Yusupov Count or Prince. Princes Yusupov. Closer to Peter I

Chapter 32. Commandments of the Family The entire Judeo-Christian world knows the famous commandments of the prophet Moses. These commandments were also automatically accepted by Christians, and there were very few people who doubted their divinity. What these commandments are for

Belonging to the most influential and wealthy family, Felix Yusupov was a very shocking personality. Loved to dress up as a woman and turn the heads of young officers, involved in the murder of Rasputin, he was known for centuries as a dark figure in Russian history. On the other hand, as if on a scale, his good deeds are balanced: the creation of a fashion house in Paris, patronage and assistance to emigrants from Russia in France. How did demonic vices and good deeds coexist in Yusupov?

Prince's parents

The parents of the imperial dandy were Zinaida Nikolaevna Yusupova and Count Sumarokov-Elston. The mother was an enviable bride, the owner of a colossal fortune. Not only eminent bachelors of the Russian Empire, but also aristocrats of Europe fought for her hand. Felix Yusupov remembered her as a beautiful, fragile and very intelligent creature.

Zinaida Nikolaevna was not ambitious, so she married not out of convenience (and she could even lay claim to the royal throne), but out of love. The chosen one was officer Felix Sumarokov-Elston. With his wife's high position, he easily managed to make a career. Moreover, Felix the father was given a princely title by the emperor, and he was also allowed to be called by his wife’s surname.

The marriage of such dissimilar people, a sophisticated princess and an officer, was happy, but not easy. Two children were born: Nikolai, the eldest, and Felix. In 1908, the 25-year-old heir tragically dies during a duel and Felix Yusupov becomes the successor to a huge fortune. His biography will be described below.

Childhood

Childhood is the time when personality is formed, character formation occurs. Yusupov Felix Feliksovich was born in 1887, on March 23.

His youth was spent in luxury and festivities. His mother's favorite, he was very handsome: regular, as if chiseled facial features, in which aristocracy could be traced. Zinaida Ivanovna passionately wanted a girl, so she dressed Felix exclusively in girl’s clothes.

Apparently, the boy had this habit from his distant childhood. Already as a five-year-old child, Yusupov demonstrates his love of dressing up in women's dresses. Not soldiers and games with boys, but his mother's wardrobe - this is his favorite entertainment. Together with his brother Nikolai, they dress up as women and visit taverns, gatherings of women of easy virtue. Felix even performs in a cabaret: he sings one of the parts.

This activity infuriates his father; the boy constantly receives slaps in the face. Felix Feliksovich wanted to see his son as a successor to his military career, and women’s clothes on the boy did not fit into this idea. The relationship between the two Felixes has always been distant.

The hobby continued until the death of Nikolai, Felix’s brother.

Period of life in the Russian Empire

In Russia, the young prince Felix Yusupov was known as an eccentric young man and a rebel. He loved ridiculous antics that extremely surprised the audience. They talk about him, gossip, and create fables. We should not forget that the society of that time was not as accustomed to shocking as modern society, so the shocking actions of young Yusupov stunned many.

As for Yusupov the student, he was not a diligent student. However, he had an amazing mind and the ability to synthesize the necessary information.

First he studied at a private gymnasium, then continued his education at Oxford University. There he united Russian-speaking students into a society and also created a car club.

Yusupov had a special relationship with his mother’s friend, Grand Duchess Elizabeth. She was the Empress's sister. Felix considered the woman a saint; her advice, parting words, and kind attitude helped the young man survive the tragic death of his brother. In 1914, Yusupov married a representative of the Romanov house, Irina, and thus became related to the imperial family.

The First World War finds the young Yusupov couple in Germany. Having returned to St. Petersburg with difficulty, Felix begins to help treat patients at the hospital. In 1915, the Yusupovs’ daughter Irina was born.

The murder of Rasputin: background

Zinaida, Yusupov Felix Feliksovich and even Grand Duchess Catherine saw that because of their closeness to the imperial family, they were suffering, because the attention of the monarchs was focused only on this dark personality.

Indeed, Gregory began to occupy a high position at the emperor's court. The savior of the heir, he was revered by the empress as a saint. All attempts to appeal to common sense were unsuccessful: the empress was adamant and considered everything slander. And the emperor was forced to agree with everything, because the life of the blood heir was in the hands of the elder. Thus, a plan to kill the unwanted “saint” began to be thought out.

