Georges (Uncle, Marie's Mother's Brother)

Research Status: Moderate Last Updated: 2025-12-07 Diary Coverage: Books 00, 02

Identity

Georges was Marie Bashkirtseff's maternal uncle, brother of Maria Stepanovna Babanina (Marie's mother). He was clearly a troubled and possibly criminal individual who caused enormous family dysfunction throughout his life.

The Family Scoundrel (Book 00, 1884 Preface)

In her retrospective preface written in 1884, Marie reveals the devastating truth about Uncle Georges. She introduces him with dark humor: "N° 1 - Georges, il demande une notice à part car il nous a assassinés tous" (Number 1 - Georges, he requires a separate notice because he murdered us all).

Character and Talents

"Cet homme abominable et malheureux" (this abominable and unhappy man) was paradoxically gifted:

• Considered a genius: "Considéré comme un génie et adoré des siens"
• Charming when sober: "ça devenait un charmant cavalier, instruit, spirituel, séduisant"
• Tall and handsome: "grand, beau"
• Artistic talents: Drew caricatures, wrote delightful burlesque verse
• Alcoholic: "Il se grisait toujours" (He was always getting drunk)
• Violent: Beat his mother despite hiding under her skirts ("se réfugiait sous les jupes de sa mère qu'il battait")

From age 19, he engaged in "toutes sortes de folies" (all sorts of madness), alternating between charm and horror.

Marriage at Age 20

Georges married "une belle veuve de trente-six ans, mère de plusieurs enfants" (a beautiful widow of 36, mother of several children). The marriage ended in separation ("Séparé de sa femme bien entendu").

Daughter: #Dina - His daughter with this widow, Marie's cousin

Scandals and Exile

At Poltava, Georges and his brothers committed outrages:

• Beat officials ("rossé des fonctionnaires")
• Played tricks on everyone ("joué des tours à tout le monde")
• Made enemies throughout the province

The governor had to intervene, and Grand-papa took offense: "Grand-papa a trouvé cela impertinent et s'est mis à fronder contre tous les gouverneurs de Poltava successivement."

1865 Exile to Viatka: "Georges a enfin été saisi, emballé et envoyé à Viatka entre deux gendarmes" (Georges was finally seized, packed up and sent to Viatka between two gendarmes). Not for a specific crime, but for "mille misères et mille petites saleté qui embêtaient tout le monde" (a thousand troubles and a thousand little dirty tricks that bothered everyone).

The 1862 St. Petersburg Crisis

Marie's mother, her sister, and Georges traveled to Petersburg in 1862: "Georges a dû se sauver de Pétersbourg déguisé en femme et maman en est revenue mourante" (Georges had to escape from Petersburg disguised as a woman and mother returned from it dying).

Family Destruction

"Pauvre grand-maman, si elle n'avait que moi, mais il y avait cette canaille de Georges qu'elle s'est toujours obstinée à regarder comme un 'malheureux enfant' et qu'elle a légué à maman qui a cru dès lors obéir aux vœux de sa mère mourante en sacrifiant sa réputation, sa vie et ses enfants aux monstruosités de cet être ignoble."

(Poor grand-maman, if she had only me, but there was that scoundrel Georges whom she always stubbornly regarded as a 'poor unfortunate child' and whom she bequeathed to maman who believed thereafter she was obeying her dying mother's wishes by sacrificing her reputation, her life and her children to the monstrosities of this ignoble being.)

The entire family broke with society: "On a rompu avec toute la société et toutes les forces et toutes les intelligences de toute la famille n'ont plus eu pour but que de sauver Georges."

Young Marie's mother was "employed for Georges," visiting governors "qui ont reçu cette belle provinciale et l'ont écoutée en lui faisant la cour" (who received this beautiful provincial woman and listened to her while courting her).

Pattern of Family Enabling

Marie describes the entire family's complicity in enabling Georges:

"On était très familial chez nous pour Georges, les autres frères quittaient tout et faisaient quelquefois quatre à cinq cents lieues en chaise de poste pour Georges, ses sœurs sont allées dans les prisons, dans les endroits de police pour Georges, on a trinqué et mangé avec des gendarmes afin qu'ils lui soient plus doux... Pouah..."

(We were very family-oriented for Georges's sake, the other brothers would drop everything and sometimes travel four to five hundred leagues by post-chaise for Georges, his sisters went to prisons, to police stations for Georges, they drank and ate with gendarmes so they would treat him more gently... Ugh...)

