We continue to publish materials about currently little-known pages of the life and everyday life of the Russian people. Today we will talk about the current situation of the Russian aristocracy - the descendants of the pre-revolutionary nobility.
There are four and a half thousand people in the Russian Assembly of Nobility
Tell us about the activities of the Russian Noble Assembly. Does the status of “nobleman” exist today, and in what form?
Although the history of noble assemblies in Russia should be counted from the charter of Catherine the Great in 1785, the Assembly of the Nobility, as a public organization modern Russia, formed in 1990. On May 10, 1990, about 50 people, mostly part of a certain friendly circle, gathered in Moscow and established " Union of Descendants of the Russian Nobility - Russian Noble Assembly"(this is our full name). Let me remind you that in the yard there was still the Soviet Union with the leading role of the CPSU. In fact, it wasn’t very scary anymore - “ perestroika», « Gorbachev", etc., but still some kind of courage of these pioneers must be given due credit. Remember, the next year there was an August putsch, and God knows how the country’s development would have gone further if it had been successful.
My grandmother read about the emergence of an Assembly of Nobility in Moscow in “ Evening“, and literally the next day I went to register. This was my reaction and the reaction of many hundreds of people who seemed to be waiting for this moment; for others it was more expectant. Nevertheless, in the 1990-1991s, a very noticeable flow of people came to us. VOOPIiK(All-Russian Society for the Protection of Historical and Cultural Monuments) provided us with a small room in the former Znamensky Monastery on Varvarka (then it was still called Stepana Razin). And sometimes we received in the bell tower. So, I remember, there was a queue for each of the 4-5 genealogists who were conducting the reception. Then the flow became a little less, but never dried up. It doesn't stop now. Today the Russian Assembly of Nobility consists of approximately four and a half thousand people. Is it a lot or a little? Rather, not enough. Because this is hardly more than 2-3% of those who could join us. I remember Christ’s question:
Were not ten cleared, where are the nine?
Unfortunately, both at the beginning of the era and now, people very quickly forget what they should remember. Good to remember. Causes? On the one hand, for more than 70 years Soviet power, executions, persecution, exile, camps and total fear in many noble families, the tradition was literally interrupted - there was simply no one left who could pass it on. That's why he lives now big number nobles who are sincerely unaware of their origins.
Another situation is that a person knows that he is a nobleman, but the family talked about this in a whisper, with an eye on the walls that have ears. And this fear has become so ingrained in the flesh, blood and subconscious of post-Soviet people that declaring oneself a nobleman has become psychologically impossible for many. Several people told me exactly the same story. The older generation, having learned that their children or grandchildren had joined the Assembly of Nobility, clutched their heads in horror:
Are you crazy? We'll all be shot!
There is a third reason. Many people believe that since we live in the 21st century, the nobility is a page that has long been turned, and it’s somehow funny and absurd to remember this. It's like putting on a top hat or fanning yourself. Yes, I know that I am a nobleman, well, that’s all, no one else needs to know this. Well, maybe I’ll tell the children - just as an anecdote. This is a very common reaction.
There is another typical excuse, typical mainly for the descendants of aristocratic families. “Why should I join somewhere? Whether I am a member of the Assembly of Nobility or not, I am Prince Trubetskoy and will remain Prince Trubetskoy. I know my ancestors, this is important to me, but to boast of one’s origins in front of others is indecent.” Why, one wonders, until 1917 was it considered natural for a nobleman to be a member of the Assembly of Nobility and was in no way associated with pride?
And finally, perhaps the most important reason is laziness. Getting people to go to the archives, go to the registry office, and rummage through their own family documents is sometimes an absolutely impossible task. In part, of course, I can understand these people: they don’t have enough money to live, there are a lot of problems all around, and then they are forced to go somewhere, write something, and even pay for something. At the same time, throughout the years of its existence, the Assembly of the Nobility provided free methodological assistance and helped in the search for the necessary documents.
And yet there were some who were not lazy. As a result, now the Russian Noble Assembly consists of 70 regional branches, scattered not only throughout the modern Russian Federation from Königsberg to Sakhalin and from Petrozavodsk to Crimea and Kuban, but throughout the entire territory Russian Empire, including Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan, the Baltic and Transcaucasian countries. Several branches also appeared in foreign countries - in Australia, Bulgaria, California. As I said, approximately 4,500 people per this moment are members of the Assembly. Of course, more joined; many, alas, have already died. We often say - and we do not sin against the truth - that there are about 15 thousand of us with family members. These are descendants from both the male and female lines. The former are full members of the Assembly (and in the legal sense, nobles), the latter are associate members.
From the point of view of restitution issues, it is absolutely the same; inheritance of property goes along any line. From the point of view of noble legislation, this is wrong, we understand this very well and deliberately went for this wrong, because after 70 years of the Soviet “skating rink” it was impossible to do otherwise. After all, the noble tradition was often passed on through mothers and grandmothers, because fathers and grandfathers died in the revolution or the Civil War, died in exile, in prisons, camps. Agree that men die more often than women, and it is women who then pass on the tradition to their children and grandchildren.
If we ignore the female line, it will not only be unfair, but we will also lose a large share of the most valuable information. Some male births were completely stopped during the years of Soviet power, and if we say: “ we are not interested in you, you are not nobles“, then we will lose a huge layer of documents, which from a historical point of view is simply criminal.
There are not as few Rurikovichs as it might seem
Name several famous genera whose representatives are alive today.
These are the counts Bobrinskys - direct descendants of Catherine II and Grigory Orlov, princes Gagarins, Trubetskoys, Obolenskys, Volkonskys, Khovanskys, many princes Golitsyns, counts Sheremetevs, Tolstoys and Tolstoy-Miloslavskys, Apraksins, Tatishchevs, Efimovskys, Kamenskys, Komarovskys, nobles Naryshkins, Lopukhins .
Are there no Yusupovs?
There are no Yusupovs in principle. The Yusupov princes died at the hands of men at the end of the 19th century. The daughter of the last prince Yusupov, Zinaida Nikolaevna, having married Count Sumarokov-Elston, according to the Highest decree, gave him her surname, and they began to be called the princes Yusupov, counts Sumarokov-Elston. Moreover, only the eldest representative of the family was called Prince Yusupov. The famous Felix Feliksovich Yusupov, the murderer of Rasputin, the son of Zinaida Nikolaevna, had a brother - Nikolai Feliksovich, he was simply called Count Sumarokov-Elston. Nicholas had no children (he died in a duel very young), and Felix Feliksovich had only a daughter, Irina, from Nicholas II’s niece, Irina Alexandrovna, who died in 1983. Now her daughter Ksenia Nikolaevna Sfiris, nee Countess Sheremetev, is living, but the Yusupov princes are no more.
If we ignore the princes and counts, then in the Assembly of the Nobility there are many representatives of old untitled families: Aksakovs, Bezobrazovs, Beklemishevs, Berdyaevs, Bibikovs, Verderevskys, Vorontsov-Velyaminovs, Glinkas, Golenishchevs-Kutuzovs, Golovins, Grigorovs, Dolivo-Dobrovolskys, Zagryazhskys, Karamzins , Kvashnins-Samarins, Korsakovs, Lopatins, Nakhimovs, Olenins, Olsufievs, Olferievs, Osorgins, Ofrosimovs, Passeks, Pereleshins, Raevskys, Rzhevskys, Skaryatins, Khitrovo, Khrushchovs, Chebyshevs, Chelishchevs, Chichagovs... Of course, there are a lot of Polish gentry, there are Georgian families and the Baltic Germans - von Essens, von Bergs, von Fittingoffs. In Russia, unlike Western Europe, there were not so many titled families, about 1%, in the west this percentage is much higher, thanks to the once-existent ramified feudal system.
Are there any descendants of the Rurikovichs and Gediminovichs in the world now?
Certainly. The princes Golitsyn, Trubetskoy, and Khovansky, whom I have already mentioned, are the Gediminovichs. From the Rurikovichs these are the princes Gagarins, Volkonskys, Khilkovs, Vadbolskys, the untitled Karpovs and the counts Tatishchevs. Prince Dmitry Mikhailovich Shakhovskoy is the leader of the Union of Russian Nobles in Paris.
In general, there are not as few Rurikovichs as it might seem. IN South America The Gorchakov princes live, the Beloselsky-Belozersky princes live in France, and the Lobanov-Rostovsky princes live in England. There are a lot of princes Obolensky. The second leader of the Russian Noble Assembly was Prince Andrei Sergeevich Obolensky.
What family do you belong to?
To the Shcherbachev family, as follows from my last name. This is the sixth part of the noble genealogy book of the Kaluga province, the pillar nobility, that is, relatively ancient - the family is 500 years old. In general, an ordinary Russian family. According to legend, he comes from a native of the Golden Horde, but in reality - from Dmitry Shcherbach, who served as an interpreter at the turn of the 15th and 16th centuries. During the Time of Troubles, my direct ancestor, the governor of Przemysl, accepted a crucified death from “ thieves and Cossacks» Ivan Bolotnikov. And in 1613, one of the Shcherbachevs signed a letter electing Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov to the kingdom.