Murder plot

Involvement in the murder of Felix was the most direct. However, for the rest of his life he will remember this as a bad dream. Close friends of Yusupov took part in the conspiracy: deputy Purishkevich, Dmitry Pavlovich, a native of the royal family, and the resident of the British intelligence services O. Rayner was also involved.

To carry out the plan, it was necessary to get closer to Gregory. This role was assigned to Felix. He asks Rasputin to get rid of the vice, to help.

12/17/1916 Rasputin is invited to the Yusupov family mansion, supposedly to meet Irina, Felix’s wife (she is in Crimea at that time). There they first try to poison him, and then the fatal shots are fired.

This crime hides many mysteries, but one thing is clear: Felix himself believed that by doing this he was ridding his beloved country of obscurantism. Indeed, the citizens of the empire breathed a sigh of relief upon learning of Gregory's death.

Suspect Felix Yusupov is exiled to Rakitino, his father’s estate.

Emigration: life in London

The family survives the revolution safely, but emigrates to Europe. Their path ran first to Crimea, then to Malta. Next, Prince Felix Yusupov and his family go to the UK, and his parents go to the capital of Italy.

Until recently, they all hoped that they would still see their native land, but this was not destined to come true.

In London, Felix helps arriving noble refugees. The family does not live in luxury as in their homeland, because they left all the treasures at home. The jewelry that the women were wearing was sold - that’s what they lived on. There were also swindlers who stole from the Yusupovs.

Paris: World War II

Last place of residence is Paris. Irina and Felix Yusupov moved there in 1920. Miraculously, original paintings and some jewelry were taken out of Russia. This was enough to buy a small house. In France, assistance also continues to those who fled the new realities of the country of the Soviets. At the same time, the Yusupov couple opened the Irfé fashion house, but it did not bring them the desired financial well-being.

Funds for living appeared in an unexpected way: a film about Rasputin and his death was released in Hollywood. It was reported there that the elder had an affair with Irina, Felix’s wife. It was decided to go to court with charges of libel. As a result, the couple received good compensation.

During the war, Yusupov flatly refused to join the Nazis. They took possession of Felix's family - a very rare pearl. They blackmailed her, but the prince was adamant. As a result, the jewel returned to the family.

In 1942, tragic news arrived: Yusupov’s best friend, who participated with him in the conspiracy against Rasputin, Grand Duke Dmitry, died. Felix mourns his friend for a long time.

After the end of the war, the Yusupovs live in Paris, they barely have enough money, but they do not despair: they are always hospitable, joyful and happy, despite severe hardships. Felix Yusupov, whose photo is in the article, is an example of a truly Russian aristocrat. Unsellable, with self-respect, but at the same time open to helping the disadvantaged.

Wife Irina Alexandrovna

A person’s personality will not be fully revealed unless one delves into his relationship with his wife. Felix Yusupov's wife was nee Romanova, the Emperor's niece Irina Alexandrovna.

Since the engagement, the relationship of the young people has undergone obstacles. It should be said that Felix himself decided to get married, it was his decision, and not pressure from the family. The young people had known each other since childhood, had tender feelings in their youth, so they were not at all against the wedding. The families also did not object; the union was completely equal: the Romanovs and the richest family in the country. However, the engagement almost fell through due to “well-wishers” who told Irina’s father compromising facts about Felix’s sodomy. The young man convinces his future father-in-law of his innocence, and the wedding takes place.

All their lives in exile, the Yusupov couple was engaged in charity and helping other emigrants, although they lived very modestly. They are an example of like-minded spouses, zealous patriots of their country.

Probably, for all the good deeds they were destined to live for many years: Felix Yusupov dies in 1968 at the age of 80, 2 years later his faithful wife Irina died.

Descendants of the prince

Unfortunately, the Yusupov couple had only one daughter, Irina. During her emigration, she lives for some time with her grandmother Zinaida, then marries Count Sheremetyev and moves to Rome.

From this union Ksenia is born. Thus, she, her daughter Tatyana and two granddaughters are living direct descendants of the Yusupov family.

