| In 1859 Ferdinand Schneider from Berlin
published the second print (Nouvelle édition) of Prince Pierre Dolgorouky's
Notice sur les principales familles de la Russie. The fact that the German
publisher published this book in French, says a lot about the readers he
had in mind. The following information partly comes from Prince Dolgorouky's
book, which however is very incomplete, not just because he valued the
privacy of the families he was befriended with (like the Anichkovs, the
Davidoffs and the Viatzemsky's), but also because he was wild for revenge,
like with the lineage of Meshchersky.
Notice sur les principales familles de
la Russie is unjustifiedly called - and used as - a standard book.
On January 12, 1682, in the first years
of his administration, Peter the Great enacted a law, according to which
all Russian aristocrats were declared equal to each other. Officially there
were no more differences, but the nobility itself used another interpretation
of Peter's own Armorial of the Nobility of the Heraldic Chamber of the
Senate in St. Petersburg, which consisted of five volumes: the Book of
Princes of the Empire, the Book of Counts of the Empire, the Book of Barons
of the Emperor, the First Book of Aristocrats without a hereditary title
(before Peter the Great's reforms) and the Second Book of Aristocrats without
a hereditary title (after Peter the Great's reforms).
In 1722 Peter published his chin, the
`table of ranks', according to which the lowest officer's rank entitled
someone to hereditary nobility. The ladder of the table of ranks consisted
of 14 steps (chin), which had to be climbed one by one. The lowest civil
servant, the man with only one chin, the 14th that is, was called chinovnik
(14th). From the eightst chin, when one had climbed to the rank of Member
of the City Council or Major in the Army, one was considered a real nobleman,
because at that stage one had to be addressed as `Your Highness'. To reach
the first chin one had to be at least a field marshall or a chancellor.
The prefixes `Van', `Von' or `De' (Baron Van Solovyov, Fuerstin Von Vasilchikov, Comte De Maslov) are linguisticly not correct, because these prefixes are already incorporated in the endings `in', `eff, `off' and `sky' (Gagarin, Tatistcheff, Romanoff, Obolensky). The hierarchy of the nobilityThe top of the hierarchy is occupied by the male descendants of Rurik, and within that group the hierarchy is determined by the seniority of the lineage. Books can be written about each aristocratic lineage, but I restrict to a short description of some lineages who are mentioned in this book.The lineage of Bariatinsky descends from
Michael Vsevolodovich (1195-1246), Grand Duke of Chernigov and monarch
of Kiev, descendant of Rurik in the 12th degree. Michael was canonized
for his valour in the battle against the Mongols, and burned alive by the
hordes of the regional Mongol Khan Batu, because he didn't want to give
up Christianity.
The lineage of Obolensky also descends from Grand Duke Michael Vsevolodovich of Chernigov. The name `Obolensky' originates from the town of Obolensk, in the present district of Kaluga, about 120 miles south-west of Moscow, where in the 13th century Constantin Yuryevich Obolensky inherited land from his father. Some of the French Obolenskys - the ones that still wish to be addressed as Syatelstvo (Your Serene Highness) - gather yearly during the last weekend of February. Major-General Prince Vasili Petrovich
Obolensky (1780-1834) is the progenitor of the Olkhi-branch.
The lineage of Dolgorouky also descends
from Grand Duke Michael Vsevolodovich of Chernigov. The name, which means
`Long Arm', was the knickname of their progenitor Yuri (about 1090-1157),
the Grand Duke who was granted the principality of Suzdal and conquered
Kiev in 1154.
Prince Peter Petrovich Dolgorouky (1777-1806) was aide-de-camp to Alexander I and was sent to Berlin in 1805 to persuade Frederick Wilhelm to join the Third Coalition. After the death of his first official wife Maria Feodorovna, Alexander II married his former mistress Princess Catharina Alexeevna Dolgoroukaya. Prince Vasili Dolgoroukov, the son in
law of Count Paul Benckendorff, belonged to the personal staff of Nicholas
II, and volunteered to join the Imperial family in their place of bannishment
Tobolsk, in Siberia. He was killed by the bolsheviki, together with General
Tatistcheff. The Dolgoroukovs are an impoverished yet no less aristocratic
branch of the lineage of Dolgorouky.
