Prince Dimitri Alexandrovich Obolensky (19 March (

old style Old Style (O.S.) and New Style (N.S.) indicate dating systems before and after a calendar change, respectively. Usually, this is the change from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar as enacted in various European countries between 158 ...

) 1882 – 27 April 1964) was a Russian

nobleman Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. The characteristi ...

, landowner and marshal of the nobility who after the

October Revolution The October Revolution,. officially known as the Great October Socialist Revolution. in the Soviet Union, also known as the Bolshevik Revolution, was a revolution in Russia led by the Bolshevik Party of Vladimir Lenin that was a key moment ...

and the

Russian Civil War , date = October Revolution, 7 November 1917 – Yakut revolt, 16 June 1923{{Efn, The main phase ended on 25 October 1922. Revolt against the Bolsheviks continued Basmachi movement, in Central Asia and Tungus Republic, the Far East th ...

became a night watchman and a taxi driver in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

. He wrote a memoir of his experiences.

Background

Obolensky was descended from the 9th century

Varangian The Varangians (; non, Væringjar; gkm, Βάραγγοι, ''Várangoi'';Varangian
" Online Etymo ...

chieftain

Rurik Rurik (also Ryurik; orv, Рюрикъ, Rjurikŭ, from Old Norse '' Hrøríkʀ''; russian: Рюрик; died 879); be, Рурык, Ruryk was a semi-legendary Varangian chieftain of the Rus' who in the year 862 was invited to reign in Novgoro ...

, founder of the

Rurik dynasty The Rurik dynasty ( be, Ру́рыкавічы, Rúrykavichy; russian: Рю́риковичи, Ryúrikovichi, ; uk, Рю́риковичі, Riúrykovychi, ; literally "sons/scions of Rurik"), also known as the Rurikid dynasty or Rurikids, was ...

, and from

Igor I Igor may refer to: People * Igor (given name), an East Slavic given name and a list of people with the name * Mighty Igor (1931–2002), former American professional wrestler * Igor Volkoff, a professional wrestler from NWA All-Star Wrestling * ...

Svyatoslav I ; (943 – 26 March 972), also spelled Svyatoslav, was Grand Prince of Kiev famous for his persistent campaigns in the east and south, which precipitated the collapse of two great powers of Eastern Europe, Khazaria and the First Bulgarian Empire. He ...

, and St Vladimir of Kiev, as well as from the 13th century St Michael of Chernigov.Anthony Bryer,
Obituary: Professor Sir Dimitri Obolensky
' from ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'' dated 31 December 2001 The son of Prince Alexander Dimitrievich Obolensky (1847–1917), by his marriage to Countess Anna Alexandrovna Polovtzova (1862–1917), Obolensky was born at

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 ...

on 24 April 1882.Jacques Ferrand, ''Descendances naturelles des souverains et grands-ducs de Russie de 1762 à 1910: répertoire généalogique'' (1995), p. 27

Life

On 22 Sep 1905 Obolensky married firstly, in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

, Countess Helene Bobrinsky (1885–1937), daughter of Count Alexander Alexandrovich Bobrinsky.Valerian S. Obolensky,
Prince Dimitri OBOLENSKY (493)
in ''Russians in Exile: the history of a diaspora'', published online at Russianaristocracy web site, accessed 23 February 2012 They had two sons and a daughter: Alexander, born 1906, Andrei (1907–1969), and Helena (1909–1978). Their son Andrei grew up to be a notable chess player. Vorontsovskiy palace north

As a landowner, Obolensky led "a country life reminiscent of Turgenev's tales" and as well as being a marshal of the nobility was a lover of nature, a patriot and an improver. When news came of the

Austro-Hungarian Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

monitor Monitor or monitor may refer to: Places * Monitor, Alberta * Monitor, Indiana, town in the United States * Monitor, Kentucky * Monitor, Oregon, unincorporated community in the United States * Monitor, Washington * Monitor, Logan County, West Vir ...

bombardment of the

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...

n city of

Belgrade Belgrade ( , ;, ; Names of European cities in different languages: B, names in other languages) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers a ...

beginning on 29 July 1914, Obolensky spoke stirringly to the

peasant A peasant is a pre-industrial agricultural laborer or a farmer with limited land-ownership, especially one living in the Middle Ages under feudalism and paying rent, tax, fees, or services to a landlord. In Europe, three classes of peasants ...

s on his estate of the need for war, and they reacted enthusiastically. He later learned that his hearers had understood him to mean

Belgorod Belgorod ( rus, Белгород, p=ˈbʲeɫɡərət) is a city and the administrative center of Belgorod Oblast, Russia, located on the Seversky Donets River north of the border with Ukraine. Population: Demographics The population of Be ...

near

Kharkiv Kharkiv ( uk, wikt:Харків, Ха́рків, ), also known as Kharkov (russian: Харькoв, ), is the second-largest List of cities in Ukraine, city and List of hromadas of Ukraine, municipality in Ukraine.glorified Saint Ioasaph.

Dimitri Obolensky Sir Dimitri Obolensky (19 March/1 April 1918, in St Petersburg – 23 December 2001) was a Russian-British historian who was Professor of Russian and Balkan History at the University of Oxford and the author of various historical works. Biogra ...

, ''Bread of Exile: a Russian family'' (Harvill Press, 2003), pp. 22–30 During Wolrd War I, Obolensky's marriage broke down and in 1916 it ended in a divorce. On 18 July 1917 he married secondly, in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

, Countess Maria Shuvalova (1894–1973), a daughter of Count Paul Pavlovich Shuvalov and Countess Alexandra Ilaryonovna Vorontzova-Dashkova. Three weeks later, on 7 August 1917, Obolensky's mother died in Moscow. The

began on 25 October (Old Style), or 7 November (New Style) with an armed insurrection in

Petrograd 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 ...

