Princess Zinaida Yusupova (September 2, 1861 - November 24, 1939) was a Russian noblewoman, the only heiress of the largest family in Russia. This rich aristocrat went down in history not only of her homeland. Famous for her beauty, generosity and hospitality, Princess Zinaida Yusupova became the leading figure in pre-revolutionary Russian society. In 1882, she married Count Felix Feliksovich Sumarokov-Elston, who for some time served as governor general of Moscow (1914-1915). Zinaida is known as the mother of Prince Felix Yusupov, the murderer of Rasputin. The biography of Princess Yusupova took a tragic turn after the revolution. She fled from her native country and spent the remaining years living in exile.
Princess Yusupova died at the age of 83 in Paris. A year before her death, she expressed a desire to return to her homeland. But she could not do it.
Early life
The princess was the only surviving child of Prince Nikolai Borisovich Yusupov (October 12, 1827 - July 31, 1891), Marshal of the Imperial Court, and Countess Tatyana Alexandrovna de Ribopier (June 29, 1828 - January 14, 1879). Prince Yusupov adored art, he served in the office of Tsar Nicholas I. The mother of Princess Yusupova is the maid of honor of the Empress, daughter of Count Alexander de Ribopier and his wife Ekaterina Mikhailovna Potemkina, niece of Prince Potemkin.
The only brother of Zinaida, Prince Boris Nikolayevich Yusupov, died in early childhood. She also had a younger sister, Tatyana Nikolaevna, who died in 1888. Zinaida, the only surviving child of an outstanding, high-ranking and extremely rich couple, enjoyed great favor at court.
Property
Princess Yusupova was the greatest Russian heiress, in fact the last of the Yusupovs' house. The Yusupovs descended from the Crimean Tatars, they were very rich, they owned enormous wealth. Their property included four palaces in St. Petersburg, three palaces in Moscow, 37 estates in various regions of Russia (Kursk, Voronezh and Poltava). They owned more than 100,000 acres (400 km 2 ) of land and industrial enterprises, including sawmills, textile and cardboard plants, iron ore mines, mills, distilleries and oil fields on the Caspian Sea.
Princess Yusupova was known for being smart, hospitable, beautiful; qualities that are fully manifested in her later life.
Marriage
The richest Yusupovs at the very beginning of the 20th century included Felix, Nikolai, Felix Feliksovich Sumarokov-Elston and Zinaida. Prince Nikolai Borisovich Yusupov hoped that Zinaida would have arranged a wonderful marriage with the best party, but at a reception organized to get her acquainted with Prince Battenberg, Princess Yusupova fell in love with Count Felix Feliksovich Sumarokov-Elston. He was a lieutenant. April 4, 1882 they were married in St. Petersburg.
In this marriage, four sons were born, only two of whom survived childhood: they were Nikolai and Felix. Their fate was also filled with rather tragic events that caused suffering to Princess Yusupova. After the death of his father, Nicholas, Felix received special permission from Emperor Alexander III, allowing him to bear the title of Prince Yusupov. Prince Felix was appointed adjutant to the representative of the Romanov House, Sergei Alexandrovich in 1904, and commanded the cavalry of the Imperial Guard. In 1914, he was appointed Governor General of Moscow; he did not hold the post for long. For just one year, he ruled the country's largest city.
The couple had their own mansion. This is the House of Princess Yusupova on Liteiny Prospect, where the Institute of Economic Relations, Economics and Law is currently located. She owned the palace on 86 Nevsky Prospect. It is also the famous palace of Princess Yusupova.
Before the revolution
Zinaida as a leading figure in pre-revolutionary Russian society was famous for its beauty, elegance and generosity. In her memoirs, the court lady Meriel Buchanan (1886-1959), daughter of the British ambassador to the Russian court, composed a portrait of Princess Zinaida Yusupova as follows: “Tender in her health, slightly emaciated, essentially feminine, she was not one of those capable, competent women able to lead large charities. She was always ready to give, freely and generously, to everyone who turned to her, to do everything in her power to help those in distress, lend her name, home, resources for any worthy cause. ”
Princess Zinaida Yusupova served as a maid of honor with Empress Maria Fedorovna, and later Empress Alexandra Fedorovna. She was a close friend of Grand Duchess Elizabeth Fedorovna, wife of Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich. The eldest son of Zinaida Nikolai at the age of 26 was killed in a duel in 1908. It was an event that cast a shadow over her remaining life. In February 1914, the youngest son Felix, married Princess Irina Alexandrovna, the only niece of Tsar Nicholas II. Felix fell out of favor for participating in the murder of Grigory Rasputin.