The lineage of Troubetzkoy descends from
Olgerd (1345-1377), Grand Duke of Lithuania, son of Gedimin, and Olgerd's
son Jagailo (1348-1434), Grand Duke of Lithuania and King of Poland. When
Jagailo was baptized Roman-Catholic in 1386, to be able to marry Jadviga,
daughter and heiress of the King of Hungary and Poland, he adopted the
name of Vladislav. Thus the lineage of Troubetzkoy belongs to the dynasty
of Jagellons. The name originates from the city of Troubchevsk in the district
of Chernigov, about 90 miles north of Kiev.
Prince Serge Troubetzkoy (1790-1860) took
part in the rise of the Decembrists, an was deported to Siberia.
Alexandra `Sacha' Troubetzkoy is (was?) a well known paintress, who married many times and lived in Paris. In 1984 she moved to New York, where she married Donald C. Malcolm. The lineage of Yussupov descends from Yussuf, Khan of the Islamic Nogai-Tatars. In the 17th century the Yussupovs converted to Christianity, and on January 19, 1799 Catharina the Great put the lineage of Yussupov down in the golden book of Russian nobility. The Yussupovs owned large estates, and
at the end of the 19th century they were considered the richest family
of Russia, and perhaps of entire Europe. They have always been involved
with art. The first theatre in Russia was built by the Yussupovs. In Moscow
they owned the former palace of Ivan the Terrible, which was connected
to the Kremlin by a subterranean corridor.
The lineage of Orlov closes the hierarchic
ranks of the Russian nobility. Peter the Great took pleasure in attending
the executions personally, and he even assisted the executioners. At one
of these occasions a young man by the name of Ivan was asked to put down
his head on the chopping-block. On the way Ivan picked up the chopped-off
head of one of his comrades, and said to Peter the Great, `If you're keen
on heads, why don't you take this one? It's much more handsome than mine.'
Peter was baffled with so much guts and made Ivan a soldier in his army.
Ivan soon proved to be a real brave bantam, and was made an officer, as
a result of which he was raised to the peerage. Ivan's only son Grigori,
Governor of Novgorod, became five sons: Ivan, Grigori, Alexis, Feodor and
Vladimir. Grigori Grigorievich (1734- 1783), a blue eyed giant, was the
lover of Catharina the Great and gave her a son, Alexis, who was born in
April 1762 and would become the progenitor of the aristocratic lineage
of Bobrinsky. Together with his brothers, all of them officers, Grigori
decided to kill Tsar Peter III, so Catharina II could seize to power. On
July 18, 1762 Tsar Peter III was strangled by Alexis Orlov (1737-1807),
in presence of his brothers and Feodor Bariatinsky.
Vladimir Orlov, who died in 1832, only
had one son: the later Senator Grigori, who died in 1826.
Feodor Orlov had many illegitimate children,
and Catharina II allowed all of them to use the name of Orlov. One of them,
General Alexis Orlov, was a highly valued and internationally well known
statesman.
Lost titlesEven though the following lineages directly legitimately descend from the House of Rurik, they have lost their hereditary titles. At one time their ancestors, who belonged to the Moscovian grand monarchs, grand dukes if you wish, had objections of principle to the hereditary title of `Prince', because they found that they were entitled to call themselves grand monarchs, as a result of which their descendants lost their rights on a title. It concerns the lineages of Erapkin, Ryevsky, Tolbuzin, Liapunov and Tatistcheff.The lineage of Tatistcheff descends from the part of the House of Rurik which ruled over Smolensk. After the Tatistcheffs had rejected the title of `prince', two offsprings of this lineage accepted the hereditary title of `count': General Nicholas Tatistcheff, the progenitor of all present Tatistcheffs who may use the title of `count', and General Alexander Tatistcheff, who died in 1833 without leaving any children. Dmitri Tatistcheff, former Ambassador of Russia in Vienna and former Member of the Council of State, has refused the title of `count', which Prince Dolgorouky found `remarkable'. General Ilya Leonidovich Tatistcheff was aide-de-camp to Nicholas II and let himself being bannished to Siberia with his Tsar. He was murdered by the bolsheviki, together with Prince Dolgorouky. Peter A. Tatistcheff is the owner of the
prestigious Tatistcheff Gallery Inc. in New York and the Tatistcheff &
Company Inc. in New York and Los Angeles. His wife Florence is a stockbroker
with Merrill Lynch and chairman of the annual Petroushka Ball.
