History of the Yusupovs. Curse of the Yusupovs

At the very end of the XIX century Princess Zinaida Nikolaevna Yusupova ordered from the artist who was gaining popularity Serov. More precisely, the picture, as it required portraits of all members of her family.

Valentin Alexandrovich was famous for his extreme dislike of writing "rich, famous and snobby", but he liked the princess and her family. The artist gallantly remarked that if all the rich people were the same, then in the world there would be no injustice and unhappiness. The princess sadly replied that not everything in life is measured in money. Alas, but the history of the Yusupovs was so complex and tragic that it had every reason for sadness.

Origin of the genus

The origin of the family was very ancient. Even at the end of the nineteenth century, when among the higher nobility of the Russian Empire there were more and more descendants from among rich merchants and manufacturers, the Yusupovs were not only rich, but also honored their kind, knew much about their ancient roots. In those years, not everyone could boast of this.

So, the history of the Yusupov family begins with the Khan of the Nogai Horde - Yusuf-Murza. He, knowing full well about the glory of Ivan the Terrible, did not want to quarrel with the Russians. Desiring reconciliation with the terrible 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 "the rulers of all Tatars in the Russian land forever." So they found a new homeland.

So appeared the Yusupovs (princes). The history of Russian clans was supplemented by another glorious page. The very ancestor of the family finished badly.

Khan knew perfectly well that in his distant and foreign Muscovy his sons would be much better. Only they managed to cross the boundaries of their former state, as their father treacherously killed his own brother. The history of the Yusupov family says that the tribesmen became so furious with the news that the sons of the murdered khan had taken Orthodoxy, that they asked one of the most powerful steppe sorceresses to impose a curse on their entire clan. It was terrible.

Curse of the Gens

Sami Yusupov from generation to generation passed the words of the curse: "And let only one of them survive until the age of 26. And so be it until all the family is reduced to the root. " Superstitions are superstitions, but here the words of such an ornate spell have come true religiously. No matter how many women from this family have children, up to the ill-fated 26 years and older, one of them has always lived.

However, modern historians say that the family probably had some genetic disease. The fact is that the "generic curse of the princes of the Yusupovs" began to manifest itself far from immediately, so that the tradition does not speak. One child only survived after Boris Grigorievich (1696-1759). Until then, there is no information on the small number of surviving heirs, which allows one to assume hereditary disease. This suspicion is confirmed by the fact that it was much better with the girls in the family - they were much more likely to live to adulthood.

Since then, each head of the family had only one son. Because of this, throughout the XVIII-XIX centuries, the family actually was on the verge of total extinction. However, this sad circumstance also had its positive side: unlike all other princely families, who in the end of the 19th century largely completely squandered their fortunes, the Yusupovs had more than everything in order with the money.

Well-being of the family

However, problems with the gene pool did not affect the material well-being. By the revolution the Yusupov family was only a little "poorer" than the Romanovs themselves. Although the history of the Yusupov family transparently hints that in fact the family was far richer than the imperial family.

Only according to official information, the distant descendants of Yusuf owned more than 250 thousand acres of land, they also owned hundreds of factories, mines, roads and other profitable places. Every year, profits from all this exceeded 15 million (!) Gold rubles, which in transfer to modern money exceeds 13 billion rubles annually.

The luxury of the palaces that belonged to them evoked envy even among families whose ancestors had been dating back to the time of Rurik. So, in the St. Petersburg estate many rooms were furnished with furniture, which formerly belonged to the executed Marie Antoinette. Among their property were such paintings that even the Hermitage collection would be worthy of honor to have them in their collection.

In the boxes of women from the Yusupov family carelessly lay jewelry, which had been collected all over the world. Their value was incredible. For example, the "modest" pearl "Pelegrin", 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 was happy with their family, but the Yusupovs were not happy about it. The history of the family was never more than happy days.

Countess de Showo

Grandmother Zinaida Nikolaevna, Countess de Showau, probably lived the happiest life (compared to the rest of the women of the family). It came from the ancient and noble Naryshkin family. Zinaida Ivanovna was extradited for Boris Nikolayevich Yusupov at a very young age.

She gave birth to her mature husband first son, and then a daughter who died during childbirth. Only then did she know that all the Yusupovs faced this. The history of the family was so impressed by the young girl that she still flatly refused to give birth: "I do not want to produce dead people."

On the hardships of family life

To her husband she immediately stated that he was free to run after all the courtyard women, she would not be able to force him. So they lived until 1849, while the old prince did not die. Princess at that time was not even forty years, and therefore she, as now it is customary to express herself, "set off in all serious." In those years, gossip about her adventures was transmitted throughout the empire, what can we say about Petersburg!

But the most scandalous episode of her biography was a passionate passion for a young Narodovoltsi. When he was imprisoned in the Shlisselburg Fortress, she threw all the balls and masquerades, seeking truthful and untruthful pursuits for her lover's mitigation of the prison regime.

