Princess Nina Georgievna of Russia
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Princess Nina Georgievna of Russia, (russian: link=no, Нина Георгиевна) (20 June 1901 – 27 February 1974), was the elder daughter of Grand Duke George Mikhailovich and Grand Duchess Maria Georgievna of Russia. A great-granddaughter of Tsar
Nicholas I of Russia Nicholas I , group=pron ( – ) was List of Russian rulers, Emperor of Russia, Congress Poland, King of Congress Poland and Grand Duke of Finland. He was the third son of Paul I of Russia, Paul I and younger brother of his predecessor, Alexander I ...
, she left her native country in 1914, before
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
finished her education in England and spent the rest of her life in exile. In London in 1922, she married Prince Paul
Chavchavadze The House of Chavchavadze ( ka, ჭავჭავაძე) is a Georgian noble family, formerly a princely one (tavadi), later incorporated into the Russian nobility, also with the title of Prince. History The family is first attested in the ...
, a descendant of the last king of Georgia. They had one child, Prince
David Chavchavadze David Chavchavadze (May 20, 1924 – October 5, 2014) was a British-born American author and a former Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) officer of Georgian-Russian origin. Life and death Chavchavadze was born in London to Prince Paul Chavchavad ...
, born there two years later. In 1927 the family of three moved to the United States and settled in New York. In 1939 they bought a home in
Wellfleet, Massachusetts Wellfleet is a New England town, town in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, Barnstable County, Massachusetts, United States, and is located halfway between the "tip" and "elbow" of Cape Cod. The town had a population of 3,566 at the 2020 United S ...
. Princess Nina was an artist, her husband worked as an author; he wrote five books and translated several others. Their son, Prince David Chavchavadze, served with the U.S. Army during
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
and, thanks in part to his knowledge of Russian, eventually became a CIA officer. After his retirement, he wrote his memoirs and published those of his grandmother, Grand Duchess George, as well as a book about the grand dukes of Russia.


Early life

Princess Nina was born on in the New Mikhailovsky Palace on the
Palace Embankment The Palace Embankment or Palace Quay (Russian: Дворцовая набережная, Dvortsovaya naberezhnaya) is a street along the Neva River in Central Saint Petersburg which contains the complex of the Hermitage Museum buildings (including ...
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 ...
, the residence of her paternal grandfather,
Grand Duke Michael Nicolaievich of Russia Grand Duke Michael Nikolaevich of Russia (25 October 1832 – 18 December 1909) was the fourth son and seventh child of Emperor Nicholas I of Russia and Charlotte of Prussia. He was the first owner of the New Michael Palace on the Palace Quay in ...
. She was the elder daughter of Grand Duke George Mikhailovich and Grand Duchess Maria Georgievna of Russia. Through her father, she was a member of the
Romanov family The House of Romanov (also transcribed Romanoff; rus, Романовы, Románovy, rɐˈmanəvɨ) was the reigning imperial house of Russia from 1613 to 1917. They achieved prominence after the Tsarina, Anastasia Romanova, was married to th ...
, and princess of the Imperial blood as a great-granddaughter of Tsar
Nicholas I of Russia Nicholas I , group=pron ( – ) was List of Russian rulers, Emperor of Russia, Congress Poland, King of Congress Poland and Grand Duke of Finland. He was the third son of Paul I of Russia, Paul I and younger brother of his predecessor, Alexander I ...
. Nina's mother was a princess of
Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...
and
Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...
, and on her maternal side, Nina was a granddaughter of King
George I of Greece George I ( Greek: Γεώργιος Α΄, ''Geórgios I''; 24 December 1845 – 18 March 1913) was King of Greece from 30 March 1863 until his assassination in 1913. Originally a Danish prince, he was born in Copenhagen, and seemed destined for ...
, great-granddaughter of King
Christian IX of Denmark Christian IX (8 April 181829 January 1906) was King of Denmark from 1863 until his death in 1906. From 1863 to 1864, he was concurrently Duke of Schleswig, Holstein and Lauenburg. A younger son of Frederick William, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein- ...
and related to members of many European royal families. Princess Nina spent the first years of her life in the family's apartments at the New Mikhailovsky Palace. In 1905, however, the family moved to a newly built small palace in the Crimea. Constructed in English style, they gave the property a Greek name, "Harax". For nine years the family led a quiet life. A contemporary of 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 ...
two youngest daughters, Princess Nina and her only sibling Princess Xenia, played sometimes with them, while they were in the Imperial capital. The marriage of Nina's parents was unhappy. Grand Duke George was a devoted father, and the two sisters were close to him, but Grand Duchess Maria Georgievna never liked Russia and eventually became estranged from her husband. In June 1914, Maria took her two daughters to England on the pretext of improving their health; in reality, she wanted to be separated from her husband. When the
war War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...
broke out a month after her arrival, the Grand Duchess did not rush back to Russia and later it was too dangerous to attempt a return. Princess Nina and her sister never saw their father again. He was imprisoned by the
Bolsheviks 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 ...
, and later he was shot by a firing squad, along with other Romanov relatives in January 1919. During the turbulent years of
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
and the Russian Revolution, Princess Nina remained living safely in London with her mother and her sister. Both sisters treasured their father's memory and resented their mother. In part to escape her control they both married very young.


