I think it is very unfortunate that people don’t see how limited the information we have about Zoubkoff is. An historian would never use the facts we have here to try to ascribe Zoubkoff certain characteristics (good or bad). What we know about him come from completely untrustworthy sources. Actually the only testimony we have from someone who really knew him, is Victoria’s memoirs. There she does not blame Zoubkoff for anything, and as I have showed in letters I have posted she was still quite affectionate about him after he had left her. Her view of him might be distorted or it might not be – we can never know. Then we have got Zoubkoff’s own memoirs – we can choose to read them and see what they say or we can reject them without even opening the book – remember certain people are never given a chance to give their side of the story.
When regarding Zoubkoff’s actions, there is not much we can say either. Actually we don’t know if much of what has been written about what he did is true or not. Journalists have obviously given him a false identity (giving him a new background), so why couldn’t they also find up things about what he e.g. did during his marriage with Victoria? And if we although look upon the hypothetical statement “that he used Victoria’s money to finance certain projects”, we will still never now why he did so, or what his purpose was. It could as well be that he actually thought that by investing the money in different projects they would multiply and contribute to his and Victoria’s fortune. If he then failed, he might have been foolish, but not necessarily wicked. As I wrote (see above) Victoria seems to have liked him even after.
With the scarce facts that we have it is difficult to say who Zoubkoff really was. I won’t say he was a good person, because I don’t know – that is the reason I can’t say he was bad either. What I do know is that his life, even if eventful, was tragic. He was a drug addict who died at the age of 34. Not necessarily because he was an evil person, but more probably because he had experienced terrible things and had come in contact with the wrong persons under wrong circumstances. What I also know is that his mother, who according to what I have heard was a very warm and kind-hearted person, felt passionate about him.
It makes med sad that people here try to condemn Zoubkoff. It is my strongest believe that it is not their task to do so. It also makes me sad that the response I get when talking openly about the story (no one else in my family has) is disdain. It makes me regret that I ever posted the photos.
I gladly welcome anyone who is interested in the story to search through archives and try to find more information about what really happened. It could also be a good idea to contact Zoubkoff’s relatives in Russia – his brother had one son Igor (and as much as I know he is still alive) – he might have inherited other pictures and documents that could contribute to give a more moderate picture of what happened and not.
Speculations based on fabricated facts have never done anything but harm. Hatred walks hand-in-hand with ignorance. Ignorance is based on a lack of knowledge. Actually I recently showed the discussion on this site to a friend, a history professor; when he had read some of the comments he advised me that it would be wise of me not to answer the accusations. He said that “intelligent and cultivated people, people who know when something is based on rubbish, will dismiss what has been written here with shrug of the shoulder and look upon it as ignorance”. He went on “someone who is scientifically educated and up to date with methodological issues knows that it is very difficult and risky to use scarce facts to ascribe persons with different attributes” and “anyone who tries to do it in this case is foolish, as few ‘real’ facts seem to exist, and most of it is fiction”.
Maybe it has been unwise of me to write this, but I still think someone, even if not scientifically educated, might be interested in reading it. An antithesis to the speculations carried out on this site, has a very important purpose to fulfil. I don’t say that anyone should try to ascribe Zoubkoff with good characteristics, but true facts are needed to fill the hole that fiction has been digging.