Woldemar

Research Status: Basic Last Updated: 2025-01-23 Diary Coverage: Up to 1880-10-15

Woldemar was a family member or family associate who served as a messenger between Marie's mother in Russia and Marie in Paris in 1880.

In October 1880, Marie's mother sent Woldemar to Paris to explain to Marie and her aunt why she couldn't come to France or take Marie to Biarritz. The reason was a legal complication: Marie's mother was bound as guarantor in a lawsuit for 200,000 rubles.

Marie's mother writes: "I sent, she says, Woldemar to Paris to explain this to you but - 'he apparently told you nothing.'" Marie responds: "I should think so, they talked with my aunt and I learned nothing, but you remember well that I suspected something."

This reveals the family's tendency to keep Marie uninformed about difficult matters - having Woldemar explain the situation to her aunt rather than to Marie directly. Marie finds this approach frustrating, preferring direct communication rather than being "managed" by partial information and lies.

The name Woldemar (German/Baltic form of Vladimir) suggests Baltic German or Russified German origins.

Identity

Woldemar is Marie's maternal uncle, Wladimir (Vladimir) Stepanovich Babanine, a brother of Maman. The Mon Journal t.9 index lists «Babanine (Wladimir Stépanovitch [Woldemar]), onde [oncle] de Marie Bashkirtseff». Marie calls him «Mon oncle Woldemar» when he turns up in Paris in September 1880 (089.0569, 089/1880-09-17), and «mon oncle Voldemar» in 1876 (066.0703). He is therefore family, not a «family associate». The guess above about Baltic German origins is contradicted by the index and should be disregarded: Woldemar is simply the Western form of the name Vladimir. The same uncle has two more files, ONCLE_WLADIMIR (Gavronzi, July 1881: «Mes deux oncles Etienne et Wladimir», 092.0159) and UNCLE_WLADIMIR. The duplication is logged in the open-items ledger.

Crimean War

On 7 October 1876 Marie wears a Cross of St George that, she writes, «a été donnée par le grand-duc Michel ou Nicolas à mon oncle Voldemar sur le Kourgan de Malakoff, où il restait seul avec quatre ou cinq soldats, sans perdre courage et chargeant lui-même les canons». Maman had put the cross away after the Crimean campaign, and Marie found it while going through things at Tchernakowka (066.0702–0703, 066/1876-10-07). This is family tradition as Marie reports it; no service record has been checked. That he is the same uncle as the 1880 «oncle Woldemar» rests on the name alone (0.8).

Research Status: Basic Last Updated: 2025-01-24 Diary Coverage: Up to July 1881

Uncle Wladimir (Vladimir) is one of Marie's uncles who visits Gavronzi during summer 1881. Marie notes his talent for imitation and finds him amusing.

Key Diary References:

• July 2, 1881: "Mes deux oncles Etienne et Wladimir sont ici. Wladimir a un talent d'imitation très amusant" - Wladimir has an amusing talent for imitation
• July 2, 1881: "Wladimir accourt avec un verre de lait" - Wladimir rushes over with a glass of milk as part of the family's health-watching over Marie

Context:

• Visits Gavronzi during the Russian summer
• Part of the extended Bashkirtseff family circle
• Has entertaining skills (imitation/mimicry)
• Participates in family efforts to monitor Marie's health

Research Notes:

• Full name and exact family relationship need confirmation
• Possibly Pavel Bashkirtseff's brother
• Further research needed into the Bashkirtseff family tree