Zubov

Zubov (Russian: Зу́бов) was a Russian noble family which rose to the highest offices of state in the 1790s, when Platon Zubov succeeded Count Orlov and Prince Potemkin as the favourite of Catherine II of Russia.

Coat of arms of the Zubov family

The Zubovs were an ancient family of good standing, first noticed in the service of Muscovite dukes in the 15th century. Nikolay Vasilievich Zubov (1699–1786) served in the Collegium of Economics, and his son Alexander Zubov (1727–1795) was reputed to have enriched himself serving as Vice-Governor of Vladimir. He had one daughter and four sons and in 1793 together with his sons, he received the title of Count.[1]

The lines of Count Nicholas and his brother Dmitry continue up to the present. Nicholas's great grandson Valentin (1884–1969) was a leading authority on the reign of Emperor Paul and authored several books on the subject. He founded the Gatchina Palace museum and the Art History Institute in St. Petersburg before emigrating to Paris in 1925. Dmitry's only son, Nicholas, merged with the local Lithuanian nobility and supported the Lithuanian National Revival characterized by cultural and educational activities.[3] So did his descendants.[4][5]

The Zubovs had two family vaults, one in Moscow, in the Donskoy Monastery, built in 1796-98, and another in Strelna near St. Petersburg, in the Maritime Monastery of St. Sergius, completed in 1809.

The last family living are Count and Countess Zubov and their two daughters Countess Tatjana Rainey and her children Anatole Rainey, Sasha Rainey and Xenia Rainey and Countess Irina Mendes de Leon and her children Feodora Mendes de Leon, Kyra Mendes de Leon and Carmen Mendes de Leon.

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