Let's continue the story about adjutants. About the first adjutant K.A. Balyasny can be read

Today we will talk about the father of the famous killer of all times and peoples, the father of Prince Felix Yusupov. That is, about Count Felix Feliksovich Sumarokov-Elston, Prince Yusupov ...

Of course, I pompously dubbed him the father of a murderer - but, strictly speaking, this seems to be almost the only thing that makes him stand out in the story. Because Felix Sr. did not stand out from the crowd with special talents and did not cause great enthusiasm (or hatred) among his contemporaries. An ordinary aristocrat with an unusual (admittedly) pedigree, a rich and beautiful wife, and an excellent military career.

Portrait of F.F. Sumarokova-Elston, Prince Yusupov

Count Felix Sumarokov-Elston was born in the family of Count Felix Nikolaevich Sumarokov-Elston (1820-77) and Countess Elena Nikolaevna Sumarokova (1829-1901) (her original love for silkworms can be read in her grandson's memoirs). She was the last in the family of Counts Sumarokov, and therefore her husband got the honor of adding the count's title of wife to his unknown surname. According to legend, F.N. Elston was the son of the Prussian King Friedrich Wilhelm IV and Countess Ekaterina Feodorovna Tizenhausen, granddaughter of Field Marshal Kutuzov and maid of honor of the imperial court. The story is dark and one of the descendants of the Elstons conducted an investigation, and came to the conclusion that the king and granddaughter of Kutuzov had nothing to do with it, and the parents of Felix Nikolaevich were a Hungarian countess and a German aristocrat. The daughter and granddaughter of Kutuzov only raised Elston in their house. For those who are interested, google - a lot of information. Wikipedia also missed this issue. To be honest, I don’t want to focus on family legends. It is better to delve into the facts and real family ties. I repeat once again that this is insanely interesting, because relatives are a lot in the life of every person.

Count Felix was the third son in a large family, one of his brothers - Pavel - married a very interesting lady, a woman with a terrible reputation at that time. Alexandra Abaza - in Demidov's first marriage - managed to divorce her first husband and be the mistress of Grand Duke Nikolai Konstantinovich, the same exiled exile that the Romanovs did not like to remember. For almost 3 years she followed the prince to all his places of exile and bore him two children (she had five children from her first husband, and she would give birth to two more from Pavel Sumarokov! There were women ...). So Felix Sr., long before his son's marriage to Princess Romanova, had certain "family" ties with the imperial family.
One of the nephews of Felix Sr., Count Mikhail Sumarokov-Elston, became one of the most famous tennis players in the world - you can also easily find information about him on the Internet.

F.F. Sumarokov-Elston in his cavalry guard uniform

Felix's father made a brilliant military career, and the sons tried to follow in his footsteps. But Felix the son was glorified not by a military uniform, but by his wife. He managed to capture the richest heiress of Russia - Princess Zinaida Yusupova - with a fight she knocked out her father's consent to marriage with the inconspicuous cavalry guard Sumarokov-Elston. The biographers of the Yusupovs love to speculate on the topic - and what did Zinaida find in the ordinary Felix ... He, of course, was a handsome man in his youth, probably a princess and fell in love with his dashing appearance. We still don't know all the details. In 1882, the count and princess got married, they had several children, of whom only two sons survived, and in 1891 Sumarokov-Elston received highest resolution be called Prince Yusupov (after the death of his father-in-law). And his surname became triple))).

