everywhere only accompanied by a tame tigress, it means that smaller merchants buy themselves the learned pig of the clown Tanti and arrange a ceremonial eating of it. True, later, unlike Khludov, they become the laughing stock of all of Moscow because, as it turned out, the cunning circus performer slipped them a simple and completely uneducated pig, and kept the “actress” intact.

Mikhail Alekseevich Khludov - Russian merchant and entrepreneur

Mikhail Khludov preferred to carry his tigress around the wars. He acquired it during the conquest Central Asia, where the animal received a “baptism of fire”.

Their eastern colleagues also tried to keep up with their Russian colleagues. The owner of the largest Baku oil fields, Armenian Alexander Mantashev, very clearly explained why he made an unusually generous donation for the construction of an Armenian church in Paris - “this is the city where I sinned the most.” In order to sin properly, he went there every year.

Alexander Ivanovich Mantashev is the largest Russian oil magnate and philanthropist. He was one of the richest people of his time.

His sons, Levon and Joseph, already firmly established in Moscow, amazed Muscovites with their dinners and banquets. Suffice it to say that carloads of fresh flowers were specially brought from Nice in winter for these dinners. But main passion brothers had horses. And they spared literally nothing for their favorites, building real palaces instead of stables - with hot water, ventilation and showers.

Not wanting to lag behind fashion, Levon began collecting works famous artists. But he treated them in a unique way - he loved to shoot at canvases with a pocket pistol. Hot man...

From fads to museum creation

Fortunately for art, other wealthy collectors treated their collections with much more care. About the merits of creation domestic museums, in the development of sciences and art, merchant dynasties The Tretyakovs, Morozovs, Shchukins, the same Ryabushinskys, Mamontovs and many others can be talked about endlessly.

Alexey Alexandrovich Bakhrushin is a Russian merchant, philanthropist, collector of theatrical antiquities, and creator of a private literary and theatrical museum.

Often, the passion for collecting began as an ordinary merchant's whim. The creator of the famous theater museum, Alexey Bakhrushin, for example, began his activities with a bet. He made a bet with his cousin that in just a month he could collect a larger and better collection than the one his brother had been collecting for several years.

He won the bet, but got carried away so much that over time it became a very difficult problem for his wife to get money from him for household. Bakhrushin considered a ruble not spent on the museum to be lost.

But the merchant's temperament turned collecting into a kind of competition, gambling, forcing its owners to commit, from the point of view of an outsider, completely meaningless acts.

Mikhail Abramovich Morozov is a merchant, entrepreneur, collector of Western European and Russian paintings and sculptures. The eldest son of the famous Moscow merchant Abram Abramovich Morozov.

For example, Mikhail Abramovich Morozov bought 4 paintings by Gauguin for only 500 francs each. And a few years later he was offered 30,000 francs for them. The merchant could not resist such a price and sold the paintings. But the next day, after visiting art gallery, he discovered that paintings were already selling for 50 thousand.

Seeing the amount his former property was now valued at, Morozov decided to make a secondary purchase. Buy for five hundred, sell for thirty thousand and buy again for fifty thousand - there is something in this.

So there was everything in the history of the Russian merchants - crazy sprees, drunken tyranny, and an invaluable contribution to the development of national culture.

Something about Marius the giraffe came to mind today:(

Fox throwing

Fox throwing was a common competitive sport (bloody sport) in parts of Europe in the 17th and 17th centuries. XVIII centuries and consisted of throwing live foxes and other animals as high into the sky as possible. The throwing usually took place in the forest or courtyard castle or palace, on a round platform fenced with stretched canvas.

Two people stood at a distance of six to seven meters from each other, holding the ends of the sling, which was laid out between them on the ground. Then the beast was released into the arena. As he ran between the players, they pulled the ends of the sling with all their might, throwing the animal into the air. Victory in the competition was awarded for the highest throw. Throw height experienced players could reach seven meters or more. It happened that several slings were laid out in parallel at once, so that several teams in a row could take part in throwing one animal.

For an abandoned animal, the outcome was usually tragic. In 1648, in Dresden, at a competition organized by the Elector of Saxony, Augustus the Strong, 647 foxes, 533 hares, 34 badgers and 21 forest cats were thrown and killed. Augustus personally took part in the competition. According to stories, to demonstrate his strength, he held his end of the sling with one finger, while two of his strongest servants held it on the other side.

Rat baiting

Rat baiting was particularly popular in Britain and only died out in the early 20th century. The fashion for this fun appeared thanks to an act of Parliament in 1835, which introduced a ban on baiting bears, bulls and other large animals.

