Russian Noble and Princely Families

[Toledo]

This article is about a Russian Prince that would be nowadays 250 years 'young'. I could not find where to place it since is not about the Romanovs but the other families that ruled the internal affairs within the empire.

Prince Yusupov, the richest Russian of 18th century

 

[Marengo]

The Youssoupov Princely Family

This thread is dedicated to the members and descendants of the
Youssoupov Princely Family​

Arms of the Youssoupov Family
​

Image is free of copyrights

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And to start, I wondered if any descendants of Felix Youssoupov and Princess Irina of Russia are still around today. I believe their only daughter had a daughter too, who married a Greek, but my volume of 'Lost Splendour' doesn't take the family geanology much further I am afraid.

 

[COUNTESS]

Irina's greatgrandaughter Tatiana was married to Alexis Giannakoupoulas. Tatiana was born in 1968, so there is no reason why she wouldn't be alive, of course, young people die, too. I do not lnow of any children of her's.

 

[HRHBen176]

Check out:

Felix Yussupov - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

There is a section on his decendants..

 

[Russophile]

Lost Splendor and Massie have attested that the Yussoppov's wealth was vast and grand. Anybody know just how much they owned and what they lost in the Revolution?

 

[Anna was Franziska]

Irina's greatgrandaughter Tatiana was married to Alexis Giannakoupoulas. Tatiana was born in 1968, so there is no reason why she wouldn't be alive, of course, young people die, too. I do not lnow of any children of her's.

She is still alive. Her first marriage ended childless in divorce. She is now married again, to Anthony Vamvakidis. They have two young daughters, so the bloodline goes on! (babies' births were posted on AP when they happened, there was a pic of Xenia holding one but I can't find it now)

pictures of Tatiana (thanks Ashanti)
http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a388/ashanti01/youssoupov/tatianas.jpg
http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a388/ashanti01/youssoupov/tatianastifis.jpg

Marilia Vamvakidis (July 17, 2004)
Yasmine Xenia Vamvakidis (May 7, 2006)

 

[lexi4]

She is beautiful.

 

[Russophile]

She is beautiful.

Well Lex, she came from Xenia and Irina, of Course she'd be beautiful!!

 

[COUNTESS]

She is beautiful. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, Xenia was never beautiful.

 

[Russophile]

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, Xenia was never beautiful.

I've always thought she was, the eyes being a little too wide, exotic-looking, really.

 

[JPhinala]

I quite agree. Xenia was very attractive. A lot of that was her demeanour but I would imagine lots of Tatiania's beauty comes from Felix. His features are very evident in her. Especially in the first picture.

 

[Pixilated]

Xenia is the most stunning, exotic woman I've ever seen in pictures! Her aura seemed to be shy but came off as haughty.How could you not call this woman beautiful?!
http://macedonsky.narod.ru/images/cognates/c25.jpg

 

[CarolinaLandgrave]

Didn't Felix have several male romantic interests? Including at least one of Irina's Romanov cousins???

 

[MAfan]

Didn't Felix have several male romantic interests? Including at least one of Irina's Romanov cousins???

It seemed to be so...It's known that he had a particular friendship with Grand-duke Dmitri Pavlovich, with whom he killed Rasputin, and it is known that he liked male companies...

 

[Russophile]

It was that friendship that Nicholas and Alexandra looked at closely when Dmitry wanted to further something with their eldest daughter Olga. They disapproved.
Felix had a history of cross-dressing (see the Alexander Palace website for a free copy of "Lost Splendor" Felix's autobiography) and enjoying the company of males, though he really was fond of his wife Irina, and she of him.

 

[CarolinaLandgrave]

I have no doubt - from all that I have read and seen they were totally fond of each other!
I'll have to find where I read about him and one of the Romanov Grand Dukes....

thanks Russo!!

 

[Russophile]

I have no doubt - from all that I have read and seen they were totally fond of each other!
I'll have to find where I read about him and one of the Romanov Grand Dukes....

thanks Russo!!

You might try Greg King's "The Man who Killed Rasputin."

 

[CarolinaLandgrave]

I found it!!
Page 85 of Greg King's The Court of the Last Tsar......
it was Grand Duke Dimitri Pavlovich...... he was very infatuated with Princess Irina and with Felix....
and was quite distraught at their marriage - although it seems that it was more so over Felix!
Which comes full circle.... wasnt Dimitri one of the Grand Dukes in in the Rasputin killing?

 

[Russophile]

Yes, he was, and lucky for him, too. He was banished from the court to the east and was able to escape the revolution that way. His decendents live in Florida. They go by the name of Illynskoe.

