Felix Feliksovich Yusupov is a controversial and ambiguous man who went down in Russian history as the last representative of the great princely family and murderer Grigory Rasputin.
Felix Felixovich Yusupov: biography
Felix Yusupov was born on March 23, 1987 in St. Petersburg. His mother, Zinaida Nikolaevna Yusupova, was one of the most enviable brides of the Russian Empire. Not only compatriots, but also foreign representatives of the aristocracy dreamed of having a relationship with a rich and famous family. Even representatives of European monarchical families got married as husbands, but Zinaida Nikolaevna, surprisingly everyone, chose officer Felix Sumarokov-Elston as husbands. After marriage, the emperor was presented with the princely title and the opportunity to change his name to the name of his wife.
Felix was born the fourth child in the family. Two older children died in infancy, and the younger brother Nikolai, at the time of the birth of Felix, was 5 years old. Mother really wanted a girl, so at a young age she dressed the boy in girls. The peculiar whim of the mother left an imprint on the character of the boy. The vice of dressing in women's dresses subsequently long pursued the young man.
Felix's youthful years passed in love and luxury. Being the mother’s favorite, he knew nothing of denial. The famous artist V. Serov, while working on a portrait of a 16-year-old prince, spoke of him as a very jaunty young man.
The mother made every effort to ensure that the son received an education worthy of a princely family, but science was hard on the young man. However, with the patronage of his mother, he enters Oxford University. There, with his characteristic enthusiasm, he organizes a Russian-speaking society and an elite automobile club.
Upon graduation and arrival in Russia, Felix becomes an enviable groom. Although the prince’s behavior is very embarrassing to the public, he is often seen as a guest in brothels, and dressed in women's dresses. The issue of the prince's bisexuality was actively discussed in society.
Felix Felixovich Yusupov: personal life
Everything changed in 1908, when his older brother Nikolai died in a duel. Felix becomes the heir to a huge fortune and the last representative of the princely family. This responsibility to the family and the monarchy has a huge impact on him. Festivities and youthful courage are a thing of the past. In 1914, the prince was married to Irina Alexandrovna Romanova, the niece of Emperor Nicholas II.
Newlyweds spend their honeymoon in Europe, where they are overtaken by the First World War. Upon arrival in St. Petersburg, Felix Felixovich and his wife organize a hospital for seriously wounded. In 1915, a daughter, Irina, was born in the Yusupov family. Emperor Nicholas II and his mother Maria Fedorovna become godparents.
Felix Felixovich Yusupov: the murder of Rasputin
Grigory Rasputin was considered by many to be the culprit of the troubles of the Russian Empire. The influence of the old man on the royal family was enormous, not a single decision of the sovereign could do without his advice. That is why many representatives of noble families entered into conspiracies to eliminate Rasputin. Among them is Felix Yusupov, in Rasputin he sees the enemy of the state. Together with his brother-in-law Dmitry Pavlovich Romanov and deputy Vladimirov Purishkevich, he organizes the murder of an old man. A tragic event takes place in the prince’s house on December 17, 1916. Grigory Rasputin was poisoned and subsequently shot. It was Prince Felix Feliksovich Yusupov who fired the shot.
