List of supercentenarians born in the Russian Empire

This list includes supercentenarians (people who have attained the age of at least 110 years) and foreign supercentenarians who were born in the historical state of Russian Empire, whose lifespans have been verified by an international body that specifically deals in longevity research, such as the Gerontology Research Group (GRG).

The Russian Empire was a country that had its beginning with the Treaty of Nystad (ending the Third Northern War) until it was overthrown by the short-lived liberal February Revolution in 1917. In the 19th century, the Russian Empire had in its possession the vast lands in Europe and Asia and also Alaska located in North America, which was later sold to the United States. The country was populated by over 125 million inhabitants, making it the third most populated country in the world at that time.

In addition to almost the entire territory of modern Russia,[n 1] prior to 1917 the Russian Empire included the significant portion of Poland (Kingdom of Poland), most of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia (Baltic provinces), Finland (Grand Principality of Finland), most of Ukraine (Dnieper Ukraine), Belarus, Moldova (Bessarabia), Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia (including Mengrelia), the Central Asian states of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan (Russian Turkestan) and Ardahan, Artvin, Iğdır, Kars and northeastern part of Erzurum from Turkey (then part of the Ottoman Empire).

The oldest person ever born in the historical Russian Empire is Mrs. Goldie Steinberg, who was born in present-day Moldova and at age 114 years is living in New York, United States. The oldest man ever born in the historical Russian Empire was Mr. Aarne Arvonen of Finland (1897-2009), who was aged 111 years 150 days when he died. Another male supercentenarian born in the historical Russian Empire, Dr. Alexander Imich (1903-2014), was born in Częstochowa, present-day Poland, and was recognized as the World's Oldest Man in 2014.

Supercentenarians born in present-day Russia

Russia is the main successor of the historical state of Russian Empire. There have been 3 verified emigrant supercentenarians born in present-day Russia, with one pending verification.

      Deceased (Verified)       Living (Verified)       Pending

Rank Name Sex Birth date Death date Age Region of birth Region or Country of death
Rosalia Hasenkampf[1] F 14 October 1889 10 July 2002 112 years, 269 days Saratov[a] Germany (North Rhine-Westphalia)
1 Lillian Joelson[2] F 20 August 1896 30 December 2007 111 years, 132 days ? [b] United States (Illinois)
2 Lina von Veh[2] F 17 February 1898 19 June 2008 110 years, 123 days Saint Petersburg[c] Germany (Bavaria)
3 Andrei Kuznetsoff[2] M 17 October 1873 31 January 1984 110 years, 106 days ? [d] Finland (Southern Savonia)

a^ Hasenkampf was born in Volga Region of Russian Empire, which later was turned into Volga Germans Autonomy and then merged with Saratov region. It is now in Russia.
b^ Joelson was born in the Russian part of the Russian Empire. It is now in Russia.
c^ von Veh was born in Saint Petersburg. It is now in Russia.
d^ Kuznetsoff was born in the Russian part of the Russian Empire. It is now in Russia.

Supercentenarians born in present-day Poland

Poland was located on the westernmost outskirts of the historical Russian Empire, and was the most densely populated part of it. Before Poland fell under the domination of Russian Empire, it existed on vast territories of modern Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Belarus, and Ukraine as the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. The Russian Empire, together with the Kingdom of Prussia and the Austrian Empire divided the country, leaving Poland without independence for the next 123 years. In the First Partition of Poland in 1772, the Russian Empire took the territory of Polish Livonia (Inflanty Voivodeship; part of modern Latvia) and the north-eastern part of the Commonwealth. In 1793, during the Second Partition of Poland, the Russian Empire took the territory of Kiev Voivodeship, Bracław Voivodeship, Podole Voivodeship and Minsk Voivodeship, and parts of the Vilnius Voivodeship, Nowogródek Voivodeship, Brest Litovsk Voivodeship and the Volhynian Voivodeship, part of present-day Belarus and Ukraine. Finally in 1795, in the Third Partition of Poland the Russian Empire took the territory of Volhynia (present-day Ukraine), Polesia (present-day Belarus), Vilnius (preseant-day Lithuania) and Courland (preseant-day Latvia). In the aftermath of two lost uprisings, November Uprising (1830–31) and January Uprising (1863-64), the authonomy of Kingdom of Poland was taken away, Congress Kingdom was dissolved and multiple punitive measures on the Polish populace were introduced. Poland became an official part of the Russian Empire and would not regain full independence until the end of World War I. The Polish part of Russian Empire consisted of present-day Masovia Voivodeship, Łódź Voivodeship, Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship, Podlaskie Voivodeship, Lublin Voivodeship and parts of Warmia-Masuria Voivodeship, Kuyavia-Pomerania Voivodeship, Silesia Voivodeship and Greater Poland Voivodeship. There have been 2 verified supercentenarians born in Polish part of Russian Empire and 6 known supercentenarians are currently awaiting verification.

