Anne Sophie Swetchine (née Sophia Petrovna Soïmonov or Soymanof; November 22, 1782 – 1857), known as Madame Swetchine, was a Russian mystic, born in Moscow, and famous for her salon in Paris.
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Sofia Petrovna Soimonov, daughter of Secretary of State Peter Alexandrovich Soimonov (1734 - 1801) from his marriage with Katherine Boltin (1756 - 1790) was born November 22, 1782 in Moscow.
She spent her early years at the court of empress Catherine II, as her father was one of the empress's closest advisors. She was given a good education and spoke several European languages and was popular at court. In 1797, she was made lady in waiting to Empress Maria Fedorovna. In 1799, she married General Nicolas Sergeyvitch Swetchine. Her husband, General Swetchine, was 25 years her senior. Their relationship was described as a good one.
She was said to have suffered because of her lack of children, and therefore turned to religion. Under the influence of Joseph de Maistre, she became a member of the Roman Catholic Church in 1815; she had also been under the influence of the Jesuits. Because of the law, which disallowed Russian nobles who converted from the orthodox religion to live in Russia, she was forced to leave Russia, and she decided upon Paris as her new home. In the following year she settled in Paris with her spouse where, until her death, she maintained a famous salon.
From 1826 onward, she held her salon at number 71, Rue Saint Dominique in Paris. Her salon was considered remarkable for its high courtesy and intellectuality. She often received Russian exiles at her salon. It was also a centre of the French contrarevolutionary movement. Frequent guests were people of France's literary, political and ecclesiastical communities. With her "fervent and enlightened Catholicism", which took the form of a rational and intellectualized form of faith, she is described as an influence on the French Catholic community until her death in 1856.
Her Life and Works (of which the best known are "Old Age" and "Resignation") were published by M. de Falloux (2 vols, 1860) and her Letters by the same editor (2 vols., 1861).
Madame Swetchine is noted for the quotation: "How easy to be amiable in the midst of happiness and success." She was reported to have said that "Travel is the frivolous part of serious lives and the serious part of frivolous lives"