The article concerns the singer, teacher, pianist and composer Pauline Viardot-Garcia (1821-1910), whose 200th birthday is celebrated in 2021. Spanish by birth, she was raised in France, and is known as a representative of the Italian vocal school. She appears thus as an outstanding figure in European art. Pauline Viardot’s name has been firmly inscribed in the history of Russian music: for several seasons she triumphantly performed on the St. Petersburg stage and knew a lot of Russian musicians, writers and artists. She performed works by Russian composers and also wrote vocal compositions based on texts by Russian authors. Thus, she did a lot to spread Russian culture abroad. The article presents the main milestones of Pauline Viardot’s stay in St. Petersburg as well as her contacts with Russian musicians and the St. Petersburg Conservatory, especially her creative collaboration with Anton Rubinstein, whose wife Vera Rubinstein (Chekuanova) was one of her disciples.