How did Sumarokov-Elston become the adjutant of Grand Duke Sergei? He met the Grand Duke and his wife in the summer of 1884 - they were neighbors on the estate. At the same time, friendship between "families" began, i.e. joint leisure activities. In 1886 Grand Duke was looking for a new adjutant, since K.A. Balyasny got married and, apparently, could not be constantly at court. Sergei Alexandrovich began to look closely at his fellow soldiers, and, as a result, he almost "choosed" V.F. Dzhunkovsky - even invited him to Ilinskoye in the summer to get to know the young officer better. Dzhunkovsky himself had some suspicions about the plans of the Grand Duke, but - according to his memoirs - he did not aspire to such a position, as he wanted to make a military career and gain life experience. But the old state lady Ekaterina Fedorovna Tizenhausen intervened in the plans of the Grand Duke - yes, the very granddaughter of Kutuzov, whose son was rumored to be Felix Nikolaevich Elston. She asked to give the son of her former pupil a position at court. And no one could refuse the revered and respected lady. This is how F.F. Sumarokov-Elston in November 1886 was appointed adjutant. Honestly, I did not quite understand - why did he need it? Given the wealth and position in society of his wife. He could have made a career anyway... And he did, in the end. Or was he pressured by relatives? So that he does not move too far away from the family, doing military affairs? In general, there is definitely some kind of related background here.

The Grand Duke with his wife, relatives, friends and retinue. Costumed minuet in May 1888 (ball at Grand Duke Vladimir). Felix is ​​in the back row, second from the right. His wife Zinaida is sitting next to Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna.

Being in the position of adjutant, Count Felix rose to the rank of colonel (1898) and in the spring of 1904 left his post at the court of the Grand Duke to take command of the Cavalier Guard Regiment (until 1908). (And after him, the regiment will be commanded by G. G. Mengden, the former manager of the court of the Grand Duke and Grand Duchess.) In 1915, Felix Feliksovich will briefly receive another significant position - the chief commander of the Moscow Military District and the commander-in-chief of Moscow. Here you can read in detail about all the stages of the military career of the Count-Prince.

In 1919, together with his family (wife, son, daughter-in-law, granddaughter), Felix Feliksovich left Russia on the cruiser Marlboro and died in Rome in 1928. IN last years he was constantly ill throughout his life. His wife, Princess Zinaida, died in Paris in 1939. The eldest son Nikolai was killed in a duel in 1908 (which was an unbearable loss for Zinaida Nikolaevna), but junior Felix became so famous that there is simply no point in talking about him here.

The Sumarokovs-Elstons-Yusupovs were very close to Grand Duke Sergei and his wife. Like I said, they were kind and good friends. Grand Duchess will support Zinaida Yusupova when she loses her eldest son, and will instruct the youngest - becoming something like a spiritual mother to him.
But, if we talk specifically about Felix Sr., his character and relations with the grand ducal couple, then there is almost nothing to say. His son Felix described his father as a straightforward and harsh soldier who did not find spiritual intimacy with his wife and sons. And in the correspondence between the Grand Duke and his wife, Felix Sr. is not distinguished by anything special. Almost nothing is said about him - well, it’s true, I found that in 1892 he donated 50 thousand rubles for the starving (and he probably donated from his wife’s capital))) and the Grand Duke noted this as a decent amount. .. Therefore, in preparation for writing this post, I almost did not know WHAT to write about this adjutant, except that he was the husband of the beautiful Zinaida. What can I say about him, if all the facts about the pedigree and career are instantly given to me by Google, and about personal qualities there are only three lines in his son’s memoirs ... It’s even somehow boring. Do not bombard you with the same photos for the fifth time (I mean group shots of the grand ducal couple with their retinue and friends). One can only note the amazing resemblance of the elderly Felix to I.V. Stalin! For example:

Surprisingly similar!

But at some point, I remembered a long-standing discussion at the Alexander Palace Forums. I think her retelling or, if you like, analysis, will revive the Sumarokov-Elston saga.

Let's leave aside the juicy rumors that Felix Sr. was gay. These rumors trailed behind all the adjutants of the Grand Duke Sergei - the prince himself also got from his contemporaries in full for his character and manners. But now is not about that.
And about the fact that Felix Sr. ... had a second family. Yes. In his declining years, the brave cavalry guard started an affair and became the father of three children. Let's ask where this information comes from.

