In 1829, the granddaughter of Marshal Kutuzov, Countess Daria Fyodorovna Ficquelmont, née Dorothea von Tiesenhausen, arrived in St. Petersburg from Italy. The salons of Countess Ficquelmont and her mother, Elizabeth Mikhailovna Khitrovo, became a notable phenomenon in the capital.

Prince Pyotr Andreyevich Vyazemsky noted,

Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin met Daria Ficquelmont and her husband, an Austrian envoy, in St. Petersburg, and soon became a frequent visitor of their social gatherings. Daria Ficquelmont, intelligent, well-educated, cordial, and charming in her demeanor, was also friends with Pyotr Andreyevich Vyazemsky and Alexander Mikhailovich Turgenev. Pushkin, who described himself as the “most sincere admirer” of Ficquelmont, referred to her in a letter dated April 25, 1830, as “the most brilliant of our noblewomen.”

The diary of Daria Ficquelmont has been preserved and contains several entries about Pushkin, revealing the subtlety and depth of her insights, “Pushkin, the writer, engages in conversation in an enchanting manner — without pretension, with passion and fervor” (December 10, 1829); “it is impossible to be more unpretentious and intelligent in one’s manner of expression” (August 11, 1830) and “his manner is so engaging, with his brilliant mind, devoid of pedantry” (May 21, 1831).

Upon hearing the news of Pushkin’s death, Daria Ficquelmont recorded in her journal,