Prince Felix Yusupov forever went down in history primarily as the murderer of Rasputin. The dramatic events of 1916 that took place in the Yusupov Palace on the Moika River have been filmed more than once. A reliable image of Felix Yusupov in cinema was embodied by Vladimir Koshevoy in the film “Conspiracy” (2007) and in the First Channel series “Gregory R.” (year 2014). This time, the actor gave a tour of the renovated Yusupov Palace, talked about his significant meeting with Princess Ksenia Nikolaevna, the granddaughter of Felix Yusupov, who recently came to St. Petersburg, and shared with HELLO! some of her memories.

Felix Yusupov, 1916Vladimir Koshevoy in the Yusupov Palace. The actor has played Prince Yusupov more than once, and now plans to embody this image on the stage of the palace’s home theater Ksenia Nikolaevna was born in 1942 in Rome. By that time, only memories remained of the fabulous state of the family. But her grandfather and grandmother were alive, whose stories kept bringing Ksenia back to the times when the Yusupovs owned palaces in St. Petersburg and Moscow. In 1965, Ksenia married a Greek businessman and received the surname Sfiri. Then she gave birth to a daughter, Tatyana, and then granddaughters appeared. Nothing disturbed the measured life in Athens, but Ksenia wanted to visit St. Petersburg.

The princess first came to Russia not so long ago. It was from her that blood was taken to identify the royal remains, because the maiden name of her grandmother Irina Yusupova is Romanova, she is the niece of Nicholas II. Ksenia came to St. Petersburg for the burial ceremony of the royal family.

It was an amazing event,” Ksenia Nikolaevna said then. - We, the descendants of old Russian aristocrats, walked behind the royal coffins along the streets of St. Petersburg, which I consider the most beautiful city on earth, and felt like a part of our homeland.

Ksenia Yusupova with her daughter Tatyana and granddaughters Marilya and Jasmine-Ksenia in the former princely library

The return was very solemn: the presentation of a Russian passport and even a meeting with Vladimir Putin. Ksenia, of course, dreams of coming home more often. But, paradoxically, Ksenia Yusupova-Sfiri simply has nowhere to stay: the family is not so rich as to afford hotels in the capital.

This time she came at the invitation of the director of the Yusupov Palace, who wanted to demonstrate the updated interiors and discuss the upcoming production of “Felix. The Return” based on Yusupov’s memoirs. The play will be performed in the new theater season on the stage of the Palace's Home Theater.

The museum administration has always maintained warm relations with the descendants of Prince Yusupov. Ksenia Nikolaevna arrived at the invitation of the director of the Yusupov Palace Nina Vasilievna Kukuruzova (pictured) After touring the halls, Ksenia Nikolaevna held a two-hour service in the house church of the Intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Yusupov Palace. Back in 2005, when work began on the revival of the church, not a single detail of the interior decoration reminded that there had once been a temple here. Ksenia Yusupova cried with happiness and gratitude, because her grandfather, Felix Yusupov, was baptized here. Our conversation took place in the restored Moorish drawing room. The princess took off her shoes, climbed up onto a chair and lit a cigarette. I took a puff of pleasure and plunged into memories...

Vladimir Koshevoy and granddaughter of Felix Yusupov Ksenia NikolaevnaYouth

I was 16 years old when we began to communicate closely with my grandfather,” said the princess. - And often spent time just the two of us. He knew how to listen. He didn’t talk about Russia, we only talked about life, talked about what concerned us. I don't remember the details. I remember him entirely - his posture, his voice... He opened up the world for me. And he called her “little one,” and could always guess which member of the family was walking down the corridor. Oh, who's there? Little... We understood each other well, felt each other. We walked a lot, went to restaurants, cinema, theater. They especially loved comedies. We laughed a lot. He wanted more joy than drama. Grandfather didn't sing well, but he sang sweetly. With guitar, ballads. As for music, Albinoni always sounded in the house. My granddaughters and I have a record by a Venetian composer; when we play it, we remember our grandfather.

Holidays

The most important holidays in the family are birthdays. What could be more important than our family members? We ourselves. One day when I was little, they were deciding what to give as a gift. We had very little money. Thinking: throw a party or buy a gift? And grandfather decided: shoes. Said, "I want to be the first man to give you shoes." I remember they were fashionable and white. This is the beauty of the act."