The bullying took place in an arena surrounded by a barrier. Spectator seats were placed around the amphitheater; first, five rats were released into the arena for each participating dog.

The bull terrier Jacko set several records - 100 rats in 5 minutes 28 seconds, 1000 rats in less than 100 minutes.

The last public persecution took place in 1912. The disappearance of the bloody sport was largely facilitated by Queen Victoria's love for animals and a change in attitude towards dogs to a more humane one.

Throwing a rooster

"The First Stage of Cruelty", engraving by William Hogarth (1751)

The fun was that the audience threw sticks at a rooster planted in a pot until the bird gave up the ghost. Usually this action took place on Fat Tuesday (carnival time). In some cases, the bird was tied to a log, or those throwing sticks were blindfolded. In Sussex, the bird was tied to a peg with a line five or six feet long, so that it could peck at a slow bully.

Unlike cockfighting, rooster throwing was common among the lower classes. When the authorities in Bristol tried to ban this entertainment in 1660, apprentices in the city rebelled. Some wits wrote that the rooster in this game symbolizes the ancient enemy of the British - France (the rooster is one of national symbols France).

During the Enlightenment, this activity was ridiculed in the press as a relic of medieval barbarism and, as a result, gradually faded away.

Goose stretching

A blood sport that was widespread in the Netherlands, Belgium, some areas of Germany, Great Britain and North America in the period from the 17th to the beginning of the 20th century.

The meaning of this fun was as follows: a live goose with a well-greased head was tied by the legs to a horizontal pole located at a sufficient distance high altitude and attached to two vertical poles, forming a gate-like structure. A person had to ride a horse at full gallop through this “gate” and be able to grab the goose by the head, thereby tearing it off. This was quite difficult to do due to the grease on the goose’s head and the fluttering of the bird; sometimes in competitions they introduced additional elements difficulties - for example, sometimes a man with a whip was placed near the “gate”, who with his blows was supposed to frighten the approaching horse. The prize for winning the competition was usually the goose itself, sometimes small sums of money collected from spectators, or alcoholic drinks.

Fun "Stretching the goose" today, Belgium. Video

History: 18th Century Entertainment

Carnival and masquerade processions
Peter's time was distinguished not only by cruelty and bloody reprisals against thieves and bribe-takers, but also by the diversity and brightness of all kinds of festivities.
On the same Trinity Square where the Execution Place was located, in September 1721 a carnival procession took place in honor of the end of the Northern War, which lasted 21 years. The square was full of all kinds of costumes and masks. The sovereign himself acted as the ship's drummer. His wife was dressed as a Dutch peasant woman. They were surrounded by trumpeters, nymphs, shepherdesses, and buffoons. The ancient gods Neptune and Bacchus walked accompanied by satyrs.
Under Peter I, Bacchus was in a place of honor among other ancient gods. The king loved mead and beer and was very angry when anyone refused a glass in his presence. The offender was treated to a huge “Big Eagle Cup” that held about two liters of wine. I had to drink to the bottom. After accepting the cup, the person usually fell off his feet.
Sometimes humorous characters appeared in carnival processions. There were riders sitting backwards in their saddles, old women playing with dolls, dwarfs next to tall men who took them in their arms. These figures symbolized various vices.
Before Peter I, buffoons were persecuted in Rus'. In young St. Petersburg, they took part in festivities at Maslenitsa and on Trinity Day. In addition to the winter ones, festivities were held in the spring for Easter. Tsaritsyn Meadow and Admiralteyskaya Square were allocated for this purpose. It was vast and occupied a huge territory from the Admiralty to the end of the existing Palace Square. Booths, roller coasters, and carousels were built here.
During numerous celebrations, fireworks were displayed, which Peter loved so much. The Peter and Paul Fortress and some houses near it were illuminated in the evening. Mica kerosene lanterns burned on the gates and roofs. On days like these, on one of the bastions Peter and Paul Fortress the flag was raised and cannon shots thundered. They were also heard from the royal yacht “Lisette”.
The year 1710 was a record year for the number of holidays. In November, two dwarfs drove around St. Petersburg in a three-wheeled carriage and invited guests to the wedding. The wedding procession opened in mid-November. A dwarf with a staff walked ahead. Seventy dwarfs followed him. The wedding feast took place in the house of Governor Menshikov, which at that time was located on the Ambassadorial (later Petrovskaya) embankment. The best man for the dwarf bride was Peter I himself.
The dwarfs danced. The rest of the guests were spectators.

