The quirks of the millionaires of the Russian Empire: a maid costume for the prince, a rooster in the bedroom and other oddities

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

People who have everything sometimes start to get bored and try to decorate their lives with strange deeds. This is happening now, and in fact, nothing has changed over the centuries. Take, for example, the Russian millionaires of pre-revolutionary Russia, who seemed to be competing with each other - who would throw out the most amazing trick. Read how Prince Kurakin hung himself with diamonds, Pavel Nashchokin wore a maid's suit, and the incredibly superstitious General Demidov jumped at a run in a shirt.

How General Demidov jumped in a shirt and locked the priests

General Nikolai Demidov was distinguished by great superstition. By his order, the servants attached horseshoes over the doors of the mansion, which was located on Vasilievsky Island. In the general's bedroom, one could see a cage with a rooster. So Demidov tried to scare away evil spirits. That's not all. Gripped by fears, he often kidnapped priests.

So, when the general was driving down the street in a carriage and met the priest, he began to persuade him to ride together. After that, the unsuspecting priest was taken to Demidov's mansion, where he was simply … locked in a room with a key. After that Demidov could go about his business again, rejoicing that the priest would no longer get in the way. Such escapades became known, and representatives of the church tried to escape as quickly as the general drove down the street. But not only this was the strangeness. For example, the general put on underwear in an extremely strange way: he ordered the servant to hold her in weight, and he himself jumped in his shirt, trying to get into the sleeves. Before that, he crossed himself with the sign of the cross. Sometimes it took several tries to finally get dressed.

Pavel Demidov, who donated millions, while he himself sat on a starvation diet

Another Demidov, Pavel, who founded the Yaroslavl Lyceum, was known as an incredibly greedy person from whom it was pointless to ask for money. And he never had a dinner party. At the same time, Demidov did not spare money for science and handed out millions.

His condition was very large, but a meager amount was allocated for food. For example, broth and a cutlet were usually served for lunch, which he did not eat, but only sucked. Demidov did not change his caftan for several years. Nevertheless, he established a very small quitrent for his peasants.

Prokofy Demidov and his strange lackeys in one boot

The owner of the mining empire was Prokofiy Demidov, and this man simply did not count money. When this eccentric rode along the Kuznetsky Most, onlookers looked with open mouths. Not surprisingly: the carriage was pulled by six horses, and the first pair were short-legged Kalmyk mares. On one of the horses was a postilion. Everything would be fine if it were not for the tall height of the rider. As a result, he stepped on the ground with his feet, because the filly was very low. The second pair were black percherons, which reached 175 centimeters at the withers. But the funniest was the third pair, the funny ponies.

The footmen also amazed the crowd. On the heels stood two - an old man of venerable age and a small boy. And that's not all: the footmen wore strange liveries, which on the one hand were made of cheap sackcloth, and on the other, of the most luxurious brocade. And when the spectators saw the shoes of the servants, they finally fell into a trance: on one leg there was a bast shoe, and on the other there was a thin expensive stocking and a boot with a shiny diamond buckle. This is such a strange fashion.

Prince of Georgia, who saved fugitive criminals and Alexei Kurakin, who wore kilograms of diamonds

In the 19th century, Prince George of Georgia lived in Lyskovo, in the Nizhny Novgorod province. This man considered himself to be the protector of the oppressed. Therefore, his estate has always been filled with serfs and fugitive criminals. About a hundred people constantly lived in a kind of shelter. With each of the prince had a personal conversation. He did not want to help murderers and thieves. Rumors spread among the people that there were secret dungeons under the mansion. All this aroused the interest of the police, but no action was taken - the prince was too rich, and his temper was severe. Having become angry, Gruzinsky could drag the man by the beard or even gouge out his eye. But as a result, the eccentric was still put on trial, because in fact he was harboring the fugitives. The prince was very surprised, as he believed that he was doing a good deed and deserves encouragement, not punishment.

Another prince, the rich Moscow prince Alexei Kurakin, never bullied the servants. There was only one thing that pissed him off - appearance. Every morning Kurakin meticulously picked up his wardrobe. He had many clothing catalogs that were carefully studied. All outfits were thought out thoroughly, accessories were chosen with passion. When the valet made a mistake, and handed, for example, a cane from another set, Kurakin unleashed a stream of anger on him.

The fashionista was especially fond of diamonds. He showered them on himself literally from heels to ears. The prince had diamond buttons and buckles, they adorned watches and walking sticks, and a huge number of rings sparkled on his fingers. Kurakin in precious stones can be seen in the painting by Borovikovsky, which is now in the Tretyakov Gallery.

Pavel Nashchokin, who portrayed the maid

Pushkin had a friend named Pavel Nashchokin. Everyone knew that this man was generous and sponsored creative people. However, Nashchokin was known as an eccentric, which are few. Having a huge fortune, he tossing money left and right, buying precious stones, china dishes, thoroughbred horses, carriages.

Nashchokin adored theater, or rather actresses, and did not spare money on them. It is known that an obscene amount was paid to them for the candle stub used by the actress Varvara Asenkova, and the candle itself was kept in a specially ordered gold case. Later this souvenir was presented to someone from my acquaintances. Nashchokin's passion for Asenkova was so great that he took drastic measures to recover. He ordered a maid's costume to be sewn for himself, and for a month he lived in Varvara's house, pretending to be a maid. It is not known whether this helped or not, but the fact remains.

Since millionaires are so weird that you are amazed, then you should not be surprised, when they give stunning and ridiculous gifts to their friends and loved ones.