Prince felix yusupov biography for kids

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Felix Yusupov (1886-1967) was the Russian nobleman who arranged the murder in 1916 of the Tsar and Tsarina's close adviser, the 'holy man' Grigory Rasputin.

Born in 1886 Yusupov was connected to the royal family by virtue of his marriage to the Tsar's niece, Irina Romanov.

Alarmed over the extent of the hold the debauched Rasputin wielded over the Tsar and Tsarina, and aware that rumours were spreading that the Tsarina and Rasputin were in the pay of the German enemy, Yusupov determined, in conjunction with other reactionary members of court, to arrange Rasputin's assassination.

Yusupov invited Rasputin to dine at his home on 29 December 1916 where he was given poisoned wine and cakes.  Alarmed at Rasputin's apparent immunity to the poison Yusupov shot him in panic ("A shudder swept over me; my arm grew rigid, I aimed at his heart and pulled the trigger.", Lost Splendor, 1953).

After a brief period o

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The Home of the gods Tsar - Romanov and Russian History

Felix was the second of two sons born to Princess Zinaida Yussupova and her husband Count Elston-Sumarokoff. His brother, Nicholas, was five years older. By Imperial degree, Count Elston was permitted to assume the famous name of Yussupov on marriage to Zinaida. Otherwise, the family name would have gone extinct.

The Yussupovs were of ancient Tatar origin. In the late 16th century, during the reign of Ivan the Terrible, they joined Russia and converted to Orthodoxy. This enabled them to participate in the conquest of Siberia on the victorious side. They acquired vast amounts of land, rich with minerals and fur, which they rapidly exploited. These efforts soon made them among the wealthiest and most influential families in Russia. Yussupov estates dotted the Russian landscape from the Crimea to Moscow and St. Petersburg, and the splendor of their palaces rivalled even the Tsar's in scale and the sumptuousness of their dec