Character

He became very angry when his requests were not fulfilled. I didn't like to put it off until tomorrow. He demanded it be done this minute. If his grandmother, Irina Yusupova from the Romanov family, was a pessimist, then he was always determined for the best - an optimist. Yes, even if today is not the way we would like, but tomorrow will be a new day. Everything will change. And grandfather also said: “Look at everything with kindness and love, and then a beautiful world will be open to you.”

Rasputin

I knew nothing about this story, and my grandfather asked me to read his memoirs. He said that he wrote everything in the book for me. He was sure that Rasputin was a bad person. I read the book 15 times and every time I hear his voice, he is not a writer - a storyteller.

Movie

I never watch films about my grandfather. Because everyone is only interested in Rasputin, and Felix’s identity is never revealed. Grandfather was a very theatrical person, and he wanted to live brightly. I wanted to make a good impression, but inside I remained a 16-year-old boy. And this was its beauty and spontaneity. He had charisma and star appeal, thanks to which he always found himself at the epicenter of events.

Actions

"Grandfather was impractical, romantic and very kind. In recent years, he set himself the goal of helping the dying. He found time to go to the hospital to the seriously ill to cheer them up. Not many people know about this. And when seriously ill people died, from the hospital telephoned and asked: "Come, they are waiting for your conversations and leave life brightly." If you can help, help. Always. This is his youthful credo. Grandfather said: "The good that we have comes from the good that we give." He "He always repeated this to me. I'll remember a few of these things and I'll cry... But I don't want to at all."

Home theater

“Whoever has performed on this stage - Franz Liszt, Pauline Viardot, Fyodor Chaliapin, Eduard Napravnik, Anna Pavlova! The performances attracted famous guests, including members of the imperial family. I don’t like it when they call it a “palace” - for for me, this is a home with its own special aura. I would really like to see a play about the life of my grandfather on this unique stage. Yusupov can be called the “cultural core” of Russian emigration. The production based on his memoirs is a return to the roots, the connection of modern Russia and emigrant Russia, This is the connection between generations."

Ksenia Yusupova was very pleased with the restoration in the palace and the work of the team. In parting, she cordially thanked her family for the warm welcome and promised to attend the premiere of the play "Felix. The Return"

At the very end of the 19th century, Princess Zinaida Nikolaevna Yusupova commissioned a painting from the increasingly popular artist Serov. More precisely, paintings, since she needed portraits of all members of her family.

Valentin Alexandrovich was famous for the fact that he extremely disliked writing “the rich, famous and arrogant,” but he liked the princess and her family. The artist gallantly noted that if all rich people were the same, then there would be no injustice and misfortune left in the world. The princess sadly replied that not everything in life is measured by money. Alas, the history of the Yusupov family was so complex and tragic that it had every reason to be sad.

Origin of the family

The origin of the family was very ancient. Even at the end of the 19th century, when among the highest nobility of the Russian Empire there were more and more people from among wealthy merchants and manufacturers, the Yusupovs remained not only rich, but also respected their family and knew a lot about their ancient roots. In those years, not everyone could boast of this.

So, the history of the Yusupov family begins with the khan - Yusuf-Murza. He, knowing full well about the glory of Ivan IV the Terrible, did not at all want to quarrel with the Russians. Wanting reconciliation with the formidable sovereign, he sent his sons to his court. Ivan appreciated this behavior: Yusuf’s heirs were not only showered with villages and rich gifts, but also became “eternal rulers of all the Tatars in the Russian land.” So they found a new homeland.

This is how the Yusupovs (princes) appeared. The history of Russian families has added another glorious page. The progenitor of the family himself ended badly.

Khan knew perfectly well that in distant and alien Muscovy his sons would be much better off. As soon as they managed to cross the borders of their former state, their father was treacherously stabbed to death by his own brother. The history of the Yusupov family says that the tribesmen were so enraged by the news that the sons of the murdered khan had converted to Orthodoxy that they asked one of the most powerful steppe witches to place a curse on their entire family. It was scary.