      Deceased (Verified)       Living (Verified)       Pending

Rank Name Sex Birth date Death date Age Voivodeship of birth Voivodeship or country of death
1 Dr. Maria Pogonowska[3] F 30 October 1897 15 July 2009 111 years, 258 days Masovia[a] Israel
2 Dr. Alexander Imich[4] M 4 February 1903 8 June 2014 111 years, 124 days Silesia[b] United States (New York)
Michalina Wasilewska[1] F 21 December 1898 3 January 2010 111 years, 13 days Masovia[c] Poland (Masovia)
Marianna Misiewicz[1] F 26 January 1902 28 June 2012 110 years, 154 days Podlaskie[d] Poland (Podlaskie)
Józefa Karczewska[1] F 23 November 1902 18 January 2013 110 years, 56 days Łódź[e] Poland (Łódź)
Józefa Stanisława Szyda[1] F 11 March 1903 1 May 2013 110 years, 51 days Greater Poland[f] Poland (Łódź)
Marianna Smolarczyk[1] F 16 February 1897 30 March 2007 110 years, 42 days Świętokrzyskie[g] Poland (Świętokrzyskie)
Julianna Garbacz[1] F 22 June 1900 18 July 2010 110 years, 26 days Świętokrzyskie[h] Poland (Świętokrzyskie)

a^ Pogonowska was born in Warsaw, which was then part of the Russian Empire. It is now in Poland.
b^ Imich was born in Częstochowa, which was then part of the Russian Empire. It is now in Poland.
c^ Wasilewska was born in Warsaw, which was then part of the Russian Empire. It is now in Poland.
d^ Misiewicz was born in Srebrna, which was then part of the Russian Empire. It is now in Poland.
e^ Karczewska was born in Gągolin, which was then part of the Russian Empire. It is now Gągolin Północny in Poland.
f^ Szyda was born in Turek, which was then part of the Russian Empire. It is now in Poland.
g^ Smolarczyk was born in Łubno, which was then part of the Russian Empire. It is now in Poland.
h^ Garbacz was born in Wolka Zychowa, which was then part of the Russian Empire. It is now in Poland.

Supercentenarians born in present-day Lithuania

Lithuania and Poland comprised the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth for a few centuries. The Partitions of Poland however, broke that bond. Almost the whole territory of present-day Lithuania became part of the Russian Empire except the region of Klaipėda, which was shared with the German Empire. Lithuania regained its independence, along with Poland and other Baltic states, in 1918. Lithuania has consisted of three mayor ethnic groups prior to the World War I. The ethnic Lithuanian people lived throughout the country, ethnic Germans resided in the Klaipėda (Memel) region, and ethnic Poles lived in the Vilnius (Wilno) region. Each of these ethnic groups is represented by one supercentenarian. There have been verified 2 supercentenarians born in the Lithuanian part of the Russian Empire, with one pending verification.