But, of course, the most famous representative of our family was Adjutant General Dmitry Grigorievich Shcherbachev, commander of the Romanian Front in the First world war- it can be found in literally all encyclopedias.
Class marriages - rare phenomenon
Tell me, how does the aristocracy live in other countries, for example, in France? I heard that the Western aristocracy exists in a very closed regime. Any attempts by modern nouveau riche to join this society are suppressed.
What you describe is quite consistent with the situation in France and the UK. In general, in Great Britain the nobility is a fully functioning institution. When you become the eldest of the clan, you are a lord and sit in the House of Lords. Yes, in England, as far as I know, there are a number of societies where you cannot enter for any amount of money until someone takes you there.
There are several noble societies in Italy. Some hold more or less open events. For example, the ball "Il cento e non piu cento", that is, "A hundred and a little not a hundred" in Casale Monferrato (Piedmont). Its history goes back to the Middle Ages, when the city was engulfed in a war between the aristocracy and the bourgeoisie. Finally, they managed to agree that, as a sign of reconciliation, a ball would be held, to which one hundred people from the aristocracy and one hundred from the bourgeoisie would come, but on the eve of the ball, someone unexpectedly died...
This ball was remembered in the 19th century, it was revived, and since then it has been held annually. Both the bourgeoisie and the aristocracy are invited there - mainly Italian, of course, but also from all over the world. As for the Russian Noble Assembly, we not only have balls, but almost all events are open.
Is there a dress code at the balls?
Of course, there is a dress code: Black Tie, that is, a tuxedo for men, a long dress for women. No wigs or other gimmicks. Masquerade balls sometimes happen, but quite rarely. Remember " War and Peace", Natasha Rostova's first ball. How were the characters in the novel dressed? In clothes that were common in their era, and not the way they dressed, for example, under Peter I or Ivan the Terrible.
In honor of the 300th anniversary of the House of Romanov, there was a historical ball in costumes from the era of Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich. But it was a completely special, unique ball. The last thing we would like is for the ball to become a museum. In our opinion, ballroom culture should be a part of life - that’s exactly how it was in Russia in the 19th century.
Are there still families or people who are trying to arrange dynastic marriages, when daughters are looking for grooms from a noble family?
This is a hot topic. The late Count Nikolai Nikolaevich Bobrinsky, first chairman Admissions Committee Assembly of the Nobility, told me, then still very young: “ One of the goals of the Assembly of the Nobility should be the conclusion of class marriages" I was still a little surprised then. It should be noted that several such marriages were concluded in the Assembly of the Nobility. But if we talk about statistics, then, unfortunately, these are exceptions to the rule. So this mission, in my opinion, has not yet been completed.
The situation abroad is not much better. IN last years even in royal dynasties There was a tendency to enter into non-dynastic marriages. This game of pseudo-democracy does not at all benefit the monarchical idea - on the contrary, it destroys it. Thank God, the situation is better in lower dynasties. Especially in Germany. There are many princely families there, including mediatized ones (with dynastic status), who observe tradition and enter into equal marriages.
If we talk about France, then the revolution happened there quite a long time ago, and, in addition to the nobility, what could be called “ old bourgeoisie" If it were not for the revolution of 1917, then in Russia we would have had revered bourgeois families, such as the Morozovs, Ryabushinskys, Tretyakovs and others.
Today Russian nobles are not involved in politics
What role could the descendants of nobles play in the development of our society and state?
Legitimate question. The Assembly of the Nobility should exist not only for itself. Although this is also important. When people came to the Assembly of the Nobility in the 1990s, they felt an amazing, unique atmosphere; it seemed to them that they had returned to their home, to their relatives. Don't they deserve it?
I remember Irina Vladimirovna Trubetskaya, who spent almost half of her life in exile and camps. She smoked Belomor, but at first glance you could understand that this was a real aristocrat, she had such a core, such a spiritual face. Just for the sake of bringing such people together, it made sense to create an Assembly of Nobility. The 1990s were quite cannibalistic, but we had an oasis where people felt warm.
But you are absolutely right, the Assembly of the Nobility also feels its social mission. First of all, cultural and educational. At one time, the Assembly of the Nobility and its then vice-leader S. A. Sapozhnikov initiated, I believe, a very successful book project “ Russia forgotten and unknown", within the framework of which more than 100 books were published dedicated to the history of the White movement, emigration, famous names and figures of the Russian Empire, such phenomena of Russian life as mercy and charity, etc. In addition, the Assembly of the Nobility holds scientific conferences on current topics, most often together with respected scientific organizations— Russian State Library, Historical Museum, Institute of Russian History, etc.
We are not involved in politics. Why? The nobles were accustomed to doing what they did well. In the XVIII and 19th centuries We managed to get involved in politics quite well, but now there are no prerequisites for this - and why are we going to get into it? I do not rule out that everything will change. History in our country is unpredictable. What matters is that we exist. As long as we exist, we will testify to a thousand years of Russian history, to that real Russia, which was not born in 1917 or 1991. This is our main task in the Russian Federation, which, according to the historian S.V. Volkov, “ not Russia yet».
Oleg Shcherbachev: It is not only possible, but also necessary to be proud of the glory of our ancestors...
Interview of the Leader of the Russian Noble Assembly, Leader of the Moscow Noble Assembly Oleg Vyacheslavovich Shcherbachev to a columnist for the federal weekly “Russian News”.
To the 25th anniversary of the revival of the Russian Noble Assembly
It seemed that after the revolution, the noble class in Russia was finally and irrevocably destroyed in Stalin’s camps, the dungeons of the Lubyanka, and disappeared in the “great dispersion” of emigration... Those who remained at that time Time of Troubles in Russia, nobles buried St. George's crosses, Anna's and Stanislav's crosses in the ground, with tears in their eyes they burned family albums with photographs of grandfathers in uniform and grandmothers in evening dresses, tore up church registers and letters of nobility...
With the fall of the Soviet regime, people started talking about the revival of cultural and historical traditions, restoring the lost continuity of generations, it became possible to remember one’s roots and ancestors... And it turned out that it was not possible to completely destroy the nobility - in Russia there were still alive nobles born before the revolution, during many families have preserved the memory of noble ancestors, family seals and family traditions have been preserved... On May 10, 1990, the All-Russian public organization “Union of Descendants of the Russian Nobility - Russian Noble Assembly” (abbreviated name - Russian Noble Assembly, RDS) was created in Moscow.
A quarter of a century has passed since then... About the fulfilled and unfulfilled plans, projects, about how the Russian noble corporation lives today, the observer of “Russian News” talked with the Leader of the Russian Noble Assembly, the Leader of the Moscow Noble Assembly Oleg Vyacheslavovich Shcherbachev.
First of all, I want to congratulate you on the 25th anniversary of the revival of the Russian Noble Society. To what extent have the hopes with which it was created been justified, and what has been accomplished over the years? I would like to know what the noble corporation represents today and what is its number?
Thank you for your congratulations! Of course, for the centuries-old history of the Russian nobility, twenty-five years is a very short period of time, but for us this is a very significant date... Let's remember how it all began... At the turn of the 1980s and 1990s, our country was experiencing very interesting, turning point time. Indeed, there were a lot of hopes and illusions back then; a variety of parties, movements, public organizations, and foundations arose and disappeared without a trace. The Russian Noble Assembly, which was revived on May 10, 1990, is still active and, I am sure, with God’s help, will exist for a long time. I think that after 10 or 20 years it would be much more difficult to revive the Assembly of the Nobility. After all, at that time people born in the Russian Empire were still alive, they remembered it, they also remembered the horrors of the Red Terror, the execution of relatives, prisons, exile, camps, deprivations. They stood at its origins and gave it a moral and religious basis.
Now they like to say: Russia is a great country with a single history... The country is certainly great, and the history is great, but at the same time tragic and catastrophic. And one of main tasks Russian Noble Assembly - to bear witness to this history, which is what we have been doing all these 25 years, publishing books, newspapers, almanacs, scientific work, holding conferences. A lot has been done in this field. I especially want to note book series“Forgotten and unknown Russia” (the authors of the project are S.A. Sapozhnikov, one of those who stood at the origins of our organization, now the honorary leader of the Moscow Noble Assembly, and V.A. Blagovo). To date, more than 100 books have been published on various aspects Russian history, White movement, emigration. The series is available in all major libraries not only in our country, but also abroad. In my opinion, this is something we can rightfully be proud of.
Today, the Russian Noble Assembly is an all-Russian public organization with 70 branches operating in the regions of the Russian Federation and practically throughout the entire territory of the historical Russian state. In this sense, this is also, one might say, a unique association. A sacramental question about numbers... I won’t lie, there are not very many of us: about four and a half thousand (with family members - about 12,000). According to my estimates, this is no more than 2-3% of those who could join us.
This begs the question: where is the other 98%?
There may be several reasons for this. Firstly, anyone joining our organization must present a convincing chain of documents. This scares some people. I understand perfectly well that most of the nobles who passed through the Soviet skating rink did not have any documents left. Thank God we managed to survive. This means that we need to request archives. To some this may seem difficult, if not hopeless. Those who are not afraid of difficulties are rewarded a hundredfold: they learned something they didn’t even suspect. Family genealogy is an interesting science. We try to help everyone who comes to us, be it a descendant of nobles or other classes, because Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin stated: “It is not only possible, but also necessary to be proud of the glory of your ancestors; not to respect it is shameful cowardice.”...