 

[Anna was Franziska]

Dmitri's son, Paul, was for several years the mayor of Palm Beach, Fl. He passed in 2004.

 

[Al_bina]

Lost Splendor and Massie have attested that the Yussoppov's wealth was vast and grand. Anybody know just how much they owned and what they lost in the Revolution?

Indeed, the Yusupovs were considered to be the richest family after the Romanovs. Pikul claimed that the famous Belovezhskaya Pushcha belonged to them (see Belovezhskii Forest - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia). The Imperial court, including the Romanovs, was stunned looking at the collection of jewellery Prince Felix presented to his wife, Irina. Actually, the Romanovs were said to be quite satisfied with the above marriage. Furthermore, Pikul portrayed Prince Felix as a well-educated progressive individual with whims.
Technically speaking, Felix is Count Sumarokov-Elston and then Prince Yussopov. However, Princess Zenaida Nikolaievna Yusupova ensured that her sons would be Princes of the Yusupov family. Pikul hinted that Count Felix Nickolaevich Sumarokov-Elston was not exactly thrilled about it.

 

[Russophile]

Well according to Felix in Lost Splendor, the Yussoppov line was ending with his mother so she asked for a special dispensation for the family name to continue through her. Interesting , that.
Felix wrote that oil was so abundant on their Crimea property the locals picked up dirt that was infused with it to grease their carts axels!
Oh what a life!

 

[Anna was Franziska]

It took Alexander III so long to grant the request that Zenaida's father died without knowing for sure if his name would continue.

 

[CarolinaLandgrave]

Fabulous wealth..... Fabulous!

 

[Al_bina]

It took Alexander III so long to grant the request that Zenaida's father died without knowing for sure if his name would continue.

Tsar Alexander III was a very conservative man, who did not view daughters as legitimate successors to Princely or any other noble titles. Additionally, Princess Zenaida tended to be overly outspoken about issues in the pre-revolutionary Russia. That often involved criticism of the tsarist regime. Although she was a rich noblewoman, everything, including freedom of expression, had its limits. According Pikul, Okhrana (Okhrana - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia) somewhat kept Princess Zenaida under surveillance.

The following is information and photos of The Yusupov Palace on the Moika:
Yusupov Palace on the Moika
Yusupov Palace on the Moika, Saint Petersburg, Russia* -* Travel Photos by Galen R Frysinger, Sheboygan, Wisconsin

 

[Russophile]

A was she ever "banished" from the court? I do know in the past that when Tsar's were not happy with their noble subjects and their opinions they banished them to Siberia or other parts. Though with their money, a banishment to Siberia would have been in style and would have hardly been a punishment!

 

[Al_bina]

If I understood Pikul correctly, Princess Zenaida was privately rebuked for her criticisms by some courtiers, who was said to voice the concerns of the Romanovs, and reminded that it would be better for her not to cast the dirt into the fountain she lived off. At the same time, I got an impression that the Romanovs were keen on catching Prince Felix Yusupov. Thus, they overlooked Princess Zenaida's, as Pikul put it, light-red revolutionary speeches. Princess Zenaida's harsh, but private criticisms of Empress Alexandra Fedorovna were overlooked as well because the last Russian Empress was unpopular among nobles and ordinary people, and because Dowager Empress Marie Fedorovna, who had a great influence in the Romanov family, had a dislike for her daughter-in-law.
I dare to assume ... at that point in time Nicholas II could not banish an immensely rich family such as the Yusupovs from the court.

 

[Anna was Franziska]

While they were not 'banished', but of Felix's parents lost favor with Nicholas and Alexandra for their open criticism of Rasputin. His father Old Felix lost his job as Governer General of Moscow after speaking out against Rasputin and corruption, and Zenaida, after insisting the speak her mind to Alexandra on the subject of Rasputin, was put off with "I hope to never see you again."

Both stories can be found in this chapter:

http://alexanderpalace.org/lostsplendor/xx.html

Even Ella, a nun and Alix's own sister, was 'thrown out like a dog' for recommending getting rid of Rasputin. The two sisters never spoke again.

 

[Al_bina]

While it was possible that Rasputin did alleviate Tsarevich Aleksei's medical condition, Alexandra Fedorovna was wrong to castigate each and everybody, who would question Rasputin's closeeness to the Imperial couple. The Yusupovs were really concerned about the French revolution on Russian soil because they had a lot to lose. Similar to many well-educated people, they saw the crisis looming on a horizon and knew that changes in Russia were implanted by brutal force and bloodshed.

 

[Marengo]

The funeral of Felix Youssoupov:

YouTube - Funerals of Felix Yusupov. Похороны Фéликс Фéликсович Юсýпов