Meshchersky
Encyclopedia
Meshchersky is a princely family
Knyaz
Kniaz, knyaz or knez is a Slavic title found in most Slavic languages, denoting a royal nobility rank. It is usually translated into English as either Prince or less commonly as Duke....

 whose title
Title
A title is a prefix or suffix added to someone's name to signify either veneration, an official position or a professional or academic qualification. In some languages, titles may even be inserted between a first and last name...

 was recognized by the Russian Empire
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...

.

Origin

Its origin is from the medieval independent rulers of the Meshchera tribe. This family was somewhat arbitrarily grouped in documentation together with Tatar princely families of the Russian Empire. The neighboring Tatar kingdom subjugated lords of the Meshchera tribe under its suzerainty, and some of them converted to Islam and bore Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...

-like first names; but soon, under Russian subjugation, subsequent generations converted to the Eastern Orthodox faith and used Slavic Christian names. The family was listed in the first part of the Registers of the Nobility of Russia, which became formalized in the 19th century or earlier.

The book Notice sur les principales familles de la Russie does not mention the Meshchersky family at all, which may be attributable to the well-established animosity towards the Meshcherskys of its author, Prince Pyotr Dolgorukov
Pyotr Dolgorukov
Prince Pyotr Vladimirovich Dolgorukov was a Russian historian and journalist known for his genealogical research and as an critic of the Imperial Russian government.- Life :Dolgorukov was known for his anti-government publications...

.

Estates

The Meshcherskys had estates particularly in Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...

, examples of their lands being at: Pokrovskoe, Petrovskoe, Lotoshino
Lotoshino
Lotoshino is an urban locality and the administrative center of Lotoshinsky District of Moscow Oblast, Russia. It is the least populous district center in Moscow Oblast. Population:...

, and the Vesholi-Podol Palace in Poltava
Poltava
Poltava is a city in located on the Vorskla River in central Ukraine. It is the administrative center of the Poltava Oblast , as well as the surrounding Poltava Raion of the oblast. Poltava's estimated population is 298,652 ....

. The estate of Petrovskoye-Alabino, near Moscow, is currently claimed by Yevgeniy Meshchersky.

Members

The second marriage of the elderly Prince Alexander Vasilievich Meshchersky (died 1903) produced a male child, Prince Vyacheslav Alexandrovich (born 1898). His daughter from the first marriage, Natalia Meshcherskaya, became Duchess of Sasso-Ruffo.
  • Vladimir Meshchersky
    Vladimir Meshchersky
    Prince Vladimir Petrovich Meshchersky was a Russian journalist and novelist.He was the grandson of historian Nikolay Karamzin....


External links

- Early stages in the Family Tree of the Meshchersky princely house - the tree can be browsed further there
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