Felix Sr. in 1910 fell in love with his goddaughter named ... Zinaida Grigorieva (1880-1965), who was fit for him as a daughter and companion of her mother. In 1912, the first child was born - Nikolai, who died after 2 years. In 1916, a son was born again, baptized with the name Eleutherius (!!!). In 1919, a daughter, Tatyana, was born in Alupka. And Felix Sr. helped his mistress escape from the Crimea, straightening fictitious documents, as if she were the wife of his personal secretary Svetilov. And before her flight (in 1920), she lived near Ai-Todor (the estate of Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich). Then Zinaida Grigorieva lived in Rome, near the Yusupovs' house, and the elderly Count Felix intensively communicated with his illegitimate children. Moreover, his wife and son knew about this second family. And supposedly Felix Jr. promised his father to take care of his half-brother and sister. But he never did. Zinaida Grigoryeva-Svetilova had to pay for her life with the jewelry given to her by Felix Sr. Eleutherius (that is, Olivier in French transcription) lived right up to 2007, and his sister Tatiana died in January 2011 (she had two daughters). The story of the unknown mistress of Felix Sr. surfaced at one of the antique auctions in France in 2007 - photographs, letters and personal belongings belonging to Zinaida Grigorieva were put up for sale. Under the authenticity of these things and the love story, the French historian Cyril Boulet subscribed ...

It is clear that the matter is dark. Felix Jr. nowhere and never announced a half-brother and sister. However, it was not necessary to talk about it. And in general, this story did not appear anywhere else until 2007 ... Of course, there are a lot of questions. Of course, Felix Sr. could have a mistress, and his wife could have known about it, and could have known about illegitimate children (however, in this case, name her son Nikolai, given that the eldest son with the same name from his legal wife died tragically, to put it mildly , not entirely ethical). But how could Felix help Zinaida Grigorieva and her children who remained in the Crimea? He himself was a refugee and without a livelihood - and then lived at the expense of his wife, who sold her jewelry. Moreover, already in the early 1920s, Felix Sr. was a complete wreck in terms of health and experienced something like a stroke, and in 1924 another stroke happened to him. How, then, could he constantly associate with his illegitimate children? With the help of Svetilov's secretary (if we could find at least some information about him)? But Felix's letters to Olivier and Tatiana were put up for sale at the auction ... By the way, about Olivier. When I read this name for the first time as the name of the son of a Russian aristocrat, I laughed heartily. Well, you have to manage it like that ... Then it dawned on me that Olivier is a transcription of the name Eleutherius. Who is Saint Eleutherius? Quote from his life: “Eleutherius' father, Eugene, served in Rome, was a senator and was appointed consul three times. Eleutheria's mother, Anthia, was converted to Christianity and baptized by St. Paul (according to Metaphrastus)... She brought up her son in piety and dedicated it to God, giving it to Pope Anikete (155-166) for church service. He ordained 15-year-old Eleutherius as a deacon, after 3 years as a presbyter, and after another 2 as a bishop, sending him to preach Christianity in prov. Illyricum. At this time imp. Adrian began the persecution of Christians and sent Felix to Illyricum to arrest Eleutherius and bring him to Rome. Felix carried out the order, but he himself was converted by Eleutherius and became a secret Christian. ..So, apparently, the name was not chosen by chance - given that there is FELIX in the life.

The children of Zinaida Grigorieva could also be the children of Secretary Svetilov. But... Here is a photo of Olivier and Tatiana. The boy is very similar to Nikolai Yusupov, the eldest son of the Yusupovs.

Here is Zinaida herself with the children.

And Felix Sr. with these children.

Although - the quality of the photograph leaves much to be desired - and it is very difficult to say for sure that it is Felix Sumarokov-Elston.

And one more document with the inscription “Koreiz” (the Yusupov estate in the Crimea), according to which Eleutherius Elston (!!!) is given the estate in the Crimea for life.

