Angle
Tatiana Saburova
How many times have we picked up family photographs, lovingly peering at the features of our loved ones. Perhaps that is why photographs that have absorbed the tenderness of our feelings have extraordinary magic.
Prince Yusupov, Count Sumarokov-Elston visited the best Moscow and St. Petersburg studios or invited photographers to their home. Zinaida Nikolaevna (1861-1939) and Felix Feliksovich (1856-1928), like all parents in the world, sought to preserve the visible memory of their sons’ childhood years.
The eldest son was born in 1883. In the childhood photographs of Count Nikolai Sumarokov-Elston we see a baby in a sailor suit with his head arrogantly raised. Before us is the heir to the richest fortune of the Yusupov princes - the largest landowners and industrialists in Russia. Named in honor of his grandfather, Prince Nikolai Borisovich Yusupov, he was eventually to inherit the title, name and coat of arms of this ancient family.
Family legend says that when Nikolai saw his tiny newborn younger brother for the first time, he exclaimed: “What a horror! He should be thrown out the window.” The age difference initially hindered friendship, but over time they became close and understood each other without words. This brother is Count Felix Sumarokov-Elston, and since 1914, Prince Yusupov (1887-1967), perhaps one of the most famous representatives of the family. He took part in a conspiracy against Grigory Rasputin. While in exile, he wrote memoirs in which he dedicated many pages to his older brother.
The cloudless childhood of Nikolai and Felix took place in an atmosphere of love and attention from their elders, unquestioning submission of servants, and in the luxury of their surroundings.
In 1894, in the famous Yusupov estate Arkhangelskoye, Francois Flameng painted a portrait of Zinaida Nikolaevna with her sons. The artist depicted the princess in the park, and in the background - boys playing in the shade of trees. In the surviving photograph from the Yusupov archives, Flameng is captured while working on this work.
From his mother Zinaida Nikolaevna, Nikolai inherited musicality and artistic talent. He played the guitar excellently, had a pleasant baritone voice, wrote prose and published under the pseudonym "Rokov", led an amateur comedy troupe and took part in theatrical performances, once earning the praise of K. S. Stanislavsky himself. Nikolai did not want to follow in his father’s footsteps and refused military career. After graduating from school, he entered Faculty of Law St. Petersburg University. This fact is reflected in one of his photographs.
IN student years Nikolai led a carefree social life, which took place in revelries and costume balls, visits to restaurants and theaters. He makes his younger brother a participant in his adventures. According to Felix’s recollections, Nikolai began to treat him in those years “like a man” and confided his intimate secrets.
The brothers carry out a series of funny pranks involving Felix dressing up in a woman's dress. Nikolai and the "beautiful stranger" visit public places, attracting the attention of St. Petersburg youth. Another “dressing up” was carried out by them together with the artist of the Imperial Theaters V. A. Blumenthal-Tamarin, under the impression of A. M. Gorky’s play “At the Depths”. Dressed as beggars, the three of them went to the St. Petersburg quarter of the poor, settled in a shelter and watched, in Felix’s words, “a terrible performance.”
In 1907-1908, Count Nikolai Sumarokov-Elston visited the famous St. Petersburg portrait salon "Boassanna and Eggler", whose services were used by representatives of the highest Russian aristocracy, including the imperial family. Looking at the next photograph of Nikolai, no one from the family imagined that it was the last in his life.
Fate would have it that Nikolai met and fell in love with the daughter of Rear Admiral Suite Marina Aleksandrovna Heyden, who was engaged to the lieutenant of the Cavalry Regiment, Count Arvid Ernestovich Manteuffel. Having not approved of their son's choice, the parents did not give permission for the marriage. Marina married Manteuffel, but their relationship with Nikolai did not change and became the subject of conversation in the world. On June 22, 1908, on Krestovsky Island in St. Petersburg, Sumarokov-Elston was killed in a duel with Manteuffel.
A few hours before the duel, Nikolai, usually cold and reserved, writes a sincere and passionate letter: “My dear Marina! [...] It’s terribly hard for me that I won’t see you before I die, I can’t say goodbye to you and tell you how I love you so much..."
Nikolai Sumarokov-Elston was buried in the family crypt of the Yusupov princes in Arkhangelskoye.
Due to a strange fatality, almost all the heirs in the Yusupov family died before reaching 26 years of age. Felix Yusupov described the tragedy of his parents and his own bitterness of loss in detail in his memoirs. And in the photographs of the family album, Nikolai remained forever young.
In the family of N.B. Yusupov and his wife Tatyana Alexandrovna, née de Ribeaupierre, had two daughters - Zinaida and Tatyana. A lot is known about the eldest, Zinaida - she was friends with Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna, she was loved in the world, Infanta Eulalia wrote enthusiastically about her, the Bulgarian prince asked for her hand in marriage. She shone at court balls, survived the revolution and ended her life in Paris. For some reason, there is very little information about the younger sister, Tatyana. Her nephew, Felix Yusupov, writes nothing about her; only a few portraits and photographs remain, which only indicate that Tatyana was not inferior to her sister in beauty.
Well, the less is known about Tatyana Nikolaevna Yusupova, the more interesting it is to find at least some facts and references.
Little Tatyana or Tanik, as her family called her, does not live in Russia very often - she spends a lot of time abroad - at the Yusupov Tatiana villa, where her mother goes to improve her health. When traveling around Europe, Tanik and her sister often meet not only Russian and European aristocrats, but also representatives of ruling dynasties.
When Tanya was only 13 years old, her mother died.
"The night light is on. I'm afraid to be alone! Last words Mother: Another quarter of an hour! My God! Mom blessed us, all three of us, for the last time. Our Father. Mother of God. All hope."
"Dad gives me the ring Mom. I'm dying of grief. Dühring gives me medicine."
With the death of Mom, childhood ended for Tatyana. She has a father, sister, grandmother, but she feels lonely. Her letters and notes now often sound a sad note. She now transfers her love for her mother to Empress Maria Alexandrovna and Grand Dukes Sergei and Paul:
“At dessert, the Pope ordered me to take an oath, but Zaide did not give sweets because I again said “Marusya” (about the Empress). Zaide added that I often call the great princes “Serge” and “Paul!”
We are going to the Kutuzovs! They were waiting for us and very happy to see us. Sasha and Manya tell us about the war. I told Aglaya that I hate the Turks!”
