Belosselsky-Belozersky family
Encyclopedia
The Belosselsky-Belozersky family is an aristocratic Russian family.
(of Swedish Viking
roots), which created its seat in Kiev around the years 870–890. The family traces its roots throughout the ruling houses of Russia until the mid 16th century, to Yuri Dolgoruky (founder of Moscow) and his grandsons who were grandprinces of Kiev as well as in Vladimir-Suzdal
principality. After the ascendance of Ivan Kalita ("Moneybags") and the Romanov dynasty, the family were rulers of the Belozersk
(White Lake) principality, north of Moscow. Gleb Vassilkovich was the first Belozersky prince to rule there. While on one of the required annual visits to Sarai
, the headquarters of the Golden Horde
, to renew his patent (yarlik) from the reigning Khan and leader of the Horde, to rule and tax his lands, Gleb married Feodora, Sartak's daughter (Feodora Sartakovna) and grand-daughter of the Mongol ruler of the Golden Horde Batu Khan
. He thus consolidated the power of the dominant Tatar-Mongol rulers and the Belozersky clan. As Batu Khan was Genghis Khan
's grandson the offspring of Gleb and Feodora Sartakovna, the current Belosselsky-Belozersky family, are thus descendants of Genghis Khan as well as of the founder of Russia, Prince Rurik. Subsequently, the family, after having lost the majority of its men in the historical "watershed" battle for Russia's independence, the battle of Kulikovo
in 1380, against the Tatar-Mongol dominance, the few remaining Belozersky princes slowly lost the control of the lands in the Belo Ozero/Belozersk principality area (White Lake). The family was relegated thereafter to a more minor ruling role over the lands of "Belo Selo" south of Belozersk (Thus the name "Belosselsky" - of White Village) when the Moscow principality led by Moscow Romanovs were slowly taking control over all the former semi-independent principalities of Russia. After a period of lesser prominence, but still providing military and political leaders, it became a major factor in support to Peter the Great's reforms, in building the Russian navy and providing diplomats and military leaders. In early 1800 Alexander Mikhailovich Belosselsky-Belozersky, due to his significant contributions to Russia in diplomacy, science and culture, was granted the right to bear the double princely name of Belosselsky-Belozersky from Emperor Paul I, in recognition of the Belosselsky branch being the single remaining such branch of the princes having ruled Belo Ozero and being of the Belozersky dynasty.
", by the Fontanka canal and Anichkov Bridge
, having sold their palace to Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich Romanov. Two of the last Belosselsky-Belozersky Princes to reside on Krestovsky Island
were the sons of Konstantin Esperovich, Sergei Konstantinovich and Esper Konstantinovich Belosselsky-Belozersky. The "Krestovsky" was their estate in St. Petersburg until the Russian Revolution in 1917 forced them to leave Russia and all their possessions behind, including the Krestovsky Island and their estate on it.
The two young Belosselsky-Belozersky Princes were successful sportsmen and promoters of equestrian and sailing sports. Sergei Konstantinovich was the second representative of Russia on the International Olympic Committee
and worked closely with Baron de Coubertin (who launched the modern Olympic movement). Sergei was invited to be a member of the Organizing committee of the Paris Olympics of 1900
and took part in the equestrian competitions. His younger brother, Esper Konstantinovich was an avid sailor who won a bronze medal for Russia in the 1912 Stockholm Olympics (in the 10 meter class).
Prince Konstantin (1847-1920) and his wife Nadezhda Dimitrievna (+1919; née Skobeleva; sister of General Mikhail Skobelev
had three daughters and two sons. The Russian Revolution split the family and their lives apart.
Prince Konstantin Esperovich and Princess Nadezhda Dimitrievna fled to Vyborg
(Viipuri/Viborg) in Finland during the late spring/summer of 1917 (they had acquired a private multi storey building by the Vyborg railway station where the family and their close relatives fled to from the unrest of Petrograd). Eventually, as it became obvious that the events in Petrograd were not "temporary" and as the Finnish Civil War
had commenced as well, between the Reds
and the Whites
, they gave up hope in returning to St.Petersburg and moved to London and then to Paris. They never returned to Russia.
