Diary of Marie Bashkirtseff

Yesterday we went to Poltava — my father was to go officially to see Prince Sviatopolk-Mirsky,1 governor-general of three or five provinces, who comes to spend twenty-four hours in Poltava. It was raining and as I could not work I wished to come. [entry continues]

Hier donc nous sommes allés à Poltava, mon père devait y aller officiellement pour voir le prince Sviatopolk-Mirsky, général gouverneur de trois ou cinq provinces qui vient passer vingt-quatre heures à Poltava. Il pleuvait et ne pouvant travailler j'ai voulu venir. [Content continues...]

Notes

Prince Sviatopolk-Mirsky: a senior imperial administrator responsible for the governance of several provinces in the Ukrainian region. Official visits of this kind required local nobles such as M. Bashkirtseff to present themselves formally.