Author Topic: Nikolai Yusupov, elder brother of Felix, his life and death  (Read 127681 times)

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Offline ashanti01

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Re: Nikolai Yusupov, elder brother of Felix, his life and death
« Reply #45 on: October 13, 2007, 06:42:28 PM »
It's hard to imagine such heart felt letters being written by men, but in that era it was actually very common to write such letters. Those are the kind of letters I can only hope to get one day.

Annie

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Re: Nikolai Yusupov, elder brother of Felix, his life and death
« Reply #46 on: October 14, 2007, 08:02:19 PM »
I think Nicholas was a soldier? Wasn't he?



No Felix wrote that his brother 'hated the military and refused to become a soldier." Alexandra complained that they refused to join the military or take up a position at court. They only wanted to have fun. And with all that money who can blame them? Not me!

Annie

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Re: Nikolai Yusupov, elder brother of Felix, his life and death
« Reply #47 on: October 14, 2007, 08:03:29 PM »
It's hard to imagine such heart felt letters being written by men, but in that era it was actually very common to write such letters. Those are the kind of letters I can only hope to get one day.

It's so sad so many men can't show their emotions today. I like those kids of letters! Thanks for the pics, too, very nice!

Offline Victor

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Re: Nikolai Yusupov, elder brother of Felix, his life and death
« Reply #48 on: October 15, 2007, 12:14:47 AM »
Goodness what a moving letter.I read it with tears in my eyes.Did Princess Zenaida see it?I've read Felix encouraged the duel.Is that true?Was it simply to cause mischief or so he could become the heir?He was sent to see Nicholas by his mother I know.Relevant to the thread surely.
'The world breaks all of us but some of us are stronger in the broken places.'Ernest Hemingway.

Offline ashanti01

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Re: Nikolai Yusupov, elder brother of Felix, his life and death
« Reply #49 on: October 15, 2007, 02:15:07 AM »
Goodness what a moving letter.I read it with tears in my eyes.Did Princess Zenaida see it?I've read Felix encouraged the duel.Is that true?Was it simply to cause mischief or so he could become the heir?He was sent to see Nicholas by his mother I know.Relevant to the thread surely.

I'm not sure if Zenaida saw it, and this is only because I'm not sure Felix Sr would have wanted to present it to his already heart broken wife, who never really did recover from her son's death. As for Felix, it seems, at least to me, that he had something to do with a prank that got out of hand and which lead to a chain reaction of events that lead to Nicholas's death. Do I think he wanted to 'take his brother out'? No, I really don't. It just seems to be a really tragic case of a mischievies deed gone bad.

Offline Victor

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Re: Nikolai Yusupov, elder brother of Felix, his life and death
« Reply #50 on: October 15, 2007, 04:02:10 AM »
In "Lost Splendor"Felix decribes his reaction to his mothers grief "left me dazed with horrror..."and to Nicholas' death"...Obsessed by a desire for revenge which would certainly have driven me to some desperate act if the Grand Duchess[Ella] had not managed to calm me."
'The world breaks all of us but some of us are stronger in the broken places.'Ernest Hemingway.

loulia

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Re: Nikolai Yusupov, elder brother of Felix, his life and death
« Reply #51 on: October 19, 2007, 03:22:25 PM »
What happened to Marina after Nicolas's death? I guess she got divorced? and what happen to her husband? Was there a trial against him or was it consider as "normal" to kill someone that way at this time?

Annie

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Re: Nikolai Yusupov, elder brother of Felix, his life and death
« Reply #52 on: October 19, 2007, 05:04:20 PM »
What happened to Marina after Nicolas's death? I guess she got divorced? and what happen to her husband?

They did not stay together and were not happy. It tells all that later in the story, but not in much detail, it took me awhile to find it.

 
Quote
Was there a trial against him or was it consider as "normal" to kill someone that way at this time?

I was wondering about this too, was there still the 'code duello' at that time? While it was technically outlawed in the US by the mid 19th century, duels still took place and no one was charged for murder. In the early 1800's Vice President Aaron Burr killed Sec. of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton in a duel, and at that time it was considered an acceptable way of settling disputes and saving your honor! Maybe Russia was further behind other countries so they still considered it okay at that time?

