Meshchersky (also transliterated as Mestchérsky) is a princely family whose title was recognized by the Russian Empire.
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The family descends from the medieval independent rulers of the Meshchera tribe.[1] Their title of prince was confirmed by the Emperor Paul I of Russia on 30 June 1798.[1]
The 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-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.
The Meshcherskys had estates particularly in Ukraine, examples of their lands being at: Pokrovskoe, Petrovskoe, Lotoshino, and the Vesholi-Podol Palace in Poltava. The estate of Petrovskoye-Alabino, near Moscow, is currently claimed by Yevgeniy Meshchersky.
Prince Ivan Sergeyevich Meshchersky (born 11 December 1775; died 17 March 1851)