The glorious and brilliant, but darkened by an ancient curse, the path of the Yusupov princes, like a sunset star, was crowned by Zinaida Nikolaevna Yusupova, the last of the family.
Genus history
The source of the Yusupovs dates back to the 16th century. n. e., during the time of Ivan IV the Terrible.
Ancient and famous in Russia, the family originates from the sons of the Khan of the Nogai Horde, Yusuf-Murza, who were sent to the royal court to serve and adopted the Christian religion. In gratitude, the monarch granted them and their future descendants the eternal right to command all Tatars who lived within the Russian land and bestowed the princely title. For this, the relatives, angry and offended by the khan's act, resorted to the help of a sorceress, who cursed the Yusupov family down to the last representative.
Ancestral curse
Since ancient times and literally, from ancestors to descendants of the surname, the legend of the fatal curse gravitating over them was transmitted. It said that in each generation, only one of the children would be given to overcome the 26-year milestone, no matter how many were born. The effect of the curse could end only when the whole family was suppressed "to the root."
History has preserved information about the action of the "ancestral curse" in this family only starting with the biography of Boris Grigorievich Yusupov, who lived at the turn of the 17th and 18th centuries. Moreover, fate did not affect the female part of the descendants, and the princesses lived to old age. Esotericists attribute this to the disdain for female descendants in the Muslim tradition. Geneticists are more inclined to assume the presence of a hereditary disease in the family that affects male offspring. Be that as it may, the richest, illustrious and famous family was really fading away, since only one of the sons born in the family lived for more than 25 years.
Frozen from the Yusupov family
Born in 1861, a landmark for the Russian Empire, Zinaida Nikolaevna became the last representative of the Yusupovs. Having inherited colossal wealth (an annual income of over 15 million rubles in gold) and titles, the princess seemed to have absorbed all the virtues of her ancestors. At court, the august persons called her the speaking epithet "Radiance", reflecting both her extraordinary appearance, and a deep mind, and, as if emanating from her, spiritual light.
Luxury and surrounding splendor were surprisingly combined in her with extraordinary modesty and restraint, alien to everything ostentatious and false. Zinaida Nikolaevna spent huge funds on charitable activities - the construction and maintenance of gymnasiums, hospitals, nursing homes and churches. Perfectly educated, fluent in several languages, the first in the list of Petersburg beauties, she was unusually soulful and generous. Such a bride would constitute a worthy marriage for the offspring of any royal family. But for everything, the most lucrative offers applicants received a polite, not containing arrogance, but a firm refusal.
Artists considered it a part of capturing the princess on canvas. And even Valentin Serov, who did not favor the aristocracy, gladly made an exception for it. Thanks to his brush, we can still admire the bright appearance of the Princess "Shining" today.
Possessing amazing straightforwardness, the princess in marriage sought spiritual unity and true love, believing only such an alliance to be worthy for herself. As a result, her choice fell on Count Felix Elston, an unremarkable officer of the Guards, which for the girl was considered a misalliance. Nevertheless, her father did not oppose her choice.
In marriage, the princess had to experience the effect of the curse of the Yusupovs, in which she, an educated and enlightened woman, in no way believed. Of the four children she gave birth to, two did not survive infancy. One of the remaining sons, Nikolai, died in a duel at the age of 25. He was ruined by a fatal passion for a married woman, whose husband fired the fatal shot.
The only surviving son, Felix, directed the assassination of Grigory Rasputin on the eve of the Russian revolution. His mother fully approved of his actions, believing them to be deliverance from the "monster" that destroyed the tsarist power and the tsar's family in Russia.
In emigration, having left revolutionary Russia, Zinaida Nikolaevna lived in France for another 22 years, finding her last refuge at the Sainte-Genevieve-des-Bois cemetery near Paris.
It is known that the last written message of the Russian emperor from the imprisonment in Tobolsk contained a mention of Zinaida Nikolaevna. Nicholas II lamented that he paid little attention to her warnings, which could have prevented "many tragedies."
