The Yusupovs. Part 5. Nikolai Borisovich. "Brilliant Catherine's nobleman"
Prince Nikolai Borisovich Yusupov
Prince Nikolai Borisovich Yusupov (October 15 (26), 1750 - July 15, 1831, Moscow) - statesman, diplomat (1783-1789), art lover, one of the largest collectors and patrons in Russia, owner of the Arkhangelskoye and Vasilyevskoye estates near Moscow.
Official positions held: chief manager of the Armory and the Expedition of the Kremlin structure, director of the Imperial Theaters (1791-1796), director of the Hermitage (1797), headed the palace glass, porcelain and tapestry factories (since 1792), senator (since 1788), active privy councilor ( 1796), minister of the Department of Appanages (1800-1816), member of the State Council (since 1823).
The exact date of birth of Prince Nikolai Borisovich Yusupov has not yet been established by historians, despite the fact that the biography of this, perhaps the brightest representative of the dynasty, has been studied for more than two hundred years. In the two-volume collection of Prince N. B. Yusupov Jr. “On the family of the Yusupov princes”, the following date of birth of the prince is given - October 15, 1751.
The first years of his life passed under the close influence of his father, who was very concerned about the future of his only son. In the eighteenth century, in the society of the Russian nobility, male infants were almost immediately enrolled in the army, as they used to say - "in the regiment." Children from influential families ended up in the Life Guards regiments.
Father - Prince Boris Grigoryevich Yusupov
The Yusupov family was also no exception. It is unlikely that anyone could have guessed that a brilliant diplomat and a radiant humanist scholar would grow out of Kolenka Yusupov. Nikolai Borisovich was enrolled in the Horse Regiment of the Life Guards, and, while still listening to lullabies, he began serving the ruler Elizabeth Petrovna, which he continued until her death. In 1755, the little prince received the rank of cornet. It was the first significant event in his life. On this occasion, a portrait was painted from him, where he appears in the form of a cornet. A small cornet, dressed in a uniform, proudly posed for the artist. Surprisingly, since childhood, Kolenka did not like to play with soldiers and other toys. Indeed, it is rare that a boy does not love this!
Nikolai Yusupov in childhood
At court, the Yusupov family was referred to as adherents of the Western way of life, but in everyday life and everyday life they preferred the customs of their native antiquity. This had to do with both Nicholas and his sisters. In the first years of their lives, nannies were their faithful companions, then, from the age of six, tutors and foreign governesses were engaged in their upbringing. The services of foreigners were resorted to not only because of the high value of foreign education in Russia, but also because at that time foreign languages were used daily in court society, as well as in high society.
The religious and moral upbringing of children in Russia was usually done by the mother, the guardian of the family hearth. Princess Irina Mikhailovna Yusupova was an amazing woman. She was characterized by modesty, gentleness, a simple disposition, but, at the same time, a firm, especially in matters relating to faith, character.
There was an incredibly touching and warm relationship between mother and son, Irina Mikhailovna and Nikolai Borisovich. She selected books for him, ordered his childhood portrait, in which he is depicted in an officer's uniform. And already years later, when Nikolai Borisovich was in old age, he bequeathed to his descendants to be buried next to his mother.
Princess Irina Mikhailovna Yusupova, nee Zinoviev
Irina Mikhailovna was a very wise woman. She spent a lot of time reading this or that book. Apparently, this quality was passed on to her son from her. In addition, she instilled in him love and deep reverence for the faith.
Nikolai Borisovich had an excellent education, which was not limited to communication with tutors. His father, who often used his official position, as well as the respect of the cadets and teachers of the Cadet Corps for him, often invited them home to share “sciences” and other knowledge with Nikolenka. The teachers of the young prince were many immigrants from Holland, who, as is known, influenced Peter the Great, and the formation of the new Russia, and St. Petersburg with its ways. And they really had a lot to learn. Nikolai Borisovich took from these lessons not only colossal knowledge and skills, but such character traits as punctuality, perseverance, perfectionism. This allowed the prince to be fluent in five languages already at a relatively young age.
Nikolai Yusupov in childhood
Nikolai Borisovich throughout his long life did not stop learning, he had an unusually inquisitive mind. He was also fluent in Russian, both literary and colloquial. The Russian language was taught to Yusupov, according to the then custom, by a deacon. Perhaps that is why in the princely orders, which he wrote on his own, traces of the possession of Church Slavonic letters are clearly felt. Of considerable importance in the education of the young Prince Yusupov were books that entered his life and consciousness early. Parents managed to lay a good foundation for his future library, which still amazes with its scale. Irina Mikhailovna, knowing about her child's hobbies, often spoiled him with book gifts.
F. Titov. "Princess Irina Mikhailovna Yusupova laying out cards." October 30, 1765 Bas-relief. GMUA.
The military career of the prince developed in parallel with home schooling. In 1761, Nikolai Borisovich was transferred from cornet to second lieutenant of the Life Guards Horse Regiment. When he was sixteen years old, Yusupov entered active military service. In 1771, Nikolai Borisovich was recommended as a lieutenant, and at this stage his military service ended.
F. Titov. "Life Guards Cavalry Regiment Lieutenant Prince Nikolai Yusupov". October 6, 1765 Bas-relief. GMUA.
From 1772, the civil service dates back to the very young and inexperienced in the affairs of the state chamber junker of the Imperial Court, Prince Nikolai Borisovich Yusupov. He chose the Collegium of Foreign Affairs as his service. And, I must say, he was in his place - knowledge of five European languages, rules of etiquette, court manners, the ability to understand various political intrigues and ups and downs made the prince a valuable employee.
Chamber junker, artist Vitaly Ermolaev.
In 1774, one major event took place in the life of Prince Nikolai Borisovich Yusupov. At twenty-three, he became a member of the Petersburg English Club, which at that time had existed for less than five years.
For many years, Prince Yusupov lived far from his homeland, abroad. But all this time he managed not to leave the membership of the club, paying the due annual fee on time, so that after each return he would not expose himself to new elections for members of the club and not languish in anticipation of a vacant vacancy for membership.
Facade of the mansion of the English Assembly on the Palace Embankment. Photogr. 1910s
The English Assembly (English Club), "The English Club" - one of the first club institutions in Russia - was founded on March 12, 1770 with the permission of Empress Catherine II by F. Gardner and K. Gardiner, English entrepreneurs on the model of English clubs, as "a collection of pleasant interlocutors".
F. Gardner
For a whole year, that is, two terms in a row, the prince was obliged to fulfill the troublesome duties of the club foreman, and this despite the fact that at that very time he already occupied more than one responsible state position, which required a lot of time and effort. This happened after Nikolai Borisovich returned from Europe, performing diplomatic service.
The prince for 57 years, taking into account short breaks, was in the English clubs of the capitals of Russia, where he spent time in club halls. He dined there, was fond of card games, and had lively conversations with acquaintances. Companions in the club sometimes turned to Nikolai Borisovich with requests to help in the service or in other matters. And, I must say, the prince almost never refused, trying to help everyone. The only exception was money - Nikolai Borisovich did not lend.
One of the living rooms of the St. Petersburg English Club, designed for a card game. Photogr. 1910s
Large dining room of the St. Petersburg English Assembly. Photogr. 1910s
Another interesting fact from the life of Prince Yusupov: he did not shy away from the society of the Masonic lodge. Moreover, Freemasonry in Russia at the end of the eighteenth century remained a phenomenon relatively closed to a wide section of educated society. Many representatives of the younger generation, mostly noble, to be more precise, of noble origin, tried to join the lodge, find out what its secret is, warm up their nerves with mysterious and sometimes terrifying Masonic rites. Freemasonry was also interesting to people of a more conscious age. Empress Catherine the Great, having familiarized herself with all the available Masonic materials, wrote to her permanent correspondent Grimm: more educated or wiser. Who does good for the sake of good, what need does he have for vows, eccentricities, in absurd and strange attire? ".
Of course, there is no reliable information about the degree of initiation of Nikolai Borisovich, but many details of his biography confirm the fact that Nikolai Borisovich had a very high degree. Simply, most likely, he did not reach this degree through the St. Petersburg lodges, where an audience like Radishchev lived. The most likely story is Yusupov's membership in the Masonic Order of Malta, where the prince could have joined during his first stay abroad. Given this circumstance, one can build a logical scheme for the promotion of the order in Russia under Paul I, and also guess the true reason for awarding Nikolai Borisovich with the highest and very rare distinction in the structure of the order - “ command". For the history of our state, it is not the fact or method of Yusupov's entry into the Masonic lodge that is of exceptional value, but the immediate result - Prince Nikolai Borisovich used his high Masonic connections only for the good of the state.
The history of what is meant by the phrase " secret diplomacy". Nikolai Borisovich spent quite a long time in relatively low government positions. But for some reason, it was he who was entrusted with the most difficult, sometimes delicate diplomatic tasks. Actively using his Masonic connections, Yusupov invariably carried out the tasks assigned to him with the highest dignity. True, at the same time, the prince tried not to forget about himself, replenishing his already rather large art collection through familiar Masonic artists with unique masterpieces, which in another case and under other circumstances would have been impossible to order even for huge money.
C. Lorrain. "The Abduction of Europe"
David. Sappho and Faon, Jacques Louis David
Some historians believe that Nikolai Borisovich was not a representative of the Masonic lodge, because history has not preserved documents confirming this fact. But, apparently, the Russian prince agreed with some of the ideas of the Brotherhood of Freemasons. As a rule, these ideas were directly related to the aesthetic ideals of the Enlightenment, and they also corresponded to his patronage. It is also known that the prince ordered paintings of frankly Masonic meaning and content, on which the most famous Masonic artists worked. It is also interesting that the doors of the workshops of the most famous masters of painting and sculpture, who were in lodges, were always open for Nikolai Borisovich. It is logical that getting through to such creative people with an order, and even a simple foreign nobleman without being in the longest line of his own kind, was considered something beyond the bounds of the possible. It remains only to guess and independently draw conclusions ...
Rembrandt. "Lady with an Ostrich Feather"
Correggio. "Portrait of a Lady"
In 1774, the prince filed a petition to go abroad. The archive of the Foreign Policy of the Russian Empire contains the Petition of Prince Yusupov addressed to Empress Catherine II for permission to leave for foreign lands to continue her studies: “Most Gracious Empress! If I didn’t have before my eyes the examples of my ancestors who served their Sovereigns with zeal and zeal, then my gratitude alone for all the favors of Your Imperial Majesty aroused in me the most zealous desire to make myself capable of Your service. For already a year and a half, as by Your Highest Imperial Majesty's permission, I have been practicing to acquire knowledge in foreign affairs; and as for the best success in this, my own review of the courts of Europe can greatly help me, I accept boldly to most humbly ask Your Imperial Majesty to dismiss me for four years both for studying in Leiden and for traveling. At that time, I can see all the European courts and take advantage of the directions and guidance of your ministers residing there ... ".
J. de Samsois “Portrait of Prince N.B. Yusupov" 1st half of the 1760s. GMUA miniature
The empress approved the prince's request. Having received letters of recommendation from her, in the spring of 1774, Nikolai Borisovich decided on his first long trip to Europe. With short breaks, it lasted almost twenty years, although who could think about it in those spring days ...
Miniature of Evdokia Borisovna Yusupova, Aloisy Petrovich Rokshtul (1798-1877)
During his trip, Yusupov spent some time visiting his sister in Mitava, and already in the summer of 1774, Nikolai Borisovich went to Leiden in order to attend certain scientific courses at the local university. The road from Courland to Holland then represented a rather long, but unique journey. For the young prince, with his inquisitive and flexible mind, this was an excellent opportunity for development and personal improvement. Yusupov visited Danzig, Berlin, The Hague, as well as other European cities that he met along the way.
Leiden, Bartholomeus Johannes van Hove
Studying in Leiden was not caused by the desire to get closer to fashion or emphasize their own prestige. On the contrary, the university gave Nikolai Borisovich exactly the knowledge to which he had long aspired and which he then used throughout his long life.
At the university, Prince Yusupov listened to lectures on law, philosophy, political history, and natural history. In addition, he studied botany, physics, chemistry, mathematics, anatomy. Moreover, he devoted much time and attention to foreign languages: Latin, Ancient Greek, Italian, English. And, of course, being an unusually creative nature, keenly interested in art, Nikolai Borisovich was fond of painting and music. During his student days, Yusupov finally strengthened his long-standing interest in antiquity, which was generally characteristic of representatives of the Enlightenment.
Leiden, J. carabain
In those days, it was necessary for a foreign student to have letters of recommendation. The French academician Villauzon wrote to L. K. Falkenar with unusual benevolence about his diligent student. He also handed Yusupov a letter of recommendation to the adviser to Justice Treskov in Copenhagen, in which he asked to assist Nikolai Borisovich during his trip to Denmark. These were the words: “Prince Yusupov, who will give you this letter, is a Russian gentleman ... I will not repeat what I have already had the honor to tell you about the breadth and depth of his extensive knowledge, especially in Greek ... This is one of the most prominent people Europe". And some time later, in confirmation of these flattering words, in 1779 the society of antiquities in Kassel, which was founded by Landgrave Frederick II of Hesse, chose " famous for his knowledge» Prince Nikolai Borisovich Yusupov as an honorary member.
