Grand Duke Andrei Vladimirovich of Russia
Encyclopedia
Grand Duke Andrei Vladimirovich of Russia (14 May 1879 – 30 October 1956) was a Russian grand duke
, the youngest son of Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich of Russia
and Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna
.
and married his long-time mistress, Mathilde Kchessinska (1872–1971) in 1921. He claimed paternity of Kchessinska's son, Prince Vladimir Romanovsky-Krasinsky (30 June 1902 – 23 April 1974) Andrei was introduced to Kchessinska by his elder brothers, Grand Duke Kirill Vladimirovich of Russia
and Grand Duke Boris Vladimirovich of Russia
. Kschessinska, a ballet dancer, had previously been the mistress of Andrei's cousins Tsar Nicholas II and Grand Duke Sergei Mikhailovich of Russia
. Kschessinska liked Andrei's looks when she first met him, as she described in her memoirs:
Andrei and his family settled in Paris following the Revolution. He was one of the few members of the Romanov family to believe the claim of Anna Anderson
to be Tsar Nicholas II's youngest daughter Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna of Russia
. When he first met the woman, he said it was "an unshakable recognition ... Her face is striking in its profound sadness, but when she smiles, it is she, it is Anastasia, without a doubt." He offered the woman support for her claim and financial assistance throughout her life.
Andrei was distraught during World War II when his son Vladimir, who had been a Young Russian
and regarded as pro-Soviet by the Nazi Party, was held in a concentration camp for 119 days before being released. Andrei visited German Police Headquarters multiple times and asked for help from Russian émigrés to get his son released, but neither group would help him. Andrei and his wife lived in Paris, where they enjoyed entertaining. Unlike his brother Kirill, he was largely uninterested in politics. He died in 1956 at age seventy-seven.
Grand Duke
The title grand duke is used in Western Europe and particularly in Germanic countries for provincial sovereigns. Grand duke is of a protocolary rank below a king but higher than a sovereign duke. Grand duke is also the usual and established translation of grand prince in languages which do not...
, the youngest son of Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich of Russia
Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich of Russia
Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich of Russia ) was a son of Emperor Alexander II of Russia...
and Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna
Marie of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (Maria Pavlovna of Russia)
Marie of Mecklenburg-Schwerin was born Marie Alexandrine Elisabeth Eleonore of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, daughter of Grand Duke Frederick Francis II of Mecklenburg-Schwerin and Princess Augusta of Reuss-Köstritz...
.
Biography
He escaped Russia following the Russian Revolution of 1917Russian Revolution of 1917
The Russian Revolution is the collective term for a series of revolutions in Russia in 1917, which destroyed the Tsarist autocracy and led to the creation of the Soviet Union. The Tsar was deposed and replaced by a provisional government in the first revolution of February 1917...
and married his long-time mistress, Mathilde Kchessinska (1872–1971) in 1921. He claimed paternity of Kchessinska's son, Prince Vladimir Romanovsky-Krasinsky (30 June 1902 – 23 April 1974) Andrei was introduced to Kchessinska by his elder brothers, Grand Duke Kirill Vladimirovich of Russia
Grand Duke Cyril Vladimirovich of Russia
Grand Duke Cyril Vladimirovich of Russia was a member of the Russian Imperial Family. After the Russian Revolution of 1917 and the deaths of Tsar Nicholas II and his brother Michael, Cyril assumed the Headship of the Imperial Family of Russia and later the title Emperor and Autocrat of all the...
and Grand Duke Boris Vladimirovich of Russia
Grand Duke Boris Vladimirovich of Russia
Grand Duke Boris Vladimirovich of Russia was a son of Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich of Russia, a grandson of Czar Alexander II of Russia and a first cousin of Czar Nicholas II. He followed a military career and was a Major General in the Russian Army. He took part in the Russo-Japanese War and...
. Kschessinska, a ballet dancer, had previously been the mistress of Andrei's cousins Tsar Nicholas II and Grand Duke Sergei Mikhailovich of Russia
Grand Duke Sergei Mikhailovich of Russia
Grand Duke Sergei Mikhailovich of Russia was the fifth son of Grand Duke Michael Nikolaievich of Russia and a first cousin of Alexander III of Russia. He followed a military career and served as General Inspector of the Artillery with the rank of Adjutant General during World War I...
. Kschessinska liked Andrei's looks when she first met him, as she described in her memoirs:
Andrei and his family settled in Paris following the Revolution. He was one of the few members of the Romanov family to believe the claim of Anna Anderson
Anna Anderson
Anna Anderson was the best known of several impostors who claimed to be Grand Duchess Anastasia of Russia...
to be Tsar Nicholas II's youngest daughter Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna of Russia
Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna of Russia
Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna of Russia was the youngest daughter of Tsar Nicholas II of Russia, the last sovereign of Imperial Russia, and his wife Alexandra Fyodorovna....
. When he first met the woman, he said it was "an unshakable recognition ... Her face is striking in its profound sadness, but when she smiles, it is she, it is Anastasia, without a doubt." He offered the woman support for her claim and financial assistance throughout her life.
Andrei was distraught during World War II when his son Vladimir, who had been a Young Russian
Mladorossi
The Union of Mladorossi was a political group of Russian émigré monarchists who advocated a hybrid of Russian monarchy and the Soviet system, best evidenced by their motto "Tsar and the Soviets"....
and regarded as pro-Soviet by the Nazi Party, was held in a concentration camp for 119 days before being released. Andrei visited German Police Headquarters multiple times and asked for help from Russian émigrés to get his son released, but neither group would help him. Andrei and his wife lived in Paris, where they enjoyed entertaining. Unlike his brother Kirill, he was largely uninterested in politics. He died in 1956 at age seventy-seven.