Their daughter Olga Konstantinovna Orlova, her son Nicholas Vladimirovich with his wife Nadezhda Petrovna (a Romanov Princess) and daughter Irina Nicholayevna fled via Crimea (from Yalta
) to France in the company of Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna on the British ship HMS Marlborough
(Olga Konstantinovna had married Prince, Lieutenant General, General Adjutant of His Majesty and Chief of Chancellery, Vladimir N. Orlov; Valentin Serov
painted her, main pieces currently in the Russian Museum - St. Petersburg -Benois wing).
The second daughter, sister of Olga Konstantinovna, Elena Konstantinovna left with her husband Prince Victor Sergeievich Kotchoubey, their estate "Dikanka" in Ukraine for France and Paris (famous Kotchoubey estate, steeped in the Ukrainian/Russian history, near Poltava; eulogized by Pushkin and Gogol in poems).
The youngest daughter, sister of Olga and Elena Konstantinovna, Princess Maria Konstantinovna ended up living in Brussels (married to Major General Boris E.Hartmann, commander of the Russian Imperial Chevalier Guards/Horse Guards Regiment).
Of the two sons of Konstantin Esperovich and Nadezhda Dimitrievna, the older son Sergei Konstantinovich
(1867-1951), after a military career, including as a commanding officer of the Novorossiisk Dragoons, regiment of the Lancers of her Imperial Majesty, etc. fled with his family also to Vyborg at first (late 1917) and participated after this in the "White Movement
" among other, as an advisor to General Yudenich, the commander of the Northwestern White Army and head of the Russian counter-revolutionary Northwestern "government", created with the help of Britain based at that time in Finland. In this capacity, he spent considerable time in 1918 in Finland as an envoy and liaison to General, later Marshal, Carl Gustav Mannerheim, a fellow-General and friend from the Russian Imperial Army who was the head of the White Army of Finland (in late 1880s Belosselsky-Belozersky and Mannerheim, as Russian imperial military officers, had been commissioned by the Chief of Staff to attend the top French military cavalry school together, and Mannerheim was often a guest of the Belosselsky-Belozersky family both on Krestovsky Ostrov, taking part there in polo matches on the Belosselsky-Belozersky polo grounds on their estate, as well as a frequent visitor to their homes in the city). Sergei Konstantinovich's attempts to persuade Mannerheim and the White Army of Finland to join the Yudenich army's attempt to take back Petrograd/St. Petersburg , failed (because of the key issue for Finns, centering around the recognition of Finland's independence; the Whites did not want change in "status quo" while the "Red" government recognized Finnish independence). Later he performed for the White Russians special duties as an envoy in London. He moved permanently to England late 1918 (finally to Tonbridge in Kent where he died 20 April 1951 and where he and his wife Susan Carlovna, née Whittier are buried in the Tonbridge cemetery. Their son Andre is buried nearby).
Prince Sergei Konstantinovich's older son Prince Sergei Sergeievich Belosselsky-Belozersky (1898–1978), fought with the Horse Guard in the WW I battles, returned to then Petrograd in 1918 and after having been arrested in Petrograd in mid-1918 by Red Guards
and imprisoned in both the Peter and Paul Fortress
and in Kronstadt
island naval base, but released on the orders of Moisei Uritsky
(See the Memoirs of Prince Serge Sergeevich Belosselsky-Belozersky published by Jacques Ferrand
; edited by Marvin Lyons) fled via Finland to London and Paris before finally moving to the USA prior to WW II. The second son Andrei Sergeievich moved also with Sergei Konstantinovich to London and Tonbridge. He died childless (+1961 in Reading). Surviving family of this Sergei Konstantinovich branch are daughters of Sergei Sergeievich and their families; Princess Marina Sergeyevna Kazarda, (1945-) and Princess Tatiana Sergeyevna Besamat (1947-). No direct male Belosselsky-Belozersky descendants remain in this "Sergeievich" branch of the family.
