wore that honor
throughout her
entire life. We cannot
imagine the intestinal fortitude it took
to survive in such a
violent environment.
The Bolsheviks, disease, lack of food and
warmth, were only
part of the equation –
Siberia was the other.
As my grand-mother
ran through the forest towards freedom,
Siberia’s icy hands
and unbending
fingers tried to freeze
any glimmer of hope
from her broken body
- even she wondered if
she could avoid its
death grip. With all certainty I can say it was the
Hand of God that got my Grandmother on that
train-the train with no heat, no bathrooms, just
hundreds of freezing people trying to escape the
Bolsheviks; whose only intention was to kill – to kill
anything and anyone in sight.
When one thinks of nobility we do not conquer
up the image of a woman huddled in a corner of a
cold train with one baby on her breast and the
other trembling by her side. But Countess Katherine
Lebedev was most definitely nobility-Russian
nobility, and it is time to tell her story.
My family history of nobility dates back to 1628
when Andrei Lebedev was promoted to the rank
of court counselor and was granted nobility along
with all of his legal descendants. My Great
Grandfather Jan Labedz, was promoted to fiefdom
then to Nobility status under Czar Nicolas during
the reign of The Romanov Dynasty in the late
1800’s. According to the history books the title
“Boyar” refers to the class of nobility of the court.
The Boyars were an Aristocratic order formed by
Peter the Great in the 12th. Century and were the
chief advisors to the reigning princes.
The title of Count was only granted to Boyars
who were large land-owners, chief members of
the prince’s council and were of exclusive
military rank - My Great Grandfather was all
of the above. Titled nobility was the highest
category; those who held titles such as prince,
count and baron. A baron or a count could be
either proprietary (actual)-IE: who owned
land in the Russian Empire – or titular, IE:
only endowed with the title. The right to
have a family coat of arms was introduced
at the end of the 17th century. The
Russian nobility (Dvoryanstvo) arose in
the 1300’s and essentially governed Russia
until the October revolution of 1917. The
Russian word for nobility derives from the
Russian word “dvor,” meaning Court of a
prince or duke.
This might all sound very impressive,
but let me tell you what nobility means
to me; it is humility, strength, honor and
courage.
My Grandmother didn’t tell my Mother
she was a Countess until the end of her
life. (We Russians are too busy working to
consider “nobility” as a way of life!)
She was honored and humbled to be an
American citizen and had great respect
for her new life. As a young child, the
only hint of nobility my Mother ever
Countess Luba Tcheresky
www.todaystxwoman.co m
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VOLUME 4 – I SSUE 1
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