We should not forget the fact that for more than seventy years they tried to exterminate from the people historical memory or distort it. A “bright future” loomed ahead, and behind - the “dark Middle Ages”, “prison of nations”, “reactionary tsarist regime”... Some cliches have already been forgotten, but do not flatter yourself. The disease of historical amnesia is fraught with relapses.
Another reason why not everyone was in a hurry to join the Assembly of Nobility is quite banal: fear. And it’s difficult to blame anyone here: people have experienced such things that after this you can remain silent for the rest of your life, just so as not to harm your children, grandchildren, and loved ones! The result is a tree without roots. And now such victims of fear and silence come, and they have no one to ask...
I'm glad that they come. Perhaps the flow of people wishing to join the Assembly is now slightly less than in the early 1990s, but, all the same, people are drawn to tradition, to the origins of our culture, to enduring moral values, to the concepts of honor, service, and duty. And we try to help them find their story.
You mentioned such concepts as honor and duty. Obviously, they cannot be forcibly instilled in a person; they are brought up over generations, just like patriotism or Christian morality, which was absorbed with mother’s milk. Was it possible to preserve at least part of society these values during the years of Soviet power, when the word “nobleman” was mentioned only as an insult?
The concept of honor, especially noble honor, is very subtle. In Russia it was formed in the 18th - 19th centuries. In pre-Petrine Rus' there were completely different ideas about honor. And although the image of a knight is, of course, of Christian origin, we should not forget that it was honor that pushed many nobles to act spectacularly, but not at all Christian. In the 19th century, the aristocracy in Russia, of course, was not atheistic, but I would venture to say that religion was not the core of its life. The fruits of this “St. Petersburg confession” turned out to be tragic, and the depth of “folk Orthodoxy” in many ways turned out to be an illusion. Therefore, oddly enough, it was the 20th century that became the century of the return of nobles and intelligentsia to the temple. In emigration, the Church became a real center of crystallization of Russian life in exile. And in Soviet Russia the clergy and nobility turned out to be brothers in misfortune, outcasts and “dispossessed.” Suffering requires comprehension and justification, and outside of Christianity it is impossible. Long before 1990, the parishes of Ilia Obydenny, St. Nicholas in Kuznetsy, and Resurrection of the Slovous in Bryusov Lane became a kind of “Moscow noble assembly”. When the “colossus” collapsed and we witnessed the miracle of the revival of the Russian Orthodox Church, this revival began, mind you, with the urban intelligentsia.
And now about patriotism. What should patriotism be like on Solovki, in Karlag, or even in a cramped room in a Moscow communal apartment left after the “densification”? But love for the homeland is an ineradicable feeling. Just understanding the homeland is deeply individual. Both in the Soviet Union and in exile, the Russian nobleman was doomed to love his Fatherland in much the same way as Israel “on the rivers of Babylon.” Of course, some imitated, some assimilated, but some remained faithful to the Russia to which their fathers and grandfathers once swore allegiance and served, and, if necessary, went to their death.
The nobility in Russia appeared as a “service” class, obliged precisely through service to prove its loyalty to the sovereign - the Grand Duke, Tsar, Emperor. This is how the clan and caste backbone of the noble corporation was laid. Today, historical and political conditions have changed. Is it preserved? intercom current representatives of the nobility and descendants of Russian emperors?
Undoubtedly. Without respect for the historical dynasty and its legitimate Head, a full-fledged noble worldview is unthinkable. After all, our ancestors served the rulers of the House of Romanov for centuries. Already in the first year of the existence of the Russian Noble Assembly, its contacts began with the then Head of the Russian Imperial House, Grand Duke Vladimir Kirillovich, who, one might say, blessed our activities and signed the first Charter of the Noble Assembly. I consider this very important and symbolic: a man who was born in 1917 on the territory of the Russian Empire, lived his entire life in exile and who bore this heavy cross, this mission, for more than 50 years. The Grand Duke nevertheless had a chance to set foot on the land of his ancestors, on the day when the capital of the Russian Empire regained its historical name. Less than a year later he died. A truly beautiful destiny, a truly legendary personality.
The Imperial House exists and will exist... Today its Head is the daughter of Grand Duke Vladimir Kirillovich - Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna. Call it a parallel reality, but still, a dynasty is a reality: legal, historical, sacred.
It has happened more than once in the history of the Church when part of the hierarchy, and even most of, deviated into heresy. The mystical body of the Church is indestructible. And on earth, as long as at least one ordained bishop is alive, apostolic succession continues. A dynasty is also a succession, sanctified by law and the Church.
It must be said that the Russian Assembly of Nobility did a lot for the return and reintegration of the Russian Imperial House into the public life of modern Russia, especially in the 1990s. First visits of the current Head of the dynasty Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna were organized with the direct and active participation of the Russian Noble Assembly and its leadership. It is also worth remembering this in the year of the 25th anniversary of the Assembly as one of the most important practical results of its activities.
The Empress Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna has publicly stated more than once that she does not intend to enter into political struggle in any form... What is the attitude towards the politics of the Russian Noble Assembly?
You are right, the Head of the dynasty has repeatedly stated that she is not involved in politics. This is a principled position. A dynasty should unite, not divide. And this is also the principled position of the Russian Noble Assembly. As a private individual, any nobleman, of course, has the right to join one party or another. But, as a public organization, as a class corporation, the Assembly of the Nobility was and remains outside of politics. What does not mean - out public life. On the contrary, both the Russian Imperial House and the Russian Assembly of Nobility are simply obliged to participate in the formation of civil society, its value guidelines, stand guard over its moral foundations, and cultivate the cultural field.
How are the relations of the noble community with the Russian Orthodox Church?
It seems like all normal Orthodox people... For the Russian Assembly of Nobility, the Russian Orthodox Church is one of the main moral authorities. But at the same time, I must emphasize that the nobility in the Russian Empire was multinational and multi-confessional. It remains that way today. In the Assembly of the Nobility there are Catholics, Lutherans, and Muslims. The Russian Empire knew how to highlight Orthodoxy as state religion, preserve the national characteristics of the peoples included in it. Christianization, of course, was carried out, but quite skillfully and gently - in comparison with the “liberal” West, America for example, Russia’s religious policy was the height of tolerance. The Orthodox monarch was a sincerely beloved “white king” for all his subjects.
The re-establishment of the Noble Assembly in modern Russia practically coincided in time with the revival of the Russian Orthodox Church. We, of course, understand that we are in different “weight categories,” but we cannot help but realize the inextricable historical connection and the duty of collaboration. The late His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II, who, let me remind you, was born in exile, in Tallinn, and came from the noble Ridiger family, was our honorary member and did a lot for the Assembly of the Nobility, especially at the stage of its formation. The Noble Assembly is also bound by strong respectful and filial ties with the current Primate, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill. As well as with many other hierarchs and clergy.
In order to better acquaint the Moscow public, including members of the Assembly of the Nobility, with genuine church life, with real representatives, so to speak, of the second estate, I recently started the project “Estate. Dialogue with the priest." And, I want to say, what a gallery of wonderful Moscow priests passed before us - smart, educated, versatile, deep and interesting interlocutors!
I repeat, the nobility and clergy are called to be co-workers in the field of revival historical Russia. It is so today, I hope it will be so in the future...
Representatives of the noble class served the Fatherland faithfully for generations... During the Patriotic War of 1812, the Crimean Campaign, and the First World War, aristocratic youth voluntarily went to the front line; it was considered shameful to sit in the rear. It’s hard to imagine this today. What, in your opinion, is the reason for the decline of patriotic feelings, the loss of moral guidelines, the suddenly appeared ideals of a “consumer society,” etc.?
I generally don’t like it when people manipulate the absolutely vague term “national elite.” Who really is this elite? High-ranking officials? Oligarchs? Businessmen from culture? Bandits who profited from crime and privatization? It is difficult for me to agree that this is the Russian elite, especially if it keeps its capital in offshore companies and Swiss banks, and its offspring study in England - and not at all in order to return to their homeland with the knowledge they have gained. This is nouveau riche. The real elite is formed not in five or even twenty-five years, but over generations and centuries.
The main task of the real Russian elite has always been serving the Fatherland. During the War of 1812, representatives of all aristocratic families were in the active army; during the Great War, the first to die were guard officers, who considered it beneath their dignity to bend under machine-gun fire. The elite of society ceases to be such as soon as it opposes itself to this society. Despite different social status, wealth, and level of education, people should have a single value system. In the 19th century, it was brilliantly formulated by Count S.S. Uvarov. God, Tsar, Fatherland - with these words both the Grand Dukes and the peasants lived and died, together making up great Russia. This connecting principle is the fundamental difference between classes and classes, groups, strata, and even the currently fashionable strata.
Why is it not like this now? Well, why should it be like this for us, after more than 70 years of communist ideology, built on the principles of atheism and proletarian internationalism? The Bolsheviks came to power through national betrayal, retained this power through national betrayal (remember the Brest-Litovsk Peace Treaty) and raised traitors; suffice it to mention the phenomenon of Pavlik Morozov, the epidemic of denunciation that was raging at that time. At the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, when a critical situation developed at the front, the official ideology had to be adjusted. Stalin remembered the names of Suvorov, Kutuzov, Nakhimov. But I would not delude myself about the sincerity of this “turn”, which people like to speculate about now.
