Zubov

Updated on Dec 31, 2023

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Zubov (Russian: Зу́бов) was a Russian noble family which rose to the highest offices of state in the 1790s, when Platon Zubov became the last favourite of Catherine II of Russia.

The Zubovs were first noticed in the service of Muscovite dukes in the 15th century. Nikolay Vasilievich Zubov (1699–1786) served in the Collegium of Economics, and his son Alexander Zubov (1727–1795) was reputed to have enriched himself serving as Vice-Governor of Vladimir. He had one daughter and four sons and in 1793 together with his sons, he received the title of Count.

Nicholas Zubov (1763-1805) was made general when his family was still in power. Known as a strongman, he served in Suvorov's army and married his only daughter Natalia Alexandrowna.

Dmitry Zubov (1764-1835), major general in the Imperial Russian Army, is considered the founder of the Lithuanian branch of the family and dedicated himself later to agricultural matters. He was married to princess Praskovją Viazemskaja (Прасковья Александровна Вяземская, 1772-1835 ), with whom he had four daughters and only one son: Jezilaveta,Varvara, Catherine, Nicholas and Anna.

Platon Zubov(1767-1822) was introduced by his distant relative, Nicholas Saltykov, to the ageing Empress and soon became her lover and the most powerful man in Russia. He was the fourth (and last) Russian to bear the title of Prince of the Holy Roman Empire.

Valerian Zubov (1771–1804) while serving under Suvorov in Poland, married a Princess Lubomirska and lost his leg in a battle. At the time of Catherine's death, he was leading the Russian army in Persia.

Their sister, Olga Zherebtsova, was involved with Nicholas and Platon Zubov in the assassination plot and left Russia soon afterwards.

The lines of Count Nicholas and his brother Dmitry continue up to the present. Nicholas's great grandson Valentin (1884–1969) was a leading authority on the period of the reign of Emperor Paul I and authored several books on the subject. He was director of the Gatchina Palace museum and founded the Art History Institute in St. Petersburg before emigrating to Paris in 1925. Dmitry's only son, Nicholas, merged with the local Lithuanian nobility and supported the Lithuanian National Revival characterized by cultural and educational activities. So did his descendants.

The Zubovs had two family vaults, one in Moscow, in the Donskoy Monastery, built in 1796-98, and another in Strelna near St. Petersburg, in the Maritime Monastery of St. Sergius, completed in 1809.

Valentin Platonowitsch Zubov was first married to Sophia Ignatiejewna Yppa. His only daughter Comtesse Anastasia Valentinowna Zubov (*28.2.1908) was first married to Dr. Alfred Scheel. Their daughter Natalia Scheel (*30.3.1930) got married to Dr. Volker Hochstein-Mintzel. Their only daughter Nina Hochstein-Mintzel (*10.5.1954) got married to Hans Weber. She has two sons: Michael Weber (22.4.1982) and Andreas Weber (26.2.1984) Comtesse Anastasia married a second time: Dr. Arndt Becker. There daughter Tatiana Becker (30.3.1941) has one son Sébastien Loeffler.

Out of Valentin Platonowitsch Zubov`s second marriage to Catherine Pingoud is his only son Comte Ivan Valentinowitsch Zubov (24.8.1918). Ivan married Johanna Bienvenina von Boxberger. Their two daughters are Comtesse Tatiana Ivanovna Zubov (1.5.1951) and Comtesse Irina Ivanovna Zubov (9.1.1956). Comtesse Tatjana Ivanovna is married to Francis Rainey. They have three children, Anatole *1978, Alexander *1981, and Xenia * 1983. Xenia is married to Count Clemens v. Arnim and they have three children Henry *2011, Laetizia *2013 and Nikolai *2016 Comtesse Irina Ivanovna is married to Pablo Mendes de Leon and they have three children Feodora *1995, Kyra*1997 and Carmen*1998

Comte Valentin was married to Anna Ossipowna Bitchounsky in his third marriage until his death in 1969 in Paris.

References

Zubov Wikipedia

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