The younger son of Konstantin Esperovich Belosselsky-Belozersky, Prince Esper Konstantinovich, was an officer of the Baltic Fleet
and had served as an officer on the imperial yachts "Alexandria
" and the "Polar Star" (both yachts had served the Emperor and his family until the "Standart" was built, after which the more modern Polar Star served exclusively the Dowager Empress, Maria Feodorovna mother of Nikolai II). During the violent first mutinies by the Baltic Fleet
's sailors, based in Kronstadt
island naval base outside of Petrograd , Esper Konstantinovich barely avoided capture -and likely murder- by the sailors. Together with his two young sons Georges Esperovich, Paul Esperovich, their mother Madeleine Jakovlena (and nannies, household servants) he fled to Finland at first and then to France. Meanwhile, Esper Konstantinovich' oldest son Konstantin Esperovich, a freshly commissioned 18 year old officer, was with his Horse Guards detachment in Kiev where he was murdered on January 28, 1918 by a red guardist (he is buried in Kiev in the "Pokrovsky" monastery) in connection with the first revolutionary and nationalistic waves in Kiev, where Russian imperial officers were targeted by all.
After the death of Esper Konstantinovich (5 January 1921) his sons Georges (1913–2005) and Paul Esperovich (1917–2005) moved to Finland in 1922 with their stepfather, Her Majesty's Life Guard Cuirassiers ("Chevalier Garde") Colonel Vitaly Vitalievich Tselebrovsky (son of General Vitaly Platonovich Tselebrovsky and his wife née Olsoni). At first, they lived on the Tselebrovsky estate by the name of "Sosnovka" ("Sosna" = Pine tree; Petäjäniemen Kartano, in Finnish) in Kivennapa, on lake Suulajärvi in former Finnish Karelia (lost to USSR in the 1939-44 war period; today the area is named "Svielodubovo"). Georges Esperovich, returned to France in mid-1930s and remained in France until his death in 2005. He had three sons, Patrick, Stephane and Michel Georgevich. Patrick and Stephane have sons Vincent Patrickevich and Antoine Stephanovich, respectively. Georges Esperovich's children, grandchildren and their families all live in France.
Paul Esperovich stayed in Finland throughout his life, being forced to leave the estate in Karelia in November 1939 as the Soviet Union attacked Finland. As most of Karelia was lost to Soviet Union in WWII, Paul Esperovich, having served as a volunteer in the Finnish Army, eventually moved to Helsinki, the capital, where he died in 2005 (Buried in Helsinki Orthodox, small cemetery, along w. his mother Madeleine Yakovlevna). His only child, a son, Paul Pavlovich, born in Helsinki Finland (1948-) moved to the USA in the early 1970s. He in turn has a son Christian Pavlovich [Christian Pavlovich has taken the Orthodox Christian name of "Constantin" in 2006]. Paul Pavlovich and Constantin Pavlovich and their families live in Alexandria, Virginia, USA.
Current living Belosselsky-Belozersky direct male descendants are, in order of date of birth, Princes Paul Pavlovich (10.11.1948-), Patrick Georgevich (26.05.1955-), Stephane Georgevich (23.09.1957-), Michel Georgevich (23.09.1957-), Christian "Constantin" Pavlovich (19.06.1977-), Vincent Patrickevich (23.02.1989-) and Antoine Stephanovich (18.05.1989-). The living Belosselsky-Belozersky direct female descendants from the "Sergeyevich" branch are Princesses Marina Sergeievna (22.1.1945-) and Tatiana Sergeievna (23.10.1947-) from the "Esperovich" branch of Belosselsky-Belozersky are, Princesses Veronique Georgevna (15.02.1954-), Diane Georgevna (27.05.1967-), Alison Pavlovna (13.12.1979-), Melissa Michailovna (24.04.1980-), Severine Patrickovna (17.04.1983), Melody Michailovna (26.10.1985-) and Chloe Stephanovna (30.10.1987-).
As of early 2010, of the Rurikid Belosselsky-Belozerskys there are seven direct male descendants and nine female descendants-; now in the 32nd generation of Rurikids. The "Esperovich" branch (children of Esper Konstantinovich Belosselsky-Belozersky and their offspring) are the only surviving male branch of the Belosselsky-Belozerskys today.
The full Beloselsky-Belozerky family, both the Sergeievsky and the Esperovsky branches are close to each other.
Today, Stephane Georgevich is active in Russian associations and the Order of Malta, where he represents the family as the hereditary protector of the order, continuing a tradition started by Emperor Paul I of Russia, when the Order of Malta was given refuge in St. Petersburg during the Napoleonic wars, after they were ousted from the island itself.