Speaking about patriotism, we should not forget one important nuance, namely, that patriotism is love, love for the Motherland. But every love awaits love in return. As for the current state, on the one hand, it abandoned the communist ideology, but, on the other hand, it did not recognize itself as the legal successor of historical Russia. This duality creates value relativism, “split consciousness,” which obviously does not contribute to the rise of patriotic feelings.
Maybe toponymy and symbolism are not the most important thing in this world, but you must admit, this is what eats into our consciousness, sits on its subcortex. And although the Royal Passion-Bearers have long been glorified, Muscovites are forced to pass through the Voikovskaya station every day. Cleared images of the Savior Not Made by Hands and St. Nicholas the Wonderworker on the Kremlin towers, crowned five-pointed stars, and next to it lies the unburied body of the “eternally living” destroyer of Russia.
What, in your opinion, can serve as the basis for a national idea that can unite the divided and largely morally disoriented Russian people?
We must understand that it is impossible to come up with a national idea. It is nurtured by the people - I repeat these words again - for generations and centuries. In addition, there is the concept of historical and religious vocation. Both a person and a people have their own cross. Attempts to reject it, to turn away from God’s predestined path are catastrophic. Russia was not just a monarchy for a thousand years; most European states were monarchies. Russia itself, perhaps unwillingly, took over from Byzantium the mission of the Christian empire, the Third Rome. And thus predetermined her fate. Whether someone likes it or not, we must admit: we are an empire. And a Christian empire requires, of course, a Christian emperor, an anointed one.
I’m not saying that in the 21st century it should be an absolute monarch, especially since by 1917 our monarchy was far from absolute. I'm talking about the monarch as a symbol of the nation. They may ask me: how is he essentially different from the president? They usually answer this way: the dynastic principle. Of course, this is a very important difference. When the heir to the throne is raised from childhood as a future monarch, responsible for the fate of his country, which his ancestors have been improving since the founding of the state, and which he will then entrust to his children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, this guarantees stability and continuity.
But I would like to focus on the religious aspect. Have you ever wondered how priests, ordinary Russian priests, who are confessing their sins almost every day, manage to calmly withstand all this and not go crazy? They are not professional psychiatrists, psychologists, psychoanalysts, who, by the way, break down much more often. For a religious person, the answer is obvious: the power of grace inherent in the gift of the priesthood... But the hereditary monarch, by duty and right, receives a special, sacred gift in the sacrament of secondary anointing. It is he who gives him the strength to bear the burden of power.
Almost a million Russian people belonging to the noble class found themselves in exile after the revolution. Have contacts with emigrant noble assemblies been restored today?
The oldest organization of the Russian nobility - Union de la Noblesse Russe - was created in Paris in 1925 from representatives of provincial noble assemblies who were forced to leave their homeland. When the Russian Assembly of Nobles was formed in 1990, then, of course, contacts immediately began with this “Parisian” Union of Nobles. It couldn’t have been any other way, because after the disaster of 1917, many families found themselves separated by the Iron Curtain. But one should not think that everything was so rosy. For a Russian emigrant, could anything good come from Soviet Union, even if this is the Assembly of the Nobility? But time heals, and gradually the wounds heal. Despite some differences in our charters, generally good relations have now developed between the organizations. An important milestone was 2013, when the delegation of the Union of Nobles, led by its then chairman Kirill Vladimirovich Kiselevsky (alas, who recently died), at the invitation of the Moscow Assembly of Nobility, participated in a large program prepared by us, dedicated to the 400th anniversary of the House of Romanov. The House “Russian Abroad” hosted an evening from the series “Farewell, Russia - Hello, Russia!”, dedicated to the Union of Nobles - this was, in fact, our first joint event.
I have no doubt that our contacts will develop in the future. I would also like to note that in some countries the Russian nobility was not united in any organizations, and they arose only in the 1990s as branches of the Russian Assembly of Nobility. This was the case in Australia and Bulgaria.
In the domestic press, it is customary to savor with emotion the piquant details about the weddings of European crowned heads. At the same time, outright lies are often written about the current Russian Imperial House and all kinds of gossip are spread. How do you assess this trend?
To be honest, I don’t see much difference between gossip and juicy details - all this fits into the general style of our modern press. Of course, I understand perfectly what you are talking about. The subtext is this: there, in the West, monarchies are beautiful and good, but here in Russia it is absurd and atavistic. The question is, why? Why, for example, is the restoration of the monarchy in Spain positive and relevant, but in Russia it is served with the sauce: you supposedly want your palaces back? And maybe also serfdom in addition? Moreover, Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna never tires of repeating that she is against restitution and, even more so, does not lay claim to the property of the dynasty.
Attacks on the Head of the Russian Imperial House are most often based on emotional and sometimes absurd arguments. No matter how much you refute them, they still pop up later and are presented as a sensation. What can I say? It is pointless to explain anything to a person who does not want to understand. But it is necessary to methodically and honestly write the history of the Imperial House in exile, publish archival documents, photographs, letters - for thinking people.
On the Internet you can find advertisements guaranteeing, for a certain amount, the award of a “royal” order or a princely title. Do these proposals have anything to do with the Imperial House or the Assembly of Nobility?
Believe me, all such offers are pure fraud. Genuine awards are not purchased over the Internet or in any other way, but are received for services to the state, the Church, or a dynasty that has preserved its historical identification. Only in this case these are full-fledged awards, not trinkets.
Dynastic orders established by European monarchs in past eras are retained by the current heads of the crowned dynasties, even if lost state power. Orders are bestowed by the heads of the Italian, French, Portuguese and many other non-reigning dynasties. The list of dynastic orders published by the International Commission of Cavalry Orders and other authoritative scientific societies also includes the Russian imperial orders of the Romanov dynasty. The right to award imperial orders and bestow noble dignity is an inalienable historical prerogative of the Head of the Russian Imperial House. Currently, imperial orders, like the orders of the Russian Orthodox Church, do not have state status, and their awarding does not entail any privileges. They are only an honorary sign of respect and gratitude from the Russian Imperial House. I would like to note that many famous public figures, military leaders, clergy, and people of culture are holders of imperial orders.
Isn't the current interest in searching for noble ancestors a kind of fashion - for many it is prestigious to have their own coat of arms, pedigree?
Prestigious and fashionable are not always bad. The bad thing is that fashion passes. And genealogy must be rooted in the popular consciousness. Peoples who honor their history, their traditions cannot help but know and honor their ancestors. We talked about patriotism. Through the history of your family, your native ancestors, the history of the country becomes close and dear - and isn’t this the basis for true patriotism? No matter who your ancestors were - nobles, peasants, merchants, clergy - they are all worthy of memory, they all worked for the good of Russia. The main thing is that the passion for genealogy and heraldry does not lead to the temptation to rewrite history, in this case, your family history, the history of the clan. If such a temptation touches someone’s souls, let them think about the fact that their fictional ancestors will not be able to pray for them...
But it is my deep conviction that there is also a religious aspect to genealogy. We are all descendants of Adam, branches of a single human race. This understanding runs throughout the Bible. Open New Testament. Where does it start? From the genealogy of Jesus Christ.
On October 2, 2010, the 65th anniversary of the Leader of the Russian Noble Assembly (RDS), His Excellency Prince Grigory Grigorievich Gagarin, was celebrated in Moscow.
Representatives of the Church, state authorities, public organizations, relatives and friends of Prince Gagarin and many members of the Russian Assembly of Nobility gathered to congratulate the hero of the day.
On behalf of the Russian Orthodox Church, the prince was congratulated by the Chairman of the Synodal Department for Relations between the Church and Society, Mitred Archpriest Vsevolod Chaplin, who presented His Excellency with an icon of the Holy Martyr Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna. Director of the Office of the Head of the Russian Imperial House A.N. Zakatov read out a congratulation to Prince Grigory Grigorievich from the Empress Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna and announced the Decree on awarding the hero of the day with the Badge with a monogram image of the Name of the Head of the Russian Imperial House of the 1st degree. On behalf of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, Prince Gagarin was congratulated by a group of generals led by Lieutenant General A.Ya. Kolomeichenko. At the same time, the head of the Russian Ministry of Defense Directorate for Perpetuating the Memory of Defenders of the Fatherland, Major General A.V. Kirilin presented His Lordship with the medal “200 years of the Ministry of Defense”, which the prince was awarded for his own active cooperation and interaction between the RDS and Armed Forces Russia. Rector of the Russian State Trade and Economic University (RGTEU), which is under the Highest patronage, Professor S.N. Baburin announced the decision of the Academic Council of the university to award Prince Gagarin with the Golden Badge of Honor named after Nikolai Rumyantsev. First Deputy Director of the Russian State Military Historical and Cultural Center under the Government of the Russian Federation G.I. Kalchenko, congratulating the hero of the day, presented him with a commemorative government medal for his contribution to the patriotic education of youth.
