Sergey Urusov

Prince Sergey Dmitriyevich Urusov (; – 5 September 1937) was a Russian politician who was thrice-elected Marshal of the Kaluga Nobility. He was appointed Governor of Bessarabia in May 1903.

Biography Early life

Born into a long line of aristocratic politicians and diplomats, he was the son of Dmitry Urusov (1829–1903), a retired colonel and chairman of the Yaroslavl provincial district council who was a famous chess player, and Barbara Silovna Batashova (died 1905), the daughter of a rich breeder. Dmitry Semenovich was also a friend of Tolstoy’s.

Impressed by the city centre's architecture, its large stone building, paved boulevard, and streets lined with white acacias and poplars, he noted that it would “have made no unfavourable impression” even in the Empire's capital, St. Petersburg. As a local celebrity, he was not permitted to travel except in a carriage with the Chief of Police and a mounted guard as escorts. The provincial society was alien to him and he was taken aback by the “godlike esteem” in which he was held, as well as by the local aristocratic etiquette, which did not even allow him to walk or go shopping.

Governor of Tver He served as Governor of Tver from November 1904 to May 15, 1905.

On November 6, Urusov became a comrade (deputy) of the Minister of Internal Affairs in the Witte government.

February revolution He returned to public life only after the February Revolution in 1917. In March he was offered the position of Comrade (deputy) Interior Minister in the first Provisional Government. “Full of hope for the future,” he accepted this post, but “soon realized that the Provisional Government had no chance” and resigned two months later, returning to his estate. When the October Revolution occurred, he pronounced it "the greatest experiment in the world.”

In 1920, Urusov was imprisoned for being a member of the counter-revolutionary "Tactical Center," but he was released as part of an amnesty on May 19 of that year after signing an agreement not to participate in any political organizations. Still eager to be of use to his country, he worked from November 1, 1921, to March 1, 1925, as a business manager (serving from October 1, 1924, as the head of the General Department) for the Special Commission at the Presidium of the Supreme Economic Council for the Study of Kursk Magnetic Anomaly. Beginning in 1921 he also worked in the Commissariat of Agriculture. Working at the Commissariat of Health from April 1, 1921, to January 25, 1924, he was first secretary, then manager, of the X-ray Electromedical and Photobiological section. During the same period, he was a member of the Moscow City Council’s commission to improve the life of scientists (KUBU). From July 1, 1921 to May 1, 1923, he was a research assistant at the Moscow branch of the commission on the study of the natural productive forces of Russia at the Academy of Sciences, and on June 25, 1925, he was hired as a senior inspector in the inspection department at the board of the State Bank of the RSFSR.

Personal life He had a son, Dmitry (1887 - 1937), an agronomist, and two daughters, Vera (1889−1922) and Sophia (1895-1973). Vera’s daughter Elena Alekseevna Fadeeva was a famous actress of the Moscow stage; her other daughter, Ekaterina Alekseevna Fadeeva, was a physician.

Honors and awards Order of Saint Vladimir Order of the Crown (Romania) Order of the Red Banner of Labour