Text: “In case of my death, I leave the Kermenchik estate as the property of my son Eleutherius Elston. Income from the estate until he comes of age is given to his mother. Prince Yusupov" .
Kermenchik (now the village of Vysokoye) is located not far from the estate of Kokkozy (the owner is Felix Jr.) - however, I did not find who this estate belonged to before 1917. And such a document, for sure, can be forged without difficulty ...

True or not, it is difficult to understand ... On this chaotic note, we will complete the story about the second adjutant of Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich.

10/17/1856 - 06/10/1928 (aged 71)
162 years since birth
91 years since death

Information sources:

Noble family: from the history of noble families in Russia / comp. W. P. Stark. - St. Petersburg: Art: Nabokov Fund, 2000. - 239 p.: ill.
Yudin, E. E. Princes Yusupovs: an aristocratic family in late imperial Russia, 1890-1916 / E. E. Yudin; Ros. state humanitarian. un-t. - Moscow: RGGU, 2012. - 357 p.
Yusupov, F. Memoirs: in 2 books. : Before exile. 1887-1919; In exile / book. F. Yusupov; per. from fr. E. Kassirova. - M. : Zakharov, 2001. - 429 p.: ill.
Aleksandrova, E. L. Vodskaya pyatina - Ingermanland - St. Petersburg province - Leningrad region: ist. past / E. L. Aleksandrova. - St. Petersburg: Gyol, 2011. - S. 381.
Bashkirov, K. S. History and heraldry of the Land of Leningrad / K. S. Bashkirov., S. Yu. Steinbakh. - St. Petersburg: [b. and.], 2008. - S. 435, 436.
Glushkova, V. G. Suburbs of St. Petersburg: from Peterhof to Gatchina / V. G. Glushkova. - Moscow: Veche, 2014. - S. 179, 239, 241, 244. - (Historical guide).
Murashova N., Noble estates of the St. Petersburg province: Kingisepp district / N. V. Murashova, L. P. Myslina. - St. Petersburg: Choice, 2003. - P. 52.
Murashova, N. V. Noble estates of the St. Petersburg province: southern Ladoga, Kirov and Volkhov regions / N. V. Murashova, L. P. Myslina. - St. Petersburg: Alaborg, 2009. - P. 103.
Murashova, N.V. One hundred noble estates of the St. Petersburg province: ist. ref. / N. Murashova. - St. Petersburg: Choice, 2005. - P. 165.

Russian military leader, lieutenant general, adjutant general. Having married the last of her kind, Princess Z. Yusupova, he received the right to bear the title and surname of his wife (1891). Since 1886, adjutant of the Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich. In 1905, he received the rank of major general and was enrolled in His Majesty's retinue. From 1904–1908 - Commander of the Cavalier Guard Regiment, in 1908-1911. - 2nd Brigade of the 2nd Guards Cavalry Division. Since 1912 - Chairman of the Board of the Imperial Stroganov Central Industrial Art School. From May - June 1915 - chief boss Moscow Military District and commander-in-chief over the city of Moscow. Removed from office for ineffective actions during the anti-German pogroms in Moscow.

On the lands where the village is now located. MGA at the beginning of the twentieth century. was a pine forest. 32 square kilometers of this forest belonged to the prince. I went here to hunt bears, for which a house of huntsmen and huntsmen's dogs was built.

In Sablino ( Tosnensky district) was the cottage of the wife of Princess Z. N. Yusupova.

January 24, 1820 - October 30, 1877

Russian general

origin mystery

As his very name indicates ("Felix", that is, "happy, fertile"), Elston was the illegitimate son of a dignitary. The surname "Elston", which was worn by his English nurse, Felix received a special imperial decree. There was no consensus in secular society about who exactly his parents were.

