The biography of Prince Dolgoruky Mikhail Mikhailovich fits in several lines - he was born, studied, worked, was convicted, executed. Behind these lines a whole human life passed, in which the era of revolutionary Russia was reflected.
Rod Dolgoruky
The family of Russian princes Dolgoruky went from Prince Ivan Andreevich Obolensky. He received the nickname Dolgoruky for his unimaginable suspiciousness. A large number of representatives of this surname served to the benefit of the fatherland. They died for their homeland on the battlefields, were executed in troubled times, and boosted the Russian economy. Subsequently, the surname Dolgoruky was transformed into Dolgorukov. Their relatives were the most famous and noble families - the Romanovs, Shuysky, Golitsyns, Dashkovs.
Birth and study
Prince Mikhail Dolgorukov was born in the city of St. Petersburg on January 15, 1891. For father Mikhail Mikhailovich and mother Sofia Alexandrovna, the birth of a son was a joyful event. He was the continuer of the clan on the male line and the bearer of the family name. In addition to Mikhail, the family had two more sisters - Ksenia Mikhailovna and Maria Mikhailovna. There was no information about how their life turned out. At the age of 12, Prince Mikhail Dolgorukov was sent to the St. Petersburg Imperial School of Law.
Only high-class children studied at the school. The educational institution in its status was on a par with the Tsarskoye Selo Lyceum. Pupils lived there, as they themselves said, on 47 calls. That is how many calls the daily routine contained. The school was paid, but if the family could not pay for tuition, money was paid from the state treasury. Most likely, it was from there that funds came for Mikhail's training, since his family was constrained in finances. At the age of 17, Mikhail Dolgorukov graduated from college, having received deep legal knowledge.
Army service and revolution
Like many of the Dolgorukovs, Mikhail goes to serve in the tsarist army. He did not deserve high ranks and ranks. Maybe he just didn’t have enough time. The Great October Revolution broke out. The year 1917 has come. Political and economic confusion has begun in the country. Centuries-old foundations collapsed. Brought up in the traditions of Russian princely families, he could not accept the new that the revolution carried in itself.
Prince Mikhail Dolgorukov has always been non-partisan, he did not join any of the parties that grew in Russia like mushrooms. The emigration of relatives and friends began. Mikhail decided not to go abroad. Hard times have come. His knowledge of jurisprudence turned out to be useless to anyone in his homeland. It was necessary to somehow survive, so he did not shy away from any work. Using his literacy, the man worked as a clerk and bookkeeper. It became harder and harder to answer questions about origin when applying for a job. I had to work as a watchman, assistant shoemaker, take a coat in the wardrobe, because he had to feed his family.
Arrest
In the 1930s, the arrests of "enemies of the people" began in Russia. The descendants of the noble and princely families were always perceived in the new Russia in a negative way. In 1926, Mikhail was first arrested. Under article 58-10, he is given three years and sent to exile in the Buryat-Mongol Autonomous Republic. The sentence has not yet ended, but he is again arrested and sentenced to 10 years imprisonment with confiscation of property. Under articles 58-2 and 58-8, he is reduced in rights, which means serving a sentence without the right to correspondence and visits. Michael survived the cruel year of 1934 - the time when the most cruel repressions began. But the case of Prince Mikhail Dolgorukov in 1937 was requested by the UNKVD of the West Siberian Territory.
Execution
Why was Prince Mikhail Dolgoruky shot? An extract from the minutes No. 32/4 of the meeting of the NKVD Troika Directorate in the Tomsk Region says: “He is accused of participating in a counter-revolutionary monarchist rebel organization.” On September 22, 1937, a trio of the UNKVD sentenced - to shoot.
The sentence was carried out on December 11, 1937. His guilt was not proven. Twenty years later, in 1957, Prince Mikhail Dolgorukov was rehabilitated posthumously. He became one of the many who were shot for the title. It was he who became for Mikhail Mikhailovich Dolgorukov not a blessing, but a curse.
In the archives of the NKVD, a dying photograph of Mikhail Dolgorukov was preserved. On it is a gray-haired man with an infinitely tired look. On the chest plate with the numbers "11-37". He was only 46 years old. Wife Lydia outlived her husband for a short while. She died in 1940. Michael and Lydia did not have children. So one of the branches of the ancient clan Dolgoruky broke off ...