In 1880, Prince Nikolai Borisovich and his daughters returned to Russia. Tanya is finally back in St. Petersburg, she is meeting with family and friends, going to concerts and parties. During the same period, her sister met Prince F.F. Sumarokov-Elston and immediately after meeting Felix refuses to become the bride of the Prince of Bulgaria. Tatyana writes about this in her notebook: “I’m going to the German theater. Zaide returned all red from the Commandant’s, where she met the Bulgarian prince and the cavalry guard Sumarokov-Elston.”
For two years, Prince Yusupov has been opposing this marriage. He dreamed of becoming related to the ruling monarch, and not to the cavalry guard Sumarokov, and already saw his eldest daughter on the throne of Bulgaria.
The princess is a patriot. She is always sincerely happy to return to Russia and is sad when she has to leave for Europe.
"I woke up more cheerful. We are leaving Germany. Soon we will be in Russia! I can’t tell you what joy! ... We went to dinner and were served grouse. I ate them with pleasure - not because I am a gourmet, but because it reminded me of St. Petersburg, as if I was already there. I felt happy - not because of these grouse, but because I again saw this dining room, known to me for so long, this large Russian samovar, boiling loudly, all this Russian furnishings "
Tatyana Nikolaevna was in love from her early youth. The subject of passion, and then love, to which Tatyana Nikolaevna remained faithful until her last breath, was Grand Duke Pavel Alexandrovich, youngest son of Emperor Alexander II. Grand Dukes Pavel and Sergei often visited the Yusupovs; Princess Tatiana mentions meetings at home and in society in her notes.
“I’m dying of desire to go to Evgenia Maximilianovna’s ball. Finally, I expressed my intentions, said that I would go. We are late, Felix and I. Marie Obolenskaya is my patron. I’m dancing with the hussar Bodrinsky. The spetch is spilling with Evgenia M. I’m dancing the mazurka with Ivkin . I look at the flower in the hand of the Grand Duke. I fall asleep, praying for two brothers. I seem flighty and flirtatious, but this is because of my timidity and inexperience, and yet they smiled at me! What contradictions coexist in a young heart! How can I not Enough of these captivating waltz sounds!”
"My birthday. Dad touched me: at midnight he blessed me and put on me a bracelet that resembles my ring. On the threshold of a new year, on the threshold of a new life, I prayed with all my heart! What happens in his soul when I pray for him?
In the winter garden I remember everything... Kauffman invited me to a mazurka. This is the pearl of the ball! Counterpart with serious Tatishchev. V.K Alexis and N.P. gets on my nerves! Kauffman is a bit annoying.
"I'm worried about V.K. Paul, whom I was involved in too much in my dreams. I wanted to marry him."
"Paul's wedding will take place in St. Petersburg! Where are you, my dreams! I pray for Pavel and Aunt Mimi."
“This month I have had so much excitement and hope! Worry about Paul, his fragile health, his future. I am afraid that he might marry someone other than me, poor one. The mere thought of the possibility of this brings me horrified!"
Grand Duke Paul
“They played a waltz, at the sound of which I saw and fell in love with Paul - this memory is so enlivened by love that I shuddered! The sounds of the violin were not magical, but it was very funny. I was spinning as if in a whirlwind!”
"Finally, I go to the Golitsyn cousins and sit with them for a long time. A portrait of Serge and Elizabeth, who give me pleasure. A portrait of my Paul against the background of Vesuvius. Princess Golitsyna knows, I am sure of it, that I love him."
"Together with kind Dyudyusha and a bouquet of violets, I go to Princess Lyubanova, poor Meme meets me. Then I go to Olga. Little Zhorzhik has a high fever. I confess to Olga that I love Paul! Stakhovich says that I will get married on May 17. Sasha comes dine. Spiritualism. Again the object of my hatred. My fan is broken. Little jewel of the ballroom! "Hello" - Paul, Phrase to Alexis. Ella is talking to me; here Irene and the Grand Duke of Hesse. Religious subjects on the stairs. Katya Kuzina in the weaving room and beloved faces! I admire the kiss of love. Serge harnesses me to work too. Aksakov’s death gives me a little hope. The young couple runs away. I can’t hold back any longer. Paul is getting dressed in front of me. How sweet he is! I’m thinking about “happy day” "I'm worried."
“I’m twenty years old! God wants me not to cry anymore! Dad gives me a delightful bracelet, and Zayde gives me a beautiful leaf of withered ivy made of diamonds with a ruby. I’m touched! I go to church, where I bring my excitement and can’t hold back my tears! "
Today is fortune telling with a pencil! Sasha comes in for a minute and brings me Huf with a huge and very beautiful photograph of Paul. I'm in love with him! Grigoriev and Anna are having lunch.
Paul. Tatiana. Why are you asking? God does not command! Don't disturb my soul. Dad is excited.
Sasha is having lunch. I'm being secretive with her about Valerian. She immediately runs to Natasha and is late. I see my adult Paul appearing from behind the screen with his kind smile! He never dances with me, never once does his gaze fall on me, he smiles at others. I suffer from this."
“I would like not to wake up. Dad makes me cry by talking about Paul. Olga comes with Mrs. Gerken and sits for a long time.”
“Dad is better, I got up very late. Lisa talked about her mother. This makes me sad. Felix claims that Paul’s wedding is decided, but Mich. Micah is probable. The Ignatievs tried to probe the waters, but this is a voice crying in the desert. Zayde and Felix "They go to the theater. Aurelia reads to me. My God! I want to love always."
Probably, Tatyana, following the example of her namesake, Pushkin’s heroine, confessed her feelings for the Grand Duke. He did not reciprocate her feelings and the childhood friendship was ended; from now on Pavel avoids Tatyana. Her heart is broken.
Sisters Tanek and Zaide Yusupov
“It is absolutely impossible for me to be happy from now on, no matter what happens. Friendship is God’s purest blessing, but I failed to preserve this treasure, and I will die without realizing the dream of my whole life. Like you, Paul, I am not someone’s then half. I don't care much about the thought of getting old, but I really don't want to grow old alone. I haven't met a creature with whom I would like to live and die, and if I did, I couldn't keep it near me."
Since April 1888, Tatyana has been visiting her sister Zinaida in Arkhangelskoye, where in front of her is a picture of the living embodiment of her dreams of happiness: the union of two loving hearts. She is happy for her sister and Felix, but in her poem, written upon arrival, there is a sad, even alarming note:
Their sail is April's shining light,
The star guards his path.
My sail, saturated with the moisture of tears,
Disappears in the distant waves...
Their cups sparkle with the drink of love,
My cup has tipped over...
That torch that burns brightly for others
I will decorate with a white lily!
Telegrams from Arkhangelsk to Berlin to Prince N.B. Yusupov is told about the last days of Tatyana Nikolaevna:
24.06. 1888 "Tanya has a slight fever with us good doctor Don't worry Zinaida."