Curse of the family

The Yusupovs themselves passed on the words of the curse from generation to generation: “And let only one of the family live to be 26 years old. And so it will be until the entire race is destroyed.” Superstitions are superstitions, but the words of such an ornate spell came true without fail. No matter how many children the women from this family gave birth to, only one of them always lived to reach the ill-fated age of 26 or older.

However, modern historians say that the family probably had some kind of genetic disease. The fact is that the “ancestral curse of the Yusupov princes” did not begin to manifest itself immediately, no matter what legend says. One child at a time began to survive only after Boris Grigorievich (1696-1759). Until then, there is no information about the small number of surviving heirs, which suggests a hereditary disease. This suspicion is confirmed by the fact that with the girls in the family everything was much better - they lived to adulthood much more often.

Since then, each head of the clan had only one son. Because of this, throughout the 18th-19th centuries, the family was actually on the verge of complete extinction. However, this sad circumstance also had its positive side: unlike all other princely families, which by the end of the 19th century, for the most part, completely squandered their fortunes, the Yusupovs’ money was more than in order.

Family well-being

However, problems with the gene pool did not in any way affect material well-being. By the time of the revolution, the Yusupov family was only slightly “poorer” than the Romanovs themselves. Although the history of the Yusupov family clearly hints that in fact the family was much richer than the imperial family.

According to official information alone, Yusuf’s distant descendants owned more than 250 thousand acres of land, they also owned hundreds of factories, mines, roads and other profitable places. Every year, the profit from all this exceeded 15 million (!) gold rubles, which, translated into modern money, exceeds 13 billion rubles annually.

The luxury of the palaces that belonged to them aroused envy even among families whose ancestors came from the times of Rurik. Thus, in the St. Petersburg estate, many rooms were furnished with furniture that previously belonged to the executed Marie Antoinette. Among their property were such paintings that even the Hermitage collection would consider it an honor to have them in their collection.

In the boxes of women from the Yusupov family, jewelry that had previously been collected all over the world lay carelessly. Their value was incredible. For example, the “modest” pearl “Pelegrina”, with which Zinaida Nikolaevna can be seen in all the paintings, once belonged to the famous Spanish crown and was the favorite decoration of Philip II himself.

However, everyone considered their family happy, but the Yusupovs themselves were not happy about it. The history of the family has never been characterized by an abundance of happy days.

Countess de Chauveau

Zinaida Nikolaevna's grandmother, Countess de Chauveau, probably lived the happiest life (compared to the rest of the women in the family). She came from an ancient and noble family of the Naryshkins. Zinaida Ivanovna was married to Boris Nikolaevich Yusupov at a very young age.

She gave birth to her mature husband, first a son, and then a daughter, who died during childbirth. Only later did she find out that all the Yusupovs faced this. The story of the family so impressed the still young girl that she flatly refused to give birth again: “I don’t want to produce dead people.”

About the hardships of family life

She immediately told her husband that he was free to run after all the girls in the yard, she would not force him into bondage. This is how they lived until 1849, when the old prince died. The princess at that time was not even forty years old, and therefore she, as they say now, “went into all kinds of troubles.” In those years, gossip about her adventures was spread throughout the empire, to say nothing of St. Petersburg!

But the most scandalous episode of her biography was her passion for one young Narodnaya Volya member. When he was imprisoned, she abandoned all the balls and masquerades, by hook or by crook, seeking a softening of the prison regime for her beloved.

New husband

In those years, even for lesser sins it was possible to fly out of high society, but they pitied Zinaida Ivanovna: after all, they were the Yusupovs! The incredible story continued, but for a long time it was believed that the princess’s quirks were over. Her revelry suddenly stopped; the woman lived as a complete recluse for a long time. Then she meets a handsome, well-born, but completely ruined Frenchman, falls in love and leaves Russia forever. She abandoned the “cursed name” and became Countess de Chauveau, Marquise de Serres.

Strange find

Everyone forgot about this strange and stupid story, but then the revolution broke out. The Bolsheviks were well aware of the family’s wealth, since the curse of the Yusupov family was well known even in Moscow. They assumed that the “crazy potbelly stove” could well have hidden her jewelry somewhere in her former home on Liteiny Prospekt, and therefore they rattled all its premises literally millimeter by millimeter. An absolutely incredible discovery awaited them: they discovered a secret room, the door to which was walled up.

