Svyatopolk-Mirsky

Svyatopolk-Mirsky ( _ru. Святополк-Мирский, _pl. Światopełk-Mirski) is a family of Russian and Polish nobility that originated from Belarus.

They first appeared in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in the late 15th century as Mirski, a name derived from their famous Mir Castle, currently one of the UN World Heritage Sites. Later, they claimed a Rurikid descent (according the their claim, Mirskies were ancestors of Sviatopolk I of Kiev, hence the Sviatopolk part of the family name), but their claims were completely debunked by leading genealogists of Poland and Russia in the 19th century. Despite that, their pro-Russian attitudes and allegiance to the tsars earned them the confirmation of their very dubious princely title by Alexander II of Russia in 1861.

After the Polish insurgents destroyed Sviatopolk-Mirskii estate (1831), they moved to St Petersburg and joined the imperial service.

Among most notable Sviatopolk-Mirskiis are:
*Thomas Bogumile Jean Sviatopolk-Mirskii (1788-1868) - ambassador of Polish Diet to Russia.
*Dmitry Ivanovitch Sviatopolk-Mirskii (1825 - 1899), son of Thomas Bogumile Jean - Russian Infantry General and politician, hero of the Caucasus and Russo-Turkish wars, member of the State Council of Imperial Russia;
*Nikolai Ivanovitch Sviatopolk-Mirskii, (1833 - 1898), a younger brother of Dmitry Ivanovitch, hero of the Caucasus and Russo-Turkish wars, ataman of the Don Cossack Voisko,member of the State Council of Imperial Russia
*Pyotr Dmitrievich Sviatopolk-Mirskii (1857-1914),son of Dmitry Ivanovitch - the governor of Penza and Vilna gubernias, Minister of Interior of Russia.
*Dmitry Petrovich Mirsky, son of Pyotr Dmitrievich, (1890-1939, pen name Dmitry S. Mirsky) - Russian writer, historian and essayist

External links

* [http://www.vgd.ru/S/svistunv.htm Genealogical tree] - in Russian
* [http://www.rulex.ru/01180082.htm History of the family] -in Russian
* [http://www.oup.co.uk/pdf/0-19-816006-2.pdf Biography of Dmitry Petrovich Sviatopolk-Mirskii] - in English