27.06. 1888 "Princess Tatiana died at midnight without suffering, very calmly without regaining consciousness, prepare Father Sumarokov."
“Don’t tempt me unnecessarily,” poet Evgeniy Abramovich Boratynsky, a member of the Moscow English Club, asked in his famous poem. Nikolai Borisovich Yusupov Jr. tempted fate at least twice in his life.
The prince knew well the history of his family - not only the generally accepted one, which he outlined in an extensive two-volume set of documents prepared with his direct participation, but also the secret one, carefully hidden from prying eyes. The family curse, or more precisely, fate, which I already wrote about at the beginning of the book, did not bypass his family either.
Tsarevich Alexei Petrovich, who loved Prince Boris Grigorievich Yusupov so much, according to legend, predicted for him the gradual death of the entire Yusupov family due to the prince’s participation in the court “case” of the unfortunate son of Peter the Great. This unjust “deed” ruined the Romanov family, which actually ended with Empress Elizabeth Petrovna, and finally with Tsarevich Alexei. It also turned into a terrible fate against the descendants of Boris Grigorievich. There is another version, according to which generational curse turned out to be imposed on the Yusupovs due to a change in Faith. On another, impoverished branch of the family, which changed religion much earlier, the curse did not consider it necessary to act as decisively
There were the most contradictory rumors about Tatiana's death, which happened in 1888, at the age of 22. The official version boiled down to typhus, so “favorite” in the princely family, whose regular epidemics could be blamed on whatever your heart desired. The yearning soul of his father, Prince Nikolai Borisovich Jr., wanted to hide this family secret as deeply as possible, which he successfully did...
Princess Tatiana was buried near the southern wall of the estate church of the Archangel Michael in Arkhangelskoye, on a high hill sloping steeply down to the oxbow of the Moscow River. There is always beauty here. In summer you can see the meadow and forest across the river. And in autumn, winter and early spring, when there is no foliage on the trees, the same delightful view that little Tanya’s Mom taught her to admire opens up from the hill. Later, a statue of M.M. was installed on the grave. Antokolsky "Angel". The artist began work on it in November 1892, judging by his letters to Zinaida Nikolaevna Yusupova.
Mark Matveyevich wrote: “...I will be very, very happy to show you my new sketches, princess and prince... Having redone my sketches, I see that the prince was right, I also finished the sketch I started, and to my [shame] - successfully, at least At least it seems so to me.” In the next letter, he thanked Zinaida Nikolaevna for the 10 thousand francs received on account of the work. Antokolsky was not in Arkhangelskoye, did not see Tatyana’s burial place, which, of course, made it difficult creative search. The Yusupovs probably acquainted Mark Matveyevich with a description of the area, with photographs of the princess in order to recreate her portrait features in sculpture; together they discussed the design of the monument, looked for a compositional solution, modifying and improving it. The initial sketch made of plaster is a small figurine (height 37 cm) with the surface loosened with abrupt strokes. Only the general outline of the figure is outlined: facial features are not indicated, the folds of clothing are not worked out; the wings, lowered down, are large and inexpressive; there are no flowers at the base. But already in the preparatory work (botzetto), the sculptor highlighted the main thing - the upward direction of the angel girl.
We learn about sculpting a large clay model from the article “In Antokolsky’s workshop.” The anonymous author visited the artist's studio in Paris and reported in detail about his creative method. "I went to next room, where Mark Matveevich worked. It was a workshop. On the stone floor there were piles of wet clay, plaster and various tools and technical equipment scattered about. There were two statues here. One, still made of clay, unfinished - M[ark] M[atveevich] worked on it - was a tall, slender female angel with wings, striving to the heights (an order for a monument). Despite the fact that the figure was poorly developed, it struck me with its beauty, lightness and grace. It completely stretches upward with such swiftness that it seems that in just one more moment it will fly away.
M[ark] Matveevich] worked nervously, feverishly. He worked out the folds of a woman's dress. With a bold hand, he added pieces of clay here and there, quickly cut off the excess, stepped aside, cast an attentive nervous glance, approached again, cut off again, corrected, pressed firmly with his palm on the wet clay, traced the fold with his finger...”
The clay model was used as the basis for the composition of the second plaster sketch - the final version of the monument - identical to the marble example in Arkhangelskoye. Antokolsky wrote about the latter from Paris in May 1895 to the sculptor I.Ya. Ginzburg: “I am finishing a group of marble: “Sister of Mercy.” Another figure, “Angel,” is being cut out of marble for me.”
In this work, the master realistically conveyed the state of elegiac sadness, humility and detachment, creating a poetic, spiritual image. The girl’s young beautiful face is turned to the sky, her eyes are closed; she seems to be praying, with her lips slightly parted and the cross clutched to her chest. Flowers are scattered at the feet and there is a huge bouquet of “roses of the fragrant scents of the world and incense.” The wings fluttering behind the shoulders are very impressive; unlike the first sketch, they are widely spread, raised and enhance the illusion of movement. It seems that the princess - an angel, walking so easily, in a moment will ascend the heavenly staircase along which the Angels of God ascend to heaven. The sculpture is marked by high technical performance. The flowing folds of the long robe are masterfully modeled, as if they were swaying under the blow of the wind.
Z.N. Yusupova against the background of a portrait of her deceased sister
The monument, erected in 1899 on the grave of T.N. Yusupova on the picturesque high bank of the Moscow River, was clearly visible from all sides, its clear, expressive silhouette clearly outlined against the background of centuries-old trees. However, in 1939, for better preservation, the monument had to be moved to another, safer place. Currently it is stored in the park pavilion “Tea House”.
In one of his articles, Mark Matveevich noted: “The sculpture has reached a high level of technology - it was admired, it caressed the eye, but did not touch the feelings, but I wanted marble to speak in its pure, powerful, laconic language and awaken in us the best feelings - beauty and goodness, such was and is my ideal in art.” The statue “Angel” fully corresponds to this ideal.
Grand Duke Paul marries a year after Tatiana's death - to Princess Alexandra of Greece, who was also destined to die young...
Poems by Tatyana Nikolaevna Yusupova
Birch (in Russian)
When I see your pattern
Trembling, silvery,
I remember Russian Bor
And a shady island,
And the banks of the Neva,
And everything I love...
Violet (translation by I.V. Nikiforova)
Violet, shy forest girl,
You cry, you can't forget
About happiness in sunny Crimea,
Where your lily of the valley bloomed, your fragrant dandy.
My love!
I preferred you
To all the gentlemen of the world,
Enjoy everyone!