The new husband

In those years and for lesser sins it was possible to fly out of the upper world, but Zinaida Ivanovna was sorry: after all the Yusupovs! Incredible story had its sequel, but for a long time it was believed that the Princess's quirks were over. Her sprees suddenly ceased, the woman for a long time lived a complete hermit. Then she meets a beautiful, well-born, but completely ruined Frenchman, falls in love and leaves Russia forever. She refused the "accursed surname" and became the Countess de Chauvo, the Marquise de Serre.

Strange find

Everyone has forgotten about this strange and stupid story, but then a revolution broke out. The Bolsheviks were well aware of the wealth of the family, since the curse of the clan of the princes Yusupov, even in Moscow, was heard by everyone. They assumed that the "crazy burzhuyka" could well have stashed their jewels somewhere in their former home on Liteiny Prospekt, and therefore they rattled all its premises literally in millimeters. An absolutely incredible find awaited them: they found a secret room, the door to which was immured.

There was a coffin in the room, in which the embalmed body of a young man rested. You can safely assume that the solution of the missing Narodovoltsa is found. Most likely, the countess was not able to obtain a review of the verdict, and therefore started a spree. Only after buying the body of her executed lover, she managed to calm down.

Zinaida Ivanovna, as we already said, was the only son. Nicholas Borisovich Yusupov himself had three children at once. The elder son was Boris. There were two daughters - Zinaida and Tatiana. No one was surprised that Boris at an early age died of scarlet fever. Parents were comforted only by the fact that their daughters grew beautiful and were perfectly healthy. It was only in 1878 that Zinaida had a misfortune.

New trouble

The family lived in their Arkhangelsk estate that autumn. Nikolai Borisovich, being constantly engaged in the service, he came home for a short time and for a short while. Tatiana preferred to read, and Zinaida loved to make long horseback riding. Once she hurt her leg. The wound was tiny and did not present any danger of appearance, but by the evening the girl had a fever.

Doctor Botkin, hastily summoned to the estate, delivered a disappointing diagnosis. Infection of blood in those days ended only with death. By the morning, Zinaida did not feel the temperature, she fell into a state of unconsciousness. It seemed that the clan of the princes Yusupov 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 saw the vision of St. John of Kronstadt, with whom her family had long been friends. When she suddenly regained consciousness, the old man was urgently summoned to the estate. He prayed for her, and the girl quickly recovered. But the sad story of the princely family of the Yusupovs did not end there. At 22, Tatiana died of measles.

Continuation of the genus

No wonder the old prince was eager to marry her daughter. Zinaida Nikolaevna then recalled that the father, who by that time had become much ill, was very afraid of not surviving until the time of the appearance of grandchildren.

Soon the applicant was found. Young Prince Yusupov was married to the Bulgarian prince Battenberg, who was a direct relative of the imperial couple. In the retinue of the prince was a modest young man Felix Elston, whose duties included the presentation of the future bride to the groom. And then there was a thunder. Felix and Zinaida fell in love literally at first sight, and the feelings were mutual. Soon the young wed.

Nikolai Borisovich at first nearly fainted from such an extravagant decision of his daughter, but he did not dare to contradict his only heiress. Only a year later a young couple was born a first-born, who in honor of his grandfather was named Nikolai.

New shocks

The boy was very reserved and unsociable, the princess tried all her life to bring him closer to her, but she did not achieve much success. In Christmas 1887, a small boy with icy calm told his mother: "I do not want you to have other children." Soon it turned out that one of the nannies told him that the Yusupovs were a cursed family. A stupid woman was immediately fired. Zinaida, who by that time was waiting for the birth of her second child, was afraid to think how his elder brother would meet him.

At first everything indicated that the boy hates his younger brother Felix. Only when it struck ten years, they began to communicate normally. But all contemporaries noted that the relationship between the two young princes resembled a strong friendship, but not brotherly love. So the history of the Yusupovs continued. Discussion of the terrible curse that hung over their family, gradually came to naught. But here came 1908.

The death of Nicholas

Nikolai fell head over heels in love with Maria Heyden, who was soon to marry Arvid Manteuffel, and the wedding took place, as the young loved each other.

Despite the desperate exhortations of all friends, the insulted Nicholas went for them on a honeymoon. The duel was just a matter of time. It was held on June 22, 1908. Nikolai died six months before his twenty-sixth birthday. Parents almost went mad with grief, and from now on all their thoughts were directed at the young Felix. Unfortunately, the obvious happened: a spoiled boy became a "spoiled cherub", greedy and capricious.

However, the trouble was not in this, but in his exceptional extravagance. When in 1919 the family sailed from blazing Russia, they had more than enough money. In just a couple of "small and faded" diamonds, Felix bought France's passports for all his households, they bought a house in the Bois de Boulogne. Alas, but the prince did not abandon the free life that he led in his homeland. As a result, his wife and daughter Irina was buried right in the grave of Zinaida Nikolaevna. Money for the funeral was not. Rod broke off completely.