In the room there was a coffin in which rested the embalmed body of a young man. We can safely assume that the solution to the missing Narodnaya Volya has been found. Most likely, the countess was unable to get the sentence reviewed, and therefore went on a spree. Only after redeeming the body of her executed lover did she manage to calm down.

Zinaida Ivanovna, as we have already said, had an only son. Nikolai Borisovich Yusupov himself had three children at once. The eldest was son Boris. There were two daughters - Zinaida and Tatyana. No one was surprised that Boris died of scarlet fever at an early age. The parents were only consoled by the fact that their daughters grew up to be beautiful and were completely healthy. It was only in 1878 that a misfortune befell Zinaida.

New trouble

The family lived in their Arkhangelsk estate in the fall of that year. Nikolai Borisovich, being constantly busy at work, came home rarely and not for long. Tatyana preferred to read, and Zinaida loved to go on long horseback rides. One day she injured her leg. The wound was tiny and did not seem to pose any danger, but by the evening the girl had a fever.

Doctor Botkin, hastily summoned to the estate, made a disappointing diagnosis. Blood poisoning in those days only resulted in death. By morning, Zinaida’s fever did not subside, she fell into unconsciousness. It seemed that the family of the Yusupov princes would soon suffer another loss.

John of Kronstadt: phenomenon

Subsequently, Zinaida recalled that in that strange and unsteady state that separated reality from dreams, she dreamed of Saint John of Kronstadt, with whom her family had long been friends. When she suddenly regained consciousness, the elder was urgently called to the estate. He prayed for her, and the girl quickly recovered. But the sad story of the Yusupov princely family did not end there. At 22, Tatyana died of measles.

Continuation of the family line

It is not surprising that the old prince passionately desired his daughter’s marriage. Zinaida Nikolaevna then recalled that her father, who by that time had begun to get sick a lot, was very afraid of not living to see his grandchildren.

Soon a contender was found. Young Yusupova was wooed by the Bulgarian prince Battenberg, who was a direct relative of the imperial couple. The prince's retinue included a modest young man, Felix Elston, whose duties included introducing the future bride to the groom. And then thunder struck. Felix and Zinaida fell in love literally at first sight, and the feelings were mutual. Soon the young people got married.

Nikolai Borisovich at first almost fainted from such an extravagant decision of his daughter, but he did not dare to contradict his only heiress. Just a year later, the young couple had their first child, who was named Nikolai in honor of his grandfather.

New shocks

The boy was very withdrawn and unsociable; the princess tried all her life to bring him closer to her, but did not achieve much success. On Christmas Day 1887, a little boy said to his mother with icy calm, “I don’t want you to have any other children.” It soon turned out that one of the nannies told him that the Yusupovs were a cursed family. The stupid woman was immediately fired. Zinaida, who by that time was expecting the birth of her second child, thought with fear how his older brother would greet him.

At first, everything indicated that the boy hated his younger brother Felix. Only when he turned ten years old did they begin to communicate normally. But all contemporaries noted that the relationship between the two young princes simply resembled strong friendship, but not brotherly love. This is how the history of the Yusupov family continued. Discussion of the terrible curse that hung over their family gradually faded away. But then 1908 came.

Death of Nicholas

Nikolai fell madly in love with Maria Heyden, who was soon to marry Arvid Manteuffel, and the wedding took place because the young people loved each other.

Despite the desperate admonitions of all his friends, the offended Nikolai followed them on their honeymoon. The duel was only a matter of time. It took place on June 22, 1908. Nikolai died six months before his twenty-sixth birthday. The parents almost went crazy with grief, and from now on all their thoughts were directed towards young Felix. Unfortunately, the obvious happened: the spoiled boy became a “spoiled cherub,” greedy and capricious.

However, the trouble was not this, but his exceptional wastefulness. When the family sailed from burning Russia in 1919, they had more than enough money. For just a couple of “small and faded” diamonds, Felix bought French passports for all his household, and they bought a house in the Bois de Boulogne. Alas, the prince did not give up the comfortable life he led in his homeland. As a result, his wife and daughter Irina were buried right in the grave of Zinaida Nikolaevna. There was no money for the funeral. The line was completely interrupted.