Archpriest Vsevolod Chaplin congratulates Prince Gagarin
Professor S.N. Baburin congratulates Prince Grigory Grigorievich
Major General A.V. Kirilin congratulates His Excellency
Congratulatory greetings were heard from the Chairman of the Central Election Commission of Russia V.E. Churov and Chairman of the Russian State Duma Committee on Affairs public associations and religious organizations S.A. Popova. Congratulations were made by the Deputy Head of the Office of the Public Chamber of Russia A.I. Kudryavtsev, Head of the Rossotrudnichestvo Department Yu.Yu. Didenko and others.
The comrades-in-arms of the Movement “For Faith and Fatherland”, led by the Chairman of the Guiding Center K.R., were also present at the gala reception and congratulated the hero of the day. Kasimovsky, Member of the RC G.N. Grishin and the confessor of the Movement, Hieromonk Nikon (Levachev-Belavenets), officials of the Office of the Head of the Russian Imperial House, Herold Master S.V. Dumin and lawyer G.Yu. Lukyanov, head of the Moscow department of the Russian Imperial Union-Order of A.A. Lyubich, members of the Society of Descendants of Participants Patriotic War of 1812, led by the Chairman of the Society V.I. Alyavdin, General Director of the company “Partnership of A.I. Abrikosov’s sons” D.P. Abrikosov, President of the Society of Friends of the State Historical Museum A.A. Bondarev, President of the Moscow Interdistrict Bar Association S.B. Zubkov, representatives of the priesthood and figures of the Russian Orthodox Church, members of the Rectorate of RGTEU and others.
Chairman of the Guiding Center of the Movement “For Faith and Fatherland” K.R. Kasimovsky and Member of the Leadership Center G.N. Grishin congratulate Prince Grigory Grigorievich
And, of course, Prince Grigory Grigorievich was congratulated by a large deputation of the RDS headed by the First Vice-Leader of the RDS A.Yu. Korolev-Pereleshin, including the Vice-Chairman of the Moscow Noble Assembly (MDS) Professor P.V. Florensky, Leader of the Bashkortostan Noble Assembly - Mejlis of the Tatar Murzas Z.Ya. Ayupov, Leader of the Perm Noble Assembly A.A. Posukhov, Deputy Director of the Institute of Russian History of the Russian Academy of Sciences V.M. Lavrov, head of the pilgrimage section of the Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society S.Yu. Zhitenev, Leader of the youth section of the RDS M.M. Volkova and many, many others.
Press service of the Movement “For Faith and Fatherland” ( [email protected] )
BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE
ABOUT THE LEADER
RUSSIAN NOBILITY ASSEMBLY
Prince Grigory Grigorievich G A G A R I N E
Prince Grigory Grigorievich Gagarin - Rurikovich, a direct descendant of the Russian Grand Dukes Vladimir Monomakh, Yuri Dolgoruky, Vsevolod the Big Nest. Born on October 2, 1945 in the suburbs of Paris Villejuive in a family of Russian emigrants. He was baptized in the Paris suburb of Clichy, in the Church of the Holy Trinity in December 1945 in the presence of his parents, relatives and friends. Father - Prince Grigory Borisovich Gagarin (1908-1993), son of Major General Prince Boris Vladimirovich Gagarin (1876-1966), a hero of the First World War, awarded the Order of St. George, 4th class and the golden Arms of St. George. Prince B.V. Gagarin in exile was the chairman of the Union of St. George Knights. Father of Prince G.G. Gagarina G.B. Gagarin first studied in the Cadet Corps, then graduated from the University of Liege and worked as a mechanical engineer. During World War II, he was in the Army of General Charles de Gaulle, was in a combat unit that was one of the first to land in France, and had a number of military awards.
Mother Maria Fedorovna Karpova (1910-1998) is a representative of a famous noble family descended from Rurik. Her grandfather was Gennady Fedorovich Karpov, a famous historian and professor; after his death, a scholarship in his name was established at Moscow University for particularly successful students. The mother of Prince G.G. Gagarin graduated from the Sorbonne and then worked as a class lady at a gymnasium in Paris. Mother was lucky enough to have E.I.V. as a student. Grand Duke Vladimir Kirillovich, who entered the senior class of this gymnasium to take the certificate exams. During World War II she also participated in the French Resistance movement.
The parents of Prince G.G. Gagarin had known each other since the 1930s. We met again in France, immediately after the liberation of Paris from German occupation in August 1944, decided to get married and got married at the end of 1944 in the Paris suburb of Clichy. After the end of the war and the birth of their son, G.G. Gagarin’s parents, following the example of a significant part of the Russian emigration, wanted to return to their homeland in Russia. Grigory Grigorievich’s mother especially insisted on this. However, Grigory Grigoryevich’s father, having become acquainted by this time with the methods of work of the Soviet special services, who tried, through pressure and intimidation, to involve him in working with internees, realized what awaited him in the Soviet Union and changed his mind about returning to Russia under the communist regime. Grigory Grigorievich's mother, however, did not agree with him and insisted on returning. There was a serious quarrel and the family broke up. Father G.G. Gagarin later lived and died in England. Grigory Grigoryevich’s mother married Grigory Erastovich Tulubiev (1897-1960), a hereditary nobleman, a former guards officer, a participant in the White movement, who fought in the White Army with the rank of staff captain. From this marriage, in 1948, the half-brother of Prince Grigory Grigorievich Gagarin, Andrei Grigorievich Tulubiev, was born.
A few years after the end of the war, Grigory Grigorievich, together with his mother and stepfather, moved first to the German Democratic Republic and then to Russia. They expected to settle in one of the capitals, but they were sent to Troitsk Chelyabinsk region, on the border with Kazakhstan. His stepfather raised and raised Grigory Grigorievich as his own son, never making a distinction between him and his half-brother.
Prince G.G. Gagarin has two higher education. In 1964 he entered the Chelyabinsk Polytechnic Institute, where he graduated from the Faculty of Civil Engineering in 1971 and was left to work at the department. From that time on he lived in Chelyabinsk. In 1993 he graduated from the Mining Faculty of the All-Union Correspondence Polytechnic Institute in Moscow. Worked as a researcher at the Chelyabinsk Polytechnic Institute (1971–1986), head of a laboratory at the South Ural Trust for Engineering and Construction Surveys (1986–1992), chief specialist at the Design and Technology Institute “Spetszhelezobetonproekt” (1992–2001), chief specialist at the building inspection department and structures at LLC “South Ural Regional Technical Center “Prombezopasnost”” (2001–2006).
Since 2007 - Head of Department technical development production, expert on inspection of buildings and structures of JSC "Uralspetsenergoremont-Holding". Since 2009 - Investment and Construction Advisor to the Rector of the Russian State Trade and Economic University (Moscow).
In 1999, he submitted documents to join the Russian Assembly of Nobility (RDS). Accepted as a full member of the RDS, with an entry in part 5 of the RDS Pedigree Book (diploma No. 2173). Even before his final entry into the RDS, Prince G.G. Gagarin began to organize the Chelyabinsk regional Assembly of Nobility, which he created in 1999 and, not without difficulty, was officially registered in early 2005 as a regional branch of the RDS. All these years (until 2009 inclusive) he was permanently the leader of the Chelyabinsk Noble Assembly. Delegate to the 8th, 10th, 11th and 12th All-Russian Congresses of Nobility. In May 2005, he was elected to the Council of the United Nobility, and from that time on he actively participated in all meetings of the Council.
In August 2007, Grigory Grigorievich was introduced to the Head of the Russian Imperial House, H.I.H. Sovereign Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna. The candidacy of Prince G.G. Gagarin, as a possible future Leader of the RDS, was highly approved.
At the reporting and election 12th All-Russian Congress of Nobles in May 2008, he was elected Leader of the Russian Noble Assembly.
Prince G.G. Gagarin actively supported and continued the social, civil, cultural and educational activities of the RDS, which the organization carried out in all previous years. After being elected as the Leader of the RDS, he personally heads most of the programs and projects of the RDS.
Since 2008, he has been participating in the preparation and conduct of visits to Russia by the Head and Members of the Russian Imperial House, in the implementation of actions aimed at integrating the Russian Imperial House into the life of our Fatherland.
Since 2010, Prince G.G. Gagarin is a member of the Council of Orthodox Public Associations under the Synodal Department for Relations between the Church and Society.
Awards:
- Russian Imperial House:
Order of St. Anne, 2nd degree (2009);
- Foreign:
Order of Honor of the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic (2009); medal “20 years of the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic” (2010), medal “600 years of the city of Bender” of the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic (2009).
- Russian Noble Assembly:
honorary medal (2nd degree, 2008) honorary award “In memory of the creation of the Union of Descendants of the Russian Nobility - the Russian Assembly of Nobility.”
Prince G.G. Gagarin is married. The wife, Princess Valentina Oskarovna, née Bidlingmeier, comes from a family of German settlers in the Caucasus (born in 1948 in Kazakhstan); the wife’s parents left for permanent residence in Germany in the late 1980s. The only daughter of Prince Grigory Grigorievich is Princess Maria Grigorievna, born in 1972 in Chelyabinsk, graduated from a university in Germany, in Stuttgart, married to a German citizen, and has a daughter Anna (born in 2008).