The Counts of Peter the GreatPeter the Great's table of ranks made all officers members of the nobility. The titles of `Prince', `Count' and `Baron' became hereditary. Although the list looks endless, we should not come to the conclusion that the Romanoffs mucked things up by raising every ordinary mortal to the peerage. The list, which is uncompletely due to Prince Dolgorouky's partiality for and against some lineages, consists of about 70 persons who were granted the hereditary title of `Count', in a period of 137 years. That's an average of one Count per two years, which is less than expected for such a large country.The lineage of Apraxin: Martha Apraxin married Tsar Feodor Alexeevich Romanoff, who ruled from 1676 to 1682. He was Peter the Great's halfbrother. Martha had three brothers: Peter, Feodor and André. Peter Apraxin was a Senator, Feodor Apraxin was an Admiral and André, the progenitor of the present Apraxins, was a member of Peter the Great's staff. During the Seven Years War (1756-1763) Field Marshall Count S.F. Apraxin (1702-1760) defeated the Prussian troops of Frederick II on August 19, 1757 near Grossjaegerndorf. In 1861, the year in which serfdom was
abolished, Alexander II sent troops to Kazan, to suppress the rebellious
farmers. Alexander didn't care much for a second Pugachov affair. The commander
of these troops was Count A.S. Apraxin; 102 farmers were killed.
Baroness Ada de Manteufel, née
Countess Apraxin (1849-1914) is burried in the Cimetière de Caucade
in Nice, France. She was the founder of an institution for the deaf in
Nice.
Livonia (later Latvia) was the genesis
of the state of Prussia, founded by the Knights of the German Order to
protect Poland against the Lithuanians. A very illustrious German/Livonian/Estonian
family are the Buxhoevedens. The lineage of Buxhoeveden originates from
Bexh”vede, a village at the mouth of the river Weser, in Northern Germany.
Their progenitor was John de Beckeshovede (1186-1242), a Knight of the
Cross, who came to the Baltic to christianize the heathens. Major-general
Frederick Buxhoeveden, who conquered Finland as the commander of the Russian
army in the war against Sweden (1808-1809), was first raised to the Prussian
peerage on December 18, 1795 by King Frederick Wilhelm, and on April 5,
1797 he was granted the title of `Count' by Tsar Paul I.
The lineage of Benckendorff originates
from Estonia, and was raised to the peerage in the 17th century.
Count Paul Benckendorff, initially the Russian Ambassador in London, became Officer of Nicholas II's Imperial Household. The old Benckendorff was a very dedicated member of the Court, who after the death of the Imperial Family conducted a thorough investigation on all rumours about the murder and the disappearance of his son in law, Prince Dolgorouky. When he was convinced that they were all dead, he tried to escape Russia, but at the Estonian border he was stopped because something was wrong with his visa, and in 1921 he died in a miserable village on the border, without having reached his motherland. Russian BaronsThe title of `Baron' was mainly granted to rich bankers and industrialists of foreign origin. Because many Russian aristocrats were bursting for new money, the new `aristocracy' was hauled in quickly.Other important aristocratic familiesPrince Pierre Dolgorouky felt that he had to the protect the families he was befriended with against publicity. I'm not thankful for that, because this makes his book very uncompletely, while most facts cannot be retrieved anymore.Dolgorouky's intentions weren't all honourable. He wrote his book when serfdom in Russia still existed and the Decembrists, who were sent to Siberian hard labour camps, only just were released. Many descendants of aristocratic families made out a case for the abolishment of serfdom, and had to pay for that with thirty years of their lives. Others, like Pierre Dolgorouky, preferred to hold on to the old system, and still regarded the Decembrists enemies of the state. As a result of this dozens of old and new aristocratic Russian families are not mentioned in his book. The world famous Anichkov palace is one
of the oldest buildings in the Nevsky Prospect in St. Petersburg, and was
named after Michael Anichkov, who in 1715 built the first wooden bridge
across the Fontanka and was the commander of Peter the Great's Military
Engineers. Tsaritsa Elizabeth had the palace built between 1744 and 1750,
Catharina the Great gave it as a present to her lover Grigori Potemkin,
but he sold it to the merchant Nikita Shemiakin, because he had gambling
debts. Catharina repurchased the palace and gave it once more to Potemkin,
who sold it to the Crown in 1785. From that moment on the palace was used
by the Romanoffs. Maria Feodorovna, the widow of Alexander III and the
mother of Tsar Nicholas II, lived there until 1917.
