Yusupov Nikolai Borisovich

Prince Nikolai Borisovich Yusupov is a statesman, diplomat, philanthropist, collector, one of the richest people in Russia of his time, the owner of the Arkhangelsk estate. A representative of the wealthy princely Yusupov family, the only son of Moscow mayor Boris Grigorievich Yusupov

Early years and early service

Nikolai Borisovich Yusupov was born on October 26 (October 15, Old style), 1750 in Moscow in the family of Prince Boris Grigorievich Yusupov, the Moscow mayor. From infancy, he was assigned to the Life Guards Cavalry Regiment. In 1771 he was promoted to the rank of second lieutenant, and in 1772 he became a chamberlain of the Imperial Court. However, he was not interested in a military career, and he soon focused on diplomatic and cultural activities.

European travels and the formation of a taste for art

In the mid‑1770s, Yusupov traveled around Europe for several years with letters of recommendation from Catherine II. He visited England, France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Austria, studied at Leiden University, and was introduced to European monarchs. During this period, he met the greatest thinkers of the era — Voltaire, Diderot, Beaumarchais — and began collecting art collections. An important role in shaping his artistic taste was played by landscape painter Jacob Philipp Hackert, who became his advisor on the acquisition of works of art.

State and court service

Yusupov held a number of major government posts:

Director of the Imperial Theaters (1791-1799): reformed theatrical life, in particular, it is believed that it was he who introduced the numbering of rows and seats in theaters.
Head of the Imperial Hermitage and the Court Theater (since 1797).
Chief Director of the Manufactory College, he led the palace glass, porcelain and tapestry factories.
Minister of the Department of Estates (since 1800).
Member of the Council of State (since 1823).
He played a special role as the Supreme Marshal at three coronations — Paul I, Alexander I and Nicholas I.

The prince "lived under six sovereigns, served four, and crowned three." His origin, fabulous wealth, natural intelligence, coupled with a brilliant education and position at the Imperial Court, forced his contemporaries to speak of him as "one of the most famous nobles who ever lived in Moscow, one of the last old-timers of the Catherine century and a nobleman in the full sense ...". At the end of 1810, he owned 55 estates with a population of more than 20,000 serfs in 15 provinces of Russia.

Restoration of the Kremlin and work with the Armory

From 1814 to 1831, Yusupov was the commander-in-chief of the Expedition of the Kremlin Building and Workshop and Armory. He carried out extensive work on the restoration of the Moscow Kremlin after the destruction of 1812. Under his leadership:

the walls and towers along the Moskva River were restored;
The bell tower of Ivan the Great, the Assumption Belfry and the Filaret extension were reconstructed.;
The Chudov and Voznesensky monasteries were revived, and the decoration of the Assumption Cathedral was renovated.
The most important contribution to the museum business was the creation of the first exposition of the Armory (opened in 1816) and the publication of the first guide to it (1826). Yusupov personally supervised the arrangement of the exhibits, introduced accounting and reconciliation of items, and organized the restoration of valuables damaged in 1812.

Arkhangelsk Estate and patronage

In 1810, Yusupov acquired the Arkhangelsk estate, which he turned into an outstanding art and theater center, nicknamed "Versailles near Moscow." In Arkhangelsk:

his collections (more than 600 paintings, sculptures, over 20 thousand books, porcelain, decorative and applied art objects) were housed;
There was a theater with decorations by Pietro Gonzago.;
receptions and performances for high society were arranged.
Yusupov supported artists, commissioned works, and acted as an intermediary in the execution of imperial orders from European masters. His collection was as large and diverse as the largest state collections. After the revolution, a significant part of the collection was distributed between the Hermitage, the Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts and the "Arkhangelskoye" Estate Museum.

Spasskoe‑Kotovo Estate

Hereditary possession. The estate passed to Nikolai Borisovich from his father, Prince Boris Grigoryevich Yusupov. Already under B. G. Yusupov in the middle of the XVIII century in Spassky‑The church of the Savior Not Made with Hands was put in order, the manor house and garden were equipped. Until 1810, the prince spent the summer time in Spassky-Kotovo.
The heyday of the estate. At the turn of the XVIII–XIX centuries, the Spasskoe-Kotovo estate enjoyed an unprecedented heyday under the prince: a regular layout was created with "prestigious" alleys, greenhouses, regular gardens, and dug ponds. A cloth factory was built on the estate, which produced fabrics for its own needs and for sale. During its expansion, a brick factory was established in the village to build new premises from its own bricks. Nikolai Borisovich had plans to create a glass factory in Spassky... but after buying the Arkhangelsk estate in Zvenigorodsky district, the prince began to spend most of his time there.
The ancestral tomb. Since 1772, the Church of the Savior has become the ancestral tomb of the Yusupovs. Nikolai Borisovich himself wished to be buried here: he died on July 15 (July 3, Old style), 1831, in Moscow during a cholera epidemic and was buried behind the altar of the Vladimir chapel of the Church of the Savior Not Made with Hands. His son Boris Nikolaevich later built a tomb chapel over his grave.
Not the main residence, but an important place. Although the main "parade" center of attraction for N. B. Yusupov was Arkhangelsk, Spasskoe‑Kotovo remained a significant family nest: ancestral memory was preserved here, the household was maintained and the temple was maintained.

Cultural ties and heritage

Connection with A. S. Pushkin. Pushkin dedicated the poem "Epistle to a Nobleman" to Yusupov and visited Arkhangelsk. In 1801-1803, the Pushkin family lived in the wing of the Moscow Yusupov Palace in Bolshoy Kharitonevsky Lane. The words spoken after his death speak eloquently about the poet's attitude towards the prince: "My Yusupov is dead."
Support of the Academy of Arts. In 1794, Yusupov was elected an honorary amateur of the Imperial Academy of Arts.
Charity and business activities. He opened hospitals on his estates, supported doctors, and helped peasants.
N.B. Yusupov was one of the key organizers of museum work and restoration in Russia in the first third of the 19th century, and his collections and the Arkhangelsk estate became an important part of the national artistic heritage.