Frederick II of Hesse-Kassel
Kassel Friedrich Square in 1783 by Johann Heinrich Tischbein the Elder
And on the route plan after Holland was England. It is known that the Russian society of the middle of the eighteenth century adored everything English no less than everything French. Counts Vorontsov were considered the most important Anglophiles in Russia. So, Semyon Romanovich Vorontsov, served for several years as the Russian ambassador to England and remained there to live even after his resignation. In England, Yusupov was attracted by the famous Oxford. There he was able to learn a lot of useful and interesting things.
Upon arrival in London in March 1776, Prince Nikolai Borisovich was promptly introduced to the royal society. Among the number of his new acquaintances was Beaumarchais. During several months spent in this city and in this high-society society, Beaumarchais and Yusupov developed very warm friendly relations.
Painting by Italian artist Canaletto "Thames and City". 18 century.
In 1781, the prince was granted the position of actual chamberlain of the Imperial Court. It is worth noting that the applicant for such a high rank of Chamberlain of the Imperial Court had rather serious requirements. By the way, this applicant did not have outstanding external data and, as delicately expressed in the time of Catherine the Great, did not " got in the wrong". The prince just met these requirements both with his education, wealth, family status, age, and outstanding appearance. All of the above qualities gave him reason to act as a legitimate contender for the title of court official of the highest rank. Apparently, it was during that period of life that a story happened to Nikolai Borisovich, which was bashfully pointed out by one picture with a mythological plot from the prince's collection.
Emperor Pavel the First treated Prince Yusupov with great respect. He was well aware that statesmen of such high level few in Russia. Therefore, once on the throne, he turned to Yusupov with a request: to hide " away» one of the paintings in the princely collection. It was in the plot, which symbolized the union of the ancient gods Venus and Apollo. But in a strange way, the images of half-naked celestials very much resembled Prince Yusupov and Empress Catherine the Great herself. Pavel Petrovich often felt a sense of shame for his mother, especially since some of the favorites were old enough to be her sons. Nikolai Borisovich complied with the imperial request, but not without bewilderment. In the time of Catherine, in the era of Enlightenment, not such canvases were opened to the eye of an enthusiastic viewer ...
F. Bush. Hercules and Omphale. Book gallery Yusupov
The reason for writing an ambiguous picture on the ancient story was the fact of the return of Nikolai Borisovich from abroad.
The story with the plot of the picture is nothing more than another love impulse of the prince's loving and tender heart, and not at all a subtle political and prudent move. Catherine did not need much time to appreciate the mental merits and talents "oh one of the most eminent men of Europe." And men with mere virtues already surrounded her everywhere.
Kalinovskaya Ekaterina. Foundation of the Hermitage
Nikolai Borisovich Yusupov for many years was not only a confidant of the Empress, but also a good friend. She could, with complete confidence and calmness, entrust the prince with the most delicate and responsible diplomatic missions. Moreover, Yusupov was her personal agent for the acquisition of art exhibits to replenish the Hermitage and other palaces. Catherine corresponded with the prince. Their dialogue was moderately friendly and flirtatious, which speaks volumes.
Balobanova Ekaterina Sergeevna, "Catherine the Great. Creation of the Hermitage."
Unfortunately, there are few surviving portraits of the prince, depicting him young and handsome. On them, he looks like a slightly haughty young man. It is not unknown that the Empress easily fell under the spell of youth. It was not for nothing that her last favorite was Count Zubov, who was distinguished by his beauty and youth, while the queen was far from a young person. So in the case of Yusupov, we can say that everything just coincided: Nikolai Borisovich was the greatest statesman of his time, and the empress could entrust an impeccable diplomat with the solution of any issues. What exactly circumstances contributed to the possible rapprochement between the prince and Catherine - this is nobody's business. known secret. But the fact that their friendship lasted until the last days is a fact.
G. F. Fuger. Portrait of Prince N. B. Yusupov, 1783 (detail) State Hermitage Museum (St. Petersburg)
And no matter what community or club Nikolai Borisovich was in, he always used his connections for the good of the country.
In 1783, the prince's diplomatic career began with the rank of envoy. Catherine the Second signed the “Decree” of the Collegium of Foreign Affairs “On the Appointment of the Chamberlain of the Court of Her Majesty Prince N. B. Yusupov as Envoy Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Minister to the Royal Sardinian Court”. The prince was endowed by nature with a sharp analytical mind, a strong will, a rare grip, refinement, the ability to find a way to the mind and heart of any person. Amazing intuition and the caution and ability to prevent undesirable developments, as well as the ability, if not by force, then by patience and cunning, to achieve the set goal.
Turin, Bernardo Bellotto
These qualities helped the prince not only in everyday life, but also in professional diplomatic activity. One more important point should be added to this - the brilliant education of Prince Yusupov, as well as fluency in five European languages.
The few Russian travelers who happened to meet Nikolai Borisovich in Italy noted with some irritation that he, even while abroad, led his usual way of life - he constantly attended opera, concerts and balls. Also, according to contemporaries, Nikolai Borisovich was considered an excellent ballroom dancer. It is easy to imagine him in a dance - a graceful, well-moving, almost ideal partner, somewhat resembling a French marquis, and not at all a Tatar prince, as some believed.
Theater in Turin, Giovanni Michele Graneri (Torino, 1708-1762)
It is not surprising that Nikolai Yusupov was surrounded by the most beautiful and interesting women all the time in Italy. Temperamental and free from prejudice, they looked with pleasure at the seeming violation of possible decorum. And their husbands were not scattered about this, because no one forgot about princely gratitude.
He often left the Court of Turin: to listen to new music, to unwind in a pleasant female company. In fact, people who did not know Yusupov assumed so. In fact, the prince did not have fun, but performed responsible state tasks. The Empress entrusted him with work on serious diplomatic assignments of a rather delicate nature, the essence of which was that it required " legal cover"- post of ambassador to a small state. But the most important and serious were Yusupov's negotiations with the Pope himself.
Royal hunting palace of Stupinigi, Turin suburb. Lithograph by Demetrio Festa after a drawing by Enrico Gonin
In 1785, Count Andrei Kirillovich Razumovsky, who was directly related to the salon of the Moscow English Club on Tverskaya, showed himself at the Court of the King of Naples ugly and inappropriate for his status. The born prince Yusupov was forced to come to the court and correct the matter in order to be rehabilitated before the king. Otherwise, a serious diplomatic scandal threatened. The Neapolitan royal family was offended. Nikolai Borisovich, not without difficulty, achieved an audience with King Ferdinand the First, to whom he conveyed the most sincere apologies of Empress Catherine II. The matter has been corrected.
Ferdinand I and his family (1783) Angelika Kaufman
In 1788, Yusupov was destined to be in Naples again. He was in very difficult negotiations with the Royal Court over the deteriorating relations between Russia, Sweden and Turkey. Russia needed the neutrality of European states. Its observance directly depended on the notorious " public opinion". The prince's negotiations with the diplomats of England and Austria turned out to be difficult. But in the evenings, Nikolai Borisovich had an excellent opportunity to attend his favorite La Fenice theater.
Ferdinand I, Naples, unknown artist
In 1784, Nikolai Borisovich visited the Vatican, he received an audience with Pope Pius VI himself. This reception was preceded by a secret instruction received from Empress Catherine II: “Noble Faithful to Us! Deviating from the Court of Turin, direct your path to Rome, where you will appear as a Cavalier of Our Court, having a special commission to the Possessor There, and not at all in the form of a Minister characterized, so as otherwise not to have the need to establish a new ceremonial, and therefore not to be found in case of any difficulty with your stay in Rome ... ".
Casper van Wittel
Portrait of Pope Pius VI (1717-1799), Pompeo Batoni
To solve the difficult problems of the foreign policy direction, the position of temporary envoy in Rome did not provide Yusupov with special opportunities both in the political and diplomatic sense. It was here that the prince's personal Masonic connections came to the rescue. Nikolai Borisovich, as a private individual, not only received a papal audience, but also achieved the location of the Papal court: “... a separate independent existence in the Russian Empire of the Roman Catholic flock, thanked for the gift of the Mogilev Archbishop Sestrentsevich, who was close to the Russian Imperial House, a palladium and the elevation to the cardinals of the former in Russia Papal Ambassador Arcotti". In addition, the empress, through Yusupov, expressed her desire to raise Sestrentsevich to the cardinals.
Archbishop Stanislav Bogush-Sestrentsevich
The Church of St. Stanislaus in the village of Molyatichi, built at the direction of S. Bogush-Sestrentsevich as a miniature copy of St. Peter's Basilica
To the surprise of everyone, the Pope received Yusupov so generously that he even allowed the prince to arrange a copy of the best picturesque decorations of the Vatican. Before Nikolai Borisovich, no one could obtain such permits in such volumes. It is worth noting that after, too.
In Italy, Nikolai Borisovich managed to collect a huge collection of works of art. A special place in it was occupied by painting and sculpture. Yusupov visited the workshops of almost all famous artists, bought up the works of old masters, but even at that time they were already considered a great curiosity. Russian aristocrats often tried to sell old copies that were passed off as genuine works of artists. Over time, everything became clear - the Yusupov collection has long been recognized as the largest private collection in Europe.
Nicholas Lancre. Society at the edge of the forest. Late 1720s. Canvas, oil. Pushkin Museum
S. Ricci. Childhood of Romulus and Remus. 1708-1709. Canvas, oil. GE
Upon his return to Russia, Nikolai Borisovich became the most prominent figure in the outgoing decade of the reign of Empress Catherine the Great. During this time, he actually led the Russian artistic life, being the official and unofficial trendsetter of Russian artistic life. Once in St. Petersburg, Yusupov looked in the eyes of his compatriots as a man who had something to learn from and who wanted to imitate.
I.B. Lumpy Sr., Ya.F. Hackert. "Portrait of Prince Nikolai Borisovich Yusupov with a dog." Between 1786 and 1789 GE. The portrait was painted by order of N.B. Yusupov in Italy.
Returning from Europe, the prince now and then visited the Court, was a member of the intimate circle of the empress, which took place in the Winter Palace without any special ceremonies. He, among the few courtiers, was allowed to come to Catherine without any prior invitations. Perhaps such attention was also due to the fact that Prince Yusupov always remained a very pleasant, mannered and gallant person in communication.
An unknown Italian (?) artist, after a drawing by M.I. Makhaev. View of the Winter Palace
Upon returning to his homeland, the prince no longer found his seriously ill mother, Princess Irina Mikhailovna, alive. A couple of months before her death, on January 20, 1788, Irina Mikhailovna wrote and sent Nikolai Borisovich her last letter, filled with the warmest feelings and maternal love, as well as pride in her adored and only son, whom, as she herself expected, she would never see again. succeeded. Obviously, Yusupov physically could not come from Italy to Russia for his mother's funeral - the road would require at least a month. Even diplomatic mail was not delivered without difficulty.
F. Titov. "Portrait of Princess Irina Mikhailovna Yusupova for embroidery." 1765. GMUA.
In October 1792, Yusupov headed the Imperial Porcelain Factory, which soon glorified the imperial family, as well as Russian art. Nikolai Borisovich managed to organize porcelain production so remarkably that during the first half of the nineteenth century the factory did not even have worthy and serious competitors among the numerous private enterprises throughout Russia. Could not withstand competition with the Imperial plant and his own, Prince Yusupov, which appeared in the next century.
"Imperial Porcelain Factory"
Prince Nikolai Borisovich was also known as a brilliant " production organizer". He skillfully managed to identify and place competent, competent and proven people in the most responsible positions. Of course, there were some mistakes, but this happened rarely. Nikolai Borisovich over the years perfectly knew human nature, easily determined the strengths and weaknesses of this or that interlocutor, was indulgent to the shortcomings of his neighbor. He always personally monitored the result of his work. Directly production process He was practically not interested. With their "confidants", as they say, the prince valued them very much, helped them in every possible way, asked for ranks, titles, pensions, government apartments, firewood and even candles for them, and much more. In that era, such "caring The relationship between the boss and subordinates seemed more than strange. More often they surprised the younger contemporaries of Nikolai Borisovich in the nineteenth century, when he lived in Moscow and commanded the Kremlin officials.
Prince Nikolai Borisovich Yusupov
We can say that the prince managed to live not one, but several lives. He was an aristocrat, a noble of the empress, a rich man, a state dignitary, an excellent economist. However, the happiest and longest was Yusupovskaya " life in art". It was incredibly multifaceted and contained a focus on musical, dramatic and ballet theatres, symphonic music and musical compositions. Nikolai Borisovich was extremely passionate about collecting works artistic culture representing such genres as painting, sculpture, arts and crafts, the development of landscape gardening ensembles, literature, work with translations of figures of antiquity, books. And this list, which is no longer short, did not include all the prince's hobbies, to which he paid his main attention and what he was fond of quite professionally.
Dedicated to the 240th anniversary of the founding of the Moscow English Club.
Jean Joseph Vivienne. “Portrait of Prince N.B. Yusupov. Lithograph based on the original by I.B. Lumpy Sr. Collection of the Moscow English Club.
Illustrations for publication from the collection of the Arkhangelskoye State Museum-Estate and the author's archive
O.E. Matveev, Co-Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Arkhangelskoye State Museum-Estate, Chairman of the Board of the Moscow English Club.
The Moscow English Club, founded in 1772, is one of the oldest public organizations in Russia. Over the long 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 initiative 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 the nationalization of 1918, there was a special hall called the Portrait Hall. Here, according to tradition, portraits of Russian emperors were placed, during whose reign the club existed, with the exception of Paul I, who banned club meetings. In addition to the royal ones, portraits of prominent members of the English Club were placed in the hall.