Origins
The family of Belosselsky-Belozersky claims the descendance directly from the first Russian Princes, from the "Kiev Rus" period and RurikRurik
Rurik, or Riurik , was a semilegendary 9th-century Varangian who founded the Rurik dynasty which ruled Kievan Rus and later some of its successor states, most notably the Tsardom of Russia, until 1598....
(of Swedish Viking
Viking
The term Viking is customarily used to refer to the Norse explorers, warriors, merchants, and pirates who raided, traded, explored and settled in wide areas of Europe, Asia and the North Atlantic islands from the late 8th to the mid-11th century.These Norsemen used their famed longships to...
roots), which created its seat in Kiev around the years 870–890. The family traces its roots throughout the ruling houses of Russia until the mid 16th century, to Yuri Dolgoruky (founder of Moscow) and his grandsons who were grandprinces of Kiev as well as in Vladimir-Suzdal
Vladimir-Suzdal
The Vladimir-Suzdal Principality or Vladimir-Suzdal Rus’ was one of the major principalities which succeeded Kievan Rus' in the late 12th century and lasted until the late 14th century. For a long time the Principality was a vassal of the Mongolian Golden Horde...
principality. After the ascendance of Ivan Kalita ("Moneybags") and the Romanov dynasty, the family were rulers of the Belozersk
Belozersk
Belozersk , known as Beloozero until 1777 , is a town and the administrative center of Belozersky District of Vologda Oblast, Russia, situated on the southern bank of Lake Beloye, from which it takes the name...
(White Lake) principality, north of Moscow. Gleb Vassilkovich was the first Belozersky prince to rule there. While on one of the required annual visits to Sarai
Sarai (city)
Sarai was the name of two cities, which were successively capital cities of the Golden Horde, the Mongol kingdom which ruled Russia and much of central Asia in the 13th and 14th centuries...
, the headquarters of the Golden Horde
Golden Horde
The Golden Horde was a Mongol and later Turkicized khanate that formed the north-western sector of the Mongol Empire...
, to renew his patent (yarlik) from the reigning Khan and leader of the Horde, to rule and tax his lands, Gleb married Feodora, Sartak's daughter (Feodora Sartakovna) and grand-daughter of the Mongol ruler of the Golden Horde Batu Khan
Batu Khan
Batu Khan was a Mongol ruler and founder of the Ulus of Jochi , the sub-khanate of the Mongol Empire. Batu was a son of Jochi and grandson of Genghis Khan. His ulus was the chief state of the Golden Horde , which ruled Rus and the Caucasus for around 250 years, after also destroying the armies...
. He thus consolidated the power of the dominant Tatar-Mongol rulers and the Belozersky clan. As Batu Khan was Genghis Khan
Genghis Khan
Genghis Khan , born Temujin and occasionally known by his temple name Taizu , was the founder and Great Khan of the Mongol Empire, which became the largest contiguous empire in history after his death....
's grandson the offspring of Gleb and Feodora Sartakovna, the current Belosselsky-Belozersky family, are thus descendants of Genghis Khan as well as of the founder of Russia, Prince Rurik. Subsequently, the family, after having lost the majority of its men in the historical "watershed" battle for Russia's independence, the battle of Kulikovo
Battle of Kulikovo
The Battle of Kulikovo was a battle between Tatar Mamai and Muscovy Dmitriy and portrayed by Russian historiography as a stand-off between Russians and the Golden Horde. However, the political situation at the time was much more complicated and concerned the politics of the Northeastern Rus'...
in 1380, against the Tatar-Mongol dominance, the few remaining Belozersky princes slowly lost the control of the lands in the Belo Ozero/Belozersk principality area (White Lake). The family was relegated thereafter to a more minor ruling role over the lands of "Belo Selo" south of Belozersk (Thus the name "Belosselsky" - of White Village) when the Moscow principality led by Moscow Romanovs were slowly taking control over all the former semi-independent principalities of Russia. After a period of lesser prominence, but still providing military and political leaders, it became a major factor in support to Peter the Great's reforms, in building the Russian navy and providing diplomats and military leaders. In early 1800 Alexander Mikhailovich Belosselsky-Belozersky, due to his significant contributions to Russia in diplomacy, science and culture, was granted the right to bear the double princely name of Belosselsky-Belozersky from Emperor Paul I, in recognition of the Belosselsky branch being the single remaining such branch of the princes having ruled Belo Ozero and being of the Belozersky dynasty.
