Sergei Platonovich, or Serge Obolensky, is a prince from an old family, originating from Rurik. The beginning of his life, like that of all representatives of the eminent and richest families of Russia, was quite prosperous and even brilliant. Studying at Oxford opened up great opportunities for him, and all that remained was to decide on the direction. In addition, Prince Obolensky was an enviable groom and could join his fate with a representative of any noble family. Life was just beginning…
Princely surname
Let's turn to the genealogy of the Obolensky princes, who are a branch of the Tarusian princes, which descended from the princes of Chernigov. Today, even a specialist will find it difficult to understand the intricacies of this ancient family tree. The ancestor of the surname is the son of Prince Yuri Mikhailovich Tarussky named Konstantin Yuryevich. If you count from Rurik, then it was the thirteenth tribe. Prince Konstantin received at the divisionfamily patrimony volost, located on the Protva River, on which the city of Obolensk subsequently arose.
Already the grandchildren of Konstantin Yurievich are mentioned in the second half of the XIV century as serving the Moscow prince. Later, among the representatives of the Obolensky family were both boyars and governors.
Then the clan was divided into many lines, the distinguishing features of which were the addition of a nickname to the name Obolensky, associated either with a character trait of the owner, or with a historical event, or with possession. It must be said that the main part of these branches ceased before the 17th century. The Repnins, Tyufyakins and two lines of the Obolenskys remained. The first went from Prince Mikhail Konstantinovich Sukhorukiy-Obolensky, and the second began from Prince Vasily Konstantinovich (nicknamed Bely). His descendants were often called princes Obolensky-White.
During archival research conducted in the former provinces (Kaluga, Moscow, Nizhny Novgorod, Penza, Ryazan, Simbirsk, Tula), many references to the Obolenskys were found in genealogical books. This means that their estates were located mainly in these places.
Prince Serge: Part One
Prince Sergei Obolensky was born in Tsarskoe Selo on October 3, 1890 in the family of Platon Sergeevich Obolensky-Neledinsky-Meletsky and Maria Konstantinovna Naryshkina.
In 1913, after the death of his father, he attached the prefix "Neledinsky-Meletsky" to Obolensky's surname. He was the eldest son, and, accordingly, high hopes were placed on him.as a descendant of the family. Received an excellent education at Oxford.
1913 was a turning point for him: the loss of his father coincided with the start of the First World War. In this connection, the prince returned from England and began his service in the Cavalier Guard Regiment. Family honor required the performance of military duty at a high level, as evidenced by three St. George's crosses, which were awarded only for truly outstanding services.
War and choice
The war gradually developed into a revolution, and Prince Obolensky had to choose a side. Apparently, he did not imagine that he could change his oath, and therefore joined the White Army. When the outcome of the confrontation in the Civil War became clear, Sergei Platonovich emigrated to America, and in 1932 received American citizenship. This was the beginning of the second part of the life of Prince Obolensky.
Personal life: first marriage
However, before that moment, an important event happened in his life - his marriage in 1916 to the daughter of Alexander II and Princess Ekaterina Mikhailovna Dolgoruky (Highness Princess Yuryevskaya) Ekaterina Alexandrovna Yuryevskaya.
It was an enchanting romance that began in the Crimea in 1916, where Ekaterina Yuryevskaya (married Baryatinskaya) arrived with her children after the start of the war. Her unhappy life with her husband ended with his death in 1910 from a heart attack, after which the widow first lived with her children in Bavaria and then returned to Russia.
Acquaintance with Sergei Obolensky ended in marriage (the bride was 12 years older than the groomyears). Then the revolution began, and in 1918 the spouses, using other people's documents, first left for Kyiv, from there to Vienna, and then to England. The huge fortune of the Obolenskys and Baryatinskys was lost, so the spouses earned as much as they could. Ekaterina Alexandrovna sang at concerts, because at one time she took vocal lessons. However, life in exile aggravated the personal contradictions of the spouses, and in 1924 a divorce followed.
Attempts 2 and 3
Sergei Obolensky, after breaking up with his first wife, immediately arranged his life by marrying Ava Alice Muriel Astor in the same 1924. The girl was the daughter of millionaire John Jacob Astor IV. From this marriage, two children appeared - Ivan (still alive) and Sylvia.
However, this did not save such a financially advantageous union from divorce in 1932. But the former prince continued to work for the company of his ex-father-in-law: nothing personal, just business.
In 1958, the prince took over as vice chairman of the board of the Hilton Hotels Corporation.
There are many photos of Prince Obolensky, which testify to different aspects of his life. In particular, he was acquainted with Marilyn Monroe and other Hollywood stars.
The next attempt to arrange personal happiness was made by Sergei Obolensky in 1971 at the age of 80. His chosen one was Marilyn Fraser Wall. She outlived her husband and died in 2007. The prince died at the end of September 1978 in a fashionable suburb of the stateMichigan Gross Point.
Military career
Prince Sergei Obolensky showed his strategic abilities during World War II, when he served in the US Office of Strategic Services (OSS). At the same time, he made several parachute jumps for the first time, thus becoming the oldest skydiver. He completed his service in the OSS with the rank of lieutenant colonel. For the operation to prevent the explosion of the power plant by the Nazis, which the Russian prince carried out together with the French partisans, he was awarded the order. In addition, he contributed to the liberation of Sardinia by negotiating with General Basso in 1943.
The life of another representative of a famous family, Prince Vladimir Andreevich Obolensky, was not so prosperous. He was born in 1869 in St. Petersburg. Among his ancestors was the hero of the war of 1812, V. P. Obolensky. The young prince began to participate early in the liberal movement of university students. However, this did not have consequences, and in 1891 Vladimir Obolensky graduated from the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics of the University.
Then he joined the Cadets in 1905, and a year later - the election to the State Duma. Then he was exiled to Finland for two years. In 1910 he was elected to the Central Committee of the Cadets Party, being a follower of its radical views.
After the victory of the Bolsheviks, for some time he led the fight against them in the Crimea, and in 1920 he emigrated to France, where he was engaged in journalism.
Life was differentdescendants of ancient Russian families: someone disappeared in the Gulag, and someone tried to survive in exile. But an entire era and an irreplaceable layer of culture left with them.