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 collects the former Portrait. Picturesque portraits are located in the office of the club's board, and stories about the members of the club are placed in the magazine published by the English club and books, the author of which is Alexei Butorov.
In the first book - "Moscow English Cube. Pages of History”, released in 1999, has a special chapter “Portrait Room”. In 2002, the book Patrons and Gatherers of the Moscow English Club was published, which continued the description of prominent personalities who were members of the club in different years. And now the reader has 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 art collection in Europe 1st half of XIX century, a 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, performing the duties of a club foreman.
This book, written by the club's historiographer Alexei Vyacheslavovich Butorov on the occasion of 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. At the initiative of the club, the Board of Trustees of the State Museum-Estate "Arkhangelskoye" was created and is actively operating, co-chaired by the current members of the English Club: Chairman of the Russian Academy of Architecture and Building Sciences A.P. Kudryavtsev, the author of these lines, Chairman of the Board of the Moscow English Club O.E. Matveev and President of the Union of Museums of Russia, Director of the State Hermitage Museum, 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 Arkhangelskoye State Museum-Estate.
In history, there are personalities that seem to be well-known, very noticeable, but, as it were, relegated to the background by descendants. Among them is Prince Nikolai Borisovich Yusupov (1751–1831), who once held the position of one of the first nobles of the Russian Empire. During his lifetime, the prince earned himself the reputation of a refined connoisseur and connoisseur of beauty, a collector of the largest private art collection.
An exquisite setting for the princely collection was his Arkhangelskoye estate near Moscow, the artistic ensemble of which was decorated according to the tastes and predilections of the prince. His descendants supported the famous estate, partly replenished the collection, but were no longer able to embody any grandiose artistic ideas. On May 1, 1919, a historical and art museum was opened in Arkhangelsk, which celebrated its 90th anniversary in 2009, having gone through many difficult periods of activity over the years.
In a congratulatory telegram addressed to the staff of the museum, the Prime Minister Russian Federation V.V. Putin noted that “this anniversary is a real holiday for everyone who knows Russian 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 - regained its former brilliance. In 2001 in Moscow, in the Museum of 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 was held.
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 well-known cultural historian, writer and local historian, deputy chairman of the Old Moscow society, a member of the Moscow Local History Society. For the first time, the book contains a number of unique documents collected in the archives by the employees of the Arkhangelskoye Museum-Estate. At the same time, in the study of the life of Prince N.B. Yusupov, there are still many white spots, as the author informs the reader.
On behalf of the scientific team of the museum-estate "Arkhangelskoye" I express my deep gratitude to the initiator of writing and publishing this book - the Moscow English Club, known for its historical traditions of 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 preserve the integrity and further development of the Arkhangelskoye Museum-Estate.
V.V. Dlugach,
Director of the State Museum-Estate "Arkhangelskoye",
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 multiply!
The motto of the family of princes Yusupov
The life of another person who has long gone into the world, even though he left a noticeable mark on history, can hardly be fully revealed one hundred or two hundred years after his death, if he himself or his contemporaries did not leave at least brief biographical notes for posterity. Known facts of history do not always make it possible to find the causes of certain events, to reveal their influence on the fate of mankind or just one person.
A rich man, clever, courteous and courteous, Nikolai Borisovich Yusupov was also very handsome. And because the ladies liked it extremely. However, he lived to be forty years old, and was still not bound by the bonds of Hymen. No, having a tender and loving heart, he did not shy away from female society, moreover, there were rumors about the prince's numerous novels. But somehow it didn't work out...
And then the great empress took up the business of arranging the personal happiness of her old friend, who, among other excellent qualities, possessed a rare ability to sincerely be friends. She found a bride for Nikolai Borisovich. And what!
Jeweled Necklace of the Most Serene
The bride was Tatyana, the youngest of the five nieces of Prince Potemkin. His Serene Highness called the orphaned daughters of his sister a “necklace”, which he “hung” around his neck. He took care of the girls of Engelhard, was engaged in the arrangement of their destinies. And in the future, the loving uncle did not leave the families of his relatives without guardianship - he kept an eye on whether they had any need.
True, a tail of gossip trailed behind the necklace. It was said that the patronage of a brilliant uncle, who declared himself the "father" of young lovely girls, was accompanied by very dubious circumstances and feelings, very far from paternal. After all, then Grigory Alexandrovich Potemkin himself was in the prime of life and beauty.
Chevalier de Corberon, a diplomat at the court of Catherine, who collected all the gossip and rumors, was happy to inform Versailles about the scandalous decline in morals in Russia. Indeed, in gallant France, of course, since the creation of the world, they have not heard of anything like this!
But, to be honest, in our time, such a relationship seems extremely unusual. Yes, what is there! Simply shocking! But for contemporaries it was not so.
It never occurred to anyone to perceive them as something exceptional, beyond the bounds of what is permitted. For example, Empress Catherine, who was well aware of everything, did not faint and did not remove the girls from herself. Gossip in society was rather facilitated by the fact of their defiant openness.
Engelhardt girls were all, as if by choice, nice, very clever, pretty faces. For each rich uncle gave a good dowry. In addition, marriage to the niece of the favorite of Catherine II guaranteed promotion to the happy spouse, and also promised to receive awards and ranks. In general, not one was left without a husband.
The youngest of the Engelgart maidens
Of course, no one knows exactly what happened behind closed doors in Prince Potemkin's palace. The degree of his closeness with each of his nieces is shrouded in obscurity, but it is believed that the youngest of them, Tatiana, was never the mistress of the “dear uncle”.
Friendly, feminine, possessing, as the same Corberon said, “that bizarre appearance that attracts more beauty,” she somehow immediately evoked a feeling of disposition and affection, which for many developed into affection for her.
Russian duchess tour
Relatives of the English royal dynasty still rarely visit St. Petersburg.
And in the 18th century, this happened even less frequently. Yes, and on the scale of Russia, the circle of people from Foggy Albion was then negligible and narrow. That is why in the summer of 1777 the St. Petersburg high society choked with delight, meeting the English aristocrat of the most blue blood. Even Catherine II cordially received an overseas guest, who was the Duchess Elizabeth Kingston, at her place in Tsarskoye Selo.
And the amazing lady splurged in the eyes of Russian nobles with her wealth, generosity, a collection of rare paintings, arranged receptions, gave dinners, charmed them with her sharp mind, her ability to carry on a conversation on any topic.
Not immediately, but soon in Russia they will figure out that the reputation of a noble high-flying bird is badly tarnished. Behind her stretches a train of grandiose scandals associated with her bigamy. And then the duchess will have to leave Russia and go on a trip to Europe.
But that hasn't happened yet. While the lady is blinding Petersburg, she is treated kindly by the Empress and spends a lot of time with Prince G.A. Potemkin. And then her attention is attracted by the youngest niece of the brightest.
The duchess is fascinated by the still fledgling Tatyana Engelhardt and wants to take her with her in order to educate the young lady, and in the future make her the heiress of her enormous fortune.
It is terrible to imagine what a young girl could learn from a cunning English lady who went through fire and water. But, apparently, it was not for nothing that Tatyana was called “very smart”, since she refused such a generous offer.
small digression
The uncle married off his youngest niece at the age of sixteen.
For his distant relative, Mikhail Sergeevich Potemkin, who turned 41 on his wedding day. Having been married for only six years, Tatyana lost her husband in the year when the magnificent prince of Taurida died unexpectedly in the steppe in the south of Russia ...
After the tragic death of uncle Grigory Potemkin, the thoughtful and serious Mikhail Sergeevich immediately went to Iasi to put in order the complicated financial affairs of his Serene Highness. But along the way he died under very suspicious circumstances. It was whispered that the reason for this was his excessive honesty, which was not entirely appropriate where sums of millions of rubles were spinning.
The young widow had two children in her arms - a boy and a girl, the goddaughter of Catherine II. The daughter will grow up and marry Count Alexander Ivanovich Ribopierre. A baby will appear in their family, who will be named after her grandmother Tatyana. And now (just don't fall off your chair!) - time will pass, and she will become the next Princess Yusupova. But let's not get ahead of ourselves just yet...
What is needed for family happiness?
So, in 1793, in the church of the Winter Palace, the marriage of the charming Tatyana Vasilievna Potemkina with Nikolai Borisovich Yusupov, one of the most enviable suitors of Russia, took place. The newlyweds had everything one can dream of - nobility, beauty, health, wealth, favor of the powerful of this world.
What else is needed for a happy marriage? Heir? A year later, this wonderful couple was happy with their newborn son Boris. Another boy will be born in the family soon! But that baby won't live long. And Princess Yusupova will then find out ...
Years passed, generations changed, but the curse came true strictly. The family has never been numerous. No matter how many children were born in one generation of the Yusupov family, only one heir always crossed the fatal limit of 26 years of age. The ancient punishment continued to mow down the male line of the family, as usual bypassing women. But just for now...
Did not work out…
The family happiness of Tatyana Vasilievna did not last as long as we would like, and as she deserved. But why?
And again, scientists and us together with them can only sigh sadly - get used to it, you will have to do it more than once! - in the papers from the huge Yusupov archives that have come down to our time, there is nothing that could shed light on this obscure episode of family history.
After 10 years, the couple began to live separately, each according to his own taste. But at the same time, they remained friends.
It can be assumed that they were too different people. Tatyana Vasilievna spent her childhood, before the famous uncle's rapid entry into favor, in provincial boredom and poverty. Perhaps that is why she preferred social life and entertainment to a secluded, measured life on the estate, raising children, reasonable and economical housekeeping.
Well, Prince Nikolai Borisovich Yusupov, a descendant of an ancient and noble family, like a fish in water, felt at secular receptions, adored balls, noisy festivities, loved theatrical performances, books. He did not spare money for the purchase of works of art for Arkhangelsk, which became a kind of personal museum.
And he was extremely passionate about the female sex in general and his serf actresses in particular. Until the last days, the temperamental prince had a stormy life with passionate amorous adventures.
The corner room closest to the prince's office in the Big House was during the life of Nikolai Borisovich his bedroom. Now there is an exhibition of captivating female heads in it, and the hall is called the Rotary Salon, after the name of an artist fashionable in Catherine's times.
In the portraits, all the girls are in village dresses, they are young, charming and carefree ...
This fact served as the basis for the legend that in this way the prince immortalized his beloved persons from the serf "actors", whom he gave with his love.
The strange life of the Yusupov princely couple
Despite the difficulties of relations, the prince and princess continued to be friends and help each other in every possible way. In the serious business of managing vast estates, the prince had to keep a lot under his personal control, while practical Tatyana Vasilyevna provided him with significant assistance.
She delved into the calculations, dealt with the nomenclature of many of her husband's enterprises. And the little things - it was the princess who decided what works the serf musicians would meet their master from distant trips with.
They even continued to exchange gifts. For example, in the Arkhangelskoye estate, which is replete with marble sculptures, not far from the Egyptian lions and next to the cannons, there are such incredibly pretty female sphinxes.
Powerful paws with claws, a strong back covered with a blanket, and defenselessly naked girlish breasts… Curls of hair covered with a handkerchief… A gentle, beautiful face… There is a short string of simple round beads on the neck, like peasant girls…
This cute couple is a gift from Tatyana Vasilievna to her husband. With a hint. They were placed right in front of the windows of the prince's office ...
In the prince's office
The office of Nikolai Borisovich is remote from the front apartments, lacks special beauty and is businesslike. Along the wall is a sofa, from the depths of the polished cabinets of Karelian birch, books shimmer with their golden spines. In the middle is a massive green morocco writing desk, on which an ink set and candlesticks have stood since the time of Prince Yusupov.
It is interesting that under the table on a curly bar - the so-called proleg, connecting the legs of furniture, also flaunts ... Well, of course, a sphinx woman!
In the office, the prince received the reports of the managers, from here his orders quickly scattered around the estates. Probably, in moments of reflection, he stood here at the window, looking at a quiet corner of the English part of the park and a beautiful gift from his wife.
Weaknesses of Princess Tatyana Vasilievna Yusupova
And it is true that the stingy and a little stingy Tatyana Vasilievna had her own costly weakness. She loved stones - both precious and with carved emblems and mottos. She had many of them - famous stones, each with its own history. Some of them are gifts from Prince Nikolai Borisovich.
Among other things, Tatyana Vasilievna owned an amazing oval pearl, which bore the name of Pelegrin. She, who was a real decoration of the princess's collection, will be sold by young Felix Yusupov at a desperate moment of emigrant lack of money. Well, two masterpieces by Rembrandt - to the heap. And the proceeds, which, if spent wisely, could be enough for many years, will easily be lowered ...
Amazing spouses did not avoid each other at all. On the contrary, Nikolai Borisovich, who was firmly established in his beloved Moscow estate, when he came to St. Petersburg, he certainly stayed at Tatyana Vasilievna's house. I don’t know how true it is, but in his memoirs Felix mentioned that the princess, for her stay in Arkhangelsk, chose the Kapriz park house.
Arkhangelsk Hermitage, where they are not allowed
In the good old days of the 18th century, not a single large estate was unthinkable without “hermitages”, or, as they were also called, “places of solitude”. They were separate buildings that housed art galleries or some art collections of the owners.
In fact, no solitude in the Hermitage was intended. It was just a place where a narrow circle of selected guests was invited for dinner and entertainment. Ekaterina, adored by Nikolai Borisovich, had her own Hermitage next to the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg. And there, too, masquerades and ceremonial dinners were held ...