Annie

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Re: Nikolai Yusupov, elder brother of Felix, his life and death
« Reply #53 on: October 19, 2007, 05:10:18 PM »
I just looked it up, this one said it was illegal in the US by 1840 but still happened and was rarely prosecuted, and that it was all but extinct in Victorian England.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Code_duello

This one says it was common from the 15th through 20th centuries, so I guess Russia was one of the places that held out the longest.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duel

Regardless of the reasons, it's terrible to think people murdered someone and got away with it, especially since some duels, like Nicholas's, seemed to be set up against one of the men.

loulia

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Re: Nikolai Yusupov, elder brother of Felix, his life and death
« Reply #54 on: October 19, 2007, 05:44:36 PM »
I imagine Zinaida would have done everything possible to have a trial? their family was so powerful!

Valmont

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Re: Nikolai Yusupov, elder brother of Felix, his life and death
« Reply #55 on: October 19, 2007, 06:44:55 PM »
I guess it was not considered Ilegal at that time. Nicholas II knew about the duel and decided not to take hands in the matter, so I can infer it was acceptable to settle "matters of the honor" in that way. After all, the aggravated husband whose wife was "taken" from him was Arvod.

Annie

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Re: Nikolai Yusupov, elder brother of Felix, his life and death
« Reply #56 on: October 19, 2007, 07:01:44 PM »
How do you know the Tsar knew and did nothing? I never heard that before.

Offline Belochka

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Re: Nikolai Yusupov, elder brother of Felix, his life and death
« Reply #57 on: October 19, 2007, 07:38:25 PM »
I guess it was not considered Ilegal at that time. Nicholas II knew about the duel and decided not to take hands in the matter, so I can infer it was acceptable to settle "matters of the honor" in that way.

Indeed duels were illegal.

Where did you read that Nikolai II was aware of the duel before it had taken place and secondly, "decided" not to act on that knowledge?

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Valmont

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Re: Nikolai Yusupov, elder brother of Felix, his life and death
« Reply #58 on: October 19, 2007, 07:41:50 PM »
I guess I read it somewhere. Let me go home and check my sources. If I'm mistaken i will let you know..no problem..

Offline ashanti01

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Re: Nikolai Yusupov, elder brother of Felix, his life and death
« Reply #59 on: October 19, 2007, 08:36:43 PM »
Letter that Marina wrote to Felix:

Dear Felix:

I implore you not to come back to Petersburg with Nicholas at this time.Explain this to your parents. Let Nicholas stay abroad until autumn. This is absolutely essential. This is not an idle request; it is serious....Do you understand that all is known here, for instance, our supper on the eve of the
wedding, my correspondence with Nicholas, your arrival in Paris, our lunch and dinner together and our visit to the theatre, and the fact that Mama went away leaving me alone with you. These facts were so distorted and exaggerated and people are saying such horrible things that my head is in a whirl. My father said, ‘I expect you thought you could hide everything...only by telling the truth can you stop these rumors. You know perhaps that the Tsar has learned about it, and I had to tell him everything I knew’.

“Think! They are telling stories in town about how I lived with your brother and other horrid things. They say I dishonored my husband, his name, my family, and that your brother dishonored his family and behaved extremely badly. Of course all this is untrue, but it isn’t easy to prove it and if Nicholas should arrive and come to know about the scandal, he will not be able to avoid a duel. My husband is coming here with his family. His regiment is taking a major part in this and will instigate a duel, and it will all end very badly. All the officers know about the restaurant. They are furious
with Nicholas and say the honor of the regiment is at stake. As they are sending me away from Petersburg any day now, for God’s sake
keep your brother from coming here. By then tongues will cease to wag and all will be forgotten by fall.
 
Please tear up my letter and don’t tell anyone I wrote to you since, in general, I have no right to write to you. Should it get around, there will be more needless misery, of which there is no lack.

Be sure to write soon,
All the best,
Marina

From this I can assume that just like entire St Petersburg knew of the scandel, so did the Tsar. However, whether he knew if the duel would go pass being rumor, I'm not sure.