You're so sensitive -
Don't forget my flowers
Don't tear their petals
Don't break my heart!
My wish (translation by I.V. Nikiforova)
The galley will turn into a gondola,
And the thorns will turn into flowers,
If I become Paul's wife!
My God, make your dreams come true!
Do not disappear! After all, life is full of you!
And in grief that your Mother also left you,
I cried the same tear as you,
Grace melts in the soul of hope.
Now I'm twenty.
After tears and pain, I still live in hope,
I still pray: “Oh, save my soul!
God bless my love!"
At the sad ball (translation by I.V. Nikiforova)
Pressing a bouquet to your lips,
I stepped towards him
Hiding the bitterness of tears,
And I hid the flour.
The other one is next to him, and to me -
Suffering dark dream!
The memory of the past has faded,
He won't love!
To the field (translation by I.V. Nikiforova)
Forgive my anger, forgive me!
I will submit to fate.
Life is not a merry ball,
I'm no match for you!
But if your glance
Could penetrate the heart!
My silent pain -
My love is a guarantee!
To the field (translation by I.V. Nikiforova)
You laughed at me!
Laughing, you condemned
Memories, love,
Everything I once lived for!
Ball, music, flowers -
And the moisture of my tears.
Holy fire of love
Didn't bring me happiness!
Materials taken from the book: I.V. Nikiforova "Princess Tatiana. Letters, diary entries, memories"
Dedicated to the 240th anniversary of the founding of the Moscow English Club.
Jean-Joseph Vivien. “Portrait of Prince N.B. Yusupov." Lithograph based on the original by I.B. Lumpy Sr. Meeting of the Moscow English Club.
Illustrations for publication from the collection of the State Museum-Estate "Arkhangelskoye" and the author's archive
O.E. Matveev, Co-Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Arkhangelskoye State Estate Museum, Chairman of the Board of the Moscow English Club.
The Moscow English Club, founded in 1772, is one of the oldest public organizations Russia. Over the many years of its existence, the club changed the buildings in which it was located more than once, the club was closed several times, but there were always enterprising Muscovites who revived the club’s activities, its traditions and the unique club spirit.
In the palace on Tverskaya, which belonged to the club before nationalization in 1918, there was a special hall called the Portrait Hall. Traditionally, portraits of Russian emperors were placed here, during whose reign the club existed, with the exception of Paul I, who banned club meetings. In addition to the royal ones, the hall contained portraits of prominent members of the English Club.
The traditions of the historical Moscow English Club are continued by its modern successor, restored in 1995 by a group of enthusiasts. Gradually, the club community is gathering the former Portrait. Picturesque portraits are located in the office of the club’s board, and stories about club members are published in the magazine and books published by the English Club, the author of which is Alexei Butorov.
In the first book - “Moscow English Cube. Pages of History”, released in 1999, there is a special chapter “Portrait Room”. In 2002, the book “Patrons and Collectors of the Moscow English Club” was published, which continued the description of outstanding personalities who were members of the club over the years. And here before the reader is the third book in the series “Portrait of the Moscow English Club”, dedicated to only one member of the club - Prince Nikolai Borisovich Yusupov (1751–1831).
The prince was one of the most enlightened Russian nobles at the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries. He is rightly called an outstanding diplomat, a major manufacturer, an official of the highest Russian administration, an outstanding specialist in museum and theater affairs, an organizer of major state celebrations and an organizer of the production of art objects. Along with this, Yusupov collected the largest private collection of works of art in Europe 1st half of the 19th century century, a most valuable library and created a true pearl of the Moscow region - the architectural and park ensemble of the Arkhangelskoye estate.
For more than half a century, Prince Yusupov was a member of the St. Petersburg and Moscow English clubs, and served as the club's Foreman.
This book, written by the club’s historiographer Alexei Vyacheslavovich Butorov for the 240th anniversary of the founding of the Moscow English Club, is a tribute to the memory and gratitude of the members of the modern club to their outstanding historical clubmate.
Not only in words, but also in deeds, the club preserves the memory of Prince N.B. Yusupov. On the initiative of the club, the Board of Trustees of the State Museum-Estate “Arkhangelskoye” was created and is actively operating, the co-chairs of which are modern members English Club: Chairman Russian Academy architecture and construction sciences A.P. Kudryavtsev, author of these lines, Chairman of the Board of the Moscow English Club O.E. Matveev and the president of the Union of Museums of Russia, director of the State Hermitage, which was once headed by Prince N.B. Yusupov, - M.B. Piotrovsky.
O.E. Matveev,
Chairman of the Board of the Moscow
English Club.
V.V. Dlugach, director of the State Museum-Estate "Arkhangelskoye".
In history there are personalities who seem to be well-known, very noticeable, but seem to be relegated to the background by their descendants. These include Prince Nikolai Borisovich Yusupov (1751–1831), who once held the position of one of the first nobles Russian Empire. During his lifetime, the prince gained fame as a refined connoisseur and connoisseur of beauty, the collector of the largest private art collection.
The exquisite setting for the princely collection was his Arkhangelskoye estate near Moscow, the artistic ensemble of which was decorated according to the tastes and preferences of the prince. His descendants supported the famous estate, partly replenished the collection, but were no longer able to realize any grandiose artistic plans. On May 1, 1919, a historical and art museum was opened in Arkhangelsk, which celebrated its 90th anniversary in 2009, having experienced many difficult periods of activity over the years.
In a congratulatory telegram addressed to the museum staff, the Chairman of the Government Russian Federation V.V. Putin noted that “this anniversary is a real holiday for everyone who knows national history, appreciates truly unique monuments of architecture and art, created by the labor and talent of several generations of museum workers. Over the past decades, “Arkhangelskoye” has carefully preserved the memory of our great compatriots - writers and poets, military leaders, public figures...”
Only at the beginning of the 21st century the name of the creator of the Arkhangelskoye estate - Prince N.B. Yusupov - has regained its former shine. In 2001 in Moscow, at the museum fine arts named after A.S. Pushkin, where a considerable part of the prince’s art collection is now concentrated, a grandiose exhibition dedicated to the 250th anniversary of his birth took place.
This book is the first scientific biography of Prince Nikolai Borisovich Yusupov, which is a significant contribution to the study of Russian culture. It was written by Alexei Vyacheslavovich Butorov, a famous cultural historian, writer and local historian, deputy chairman of the “Old Moscow” society, member of the Moscow Society of Local Lore. The book presents for the first time a number of unique documents collected in the archives by employees of the Arkhangelskoye museum-estate. At the same time, in the study of the life of Prince N.B. Yusupov still has many blank spots, as the author informs the reader about.
