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  | next        = Blavatsky H.P. - Missionaries Militant
  | next        = Blavatsky H.P. - Missionaries Militant
  | alternatives =  [https://universaltheosophy.com/hpb/the-history-of-a-book/ UT]
  | alternatives =  [https://universaltheosophy.com/hpb/the-history-of-a-book/ UT]
  | translations = [https://ru.teopedia.org/lib/Блаватская_Е.П._-_История_одной_книги Russian]
  | translations = [[:t-ru-lib:Блаватская_Е.П._-_История_одной_книги|Russian]]
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The Princes Shcherbatov are related to the Princes of Chernigov, and are descended from the great-grandson of Prince Constantine Yuryevich Obolensky, named Vassiliy Andreyevich Shcherbaty, who lived in the 15th century. Among other well-known men, to this family belonged also the renowned historian, Prince Mihail Mihaylovich Shcherbatov (1733-90), whose work entitled ''Russian History from the Earliest Times'' (7 Vols. in 15 books) is a vast compendium of heretofore unknown archive material, up to the year 1610.<br>
The Princes Shcherbatov are related to the Princes of Chernigov, and are descended from the great-grandson of Prince Constantine Yuryevich Obolensky, named Vassiliy Andreyevich Shcherbaty, who lived in the 15th century. Among other well-known men, to this family belonged also the renowned historian, Prince Mihail Mihaylovich Shcherbatov (1733-90), whose work entitled ''Russian History from the Earliest Times'' (7 Vols. in 15 books) is a vast compendium of heretofore unknown archive material, up to the year 1610.<br>


The Princes Urussov are of Tatar origin and descend from the well-known Yediguey Mangit, a favorite army leader of Tamerlane. who played a considerable role in the Golden Horde and was later a ruling prince of Nogaisk. In the middle of the 14th and the beginning of the 15th centuries, one of his descendants was Uruss-han, the founder of the Urussov Family. The Princes Yussupov stem also from the main trunk of the Urussov line.<br>
The Princes Urussov are of Tatar origin and descend from the well-known Yediguey Mangit, a favorite army leader of Tamerlane, who played a considerable role in the Golden Horde and was later a ruling prince of Nogaisk. In the middle of the 14th and the beginning of the 15th centuries, one of his descendants was Uruss-han, the founder of the Urussov Family. The Princes Yussupov stem also from the main trunk of the Urussov line.<br>


The Princes Vyazemsky descend from Prince Rostislav Mihail Mstislavovich Smolensky (d. 1166), grandson of Vladimir Monomah. The great grandson of the latter, Prince Andrey Vladimirovich (killed in 1224 on the river Kalka), surnamed “Dolgaya Ruka,” which means “long hand” (not to be confounded with the Dolgorukov Family), ruled at Vyazma, and was the originator of this princely family.—''Compiler''.]}}</ref> Moscow has been the centre of the greater {{Page aside|352}}part of this princely class since the days of Catherine the Great; and though, in most cases, ruined in fortune, they are yet as proud and exclusive as the blue-blooded French families of the Quartier St. Germain. The names of some of the highest of these are virtually unknown outside of the limits of the Empire. For dissatisfied with the reforms of Peter and Catherine, and unable to make as fine a figure at the court as those whom they delighted to call ''parvenus'', it has been their proud boast that they have never served in any subordinate capacity, and have not been brought in contact with Western Europe and its politics. Living only upon their remembrances, they have made a class apart  
The Princes Vyazemsky descend from Prince Rostislav Mihail Mstislavovich Smolensky (d. 1166), grandson of Vladimir Monomah. The great grandson of the latter, Prince Andrey Vladimirovich (killed in 1224 on the river Kalka), surnamed “Dolgaya Ruka,” which means “long hand” (not to be confounded with the Dolgorukov Family), ruled at Vyazma, and was the originator of this princely family.—''Compiler''.]}}</ref> Moscow has been the centre of the greater {{Page aside|352}}part of this princely class since the days of Catherine the Great; and though, in most cases, ruined in fortune, they are yet as proud and exclusive as the blue-blooded French families of the Quartier St. Germain. The names of some of the highest of these are virtually unknown outside of the limits of the Empire. For dissatisfied with the reforms of Peter and Catherine, and unable to make as fine a figure at the court as those whom they delighted to call ''parvenus'', it has been their proud boast that they have never served in any subordinate capacity, and have not been brought in contact with Western Europe and its politics. Living only upon their remembrances, they have made a class apart  


