Grand Duke Sergei Mikhailovich of Russia (Russian: Сергей Миха́йлович; 7 October 1869 – 18 July 1918) was the fifth son of Grand Duke Michael Nikolaievich of Russia and a first cousin of Alexander III of Russia.
He was born and raise in the Caucasus, where his father was viceroy. In 1881 the family moved to St Petersburg. He became a close friend of the then Tsarevich Nicholas. They grew apart upon Nicholas II's marriage and accession to the throne. Grand Duke Sergei remained a bachelor living at his father palace in the imperial capital. He had a long affair with the famous ballerina Mathilde Kschessinska, who had previously been the mistress of Nicholas II. She was also later involved with Grand Duke Andrei Vladimorovich. Sergei recognized Mathilde's son as his own and remained their protector until his death.
Following family tradition, Grand Duke Sergei pursued a military career. He served as General Inspector of the Artillery with the rank of Adjutant General. During World War I he was chief of the artillery department, a position he was forced to resign amid controversy. He was then appointed Field Inspector General of Artillery at Stavka. After the fall of the monarchy, he remained in the former Imperial capital keeping a low profile. With the ascension of the Bolshevist to power, he was sent to internal Russian exile.
He was murdered by the Bolshevik along with several other Romanovs relatives and his personal secretary at Alapayevsk on 18 July 1918, one day after the murder of Tsar Nicholas II and his immediate family at Yekaterinburg.
Read more about Grand Duke Sergei Mikhailovich Of Russia: Early Life, A Russian Grand Duke, Ménage à Trois, War and Revolution, Captivity, Murder, Aftermath
Famous quotes containing the words grand, duke, mikhailovich and/or russia:
“A garden has this advantage, that it makes it indifferent where you live. A well-laid garden makes the face of the country of no account; let that be low or high, grand or mean, you have made a beautiful abode worthy of man.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“Hume’s doctrine was that the circumstances vary, the amount of happiness does not; that the beggar cracking fleas in the sunshine under a hedge, and the duke rolling by in his chariot; the girl equipped for her first ball, and the orator returning triumphant from the debate, had different means, but the same quantity of pleasant excitement.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“The savages set up gods to which they pray, and which they punish if one of their prayers is not answered.... That is what is happening at this moment.... Yesterday Kerensky; today Lenin and Trotsky; another tomorrow.”
—Victor Mikhailovich Chernov (1873–1972)
“In my opinion it is harmful to place important things in the hands of philanthropy, which in Russia is marked by a chance character. Nor should important matters depend on leftovers, which are never there. I would prefer that the government treasury take care of it.”
—Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (1860–1904)