The old aristocratic lineage of Davidoff
originates from the surroundings of Kiev.
On November 24, 1820 the wealthy dowager
Davidoff celebrated her 70st birthday on Kamenka, the impressive estate
of the Davidoffs on the river Tasmin, in the Ukrain. Alexander Lvovich
Davidoff, the eldest of her two sons, entertained the many children, cousins
and friends of the family. They planned to stay only a couple of days,
but often this came down to months, even years. Kamenka was a second home
for all of them. Alexander was 43 and served with the Russian army in France,
where he in 1815 married Aglée de Gramont, an aristocratic widow
who was used to the atmosphere of the Boulevard St.-Germain and couldn't
get used to Russia.
The Meshchersky's were very rich and owned
vast estates, like Petrovskoe and Pokrovskoe, as well as the famous Vesholi-Podol
palace in Poltava, and all the land that was part of this estate. But in
the beginning of the 19th century there were only very few Meshchersky's
left, and there was a chance that the lineage would become extinct.
Alexander and Katia had two children:
Viacheslav (Slavochka) and Ekaterina (Kitty). Viacheslav was born in 1898
and Grand Duke Michael Alexandrovich Romanoff, the younger brother of Tsar
Nicholas II, was his godfather. In April 1904 Ekaterina saw the light of
day; her godmother was Countess Miloradovich.
In 1920 Prince Viacheslav Alexandrovich and the children of Alexander's brothers Boris and Ivan escaped to Paris and the United States. Princess Ekaterina and her mother thought that the bolshevist clouds would blow over and stayed in Russia. The lineage of Poustochkine descends from
an old aristocratic family from Novgorod. In the 16th century the state
of Novgorod was annexed by the Moscovian Empire. In the armorial of the
Russian nobility of the Heraldic Chamber of the Senate in St. Petersburg
the name of Poustochkine shows up frequently in the 15th and 16th century.
The history of the lineage of Viatzemsky
goes back to the 9th century. The Viatzemsky's also descend from Rurik.
In exchange for privileges and wealth the tsars demanded that the nobility
would serve them, both in political matters and military, and of this task
the Viatzemsky's acquited themselves well during many centuries. They also
had - in the opinion of conservative aristocrats like Dolgorouky that is
- an irritating characteristic: they were favouring reforms. It doesn't
come as a surprise that the Viatzemsky's belonged to the Decembrists.
Daughter Lydia (Dilka) Viatzemsky often
spent her summers in Levashovo, the beautiful estate of her grandmother,
Olga Levashov, née Panin. Levashovo was about 10 miles from St.
Petersburg and was the haunt of diplomats, statesmen and artists. Lydia
was spoiled by her grandmother, because she was her only granddaughter.
In 1909 Princess Lydia Viatzemsky married
Prince Ilarion Vasilchikov, a friend of her brother Boris.
Some months after the marriage Prince
Vasilchikov was appointed Marshall of Nobility of the province of Kovno.
The most important task of a Marshall of Nobility was the presidency of
the zemstvo, the regional administration. Further more he was an important
link between the local population and the government in St. Petersburg.
The District Marshalls of Nobility were appointed by the nobility itself,
and the Provincial Marshalls of Nobility were appointed by the Tsar.
In 1917 the Vasilchikovs escaped to the
Crimea, but the horror of the Red Terror didn't pass them by.