On behalf of the scientific team of the Arkhangelskoye museum-estate, I express my deep gratitude to the initiator of the writing and publication of this book - Moskovsky English club, famous for his historical traditions patronage, and personally to the Chairman of the Board of the club Oleg Efimovich Matveev. The Board of Trustees created by the club does a lot to maintain the integrity and further development museum-estate "Arkhangelskoye".
V.V. Dlugach,
Director of the State Museum-Estate "Arkhangelskoe",
member of the Moscow English Club.
"Pet of the Neva banks"
I. Toropov. "Rider". Free copy of the painting by A.O. Orlovsky. GMUA.
From Mohammed to Ivan the Terrible
God will increase!
Motto of the family of princes Yusupov
The life of a person who has long passed into another world, even if he left a noticeable mark on history, can hardly be fully revealed a hundred or two hundred years after his death, if he himself or his contemporaries did not leave at least brief biographical notes for descendants. Known Facts History does not always make it possible to find the causes of certain events, to reveal their influence on the fate of humanity or just one person.
Alexander I (from 1801)
Nicholas I (from 1825)
Moscow
Official positions held: chief manager of the Armory Chamber and the Kremlin Expedition, director of the Imperial Theaters (1791-1796), director of the Hermitage (1797), headed the palace glass, porcelain and trellis factories (since 1792), senator (since 1788), actual privy councilor ( 1796), Minister of the Department of Appanages (1800-1816), member of the State Council (from 1823).
Biography
The only son of the Moscow mayor Boris Yusupov, a representative of the richest princely family of the Yusupovs, who set his sights on his great-granddaughter Zinaida.
Helping to acquire works of art for Empress Catherine II and her son Paul I, the prince was an intermediary in the execution of imperial orders by European artists. Thus, Yusupov’s collection was formed from the same sources as the imperial one, therefore Yusupov’s collection contained works by major landscape painters.
Family traditions and service affiliation with the College of Foreign Affairs had a significant influence on his personality and destiny. In his long life, several stages can be distinguished that were decisive for the formation of the collection.
First of all, this is the first educational trip abroad in 1774-1777, staying in Holland and studying at Leiden University. Then interest in European culture and art arose, and a passion for collecting arose. During these years, he made a Grand Tour, visiting England, Portugal, Spain, France, Italy, and Austria. It was presented to many European monarchs and was adopted by Diderot and Voltaire.
My books and a few good paintings and drawings are my only entertainment.
N. B. Yusupov
In Leiden, Yusupov acquired rare collectible books, paintings and drawings. Among them is an edition of Cicero, published by the famous Venetian company Aldov (Manutsiev), with a commemorative inscription about the purchase: “a Leide 1e mardi 7bre de l’annee 1774” (in Leiden on the first Tuesday of September 1774). In Italy, the prince met the German landscape painter J. F. Hackert, who became his adviser and expert. Hackert commissioned the paired landscapes “Morning in the Outskirts of Rome” and “Evening in the Outskirts of Rome” completed in 1779 (both at the Arkhangelskoye State Estate Museum). Antiquity and modern art - these two main hobbies of Yusupov will continue to determine the main artistic preferences, consonant with the era of formation and development of the last great international artistic style in European art - classicism.
Second important stage The formation of the collection began in the 1780s. As a person well-versed in the arts and well-known at European courts, Yusupov entered the retinue and accompanied the Count and Countess of the North (Grand Duke Pavel Petrovich and Grand Duchess Maria Fedorovna). Possessing great knowledge and a taste for the fine arts, he carried out orders from Pavel Petrovich and significantly expanded his connections with artists and commission agents, for the first time he visited the workshops of the most famous artists - A. Kaufman in Venice and P. Batoni, the engraver D. Volpato, widely known for his reproduction engravings from the works of Raphael in the Vatican and Rome, G. Robert, C. J. Vernet, J.-B. Greuza and J.-A. Houdon in Paris. Then relations with these artists were maintained for many years, contributing to the replenishment of the prince’s personal collection.
1790s - the rapid rise of Yusupov's career. He fully demonstrates his devotion to the Russian throne, both to the aging Empress Catherine II and to Emperor Paul I. At the coronation of Paul I, he was appointed supreme coronation marshal. He performed the same role at the coronations of Alexander I and Nicholas I.
From 1791 to 1802, Yusupov held important government positions: director of the imperial theatrical performances in St. Petersburg (from 1791), director of the imperial glass and porcelain factories and trellis manufactory (from 1792), president of the manufactory board (from 1796) and minister of appanages (from 1800). ).
In 1794, Nikolai Borisovich was elected an honorary amateur of the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts. In 1797, Paul I gave his jurisdiction to the Hermitage, where the imperial art collection was housed. The art gallery was headed by the Pole Franz Labensky, who had previously been the keeper of the art gallery of King Stanisław August Poniatowski, whom Yusupov accompanied during his stay in St. Petersburg. A new complete inventory of the Hermitage collection was carried out. The compiled inventory served as the main inventory until mid-19th century.
The government positions held by the prince made it possible to directly influence the development of national art and artistic crafts. He acquired the Arkhangelskoye estate near Moscow, turning it into an example of a palace and park ensemble. Yusupov is the founder of the famous clan meeting, an outstanding and bright personality. He collected a large collection of paintings (over 600 canvases), sculptures, works applied arts, books (over 20 thousand), porcelain, the main part of which was placed in the estate.
In Moscow, Yusupov lived in his own palace in Bolshoi Kharitonyevsky Lane. In 1801-1803 the Pushkin family lived in one of the wings on the palace grounds, including little Alexander Pushkin. The poet also visited Yusupov in Arkhangelskoye, and in 1831 Yusupov was invited to a gala dinner in the Arbat apartment of the newlyweds Pushkin.
It languished magnificently for eighty years, surrounded by marble, painted and living beauty. In his country house, Pushkin talked with him, who dedicated it to him, and painted Gonzaga, to whom Yusupov dedicated his theater.
He died during the famous cholera epidemic in Moscow, in his own home in the parish of the Charitonia Church in Ogorodniki. He was buried in the village of Spasskoye-Kotovo, Mozhaisk district, Moscow province, in the ancient Church of the Savior Not Made by Hands.
Georgy Blyumin, doctor technical sciences and professor of cultural studies, consultant to the Terra-Real Estate company, author of the book "The Tsar's Road", continues a series of stories on the history of Rublyovka.