On Krestovsky Island
The Belosselsky-Belozersky princes owned the island of Krestovsky after it was purchased by Prince Alexander Mikhailovich Belosselsky-Belozersky (around 1800), then used mainly as a summer residence. Around 1885, they moved there from their Nevsky Prospect No. 41 "Beloselsky-Belozersky PalaceBeloselsky-Belozersky Palace
Belosselsky-Belozersky Palace is a Neo-Baroque palace at the intersection of the Fontanka River and Nevsky Prospekt in Saint Petersburg, Russia...
", by the Fontanka canal and Anichkov Bridge
Anichkov Bridge
The Anichkov Bridge is the first and most famous bridge across the Fontanka River in Saint Petersburg, Russia. The current bridge, built in 1841-42 and reconstructed in 1906-08, combines a simple form with some spectacular decorations...
, having sold their palace to Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich Romanov. Two of the last Belosselsky-Belozersky Princes to reside on Krestovsky Island
Krestovsky Island
Krestovsky Island is a 3.4 km² island in Saint Petersburg, Russia, situated between several tributaries of the Neva: the Srednyaya Nevka, the Malaya Nevka and the Krestovka. The island is served by the Krestovsky Ostrov "Крестовский остров" station of Saint Petersburg Metro...
were the sons of Konstantin Esperovich, Sergei Konstantinovich and Esper Konstantinovich Belosselsky-Belozersky. The "Krestovsky" was their estate in St. Petersburg until the Russian Revolution in 1917 forced them to leave Russia and all their possessions behind, including the Krestovsky Island and their estate on it.
The two young Belosselsky-Belozersky Princes were successful sportsmen and promoters of equestrian and sailing sports. Sergei Konstantinovich was the second representative of Russia on the International Olympic Committee
International Olympic Committee
The International Olympic Committee is an international corporation based in Lausanne, Switzerland, created by Pierre de Coubertin on 23 June 1894 with Demetrios Vikelas as its first president...
and worked closely with Baron de Coubertin (who launched the modern Olympic movement). Sergei was invited to be a member of the Organizing committee of the Paris Olympics of 1900
1900 Summer Olympics
The 1900 Summer Olympics, today officially known as the Games of the II Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event which was celebrated in 1900 in Paris, France. No opening or closing ceremonies were held; competitions began on May 14 and ended on October 28. The Games were held as part of...
and took part in the equestrian competitions. His younger brother, Esper Konstantinovich was an avid sailor who won a bronze medal for Russia in the 1912 Stockholm Olympics (in the 10 meter class).
After the Russian Revolution (1917)
The Belosselsky-Belozersky family was forced to flee to the West during the 1917 revolution, leaving no one in Russia.Prince Konstantin (1847-1920) and his wife Nadezhda Dimitrievna (+1919; née Skobeleva; sister of General Mikhail Skobelev
Mikhail Skobelev
Mikhail Dmitrievich Skobelev was a Russian general famous for his conquest of Central Asia and heroism during the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-78. Dressed in white uniform and mounted on a white horse, and always in the thickest of the fray, he was known and adored by his soldiers as the "White...
had three daughters and two sons. The Russian Revolution split the family and their lives apart.
Prince Konstantin Esperovich and Princess Nadezhda Dimitrievna fled to Vyborg
Vyborg
Vyborg is a town in Leningrad Oblast, Russia, situated on the Karelian Isthmus near the head of the Bay of Vyborg, to the northwest of St. Petersburg and south from Russia's border with Finland, where the Saimaa Canal enters the Gulf of Finland...
(Viipuri/Viborg) in Finland during the late spring/summer of 1917 (they had acquired a private multi storey building by the Vyborg railway station where the family and their close relatives fled to from the unrest of Petrograd). Eventually, as it became obvious that the events in Petrograd were not "temporary" and as the Finnish Civil War
Finnish Civil War
The Finnish Civil War was a part of the national, political and social turmoil caused by World War I in Europe. The Civil War concerned control and leadership of The Grand Duchy of Finland as it achieved independence from Russia after the October Revolution in Petrograd...
had commenced as well, between the Reds
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
and the Whites
White movement
The White movement and its military arm the White Army - known as the White Guard or the Whites - was a loose confederation of Anti-Communist forces.The movement comprised one of the politico-military Russian forces who fought...