Rituals and customsThe Corps des Pages in St. Petersburg (founded in 1802) was a military institution where aristocratic young gentlemen from their 12th year of age were trained to be officers in the Imperial elite troops. A boy was only admitted when his father or grandfather was (or had been) a General or a Field Marshall and orginated from an aristocratic family which was beyond reproach. The parade uniform of the corps was made of black and red cloth, with white and golden braiding, gloves and a helmet with plumes. All students were holder of the Maltese Cross.The officers weren't allowed to wear civilian clothes, unless they were abroad. A Lieutenant was addressed as `Your Honourable', a Captain as `Your High Honourable', a Lieutenant-Colonel as `Your Highness', a Major-General as `Your Excellency' and a General or a Field Marshall was to be called `Your High Excellency'. Peter the Great was influenced by the German etiquette, which was showed by the titles of his courtiers. The Russian language knew words like Oberhofmarschall, Oberhofmeister, Jaegermeister, Kammerherr, Kammerjunker and Hofrat. The most prestigious and aristocratical
club of St. Petersburg was the Imperial Yacht Club, and its members consisted
of Grand Dukes and some high foreign diplomats. In 1915 the club had only
150 members, which some of them, regarding the exclusivity of the club,
found too much.
There was always a reception to go to,
and every hostess made sure that important guests were invited.
A ballAt least a week before the ball the windows were cleaned, chandeliers and mirrors were polished, the vast parquet was waxed, the blue velvet liveries of the lackeys were pressed and the Smyrnas were beaten.On the day of the ball the chief of the local police appeared, to attend the organization of the ball. The ladies were helped into their ball dresses and the hairdressers came to style their hair - à la grecque. The gentlemen squeezed into their formal dress and arranged their medals and other decorations. The lackeys stood in the reception hall and along the staircase, with perfectly polished candlehol- ders in their hands and powdered wigs on their heads. The Lord Chamberlain announced the guests, `His Serene Highness Prince Jean (not Ivan!) Golitsyn and Her Serene Highness Princess Natalie (not Natalia!) Dobrinskoy.' People were introduced to each other, girls were accompanied by their chaperones. The ballroom was entered; the orchestra stroke up with Glinka's Ivan Susanin. The master of the house opened the dance with a lady of his choice, and was followed by his eldest son or daughter. As soon as everyone had made an appearance, the elderly withdrew from the dance floor, to converse. During the first quadrille a row of gentlemen sat down on chairs, opposite a row of ladies. When there were grand dukes or grand duchesses present, the chaperones of the dancing young ladies were not allowed to sit down, unless it was announced that the etiquette of court didn't have to be observed this time. The dancing master said, `Avancez!' The gentlemen arose and walked towards to the young ladies at the opposite. `Balancez!' `Chassez à droite!' `Chassez à gauche!' Between the dances the young ladies discussed the outlooks and manners of the gentlemen. In French, of course. The quadrilles were followed by the mazurka, and after that came a cotillion, because not everyone fancied another quadrille, and if there was much to drink, the young gentlemen sometimes challenged each other to a duel. Usually these arguments were intervened conciliatingly by the older ones, but when this didn't work out, one of the gentlemen asked the Tsar to permit the duel, after which the seconds of both parties contacted each other to discuss the details. This way Pushkin came to meet a nasty end; he was mortally wounded in a duel with Baron Georges-Charles de Heeckeren d'Anthès, an officer in the Russian army. Quel dommage... The Russians and FranceAlready in the 19th century many Russians often visited France, for exactly the same reasons as modern tourists visit Paris today. The Russian with culture and amusement on his mind, got his full share in Versailles, the Gothic cathedrals, the French countryside, the cosmopolitan life-styles and the racket which bears the name of Paris.Besides that, one came from Russia to consult the famous Paris medical specialists, for a treatment against T.B., under the sun of the Cote d'Azur, or for a cure in one of the many health-resorts. Many Russians found the freedom of speech,
which after the period of the French Enlightenment was common, very attractive.
France was a sanctuary for many political refugees, who this way avoided
conviction, or bannishment to Siberia.
And last but not least: the unconstrained
manners and customs. When a homosexual or heterosexual grand duke or a
famous writer or composer had overstepped the mark once too often, in Moscow
or St.
