Demidov

The Demidovs were probably the richest Russian people after the Tsar in the late 18th and early 19th centuries.

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Their progenitor, Demid Antufiev, was a free blacksmith from Tula, where their family necropolis is preserved as a museum. His son Nikita Demidov (March 26, 1656 - November 17, 1725) made his fortune by his skill in the manufacture of weapons, and established an iron foundry for the government. Peter the Great, with whom he was a favorite, ennobled him in 1720.

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Nikita's son, Akinfiy Demidov (1678-1745), increased his inherited wealth by the discovery and working of gold, silver and copper mines. He also founded the Siberian town of Barnaul, whose central square still bears his name. His nephew, Pavel Grigoryevich Demidov (1738-1821), was a great traveller and benefactor of Russian scientific education. He established the Demidov Lyceum in Yaroslavl and founded an annual prize for Russian literature, awarded by the Academy of Sciences. A bronze monument to him was installed in Yaroslavl in 1828.

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Pavel's nephew, Nikolay Nikitich Demidov (1774-1828), raised and commanded a regiment to oppose Napoleon's invasion of Russia, and carried on the accumulation of the family wealth from mining; he contributed liberally to the erection of four bridges in St Petersburg, and to the propagation of scientific culture in Moscow.

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Pavel's son, Anatole Demidov (1812-1870), was a well-known traveller and patron of art. In 1837, he acquired the Italian title of Prince de San Donato and married Princess Mathilde, daughter of Jerome Bonaparte. His villa is a minor landmark of Florence. His grand nephew, Crown Prince Pavel, was regent of Yugoslavia from 1934 to 1941.

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Russia: The Russian Federation (, transliteration: Rossiyskaya Federatsiya or Rossijskaja Federacija), or Russia (Russian: ???????, transliteration: Rossiya or Rossija), is a country that stretches over a vast expanse of Europe and Asia. With an area of 17,075,400 km? (6,595,600 mi?), it is the largest coun...

Tsar: Tsar (Bulgarian ???, Russian ????, ; often spelled Czar or Tzar and sometimes Csar or Zar in English), was the title used for the autocratic rulers of the First and Second Bulgarian Empires since 913, in Serbia in the middle of the 14th century, and in Russia from 1547 to 1917 (although this usage ...

Tula: Places named Tula include:...