Alexander Erichovich von Pistohlkors (6 June 1885 in

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

– 8 September 1941 in

Brest, France Brest (; ) is a port city in the Finistère department, Brittany. Located in a sheltered bay not far from the western tip of the peninsula, and the western extremity of metropolitan France, Brest is an important harbour and the second French mi ...

) was a

Russian Imperial Guard The Russian Imperial Guard, officially known as the Leib Guard (russian: Лейб-гвардия ''Leyb-gvardiya'', from German ''Leib'' "body"; cf. Life Guards / Bodyguard) were military units serving as personal guards of the Emperor of Rus ...

officer who was known for his cruelty in putting down the rebellion following the

Russian Revolution of 1905 The Russian Revolution of 1905,. also known as the First Russian Revolution,. occurred on 22 January 1905, and was a wave of mass political and social unrest that spread through vast areas of the Russian Empire. The mass unrest was directed again ...

Background and connections

Pistohlkors was the son of Olga Valerianovna Karnovich by her first husband,

Major general Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

Erich Gerhard Augustinovich von Pistohlkors (1853–1935), from whom she was divorced before her second marriage in 1902. Through his mother's second marriage to

Grand Duke Paul Alexandrovich of Russia Grand Duke Paul Alexandrovich of Russia (russian: Павел Александрович; 3 October 1860 – 28 January 1919) was the sixth son and youngest child of Emperor Alexander II of Russia by his first wife, Empress Maria Alexandrov ...

, he was a stepbrother of

Grand Duke Dmitri Pavlovich of Russia Grand Duke Dmitri Pavlovich of Russia (russian: Великий Князь Дмитрий Павлович; 18 September 1891 – 5 March 1942) was a son of Grand Duke Paul Alexandrovich of Russia, a grandson of Tsar Alexander II of Russia and a ...

, one of the co-conspirators in the murder of

Grigori Rasputin Grigori Yefimovich Rasputin (; rus, links=no, Григорий Ефимович Распутин ; – ) was a Russian mystic and self-proclaimed holy man who befriended the family of Nicholas II, the last Emperor of Russia, thus g ...

. His younger sister,

Marianne Marianne () has been the national personification of the French Republic since the French Revolution, as a personification of liberty, equality, fraternity and reason, as well as a portrayal of the Goddess of Liberty. Marianne is displayed i ...

, was also allegedly a co-conspirator in the murder.Radzinsky, pp. 476-477 Pistohlkors was the husband of Alexandra Taneyeva, a Rasputin follower and the sister of the Tsarina's lady in waiting,

Anna Vyrubova Anna Alexandrovna Vyrubova (''née'' Taneyeva; russian: А́нна Алекса́ндровна Вы́рубова (Тане́ева)); 16 July 1884 – 20 July 1964) was a Russian Empire lady-in-waiting, the best friend and confidante of Tsarina ...

Exile

Pistohlkors was a minor government official under Tsar Nicholas II's rule.

Grand Duchess Tatiana Nikolaevna of Russia Grand Duchess Tatiana Nikolaevna of Russia (Tatiana Nikolaevna Romanova; ; – 17 July 1918) was the second daughter of Tsar Nicholas II, the last monarch of Russia, and of Tsarina Alexandra. She was born at Peterhof Palace, near Saint Peters ...

was the godmother for his eldest daughter, Tatiana. Pistohlkors and his wife also had two younger daughters, Olga and Alexandra. The Pistohlkors family fled to

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

in 1916 when the Russian political situation worsened, and he had estates in the Baltic countries. His daughter, Olga Ramel (1912–2011), later settled in

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

Notes

External links

Genealogisches Handbuch der baltischen Ritterschaften Teil 1,2: Livland, Lfg. 9-15, Görlitz 1929
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pistohlkors, Alexander 1885 births 1944 deaths Emigrants from the Russian Empire to France Russian Imperial Guard officers