The Russian history of ParisOn the address 16 Rue du Helder, on November 11, 1833 the `Society for the Improvement of the French Racing-Stud' was founded, by twelve persons, including Count Anatoli Demidov. He was also a member of the famous Jockey Club.Because in Italy cholera was about, the writer Nicholas Gogol could not return to Italy, and that's why he stayed - from November 1836 to March 1837 - on the address 12 Place de la Bourse, in Paris, where he worked on his picaresque novel Dead Souls. In 1845, after his brother had passed away, the Decembrist Nicholas Ivanovich Turgenyev, cousin of Ivan Turgenyev, settled down in Paris, on the address 97 Rue de Lille. There Nicholas entertained his Russian friends. From February 19, 1861, the day serfdom was abolished, he yearly celebrated this fact with a banquet, and his cousin Ivan was always invited. After Nicholas' death his family continued the banquet tradition. On March 26, 1868 his cousin Ivan dined with him, together with Prince Avgust Golitsyn, Prince Nicholas Troubetzkoy, Father-Jesuit Ivan Gagarin and Count Muraviev-Amursky, Governor- General of Eastern Siberia. Nicholas didn't like the tablemanners of the Jesuit at all, but Prince Troubetzkoy found them rather amusing. March 31, 1856: In the French Ministry
of Foreign Affairs, 37 Quai d'Orsay, the Treaty of Paris is being signed.
The plenipotentiaries of Russia are Count Alexis Feodorovich Orlov and
Baron Philippe Brunov.
In 1856 archfather Joseph Vasiliev initiated
the construction of the Russian-Orthodox Cathedral St.
On March 18, 1857 Lev Tolstoy wrote in his diary, `Got up at one o'clock. Dressed, went to the stock market and bought several securities. The stock market... amazing.' Russia called on the capital of the Paris stock market, so that the Russian industry could be developed. In 1876 the `Company for the Production of Gas for the Benefit of the Illumination of St. Petersburg' was founded, in 1886 followed by the `Company Caspian Sea - Black Sea for the Exploitation of the Baku Oilfields'. In November 1861, in the Hall of Justice on the Ile de la Cité in Paris, a dispute was settled between Prince Semyon Vorontsov and Prince Peter Dolgoroukov. Prince Vorontsov accused Prince Dolgoroukov of trying to wheedle 50,000 roubles out of Vorontsov's father Michael, in 1856, for a so called genealogical investigation on his family, which he successively had published. Dolgoroukov lost the process. Moreover the Senate in St. Petersburg took away his title and bannished him permanently, after he published his libel The truth about Russia in Paris. At the house of Baron Horatio Gunzburg, banker in St. Petersburg, in Paris residing on the address 7 Rue de Tilsitt, in December 1877 the money was gathered to found the `Society for Assistance to Russian Artists in Paris'. The society, which usually was called `the Russian Club', settled down opposite Gunzburg's house, on number 18. Chairman was the Russian Ambassador, Nicholas Orlov, the painter Alexis Bogolyukov was vice-chairman, the secretaryship was in the hands of Ivan Turgenyev, and Gunzburg himself - naturally - looked at the pennies. On the list of members were names like the painters Grigori Lehmann, Ivan Pochitonov, Ivan Pranishnikov and Paul Zhukovsky (son of the poet); the sculptors Antokolsky and Bernstamm and the Military Attaché Lev Fredericks. On February 14, 1881, during a soirée
of the club, an incident found place. Turgenyev had been so clumsy to give
three tickets of admission to the revolutionary Lavrov, who showed up with
a couple of friends. This visit caused a scandal.
On July 20, 1882 Alexandra Smirnov died
in her house, 10 Rue de Portalis. She was born in 1809, in Odessa, as a
daughter of an emigrated French officer, Joseph Rosseti, who had worked
for Richelieu.
As she herself had passed away, a memorial
service was held in the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, after which her mortal
remains were transferred to the cemetery of the Donskoy Monastery in Moscow.
On April 14, 1874 Ivan Turgenyev dined
with Alphonse Daudet, Gustave Flaubert, Edmond de Goncourt and Emile Zola,
in Café Riche, 26 Boulevard des Italiens. This was the first of
many `Dinner parties of the Five', or `Dinner parties of the Hissed', which
would continue until Flaubert's death in 1880. In 1875 Turgenyev founded
the Russian Library of Paris, and in November 1879 he was invited for lunch
with the Russian successor to the throne, Tsarevich Alexander Alexandrovich
Romanoff, and his spouse Maria Feodorovna, by the Ambassador of Russia
in France, Prince Nicholas Orlov, in the embassy in the Grand H“tel d'Estrées
(79 Rue de Grenelle).
A. Russian Freemasons Who Escaped Abroad B. Last Resting Places C: Families of Rurik Stock |