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{{Page aside|352.1}}
[[File:Hpb_cw_02_352_1.jpg|center|x200px]]
[[File:Hpb_cw_02_352_1.jpg|center|x200px]]
<center>TRAPEZIUM GATE IN A WALL ON
<center>TRAPEZIUM GATE IN A WALL ON OLLANTAYTAMBO HILL, PERU</center>
OLLANTAYTAMBO HILL, PERU</center>
<center>(From Heinrich Ubbelohde-Doering, ''The Art of Ancient Peru'', 1952. </center>
<center>(From Heinrich Ubbelohde-Doering, ''The Art of Ancient Peru'',
<center>Courtesy Ernst Wasmuth, Publisher, Tübingen, Germany.)</center>
1952. Courtesy Ernst Wasmuth, Publisher, Tübingen, Germany.)</center>
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{{Page aside|352.2}}
[[File:Hpb_cw_02_352_2.jpg|center|x200px]]
[[File:Hpb_cw_02_352_2.jpg|center|x200px]]
<center>MACHU PICCHU, PERU—HOUSE OF THE THREE WINDOWS</center>
<center>MACHU PICCHU, PERU—HOUSE OF THE THREE WINDOWS</center>
<center>(From Heinrich Ubbelohde-Doering, ''The Art of Ancient Peru'', 1952. Courtesy Ernst Wasmuth, Publisher, Tübingen, Germany.)</center>
<center>(From Heinrich Ubbelohde-Doering, ''The Art of Ancient Peru'', 1952. </center>
<center>Courtesy Ernst Wasmuth, Publisher, Tübingen, Germany.)</center>
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And this, despite the marriage of Mary, Princess Dolgoruky,<ref>{{HPB-CW-comment|[The first Emperor of the House of Romanov was Michael Fyodorovich (1596-1645). He married in 1624 Princess Maria Vladimirovna Dolgorukova, the daughter of Prince Vladimir Timofeyevich Dolgorukov (d. 1633), who was a “boyar” and a judge. She died four months after the wedding, and may have been poisoned. There was no issue from this marriage.—''Compiler''.]}}</ref> with Michael Romanoff after he became Czar.  
And this, despite the marriage of Mary, Princess Dolgoruky,<ref>{{HPB-CW-comment|[The first Emperor of the House of Romanov was Michael Fyodorovich (1596-1645). He married in 1624 Princess Maria Vladimirovna Dolgorukova, the daughter of Prince Vladimir Timofeyevich Dolgorukov (d. 1633), who was a “boyar” and a judge. She died four months after the wedding, and may have been poisoned. There was no issue from this marriage.—''Compiler''.]}}</ref> with Michael Romanoff after he became Czar.  


