The Raevskiy family

[Marc]

Well,good question...According to Russian historic Galina Moiseeva Tolstoy and Raevsky families were related...

If you have read "War and Peace" you might have noticed that Tolstoy,while described battle at Borodino,mentioned brave General Nikolai Raevsky(he used here the real name the grandfather of our "Vronski")...his grandson,also Nikolai(1839—1876) went to Serbian-Turskish war(served under General Chernyaev) got killed and was buried in Serbia...so,Tolstoi was obviously well informed about the family...

Tolstoy used prototypes of real people he knew or knew about for his novels.Thomas Mann also confirms that in his preface for the American edition of the novel "Ana Karenina".In this novel the Vronsky character also goes to Serbian-Turkish war after a love failure...At the very place Raevsky got killed and buried,the people of that place built the Russian church which was later bought by Queen Natalia of Serbia,who considered herself very much a Russian...here is a picture of his grave:

http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/41896763.jpg

And this is that church:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e7/Gornji_Adrovac%2C_l%27%C3%A9glise_russe.jpg

And here are some images of Raevsky himself:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/sr/a/a5/Pukovnik_Rajevski.png

http://sr.wikipedia.org/apple-touch-icon.png


Hope this helps...I just wanted to make the connection between King Alexander and his upbringing,family connections with many Russian refuges(among the mentioned noble families) that came to Serbia after the revolution during his reign...

[Marc]

If you have read "War and Peace" you might have noticed that Tolstoy,while described battle at Borodino,mentioned brave General Nikolai Raevsky(he used here the real name the grandfather of our "Vronski")...his grandson,also Nikolai(1839—1876) went to Serbian-Turskish war(served under General Chernyaev) got killed and was buried in Serbia...

Btw,his niece Irina Raevskaya(1892-1955) married Georg von Mecklenburg,grandson of Grand Duchess Ekaterina Mikhailovna of Russia and Duke Georg von Mecklenburg-Strelitz,nephew of Augusta,Duchess of Cambridge who in turn was great-grandmother of King Alexander's aunt Princess Milica-Jutta of Montenegro(married to Danilo,brother of King Alexanders mother Zorka).

[Naslednik Norvezhskiy]

Btw,his niece Irina Raevskaya(1892-1955) married Georg von Mecklenburg

And through her first marriage, to Count Alexander Mikhailovich Tolstoy, she was the great grandmother of Princess Sophie of Isenburg, the bride of Prince Georg Friedrich of Prussia.

[Svetabel]

If you have read "War and Peace" you might have noticed that Tolstoy,while described battle at Borodino,mentioned brave General Nikolai Raevsky(he used here the real name the grandfather of our "Vronski")...his grandson,also Nikolai(1839—1876) went to Serbian-Turskish war(served under General Chernyaev) got killed and was buried in Serbia...

Btw,his niece Irina Raevskaya(1892-1955) married Georg von Mecklenburg,grandson of Grand Duchess Ekaterina Mikhailovna of Russia and Duke Georg von Mecklenburg-Strelitz,nephew of Augusta,Duchess of Cambridge who in turn was great-grandmother of King Alexander's aunt Princess Milica-Jutta of Montenegro(married to Danilo,brother of King Alexanders mother Zorka).

Here are some photos of Irina Raevskaya

http://forum.alexanderpalace.org/index.php?topic=1173.75

[Kalafrana]

Marc

Many thanks.

The catalogue for the Hermitage Amsterdam exhibition in 2009 includes a 1913 portrait of a rather handsome Pyotr Mikhailovich Raevsky in Life Guard Hussars ball pelisse. Where did he fit into the family, and by any chance did he survive and go to Serbia?

Regards

Ann