The Russian Noble Assembly (abbreviated as RDS; full name - “Union of Descendants of the Russian Nobility - Russian Noble Assembly”) is a corporate public organization uniting persons belonging to the Russian nobility, as well as descendants of Russian noble families, who have documented and irrefutably proven their undoubted belonging to the Russian nobility.
The assembly of the nobility was abolished by decree of the Central Executive Committee on November 10, 1917. The document itself was a unique source.
21) Structures and publications in genealogy: Russian Genealogical Society in St. Petersburg.
Russian Genealogical Society (abbreviated as RGO), founded in 1897 in St. Petersburg on the initiative of Prince A. B. Lobanov-Rostovsky. Meetings of the society were held on Nadezhdinskaya Street (now Mayakovsky Street), 27.
The goal of the society is the scientific development of the history and genealogy of noble families (including the study of the genealogy of the service nobility of pre-Petrine Rus'); in the field of studies of the Russian Geographical Society - research on heraldry, sphragistics (an auxiliary historical discipline that studies seals and their impressions on various materials), diplomacy and others historical disciplines. Chairman - Grand Duke Georgy Mikhailovich. The RGS included historians, court dignitaries, statesmen, representatives of provincial noble assemblies: N. P. Likhachev (one of the founders and the actual leader of the society), S. D. Sheremetev, G. A. Vlasyev, D. F. Kobeko, N V. Myatlev, V. V. Rummel and others. In 1901-130 members (in 1898-23). The main works of the society members were published in 4 issues of Izvestia (1900-11). The archives of the Russian Geographical Society kept ancient charters, columns, and documents from the 16th-18th centuries. from the family archives of the Osorgins, Tyrtovs, Musins-Pushkins and others (now in the archives of Leningrad and Moscow). In 1919, the Russian Geographical Society became part of the Russian Academy of the History of Material Culture, and was renamed the Russian Historical and Genealogical Society; ceased to exist in 1922.
22) Structures and publications in genealogy: Historical and Genealogical Society in Moscow. The Historical and Genealogical Society in Moscow, founded in 1904 and restored in 1990, is a voluntary scientific and public organization and aims to continue the traditions of historical and genealogical research, scientific development of problems of domestic genealogy, study of the history of clans and families, mutual assistance in genealogical research, popularization and propaganda of genealogical knowledge and genealogy as a branch of historical science.
Goals and objectives
1. Takes care of the preservation of family archives and collections, describes and publishes them in compliance with the rules established on this subject.
2. Collects and processes materials on history, genealogy, heraldry and related disciplines.
3. Collects a library, archive and museum on all subjects that meet the objectives of the Society.
4. Arranges public meetings with the reading of reports and lectures and organizes exhibitions on issues that meet the objectives of the Society.
5. Conducts genealogical and heraldic examination and consultations on these issues.
6. Interacts with archives, museums, libraries and other institutions and organizations (including foreign ones) on issues that meet the objectives of the Society, and provides its members with the opportunity to study in archives, libraries and museums.
7. Enjoys the right of editorial and publishing activities, publishes (in accordance with the procedure established by law) its journal and the works of its members and other printed and visual materials on genealogy, heraldry and related disciplines, republishes works on these and other issues related to subject of knowledge of the Society.
8. Orders genealogical research and other work on these issues in Russia and abroad and carries out orders from Russian and foreign citizens and organizations, and also acts as an intermediary in the implementation of such orders.
9. Finances genealogical programs, research, expeditions, participates in the implementation of similar programs organized by other scientific and public centers, organizations and individuals (including foreign ones).
10. Opens its branches in other cities.
11. Issues prizes and medals for works that meet the objectives of the Society.
12. Creates a computer data bank on genealogy, heraldry and related disciplines and organizes an information center.
23) "Historical Genealogy"
The journal “Historical Genealogy” is published by the Center for Genealogical Research in Yekaterinburg. This journal publishes articles on current issues of genealogy, and processes genealogical sources (nobletation documents). The articles contain information about the fate of certain noble families (the fate of the Romanovs), about the fate of certain families. On the development of French clans regarding immigrants.
All-Russian public organization "Union of Descendants of the Russian Nobility -Russian Noble Assembly" (abbreviated name - Russian Noble Assembly,RDS) is a corporate public organization that unites individuals belonging to the Russian nobility, as well as descendants of Russian noble families who have documented and irrefutably proven their undoubted belonging to the Russian nobility.
The RDS was created at the Constituent Assembly in Moscow on May 10, 1990, officially registered by the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation on May 17, 1991 under No. 102, re-registered by the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation in accordance with Federal law of the Russian Federation “On Public Associations” on July 15, 1999 under the same No. 102, in accordance with the Federal Law “On State Registration of Legal Entities”, entered by the Ministry of the Russian Federation on Taxes and Duties on January 28, 2003 into the Unified State Register of Legal Entities for main state registration number 1037700077942, a record of the RDS was included by the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation in the departmental register of registered non-profit organizations 05/05/2006 under registration number 0012011299, about which, after the re-registration of the organization in 2008, a Certificate was issued on 09/30/2008.
Activities of the Russian Noble Assemblydirected for the revival of the greatness of Russia, all its regions, for the preservation of historical and cultural heritage of the Russian State, for the restoration and continuation of the historical continuity of the state and generations, for the formation public consciousness based on traditional Russian spiritual and moral values, Faith of ancestors and historical traditions of Russian Statehood, for the establishment in society of true culture, principles of civic dignity and honor, traditions of faithful service to one’s Fatherland, respect for Russian history, high morality and spirituality.
The composition of the Russian Noble Assembly includes about 70 regional branches (regional - provincial - Noble Assemblies) and representative offices, including, currently, 51 regional Noble Assemblies on the territory of the current Russian Federation, regional Noble Assemblies created in most territories of the historical Russian State - the countries of the Near Abroad and the Baltic States , as well as 3 branches and representative offices in foreign countries, Australia, Bulgaria and Western America. The total number of RDS is about 9-10 thousand people with family members. An honorary member of the RDS was His Holiness the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' Alexy II, who reposed in Bose, a representative of the noble Ridiger family.
The highest governing body of the Russian Noble Assembly is the All-Russian Congress of Nobles, convened, as a rule, once every three years. Between Congresses, the highest permanent governing body of the RDS is the Council of the United Nobility, which unites the Leaders or authorized representatives of the majority of regional Noble Assemblies. During the breaks between its meetings, the collegial governing body of the RDS is the Small Administrative Council, which includes, in addition to the leaders of the RDS, members of the Council of the United Nobility, who head (supervise) the most important areas of activity of the RDS as a whole.
Heads the Russian Noble Assembly Leader of the RDS, from April 26, 2014 – Oleg Vyacheslavovich Shcherbachev, who is also the Leader of the Moscow Noble Assembly. First Vice-Leader of the RDS – Mr. Alexander Yurievich Korolev-Pereleshin, supervising all external, public and interregional relations, organizational and economic activities, coordinating the activities of regional Assemblies of Nobility and also being the executive secretary of the Council of the United Nobility. The Vice-Leaders of the RDS are Messrs. Stanislav Vladimirovich Dumin, approved at the same time by the Master of Arms of the RDS, and who is also the Master of Arms-Manager of the Heraldry at the Office of the Head of the Russian Imperial House, and a member of the Heraldic Council under the President of the Russian Federation, and Vladimir Fedorovich Shukhov, President of the Shukhov Tower Foundation.
The Russian Noble Assembly is a non-political organization, although not only reserves the right to speak out, including in the means mass media, on the most important issues in the life of Russia and other states that have historically been part of a single Power, but also actively participates in social and civil activities, trying to interact with the Federation Council and the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of Russia, the Public Chamber of Russia, participating in a number of “round tables” and in separate hearings in committees of the State Duma, in a number of hearings and conferences held in the Public Chamber. Actively interacts with many other government bodies and organizations, including presidential and government structures, various ministries, including the Ministry of Defense, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Federal agency"Rossotrudnichestvo", Ministry of Culture of Russia, with the Russian State Military historical and cultural center under the Government of the Russian Federation, with the administrations of many regions of Russia and neighboring countries. Leaders or representatives of many regional Noble Assemblies are members of the Public Chambers or Public Councils under the Administration of their republics and regions.