250 years ago, a son, Nikolai, was born into the family of the Moscow governor, Prince Boris Grigorievich Yusupov and his wife Irina Mikhailovna, née Zinovieva. Subsequently, Prince Nikolai Borisovich Yusupov will become the richest man in Russia. He will own estates not only in all the provinces of Russia, but also in almost every district. When they asked him if he had an estate in such and such a district, he usually answered: I don’t know, you need to check with the manager. The manager came with a memorial book under his arm, opened it - and almost always the estate was found. This is not a complete list of the positions that the prince held during his long life: Minister of the Department of Appanages, in charge of all the imperial and grand-ducal estates and palaces, president of the Manufacture Collegium, director of the imperial theaters, first director of the Hermitage and the Armory, commander-in-chief of the Kremlin expedition and all porcelain and glass factories of Russia, member of the State Council. He had the highest rank of actual privy councilor of the first rank, was awarded all the orders of the Russian Empire and many foreign ones, so when they didn’t know what else to award him with, they came up with a pearl epaulette especially for him, which the prince wore on his right shoulder and which no one else had. By the way, in his post as chief manager of the imperial theaters, Prince Nikolai Borisovich invented the numbering of rows and seats: before, in the theater they sat wherever they could.
The prince was also Russia's envoy to Italy, where he acquired many rare books, mainly by ancient authors, which later adorned his famous library in Arkhangelskoye. There, in Italy, he managed to convince Pope Pius VI to give permission for the complete copying and transportation to St. Petersburg of the famous loggias of Raphael, now located in the Hermitage. In his youth, the prince studied a lot and persistently, spoke five languages fluently, so that later he surprised with his learning many luminaries of European science, whom he became closely acquainted with while traveling around Europe with letters of recommendation from Empress Catherine II. Courteous and outwardly very handsome, the prince, as they said in court circles, was at one time the queen’s lover. In any case, in his office in Arkhangelskoye there hung a painting in which he and Catherine were presented naked in the form of Apollo and Venus. Paul I, having ascended the throne, ordered this painting to be removed.
“The envoy of a young crowned wife,” as Pushkin put it, was friendly with Voltaire, Diderot and Beaumarchais. Beaumarchais dedicated an enthusiastic poem to him. In Europe, Yusupov was received by all the then monarchs: Joseph II in Vienna, Frederick the Great in Berlin, Louis XVI and Napoleon Bonaparte in Paris. The prince bought sculptures and paintings by the best masters abroad and brought them to the Hermitage, not forgetting his Arkhangelskoye estate near Moscow, which he eventually turned into a classically completed estate ensemble - “Versailles near Moscow”. Prince Yusupov was grand marshal at the coronation of three Russian emperors - Paul I, Alexander I and Nicholas I - and all of them were his guests in Arkhangelsk.
Prince Nikolai Borisovich belonged to one of the oldest noble families in Russia, dating back to the legendary prophet Muhammad (VI century AD). The father-in-law of the great prophet named Abubekir ruled the entire Muslim world. Three centuries later, his descendant and new ruler of the Muslims was pompously titled as Emir el-Omr, prince of princes, sultan of sultans. He united in his person governmental and spiritual power. The names of the ancestors of the Russian princes Yusupov appear every minute on the pages of The Thousand and One Nights and in the tales of Scheherazade. The ancestors of Nikolai Borisovich Yusupov were emirs, caliphs and sultans with royal power throughout the ancient East - from Egypt to India. It was then that people began to say and write that the Yusupovs came from Tatars. In Rus' in the 15th - 16th centuries, every newcomer from the West was called a German, and from the East - a Tatar. There were simply no other nationalities. The exception was, perhaps, the Italians who built the Kremlin: they were called “Frya”, or Fryazins. To this day, the villages Fryazevo, Fryazino, Fryanovo, granted to him, exist in the vicinity of Moscow.
Many graves of the “Tatars” - Yusupov’s ancestors are located in Mecca and the Kaaba, sacred to Muslims. Their reign is remembered by Damascus, Antioch, Egypt, Mesopotamia, and India.
Approximately a thousand years after the reign of the reigning ancestors of the Yusupovs A.S. in the East. Pushkin will dedicate his famous “Message to a Nobleman,” inspired by his visits to Arkhangelsky, to the Russian prince Nikolai Borisovich Yusupov:
Freeing the world from the northern shackles,
As soon as the marshmallows flow into the fields,
As soon as the first linden tree turns green,
To you, friendly descendant of Aristippus,
I will appear to you; I'll see this palace
Where is the architect's compass, palette and chisel?
They obeyed your learned whim,
And the inspired ones competed in magic.
Pushkin calls the prince a descendant of Aristippus. In 1903, a bust of Pushkin with quotes from his message to Prince Yusupov, carved on the pedestal, was installed in Arkhangelskoye. It says "pet of Aristippus." This is understandable: after all, the main thesis of the teachings of the ancient Greek philosopher is happiness in pleasure. And Nikolai Borisovich followed this principle all his life. But Pushkin is a descendant of Aristippus. Why? The fact is that the philosopher, a Greek by birth, lived on the land of what is now Libya, on the border with Egypt in the city of Cyrene and was related to the rulers of Egypt, where the ancient roots of the Yusupov family go.
About four centuries have passed, and among the rulers of the east we meet the name of the descendant of Abubekir Sultan Termes. This sultan happened to be born far in the north, where his father traveled in his youth. The enmity of former friends and brothers made Termes remember his homeland. He calls out to his fellow believers, many respond to the call and, pressed by hostile circumstances, move from Arabia to the north, where they settled in vast space between the Urals and the Volga. The Russians called this settlement the Nogai Horde. A direct descendant of Termes was the closest friend and associate of the great conqueror Tamerlane, or Timur. His name was Edigei. It was he who, in single combat in front of the army, killed the Mongol Khan Tokhtamysh, who shortly before burned Moscow. Edigei also defeated the troops of the Lithuanian Khan Vytautas on the Vorskla River in 1339. Finally, he conquered Crimea and founded the Crimean Horde there.