The biography of this noble family is rooted in the history of the Arab Caliphate: its origins were traced back to the legendary Abu Bakr, father-in-law and closest associate of the Prophet Muhammad. During the era of the fall of the caliph's power, the ancestors of the future Yusupovs ruled Damascus, Antioch, Iraq, Persia and Egypt in different years. In the history of the family there are legends about the close friendship of their ancestors with the great conqueror Tamerlane: the temnik of the Golden Horde, Edigei, having organized a coup d'etat in 1400, managed to raise international authority and increase the political influence of the disintegrating Tatar-Mongol state. The founder of the Yusupov family is considered to be Bey of the Nogai Horde Yusuf-Murza (great-grandson of Edigei), a consistent opponent of the expansion of the Muscovite kingdom in the mid-16th century. His daughter, Syuyumbike, played an important role in the tragic history of the capture of Kazan by the troops of Ivan the Terrible, becoming, after the death of her husband, the ruler of the Khanate, the only woman to ever hold such an important post. By the way, her real name was Syuyuk, and Syuyumbike, which means “beloved lady,” was nicknamed by local residents for her special kindness and responsiveness to her subjects.

The Yusupov family traces its origins to the Khan of the Nogai Horde

Legends associated with the biography of this woman say: once Ivan the Terrible, having learned about the extraordinary beauty of Queen Syuyumbike, sent his matchmakers to Kazan, however, she refused to obey the demands of the Russian Tsar. Then the angry Ivan decided to take the city by force - if Syuyumbike did not agree to marry him, he threatened to destroy Kazan. After the city was captured by Russian troops, its ruler, in order not to surrender to the invaders, threw herself from the tower, which today bears her name. According to other sources, the Kazan ruler was captured and forcibly taken along with her son to the Moscow kingdom - it was from this moment that the official pedigree of the Yusupov family began.

Modern depiction of Queen Syuyumbike

The next important stage in the formation of this noble family was the transition to Orthodoxy, the circumstances of which played a tragic role in the history of the dynasty. The great-grandson of Yusuf Bey Abdul-Murza (great-grandfather of Nikolai Borisovich Yusupov) received Patriarch Joachim on his estate in Romanov (now the city of Tutaev, Yaroslavl region) and, not knowing the restrictions of Orthodox fasts, fed him a goose, which he mistook for fish. However, the owner’s mistake was revealed, and the angry church hierarch, returning to Moscow, complained to Tsar Fyodor Alekseevich, and the monarch deprived Abdul-Murza of all his awards. In an effort to regain his previous position, he decided to be baptized, taking the name Dmitry and surname in memory of his ancestor Yusuf - Dmitry Seyushevich Yusupov. So he earned royal forgiveness, receiving the title of prince and returning his entire fortune. However, Abdul Mirza's decision cost his entire family dearly: one night a prophecy was sent to him that from now on, for betraying his true faith, in each generation there would not be more than one male heir, and if there were more, then no one would live longer than 26 years . This terrible curse haunted the Yusupov family until the very end.

Dmitry Seyushevich Yusupov

The Yusupovs have always been at the center of the most dramatic events in the history of the Russian Empire. The ill-fated Murza Abdul-Dmitry took part in the Streltsy uprising, when, together with his Tatar warriors, he stood up to protect the duumvirate of the young heirs of Alexei Mikhailovich. His son, Grigory Dmitrievich Yusupov, became famous in Peter’s campaigns, having gone through all the military hardships of Azov, Narva and Lesnaya together with the future emperor. After Peter's death, Catherine I noted his services by awarding him the Order of St. Alexander Nevsky, and Tsar Peter II granted Grigory Dmitrievich an old Moscow mansion in Bolshoi Kharitonyevsky Lane, elevated him to lieutenant colonel of the Preobrazhensky Regiment and granted him the position of senator, with estates in the Yaroslavl, Voronezh, Nizhny Novgorod and Ryazan provinces.

According to legend, the curse of the Yusupovs was associated with baptism into Orthodoxy

His son, Boris Grigorievich, rose to the position of actual privy councilor under Anna Ivanovna, becoming the director of Russia's first privileged educational institution for noble children - the Land Noble Corps. By the way, Boris Grigorievich was known as a great theatergoer: Alexander Petrovich Sumarokov, the founder of Russian drama and the patron of the first Russian public stage, began his career in the educational theater organized under his leadership.

