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Wolkonsky, Marina, 1893-1985

 Person

Dates

  • Existence: 1893 - 1985

Biography

The Wolkonsky family are descendants of the first Russian king, Rurik (d. 879) and other significant members of the Russian royal family through the centuries. Leo Tolstoy’s mother was a Princess Wolkonsky. Princess Marina Wolkonsky was born in Moscow in 1893, and raised and educated as a member of the Russian nobility, learning English, French, and German as well as Russian from governesses. As an adolescent she decided to keep a diary to describe the life of a Russian princess; later she translated portions of it into English. The typed version of that translation, and another handwritten diary with short entries in French, Cyrillic or English, form the basis of this collection. The diary reveals that Marina, her father, and other members of her family were imprisoned for a time during the Bolshevik revolution of 1917, but they were able to emigrate in 1918. Marina later married and settled in Chicago; her son Dr. Peter Wolkonsky (1923-1999) earned his undergraduate and medical degrees at the University of Chicago and became medical director of Amoco Oil Company.

Found in 1 Collection or Record:

Marina Wolkonsky Collection

 Collection
Identifier: MS139
Abstract

The Wolkonsky family are descendants of the first Russian king, Rurik (d. 879) and other significant members of the Russian royal family through the centuries. The Marina Wolkonsky collection is comprised primarily of the typed English translation of a biographical account of her life and diary kept through 1918, along with a small number of other personal materials.

Dates: 1893-1980