, they gave up hope in returning to St.Petersburg and moved to London and then to Paris. They never returned to Russia.
Their daughter Olga Konstantinovna Orlova, her son Nicholas Vladimirovich with his wife Nadezhda Petrovna (a Romanov Princess) and daughter Irina Nicholayevna fled via Crimea (from Yalta
Yalta
Yalta is a city in Crimea, southern Ukraine, on the north coast of the Black Sea.The city is located on the site of an ancient Greek colony, said to have been founded by Greek sailors who were looking for a safe shore on which to land. It is situated on a deep bay facing south towards the Black...
) to France in the company of Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna on the British ship HMS Marlborough
HMS Marlborough
Six warships of the Royal Navy have been named HMS Marlborough after the Duke of Marlborough:*Saint Michael, a second-rate, renamed Marlborough in 1706, fought in the Seven Years' War, present in Sir George Pocock's fleet at the taking of Havana from the Spanish in 1762, foundered at sea later in...
(Olga Konstantinovna had married Prince, Lieutenant General, General Adjutant of His Majesty and Chief of Chancellery, Vladimir N. Orlov; Valentin Serov
Valentin Serov
Valentin Alexandrovich Serov was a Russian painter, and one of the premier portrait artists of his era.-Youth and education:...
painted her, main pieces currently in the Russian Museum - St. Petersburg -Benois wing).
The second daughter, sister of Olga Konstantinovna, Elena Konstantinovna left with her husband Prince Victor Sergeievich Kotchoubey, their estate "Dikanka" in Ukraine for France and Paris (famous Kotchoubey estate, steeped in the Ukrainian/Russian history, near Poltava; eulogized by Pushkin and Gogol in poems).
The youngest daughter, sister of Olga and Elena Konstantinovna, Princess Maria Konstantinovna ended up living in Brussels (married to Major General Boris E.Hartmann, commander of the Russian Imperial Chevalier Guards/Horse Guards Regiment).
Of the two sons of Konstantin Esperovich and Nadezhda Dimitrievna, the older son Sergei Konstantinovich
Sergei Belosselsky-Belozersky
Prince Sergei Konstantinovich Belosselsky-Belozersky was a Russian aristocrat, general and member of the International Olympic Committee....
(1867-1951), after a military career, including as a commanding officer of the Novorossiisk Dragoons, regiment of the Lancers of her Imperial Majesty, etc. fled with his family also to Vyborg at first (late 1917) and participated after this in the "White Movement
White movement
The White movement and its military arm the White Army - known as the White Guard or the Whites - was a loose confederation of Anti-Communist forces.The movement comprised one of the politico-military Russian forces who fought...
" among other, as an advisor to General Yudenich, the commander of the Northwestern White Army and head of the Russian counter-revolutionary Northwestern "government", created with the help of Britain based at that time in Finland. In this capacity, he spent considerable time in 1918 in Finland as an envoy and liaison to General, later Marshal, Carl Gustav Mannerheim, a fellow-General and friend from the Russian Imperial Army who was the head of the White Army of Finland (in late 1880s Belosselsky-Belozersky and Mannerheim, as Russian imperial military officers, had been commissioned by the Chief of Staff to attend the top French military cavalry school together, and Mannerheim was often a guest of the Belosselsky-Belozersky family both on Krestovsky Ostrov, taking part there in polo matches on the Belosselsky-Belozersky polo grounds on their estate, as well as a frequent visitor to their homes in the city). Sergei Konstantinovich's attempts to persuade Mannerheim and the White Army of Finland to join the Yudenich army's attempt to take back Petrograd/St. Petersburg , failed (because of the key issue for Finns, centering around the recognition of Finland's independence; the Whites did not want change in "status quo" while the "Red" government recognized Finnish independence). Later he performed for the White Russians special duties as an envoy in London. He moved permanently to England late 1918 (finally to Tonbridge in Kent where he died 20 April 1951 and where he and his wife Susan Carlovna, née Whittier are buried in the Tonbridge cemetery. Their son Andre is buried nearby).
