In the history of Russia in the last decades of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century, a prominent political and public figure of that era, Prince Sergei Dmitrievich Urusov, left a noticeable mark. During the years of Soviet rule, his name, as a rule, was hushed up, and if it was mentioned, it was only as a minor participant in certain events. Only with the advent of perestroika was a deep and objective assessment of the work of this outstanding person.
Descendants of the ruler of the Golden Horde
The Urusov family takes its origin from the Tatar temnik (commander) Edigey Magnit, who became the first ruler of the Golden Horde in the 14th century. In Russia, his offspring greatly multiplied and two centuries later, during the reign of Sovereign Alexei Mikhailovich, became one of the highest aristocracy. Historians have a well-established opinion about what the name Urusov means.
The fact is that "Urus" among the Tatars called people either born of Russian mothers, which, in all likelihood, took place in this case, orleading the way of life inherent in the Slavs. This surname eventually became very common in Russia, but not all of its owners can boast of an aristocratic origin.
On the path to knowledge
Prominent Russian politician Sergei Dmitrievich Urusov was born in 1862 in Yaroslavl. His father - Dmitry Semenovich, being a retired colonel, served as head of the local zemstvo council, and gained fame as a talented chess player, founder of the St. Petersburg Society of lovers of this highly intellectual game. The mother of the future politician was the daughter of a we althy businessman from the capital.
In accordance with the traditions of the circle to which his parents belonged, the young prince S. D. Urusov received his primary education at home, and then entered the Faculty of History and Philology of one of the most prestigious educational institutions in the country - Moscow University, graduating who immediately transgressed to an active social life.
Beginning of state and social activities
His track record of that period includes such responsible and very honorable positions for a young man as the chairman of the commission for the election of the Zemstvo government of the Kaluga province, the marshal of the county nobility and, finally, the head of one of the committees of the State Bank of Kaluga.
Being a well-to-do person, Sergei Dmitrievich, together with his family, spent a lot of time between 1896 and 1898abroad, and returning to Moscow, he took the post of head of state-owned printing houses. By the nature of his activity, he often had to communicate with a prominent statesman V. K.
Having fulfilled the mission entrusted to him, and without the use of military force, but only by exclusively administrative measures, Prince Urusov was appointed governor of Tver, and during the days of the First Russian Revolution he became deputy, or, as they said then, comrade, Minister of Internal Affairs in the government headed by S. Yu. Witte.
From the deputy chair to the prison cell
Since 1906, Sergei Dmitrievich began an active public activity as a deputy of the State Duma, to which he was elected from the Kaluga province. As one of its members, he joined the "Democratic Reform Party" - a legal political organization that was in opposition to the tsarist government, and in 1906 became famous for his statements criticizing his domestic policies.
After the first State Duma was dissolved by decree of the tsar in June 1907, some of its deputies, including Prince Urusov, appealed to the people of Russia to resort to civil disobedience in response to such an illegal act. From the side of the government there was an immediatereaction, and soon Sergei Dmitrievich, along with his like-minded people, ended up behind bars, where he spent about a year, while being deprived of the right to hold state and public positions.
Masonic Member
When he was released, Sergei Dmitrievich devoted a lot of time to farming and often published his articles on this issue in Russian and foreign print media. In 1909, while in France, Prince Urusov joined the Masonic organization, whose members were at that time his famous compatriots: the historian V. O. Klyuchevsky, as well as the traveler and writer V. I. Nemirovich-Danchenko - the brother of the famous Russian and Soviet theatrical figure. Returning to his homeland, he became an active figure in Russian political Freemasonry, whose role was hushed up in every possible way in Soviet historiography.
After the February Revolution of 1917, when the ban on work in state bodies was no longer in force, Sergei Dmitrievich joined the Provisional Government, taking the post of Deputy (Comrade) Minister of the Interior, and shortly before the October events became a member of the All-Russian Constituent Assembly.
In new political realities
After the coup committed by the Bolsheviks, Prince Urusov, as a representative of a "class hostile to the people", was repeatedly arrested, but each time he was acquitted and after a short imprisonment he was released. It is hardly possible to say with complete certainty what prevented him from leaving Russia and joininginto the stream of the first Russian emigration of many thousands, but one way or another, he did not part with his homeland and all his later life was a completely loyal citizen of the “country of workers and peasants.”
His education, as well as the experience gained in various leadership positions, were noted by the new authorities, and since 1921, Sergei Dmitrievich began to build his career already as a co-employee. His first appointment was the position of business manager at one of the responsible commissions of the All-Russian Council of the National Economy (VSNKh), of which he became a member of the presidium a year later. For the diligence shown and the results achieved at the same time, the new authorities in 1923 awarded the former prince with the Order of the Red Banner of Labor.
Last years of life
However, his former belonging to the “exploiting class” under the Stalinist regime could not be forgotten, and in the early 1930s, the former Prince Urusov became the victim of one of the so-called purges that were regularly carried out inside state institutions. Fortunately, there were no serious repressions, but I had to part with work in the Supreme Economic Council.
From that time until the end of his life, Sergei Dmitrievich worked in various state institutions, holding modest positions and trying, if possible, not to attract attention to himself. He died in Moscow on September 5, 1937 from an asthma attack and was buried at the Danilovsky cemetery.
The family and the prince's awards
Completing the biography of the princeUrusov, a few words should be said about the members of his family. In 1895, in the early period of his state activity, Sergei Dmitrievich married Sofya Vladimirovna Lavrova, the great-niece of Pavel Lvovich Lavrov, a well-known Russian publicist, philosopher and revolutionary who became one of the leading ideologists of populism. From this marriage, two daughters were born - Vera and Sophia, as well as a son, Dmitry, who, unlike his father, became a victim of Stalinist repressions and was shot in 1937 on charges of anti-Soviet activities.
Among the awards received by Sergei Dmitrievich, in addition to the Order of the Red Banner of Labor, presented to him in 1923, there were two orders that became an assessment of his work in the state field even before the revolution. One of them - the Order of St. Vladimir of the III degree - was awarded for restoring order in the Bessarabian province after the Kishinev pogrom mentioned above. And the second - the Order of the Crown of Romania - the prince received for participation in the negotiations held by Prime Minister S. Yu. Witte with the governments of several foreign countries.