Dancing
They became fashionable under Peter I. In 1721 there was a ball in the house of Golovkin, the sovereign’s educator and associate, who was located not far from Peter’s house on Posolskaya Embankment. The dances were accompanied, as the fashion of the time required, by frequent kisses of the ladies. The Prosecutor General of the Senate, Yaguzhinsky, was especially distinguished.
The assemblies established by Peter I are widely known. First they took place in the gallery Summer Garden. Later, every noble person was obliged to host an assembly during the winter. The dancing at these assemblies was very ceremonial. A man who wanted to dance with a lady had to approach her three times, bowing. At the end of the dance, the man kissed the lady's hand. A lady could dance with one gentleman only once. These prim rules were brought by Peter from abroad. He soon realized that this etiquette was terribly boring and came up with a new rule for assembly dances.
It was borrowed from the ancient German dance “grossvater”. The couples moved slowly and importantly to the sounds of sad and solemn music. Suddenly it was heard funny music. The ladies left their gentlemen and invited new ones. The old gentlemen grabbed the new ladies. A terrible crowd arose.
Peter and Catherine himself took part in similar dances. And the sovereign’s laughter sounded louder than anyone else.
Instantly, at the given sign, everything came back to order again, and the couples continued to move decorously in the same rhythm. If some sluggish gentleman found himself without a lady as a result of the dance formation, he was fined. They brought him the “Big Eagle Cup.” At the end of the dance, the offender was usually carried away in his arms.

Games
Back in the 16th century, games such as grain (dice), checkers, chess and cards were known in Rus'. The game of grain was especially popular at that time. The bones had white and black sides. Winning was determined by which side they landed on when thrown. Mention of cards was found in 1649 in the code of laws of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich. Along with theft, playing cards for money was considered a serious crime. For this they could beat him with a whip, put him in prison, or cut off his ear. But in early XVIII centuries, in many houses they played cards openly, without fear of punishment.
Peter I was not fond of cards, preferring chess to them. The Germans taught him this game in his youth. The sovereign most often spent his leisure time with a mug of beer and a pipe. chessboard. He didn't have many worthy opponents. Only Admiral Franz Lefort managed to beat Peter. He was not angry for this, but on the contrary, he praised him.
In 1710, the tsar banned the playing of cards and dice on ships, and eight years later he issued a decree banning card play during hostilities. However, this did not concern civilian population. What card games were you in Peter's time?
They played ombre, mariage and the game of kings, brought from Poland. It was most common in the family circle. The loser paid with all sorts of fines, which were imposed by the winning “king”.
Because of this game, the wife of Pushkin’s famous great-grandfather, the Arab Ibrahim Hannibal, suffered. In 1731, Captain Hannibal lived with his wife Evdokia in the city of Pernov. At Easter, Evdokia visited, where she was invited to play cards. Among the guests was an experienced womanizer, a certain Shishkov. Having won and found himself in the role of “king,” he imposed a fine on Evdokia in the form of a kiss. It was with this kiss that they began love story. Ibrahim Petrovich soon found out about her. Pushkin's ardent and jealous great-grandfather punished his unfaithful wife in his own way - he sent her to a monastery.
Billiards appeared in St. Petersburg in the 1720s. The French brought it here. The first billiard table was installed in Peter's Winter Palace, which was located approximately on the site where the Hermitage Theater is now.
Peter was fond of playing billiards. With his enormous height and steady hand, he easily learned to accurately place the balls in the pockets. Soon many courtiers also knew how to play billiards. Billiards were ordered from France by nobles, and then by innkeepers. Most likely, there was billiards in the “Auster”, which was often visited by the Tsar, near the Ioanovsky Bridge, leading to the Peter and Paul Fortress. In F. Tumansky’s book “Description of St. Petersburg” (1793) you can read: “Austeria was called Solemn, because the sovereign sent all the celebrations and fireworks to the square in front of it. On holidays, Sovereign Peter the Great, leaving the mass of the Trinity Cathedral, went with noble persons and ministers to this Austeria for a glass of vodka before dinner.”