The RDS actively participates and organizes conferences, round tables and seminars on current socio-political topics. Thus, in recent years, the RDS, together with the all-Russian social movement“For Faith and Fatherland” with considerable success held a number of very serious and significant scientific conferences that had not only scientific, but also important socio-political implications. In March 2007, it was the 1st scientific and practical conference “The Monarchical Idea in the 21st Century”, dedicated to the 90th anniversary February Revolution and the forced abdication of the Sovereign Emperor Nicholas II Alexandrovich - sad dates in Russian history, marked on March 15, 2007. In May 2009, the 2nd scientific and practical conference from the same cycle “The Monarchical Idea in the 21st Century” was successfully held in the conference hall of the Russian State Trade and Economic University (RGTEU). The theme of the conference was “The role of the monarchical idea in the modern unity of the peoples of historical Russia.” On March 4, 2011, exactly on the day of the 150th anniversary of the signing by Sovereign Emperor Alexander II Nikolaevich of the Manifesto “On the most merciful granting to serfs of the rights of free rural inhabitants”, another one was held in Moscow, this time with the participation of RGTEU, III All-Russian scientific and practical conference of this cycle, dedicated to the celebrated anniversary. Conference theme: “Russian experience of reforms. To the 150th anniversary of the Manifesto of Emperor Alexander II on the liberation of peasants from serfdom." On March 13, 2012, the IV All-Russian scientific and practical conference was held in Moscow under the general theme “The Monarchical Idea in the 21st Century”, on the topic: “Russian imperial geopolitics: past and future. To the 200th anniversary of the Russian Victory in Patriotic War 1812." Each time, the organizers of the conferences set themselves not only purely historical, scientific and educational tasks, but also very specific practical purposes: to show that the monarchical form of government not only has not outlived its usefulness, but, on the contrary, is quite successful in modern world, and promising in the future, that in modern Russia there are enough social and political movements, and politicians, and scientists, and just independently thinking people, standing on such traditionalist positions. In 2007 and 2009 The purpose of the scientific forums was not to assess what happened 90 years ago, but to discuss new, modern approaches to using the best Russian statist traditions and implementing the monarchical idea in practice. In 2011, the goal is not only to highlight the Great Peasant Reform in Russia, but also historical meaning, but also to critically comprehend and compare the Russian reforms of the mid-second half of the 19th century, with subsequent reforms in our country, including with the liberal reforms of the late 20th - early 21st centuries, which we are witnessing. In 2012, the goal is not only to cover history foreign policy Russia, and especially not only the history associated with the Victory of Russia and the coalition of other countries over Napoleonic France, but also critically comprehend the features of external and domestic policy countries in the context of the imperial tasks of the Power, history and prospects for their implementation in the space of Eurasia and the World.
All these conferences received quite a lot of attention from politicians, scientists, and the media, in which these forums received a great response.
In December 2012, 2013 and 2014. The RDS acted as a co-organizer of “round tables” - hearings in the Public Chamber of Russia, dedicated to summing up the results of the year of interregional memorial events of public and church-public organizations of a patriotic orientation, their interaction and public-state partnership, plans and projects for the next years.
The Russian Noble Assembly interacts most closely with the Moscow Patriarchate. The RDS was the first public organization in Moscow, at whose residence a house church was built in honor of the “Sovereign” Icon of the Mother of God. The RDS has good contacts with the Synodal Department for Relations between the Church and Society, with the Department for External Church Relations, with the Synodal Committee for Interaction with the Cossacks, and with many other Synodal departments. The first Vice-Leader of the RDS, A.Yu. Korolev-Pereleshin, is a member of the Council of Orthodox Public Associations under the Synodal Department for Relations between the Church and Society. Each regional Noble Assembly, whether on the territory of modern Russia or the Near Abroad, is required to directly interact with the leadership of its diocese.
The Russian Noble Assembly annually actively participates in the activities of the World Russian People's Council. Since 2012, the Chairman of the RDS has been a member of the Council of the Council.
RDS participates in most church-social and many church events. So, in 2007-2010. The RDS annually participated with its own separate stand in the largest church and public events - church and public exhibitions and forums “Orthodox Rus' - on the Day of national unity", timing its exhibition in corresponding year for church and public historical dates and anniversaries.
Since 2009, together with the rector of the Patriarchal Metochion - the Temple of the Icon of the Mother of God “The Sign”, Archpriest Mikhail Gulyaev, the RDS annually initiates and organizes a memorial service for all victims of the Russian Troubles, revolution and Civil War and to Russian people who died in a foreign land. At the invitation of the RDS, members of the RDS and famous representatives Russian Abroad, descendants of prominent figures from the warring parties, who were once irreconcilable political opponents, and representatives of state and public organizations. Conducted with the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill and headed by the Chairman of the Synodal Department for Relations between the Church and Society, Archpriest Vsevolod Chaplin, commemorative events are invariably very successful and receive great public and media resonance. In 2010, together with the same rector of the Patriarchal Metochion - the Church of the Icon of the Mother of God "of the Sign" and the Synodal Department for Relations between Church and Society, the RDS became the organizer of the International literary competition essays by children of school and early university age living in the Russian Federation, near and far abroad, “The Face of Russia” - essays about outstanding personalities of Russia’s past who made the greatest contribution to the spiritual, cultural, intellectual development Russia, its state power, in the creation of the ideals of goodness, love, and peaceful coexistence. The competition was held for spiritual and patriotic education the younger generation, identifying gifted students with the blessing of Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus'. RDS managed to attract E.I.H. to the Highest guardianship of the competition. Heir to Tsarevich Grand Duke Georgy Mikhailovich. The results of the competition were summed up on November 4, 2010, on the Day of National Unity, together with His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus'.
The Russian Noble Assembly actively interacts and participates in the activities of many congenial organizations: “Society of descendants of participants in the Patriotic War of 1812”, Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society, Moscow Merchant Society, All-Russian Society for the Protection of Historical and Cultural Monuments, Russian Zemstvo Movement, all-Russian public organizations of the Movement “For Faith and Fatherland”, “Russian Christian Democratic Perspective”, etc., was a co-founder and co-organizer of a number of them. The RDS is a member of the International Noble Association CIAN, interacts with foreign national noble and traditionalist associations and many other foreign organizations, and is especially active with foreign communities and organizations of Russian compatriots around the world.
The Russian Noble Assembly carries out a large list of scientific and educational,historical and memorial, cultural, humanitarian and educational programs, most of which are timed to coincide with the most important dates and events in Russian history. In accordance with these programs, both in Moscow and in other cities, a large number of historical-scientific, genealogical-heraldic, scientific and practical conferences, seminars, scientific and journalistic works are published, public art and historical-journalistic exhibitions are held.
The largest historical and scientific events In recent years, there have been All-Russian conferences held by the RDS “Military dynasties of the Fatherland. To the 625th anniversary of the victory on the Kulikovo Field and the 60th anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War" (Kostroma, September 2005), "Results of the Crimean War. To the 150th anniversary of graduation" (Moscow, March 2006), "In the service of the Fatherland. Cultural and educational mission of the Russian nobility. To the 225th anniversary of the provincial Noble Assemblies in Russia and the 20th anniversary of the Russian Noble Assembly", dedicated to the 225th anniversary of the "Granted Charter on the rights, liberties and advantages of the noble Russian Nobility", issued by Empress Catherine II on April 21, 1785 and the 20th anniversary of the re-creation RDS in 1990 (Moscow, May 2010), “Nobility and Modernity” (St. Petersburg, June 2011), “Tatar Nobility Assembly. Its history and its development at the present stage in the search for civil unity and interethnic harmony. To the 20th anniversary of the Mejlis of the Tatar Murzas" (Ufa, March 2012); “The Romanov Dynasty in the History of the Russian State” (Moscow, March 2013); “The Imperial House of Romanov: 400 years in the service of Russia” (Moscow, March 2013), in which the Head of the Russian Imperial House H.I.H. took part. Sovereign Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna, “How to resist the falsification of Russian history,” together with the Russian State Library (Moscow, October 2013), “110th anniversary of the beginning Russo-Japanese War 1904-1905" (St. Petersburg, January 2014), " Crimean War in the memoirs of the descendants of its participants", dedicated to the 160th anniversary of the beginning of the First Defense of the City of Russian Glory of Sevastopol (Moscow, October 2014), " Great War in documents and book collections. Problems of study, description, and publication” together with the Russian State Library (Moscow, November 2014).
RDS also holds a number of traditional annual historical and genealogical forums, enjoying great fame and authority among specialists. These are traditional international Savyolov readings, which are held annually together with the Historical and Genealogical Society in the hall of the State Historical Museum in Moscow. These are the annual Grigorov readings, held in Kostroma with the leading participation of the Kostroma Noble Assembly together with the Kostroma Historical and Genealogical Society. Finally, for many years the RDS has been holding in Krasnodar, based on the Kuban Noble Assembly, International Noble Readings, which are very famous throughout the North Caucasus, and throughout Russia as a whole, in the countries of the Near and some countries of the Far Abroad. In recent years, International Noble Readings have been held with the following themes: 2006 - “Who would lay down his soul for his friends”, dedicated to the 130th anniversary of the beginning of the liberation of the Orthodox population of the Balkans from the Ottoman yoke; 2007 - “Under St. Andrew’s faithful banner...”, to the 225th anniversary of the Russian Black Sea Fleet and the 220th anniversary of the birth of the outstanding Russian naval commander M.P. Lazarev; 2008 - ““And God’s grace descended...”: the Romanovs and the North Caucasus”, on the 90th anniversary of the tragic death of the Holy Royal Passion-Bearers; 2009 - “Under the shadow of St. George”, dedicated to the 240th anniversary of the establishment of the military order of the Holy Great Martyr and Victorious George; 2010 - ““Virtue and honor should be its rules...”: nobility North Caucasus in the service of the Russian Empire”, to the 225th anniversary of the provincial Assemblies of Nobility in Russia and the 20th anniversary of the Russian Assembly of Nobility; 2011 - “The honor bestowed upon us by God and the Tsar...”, on the occasion of the 200th anniversary of His Imperial Majesty’s Own Convoy; 2012 - ““It’s not for nothing that all Russia remembers...”: the era of 1812 and the Russian nobility”, dedicated to the 200th anniversary of the Victory of Russia in the Patriotic War of 1812; 2013 - “Reign for glory, for glory to us!”, on the 400th anniversary of the accession to the Throne of the Romanov Dynasty; 2014 - “We loved you selflessly, our Holy Russian land...”, on the 100th anniversary of the start of the First World War.