{{Page aside|354}}The Tatar princely families descend from the Tatar Khans and Magnates of the “Zolotaya Orda” ( Golden Horde) and Kazan, who so long held Russia in subjection, but who were made tributary by Ivan III, father of Ivan the Terrible, in 1523-1530. Of the families of this blood which survive, the Princes Dondukov, whose head was formerly Governor-General of Kiev, and more recently served in Bulgaria in a similar capacity, may be mentioned.<ref>{{HPB-CW-comment|[The Princes Dondukov-Korsakov originated from the Kalmik Han Ho-Urlyuk of the 16th century. His great grandson, Han Ayuk-Taydzhi (1646-1724) brought his Torgutsk Kalmik tribes under Peter the Great, and was a favorite of the latter. The grandson of Ayuk was Han Donduk-Ombo (d. 1741). His widow, Dzhan, from Kabardinia, went to St. Petersburg and was baptized with the name of Vera Don. dukova. Her son, Yona Dondukovich, was granted an estate in the Province of Mogilev. His daughter, Vera, married Col. Nikita Ivanovich Korsakov. The latter became Prince Dondukov-Korsakov, by order of Emperor Alexander I (July 15, 1802). Their only daughter, Princess Mary Nikitishna, married Col. Michael Alexandrovich Korsakov, who, by ukaz of Alexander I (Sept. 10, 1820), took the title and name of Prince Dondukov-Korsakov. He was Vice-President of the Academy of Sciences. One of his sons, Prince Alexander Mihaylovich (1820-93) was a close friend of H. P. B. and her family, He was first aide-de-camp to Prince Michael Semyenovich Vorontzov (17821856), viceroy of the Caucasus. In 1869, he became Governor-General of the Provinces of Kiev, Podol’ and Volin’; in 1878, Imperial Russian Commissar in Bulgaria; in 1882-90, he was Director of Civil Authorities in the Caucasus, and in command of the military armed forces of the Caucasian military district. His highest rank was General-of-Cavalry. He was a distinguished administrator and a man of great courage and technical knowledge in his chosen field.<br>
{{Page aside|354}}The Tatar princely families descend from the Tatar Khans and Magnates of the “Zolotaya Orda” ( Golden Horde) and Kazan, who so long held Russia in subjection, but who were made tributary by Ivan III, father of Ivan the Terrible, in 1523-1530. Of the families of this blood which survive, the Princes Dondukov, whose head was formerly Governor-General of Kiev, and more recently served in Bulgaria in a similar capacity, may be mentioned.<ref>{{HPB-CW-comment|[The Princes Dondukov-Korsakov originated from the Kalmik Han Ho-Urlyuk of the 16th century. His great grandson, Han Ayuk-Taydzhi (1646-1724) brought his Torgutsk Kalmik tribes under Peter the Great, and was a favorite of the latter. The grandson of Ayuk was Han Donduk-Ombo (d. 1741). His widow, Dzhan, from Kabardinia, went to St. Petersburg and was baptized with the name of Vera Dondukova. Her son, Yona Dondukovich, was granted an estate in the Province of Mogilev. His daughter, Vera, married Col. Nikita Ivanovich Korsakov. The latter became Prince Dondukov-Korsakov, by order of Emperor Alexander I (July 15, 1802). Their only daughter, Princess Mary Nikitishna, married Col. Michael Alexandrovich Korsakov, who, by ukaz of Alexander I (Sept. 10, 1820), took the title and name of Prince Dondukov-Korsakov. He was Vice-President of the Academy of Sciences. One of his sons, Prince Alexander Mihaylovich (1820-93) was a close friend of H. P. B. and her family, He was first aide-de-camp to Prince Michael Semyenovich Vorontzov (1782-1856), viceroy of the Caucasus. In 1869, he became Governor-General of the Provinces of Kiev, Podol’ and Volin’; in 1878, Imperial Russian Commissar in Bulgaria; in 1882-90, he was Director of Civil Authorities in the Caucasus, and in command of the military armed forces of the Caucasian military district. His highest rank was General-of-Cavalry. He was a distinguished administrator and a man of great courage and technical knowledge in his chosen field.<br>


Quite a number of letters written to him by H. P. B. from India may be found in the volume entitled ''H. P. B. Speaks''. Vol. II (Adyar Madras: Theos. Publ. House, 1851).—''Compiler''.]}}</ref> These are, more or less, looked down upon by the “Rurikovich,” as well as by old Lithuanian and Polish princely families, who hate the Russian descendants of Rurik, as these hate their Roman Catholic rivals. Then comes in the third element, the old Livonian and Esthonian Barons and Counts, the Courland nobles and ''freiherrs'', who boast of descending from the first crusaders and look down upon the Slav aristocracy; and various foreign families invited into the country by successive sovereigns, a western element {{Page aside|355}}engrafted upon the Russian stock. The names of the latter ''immigrés'' have been Russianized in some cases beyond recognition; as, for instance, the English Hamiltons, who have now become the “Homutoff ”!<ref>{{HPB-CW-comment|[There were at least three noble families of the name of Homutov. One of them, according to tradition, stems from a Thomas Hamilton of Scotland who emigrated to Russia in 1542, with his son Peter.—''Compiler''.]}}</ref>
Quite a number of letters written to him by H. P. B. from India may be found in the volume entitled ''H. P. B. Speaks''. Vol. II (Adyar, Madras: Theos. Publ. House, 1851).—''Compiler''.]}}</ref> These are, more or less, looked down upon by the “Rurikovich,” as well as by old Lithuanian and Polish princely families, who hate the Russian descendants of Rurik, as these hate their Roman Catholic rivals. Then comes in the third element, the old Livonian and Esthonian Barons and Counts, the Courland nobles and ''freiherrs'', who boast of descending from the first crusaders and look down upon the Slav aristocracy; and various foreign families invited into the country by successive sovereigns, a western element {{Page aside|355}}engrafted upon the Russian stock. The names of the latter ''immigrés'' have been Russianized in some cases beyond recognition; as, for instance, the English Hamiltons, who have now become the “Homutoff ”!<ref>{{HPB-CW-comment|[There were at least three noble families of the name of Homutov. One of them, according to tradition, stems from a Thomas Hamilton of Scotland who emigrated to Russia in 1542, with his son Peter.—''Compiler''.]}}</ref>


