House of Yusupov

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Yusupov family coat of arms (1799)

The House of Yusupov (Russian: Юсу́повы) is a Russian princely family descended from the monarchs of the Nogai Horde, renowned for their immense wealth, philanthropy and art collections in the 18th and 19th centuries. Most notably, Prince Felix Yusupov was famous for his involvement in the murder of Grigori Rasputin.[1]

Early history

In the 14th century,

Tamerlane's greatest strategists, settled on the north shores of the Black Sea, establishing the Nogai Horde and laying the foundations for the Crimean Khanate. Edigu's death was followed by infighting between his descendants, until, in the 15th century, Yusuf became the khan of the Nogai Horde
.

Yusuf allied himself with Tsar

Okolnichi
Nikita Ivanovich Akinfov. The couple had, besides Boris, three more children:

18th and 19th centuries

The Yusupov Palace in Koreiz

Prince

St. Petersburg
. He married Irina Mikhailovna Zinovyeva (1718 – 25 March 1788), daughter of Steward Mikhail Petrovich Zinoviev, in 1734. Besides their only male child, the youngest, she also gave birth to four daughters:

Prince Nikolai Yusupov Sr.

Boris's eldest son, Prince

Nikolai Borisovich Yusupov (1751–1831), Senator, Minister of State Properties and Director of the Imperial Theatres, was a keen traveller who spoke five languages and was also a patron of the arts. Nicholas served under a series of sovereigns, including Catherine the Great, Paul I and Alexander I as a private councillor and diplomat
. As a diplomat, Nikolai travelled throughout Europe, to France and
tapestries
.

In 1793 Nikolai married

Arkhangelskoye Estate, their luxurious summer residence in Moscow
. Nicholas built his own porcelain factory there, with much of the workers coming from France. In 1831 Nicholas died at the age of 80 and was succeeded by his second and only living son, Boris, since their elder son, Nikolai, died in infancy.

Moika Palace

At the age of 42, Prince Boris Nikolaievich Yusupov (9 June 1794,

Moika palace in St. Petersburg (also known as Yusupov Palace) with his second wife, Zenaida Ivanovna Narishkina (18 May 1810 – 26 February 1893), a descendant of the same house as Peter the Great
's mother, and their only son Nikolai. The Arkhangelskoye palace was soon derelict; the animals in the palace zoo were sold and much of the collection moved. Boris focused on the family granaries and developed good relationships with the peasants who worked in them. He died in 1849.

Boris's only son, Prince Nikolai Borisovich Yusupov (12 October 1827,

Prince Potemkin
. The prince was also a talented musician and composer and was a member of several musical societies. In 1866, he published a book about Yusupov family history, On the Family of the Yusupov Princes: A Collection of Their Life Stories, Charters and Letters of the Russian Sovereigns to Them.

20th century

Princess Zinaida Yusupova
Count Felix Sumarokov-Elston
Château de Kériolet in France.

When Nicholas Yusupov died in 1891, he was succeeded by his daughter, Zinaida, who was considered a legendary beauty at the time, as well as one of the richest women in the country. Her suitors included the crown prince of Bulgaria.

Princess Zinaida Nikolaievna Yusupova (2 September 1861, Saint Petersburg, Russia – 24 November 1939, Paris, France) married Count Felix Felixovich Sumarokov-Elston (5 October 1856, Saint Petersburg, Russia – 10 June 1928, Rome, Italy), General-Governor of Moscow Military District (1915), son of Count Felix Nikolaievich Sumarokov-Elston. They married on 4 April 1882 in Saint Petersburg
.

After his father-in-law died, Felix was granted special permission from Tsar Alexander III to carry the title Prince Yusupov and Count Sumarokov-Elston and to pass it to his and Zinaida's heir. Felix was appointed adjutant to the Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich in 1904 and commanded the cavalry of the Imperial Guards.

At the beginning of World War I the Yusupovs owned more than 100,000 acres (400 km2) of land and their industries included sugarbeet factories, brick plants, saw-mills, textile and cardboard factories, mines and distilleries, in addition to more than 16 palaces and estates.

The Yusupovs left an imprint on the economic and social development of Rakitnoe. They owned mechanical and agricultural shops, enterprises for tanning sheepskin, cloth, lace and two carpet factories, wind and mechanical mills, forges, parochial schools and railway, a district hospital, houses in the village and Rakitno GEST at the railway junction, the palace complex with a magnificent park and three cascading ponds, the Church of the Assumption and St. Nicholas Church in the village Rakitno; paved roads and a railway station was built.

The older son of Zinaida and Felix Sumarokov-Elston, Nikolay Felixovich Yusupov (1883–1908) was killed in a duel at the age of 26.[4]

Nicholas II and a great-granddaughter of King Christian IX. After the murder of Rasputin he was exiled to the Crimea, but returned to St. Petersburg in 1917 to find the city in massive disorder after the February Revolution. He took with him some of his most precious paintings by Rembrandt
and jewellery.

In April 1919, he left Russia for Paris, never to return. His daughter,

Essonne, France
.

See also

References

  1. ^ Fulop-Miller, Rene (1928). Rasputin the Holy Devil. p. 337.
  2. Republic of Tatarstan
    Academy of Sciences. Institution of the Tatar Encyclopaedia. 2002.
  3. ISBN 978-1-55859-215-5
    .
  4. ^ Род Юсуповых

Sources

Wikimedia Commons has media related to House of Yusupov.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=House_of_Yusupov&oldid=1218621459"