Generations of Service to the Tsars                      25

child, a daughter, was born soon after. What had been tolerable for
a single man became increasingly hard to cope with as a family, and
the couple began to plan their escape from Russia. In a sense, they
were among the first Soviet defectors: a concert tour through
Europe featuring a program of flute and harp duets provided the
pretext for the couple to reach England, where they were joyfully
greeted by their relatives.

The materials described above are only part of the collection.
There are literally thousands of documents from a broad range of
correspondents providing almost endless possibilities for research.
Topics range from the first Russian diplomatic expedition to China
in 1806, to the administration of Finland at the turn of the century,
to French aristocratic refugees in the 1790s and Russian refugees in
the 1920s. But viewed as a whole, it is the collection's continuity
and comprehensiveness that makes it unique. From the mass of cor¬
respondence, both private and official, a nuanced picture emerges
of a distinct and influential milieu that bridged the gap between
Russia and the West. Inextricably linked through culture, language,
and kinship to the European aristocracy, the Benckendorffs were
bound to Russia by family tradition and a value system that stressed
honor, loyalty, and service above all else. Over the course of a cen¬
tury the family evolved, with each generation reflecting the chang¬
ing historical and cultural environment, but the fundamental core
of values at the heart of the Benckendorffs' way of life remained
intact.