The RDS was created and has been operating since the mid-1990s. Association of Artists RDS, uniting both professional artists, members of creative artistic unions, the Russian Academy of Arts, venerable, recognized masters, and talented amateurs. The largest in recent years artistic Exhibitions, held by the RDS - exhibitions of the Association of Artists of the RDS in the gallery of the Pilgrimage Center of the Moscow Patriarchate in Moscow in February 2007 and in May 2010 (the latter was dedicated to the 20th anniversary of the re-establishment of the RDS); exhibition “Far - Close” in the building of the Administration of the President of Russia in the Moscow Kremlin (October-November 2010), dedicated to the 65th anniversary of the Victory and the 20th anniversary of the re-establishment of the RDS; exhibition at the Russian Center for Science and Culture in Austria, in Vienna (September 2011), dedicated to the 200th anniversary of the Russian Victory in the Patriotic War of 1812; an exhibition in the main building of the Federation Council - the upper house of the Russian parliament (October 2011), dedicated to the 20th anniversary of the re-establishment of the RDS and the upcoming 1150th anniversary of Russian Statehood; exhibition "Russia's Glorious Year" in cultural center Academy of Management of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia (November 2012), dedicated to the 200th anniversary of the Victory of Russia in the Patriotic War of 1812; participation of the RDS Artists Association as an official exhibitor in the large exhibition “Unforgettable Time...” in the Central Moscow Exhibition Hall “Manege” (April 2012), dedicated to the 200th anniversary of the Victory of Russia in the Patriotic War of 1812; exhibition “400th anniversary of the Romanov Dynasty” in the Cultural and Social Center of the Transport Administration of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia in the Central Federal District(November 2013); exhibition “In Search of Beauty” at the Supreme Arbitration Court of the Russian Federation (March-April 2014), dedicated to the opening of the Year of Culture in Russia and a number of others.
IN Lately a new important direction has appeared in the activities of the Association - art photography, thanks to the arrival of several very talented photo artists to the Association. We can also note a couple of individual large photo exhibitions. Exhibition “August Service to Russia”, dedicated to the 55th anniversary of the Head of the Russian Imperial House, H.I.H. Sovereign Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna, opened on the day of this anniversary, December 23, 2008 in the gallery of the Pilgrimage Center of the Moscow Patriarchate. At the exhibition, held with the blessing of the then Locum Tenens of the Patriarchal Throne, Metropolitan Kirill of Smolensk and Kaliningrad, dozens of photographs were presented telling about life path Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna. Exhibition “For Faith and Fatherland”, dedicated to the 400th anniversary of the call to Russian Throne Romanov dynasty, was held jointly with the Movement “For Faith and Fatherland” in the City Exhibition Hall of Bryansk in April-May 2013. The exhibition talked about life in exile and today members of the Russian Imperial House.
There are a few worth mentioning exhibitions creative works descendants of Russian nobles and guests of the RDS “Reflection of the Soul”, carried out in 2012 and 2013. Their peculiarity was the variety of works presented: paintings and graphics, jewelry, installations, embroidery, lacquer miniatures, soft toys. The authors did not try to impress with their professional skills; the main thing that motivates them to create is the desire to talk about the beauty of the world around them, to show that, despite long years oblivion, cruel hard times, the descendants of famous families managed to preserve in their souls a craving for beauty, a desire to create, preserved the traditions inherent in representatives of those strata of society that once, together with the entire Russian people, constituted the pride of Russia
The RDS and its regional Noble Assemblies carry out a number of cultural programs: they hold a significant number of concerts, literary and literary-musical salons, etc., or through the efforts of their fellow members, but mainly under their own auspices - attracting professional performers. In 1996, under the leadership of the professional ballet dancer Michael Shannon, the RDS created and for several years successfully performed the entreprise ballet and opera “Imperial Theater”, which performed in St. Petersburg at the Hermitage Theater, in Moscow on the stage of the Ostankino Palace, held tours in Yekaterinburg, France, Belgium and Slovakia. For a number of years in the late 1990s. The RDS vocal quartet under the direction of Irina Khovanskaya performed in the “Opera House” of the Tsaritsyno museum and estate complex. In recent years, the RDS began to actively organize under its auspices professional concert programs on large stages, devoting them also to the most important dates and events of Russian history: full-scale concerts of Russian romance, concerts “Three Russian Bass” - a program created by the RDS, concerts of spiritual, folk Cossack songs performed by famous monastery choirs, concerts of the Moscow saxophonist quintet, solo concerts stars of Russian romance and classical opera. Literary and literary-musical salons of the RDS are held quite regularly both in Moscow and by most regional Assemblies of Nobility.
Among the recent many anniversary promotions The RDS is worth mentioning the first International Congress of Descendants of Participants in the Patriotic War of 1812, initiated and actually organized and held by the RDS together with the Society of Descendants of Participants in the Patriotic War of 1812 in June 2012 in Moscow (formally the Congress was held under the auspices and with funding from the Moscow Government), on which brought together more than 300 people from all over the world, the second International Congress of descendants of participants in the Patriotic War of 1812, held in Paris on November 13-16, 2012, the initiative, organization and participation in the planting of the “Borodinsky Oak Alley” in the park on Sparrow Hills in Moscow in September 2012, as well as holding the Founding Congress of descendants of the participants of the First World War on July 31, 2014.
Occasionally RDS gives classical balls– a bright, representative, colorful event, unforgettable for anyone who has participated in it at least once. The last such official balls of the RDS were given in the House of Russian Abroad in Moscow on May 16, 2010 in honor of the 20th anniversary of the re-establishment of the RDS and on May 15, 2011, on the eve of the celebration of the 200th anniversary of the Victory of Russia in the Patriotic War of 1812, as well as in the premises of the Polyanka Art Hall complex, on Bolshaya Polyanka in the center of Moscow, April 30, 2012, dedicated to the 200th anniversary of the Victory of Russia in the Patriotic War of 1812 and the 20th anniversary of the perception of the rights and duties of the Head of the Russian Imperial House by Her Imperial Highness the Empress Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna.
For RDS in Moscow it is valid Youth Society. A number of regional Noble Assemblies patronize gymnasiums, lyceums and cadet corps in their regions, they are engaged in the development and implementation of pedagogical programs.
The Russian Noble Assembly and its regional organizations carry out charitable and trustee activities.
Printing organ of the Russian Noble Assembly— the newspaper “Dvoryansky Vestnik”, published since 1993 (the pilot issue was published in November 1992), registered in March 1994 as an all-Russian newspaper. RDS in 1994-1999 also published 10 issues of the historical, journalistic, literary and artistic almanac “Noble Assembly”, and in 1998, as a trial, 2 issues of the magazine on family education “Governor”. A number of regional Noble Assemblies (Moscow, St. Petersburg, Nizhny Novgorod, Novosibirsk, Bashkortostan, Samara, Udmurt, etc., as well as the Australian Representative Office of the RDS) also publish newspapers, almanacs, magazines or bulletins.
Since 2001 Russian Noble Assembly together with the publishing house Tsentrpoligraf carries out a large publishing program “Forgotten and Unknown Russia”. More than 80 books in this series have already been published. The purpose of the program is to open undeservedly forgotten pages great history of our Fatherland, to recall the deep spiritual and moral traditions with which Russia has always been strong. Based on the results of a competition held back in 2001 by the Union of Publishers and Distributors of Printed Products of the Russian Federation and the Vitrina magazine, the series was among the first ten winners awarded the Golden Grain award.
And several Catalogs published by the RDS Artists Association are also a particularly important, due to its visibility, component of the overall publishing activity of the RDS.
It is extremely important for members of the RDS that the activities of the Russian Noble Assembly take place under the Highest Patronage of the legitimate Head of the Russian Imperial House, Her Imperial Highness the Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna. On behalf of the Head of the Russian Imperial House, the RDS facilitates contacts between the Head and Members of the Russian Imperial House and the Office of the Head of the Russian Imperial House with the Hierarchy of the Moscow Patriarchate, with Diocesan departments, and with various administrative structures. In addition, traditionally, at the request of the inviting party, receiving Members of the Russian Imperial House (Russian federal representative bodies, the Governments of Moscow and St. Petersburg, regional administrations, governments of some foreign countries), the Russian Assembly of Nobility helps the inviting party to establish contacts with the Chancery registered in Russia The Head of the Russian Imperial House, and in a number of cases, on behalf of the Office of the Head of the Russian Imperial House, participates in coordinating and resolving organizational issues in preparing the Highest visits of Members of the Russian Imperial House to Russia or foreign countries
, in the preparation and implementation of actions aimed at integrating the Russian Imperial House into the life of our Fatherland.
The RDS actively interacts with the Office of the Head of the Russian Imperial House and the Heraldry created under the Office. Legal address of the Russian Noble Assembly:
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