and writing in three languages./ From a very young age, she started reading artistic, historical, spiritual and philosophic books. In 1895, Roerich graduated from Mariinsky Gymnasium in Saint-Petersburg with a "gold medal", a special award for excellence in study. Though the education she received there was of a great quality, Roerich often studied additionally on her own. She learned painting, knew Russian and European literature well, studied the history of religion and philosophy, and took great interest in the works of the Indian philosophers Ramakrishna, Vivekananda, and Rabindranath Tagore. After finishing her education at gymnasium, Roerich entered the Saint-Petersburg musical private school, headed by the pianist I.A. Borovka. He was a noted figure in Petersburg's musical culture of the time, and personally mentored Roerich. After graduating, which was aimed mainly towards revealing the most gifted candidates who should receive higher music education, Roerich intended to continue her education in the Saint-Petersburg conservatoire. But her relatives banned her from entering the conservatoire, worried that she would be interested by the revolutionary ideas found in the student environment. Thus, Roerich continued her education at home, where she perfected her grasp of foreign languages, and read many things. Marriage and family Roerich and her mother often spent the summer at Bologoye in the Novgorod region, with her aunt E.V. Putyatina, at the estate of her husband, Prince P.A. Putyatin. In 1899, at Bologoye, she met the painter and archeologist Nicholas Konstantinovich Roerich. They fell in love, and in spite of her relatives' opposition, in 1901, she and Nicholas were married in Saint-Petersburg. In 2001, at the place in Bologoye where they first met, a memorial named "Monument of love" was established. It contains a quotation from N. Roerich's essay "The University": "I met Lada, my partner in life and inspirer, at Bologoye, at Prince P.A. Putyatin's estate. Joy!". This was a strong alliance of two loving people united by deep mutual feelings and common views.<ref name="s6"><ya-tr-span data-index="225-0" data-value="H.I. Roerich's biography at the website of Charitable Foundation named after H.I. Roerich." data-translation="биография Н.И. Рериха на сайте благотворительного фонда им. Н. И. Рериха." data-type="trSpan">биография Н.И. Рериха на сайте благотворительного фонда им. Н. И. Рериха.</ya-tr-span></ref> N. Roerich wrote about their marriage in his declining years: "We passed amicably any obstacles. And the obstacles turned into possibilities. I devoted my books: "To Helena, my wife, friend, partner and inspirer". Many of Roerich's paintings were a result of