Boris Grigorievich Yusupov

The son of Boris Grigorievich - Nikolai Borisovich - was a famous nobleman of Catherine, at one time even having the status of the empress’s favorite (for a long time in his office there hung a painting depicting him and Catherine in the image of naked Apollo and Venus). This representative of the Yusupov family actively corresponded with the enlighteners Voltaire and Diderot, and the playwright Beaumarchais even dedicated an enthusiastic poem to him. Thanks to his noble origin and brilliant position at court, Nikolai Borisovich was able to personally meet all the main leaders of European history at the turn of the 18th-19th centuries: Joseph II, Frederick the Great, Louis XVI and Napoleon. The prince was a passionate admirer of art and managed to assemble an art collection in his luxurious palace, which can be compared with the masterpieces of the Louvre or the Hermitage. When this venerable nobleman received all possible posts and awards in the Russian Empire, a special type of award was established especially for him - a precious pearl epaulette. Nikolai Borisovich also became famous for his extraordinary hunt for women: in the recently built Arkhangelskoye estate near Moscow (which contemporaries called the “Russian Versailles”) hung 300 portraits of women who could boast of acquaintance with a prominent nobleman. Prince Peter Andreevich Vyazemsky, having visited Arkhangelskoye, left the following description of the owner of the luxurious estate: “On the street there was an eternal holiday, in the house there was an eternal triumph of celebrations... Everything about him was radiant, deafening, intoxicating.”

Nikolay Borisovich Yusupov

The memory of the family curse did not fade: the bride of Nikolai Borisovich’s son, Zinaida Ivanovna Yusupova, flatly refused to “give birth to dead men,” giving her husband complete carte blanche - “let him give birth to the courtyard girls.” In 1849, her husband dies, and the 40-year-old widow turns into a real socialite, about whose novels the entire St. Petersburg society gossiped. It came down to a secret wedding with the captain of the French guard, Louis Chauveau, who was 20 years younger than her. Fleeing from the dissatisfaction of the imperial court with such a misalliance, Yusupova goes to Switzerland, where she acquires for her husband the title of Count Chauveau and Marquis de Serres.

Zinaida Ivanovna Yusupova

The last representative of the female branch of the Yusupov family, Zinaida Nikolaevna, was one of the most beautiful women of her time. The heiress of a huge fortune was in her youth a very enviable bride, whose hand was asked even by the heirs of European ruling dynasties, but the proud girl wanted to choose a husband according to her own taste. As a result, her choice fell on Felix Feliksovich Sumarokov-Elston, who immediately after his marriage received the princely title and the position of commander of the Moscow Military District. The main activity that occupied Zinaida Nikolaevna was charity: under her patronage there were numerous shelters, hospitals, gymnasiums, and churches throughout the country.

The last descendant of the Yusupovs died in 1967 in Paris.

During the Russo-Japanese War, Yusupova was the head of a military hospital train right on the front line, and sanatoriums and hospitals for the wounded were organized in the family’s palaces and estates. Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich, who knew Zinaida Nikolaevna from her youth, wrote: “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.” The life of the last Yusupovs was seriously overshadowed by the death of their eldest son, Nikolai: he died in a duel in 1908, competing with Count Arvid Manteuffel for the hand of the fatal beauty Marina Alexandrovna Heyden. Note that Nikolai Yusupov was supposed to turn 26 years old in six months...

Portrait of Zinaida Nikolaevna Yusupova by Valentin Serov

In the last years before the revolution, Zinaida Nikolaevna began to actively criticize Empress Alexandra Feodorovna for her fanatical passion for Rasputin, which led to a complete break in relations with the royal family, which had already worsened due to the recent family scandal. About their last meeting in the summer of 1916 and the “cold reception”, Zinaida Nikolaevna’s son, Felix, wrote: “... the queen, who was silently listening to her, stood up and parted with her with the words: “I hope I will never see you again.” Soon after the start of the February Revolution, the Yusupovs left St. Petersburg and settled in Crimea. Before the seizure of Crimea by the Bolsheviks, on April 13, 1919, they left Russia (along with the family of Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich) on the British battleship Marlborough and emigrated to Italy.