The article tells about the influential family of Irina and Felix Yusupov, as well as their daughter Irina Feliksovna Yusupova (sheremeteva). Very little information has been preserved about the life of Irina Feliksovna, but in order to understand what kind of person she was, it is important to learn about the life of her relatives. On the mother’s side, the emperor and empress from the Romanov family were relatives, and on the father’s side, the famous Yusupov princes.
Irina Sheremeteva
Irina Feliksovna Yusupova (married Sheremetev) was born in St. Petersburg, in a palace on the Moika River on March 21, 1915. She was the only child in the family of Irina Yusupova and Prince Felix Felixovich and was the granddaughter of Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich.
At baptism, Irina was taken into her arms by great-uncle Nicholas II and great-grandmother Maria Fedorovna, who at one time baptized her mother as well.
Until the age of nine, her grandmother Zinaida Nikolaevna was engaged in her upbringing. In 1919, her parents took Irina to emigrate. Like herrelatives, a ship of the line with the sonorous name "Marlboro" took Irina away from home, to the UK.
Nikolai Dmitrievich Sheremetev was a representative of another famous Russian family in France. Both of these famous families had already lost their we alth by that time.
June 19, 1938, Irina Feliksovna Yusupova married Count Sheremetev. His sister was married to the nephew of the Queen of Italy. Sheremeteva Irina Feliksovna changed her habitual France and left with her husband for Italy.
Children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren
After the wedding, the Sheremetevs began to live in Rome. On March 1, 1942, their daughter Ksenia Nikolaevna Sheremeteva was born. Irina Feliksovna died in France, in Cormey, but was buried in the Russian cemetery, next to her relatives and her husband. Xenia really liked living in Greece. According to her husband, her surname is Sfiri, so the Yusupov surname disappeared with the death of Felix.
Ksenia Sfiri also has only one daughter - Tatyana Sfiri. She and her mother visited Russia, the country where their ancestors made history. Ksenia Sfiri asked, and by special presidential decree she was given a Russian passport. The blood of the Yusupovs through her mother and the Sheremetevs through her father flows in her. Xenia Nikolaevna Sheremeteva (Sfiri) was present at the burial ceremony of the remains of the royal family. She says that she would like to visit the homeland of her ancestors more often, but she does not have housing in Russia, so this is very problematic.
Tatiana Sfiri married Alexis Giannokolopoulos. But this marriage broke up, and Tatyana connected her life with Anthony Vamvakidis, from whom she gave birth to two children witha difference of two years. Their parents gave them beautiful names. Marilia Vamvakidis was born in 2004 and Jasmine Xenia in 2006. Now they are direct descendants of the Yusupov and Sheremetev families.
Empress Maria Feodorovna - the imperious great-grandmother of Irina Feliksovna Yusupova
Empress Maria Feodorovna is a significant figure in the history of the Romanov dynasty. She was the wife of Alexander III, the mother of Nicholas II. The future empress was born in Denmark on November 26, 1847. June 11, 1866 Maria becomes the wife of Alexander III, the penultimate Russian emperor. Maria Fedorovna and Alexander had 6 children, which was quite normal at that time.
Maria Fedorovna was a very active woman - she often had the last word in family matters. At the time when the empress lived, the atmosphere in the royal family was very pleasant and friendly. This is a rarity for the court, since intrigues are often woven in the royal families. The husband loved his wife very much and deeply respected her for her political intuition and natural mind. The couple did not like to part, so they mostly appeared together at all social receptions, parades, hunting. If they were apart, they managed to maintain their love with the help of detailed letters.
Maria Feodorovna was very friendly with everyone: both with representatives of high society and with more ordinary people. From her manners it was immediately evident that she was of royal blood - there was so much greatness in her that it blocked her small stature. Maria Fedorovna knew about everything in the royalpalace, her charm touched absolutely everyone.
When the eldest son Nikolai Alexandrovich was going to marry a German princess, Maria Feodorovna opposed. However, this marriage still took place. In 1914 the First World War began. At that time the Empress was in Denmark. Upon learning of the outbreak of hostilities, Maria Feodorovna tried to return to Russia, but chose the wrong route. Her journey took her through unfriendly Berlin, where she faced rude treatment. Therefore, the Empress was forced to return to Copenhagen, to her native Denmark. The second time the Dowager Empress decided to return through Sweden and Finland. In Finland, she was especially warmly welcomed by people: in her honor, national anthems were sung and applause was sung at the railway stations. This is explained by the fact that Maria Fedorovna has always defended the interests of the Finns in the government spheres of Russia.
If in the family the word was left to the empress, then she rarely interfered in big politics. However, she was against her son, Nicholas II, becoming commander in chief, and did not hide her opinion from him. Also, when Germany proposed a separate peace in 1916, Maria Fedorovna categorically objected and notified her son about this in a letter. In addition, she understood that Rasputin could harm the state, and often offered to expel him.