In the western part of the park, the sun gilds the tall ship pines. From them comes a thick aroma of resin and pine needles ... Here is Caprice - a miniature ensemble of the "solitude corner" of the estate.
The Small Palace is a long building with a two-story central part. Under the noble prince Yusupov, it was luxuriously decorated, then it was in it that the female “heads” of Pietro Antonio Rotari were placed. Caprice had "its own garden", once decorated with sculptures and flower beds.
Now the decor of the sculptures has evaporated somewhere, in place of a charming garden there is only a modest flower bed, paint and plaster are peeling off the historical walls, all of them are dripping with rain. Looks like the building is in need of repair, at least cosmetic.
And what has been preserved inside from the former picturesque decoration and in what condition it is - we, mere mortals, are generally unknown. But it is known what great hopes the director of the museum, Vadim Zadorozhny, who, by the way, is also the owner of nearby, has on the reconstruction of the Arkhangelskoye Museum-Estate by its centenary.
Tea house and porcelain of the Arkhangelskoye estate
Another building, the so-called Tea House, adjoins the "Caprice".
How can one not recall the exquisite services and charming painted plates that were exhibited in the Grand Palace. Beautiful tableware filled the princely cupboards... All these miracles were used in the master's house for their intended purpose, except for the precious dishes from the Grand Dining Room.
Although the exception is this plate, which depicts the battle of the gods with the giants. After all, the 16th century...
Moreover, the prince presented his guests with items of Arkhangelsk porcelain - fortunately, it was produced right on the estate, where the "picturesque institution" worked.
The house is a preserved fragment of the library building. The fire that happened in 1829 destroyed its wooden parts, only the stone center was preserved. The small cube was restored, over time, for some unknown reason, it was called the Tea House, and also acquired a different purpose. On hot summer days, its through doors opened, and then the tiny round hall inside became a cozy gazebo for relaxation.
At one time it was used as a warehouse - to store the sculpture of Antokolsky (we will talk about this creation of the master!), What is its purpose at the present time - it is not known, the doors of the pavilion are firmly locked.
Prince Yusupov - nobleman and collector
Nikolai Borisovich enthusiastically collected works of art. His art collection is the largest private collection in Russia. It would be strange not to find works of the portrait genre in it. After all, it is always interesting to see how people of bygone eras looked, and especially the powerful of this world?
Perhaps it is not superfluous to recall here that Nikolai Borisovich faithfully served - one after another - four Russian emperors and was very closely acquainted with three more European monarchs. Portraits of Russian sovereigns hang in the Imperial Hall. This is a necessary symbol of loyalty and a sign of affection for the house of the Romanovs, Prince Yusupov, who more than once received tsars and members of their families in his Arkhangelsk estate near Moscow.
For thirty years, the prince traveled extensively in Europe. Not in the least constrained by means, he acquired many paintings. For the sake of large paintings by Robert and Tiepolo, even the premises had to be rebuilt Grand Palace. The halls are filled with porcelain vases he bought, bronze clocks, figurines and sculptures.
In the spacious and bright Antique Hall, high mirrors in carved frames reflect marble sculptures, original antiques and good copies of finds from the 1st-3rd centuries.
The famous library of the prince at the time of the death of Nikolai Borisovich Yusupov consisted of 30 thousand folios in different languages. It contained a lot of manuscripts, early printed and simply rare editions. There were a significant number of books on cooking, because the prince was a well-known friend of the stomach.
By the way, the design and interior arrangement of bookcases is the personal development of Nikolai Borisovich.
Now the library occupies several rooms on the second floor of the Grand Palace, and under N.B. Yusupov, most of his books and some of the collection of paintings were located in the western wing. Whereas in the east, where renovations are underway, there was a kitchen with office space. The main building was connected to the Wings by passages along double colonnades.
Portraits of the Yusupov princes of that generation
Perhaps you can't wait to get a visual representation of the heroes of our story? In the museum-estate Arkhangelskoye near Moscow, anticipating such a desire of visitors, they keep images of former owners, although not all portraits are originals. But it doesn't really matter to us, does it?
In the 18th century, only those portraits that were painted by foreign painters were quoted in high society. It was a kind of mark of belonging to the chosen circle. Before us is a portrait by Heinrich Fuger, in which the young Prince Yusupov is presented in the romantic form of a Spanish grandee - a scarlet cloak, lace, a black hat with a feather.
The portrait was not the result of a fashion fad, it was simply painted at a time when the Russian diplomat Nikolai Borisovich, the owner of an excellent artistic taste, was in Rome selecting works of art for the collection of Empress Catherine II.
And this is the work of the Austrian artist Johann Baptist Lampi, one of the best portrait painters of his time. By order of the owner, copies of this painting, which became a kind of official image of Nikolai Borisovich Yusupov, were to decorate all his estates.
A lovely woman - Princess Tatyana Vasilievna - was painted by many famous masters: Zh.L. Monier, I.B. Lumpy. The brush of Jean-Louis Voile made her portrait when she was Yusupov's bride.
It so happened that Marie Elisabeth Louise Vigee-Lebrun, one of the greatest artists of the 18th century, turned out to be the favorite portrait painter of the royal family. During the horrors of the French Revolution, it was dangerously close! When the unfortunate Marie Antoinette ended her life under the knife of the guillotine, the artist managed to escape the country from the rampaging crowds. By the will of fate, Vigee-Lebrun ended up in St. Petersburg, where she lived for almost seven years ...
Portrait of the prince's wife in a wreath of roses - the work of Elisabeth Vigée-Lebrun. Having some special attractive aura, it adorns one of the halls of the Big House in the Arkhangelskoye estate.
And this is the image of little Boris Yusupov in the image of Cupid, also painted by the same French artist. A lovely baby, mother's favorite, liked by everyone. And how could it be otherwise: “Laughter shone on his face. As if the apples are pouring, his cheeks were reddened ".
Tatyana Vasilievna Yusupova arranged home performances for the guests, in which all her children took part. The youngest of the sons - Borinka - at that time was Cupid and made a splash. And the poet Derzhavin immediately drew these poetic lines with inspiration ...
rss, EmailGeorgy Blyumin, doctor of technical sciences and professor of cultural studies, consultant of the company "Terra-Nedvizhimost", author of the book "Royal Road", continues a series of stories on the history of Rublyovka.
250 years ago in the family of the Moscow governor Prince Boris Grigoryevich Yusupov and his wife Irina Mikhailovna, nee Zinovieva, son Nikolai was born. Subsequently, Prince Nikolai Borisovich Yusupov would become the richest man in Russia. In his possession there will be estates not only in all the provinces of Russia, but also in almost every county. When asked if he had an estate in such and such a district, he usually answered: I don’t know, I need to ask the manager. The manager came with a memorial book under his arm, opened it - and almost always the estate was located. Here is an incomplete list of the positions that the prince held during his long life: Minister of the Department of Appanages, who was in charge of all imperial and grand ducal estates and palaces, president of the Manufactory College, director of imperial theaters, first director of the Hermitage and the Armory, commander of the Kremlin expedition and all porcelain and glass factories of Russia, member of the State Council. He had the highest rank of a real privy councilor of the first rank, was awarded all the orders of the Russian Empire and many foreign ones, so when they did not know what else to award him, they came up with a pearl epaulette specially for him, which the prince wore on his right shoulder and which no one else had. Incidentally, as chief executive imperial theaters Prince Nikolai Borisovich invented the numbering of rows and seats: earlier in the theater they sat where they had to.
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. In the same place, 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 stubbornly, 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, at one time was the lover of the queen. In any case, in his office in Arkhangelsk there was a picture in which he and Catherine were presented naked in the form of Apollo and Venus. Paul I, having ascended the throne, ordered this picture to be removed.
"The envoy of a young crowned wife," in Pushkin's words, 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 about his Arkhangelskoye estate near Moscow, which he eventually turned into a classically completed estate ensemble - Versailles near Moscow. Prince Yusupov was the supreme 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 authority. The names of the ancestors of the Russian princes Yusupov are constantly found on the pages of "A Thousand and One Nights", in the fairy tales of Scheherazade. The ancestors of Nikolai Borisovich Yusupov were emirs, caliphs and sultans with royal power in the entire ancient East - from Egypt to India. It was then they began to say and write that the Yusupovs come from Tatars. In Russia in the 15th - 16th centuries, every stranger 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. And to this day there are villages Fryazevo, Fryazino, Fryanovo, granted to him, near 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, India.
Approximately a thousand years after the reign of the reigning ancestors of the Yusupovs in the East, A.S. Pushkin will dedicate his famous "Message to a nobleman" to the Russian prince Nikolai Borisovich Yusupov, inspired by visits to Arkhangelsk:
Freeing the world from the northern shackles,
Only on the fields, flowing, marshmallow dies,
As soon as the first linden turns green,
To you, friendly descendant of Aristippus,
I will come to you; see this palace
Where is the architect's compass, palette and chisel
Your learned whim was obeyed,
And inspired in magic competed.
Pushkin calls the prince a descendant of Aristippus. In 1903, a bust of Pushkin with quotes from his message to Prince Yusupov, carved on a pedestal, will be 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 has a descendant of Aristippus. Why? The fact is that the philosopher, a Greek by birth, lived on the land of present-day 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 fellow believers, many respond to the call and, pressed by hostile circumstances, move from Arabia to the north, where they settled in the vast space between the Urals and the Volga. The Russians called this settlement the Nogai Horde. The 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 this burned Moscow. Edigey also defeated the troops of the Lithuanian Khan Vitovt on the Vorskla River in 1339. Finally, he conquered the Crimea and founded the Crimean Horde there.
Edigei's great-grandson was called Musa-Murza and, as usual, had five wives. The name of the first, beloved wife of Kondaz. From her, Yusuf was born, 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 railway 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 rose hips with milky bird cherry shower this forgotten tomb with flowers!" The beautiful Suyumbeka was sung by the poet M.M. Kheraskov in his poem "Rossiyada". In 1832, the composer Glinka's ballet "Suyumbek and the conquest of Kazan" was performed with great success in St. Petersburg, where main party the famous ballerina A.I. Istomin. 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. In the 17th century, the grandson of Yusuf-Murza, Seyush-Murza, received the whole city of Romanov with a settlement (today's 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 took place that radically changed the life of Murza. The son of Seyusha-Murza named Abdul-Murza received Patriarch Joachim in Romanov. It was a fast day, and the host, out of ignorance of the Orthodox fasts, fed the guest a goose. The patriarch ate the goose, saying: your fish is good, prince! He should remain silent, but he would take it and say: “This is not a fish, your Holiness, but a goose. The patriarch, no matter how full he was, became angry and upon his arrival in Moscow told the whole story to Tsar Fyodor Alekseevich. He, as a punishment, deprived the Murza of all previous awards, and the rich suddenly became a beggar. Abdul-Murza thought for three days and decided to accept Orthodoxy.
He was baptized in one of the churches of the same city of Romanov under the name Dmitry, and he came up with a surname for himself in the old Russian way: Yusupovo-Knyazhevo. So the Russian prince Dmitry Seyushevich Yusupovo-Knyazhevo appeared. All 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 on the same night, Prince Dmitry Seyushevich had a vision: a certain ghost clearly told him that from now on, for betraying the faith, in every tribe of his family there will be no more than one male heir, and if there are more of them, then none of them, except for one, will not survive the age of 26 years. The most amazing thing is that looking back over four centuries of Yusupov's history, 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 vice-governor, and then governor of Moscow, a real privy councillor. And the next and again the only heir was Prince Nikolai Borisovich Yusupov - a friend of kings and emperors, an interlocutor and relative of A.S. Pushkin: after all, the ancestors of both came from North Africa. Among the highest awards of the empire, titles, stars and estates of the prince, the highest, of course, is the message to him by 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 Pushkinists, twice visited N.B. 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 Arkhangelsk on horseback, "and the enlightened nobleman of the Catherine's century received them with all the cordiality of hospitality," according to the memoirs of a contemporary. On the 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 Courteille, who was then working in Arkhangelsk. Pushkin writes in his message:
You are the same one. Stepping on your threshold
I am suddenly transported back to the days of Catherine.
Book depository, idols, and paintings,
And slender gardens testify to me
Why do you favor the Muses in silence,
With them in idleness you breathe noble.
I listen to you: your conversation is free
Full of youth. Influence of beauty
You feel alive. You enthusiastically appreciate
And the shine of Alyabyeva and the charm of Goncharova.
Carelessly surrounded by Corregion, Canova,
You, not participating in the unrest of the world,
Sometimes you look out the window mockingly at them
And you see the turnover in everything is circular.
The wife of Prince Nikolai Borisovich was Tatyana Vasilievna, nee Engelhardt, the native niece of His Serene Highness Prince Grigory Alexandrovich Potemkin-Tavrichesky. Several children were born in their marriage, but only one heir, Prince Boris Nikolaevich, survived to adulthood. At first, the couple lived in Arkhangelsk, in the Big House, and then Tatyana Vasilyevna wished to live separately from her husband and settled in the Kapriz Palace, mainly doing business at the Kupavinsky textile factory owned by Yusupov. The reason for the departure was the extraordinary womanly love of Prince Nikolai Borisovich. Many of his contemporaries noted this trait of his, but the Moscow ladies forgave him, given the prince's erudition and secular manners, and mindful of 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 garden of Arkhangelsk, where everyone was allowed to walk, the prince showed special attention to the ladies, 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 Kharitonevsky 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. Yusupov garden Pushkin mentions in his autobiography. In the garden, for example, an oak tree grew, entwined with a gilded chain, along which a huge fluffy toy cat with green eyes, designed by Dutch mechanics, went up and down. The movement of the cat was carried out according to a specially developed algorithm; while 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 recollections, at the same time promised to translate the cat's stories into Russian. The prologue to Pushkin's poem "Ruslan and Lyudmila" is almost completely "written off" by the poet from the Yusupov Garden; at the same time, the perception of the child, of course, is multiplied by the brilliant fantasy of the poet.
