Grand Duke Boris Vladimirovich of Russia (; 24 November 1877 – 9 November 1943) 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
World War I. He managed to escape revolutionary Russia. In exile, he married his mistress and settled in Paris.
Early life
Grand Duke Boris Vladimirovich was born on 24 November 1877 at
Saint Petersburg, the third child and second surviving son among the five children of
Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich of Russia and his wife
Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna, born Duchess Marie Alexandrine of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. His parents were very wealthy and lived in the luxurious
Vladimir Palace in Saint Petersburg. His father Vladimir Alexandrovich, a brother of Czar
Alexander III of Russia, was a renowned patron of the arts; his mother, Maria Pavlovna, one of the greatest hostesses of Russian society. Boris, more extrovert than his siblings, was his mother’s favorite.
It was traditional for the male members of the
Romanov family to follow a military career. From his birth Grand Duke Boris was appointed patron of the 45th Azov Infantry Regiment, and enrolled into the Semeonovsky Life Guards and the Life Guards Dragoon regiment, the 4th Life Guard Rifle Battalion of the Imperial Family. His education emphasized languages and military training. In...
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