Margarita Konenkova did not achieve fame during her lifetime as Albert Einstein’s lover simply because she was one of many. The great scientist did not follow conventional family values and moved through several partners. After marrying the Serbian physicist Mileva Maric in 1903, he began to miss the love of his youth, Marie Winteler. Forgetting her, he started a relationship with his cousin Elsa Leventhal in 1912.
When his wife learned of the infidelity, she left him with their children and divorced him a few years later. During the divorce, Einstein agreed that if he won the Nobel Prize, he would have to give it to his ex-wife, and in 1921 that condition had to be met. It is possible that the high cost of divorce contributed to Leventhal becoming Einstein’s second and last wife, but not his final partner.
Women were as drawn to the creator of the theory of relativity as to physics itself, often returning his affection thanks to his cheerful temperament and intelligence.
According to published correspondence covering only part of the scientist’s life, Einstein was involved with at least half a dozen mistresses in an era when many chose partners in youth and stayed with them for life.
Leventhal understood this. She even admitted that her husband brought his mistresses into their home and remained with her until his death. Interestingly, Einstein never boasted of this lifestyle and grew jealous of his friend Michele Besso: what he admired most was that for many years Besso managed to live not only in peace but also in harmony with his wife, a feat Einstein felt he had failed twice at.
Einstein stood out as one of the era’s most accomplished physicists, yet the boldness of his ideas and the attention of the press turned him into a public icon. Passersby stopped him on the street to ask him to explain his theory of relativity. Consequently, his biography, including the love stories, drew intense public scrutiny, especially after his death when documents were published.
two lonely people
The world learned of the affair with Konenkova only in 1998, when correspondence with the scientist was auctioned in New York. Margarita Konenkova was married to Soviet sculptor Sergei Konenkov, who accompanied her to New York in 1923. In the mid-1930s, the sculptor received an assignment from Princeton University to paint portraits of its professors, one of whom was Einstein. While the scientist posed, Margarita sat nearby, listening to his stories about physics. She gradually realized that Einstein’s attention was turning toward her rather than toward her husband.
After completing the order, Einstein invited the Konenkovs to visit his home several times, and then began inviting Margarita alone. In 1936, the physicist was widowed, and according to his friend, psychoanalyst Muriel Gardiner, Sergei fell increasingly into religious frenzy, becoming obsessed with the Bible and the Egyptian pyramids. Margarita, lively, cheerful, and sociable, did not like this, yet she easily got along with Einstein, who shared a similar temperament. A few years later, when Gardiner was asked if Albert and Margarita had an affair, he replied: I hope so. These were two lonely people. This account is attributed to Marie Turbow Lampard in The Extraordinary Vision of Sergei Konenkov.
After three years of secret meetings, Einstein persuaded his physician friends to forge certificates about Margarita’s illness. He sent these certificates to Sergei by letter with recommendations to seek treatment at the Saranac Lake resort, where the scientist enjoyed visiting him. The husband suspected nothing, and the lovers’ meetings grew more intimate.
In 1943, Einstein wrote a poem to Margarita that translated a line-by-line portion of a poem, including lines that conveyed family ties and a sense of destiny. The message invited Margarita to Princeton for peace and learning, promising Tolstoy and a glimpse of God in Margarita’s eyes when she grew tired.
In another letter from 1944, the scientist sketched a “Half Nest,” a cozy room with a desk resembling Einstein’s home office. A title was added to the drawing to mark the space he associated with Konenkova and the weekends they spent together. His third letter described the strain of long separation, joking about washing his hair and noting how everything around him reminded him of Margarita. Margarita even gave him a pipe.
Their romance endured until September 1945, when Konenkov returned to the USSR, a move later revealed to have been ordered by Soviet intelligence.
Woman on a mission
In one of his 1944 letters, Einstein spoke of inviting prominent scientists to his home for philosophical discussions. Philosopher Bertrand Russell, mathematician Kurt Gödel, and two physicists Wolfgang Pauli and Robert Oppenheimer visited. Modern readers might find this mix amusing, since Oppenheimer later led the team that built the first atomic bomb. Einstein likely did not know this during the war, but Soviet intelligence, in which Margarita was involved, drew suspicion.
There is no proof that Margarita’s relationship with Einstein was a fabrication, yet the Konenkovs’ private affairs remain secret. It is known that former Soviet intelligence general Pavel Sudoplatov later described Margarita as one of the best agents tasked with establishing connections with nuclear scientists. Historians urge caution, noting that many claims should be treated skeptically.
Whether the mission was completed remains unclear. The Soviet liaison with the Anglo-American nuclear project involved Klaus Fuchs, but Einstein did not work on that project, and Oppenheimer would not have disclosed such details to Margarita, even in private. In November 1945, however, Einstein agreed to see Soviet Vice-Consul Pavel Mikhailov. He did not press Einstein to sell his homeland, but he did propose encouraging scientists to consider the political climate and hinted at a possible visit to the USSR.
Although Einstein leaned socialist, he disliked Stalin’s authoritarian system and often stood with those who suffered oppression. He did not pursue closer ties with the Soviet state, and the meeting with the vice-consul did not repeat.
Einstein’s correspondence with Margarita continued for some time after his return to Moscow. In his first letter to Russia, he bid her farewell and offered encouragement. He wrote that the task ahead would bring significant changes, and he wished her luck as she began a new life. He added that he would be thinking of her and hoped they would keep in touch if time allowed. He signed, Your A. Einstein. The exact purpose behind the mission remains unknown, and the full story may only become clear once a personal file is declassified.