An interesting fact is that despite the almost half a century difference in age, Yusupov and Pushkin became friends and were with each other on you. As you can see, they had a lot to talk about. Pushkin eagerly listened to the prince's stories about the Catherine's age, about his travels in Europe and the East. Many of these stories were reflected in the works of the poet in the Boldin autumn of 1830 that followed their meeting. It is also interesting that Prince Nikolai Borisovich, with all his love interests, did not age at all; It was rumored that during his stay in Paris, he received from the hands of the famous adventurer Comte Saint-Germain the elixir of youth.
Pushkin shared with the prince his plans for the upcoming marriage. In his message there is an amazing characterization of the elderly nobleman: "You enthusiastically appreciate both the brilliance of Alyabyeva and the charm of Goncharova." Try to appreciate the charms of beauties in the eightieth year of age! Prince P.A. Vyazemsky tells about Yusupov: “He was of a prosperous constitution in flesh and in spirit, in worldly and moral terms. On the street his eternal holiday, in the house an eternal triumph of celebrations. There were pots with lush, fragrant flowers on the windows; cages with different singing birds; in the rooms there was a sound of wall clocks with sonorous chimes. Everything about him was luminous, 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, vast memory, loved scientists and artists, and even in his old age, venerable brought a tribute of surprise to the fair sex."
Many of the most beautiful girls in the prince's theatrical chapel were his mistresses. A portrait of 1821 of the serf singer Anna Borunova, the sister of the architect I.E. Borunova, who was a "master's lady". The eighty-year-old prince took the eighteen-year-old serf ballerina Sophia Malinkina as his concubine. Since 1812, N.B. Yusupova was supported by a talented ballerina, a student of Didlo, Ekaterina Petrovna Kolosova. She was then 18 years old. A marble slab recently unearthed from the ground in the village of Spas-Kotovo (now the city of Dolgoprudny), where Prince N.B. Yusupov. On the plate 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 only 22 years old, and her sons are depicted in the picture of the same Nicolas de Courteille of 1819, stored in Arkhangelsk. Peter died at the age of seven, and Sergei Nikolaevich lived comfortably, mostly abroad.
When Yusupov was the head of the Kremlin expedition, young A.I. worked for him. Herzen. In Past and Thoughts, Herzen tells in detail how Prince Yusupov seconded him for three years to study at Moscow University. In 1826, a young girl, Vera Tyurina, sister of E.D. Tyurin, who worked a lot in Arkhangelsk. The prince offered her 50 thousand rubles on the condition that she give herself to him. The girl left, saying that she did not need even a million. And when, a year later, two of her brothers were arrested for participating in a student secret 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 again refused. 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 the Arbat. Prince N.B. Yusupov got into his gilded carriage and set off on a winter journey from Arkhangelsk to Moscow, invited by Pushkin. The Moscow postmaster Bulgakov wrote to his brother in Petersburg: “The glorious Pushkin gave a ball yesterday. Both he and she treated their guests wonderfully. She is charming, and they are like two doves. God grant that it always goes on like this. Since the society was small, I also danced at the request of the beautiful hostess, who herself engaged me, and on the orders of the 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 then raged in the Moscow region. This news greatly upset Pushkin. "My Yusupov died," he says bitterly in one of his letters. A nobleman of such a high rank and fortune could be buried at the Novodevichy Cemetery in Moscow or at 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, in their arms, the peasants carried his coffin from Arkhangelsk, and there he was buried in a stone tent attached to the Church of the Savior Not Made by Hands. The grave and the church have been preserved near the current station of the Vodniki Savelovskaya railway.
With the death of the grandson of Prince Nikolai Borisovich Yusupov, Jr., who was the vice director of the Public Library in St. Petersburg and an honorary member of the Paris and Rome conservatories, the male line of a glorious family was cut short. The only heiress was the beautiful Princess Zinaida Nikolaevna Yusupova. Under her, at the turn of the XIX-XX centuries, artists, artists and musicians again began to gather in Arkhangelsk. She was the wife of the Moscow Governor-General Count F.F. Sumarokova-Elston, and famous artists Serov and Makovsky painted her portraits. So that the glorious family does not fade away, the count was also ordered to 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 lives in Greece, married to Sfiri, 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, his great-granddaughter Princess Zinaida Nikolaevna. And a glorious family in history died out.
B graphic guide persons mentioned in the letters from Tobolsk of the Empress Empress Alexandra Feodorovna and Her Children to Anna Alexandrovna Taneeva (Vyrubova). The letters are given in the book of A.A. Taneeva-Vyrubova "Pages of my life"
Mentioned:
Felix Feliksovich Yusupov-Sumarokov-Elston (03/11/24/1887, St. Petersburg - 09/27/1967, Sainte-Genevieve-des-Bois, Paris) - Prince (Yusupov), Count (Sumarokov-Elston), Felix Jr., "Felix III".
Enough has been said about Prince Felix Feliksovich Yusupov-Sumarokov-Elston (or simply Prince Felix Yusupov Jr.). Trying to add something is a hopeless business. And yet ... For some, Yusupov Jr. is the embodiment of the best qualities of the Russian aristocracy and nobility, one of the noblest, selfless, fearless husbands who committed a heroic deed, for others - a vicious representative of his kind, guilty of a serious crime. Or the third: book. F. Yusupov is a collective image that marked a special phenomenon in Russian life, lying at the origins of the Russian revolution.
For the first and last time in his life, this man committed an act of national importance that left such a significant mark on the history of Russia - he killed the peasant Grigory Rasputin. I would like to understand whether his actions were dictated by a case in which emergency circumstances entered into an insoluble conflict with the peculiarities and unique originality of nature, which led to such an excessive, grotesque, unjustified and momentary reflection, or a certain pattern emerged that began to form long before the appearance on the light of the titled heir to an ancient family, a bright representative of the world of Russian nobility, a secular handsome man and everyone's favorite - Felix Yusupov. The answer to this question is possible only as a result of the study of historical roots. However, even a brief review of the extensive history of the Yusupov family would significantly increase the already rather voluminous outline of his life. Therefore, we will briefly consider some of the most important circumstances in the biography of Prince Felix Yusupov Jr.
Yusupovs
Princess Zinaida Nikolaevna Yusupova with her sons at the Arkhangelskoye estate near Moscow
Prince Felix Yusupov at a costume ball, 1903
The Yusupovs were not only the most noble, but also the richest people Russian Empire. Their state of late XIX- the beginning of the 20th century was fabulous and was estimated at several tens of millions of rubles, provided in Tsarist Russia gold. L.P. Minarik gives the following figures: “In 1900, the value of their estates, dachas and houses was 21.7 million rubles, including the cost of St. Petersburg houses - 3.5 million rubles, the Moscow house - 427.9 thousand rubles, anthracite mine - 970 thousand rubles, sugar factory - 1.6 million rubles, cardboard and paper factories - 986 thousand rubles. In 1900, the Yusupovs owned 23 estates; the largest of them were estimated: Rakitnoye - 4 million rubles, Milyatinskoye - 2.3 million rubles, Klimovskoye - 1.3 million rubles, Arkhangelskoye - 1.1 million rubles. By 1914, the Yusupovs had 3.2 million rubles. securities kept in the State Noble, Moscow Merchant, Azov-Don, St. Petersburg International, St. Petersburg Commercial and Industrial and Russian for Foreign Trade Banks. [Minarik. UK. cit.]
On the father's side, the pedigree of Felix Jr. begins with his grandfather, Adjutant General Count Felix Nikolaevich Elston (1820 - 1877). According to rumors, he was the illegitimate son of Prince Friedrich-Wilhelm-Ludwig of Prussia and Catherine Feodorovna Tizenhausen (1803-1888) - the maid of honor of the Empress Empress Alexandra Feodorovna (wife of Emperor Nicholas I). These rumors were confirmed by his grandson Prince Felix Yusupov (Jr.) in his memoirs. However, according to another version of F.N. Sumarokov-Elston was the son of the unmarried Baron Hugel and the Hungarian Countess Forgach, nee Andrássy, while Ekaterina Tizenhausen was only his adoptive mother. One way or another, but by marrying Countess Elena Sergeevna Sumarokova (1829 - 1901) - the grandmother of Felix Yusupov Jr. on his father's side, Felix Nikolaevich acquired the dignity of a count along with the count's motto of the Sumarokovs: "One way without bends."
Father of Felix Yusupov Jr. - Prince Felix Felixovich Yusupov, Count Sumarokov-Elston - served in the Life Guards Cavalry Guards of Her Majesty Empress Maria Feodorovna Regiment (since 1879), adjutant of Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich (from 1886 to 1904), adjutant general of the retinue of Emperor Nicholas II, head of the Moscow military district (from May 5 to 19 June 1915), commander-in-chief in Moscow (Moscow governor) (until September 3, 1915).
In 1882 F.F. Sumarokov-Elston married Princess Zinaida Nikolaevna Yusupova (1861-1939). Since Zinaida Yusupova remained the only descendant of the Yusupov family, and with the death of her and her father the glorious Yusupov family was cut short, the Emperor Alexander III on December 2, 1891 issued a letter of commendation allowing the husband of Princess Zinaida Yusupova, Count Felix Feliksovich Sumarokov-Elston, to bear the title and surname wife and father-in-law and be referred to in the future as Prince Yusupov, Count Sumarokov-Elston, with the same title reserved for his wife, Princess Zinaida Nikolaevna Yusupova, Countess Sumarokova-Elston. This decision was contrary to the laws of the Russian Empire, but for them, as well as for their grandfather F.N. Sumarokov-Elston, an exception was made. Moreover, according to the royal will, the princely title and surname of the Yusupovs passed to the eldest male heir in the descendant line and only after the death of the holder of the title.
The mother of Felix Yusupov Jr. - Princess Zinaida Nikolaevna Yusupova, Countess Sumarokova-Elston cannot be likened to a "stingy knight" or an evangelical rich man. Owning treasures, she tried to separate from them those who needed them, which apparently constituted the hereditary trait of the Yusupov family. Avarice and stinginess were not part of their family traditions, which also emphasizes Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich, giving a place to Princess Zinaida Yusupova in his memoirs: “A woman of rare beauty and deep spiritual culture, she courageously endured the hardships of her enormous fortune, donating millions to charity and trying to alleviate human need. She got married a few years before my wedding and came to Ai-Todor accompanied by her handsome son Felix. Then I did not imagine that eighteen years later, my little Irina would be his wife. [Vel. book. Alexander Mikhailovich. UK. cit.]
As a member of the committee for the arrangement of the Museum of Fine Arts in Moscow, she donated about 50 thousand rubles. for the construction of the Roman Hall. At the expense of Princess Yusupova, an orphanage for orphans was opened at the Elizabethan Society; in August 1914, an infirmary for wounded soldiers was organized in Petrograd. And these are just some examples.
An important touch in the image inner world Zinaida Yusupova is her friendship with the Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna. Their rapprochement was facilitated by the fact that the estates near Moscow of the Yusupovs in Arkhangelsk and Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich in Ilyinsky were nearby. Princess Z.N. Yusupova shared the grief of Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna after the murder of her husband, Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich.
The Yusupov-Sumarokov-Elston family also maintained friendly relations with the Sovereign Emperor Nicholas II and the Empress Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, who were frequent guests of the Yusupovs in their Arkhangelsk estate near Moscow, as well as in the Crimea (Koreiz). Confirmation of this can be found in the Diary of Emperor Nicholas II, and in the memoirs of contemporaries, in particular, S.K. Bugsgewden. The visits were mutual.
Zinaida Nikolaevna became the mother of four boys. The two middle ones died in infancy. The elder brother Nikolai was killed on June 22, 1908 in a duel by the Horse Guards Count A.E. Manteuffel, the husband of Countess Marina Alexandrovna Manteuffel (ur. Heiden), with whom Nikolai Yusupov had an affair.
The originality of the nature of Felix Yusupov Jr.
Portrait of Felix Yusupov by Valentin Serov, 1903
The fourth and last child in the Yusupov family - Felix is named after his grandfather and father. Count Felix Feliksovich Sumarokov-Elston (junior) remained the only heir to the title and the entire fortune. He received the title of "Prince Yusupov" only in 1914 in connection with his marriage to the princess of imperial blood, Irina Alexandrovna Romanova. Nevertheless, he became widely known to the whole world just under the name of Prince Felix Yusupov Jr. Felix Yusupov was baptized into the Orthodox faith. He left the following recollection of this event: “At the christening in the home church, the priest almost drowned me in the font, where he dipped me three times according to Orthodox custom. They say that I came to my senses.”
