Ivan Sergeyevich Turgenev (1818-1883)
A certificate for a friend to get married. 1880
Autograph letter signed ('Iv. Turgenev') to [Prince Nikolay Alekseyevich Orlov], Les Frènes, Bougival, 14 November 1880.

In Russian. 1½ pages, 208 x 133mm, on a bifolium.

A certificate for a Russian friend who wishes to marry. Turgenev writes to the Russian ambassador with an unusual request: a Russian in Paris wishes to get married, and the mayor of the 13th arrondissement has asked for a certificate confirming that (unlike in France) Russians who are of age do not need parental permission in order to marry. The consulate refuses to provide such a certificate, and Turgenev asks Orlov to issue it, apologising for disturbing him, although Orlov has spoilt him in the past by accustoming him to make such requests. He reports that he has stayed on alone in the country at Bougival to complete some literary work, but will return to Paris in five days.

A hero of the Crimean war, Nikolay Alekseyevich Orlov (1827-1885) was Russian ambassador in Paris from 1871 to 1880. He was the son-in-law of Turgenev's close friends the Prince and Princess Trubetskoy, who lived at Fontainebleau.

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