Parents of Irina Feliksovna Yusupova - Irina Alexandrovna and Felix Feliksovich
Irina Yusupova, whose biography is extremely interesting, was the first daughter of Princess Xenia and Prince Alexander Mikhailovich. Although she was fromof the Romanov family, went down in history as Yusupova. She became famous not only thanks to powerful parents. This woman made her unique contribution to history. However, without the history of her parents, there would be no history of her own, so it is worth mentioning who her father Alexander Mikhailovich and mother Ksenia Alexandrovna were.
It must be said right away that both Irina's father and mother belonged to the ruling dynasty. Alexander Mikhailovich, if you count, was the cousin of Xenia, his future wife. Because of this, the young did not immediately manage to get the consent of their parents to marry. The Empress and Emperor did not approve of this marriage. After all, there was an unspoken law that grew into a rule that forced members of the ruling family to marry members of other European ruling dynasties.
Ksenia fell in love with Alexander at first sight. He often visited them in Gatchina, because he was friends with Xenia's brothers. She told about her feelings only to her older brother Nikolai. Sandro was a versatile person. He liked to talk about naval affairs and aviation, and also read a lot. His famous library, unfortunately, was destroyed during the turmoil of the revolution. Princess Xenia was a subtle and intelligent person. She tried to share all the hobbies of her husband. For thirteen years of marriage, their couple had seven children, the very first and only girl was Irina.
Unfortunately, the more time passed, the more relations between the spouses worsened. Husband cheated on Xenia, and she got used to this lie and found solace in the arms of other men. suffered most from suchfamily relations girl Irina.
Irina Aleksandrovna Yusupova could be proud of her parents' love for each other. Although they were separated by old age, they are buried in the same place in the south of France, where her parents often lived since 1906.
Thus, Irina Yusupova is the niece of Emperor Nicholas II, granddaughter of Alexander III and great-granddaughter of Nicholas I. She was born in Peterhof, July 3, 1895. Everyone was informed about this event by the Highest Decree issued on the same day. Fifteen days later she was baptized. The action took place in Alexandria, in a church not far from the palace. Irina was taken into the arms during the ceremony by Emperor Nicholas II himself and the grandmother-empress. The girl was considered one of the most enviable brides of her time in Imperial Russia. Her own often called her Irene because of the strong influence of French fashion. She did not bear the title of Grand Duchess, but was called Princess of Imperial Blood.
She grew up in the love of her grandmother, and her parents, as it seemed, did not care about her. Her aunt Alexandra Fedorovna also took an active part in the girl's life. Her daughter Olya was Ira's best friend. The girl learned different languages. She taught German, French and English. All of these languages were spoken in the house, so learning was fairly easy. The child spent a lot of time reading books and drawing. Despite the versatile training, the girl grew up too shy. It was very disturbing in everyday life. According to etiquette, the servant could not be the first to start a conversation with the owners, so she had to wait until the princessovercome his timidity.
At nineteen, Irene married Felix Felixovich Yusupov and became Princess Yusupova, Countess Sumorokova-Elston. This young man behaved very shockingly. All his youth he walked in a big way, but when he met the already grown up Irina, he realized that this was the very person he needed, the prince settled down. Although he knew the princess from childhood, now a completely different person opened up before him. He courted beautifully, honestly talked about his adventures and promised to be an exemplary husband, which won the favor of the princess and her love for life.
He became famous as the one who killed Grigory Rasputin. In addition to political intrigues, Felix had personal reasons to hate Rasputin, because he advised not to marry Felix Irina. For the Yusupov family, this marriage was a chance to intermarry with the ruling family, and for the Romanovs - to get a lot of money from the Yusupov family.
Yusupov's wedding
When Alexander Mikhailovich offered to marry his daughter to Felix, the Yusupovs gladly agreed. After the death of Nikolai, his elder brother, Prince Yusupov became the sole owner of the entire inheritance of the family. The parents wanted to cancel the wedding when rumors about Felix's homosexuality reached them. However, the wedding took place in 1914. The bride did not receive the title of Grand Duchess, so she did not wear the magnificent court dress that Romanov brides used to marry before.
The whole color gathered at the weddingempire. The Emperor and Empress came from Tsarskoye Selo. All the Grand Duchesses also gathered: Mary, Olga, Tatyana and Anastasia. They all gave their blessing.
Family life
A year later, a young Yusupov couple had a baby. In honor of her mother, she was named Ira. The girl's father felt responsible to the family, and there were much fewer rumors about him. From a frivolous youth, he turned into a husband who was fond of politics and talked about the future of the country. During this period, the empire experienced various unrest, including the prerequisites for a revolution and dissatisfaction among the people with the influence of Rasputin on the ruling dynasty.
The Yusupovs lived their whole lives in perfect harmony. Although they were so different, their support for each other was always felt. They say that Irina Yusupova dissolved in her husband and daughter. They always did everything together.