This reveals:

• Criminal Behavior: Georges was clearly in and out of prisons
• Family Sacrifice: Brothers traveled hundreds of leagues to rescue him
• Prison Visits: Sisters visited him in prisons and police stations
• Bribery: Family members bribed gendarmes with food and drink for better treatment
• Marie's Disgust: Her "Pouah..." (Ugh) shows her revulsion at this pattern

Grandmother's Deathbed Legacy

Marie identifies her grandmother's deathbed wishes about Georges as a catastrophic burden on her mother:

• Enabling Mother: Grandmother always saw Georges as a "poor unfortunate child"
• Deathbed Obligation: Made Marie's mother promise to care for Georges
• Destructive Impact: Marie's mother "sacrificed her reputation, her life and her children" to this obligation
• Ignoble Being: Marie calls Georges's behavior "monstrosities" from an "ignoble being"

Marriage Schemes and Fortune Hunting (Book 00, 1884-05-01-04)

Another aspect of Georges's character emerges in Marie's description of family marriage schemes:

Attempted Marriage to Vassilissa Babanine

"Georges a proposé de le faire, ce Monsieur" - Georges had proposed to marry #Vassilissa_Babanine, his aunt (Grand-papa's sister), for her fortune.

He had already tried to obtain the fortune of another aunt. After much scheming that Marie doesn't detail ("bien des tripotages que j'ignore"), he only managed to extract 12,000-15,000 rubles from Vassilissa.

Orchestrating the Romanoff Scheme

Georges played a key role in ensnaring the wealthy 40-year-old bachelor #Romanoff:

Social Manipulation: The family gathered at #Akhtyrka to "catch" Romanoff, with Georges orchestrating the campaign.

The Kharkoff Theater Scene: At #Kharkoff, Marie notes that both Romanoff and Georges were "absolument étranger aux usages du monde" (absolutely foreign to the ways of society) - yet Georges was directing the operation. "Poussé par Georges" (pushed by Georges), they led an "existence inconcevable" (inconceivable existence):

• Romanoff sent theater box tickets every evening
• The family "nous nous pavanions" (paraded ourselves)
• Trays of fruits and bonbons at each intermission

The Actress Scandal: Even while orchestrating Romanoff's courtship, "Georges s'amouracha d'une actrice et la fit recevoir à la maison" (Georges fell in love with an actress and had her received at the house). This scandalous behavior - bringing an actress into a respectable household - shows Georges's reckless disregard for propriety even while managing a marriage scheme for the family.

The Crimean Campaign: The courtship continued to #Yalta in Crimea for sea bathing, with Romanoff financing everything.

Pattern of Opportunism

These marriage schemes reveal Georges as:

• Fortune hunter: Repeatedly pursued wealthy relatives for their money
• Manipulator: Orchestrated elaborate social schemes
• Hypocrite: Brought scandal (actress) while arranging respectable match (Romanoff)
• Reckless: Pursued his own pleasures even while managing family schemes

Later Life at Villa Baquis (1873)

In contrast to his serious criminal problems, by 1873 Georges appears to be living with the family at Villa Baquis in a somewhat reduced role:

• Sympathetic Confidant: Shared Marie's horror at their living situation at Villa Baquis
• Social Equal: Understood and validated Marie's concerns about their declining social position
• Drinking Companion: Attended social dinners and occasionally drank too much
• Voice of Agreement: Provided Marie with validation that her complaints were justified

His agreement with Marie's assessment of their situation ("Il est parfaitement d'accord") gave her ammunition in family discussions about their living arrangements.

Historical Context

In large aristocratic families, alliances often formed between family members who shared similar temperaments or views. Georges appears to have shared Marie's sensitivity to social status and her distress at their reduced circumstances, making him a natural ally in family disputes.

Mentions in the Diary

• September 24, 1873: Arrives at home "un peu gris" (a little drunk) after dining with local officials
• September 29, 1873: Agrees with Marie about the horrible state of Villa Baquis
• September 29, 1873: Marie speaks with him in the "auberge" (her sarcastic name for their dining room)

Related Entries

• #Grand_papa - His father who fought authorities to defend him
• #Grand_maman - His mother Julie Cornelius whom he beat
• #Maman - His sister Maria Stepanovna, used to appeal to governors
• #Dina - His daughter, Marie's cousin
• #Paul - Another male family member
• #Villa_Baquis - The residence they both despise in 1873
• #Viatka - Place of his 1865 exile
• #St_Petersburg - Scene of 1862 crisis requiring disguised escape
• #Poltava - Where he committed his scandals

%%2025-12-07T14:45:00 RSR: Updated entry with comprehensive details from 1884-05-02 preface about Georges' character, talents, marriage to 36-year-old widow, Dina's parentage, exile to Viatka, St. Petersburg disguised escape, and the family's enabling pattern.%%