There is no doubt that Felix Yusupov inherited many of the good features of his ancestors, which turned out to be closely intertwined with the special properties of his nature, which made up the exceptional originality of Prince Felix Yusupov the Younger. The inimitable type of Felix's character was formed from childhood. Until the age of 15, he suffered from sleepwalking. In his youth, he had a passion for dressing in women's clothes. In this connection, he participated in many recreational activities in the company of his older brother Nikolai. According to Felix, he misled many men, including King Edward VII. This continued until the son's hobbies became known to the father, who called the son "a scoundrel and a disgrace to the family, to whom not a single decent person will stretch out his hand," after which the disguise was over. But the love of reincarnation in the form of a touch of theatricality and an unbridled flight of fantasy remained with Felix for life.
Felix was friends with Vel from a young age. Prince Dmitry Pavlovich Romanov, who among his contemporaries was known as "a rake and a reveler." On this basis, young people agreed. Surprisingly, in the future, accusing Rasputin of all serious and, ultimately, of discrediting the Royal Family, the friends apparently did not consider that they themselves were discrediting both the royal family and the Royal Family, and Russian aristocrats with the same behavior that they attributed Rasputin.
Felix's other passion is spiritism. Detailed description cases of evocation of spirits, "observation of amazing things", the fall of marble statues during seances, the appearance of ghosts are given in the memoirs of Prince Felix Yusupov.
In 1908-1909. Felix Yusupov Jr. met with the Royal Family several times. In his memoirs, without being blunt, which distinguishes his style of narration, not constrained by self-esteem, he considered it necessary to tell that the Empress Empress Alexandra Feodorovna “strictly reprimanded him”, pointing out that “every self-respecting man should be a military man or courtier." Felix dared to answer the Empress:
I can’t be a military man, because war is disgusting to me, and I’m not fit to be a courtier, because I love independence and I say what I think. I see my vocation in the prudent management of estates and numerous lands and factories. Proper management of everything is also a kind of service to the Fatherland. And I serve the Fatherland - I serve the Tsar!
The queen's face was covered with large red spots.
And the Tsar is the Fatherland! she cried.
At that moment, Nicholas II entered, and Alexandra Feodorovna told him:
Felix is a complete revolutionary! [Prince Felix Yusupov. UK. op.]
Prince Felix Yusupov and Vel. Princess Elizabeth Feodorovna
Book. Felix Yusupov Jr. and Vel. book. Elizaveta Fyodorovna Romanova
If not to be unnecessarily biased, the peculiar addictions (or hobbies) of Felix Yusupov Jr. can be considered as transient delusions of youth and treated with condescension. Apparently, not only their parents treated them this way, but also Vel. Princess Elizabeth Feodorovna, who took part in the spiritual education of Felix Yusupov. Here is a letter from Elizabeth Feodorovna to Felix dated February 28, 1911, imbued with a feeling of warmth and maternal care for her pupil. In this letter, Elizaveta Fedorovna warns Felix about the danger of another reckless hobby. As follows from the letter, the subject of his sympathy was a certain E. - a married woman, carried away by whom he could destroy her fate, and himself repeat the fate of his brother. Elizabeth Feodorovna writes:
“Dear child!
May the Lord bless you.
<...>As I understand your joy and anxiety due to the arrival of E., may the Lord save you from suffering, because these torments, unfortunately, can be fatal when we do not have the strength to fight and fall victim to our feelings. May Saint Thomaida watch over you and protect you! How I wish you would get married and have children! How your parents would live! And the heart, in pursuit of unrealizable happiness, sometimes passes by - very close - perfect joy, not noticing it, that's what's sad. Poor child. I will be happy to see you here; why not spend the summer in Arkhangelsk and travel from here to other estates, instead of sitting in Tsarskoye? I am afraid of this meeting, I am afraid for it, because it is very dangerous to play with someone else's heart. You can't arrange a divorce for her and marry her - then why run into danger, right? To say all this, I know, is essentially useless, all this has been known since the creation of the world. But alas, no one beware until it's too late.
I have to go to the temple now.
God bless you and give you the strength and joy to be an honest person.
Elizabeth» [Khrustalev. UK. op. with reference to the GIM OPI, D. 84, L. 16-17v.].
Knowing Felix since childhood, having the opportunity to influence his upbringing with a good example and useful, affectionate edification, Vel. Princess Elizaveta Feodorovna, all her life, nurtured feelings of love and hope for her spiritual pupil, keeping them even after the murder of Felix G.E. Rasputin. From a letter from Elizabeth Feodorovna to Emperor Nicholas II dated December 29, 1916: “... For ten days I prayed for you, for your army, country, ministers, for those who were sick in soul and body, and the name of this unfortunate [Grigory Rasputin] was in the commemoration, so that God would enlighten him and ... I return and find out that Felix killed him, little Felix, whom I knew as a child, who was afraid of killing a living creature all his life and did not want to become a military man, so as not to shed blood. [Letters rep. Vel. book. Elizabeth Feodorovna]
For his part, Felix Yusupov showed a mutual feeling of sympathy for Aunt Ella and treated her with deep respect. This is evidenced by the prince's memoirs, in which he draws the holy image of Elizabeth Feodorovna with love and gratitude: “I do not intend to give any new information about Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna. Enough has been said and written about this holy soul in the chronicles of the last years of tsarist Russia. But I can’t keep silent about her in my memoirs. Her influence in my life turned out to be too important and necessary. Yes, and from childhood I loved her like a second mother.<...>The people called her a saint. I have no doubt that one day the church will recognize this as well.<...>Forever my life is illuminated by the light of this wonderful woman, whom I already revered as a saint in those years. [Prince Felix Yusupov. UK. Op.].
In truth, Elizaveta Feodorovna was a guardian angel for Felix Yusupov. She literally fought for his soul. Here is the episode given by Felix in his memoirs:
Once, speaking with her face to face, I told her about my adventures, which, as it seemed to me, were unknown to her.
Calm down, she smiled. “I know a lot more about you than you think. That's why I called you. He who is capable of much evil is also capable of much good, if he finds the right path. And a great sin is no greater than sincere repentance. Remember that reason sins more than the soul. And the soul can remain pure in sinful flesh. Your soul is important to me. That's what I want to reveal to you. Fate has given you everything a person could wish for. And to whom it is given, from that it will be asked. Think you are responsible. You must be an example. You must be respected. Trials have shown you that life is not fun. Think how much good you can do! And how much harm to cause! I prayed a lot for you. I hope the Lord listens and helps you."
How many hopes and spiritual strength sounded in her words! - concludes Felix Yusupov.
Under the influence of Elizabeth Feodorovna, young Felix Yusupov was filled with noble impulses, plans, the implementation of which could create a precedent for a radical change in life in Russia, for example, “turn Arkhangelskoye into an art center”, turn the palace into a museum, turn Yusupov’s possessions in Moscow and St. “hospitals, clinics, shelters for the elderly”, to open sanatoriums in the Crimean and Caucasian estates, “land would go to the peasants, plants and factories would become joint-stock companies.” Vel. Princess Elizabeth approved of Felix's plans, but his mother, Zinaida Yusupova, did not, believing that her son, the last of the Yusupov family, should marry and continue the family. Alas, the plans of Felix Yusupov Jr. were not destined to come true. By his own admission, he did not read the books handed over to him by Elizaveta Fedorovna, left his homeland (and much earlier than the forced emigration), received his education at Oxford, and married favorably.
Nevertheless, young Yusupov made an attempt to take the path that Elizaveta Fedorovna showed him by her example. He financed the creation of the House for consumptive women at the Martha and Mary Convent. For a while, he walked through the Moscow slums, “where dirt and darkness reigned. People huddled in close quarters, slept on the floor in the cold, dampness and slops. Felix writes: “An unfamiliar world opened up to me, a world of poverty and suffering<...>I wanted to help everyone. But the enormity of the task was overwhelming. I thought about how much is spent on the war and on scientific experiments for the benefit of the same war, and people live and suffer in inhuman conditions. There were disappointments.<...>Almost every day I went to the hospital in Moscow to see consumptives. Patients with tears thanked me for my trifling handouts<...>I was immensely grateful to the Grand Duchess for understanding my despair and for being able to guide me to a new life. However, I was tormented that she did not know everything about me and considered me better than I am. [Prince Felix Yusupov. UK. op.]
On the insistent advice of Elizabeth Feodorovna, Prince Felix Yusupov Jr., on the eve of important events in his life related to the matchmaking for Princess Irina Alexandrovna Romanova, made in June 1913, together with Elizabeth Feodorovna, a trip to the Solovetsky Monastery, from where he wrote to his chosen one: “This is already the fourth the day I am in the Solovetsky Monastery, I live in a small, dark cell, I sleep on a wooden sofa without any mattress, I eat monastic food and, in spite of all this, I enjoy the journey. So many interesting things here. This is a completely independent small state, surrounded by a huge stone wall. They have their own ships, their own fleet, the abbot of the monastery - the king and ruler of this small country in the far north, surrounded by a raging sea.
How strange to come here after all our talk about our life abroad, it's all so different that you can't even compare. All day long we look around the surroundings, fish, in huge lakes, of which there are about 400 and they are all connected by canals, so you can drive on them for hours, moving from one to another. The Grand Duchess [Elizaveta Feodorovna] has been more and more in church since 5 o'clock in the morning. Services last here for 5-6 hours, I was once, and this time is enough for me. While she is praying, I fish and come to the very end. There are a lot of schemniks in amazing costumes here. It is completely impossible to sleep here, the bells ring day and night, hundreds of tame gulls that scream without ceasing and fly straight into the rooms, and the worst thing is the bugs, which are legions, and they bite mercilessly. The food is terrible and long monastic hair sticks out and floats everywhere. It’s so disgusting that I eat only tea and prosphora.” [Cit. by: Khrustalev. UK. op. with reference to: GMI OPI. F. 411. Op. 1. D. 84. L. 102-103v.].
In July 1913, Yusupov Jr. arrived in London to meet with Princess Irina Alexandrovna, who was there with her parents. On July 28, 1913, Vel also arrived in London. Princess Elizabeth Feodorovna. The purpose of her trip, in addition to the desire to see relatives, was the desire to help Felix establish good relations with the Vel family. Prince Alexander Mikhailovich, thereby contributing to a favorable outcome for Felix of his matchmaking with Irina Alexandrovna. In a letter to his mother, Felix reports: “Dear Mama, I saw the Grand Duchess, who is delighted to be in London. I went to meet her at the station, but I was 5 minutes late, that is, the train arrived earlier than expected. She found some amazing 7 1/2 am train. When I returned home, I immediately telephoned her to find out when I could see her. She answered the phone and laughed terribly and joked, it is clear that she is so pleased to be in London after so many years.
From a letter from Felix Yusupov to his mother (July 1913, London): “I have just returned from Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna, who is leaving tomorrow for Kiel for a week, then for Russia ... We talked a lot about me with her. She gave me very good advice, for which I am very grateful.” [Cit. by: Khrustalev. UK. cit.]
As for Elizabeth Feodorovna, although she could not completely overcome the attraction of the Yusupov world, to which she belongs due to her origin, position, upbringing, nevertheless her world and the world of Princess Zinaida Yusupova entered into a contradiction carefully hidden by both - there was a struggle.
This can be judged from the response letter from Zinaida Nikolaevna to her son about Vel. Princess Elizabeth Feodorovna: “I believe how glad Elizabeth Feodorovna is to be in London and how she enjoys it, forgetting that now she doesn’t care where she is! How all this is exaggerated and false! Sometimes I feel sorry for her!" - The letter revealed the abyss of misunderstanding of the natural feelings and noble impulses of his girlfriend!
From the letters of Z.N. Yusupova to her son on September 23 and 28, 1909, it follows that Valentina Sergeevna Gordeeva, the daughter of the real state adviser to the governor of the Samara province, Sergei Petrovich Ushakov, the first assistant to Vel. Princess Elizabeth Feodorovna in the work of organizing the Marfo-Mariinsky Convent of Mercy. Subsequently, Valentina Sergeevna, after the arrest and execution of Elizabeth Feodorovna, headed the monastery. Valentina Sergeevna was the same age as Elizaveta Feodorovna and, apparently, just like her, touchingly, tenderly, maternally related to everyone's favorite Felix Yusupov. Zinaida Nikolaevna writes from Koreiz: “My dear Felix, You have already frightened us all with your long silence! .. For 36 hours there was no news of your arrival in London!<...>Finally, at 7 1/2 o'clock, your telegram arrived, and the whole house came to life! Valentina [Gordeeva] did not sleep either, the young ladies were worried<...>. We accompanied Valentina [Gordeeva] to Kokkoz. I am very sorry that she left. She loves you so much that it was nice to talk to her about you! She is a good person with a sensitive warm heart, but in vain she is forced to put on a monastic robe! It will never suit her!" [Cit. by: Khrustalev. UK. op. with reference to: GMI OPI. F. 411. Op. 1. D. 36. L. 27-28v.].
Again a stone in the garden of Elizabeth Feodorovna: a strange attitude towards monasticism and sincere impulses of a pure, believing, Orthodox soul.
Studying at Oxford
Let us point out those aspects of the life of the young Felix Yusupov, in which, despite the oddities and carelessness of youth, serious grounds emerged.