Prince Sergei Konstantinovich's older son Prince Sergei Sergeievich Belosselsky-Belozersky (1898–1978), fought with the Horse Guard in the WW I battles, returned to then Petrograd in 1918 and after having been arrested in Petrograd in mid-1918 by Red Guards
Red Guards
-Communist groups:*Red Guards , during the Finnish Civil War*Red Guards , during the Russian Revolution of 1917 and the Russian Civil War*Red Guards , in the Bavarian Soviet Republic...
and imprisoned in both the Peter and Paul Fortress
Peter and Paul Fortress
The Peter and Paul Fortress is the original citadel of St. Petersburg, Russia, founded by Peter the Great in 1703 and built to Domenico Trezzini's designs from 1706-1740.-History:...
and in Kronstadt
Kronstadt
Kronstadt , also spelled Kronshtadt, Cronstadt |crown]]" and Stadt for "city"); is a municipal town in Kronshtadtsky District of the federal city of St. Petersburg, Russia, located on Kotlin Island, west of Saint Petersburg proper near the head of the Gulf of Finland. Population: It is also...
island naval base, but released on the orders of Moisei Uritsky
Moisei Uritsky
Moisei Solomonovich Uritsky was a Bolshevik revolutionary leader in Russia.He was born in the city of Cherkasy, Kiev Governorate, to a Jewish family. His father, a merchant, died when Moisei was little and his mother raised her son by herself.Moisei studied law at the University of Kiev...
(See the Memoirs of Prince Serge Sergeevich Belosselsky-Belozersky published by Jacques Ferrand
Jacques Ferrand
Jacques Ferrand was a French physician born around 1575 in Agen, France. He is famous for his treatise on melancholia, Traicte de l'essence et guerison de l'amour ou de la melancholie erotique, an early psychological work on melancholia. It was for this work he was put on trial for by the...
; edited by Marvin Lyons) fled via Finland to London and Paris before finally moving to the USA prior to WW II. The second son Andrei Sergeievich moved also with Sergei Konstantinovich to London and Tonbridge. He died childless (+1961 in Reading). Surviving family of this Sergei Konstantinovich branch are daughters of Sergei Sergeievich and their families; Princess Marina Sergeyevna Kazarda, (1945-) and Princess Tatiana Sergeyevna Besamat (1947-). No direct male Belosselsky-Belozersky descendants remain in this "Sergeievich" branch of the family.
The younger son of Konstantin Esperovich Belosselsky-Belozersky, Prince Esper Konstantinovich, was an officer of the Baltic Fleet
Baltic Fleet
The Twice Red Banner Baltic Fleet - is the Russian Navy's presence in the Baltic Sea. In previous historical periods, it has been part of the navy of Imperial Russia and later the Soviet Union. The Fleet gained the 'Twice Red Banner' appellation during the Soviet period, indicating two awards of...
and had served as an officer on the imperial yachts "Alexandria
Alexandria
Alexandria is the second-largest city of Egypt, with a population of 4.1 million, extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the north central part of the country; it is also the largest city lying directly on the Mediterranean coast. It is Egypt's largest seaport, serving...
" and the "Polar Star" (both yachts had served the Emperor and his family until the "Standart" was built, after which the more modern Polar Star served exclusively the Dowager Empress, Maria Feodorovna mother of Nikolai II). During the violent first mutinies by the Baltic Fleet
Baltic Fleet
The Twice Red Banner Baltic Fleet - is the Russian Navy's presence in the Baltic Sea. In previous historical periods, it has been part of the navy of Imperial Russia and later the Soviet Union. The Fleet gained the 'Twice Red Banner' appellation during the Soviet period, indicating two awards of...