      Deceased (Verified)       Living (Verified)       Pending

Rank Name Sex Birth date Death date Age County of birth County of death
Emilija Krištopaitienė[5] F 15 October 1902 14 March 2014 111 years, 150 days Šiauliai[a] Lithuania (Šiauliai)
1 Ella Ille Rentel[2] F 19 May 1852 19 September 1962 110 years, 123 days Klaipėda[b] Germany
2 Helen Czechowicz[6] F 1 January 1896 3 February 2006 110 years, 33 days Vilnius[c] United States

a^ Krištopaitienė was born in Joniškis, which was then part of Russian Empire. It is now in Lithuania.
b^ Rentel was born in Geldauschinken, which was then part of the Russian Empire. It is now in Lithuania.
c^ Czechowicz was born in Vilnius, which was then part of the Russian Empire. Later, it was part of Poland, and it is now in Lithuania.

Supercentenarians born in present-day Latvia

The territory of present-day Latvia was part of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth since the First Northern War. Later its northern part (Livonia) became part of Sweden, while its southern part Latgalia, Semigalia and Courland (Grand Duchy of Courland and Semigalia) remained Polish-Lithuanian. The Capitulation of Estonia and Livonia in 1710 and the Treaty of Nystad, ending the Great Northern War in 1721, gave formerly Swedish Livonia, Estonia and Ingria to the Russian Empire. The Latgale region remained part of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth as Inflanty Voivodeship until 1772 (First Partition of Poland, when it was incorporated into the Russian Empire. The Duchy of Courland and Semigallia remained a Polish-Lithuanian common fief until 1795 (Third Partition of Poland, when it also became part of the Russian Empire, bringing all of what is now Latvia into the Russian Empire. There is one emigrant supercentenarian (verification pending) born in Latvian part of the Russian Empire.

      Deceased (Verified)       Living (Verified)       Pending

Rank Name Sex Birth date Death date Age County of birth County or country of death
Belle Garfinkel[5] F 26 April 1902 8 March 2013 110 years, 316 days Latvia[a] USA (Wisconsin)

a^ Garfinkel was born in Rēzekne, which was then part of Russian Empire. It is now in Latvia.

Supercentenarians born in present-day Finland

Present day Finland became part of the Russian Empire following the Finnish War of 1808-1809, when the Treaty of Fredrikshamn resulted in Sweden ceding part of its territory to what would become the Grand Principality of Finland, with the Russian Tsar as a semi-constitutional monarch. In 1918, Finland became an independent country. There have been 6 verified supercentenarians born in Finnish autonomous part of Russian Empire.

      Deceased       Living       Pending

Rank Name Sex Birth date Death date Age Region or country of birth Region of death
1 Maria Rothovius[2] F 2 October 1887 17 June 2000 112 years, 259 days Uusimaa[a] Finland (Pirkanmaa)
2 Hilda Häkkinen[2] F 18 March 1894 31 December 2005 111 years, 288 days Southern Ostrobothnia[b] Finland (Southern Ostrobothnia)
3 Aarne Arvonen[3] M 4 August 1897 1 January 2009 111 years, 150 days Uusimaa[c] Finland (Uusimaa)
4 Fanny Nyström[2] F 30 September 1878 31 August 1989 110 years, 335 days Finland Proper[d] Finland (Finland Proper)
5 Anna Hagman[2] F 27 December 1895 18 April 2006 110 years, 112 days Åland Islands[e] Finland (Åland Islands)
6 Elsa Tilkanen[2] F 26 September 1896 5 December 2006 110 years, 70 days Finland Proper[f] Finland (Finland Proper)

a^ Rothovius was born in Uusimaa region, which was then part of an autonomous Grand Duchy of Finland within Russian Empire. It is now in Finland.
b^ Häkkinen was born in Southern Ostrobothnia region, which was then part of an autonomous Grand Duchy of Finland within Russian Empire. It is now in Finland.
c^ Arvonen was born in Helsinki, which was then part of an autonomous Grand Duchy of Finland within Russian Empire. It is now in Finland.
d^ Nyström was born in Finland Proper region, which was then part of an autonomous Grand Duchy of Finland within Russian Empire. It is now in Finland.
e^ Hagman was born in Åland Islands, which were then part of an autonomous Grand Duchy of Finland within Russian Empire. It is now an autonomous part of Finland.
f^ Tilkanen was born in Finland Proper region, which was then part of an autonomous Grand Duchy of Finland within Russian Empire. It is now in Finland.

