Russian women’s home’s Weblog

Moura, the Baroness Budberg, “Red Mata Hari” Maria Zakrevskaya.

Her life, full of adventure, could serve as a plot for a novel. She, intelligent multilingual, alluring, and invincible woman with a feline smile was a mistress of Maxim Gorky, Sir Robert Hamilton Bruce Lockhart, Herbert Wells. A Soviet writer Korney Chukovsky, the leaders of the Cheka Yakov Peters and even Josef Stalin was fascinated by her.

For her ability to attract people and influence their destiny she was called  Russian Milady and being widely suspected of spying for both the Soviet Union and British intelligence she was called “Red Mata Hari”. Her magnetism was a combination of exceptional intelligence with a strong character and a rare charm.

Alexander Blok dedicated poems to her, Maxim Gorky dedicated a novel to her, and Joseph Stalin once gave her flowers.

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