In 1908, Felix got bored with the life of a young rake in St. Petersburg, and he decided to go to England for an education. In December 1908, an English teacher, Mr. Stanning, was discharged from London. In February 1909, Felix Yusupov made a study trip to England. In London, he was received by Princess Victoria of Battenberg (the sister of Empress Alexandra Feodorovna), Princess Marie-Louise of Schleswig-Holstein, and the Archbishop of London, who approved his decision to enter one of the British higher educational institutions. After receiving letters of introduction, Felix, accompanied by his new English friend Mr. P. Steele and Mr. G. Stanning, visited Oxford, Cambridge and Winchester. At Oxford, Felix introduced himself to the rector of one of the university's colleges. Deciding to enter the Faculty of Agriculture, Yusupov preferred Oxford, although Mr. Stanning, who took care of Felix, strongly recommended that he enter Cambridge. “Not seeing the young prince’s obvious desire for study, the mentor advised Felix to sign up as a volunteer so as not to be bound by deadlines and be able to travel at any necessary time.” [Yudin. UK. cit.]
At the end of September 1909, Felix began his studies at Oxford University as a volunteer. Mr. Stanning's recommendations were well founded, for Felix's interest in learning soon really began to wane. Poorly knowing English, he decided, on the advice of the dean of the faculty, to change his chosen specialty - agriculture - to the study of the English language and literature, but already at the end of 1910 he again decided to change his specialty to political economy.
The lifestyle of young Yusupov during this period can be understood from his letter to his mother: “Dear mother, ... Yesterday I dined with Lady Ripon and stayed overnight with an Englishwoman in the neighborhood. This morning a large company went to Brighton for the whole day. Tomorrow at Oxford. I'll be back in London on Monday. Yesterday we dined with four of us, Lady Ripon, her husband, King Manuel and myself. We sat and chatted all evening. She rebuilt her house, and it turned out beautifully just lovely. On Wednesday I have breakfast at Richmond "e. The king's mother wants to meet me. I see him every day, he is just touching, he comes to London every day, has breakfast, dine with me, we go to a concert with him. [Yudin. UK. cit.]
As researcher E.E. Yudin: “An integral part of Felix Yusupov's stay in England was his active familiarization with British political and secular culture. Most his time was not occupied by scientific studies, but by an endless series of receptions, visits, dinner parties, dinners and even breakfasts, visits to palaces and rural estates of the English aristocracy, balls and festive evenings. High English society showed considerable interest in the young Prince Yusupov, as a representative of the elite of the great empire, just in those years becoming a foreign policy ally of Britain, and as, obviously, a person who had a huge fortune even in comparison with high English standards. Felix Yusupov becomes a member of several elite closed clubs in Oxford, actively participates in the entertainment of the English "golden" youth. He acquires a large circle of not only secular acquaintances, but also close friends. He often writes about the latter to his mother, praising their personal, human qualities. Some of them he will invite later to come to him in Russia. It seems that Felix will maintain close personal contacts with his English friends in subsequent years, having already returned to Russia. [Yudin. UK. cit.]
Perhaps the opinion of many researchers that Yusupov became a member of the Masonic lodge in England refers to this period of time, if "elite closed clubs" are associated with Masonic lodges. But there is no direct evidence of entry into the lodge. Moreover, as can be judged from the letter of Princess Z.N. Yusupova to her son dated November 8, 1913 (written from Koreiz to Paris), this was considered reprehensible and unacceptable in the Yusupov family: “Be very careful with Nick. M. [Vel. Prince Nikolai Mikhailovich]. He is terribly false, and many, not without reason, consider him freemason». [Cit. according to Khrustalev. UK. op. with reference to: River of Time. Book. 2. M., 1995. S. 135-136].
Apparently, during this period of time, Felix met and became friends with Oswald Reiner (Reiner), an agent of the British foreign intelligence service MI6, who also studied at Oxford.
Then Felix became friends with the ballerina Anna Pavlova. About her, he writes the following: “I forgot Oxford, my studies, my friends. Day and night I thought about the incorporeal being that disturbed the hall, enchanted with white feathers and the bloody sparkling heart of a ruby. Anna Pavlova was in my eyes not only a great ballerina and beauty, but also a heavenly messenger!<...>She understood me. "You have God in one eye and the devil in the other," she told me. [Prince Felix Yusupov. UK. op.].
This is how the life of the young Felix Yusupov in England proceeded - cheerfully and carefree, not particularly bothering with studies and sciences. But now the time has come for exams, and according to their results - obtaining (or not) a diploma. In this regard, E.E. Yudin draws attention to the study of Richard Thomas Batts, who, relying on the diaries of K.S. Lewis (“the famous English writer and apologist for Christianity, who from 1925 to 1954 held the position of professor at Magdalen College in Oxford”), as well as on the testimony of A.D. Carlyle (from 1893 acting chaplain at University College, Oxford) writes that Felix Yusupov could not pass a single exam. Therefore, Farquharson and Carlyle, by agreement with Yusupov, “they themselves made and handed him a certificate, furnishing everything very importantly and solemnly.”
The presentation of a certificate (certificate) - a diploma of the third (lowest) degree, meant that the prescribed course of lectures was listened to, and the examinee, although he received the lowest mark, nevertheless passed the exams and received a diploma of higher university education - to the indescribable joy of the mother of Princess Zinaida Nikolaevna, who wrote to her son on June 18, 1912: “My dear boy, Thank God that he passed the exam, even if he got the 3rd diploma and then thank you! Of course, if you had studied more, i.e., more evenly over these last two years, it would be easier to get through now, but what has passed has passed.” [Yudin. UK. op. with reference to GIM OPI. F. 411. Unit. ridge 39.]
Courtship and marriage of Prince Felix Yusupov Jr. to Princess Irina Alexandrovna Romanova
Felix and Irina Yusupov
Another serious act of Prince Felix Yusupov Jr., characterizing him on the positive side, was the matchmaking and marriage to the princess of imperial blood, Irina Alexandrovna Romanova.
It is believed that the family of Victoria of Battenberg really wanted their daughter Princess Louise, who liked the Russian prince Felix Yusupov, to marry him. The Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna and Empress Alexandra Feodorovna wished the same. There were rumors about their engagement, but they remained only rumors. There were other contenders in England as well. However, Felix's choice was different. His attention had long been attracted by his daughter Vel. Prince Alexander Mikhailovich and Vel. Princess Xenia Alexandrovna - Princess of Imperial blood Irina Alexandrovna, the Emperor's niece, beloved, as historians believe, the granddaughter of the Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna.
Judging by the memoirs, Felix was in love with Irina Alexandrovna, as they say, at first sight, from their first chance meeting, which took place in the Crimea, “during a horseback ride”, when Felix “saw a lovely young girl” ... Since then , judging by the letters, he did not mentally part with her.
Among the contenders for the hand of Irina Alexandrovna were the Greek Prince Christopher, (the fifth son of King George I and Grand Duchess Olga Konstantinovna), and Prince Albert Edward of Wales. The Grand Duke Dmitry Pavlovich and Prince Vladimir Paley treated her very favorably.
Therefore, Felix Yusupov, in order to carry out honest intentions regarding Irina Alexandrovna, had to show perseverance, patience and even ingenuity in order to get the hand of his chosen one. In addition, he had to wait patiently for several years until Irina Alexandrovna came of age. Irina had a mutual feeling for Felix, and her parents, who had been friends with the Yusupovs for a long time, were also interested in junior Yusupov and were ready to forgive his scandalous adventures in Paris, which they became aware of during the engagement. In fairness, it should be noted that revels at that time were characteristic not only of Felix Yusupov, but of youth in general, as, however, it always was and is. It's all about the atmosphere of gossip in which secular society lived, and evil tongues that can inflate each case to incredible proportions. Although, thanks to the innate politeness, charm and determination of Felix, the incident was settled, Irina's parents still had an unpleasant aftertaste - there is no smoke without fire.
The wedding of Felix Feliksovich Sumarokov-Elston and Princess Irina Alexandrovna Romanova took place on December 22 (old style), 1914, in the house church of the Anichkov Palace. Felix wrote in his memoirs: “I was happy, because this met my secret aspirations. I could not forget the young stranger I met on a walk on the Crimean road... In comparison with the new experience, all my previous hobbies turned out to be miserable. I understood the harmony of true feeling.
In connection with his marriage, Felix received the right from the Sovereign to bear the princely title and surname Yusupov during his father's lifetime.
A year later, on March 8 (21), the Yusupovs had a daughter, named, like her mother, Irina (1915-1983).
How the attitude towards Grigory Rasputin was formed in the Yusupov society
Probably, with regard to the marriage of Felix and Irina, we can say that they were made for each other. Needless to say, both families also corresponded to each other both in their way of thinking, and in their position, and in their neighborhood (dachas in the Crimea), and in mutual high-society interests. Despite many "buts", in addition to purely human calculations, as well as petty claims, there was one common basis, or a common theme, which undoubtedly contributed to the rapprochement of both respectable families, giving additional kindred ties a certain dedication, a special conspiratorial status of people united by a common interest, a way of thinking, an idea, a common understanding of which gave a solid foundation for strong, especially friendly relations. The unifying super-idea was to deliver the Royal Family, St. Petersburg, the Empire from the terrible man Rasputin - the cause of all the troubles and evils of the Fatherland. Naturally, such an attitude did not develop immediately, but the theme of Rasputin from the very beginning of his appearance next to the Royal Family excited the minds, gradually acquiring more and more fantastic outlines.
Here, for example, are feelings about this, which, however, are quite understandable, Vel. Princess Xenia Alexandrovna, the Sovereign's sister, which is reflected in her diary entries: “In the carriage Olga [Vel. Princess Olga Nikolaevna] told us about her conversation with her [Alix]. She said for the first time that the poor little one had this terrible disease, and therefore she herself was ill and would never fully recover. About Gregory, she said that how could she not believe in him when she sees that the little one is better as soon as he is near him or prays for him.
In the Crimea, it turns out that after our departure, Alexei had bleeding in the kidneys (horror!) and they sent for Grigory. Everything stopped with his arrival! My God, how terrible and how sorry for them.
Anya V[yrubova] visited Olga today and also talked about Grigory, how she met him (through Stana) at a difficult moment in her life (during her divorce), how he helped her, etc.
Horrified by all the stories and accusations - she talked about the bathhouse, laughing, and about the fact that they say that she lives with him! That everything now falls on her neck! [Cit. according to Khrustalev. UK. op. with reference to: Meilunas A., Mironenko S. Nikolai and Alexandra. Love and life. M., 1998]
“On March 16, Princess Yusupova came to tea. We sat for a long time and talked a lot. She told about her conversation with A[lix] about Gri[igory] and that’s it. He went to Siberia, and not to the Crimea at all. Someone sent him a ciphered dispatch without a signature, so that he would come here. Alix did not know anything about this, she was delighted and, they say, said: "He always feels when I need him." [Cit. according to Khrustalev. UK. op. with reference to: Meilunas A., Mironenko S. Nikolai and Alexandra. Love and life. M., 1998]
October 16th. Walked with Nikita in the morning. It's wonderful, warm, quiet. - 12. - Felix had breakfast. - Again, fermentation has risen at the expense of Rasputin - they write about him in the newspapers, God knows what. In "Evening Time" an impossible advance is given. He just left here the other day. - Just desperation.<...>» [Cit. by: Khrustalev with reference to: GARF. F. 662. Op. 1. D. 44. L. 23]
The heightened interest in the Friend of the Royal Family of many high-ranking persons gradually gave way to hidden, and then undisguised irritation towards the Royal Family and, in any case, misunderstanding. On the part of the Yusupovs, the cause of dissatisfaction was the disapproval of the young Yusupov's marriage expressed by the Tsar and the Tsarina, because the scandalous Felix, who did not want to serve, became a relative of the Romanovs. From a letter from Princess Z.N. Yusupov to his son November 8, 1913 from Koreiz:
“On the 6th there was a dinner and a ball in Livadia, at which Elena was also invited, which is very nice. I was seated at the royal table, and during the dance they called me to sit next to the hostess [Empress Alexandra Feodorovna], who congratulated me and talked a lot about you both. In spite of ostentation, the conversation was dry, and it was clear how much I was not sweet to her! He [Tsar Nicholas II] escaped with smiles and a handshake, but not the words didn't say. One could say a lot about this evening in words, but I don’t feel like writing. She doesn't like your departure for Paris, of course. "Fat" [Anna Alexandrovna Taneeva (Vyrubova)] as the fifth daughter, and keeps himself that way» [Cit. according to Khrustalev. UK. op. with reference to: River of Time. Book. 2. M., 1995. S. 135-136]
Already after the wedding of Felix and Irina, another reason appeared for changing the Yusupovs' attitude towards the Royal Family for the worse. In 1915, Felix's father, Prince F.F. Yusupov-Sumarokov-Elston (senior) with the support of Vel. Prince Nikolai Nikolayevich was appointed to two key posts: chief of the Moscow military district (from May to June) and chief of the city of Moscow (from May to September). However, he was soon dismissed due to mediocre leadership during the Moscow riots in 1915. Concerning these events, Emperor Nicholas II writes to Empress Alexandra Feodorovna in a letter dated June 16, 1915: “Yusupov, whom I sent for, was present at the council on the first question; we cooled his ardor a little and gave him some clear instructions. There were funny moments when he read his report on the Moscow rebellion - he became excited, shook his fists and pounded them on the table. [Cit. according to Khrustalev. UK. op. with reference to: Correspondence of Nikolai and Alexandra 1914-1917. - M: Zakharov, 2013].