Supercentenarians born in present-day Belarus

Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe bordered by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Until the 20th century, the lands of modern-day Belarus belonged to several countries, including the Principality of Polotsk, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, and after its Partitions, to the Russian Empire. In the aftermath of the Russian Revolution, Belarus declared independence as the Belarusian People's Republic, succeeded by the Socialist Soviet Republic of Byelorussia, which became a founding constituent republic of the Soviet Union. Much of the borders of Belarus took their modern shape in 1939 when some lands of the Second Polish Republic were incorporated into it after the Soviet invasion of Poland. The republic was redeveloped in the post-war years. In 1991, upon the dissolution of Soviet Union, Belarus became an independent country. There has been 1 verified emigrant supercentenarian born in Belarusian part of Russian Empire.

      Deceased (Verified)       Living (Verified)       Pending

Rank Name Sex Birth date Death date Age Province of birth Province or country of death
1 Mollye Marcus[2] F 18 October 1899 18 February 2011 111 years, 123 days Brest[a] USA (California)

a^ Marcus was born in Lyakhavichy, which was then part of Russian Empire. It is now in Belarus.

Supercentenarians born in present-day Moldova

In accordance with the Treaty of Bucharest of 1812, the Ottoman Empire gave to the Russian Empire the eastern half of the territory of the Principality of Moldavia, which was a fief of Ottoman Empire. As part of Russian Empire, Moldova was called "Oblast of Moldavia and Bessarabia", then renamed to Bessarabia Governorate as the Russification progressed. As part of this process, the Tsarist administration in Bessarabia gradually removed the Romanian language from official and religious use. The western part of Moldavia (which is a part of present-day Romania) remained an autonomous principality, and in 1859, united with Wallachia to form the Kingdom of Romania. The Treaty of Paris (1856) returned three counties of Bessarabia—Cahul, Bolgrad and Ismail—to Moldavia, but in the Treaty of Berlin, the Kingdom of Romania agreed to return them to the Russian Empire. During this time there were anti-Semitic riots, leading to an exodus of thousands of Jews to the United States of America.

Moldova proclamated its independence in 1918, however, later it united with the Kingdom of Romania. In August 1939, the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact and its secret additional protocol were signed, by which Nazi Germany recognized Bessarabia as being within the Soviet sphere of influence, which led the latter to actively revive its claim to the region. On June 28, 1940, the Soviet Union, with the acknowledgement of Nazi Germany, issued an ultimatum to Romania requesting the cession of Bessarabia and northern Bukovina, with which Romania complied the following day. Soon after, the Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic (Moldavian SSR, MSSR) was established.

Moldova proclaimed its independence upon the fall of Soviet Union in 1991. Presently, Moldova is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe located between Romania to its west and Ukraine to its north, east and south. Its capital city is Chișinău. There has been verified one supercentenarian born in the Moldovan part of Russian Empire.

      Deceased (Verified)       Living (Verified)       Pending

Rank Name Sex Birth date Death date Age Province of birth Province or country of death
1 Goldie Steinberg[2] F 30 October 1900 Living 114 years, 182 days Chișinău[a] Living in USA (New York)

a^ Steinberg was born in Chișinău, which was then part of Russian Empire. It is now in Moldova.

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 List of Pending cases
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8 2.9 2.10 Verified Supercentenarians (by Chronological Age)
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 GRG Deaths in 2009
  4. ↑ "Current Validated Living Supercentenarians". GRG. Retrieved 9 January 2015.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 "Table EE PENDING GRG CASES". GRG. Retrieved 29 November 2013.
  6. ↑ GRG Deaths in 2006
  1. ↑ From 1860 to 1905, the Russian Empire occupied all territories of the present-day Russian Federation, with the exception of the present-day Kaliningrad Oblast, Kuril Islands, and Tuva. In 1905 Russia lost Southern Sakhalin to Japan, but in 1914 the Empire established a protectorate over Tuva.