Edigei's great-grandson was called Musa-Murza and, according to custom, had five wives. The name of Kondaz's first, beloved wife. From her was born Yusuf, who gave the surname to the Russian princely family of the Yusupovs. For twenty years Yusuf Murza was friends with Ivan the Terrible himself, the Russian Tsar. Yusuf Murza had two sons and four daughters. He married his daughters to neighboring kings: Crimean, Astrakhan, Siberian and Kazan. The wife of the Tsar of Kazan was the beautiful Suyumbeka, in whose honor the seven-tiered Suyumbeki Tower was erected in the Kazan Kremlin, repeated in the architecture of the Moscow Kazan Station. Later she was the queen of the Kasimov kingdom and was buried in 1557 in the local tomb. Her descendant, Russian prince Nikolai Borisovich Yusupov Jr., thinks so when he writes in his book: “Scarlet rosehip and milky bird cherry shower this forgotten tomb with flowers!” The beautiful Suyumbek is sung by the poet M.M. Kheraskov in his poem "Rossiyada". In 1832, composer Glinka’s ballet “Suyumbek and the Conquest of Kazan” was performed with great success in St. Petersburg, where main party danced by the famous ballerina A.I. Istomina. The great-great-grandson of Prince Nikolai Borisovich, Prince Felix Yusupov, writes about this in his memoirs.
The sons of Yusuf Murza enter the Russian service, while maintaining the Muslim faith. The grandson of Yusuf-Murza Seyush-Murza in the 17th century took possession of the entire city of Romanov with its settlement (present-day Tutaev) in the Yaroslavl province. And today in the city you can see an ancient mosque among the numerous churches. It was in this city that an event occurred that radically changed the life of the Murzas. The son of Seyush-Murza, named Abdul-Murza, received Patriarch Joachim in Romanov. It was a fast day, and the owner, out of ignorance of Orthodox fasts, fed the guest a goose. The Patriarch ate the goose, saying: “Your fish is good, prince!” He should remain silent, but he takes it and says: “This is not a fish, Your Holiness, but a goose. My cook is such a skill that he can cook a goose for fish - I can give it to Your Holiness!” The Patriarch, no matter how well-fed he was, became angry and upon arrival in Moscow told the whole story to Tsar Fyodor Alekseevich. As punishment, he deprived the Murza of all his previous awards, and the rich man suddenly became a beggar. Abdul-Murza thought for three days and decided to convert to Orthodoxy.
He was baptized in one of the churches of the same city of Romanov under the name Dmitry, and came up with a surname in the ancient Russian way: Yusupovo-Knyazhevo. This is how the Russian prince Dmitry Seyushevich Yusupovo-Knyazhevo appeared. All his possessions were returned to him, and he married a Russian. This was the great-grandfather of the hero of our story, Prince Nikolai Borisovich Yusupov. Since then, the image of a goose has been found in the interior of the Yusupov palaces in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Rakitny and Crimea.
But that same night, Prince Dmitry Seyushevich had a vision: a certain ghost clearly told him that from now on, for betrayal of faith, in each tribe of his family there would not be more than one male heir, and if more of them were born, then none of them, except one, would will survive the age of 26 years. The most amazing thing is that, looking back at Yusupov’s history over four centuries, we see that the terrible prediction came true. Dmitry Seyushevich Yusupovo-Knyazhevo was succeeded by his son, Prince Grigory Dmitrievich, general-in-chief and head of the Military Collegium. He was an associate of Peter I and a participant in all his battles. It was the emperor who ordered him to be called simply Prince Yusupov. The son of Grigory Dmitrievich, Prince Boris Grigorievich Yusupov, was first the vice-governor and then the governor of Moscow, an actual privy councilor. And the next and again the only heir was Prince Nikolai Borisovich Yusupov - a friend of kings and emperors, interlocutor and relative of A.S. Pushkin: after all, the ancestors of both came from northern Africa. Among the highest awards of the empire, titles, stars and estates of the prince, the highest, of course, is the message to him from A.S. Pushkin, consisting of 106 poetic lines. In this poem, Pushkin gave a vivid and detailed description of the prince, a prominent representative of Russian culture.
A.S. Pushkin, as calculated by meticulous Pushkin scholars, visited N.B. twice. Yusupov in his Arkhangelskoye estate near Moscow. This happened at the end of April 1827, and then at the end of August 1830. For the first time, Pushkin’s companion was his friend S.A. Sobolevsky, they arrived in Arkhangelskoye on horseback, “and the enlightened nobleman of Catherine’s century received them with all the cordiality of hospitality,” according to the memoirs of a contemporary. On his second visit, Pushkin was accompanied by the poet Prince P.A. Vyazemsky, and this visit is reflected in the painting of the French artist Nicolas de Courteil, who was then working in Arkhangelsk. Pushkin writes in his message:
You are still the same. Stepping beyond your threshold,
I am suddenly transported to the days of Catherine.
Book depository, idols, and paintings,
And slender gardens testify to me,
Why do you favor the muses in silence,
That in idleness you breathe noble breath.
I listen to you: your conversation is free
Full of youth. The influence of beauty
You feel it vividly. You appreciate with delight
And the brilliance of Alyabyeva and the charm of Goncharova.
Carelessly surrounded by Corregius, Canova,
You, without participating in worldly worries,
Sometimes you look at them mockingly out the window
And you see a circular turn in everything.
The wife of Prince Nikolai Borisovich was Tatyana Vasilievna, née Engelhardt, the niece of His Serene Highness Prince Grigory Alexandrovich Potemkin-Tavrichesky. Several children were born into their marriage, but only one heir, Prince Boris Nikolaevich, lived to adulthood. At first, the couple lived in Arkhangelskoye, in the Big House, and then Tatyana Vasilievna wanted to live separately from her husband and settled in the “Caprice” palace, dealing mainly with the affairs of the Kupavino textile factory owned by Yusupov. The reason for the departure was the extreme love of women of Prince Nikolai Borisovich. This trait was noted by many of his contemporaries, but Moscow ladies forgave him, taking into account the prince’s scholarship and secular manners, and remembering his Eastern origin. In his office, first in the Moscow Palace, and then in the Arkhangelsk Palace, there hung three hundred portraits of women whose favor he enjoyed. In the Arkhangelsk Garden, where everyone was allowed to walk, the prince showed affection to the ladies. Special attention, and if he met a woman he knew or did not know, he would certainly bow, kiss her hand and find out if she wanted anything.
Nikolai Borisovich knew Pushkin when the future poet was barely three years old. The fact is that from 1801 to 1803, the poet’s father Sergei Lvovich rented an apartment on the second floor of the left wing of the Yusupov Palace on Bolshoi Kharitonyevsky Lane in Moscow. This Moscow house of the prince, granted to his grandfather by Emperor Peter II, was surrounded by the quaint oriental Yusupov Garden, known throughout Moscow. Pushkin mentions Yusupov Garden in his autobiography. In the garden, for example, there was an oak tree entwined with a gilded chain, along which a huge fluffy toy cat with green eyes, designed by Dutch mechanics, rose up and down. The cat's movement was carried out according to a specially developed algorithm; At the same time, the cat also spoke, but in Dutch. Little Pushkin walked in the garden with his grandmother Maria Alekseevna or with his nanny Arina Rodionovna and, according to his memoirs, then promised to translate the cat’s stories into Russian. The prologue to Pushkin’s poem “Ruslan and Lyudmila” was almost completely “copied” by the poet from Yusupov’s Garden; Moreover, the child’s perception is, of course, multiplied by the poet’s brilliant imagination.