Everything that came from the Royal Family already caused undisguised irritation. The main reason for hostility was still Grigory Efimovich Rasputin-New, and everything connected with him was subjected to malicious criticism, which determined the tone of the letters of Princess Z.N. Yusupova. In a letter to her son dated October 2, 1915, she writes: “I must say that what is happening in Ts[arsky] S[el] revolts me to such an extent that I would like to go somewhere far, far away and never come back! Gri[igory] returned again. Varnava [Bishop of Tobolsk Varnava (Nakropin), who was considered a protege of Gr. Rasputin] is said to be getting a promotion! And Samarin was directly pressed because of these bastards, on the orders of the crazy V[alide] [Empress Empress Alexandra Feodorovna], who also drove her husband crazy. I suffocate with indignation and find that this can no longer be tolerated. I despise all those who endure all this and remain silent.” [Cit. by: Khrustalev. UK. cit., with reference to: From the Yusupov family correspondence. / Publication N.B. Strizheva. // The river of times. Book. 2. M., 1995. S. 140-141.].
Princess Zinaida Yusupova has so far rebelled in her letters and set up those around her, and, above all, her son, accordingly. In unison, Vel's assentations sounded to her. Prince Alexander Mikhailovich and Vel. Princess Xenia Alexandrovna. The intensity, pathos, degree, as they say, went off scale. The seething indignation at the decisions made by the Sovereign found justification in the supposedly obscene behavior of Rasputin. However, an indignant feeling bordering on hatred quickly spread from Rasputin to Anna Vyrubova, the Empress, and then the Sovereign. The atmosphere that prevailed in the families of the Yusupovs and Vel. Prince Alexander Mikhailovich on the eve of the murder of Gr. Eph. Rasputin-New can be described as hysterical, with an obsessive idea of guilt in everything and everything Rasputin, Vyrubova and the Tsaritsa - but this was only a cover for a genuine attitude towards the Tsar ...
Prince Felix Yusupov Jr. and Grigory Efimovich Rasputin-New. Confrontation
Acquaintance with the romantic period in the life of Prince F.F. Yusupov Count Sumarokov-Elston (matchmaking and marriage) allows us to draw an important conclusion: behind the external outrageousness, as you can see if you wish, a subtle nature capable of high feelings, deep feelings, responsible decisions and serious actions could be hidden. In any case, what else could attract to him noble and honest people, sincere and kind people, such as, for example, Maria Evgenievna Golovina? Maria, or, as she was called in the circle of friends, Munya, was the daughter of a chamberlain, a real state councilor Evgeny Sergeevich Golovin, and was brought up by her own niece to Princess Olga Valerianovna Paley (ur. Karnovich). Olga Valerianovna became the morganatic wife of Grand Duke Pavel Alexandrovich, respectively, stepmother to Grand Duke Dmitry Pavlovich, a friend of Felix. Through Dmitry Pavlovich, apparently, Felix met the Golovin family.
Lyubov Valerianovna Golovina and her daughter Maria were admirers of the elder Grigory Efimovich Rasputin-New, and were part of his close circle. Through the Golovins, Felix Yusupov Jr. also met Grigory Efimovich, about which he writes in his memoirs: “I met Rasputin in the family of G. in St. Petersburg in 1909. I have known the G. family for a long time, and I was especially friendly with one of the daughters, M..”
Felix did not like Rasputin, his appearance and manners. To emphasize his hostile attitude, Yusupov, in his memoirs, when describing his acquaintance with Rasputin in the Golovins' house, did not hesitate to apply thick colors: "a strange subject", "smiled evilly", did not approach, but "sailed up to the young lady", "pressed them to his chest and kissed him with the air of a father and a benefactor”, “at first glance I didn’t like something in him, even repulsed him”, only “depicted ease”, noted that Rasputin was “secretly shy, even a coward”. Nevertheless, "his manners were striking", and in general, Grigory Rasputin made an "indelible impression" on Yusupov.
Feeling that Felix did not like Grigory Efimovich, Maria Golovina wrote him a letter on August 20, 1910, where she tried to dispel unpleasant impressions and explain the “oddities” in the behavior and speeches of Elder Grigory:
“Dear Felix Feliksovich!
I am writing to you to ask you not to show anyone the piece of paper that I gave you from Ali [Alexandra Pistohlkors, sister of Anna Vyrubova]. Your new acquaintance [G.E. Rasputin-New] was with us today and asked about it, and I also find that the less talk about him, the better. I would really like to know your opinion about him, I think that you could not endure a particularly good impression, for this you need to have a very special mood and then you get used to treating his words differently, which always imply something spiritual. And not related to our everyday life.
If you understood this, then I am terribly glad that you saw him and I believe that it was good for you for your life, just do not scold him, and if he is unpleasant for you, try to forget. ... ". [Cit. by: Khrustalev. UK. cit.]
The way Felix Yusupov perceived Grigory Rasputin is strikingly different from the assessment given by G.E. Rasputin-New Petersburg journalist and publisher of the newspaper "Smoke of the Fatherland" A.F. Filippov, cited by V. Khrustalev: “There is no doubt that Rasputin had an increased sensitivity and culture of the good old times, which gave us a peasant equal to the bar in subtlety of perceptions, otherwise this semi-literate peasant would have long ago alienated representatives of the highest aristocracy, who are not often meet". [Cit. by: Khrustalev. UK. cit.]
The natural nobility of Yusupov collided with the "nobility", or rather the natural peasantry of Rasputin - two elements came together, as it turned out to be irreconcilable. Irreconcilability is not the fault of the peasant, who turned out to be open, direct and honest to the end (the end of death) in his desire to reconcile, comprehend, understand and love the master, but through the fault of the lordly opposite, who did not want to descend from the impregnable peak of his nobility, his legalized prosperity and well-being to holy simplicity, hidden behind a veil of "ignorance" and "illiteracy", ignorance of secular manners and prim etiquette.
The subtle nature of Felix was still able to feel something unusual, bright, although it did not fit into the usual ideas of light. Grigory Rasputin, contrary to the first impression, attracted Yusupov, aroused genuine interest in himself. The personality of the elder and the events associated with his name (perhaps under the influence of his mother) worried Felix Yusupov more and more. This is evidenced by a letter from Maria Golovina to Felix Yusupov dated February 1 (14), 1912:
“Dear Felix Feliksovich!
Your telegram touched me very much, it is good that you wanted to know the truth and were not satisfied with the information that the newspapers are full of. Of these, you probably know the main facts that an inquiry was made in the Duma, why about him [G.E. Rasputin] is forbidden to write that Bishop Germogen [Saratov (Dolganov)], who was his friend so far sought a promotion, now considers him the culprit of his fall and raises all his friends against him, of whom he suddenly turned out to be very many, but on the other hand, they want make a scandal to strike where he is loved and appreciated [i.e. e. blow to the Royal Family - approx. Yu.R.]. This, I think, is the main reason for the uproar against him. He is sent to a completely different place, and he is used as a tool to hurt his friends [the King and Queen] and take away, if possible, even this consolation! How much anger people have, and most importantly envy! As everything beautiful and bright seek to destroy and pollute. Of course, they took up arms against him out of envy, he carries his cross and experiences suffering for Christ. If you could see how far he is from everything that happens around him - he is in a completely different area, in the area of the spirit and is far from our understandings and passions, and we judge everything in our own way, and so we ourselves are immersed in sin and the temptation that we cannot understand the true purity that he preaches and puts into practice. After all, sin would not have power over people if they were stronger than it, and in whatever age people appear who discover another life, they will always be persecuted and persecuted, as they persecuted everyone who followed in the footsteps of Christ.
You know and saw him too little to understand his personality and the power that guides him, but now I have known him for two years and I am sure that he bears the cross of God and suffers for the truth, which is incomprehensible to us and, if you are a little familiar with occultism, you know that everything great is hidden under a certain shell, which closes the way to the truth for the profane. Remember the words - "Enter through the narrow gate", but few people understand this, preferring, as he says, the "inviolable tree" of pharisaic virtue, in my opinion, often bordering on cruelty, true Christian love!
That's all I can tell you about him, if you are particularly interested in something, then write, I will always write to you with pleasure. While he is still here and wants to talk to us during the first week of Lent, and then he leaves, I don’t know for how long, and I don’t know whether he will come when you are here.
Write everything you think about it, I really value your opinion and want to feel you with me, just be frank, because I love you with a heartfelt, pure and clear love that will last to the grave and, I hope, that no human tricks will they will betray our friendship, but a friend must tell everything without fear of offending him, because love must endure everything! On the 5th feast of the icon that I gave you, pray that it will save you!
And generally write, goodbye.
Maria Golovina" [Cit. by: Khrustalev. UK. op. with reference to: GMI OPI. F. 411. Op. 1. D. 48. L. 40-43v.].
Amazing letter. So much holy love and trust to someone who will soon ruthlessly inflict massacre on another object of holy true love - that person who himself loved people holy and true, who even loved his enemies and murderers, and proved this by his martyrdom, stretching out his hand before death to his executioner.
What is also surprising is the depth of penetration into the subtleties of the situation and the clarity of assessment of those events and circumstances that still remain unclear and foggy for those who tend to trust the interpretation of the Yusupovs in this historical dispute, in this age-old, universal confrontation between two spiritual elements: good and evil. , love and hate, life and death.
Grigory Rasputin is the man whose life is sanctified by faith. Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ led him, by faith he verified his thoughts and feelings, faith guided his actions. What actually happened to him in Petersburg? He was not accepted, he was rejected, pushed out of the environment. He was a stranger to this environment. And few people could understand and appreciate his faith from the powerful of this world and their environment. That's the reason for the opposition. In high society, they are used to treating a person in accordance with his real status and data - what a person is worth. You had to get a pass into the high society, and, having received it, behave in accordance with the place that society has assigned you, and do not dare to cross the line so as not to hear a formidable, threatening cry: who are you ?! Grigory Efimovich, contrary to these rules, went beyond what was permitted, stepped over the line, encroaching on the "holy" - the inviolability of strict etiquette and hierarchy.
But what could Grigory Efimovich offer these people? Only one thing - his living faith and the fruits of the spirit, with which he was gifted from God. And so this living faith came into conflict with the dead letter of secular customs and rules, with thoroughly false etiquette.
The fact that they are different was understood by both sides: both Grigory Efimovich and representatives of the Yusupov world. But how did different, opposite sides act in this situation? Grigory Efimovich tried to understand, love, teach, heal, help. He was even ready to accept something useful from them, to understand, to comprehend their truth with his peasant mind - to adapt to them, perhaps even become like them, in order to better understand. In this he followed the example of the apostles, imitating them.
On the opposite side, on the contrary, at first there was surprise, interest, but they did not understand, did not agree, they began to endure, but not for long, they quickly broke (fell) into a fetid pit of undisguised irritation, gross lies, vile slander, banal shameful envy, poisonous gossip and evil gossip. Gradually growing, these phenomena turned into hysteria, into some kind of frenzy, madness. Finally, and it all got tired, and, especially without ceremony, they killed him.
Why did they kill, for what? The killer - the young prince Felix Yusupov was faced with what destroyed his life credo. No one ever questioned his primacy and superiority, neither his mother nor Aunt Ella, in fact, encroached on his freedom. Felix was not surpassed, this was his element - social life, St. Petersburg, Paris, London, entertainment, whims, no one limited him.
The appearance of Rasputin in his life became a threat to the world of his superiority, independence. Felix Yusupov was afraid of losing freedom, but not freedom from sin, but freedom from the limitation of sin. In the face of the peasant Gregory, he felt something that was higher than him, which brought him from the patrician Olympus to the sinful earth, something that allowed him to feel weaker, weaker. Weaker, not in the physical or any other sense, but in the spiritual. He first encountered the element of the spirit, felt its power and height, and at the same time felt his insignificance and helplessness in front of it. Elder Gregory destroyed his idol, the idol of the secular crowd Felix Yusupov. His authority, his position, his fortune were nothing before the truth and height of true Christian love. His conscience denounced his wretchedness, and with this he could not agree, could not part with his indisputable superiority for him, which was given to him in a secular way understood by freedom, position and wealth - everything is dust, dust, ashes, nothing, and he himself, according to true, small, not figuratively, but literally, his soul turned out to be petty and insignificant. Grigory Efimovich called him just that: "small." Felix could not agree with this, childishly put up with it.
It is hard to say how sincere the friendship with Maria Golovina was from Felix Yusupov. But his mother, Zinaida Yusupova, was clearly burdened by this friendship, and after Felix left for England, Zinaida Nikolaevna would like to get rid of the obsessive attention of Maria Golovina, who, apparently, on her own initiative, as well as due to naivety and simplicity, as a friend continued to visit the Yusupovs even in the absence of Felix, which they were not particularly happy about. This can be judged from the letter of Z.N. Yusupova to her son dated September 23, 1909, where there is the phrase: “We didn’t get rid of Golovina, she was with Sonya [Dzhambakurian-Orbeliani] and drank tea with us.” [Cit. by: Khrustalev. UK. op. with reference to: GMI OPI. F. 411. Op. 1. D. 36. L. 23-26v.]
Thanks to Maria Golovina, Felix Yusupov was offered a choice: either to continue the treacherous path of serving the world of the Yusupovs, or to follow the path of correction and healing indicated by the Russian pilgrimage peasant, the spiritualized wanderer, the elder Grigory - the path of the original serving Russian nobility, the path of devotion and fidelity to God's Anointed and God's Russian people. But the noble impulse of a pure soul did not touch Yusupov. He did not want to accept the meaning of her words about the elder Grigory Efimovich Rasputin-New, who, by his existence in St. Petersburg, the Yusupov patrimony, defied the world of the Yusupovs. And the offspring of this world, the prince of this world, Felix Feliksovich Yusupov Jr., accepted this challenge ...
(To be continued)