Marriage

Princess Nina married Prince Paul Alexandrovich Chavchavadze (1899–1971) on 3 September 1922 in London. Paul descended from the House of Chavchavadze of the
Kakheti Kakheti ( ka, კახეთი ''K’akheti''; ) is a region (mkhare) formed in the 1990s in eastern Georgia from the historical province of Kakheti and the small, mountainous province of Tusheti. Telavi is its capital. The region comprises eigh ...
province in
Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...
, and also, in a direct line, from the last King of Georgia,
George XII George XII ( ka, გიორგი XII, ''Giorgi XII''), sometimes known as George XIII (November 10, 1746 – December 28, 1800), of the House of Bagrationi, was the second and last King of the Kingdom of Kartl-Kakheti in eastern Georgia from ...
. They had first met as children when he was nine and she was seven, at a party at the British embassy in Rome in 1908. When they next met, it was in London many years later. By the time they were married, the world they knew had changed radically, with the collapse of the feudal system in Russia, the rise of the Bolsheviks, and annexation of Georgia by the Soviet Union. Most of their aristocratic riches were lost in the revolution, but they never complained about their material losses. Prince Paul, who also lost his father at the hands of the Bolsheviks, served in the military service on two continents. The couple had an only child, Prince
David Chavchavadze David Chavchavadze (May 20, 1924 – October 5, 2014) was a British-born American author and a former Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) officer of Georgian-Russian origin. Life and death Chavchavadze was born in London to Prince Paul Chavchavad ...
, born in 1924 in London. In 1927, Princess Nina moved with her family to the United States, where they settled in New York. In 1939 they moved to
Wellfleet, Massachusetts Wellfleet is a New England town, town in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, Barnstable County, Massachusetts, United States, and is located halfway between the "tip" and "elbow" of Cape Cod. The town had a population of 3,566 at the 2020 United S ...
. Princess Nina was an artist, her husband worked as an author; he wrote five books and translated several others. Their son, Prince David Chavchavadze, thanks in part to his knowledge of Russian, eventually became a
CIA The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian intelligence agency, foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gat ...
officer. After his retirement, he wrote a book about the
Grand Dukes Grand duke (feminine: grand duchess) is a European hereditary title, used either by certain monarchs or by members of certain monarchs' families. In status, a grand duke traditionally ranks in order of precedence below an emperor, as an approx ...
of Russia. Princess Nina's husband died in 1971, she outlived him for only a couple of years. She died near
Hyannis, Massachusetts Hyannis is the largest of the seven villages in the town of Barnstable, Massachusetts, in the United States. It is the commercial and transportation hub of Cape Cod and was designated an urban area at the 1990 census. Because of this, many refer t ...
in 1974, aged 72. Her son left descendants.


Honours

*
House of Romanov The House of Romanov (also transcribed Romanoff; rus, Романовы, Románovy, rɐˈmanəvɨ) was the reigning imperial house of Russia from 1613 to 1917. They achieved prominence after the Tsarina, Anastasia Romanova, was married to th ...
: Dame of the Imperial Order of Saint Catherine


Ancestry


Notes


References

* *Zeepvat, Charlotte (2004). ''The Camera and the Tsars''. Sutton Publishing. {{DEFAULTSORT:Nina Georgievna of Russia, Princess 1901 births 1974 deaths Princesses of royal blood (Russia) Royalty from Saint Petersburg Russian people of Danish descent Russian people of German descent Russian people of Swedish descent Russian people of Greek descent Emigrants from the Russian Empire to the United Kingdom Emigrants from the Russian Empire to the United States