. On 26 November Obolensky's father, who by then was at

Essentuki Yessentuki ( rus, Ессентуки́, p=jɪsɪntʊˈkʲiˑ) is a city in Stavropol Krai, Russia, located in the shadow of Mount Elbrus at the base of the Caucasus Mountains. The city serves as a railway station in the Mineralnye Vody—Kislov ...

, died there. However, Obolensky and his wife were still in Petrograd when their son Dimitri was born there on 19 March/1 April 1918. Obolensky's new mother-in-law and her sister Sofka Demidova (1870–1953), were daughters of Count Hilarion Vorontsov-Dashkov (1837–1916), Minister of the Imperial Court under Alexander III and

Viceroy A viceroy () is an official who reigns over a polity in the name of and as the representative of the monarch of the territory. The term derives from the Latin prefix ''vice-'', meaning "in the place of" and the French word ''roy'', meaning "k ...

of the

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, mainly comprising Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and parts of Southern Russia. The Caucasus Mountains, including the Greater Caucasus range, have historically ...

to the last Tsar,

Nicholas II Nicholas II or Nikolai II Alexandrovich Romanov; spelled in pre-revolutionary script. ( 186817 July 1918), known in the Russian Orthodox Church as Saint Nicholas the Passion-Bearer,. was the last Emperor of Russia, King of Congress Pola ...

, and both women were intimates of the Imperial family. His wife was also descended from Prince Michael Vorontsov (1782–1856), an earlier Viceroy of the Caucasus, for whom

Edward Blore Edward Blore (13 September 1787 – 4 September 1879) was a 19th-century English landscape and architectural artist, architect and antiquary. Early career He was born in Derby, the son of the antiquarian writer Thomas Blore. Blore's backg ...

designed the

Alupka Palace The Vorontsov Palace ( uk, Воронцовський палац; russian: link=no, Воронцо́вский дворе́ц) or the Alupka Palace; russian: link=no, Алупкинский дворец) name was contrived during Soviet times ...

near

Yalta Yalta (: Я́лта) is a resort city on the south coast of the Crimean Peninsula surrounded by the Black Sea. It serves as the administrative center of Yalta Municipality, one of the regions within Crimea. Yalta, along with the rest of Crimea ...

in the

Crimea Crimea, crh, Къырым, Qırım, grc, Κιμμερία / Ταυρική, translit=Kimmería / Taurikḗ ( ) is a peninsula in Ukraine, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, that has been occupied by Russia since 2014. It has a pop ...

. Some months after the

of 1917, the Obolenskys retreated from Petrograd to the Alupka palace. Early in 1919, during the

, and with

Bolshevik The Bolsheviks (russian: Большевики́, from большинство́ ''bol'shinstvó'', 'majority'),; derived from ''bol'shinstvó'' (большинство́), "majority", literally meaning "one of the majority". also known in English ...

armies approaching, he and his wife and children escaped from Russia on board the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

's HMS ''Marlborough'', together with others who included the Dowager Empress Marie Feodorovna, the Grand Duke Nicholas, and

Prince Felix Yusupov Prince Felix Felixovich Yusupov, Count Sumarokov-Elston (russian: Князь Фе́ликс Фе́ликсович Юсу́пов, Граф Сумаро́ков-Эльстон, Knyaz' Féliks Féliksovich Yusúpov, Graf Sumarókov-El'ston; – ...

, the killer of

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 ga ...

. Joining the large White Russian community in

, Obolensky became a night watchman and later a taxi driver. His "brief, unhappy marriage" quickly came to an end with a divorce in 1921. His second wife soon married Count Andrey Tolstoy, settling with him in

Nice Nice ( , ; Niçard: , classical norm, or , nonstandard, ; it, Nizza ; lij, Nissa; grc, Νίκαια; la, Nicaea) is the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative c ...

.Jonathan Shepherd, in ''Biographical memoirs of fellows, volume 3'', vol. 124 of the Proceedings of the British Academy (Oxford University Press, 2004), pp. 243-268, a
p. 245
/ref> On 16 August 1923, in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, Obolensky married thirdly Natalya Feodorova (1894–1952), a young woman originally from

Simbirsk Ulyanovsk, known until 1924 as Simbirsk, is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative center of Ulyanovsk Oblast, Russia, located on the Volga River east of Moscow. Population: The city, founded as Simbirsk (), w ...

. This marriage also ended ultimately in divorce, before Natalya's death in 1952. Obolensky was somehow able to afford to send his son Dimitri to an English preparatory school, to the Lycée Pasteur, and to

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by Henry VIII, King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge ...

, where he began a distinguished academic career which culminated in his becoming Professor of Russian and Balkan History at

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

. Obolensky wrote a memoir of his life in Imperial Russia, of which one writer said that "The humour and stoicism of the memoir remained with him through the vicissitudes which followed the October Revolution." He died at

Cannes Cannes ( , , ; oc, Canas) is a city located on the French Riviera. It is a communes of France, commune located in the Alpes-Maritimes departments of France, department, and host city of the annual Cannes Film Festival, Midem, and Cannes Lions I ...

on 27 April 1964. His second wife settled in Oxford with their son Dimitri and died there on 16 June 1973.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Obolensky, Dimitri Alexandrovich 1882 births 1964 deaths Dimitri Alexandrovich Emigrants from the Russian Empire to France French taxi drivers Landowners from the Russian Empire