Jesters
U little Peter there were two dwarf jesters given to him by his older brother Fyodor Alekseevich. One was called Mosquito, the other was Cricket. The latter soon died, and Komar, whom the sovereign loved very much, lived until the death of Peter I. In the Winter Palace on Palace Embankment, Peter was surrounded by two more jesters: the legendary Balakirev and Acosta.
The jesters at court played a certain role in ridiculing ancient customs and prejudices. Sometimes they could inform Peter about his subordinates, and they more than once complained to the king about his jesters. Peter, as a rule, answered with a grin: “What can you do? After all, they are fools!” Balakirev was with Peter for no more than two years, but he left behind a memory. His name is known as the author of witty answers and anecdotes.
In books about these anecdotes, legends are interspersed with reality. We will cite one of the cases that may have taken place in life.
Once, when Peter asked what people in St. Petersburg were saying about St. Petersburg itself, Balakirev answered:
- People say: on one side there is sea, on the other there is mountain, on the third there is moss, and on the fourth “oh”!
- Get down! - Peter shouted and began to beat the jester with a club, condemning him. - Here’s the sea, here’s your grief, here’s the moss, and here’s your “oh”!
During the reign of the “Queen of the Terrible Eye” Anna Ioannovna, the attitude towards jesters was even more cruel. Suffice it to recall the story of the ice house built on the Neva at the end of 1739 for the clownish wedding of M.A. Golitsin and A.I. Buzheninova, where they were ordered to spend their first wedding night.
Anna Ioannovna surrounded herself with joker women. And dwarfs and freaks. The empress herself came up with costumes for her jesters. They were sewn from multi-colored scraps. The suit could be made of velvet, and the pants and sleeves could be made of matting. The jesters wore caps with rattles on their heads. Balls and masquerades in the third Winter Palace, which was built by F. Rastrelli in the 1730s approximately on the spot where the current Winter Palace stands, followed one after another. Everyone had to wear masks to masquerade balls. At dinner the order was given: “Masks off!” and then everyone present revealed their faces. The Empress herself usually did not wear either a costume or a mask. Balami, like everything else, was managed by her favorite Biron.
The balls ended with a sumptuous dinner. Anna Ioannovna did not like wine, and therefore at dinner they ate more than they drank. Jesters were not allowed at balls and masquerades. Sometimes the empress took them with her for walks and hunting. Despite her plumpness, she was a good horsewoman and shot accurately with a gun. A pen for various animals was built on the square in front of the Winter Palace. Anna Ioannovna could grab a gun in the middle of the day and shoot right out of the palace windows at a bird flying by.

The whims of Elizaveta Petrovna
While still a princess, Elizabeth had a huge staff of servants: four valets, nine ladies-in-waiting, four governesses, a chamberlain, and a host of footmen. Having become empress, she expanded her staff several times more. There were musicians and songwriters with her who delighted her ears.
The servants also included several women, who at night, when the empress was awake, and this happened often, scratched her heels. At the same time, they were allowed to conduct a quiet, low conversation. Sometimes the carders managed to whisper two or three words into Elizabeth’s ear, providing their protégés with a generously paid service.
Elizabeth inherited from her father a love of wandering places. Her travels were reminiscent disaster. When she moved from St. Petersburg to Moscow, a real commotion began in both capitals. Persons managing the Senate and Synod, the treasury, and the court chancellery had to follow her. Elizaveta Petrovna loved driving fast. Her carriage or cart, equipped with a special firebox, was harnessed to twelve horses. They rushed to the quarry.
The splendor of balls and masquerades under Elizaveta Petrovna surpassed everything that had happened before. The Empress had an excellent figure. She was especially beautiful in men's suit. Therefore, in the first four months of her reign, she changed the uniforms of all regiments. In general, the Empress loved dressing up. Her wardrobe consisted of a fabulous number of very different outfits, which the daughter of Peter I ordered from abroad. One day the Empress ordered that all the ladies attend a ball in the Winter Palace (this temporary Winter Palace was located on the corner of Nevsky and Moika) appeared in men's suits, and all the men in women's suits. Elizabeth also went hunting with dogs in a man's suit. For the sake of hunting, the empress, who loved to sleep, got up at 5 o’clock in the morning.
Of course, in this essay we could not talk about all the amusements of old Petersburg, in particular those that took place under Catherine II. More on this a little later. It is important to note that the city both during the reign of Anna Ioannovna and during the reign of Elizabeth Petrovna changed and grew.
Under Anna Ioannovna, the Alekseevsky and Ioannovsky ravelins of the Peter and Paul Fortress appeared, named after the grandfather and father of this cruel ruler. Under her, the Commission on St. Petersburg Buildings was organized, which managed the construction of new buildings.
Under Elizaveta Petrovna, Petersburg finally received the status of the second capital, and the Anichkov Palace, the Stroganov Palace (Nevsky, 17), the ensemble of the Smolny Monastery, the Winter Palace (the fifth in a row), which still flaunts on Palace Square, were built.