's sailors, based in Kronstadt
Kronstadt
Kronstadt , also spelled Kronshtadt, Cronstadt |crown]]" and Stadt for "city"); is a municipal town in Kronshtadtsky District of the federal city of St. Petersburg, Russia, located on Kotlin Island, west of Saint Petersburg proper near the head of the Gulf of Finland. Population: It is also...
island naval base outside of Petrograd , Esper Konstantinovich barely avoided capture -and likely murder- by the sailors. Together with his two young sons Georges Esperovich, Paul Esperovich, their mother Madeleine Jakovlena (and nannies, household servants) he fled to Finland at first and then to France. Meanwhile, Esper Konstantinovich' oldest son Konstantin Esperovich, a freshly commissioned 18 year old officer, was with his Horse Guards detachment in Kiev where he was murdered on January 28, 1918 by a red guardist (he is buried in Kiev in the "Pokrovsky" monastery) in connection with the first revolutionary and nationalistic waves in Kiev, where Russian imperial officers were targeted by all.
Modern descendants
Esper Konstantinovich Belosselsky (1870–1921) moved to France, Paris, via Finland and is buried in the Batignolles cemetery in the Paris' 17th arrondissement. Of his three sons, two had male descendants.After the death of Esper Konstantinovich (5 January 1921) his sons Georges (1913–2005) and Paul Esperovich (1917–2005) moved to Finland in 1922 with their stepfather, Her Majesty's Life Guard Cuirassiers ("Chevalier Garde") Colonel Vitaly Vitalievich Tselebrovsky (son of General Vitaly Platonovich Tselebrovsky and his wife née Olsoni). At first, they lived on the Tselebrovsky estate by the name of "Sosnovka" ("Sosna" = Pine tree; Petäjäniemen Kartano, in Finnish) in Kivennapa, on lake Suulajärvi in former Finnish Karelia (lost to USSR in the 1939-44 war period; today the area is named "Svielodubovo"). Georges Esperovich, returned to France in mid-1930s and remained in France until his death in 2005. He had three sons, Patrick, Stephane and Michel Georgevich. Patrick and Stephane have sons Vincent Patrickevich and Antoine Stephanovich, respectively. Georges Esperovich's children, grandchildren and their families all live in France.
Paul Esperovich stayed in Finland throughout his life, being forced to leave the estate in Karelia in November 1939 as the Soviet Union attacked Finland. As most of Karelia was lost to Soviet Union in WWII, Paul Esperovich, having served as a volunteer in the Finnish Army, eventually moved to Helsinki, the capital, where he died in 2005 (Buried in Helsinki Orthodox, small cemetery, along w. his mother Madeleine Yakovlevna). His only child, a son, Paul Pavlovich, born in Helsinki Finland (1948-) moved to the USA in the early 1970s. He in turn has a son Christian Pavlovich [Christian Pavlovich has taken the Orthodox Christian name of "Constantin" in 2006]. Paul Pavlovich and Constantin Pavlovich and their families live in Alexandria, Virginia, USA.
Current living Belosselsky-Belozersky direct male descendants are, in order of date of birth, Princes Paul Pavlovich (10.11.1948-), Patrick Georgevich (26.05.1955-), Stephane Georgevich (23.09.1957-), Michel Georgevich (23.09.1957-), Christian "Constantin" Pavlovich (19.06.1977-), Vincent Patrickevich (23.02.1989-) and Antoine Stephanovich (18.05.1989-). The living Belosselsky-Belozersky direct female descendants from the "Sergeyevich" branch are Princesses Marina Sergeievna (22.1.1945-) and Tatiana Sergeievna (23.10.1947-) from the "Esperovich" branch of Belosselsky-Belozersky are, Princesses Veronique Georgevna (15.02.1954-), Diane Georgevna (27.05.1967-), Alison Pavlovna (13.12.1979-), Melissa Michailovna (24.04.1980-), Severine Patrickovna (17.04.1983), Melody Michailovna (26.10.1985-) and Chloe Stephanovna (30.10.1987-).
As of early 2010, of the Rurikid Belosselsky-Belozerskys there are seven direct male descendants and nine female descendants-; now in the 32nd generation of Rurikids. The "Esperovich" branch (children of Esper Konstantinovich Belosselsky-Belozersky and their offspring) are the only surviving male branch of the Belosselsky-Belozerskys today.
The full Beloselsky-Belozerky family, both the Sergeievsky and the Esperovsky branches are close to each other.
Today, Stephane Georgevich is active in Russian associations and the Order of Malta, where he represents the family as the hereditary protector of the order, continuing a tradition started by Emperor Paul I of Russia, when the Order of Malta was given refuge in St. Petersburg during the Napoleonic wars, after they were ousted from the island itself.