House of Yusupov - 18th and 19th Centuries

18th and 19th Centuries

Prince Boris Grigorievich Yusupov, Chamberlain in 1730, General Governor of Moscow in 1738, Senator (June 18, 1695, Moscow - March 3, 1759, Moscow), son of Prince Grigori, was sent to study with the French Navy at the age of 20 and soon became the Tsar's advisor, and eventually served three sovereigns. During the reign of Empress Elizabeth he was appointed head of the Imperial Schools. In 1756, he encouraged the Empress to form the first Public Theatre in St. Petersburg. He married Irina Mikhailovna Zinovyeva (1718 - March 25, 1788), daughter of Steward Mikhail Petrovich Zinoviev, in 1734. Besides their only male child, the youngest, she also gave birth to four daughters:

• Princess Yevdokiya Borisovna Yusupova May 5 (NS: May 16) 1743, Moscow - July 19 (NS: July 8) 1780, Saint Petersburg), married on March 6, 1774, Mitava (Mittau) (divorced in 1777 or 1778), as his second wife, to Peter von Biron, the last Duke von Kurland (1769–1795) and the first Duke von Sagan (1786–1795) (February 15, 1724, Mitava (Mittau) - January 13, 1800, Schloss Gellenau), without offspring
• Princess Alexandra Borisovna Yusupova (1744–1791), married to Senator Ivan Mikhailovich Izmailov (January 30, 1724 - November 10, 1787)
• Princess Elisaveta Borisovna Yusupova April 27, 1745 - August 29, 1770), married on February 13, 1764 to General-Major Prince Andrei Mikhailovich Galitzine (August 15, 1729 - February 23, 1770), with large offspring
• Princess Anna Borisovna Yusupova (1749–1772), married in 1771 to Alexander Yakovlevich Protasov (1742 - April 27, 1799), Chamberlain, Senator, Tutor of Alexander I

The eldest son of Prince Boris, Prince Nikolai Borisovich Yusupov (1751–1831), Senator, Minister of State Properties and Director of the Imperial Theatres, was a keen traveller who spoke five languages and was also a patron of the arts. Nicholas served under a series of sovereigns, including Catherine the Great, Paul I and Alexander I as a private councillor and diplomat. As a diplomat, Prince Nikolai travelled throughout Europe, to France and Versailles, where he met Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette, to Germany and Prussia, where he met Frederick the Great, to Austria, where he met Emperor Joseph II, and to Italy. During his journey he purchased a large collection of art for the tsar and was later appointed director of the Hermitage and the Kremlin Armoury. In 1804, Nicholas went to Paris and frequently met Napoleon I, who presented him with a gift of three large tapestries.

In 1793 Nikolai married Tatiana Vasilievna von Engelhardt (January 1, 1769-May 23, 1841), one of Prince Potemkin's nieces. The couple lived together in Arkhangelskoye Estate, their luxurious summer residence in Moscow. Prince Nicholas built his own porcelain factory there, with much of the workers coming from France. In 1831 Nicholas died at the age of 80 and was succeeded by his second and only living son, Prince Boris, since their elder son, Prince Nikolai, died in infancy.

At the age of 42, Prince Boris Nikolaievich Yusupov (June 9, 1794, Moscow - October 25, 1849, Arkhangelskoye Estate), Marshal of the Imperial Court, inherited his immense family wealth, including more than 675,000 acres (2730 km²) of land and more than 40,000 servants living on it. But unlike his father, Prince Boris was not a patron of the arts. Instead, he was primarily occupied with business concerns. Prince Boris moved to the Moika palace in St. Petersburg (Also known as Yusupov Palace) with his second wife, Zenaida Ivanovna Narishkina, (who later became Comtesse de Chauveau, Marquise de Serre through her second marriage) (May 18, 1810 - February 26, 1893) (daughter of Ivan Dimitrievitch Narishkin April 17, 1776 - April 15, 1840, Marshal of the Sytchev Nobility in 1829 and later a Chamberlain, and a relative of Peter the Great's mother, and Varvara Ivanovna Narishkina, née Ladomirsky May 17, 1785 - November 26, 1840), and their only son Nikolai. He was previously married without any offspring to Princess Praskovia Pavlovna Shcherbatova (July 6, 1795-October 17, 1820). The Arkhangelskoye palace was soon derelict; the animals in the palace zoo were sold and much of the collection moved. Boris focused on the family granaries and developed good relationships with the peasants who worked in them. He died in 1849.

Prince Boris's only son, Prince Nikolai Borisovich Yusupov (October 12, 1827, Moscow - July 31, 1891, Baden Baden), Marshal of the Imperial Court, was much like his uncle Nicholas I, a patron of the arts. He first served in the chancery of Nicholas I. Prince Nikolai bought a large collection of jewellery, including a 36 carat (7.2 g) diamond known as the Morocco Sultan. The Prince later spent much of his time in Southern Europe due to poor health, while also serving the tsar as a diplomat. While in Europe, he bought much to adorn his palace on the Moika, including collections of violins and paintings. He married Countess Tatiana Alexandrovna de Ribeaupierre (June 29, 1828 - January 14, 1879), a lady-in-waiting to the Empress, daughter of Comte Alexandre de Ribeaupierre and his wife Ekaterina Mikhailovna Potemkina, another niece of Prince Potemkin. The prince was also a talented musician and composer and was a member of several musical societies. In 1866, he published a book about the Yusupov history On the Family of the Yusupov Princes. A Collection of Their Life Stories, Charters and Letters of the Russian Sovereigns to Them.