We have not the data which would enable us to give the numerical strength of either of the above classes; but an enumeration, made in the year 1842, showed a total of 551,970 noblemen of hereditary, and 257,346 of personal rank. This comprised all in the empire of different degrees of noble ranks, including the princely families and the under-stratum of nobility. There is an untitled nobility, the descendants of the old Boyars of Russia, often prouder of their family record than those who are known as princes. The Demidoff family, for instance, and the Narishkine, though frequently offered the rank of prince and count, have always haughtily rejected the honour, maintaining that the Czar could make a prince any day, but never a Demidoff or a Narishkin.<ref>{{HPB-CW-comment|[The Demidovs originated from David Antufyev who was a master-smith at the armament factory at Tula. His son, Nikita Demidovich Demidov (1656-1725) was the founder of the great wealth of this family.<br>
We have not the data which would enable us to give the numerical strength of either of the above classes; but an enumeration, made in the year 1842, showed a total of 551,970 noblemen of hereditary, and 257,346 of personal rank. This comprised all in the empire of different degrees of noble ranks, including the princely families and the under-stratum of nobility. There is an untitled nobility, the descendants of the old Boyars of Russia, often prouder of their family record than those who are known as princes. The Demidoff family, for instance, and the Narishkine, though frequently offered the rank of prince and count, have always haughtily rejected the honour, maintaining that the Czar could make a prince any day, but never a Demidoff or a Narishkin.<ref>{{HPB-CW-comment|[The Demidovs originated from David Antufyev who was a master-smith at the armament factory at Tula. His son, Nikita Demidovich Demidov (1656-1725) was the founder of the great wealth of this family.<br>


The Narishkins descend, according to tradition. from a Crimean Tartar named Narishka, who arrived at Moscow in 1463. Emperor Alexey Mihaylovich Romanov chose for his second wife Natalya Kirillovna Narishkin (1651-94), daughter of Kiril Poluektovich Narishkin; the marriage took place in 1671, and from it was born Peter the Great. This family produced a number of renowned statesmen through the centuries.—''Compiler''.]}}</ref>
The Narishkins descend, according to tradition, from a Crimean Tartar named Narishka, who arrived at Moscow in 1463. Emperor Alexey Mihaylovich Romanov chose for his second wife Natalya Kirillovna Narishkin (1651-94), daughter of Kiril Poluektovich Narishkin; the marriage took place in 1671, and from it was born Peter the Great. This family produced a number of renowned statesmen through the centuries.—''Compiler''.]}}</ref>


Peter the Great, having abolished the princely privileges of the Boyars, and made the offices of the empire accessible to all, created the ''chin'', or a caste of municipal ''employés'' and government officials, divided into fourteen classes, the first eight of which confer hereditary nobility upon the person holding one of them, and the six latter give but a personal nobility to the incumbent, and do not transmit gentility to the children. Office does not increase the nobility {{Page aside|356}}of incumbents already noble, but does lift the ignoble into a higher social rank (''chinovnik'', government ''employé'', was for years a term of scorn in the mouth of the nobles). It is only since Alexander came to the throne that an old edict was done away with, which deprived of noble rank and reduced to the peasantry any family which, for three successive generations, had not taken service under the Government. Those were called ''Odnodvortzi'', and among them some of the oldest families found themselves included in 1845, when the Emperor Nicholas ordered the examination of the titles of nobles. The nice distinctions among the above fourteen classes are as puzzling to a foreigner as the relative precedence of the various buttons of Chinese mandarins, or the tails of the Pashas.
Peter the Great, having abolished the princely privileges of the Boyars, and made the offices of the empire accessible to all, created the ''chin'', or a caste of municipal ''employés'' and government officials, divided into fourteen classes, the first eight of which confer hereditary nobility upon the person holding one of them, and the six latter give but a personal nobility to the incumbent, and do not transmit gentility to the children. Office does not increase the nobility {{Page aside|356}}of incumbents already noble, but does lift the ignoble into a higher social rank (''chinovnik'', government ''employé'', was for years a term of scorn in the mouth of the nobles). It is only since Alexander came to the throne that an old edict was done away with, which deprived of noble rank and reduced to the peasantry any family which, for three successive generations, had not taken service under the Government. Those were called ''Odnodvortzi'', and among them some of the oldest families found themselves included in 1845, when the Emperor Nicholas ordered the examination of the titles of nobles. The nice distinctions among the above fourteen classes are as puzzling to a foreigner as the relative precedence of the various buttons of Chinese mandarins, or the tails of the Pashas.
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