After the revolution
After the revolution, the princess lost her enormous wealth. She and her husband moved to Rome, living in cramped conditions. After his death, she moved to Paris, where she died in 1939. In total, she managed to live abroad for 22 years.
Pearl collection
As a representative of one of the most important noble families in Russia, she also inherited a huge fortune. She possessed the largest collection of historical jewelry in Russia, inferior only to the storerooms of the Russian imperial family. It is known that 21 diadems, 255 brooches, bracelets, 210 kg and hundreds of thousands of unaccounted stones were in her possession. Some of the famous stones are: from the middle of the 16th century, La Pearl, the North Star (diamond 41.28 carats), Pearl (the fifth largest pearl in the world) and many other riches.
After her escape during the revolution, she was forced to leave all her financial assets in Russia. Her precious collection was hidden in a secret vault in the house of Princess Yusupova on Nevsky Prospect in the hope that she would save them and return one day to Russia, but all of them were found and sold by the Bolsheviks in 1925. During the exile, she took with her only large jewels and those of historical importance, and sold them to ensure the life of her family.
From the memoirs of Felix
Princess Yusupova was a highly educated, very witty woman. She was distinguished by attentiveness, a craving for adventure was laid in her initially. In any case, this is precisely the portrait of Princess Yusupova in memory of Felix Yusupov.
Zinaida Ivanovna Yusupova
There is information that Zinaida felt rather soon disappointment in the marriage, this effect was smoothed out by the birth of her son Nikolai. The second child died shortly after birth. And soon a legend came about a curse of this kind: only one boy was to remain among the surviving children in this family, and the rest would die before the age of 26. Allegedly, the curse dates back to the time of Khan Nogai, who lived in the reign of Ivan the Terrible.
Zinaida decided not to have more children and plunged into public life. Legends circulated about the number of the princess’s boyfriends, but no one can find the facts and confirm them, she enveloped her life with a veil of secrecy. It is known, however, that her husband expressed dissatisfaction with the lifestyle of his wife. But he was powerless to change anything. In the end, he became interested in charity, and subsequently went headlong into it.
Portrait
The portrait of Princess Yusupova Serov in 1902 became famous. The aristocrat on it appears in an elegant dress, sewn in the latest fashion of the 20th century. No wonder the portrait of Princess Yusupova Serov became famous throughout the world. The entire surrounding interior perfectly complements its spirit. Her appearance is noble and stately, the soft curves of the environment complement the feminine features of the princess. The dress is written widely. While facial features are spelled out subtly. Both in the photo of Princess Yusupova, and in the portrait, her radiant eyes amaze. She seems to be all-understanding. So contemporaries spoke of her. In her portrait, Princess Yusupova looks kind, and her eyes are somewhat diffused. Her hands are amazingly thin, chiseled.
It is no coincidence that the artist and the dog placed in his work - this is the most important element of portraits in the spirit of the Renaissance.
Myths
The Yusupovs' house, and the princess in particular, are shrouded in myths. So, there is another mysterious story related to the house on Liteiny, no one can confirm whether this is true or not. However, this is described in the memoirs of Felix Yusupov. He wrote that while in exile in Paris, he read in a newspaper that the Soviet authorities, having seized the palace of Princess Yusupova, found a secret room. That was in 1925. They opened it, discovered a terrifying find - the human skeleton.
Curse of the Yusupovs
Zinaida Nikolaevna herself did not perceive wealth, did not consider that it was connected with happiness. Meanwhile, there were rumors everywhere about her family that she was cursed. Zinaida Ivanovna Yusupova was unable to meet with numerous sufferings due to the early death of children, which representatives of her surname constantly faced. Her husband was Boris. They got married when Princess Yusupova was still quite young. She told her husband that she was not going to suffer. And so that he would "marry the domestic girls." And this continued until 1849, until the death of Boris. And Zinaida, not yet reaching the 40-year milestone, set off into novels. After she closed in the palace on Liteiny. Soon she took the title of Countess de Chavaux, linking fate with the French aristocrat. Before the revolution, it was associated with the people's volunteer. There are allegations that when the Bolsheviks found the secret rooms of the Yusupov Palace, the skeleton of this particular Narodnaya Volya, with whom the princess was associated, was discovered there. He was once sentenced to death.
