Pavel Dolgorukov

Prince Pavel Dolgorukov was born in 1866. He was a member of the Dolgorukov family, one of the oldest branches of the Russian aristocracy during the Tsarist era.

He inherited great wealth and was involved in the work of the zemstvo (regional councils), particularly in the Moscow region, where he owned an estate. Prior to the 1905 revolution, he identified himself primarily with the liberals. In 1905, he helped to found the Cadet party, and served as Chairman of its central committee from 1911 to 1915. At one point, he was a member of the Duma in St Petersburg and led the Cadet faction there, but he preferred to work in his own constituency in Moscow.

Before the outbreak of World War I, Dolgorukov had shown some interest in the pacifist movement, but once Russia joined the war, he became a fervent supporter of the military effort. He was in charge of a Red Cross unit on the Galician front.

After the Bolsheviks swept to power in 1917, Dolgorukov was arrested in Petrograd and was imprisoned for a while in the fortress of Peter and Paul. Like the rest of his social class, he had lost all his wealth in the revolution. He made his way to the south and joined the White movement, first under the leadership of Kornilov and then under Denikin. According to an anecdote, he would proudly display a suit that a tailor had made for him from old sacks. His military fervour never left him; even after Denikin was in full retreat and the White cause was lost, he would preach resistance to anyone who would listen.

He went with General Wrangel to the Crimea, and after further defeats, took to the Balkans where he lived for several years as a penniless refugee. In 1925, having grown sick and tired of exile, he slipped across the Russian border disguised as a peasant. The Cheka arrested him but, failing to recognize their prisoner, released him. The following year, he was again wandering about southern Russia but this time he was detected and re-arrested by the Cheka.

On June 9, 1927, he was executed along with 19 other former officers and members of the Tsarist aristocracy. The Cheka had charged them with the assassination of Ambassador Voikov in Warsaw. They were shot without trial.

Pavel Dolgorukov had a twin brother named Pyotr, who lived on until 1951.

• Works by Pavel Dolgorukov at LibriVox (public domain audiobooks)