Sergei Belosselsky-Belozersky


Prince Sergei Konstantinovich Belosselsky-Belozersky was a Russian aristocrat, general and member of the International Olympic Committee.

Early life

Prince Sergei was a member of the Belosselsky-Belozersky family and was in 1916 one of the largest landowners in Russia. He was the son of general Konstantin Esperovich Belosselsky-Belozersky and the former Nadezhna Dmitrovna Skobeleva, the sister of general Mikhail Skobelev.

Career

Sergei graduated from the Imperial Cadet Corps in 1887 and was gazetted as a cornet in the Life Guards. He was attached to the Russian embassies in Berlin and Paris. He left military service in 1894 but returned in 1895. between 1896 and 1905 he served as aide-de-camp to Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich of Russia. From 1908, he commanded the 3rd Novorossiysk dragoon regiment and from 1913, the Uhlans of the Imperial Guard. He owned an estate on Krestovsky Island, where, in 1908, Nicolai, the brother of Felix Yusupov was killed in a duel with a jealous husband.
During World War I, he commanded the 2nd Guards Cavalry Division and the 3rd Don Cavalry Division. From 1915 he served on the Caucasus front under General Nikolai Baratov. On January 1, 1917, the body of Grigory Rasputin was found in the Malaya Neva near Bolshoy Petrovsky Bridge.
In 1917, he joined the white movement and served on the staff of White Finnish leader, Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim during the Russian Civil War. He was subsequently a staff officer in the North Western Army of General Yudenich. After the end of the Civil War Prince Sergei settled in England and died in Tonbridge, where he befriended Denton Welch, in 1951.
Prince Sergei was a keen sportsman. He was one of the founders of the St Petersburg Sports Club and was Russian representative on the International Olympic Committee between 1900 and 1908.

Personal life

In 1894, Prince Sergei married Susan Tucker Whittier, daughter of Charles A. Whittier of Boston. Together, Sergei and Susan were the parents of two children:
Belosselsky-Belozersky died on April 20, 1951 in Tonbridge, Kent, England.