In the photo, Princess Zinaida Yusupova looked happy. Subsequently, the Countess de Chavaux, she loved to be engaged in many. Her daughter died immediately after birth, and the countess did not have time to get used to her properly. She was dying among the people close to her.
Nikolai, her son, initially survived three children. Everything was fine until the moment when in 1878 the daughter Zinaida did not get sick. It was the autumn period, the family introduced the children to relatives in Moscow. Zinaida Nikolaevna loved to ride and once injured her leg. The wound was small, but when the temperature rose, the doctor diagnosed her with "blood poisoning." The family was preparing for the tragedy. Later, Zinaida Nikolaevna reported that she had seen delirious father John Kronshtadsky, this was her friend. When she recovered, she asked to call him. And in the family legend, the legend was preserved that her younger sister had died because of Zinaida’s recovery: Tatyana contracted typhus at the age of two and left this world.
Archives
Only a small part of the family archives has survived to this day. Those who searched the palaces of Princess Yusupova took jewelry, but destroyed all paper documentation. So the most valuable library was lost, which could tell the world more about the princess. Some of the information about her came to our days from the memoirs of Felix Yusupov. At the same time, historians do not recommend fully trusting his memoirs. It is known that he somewhat embellished his own role in the reprisal against Rasputin. His view of what is happening is subjective.
It is known about Zinaida that her father was afraid not to deceive his grandchildren until his own death. The princess did not want to upset him, agreed to look at those who offered her a hand and a heart. But the final choice of her life partner was a surprise for the whole family. Nikolai Borisovich did not oppose her choice. A year later, the couple had a son, Nikolai, named him after his grandfather, who managed to nurse his grandson.
It is known that the princess made efforts to talk to her son. He was a rather reserved person. She described the horror that came when the boy said that he wanted his mother to have no other children as a Christmas present. Princess Yusupova described that she later found out that the boy said so after hearing stories from a nanny hired for him. She informed the child of an ancient curse of an aristocratic family. The nanny was fired. But already Princess Yusupova was expecting the next child with a bad foreboding. Soon Nikolai died. Then the husband of Zinaida received the title of Prince Yusupov. Someone claims that subsequently the curse of the genus appeared after almost two decades.
Shock
Documents with Felix's memoirs preserved information that he was jealous. He was jealous of his own mother Zinaida to his older brother Nikolai. Their inner worlds were alike. Nikolai, and once Leo Tolstoy noticed that the author was gifted. Nikolai was in love with Maria Geyden, at that time she had an engagement with the count, and after her wedding took place. When the newlyweds went to travel, Nikolai followed the couple. He went on a duel. The husband of beloved Nikolai Yusupov did not miss. Felix described the death of his older brother as painful. The prince was pale, and his mother almost lost her mind. She mistook Felix for her dying Nikolai. Zinaida shortly before this celebrated her 50th birthday. Hopes she began to associate with Felix. And despite the fact that he inherited the appearance of Zinaida, those around him noted that he was distinguished from his mother by a certain ominousness. He did not understand art, service. He burned his life, lived in entertainment. Princess Yusupova tried to reason with him, she urged him to work with his mind. But Felix married only when she said that she was sick, and she would not want to die without understanding the grandchildren.
When Felix took part in the massacre of Rasputin, the empress insisted on execution for the culprits. But among them was Dmitry Romanov. Then the punishment was replaced by a link. Zinaida visited the Empress. Then she heard a call from Maria Fyodorovna to gather a family and leave, because the Russian aristocracy had little time.
Legacy: Palace
The Yusupov Palace is the pearl of the world of architecture inherited by St. Petersburg from the oldest noble family. Zinaida Yusupova and her estate are shrouded in many legends. How many urban legends exist, which of them is true, is unknown.
The house was built so that the princess lived in it after the death of her husband. The palace of Zinaida Yusupova still excites the imagination. Outside, the castle is not without eclecticism. The facade was completely glazed with lime, which was a rarity for St. Petersburg. The Yusupov Palace on Liteiny Prospect catches your eye with windows of unusual sizes, sculpture, magnificent carvings and other decorations.
The palace attracts many tourists and residents. Firstly, they are attracted to the luxury of architecture and interiors, and secondly, an inner sense of unity with history and cultural events. On the ground floor there is a living room, and on the second floor there are waiting rooms. The interior decoration was meticulously and carefully designed, as was the facade.
The furniture was made of fine wood, the elements of the wall were made of natural stone.