Felix Yusupov and Rasputin
Prince Yusupov became famous primarily as the murderer of Grigory Efimovich Rasputin. Later, he wrote many memoirs and memoirs about that time, which, in difficult days, did not allow their family to slide into poverty. Gregory was a peasant who managed to achieve friendship with the imperial family. He lived in the Tobolsk province, in the village of Pokrovsky. He was called the royal friend, healer, seer and elder. It seems that they loved him only in the royal family, but the people considered his influence on the king to be bad, and his image remained negative in history.
Rasputin had a huge influence on Alexandra Feodorovna, as he tried to treat Tsarevich Alexei for hemophilia. They tried to kill him oncebut the elder remained alive after being wounded in the stomach. A new plan for the murder was developed by Purishkevich, Sukhotin and Grand Duke Dmitry Pavlovich. On the night of December 17, 1916, a murder took place. Information about the incident confused everything: from the conspirators themselves to the authorities. The first shot was fired by Felix Yusupov, who lured Rasputin into the basement, what happened after that is unclear.
Out of Trouble
The conspirators were saved from serious consequences by the fact that Prince Dmitry took part in this case. He went to Persia. Purishkevich went to the front, and Yusupov left for the Kursk province. Irina and her daughter for a while, until the gossip subsided, moved to the Crimea. From the Crimea, the Yusupovs, like many aristocrats, sailed away in 1919 to M alta, and then to Paris. They were left with nothing after the revolution, but saved their lives.
There were many such families in France, according to some estimates - about three hundred. The Yusupovs were able to take some valuables out of the country, but they had to be sold for next to nothing. It was no longer possible to surprise the Parisians with various jewelry, because the refugees brought with them a lot of valuables. However, the sale of only two paintings by Rembrandt allowed the Yusupovs to buy a house. Together with them, Zinaida Nikolaevna and Felix Sr. settled in the Bois de Boulogne. In difficult, unfamiliar conditions, the Yusupov family not only survived, but also became influential and we althy. Felix and Irina opened their own fashion house and named it "IRFE". To help emigrants find work, they opened an employment agency at their own expense.
Own business
Felix took over as designer and artist. Irina's unique taste and energy played a big role in promoting the collections. She herself showed dresses from "IRFE". Guests of the fashion house came not only for outfits, but also to look at the legendary owners of the house. Translucent silk dresses shocked with eroticism and elegance. Soon there was no end to the customers. This made it possible to open three more branches of the IRFE fashion house in other European countries. Even at the royal court in England, one could meet outfits produced by the Yusupovs. The crisis of that time soon robbed the family of a large number of we althy clients. For some time, Felix's IRFE perfume brand kept the fashion house afloat, but soon they were ruined, like many other fashion houses of that time.
After the defeat in business, Felix Yusupov wrote a book of memoirs, mainly memories of the murder of Rasputin. The proceeds from the sale of books provided them with a decent life for some time. Rasputin's daughter Matryona, who also lived in France, filed a lawsuit, but lost. Despite the proximity of events, an American company made a film about Grigory Rasputin and his influence on the Empress. The Yusupovs sued because the picture portrayed Irina in a bad light. They won the trial and received more than one hundred thousand pounds in compensation. This amount allowed me not to think about money until my death, but to live for my own pleasure and engage in artistic activities.
Felix and IrinaThe Yusupovs painted in watercolor and made engravings that earned critical praise. They also collected various art objects, such as books and paintings. Although the spouses had an attempt to leave for America, they could not stay there, because they were very used to France. They were together until death. Felix died in 1967. Irina Yusupova outlived him by several years. Not far from Paris is the Russian cemetery of Sainte-Genevieve-des-Bois. Zinaida Nikolaevna Yusupova, her son, daughter-in-law, granddaughter and her husband were buried there.
In exile
Russian emigrants of the first wave in France are people who left for Paris at the beginning of the twentieth century. Some of them, such as the Yusupovs and the Romanovs, left a wonderful reputation for themselves. However, not everyone is lucky to break into people abroad. Many officers became taxi drivers and workers in car assembly plants. The former perfumer of the imperial palace came up with the famous fragrance "Chanel No. 5". Such geniuses as Chaliapin and Grechaninov taught at the Russian conservatory, and Rakhmaninov himself was the rector. Russian women have become the faces of Chanel and Chantal, as well as the Lanvin fashion house.
Bunin, and Tyutchev, and Gogol, and many other writers and poets belong to the Russian emigration of the first wave. Russian figures have made a significant contribution to the cultural heritage and still have a strong influence on various facets of French art. One of the most famous philosophers of our time, Berdyaev, lived in France. The fashion house "IRFE" has recently been revived,which was promoted by Russian owners. Jean-Christopher Maillot recreated the Russian ballet of Sergei Diaghilev in a new form of Monte Carlo ballet. But something stops “breathing” in the Russian form and remains only a shadow of fashionable culture.