The prevailing view was that Elston was the nephew of the Empress and therefore a cousin of Alexander II. Prince Felix Yusupov wrote in his memoirs about the origin of his grandfather:

Rumor considered the maid of honor Countess Ekaterina Feodorovna Tizengauzen to be the mother of Elston. In 1825, young Felix was brought from Europe to Russia and brought up in the family of her mother, Elizaveta Mikhailovna Khitrovo (daughter of Field Marshal M. I. Kutuzov).

The great-granddaughter of Sumarokov-Elston Z. Burke-Bashkirova, who studied archival documents to resolve the issue, claims that Felix's mother was Countess Josefina Forgach, who gave birth to a child from a relationship with Karl Hugel. Baron Hugel met Catherine Tizenhausen in the early 1820s in Italy and proposed to her. The wedding did not take place: Hugel soon fell in love with Melanie Zichy (German Melanie Zichy-Ferraris) and became engaged to her in 1824 (in 1830 she refused him and became Metternich's third wife). Catherine's mother, Elizaveta Mikhailovna, without giving up hope of arranging for her daughter, literally pursued Hugel. She adopted his illegitimate son, which greatly surprised the entire Viennese high society. Perhaps the hope of the devastated Khitrovo that Countess Forgach would appoint maintenance for her son also played a role. Chancellor Metternich, in a letter to the Austrian envoy to Russia, Lebzeltern, writes in August 1825 about Khitrovo:

Career

On February 1, 1836, he entered the artillery school as a fireworker, after leaving which he was promoted to ensign in 1840 and was left at the artillery academy to receive higher education. In 1842, he was transferred to the Life Guards Horse Artillery, continued to serve until 1849, partly at the front, partly at the headquarters of General Feldzeugmeister Grand Duke Mikhail Pavlovich.

In 1849, with the rank of captain, he was appointed adjutant to the Minister of War, Count Chernyshev, and then consisting for special assignments with him. In 1854, with the opening of hostilities in Asian Turkey, he was sent to the Caucasus, where he temporarily commanded a battalion of the Brest Infantry Regiment, as part of the Guria detachment, and participated in operations on the Caucasian-Turkish border as part of a corps under the command of Lieutenant General V. O. Bebutov, with whom in May of the same year he crossed the Kars-Choi. During the siege of Sevastopol, he took part in its defense and at the end of the campaign he was promoted to colonel and on April 17, 1855 was awarded the rank of adjutant wing.

On September 8, 1856, he was ordered to add to his surname the surname and title of his father-in-law - Count S. P. Sumarokov, who had no sons. From that day on, Felix Elston became Count Sumarokov-Elston. In 1857, the newly minted count was appointed vice director of the office of the military ministry, but a year later he was again transferred to the Caucasus, where he commanded first the Apsheron infantry and then the Georgian grenadier regiment and was promoted to major general on January 28, 1860 for his distinction in cases against the highlanders. with the appointment to the retinue of His Majesty.

In 1861, he served as assistant chief of the Caucasian Grenadier Division, and in 1863 he was appointed to the post of chief ataman of the Kuban Cossack army. Since that time, commanding independent detachments, he took an active part in the conquest of the western Caucasus. His military activities coincided with the time of the final conquest of the Caucasus and the capture of Shamil. For the military distinctions of the Caucasian period of his service, Sumarokov was awarded orders; in addition, on June 5, 1864, he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant general, received two nominal Highest favors and five thousand acres of land in eternal possession.

Angle
Tatyana Saburova

How many times have we taken family pictures in our hands, peering lovingly into the features of relatives and friends. Perhaps that is why photographs that have absorbed the tenderness of our feelings have extraordinary magic.

Princes Yusupovs, Counts Sumarokov-Elston visited the best Moscow and St. Petersburg studios or invited photographers to their homes. Zinaida Nikolaevna (1861-1939) and Felix Feliksovich (1856-1928), like all parents in the world, sought to preserve the visible memory of their sons' childhood years.