An interesting fact is that despite the almost half-century difference in age, Yusupov and Pushkin became friends and were on friendly terms with each other. As you can see, they had a lot to talk about. Pushkin eagerly listened to the prince's stories about Catherine's century, about his travels throughout Europe and the East. Many of these stories were reflected in the poet’s works in the Boldin autumn of 1830 that followed their meeting. It is also interesting that Prince Nikolai Borisovich, despite all his love interests, did not age at all; it was rumored that during his stay in Paris he received the elixir of youth from the hands of the famous adventurer Count Saint-Germain.
Pushkin shared with the prince his plans for his upcoming marriage. His message contains an amazing description of the elderly nobleman: “You appreciate with delight both the brilliance of Alyabyeva and the charm of Goncharova.” Try to appreciate the charms of beauties in your eightieth year! Prince P.A. Vyazemsky tells about Yusupov: “He was of a prosperous constitution in flesh and spirit, in everyday life and morally. On the street there was an eternal holiday for him, in the house there was an eternal celebration of celebrations. On the windows there were pots with lush, fragrant flowers; on the walls hung cages with different singing birds; the chiming of wall clocks with ringing chimes could be heard in the rooms. Everything about him was radiant, deafening, intoxicating. Himself, in the midst of this radiance, this luxurious vegetation and melodiousness, he exhibited a ruddy, joyful face, blooming like a double red peony."
"Dictionary of Memorable People of the Russian Land", published in 1836, gives such general characteristics Prince Yusupov: “He was distinguished by his enlightened mind, refined taste for everything elegant, sharpness, courtesy, gaiety of disposition, extensive memory, loved scientists and artists, and even in his venerable old age brought tribute of surprise to the fair sex.”
Many of the most beautiful girls in the prince's theater chapel were his mistresses. A portrait of the serf singer Anna Borunova, sister of the architect I.E., from 1821 has been preserved. Borunova, who was a “lordly lady”. The eighty-year-old prince took the eighteen-year-old serf ballerina Sofya Malinkina as his concubine. Since 1812, N.B. Yusupova was supported by a talented ballerina, Didelot's student, Ekaterina Petrovna Kolosova. She was 18 years old at the time. A marble slab recently unearthed from the ground in the village of Spas-Kotovo (now the city of Dolgoprudny), where Prince N.B. is buried, told about it. Yusupov. On the slab there is an inscription in Latin letters - the name of the ballerina and the dates of her life. From Yusupov, Ekaterina Petrovna had two sons, Sergei and Pyotr Nikolaevich. The prince came up with the name Gireysky for them - in memory of the Crimean khans Girey, the ancestors of the Yusupov princes. E.P. Kolosova died at only 22 years old, and her sons are depicted in a painting by the same Nicolas de Courteil from 1819, stored in Arkhangelskoye. Peter died at the age of seven, and Sergei Nikolaevich lived comfortably, mainly abroad.
When Yusupov was the head of the Kremlin expedition, young A.I. worked for him. Herzen. In Past and Thoughts, Herzen talks in detail about how Prince Yusupov sent him for three years to study at Moscow University. In 1826, a young girl Vera Tyurina, the sister of the architect assistant of the Kremlin expedition E.D., approached the prince with some matter. Tyurin, who worked a lot in Arkhangelskoye. The prince offered her 50 thousand rubles on the condition that she surrender to him. The girl left, saying that she didn’t need a million. And when a year later her two brothers were arrested for participating in the secret student organization of the Kritsky brothers, Prince Nikolai Borisovich again offered Vera Tyurina to belong to him in exchange for the release of her brothers. The girl refused again. One brother was imprisoned in the Shlisselburg fortress, and the other was exiled.
Pushkin married N.N. Goncharova and gave a ball for close friends in his new apartment on Arbat. Prince N.B. Yusupov got into his gilded carriage and set off along the winter route from Arkhangelsk to Moscow, invited by Pushkin. Moscow postal director Bulgakov wrote to his brother in St. Petersburg: “The glorious Pushkin gave a ball yesterday. Both he and she treated their guests wonderfully. She is lovely, and they are like two doves. God grant that this always continues. Everyone danced a lot, and so The company was small, so I also danced at the request of the beautiful hostess, who engaged me herself, and on the orders of old man Yusupov, who also danced with her: “And I would still dance if I had the strength,” he said.”
Prince Yusupov died in 1831 in his beloved Arkhangelsk, and not at all from old age, but from cholera, which was then rampant in the Moscow region. This news extremely upset Pushkin. “My Yusupov died,” he says bitterly in one of his letters. A nobleman of such high rank and fortune could have been buried at the Novodevichy Cemetery in Moscow or in the Alexander Nevsky Lavra in St. Petersburg. But the prince bequeathed to bury himself next to the grave of his mother in the small estate of Spas-Kotovo near Moscow, on the Klyazma River. There, peasants carried his coffin from Arkhangelskoye in their arms, and there he was buried in a stone tent attached to the Church of the Savior Not Made by Hands. The grave and church have been preserved near the current Vodniki station of the Savelovskaya railway.
With the death of the grandson of Prince Nikolai Borisovich Yusupov Jr., who was vice-director of the Public Library in St. Petersburg and an honorary member of the Paris and Rome Conservatories, the male line of the glorious family was cut short. The only heir was the beautiful princess Zinaida Nikolaevna Yusupova. Under her rule, at the turn of the 19th-20th centuries, artists, performers and musicians began to come to Arkhangelskoye again. She was the wife of the Moscow Governor-General Count F.F. Sumarokova-Elston, and her portraits were painted by famous artists Serov and Makovsky. So that the glorious family would not fade away, the count was ordered to also be called Prince Yusupov. Their son, Prince Felix Yusupov, Count Sumarokov-Elston, was married to the niece of Emperor Nicholas II and is known as the organizer of the assassination attempt on Rasputin in December 1916. He died in exile in Paris in 1967. Today his granddaughter Ksenia Nikolaevna, married to Sfiri, lives in Greece, whose only daughter Tatyana no longer speaks Russian.
The life of Prince Nikolai Borisovich Yusupov was brilliant. A bright star shone in cultural life Russia is his great-granddaughter Princess Zinaida Nikolaevna. And the glorious family in history faded away.