The eldest son was born in 1883. In the children's photographs of Count Nikolai Sumarokov-Elston, we see a baby in a sailor's suit with his head haughtily raised. Before us is the heir to the richest fortune of the Yusupov princes - the largest landowners and industrialists in Russia. Named after his grandfather, Prince Nikolai Borisovich Yusupov, he eventually had to inherit the title, name and coat of arms of this ancient family.

A family legend tells that when he first saw his tiny newborn younger brother, Nikolai exclaimed: "What a horror! He must be thrown out the window." The age difference at first prevented friendship, but over time they became close and understood each other without words. This brother is Count Felix Sumarokov-Elston, and since 1914, Prince Yusupov (1887-1967), perhaps one of the most famous representatives of the family. He took part in a conspiracy against Grigory Rasputin. In exile, he wrote memoirs, in which he devoted many pages to his older brother.

The cloudless childhood of Nikolai and Felix flowed in an atmosphere of love and attention of the elders, unquestioning obedience of the servants, in the luxury of the environment.

In 1894, in the famous Yusupov estate Arkhangelsk, Francois Flameng painted a portrait of Zinaida Nikolaevna with her sons. The artist depicted the princess in the park, and in the background - boys playing in the shade of trees. In the surviving photograph from the Yusupov archive, Flameng is captured at the time of work on this work.

From his mother Zinaida Nikolaevna, Nikolai inherited musicality and an artistic gift. He played the guitar excellently, had a pleasant baritone voice, composed prose and published under the pseudonym "Rocks", led an amateur comedy troupe and was a participant in theatrical performances, once evoking the praise of K. S. Stanislavsky himself. Nicholas did not want to follow in his father's footsteps and abandoned his military career. After graduating from school, he entered the law faculty of St. Petersburg University. This fact is reflected in one of his photographs.

In his student years, Nikolai led a carefree social life, which took place in revelry and costume balls, visits to restaurants and theaters. He makes his younger brother a participant in his adventures. According to Felix, Nikolai began to treat him in those years "like a man" and confided his intimate secrets.

The brothers carry out a series of funny pranks with dressing Felix in a woman's dress. Nikolai and the "beautiful stranger" visit public places, attracting the attention of St. Petersburg youth. Another "dressing up" was carried out by them together with the artist of the Imperial Theaters V. A. Blumenthal-Tamarin, under the impression of A. M. Gorky's play "At the Bottom". Dressed as beggars, the three of them went to the St. Petersburg quarter of the poor, settled in a rooming house and watched, according to Felix, "a terrible performance."

In 1907-1908, Count Nikolai Sumarokov-Elston visited the famous St. Petersburg portrait salon "Boassanna and Eggler", whose services were used by representatives of the highest Russian aristocracy, including the imperial family. Looking at the next picture of Nikolai, none of the family assumed that he was the last in his life.

Fate wanted Nikolai to meet and fall in love with the daughter of Rear Admiral Svita Marina Alexandrovna Heiden, who was engaged to Lieutenant of the Cavalier Guard Regiment Count Arvid Ernestovich Manteuffel. Not approving the choice of their son, the parents did not give permission for the marriage. Marina married Manteuffel, but their relationship with Nikolai did not change and became the subject of conversation in society. June 22, 1908 on Krestovsky Island in St. Petersburg in a duel with Manteuffel Sumarokov-Elston was killed.

A few hours before the duel, Nikolai, usually cold and restrained, writes a sincere and passionate letter: “My dear Marina! [...] It’s terribly hard for me that I won’t see you before my death, I can’t say goodbye to you and tell you how I love you so much…"

Nikolai Sumarokov-Elston was buried in the family crypt of the Yusupov princes in Arkhangelsk.
Due to a strange fatality, almost all the heirs in the Yusupov family died before reaching the age of 26. Felix Yusupov described the tragedy of his parents, his own bitterness of loss in his memoirs. And in the photographs of the family album, Nikolai remained forever young.