celebrity.estateAn EGRET.LAW propertyWorld map3D timeline
Home / Stories / Russia and Byzantium
Subject

Russia and Byzantium

Byzantine and Russian thrones, princes blinded for a crown, the Romanov treasures and the estates of Russia's rich.

31 storiesEvery story with sourcesFilter all stories

What do the russia and byzantium estate cases show?

An estate that sells a collection whole, before auction, trades a higher possible price for certainty and a single buyer. An heirloom parted from its records loses most of its value; the 1887 egg sold for $2,450 because the catalogue did not say what it was.

Stories
31
Years
711 to 2013
Main regions
Europe, Middle East, North America
Legal traditions
Royal and church law, Common law
Updated
30 October 2026

Every case in russia and byzantium, best-known first

Best-known first: cases from 1900 on, then the United States, then Europe, and the people most read about on English Wikipedia each month. Fiction, scripture and legend come last.

Malcolm Forbes: Malcolmforbessr1990 · New York, USA; Saint Petersburg, RussiaMalcolm Forbes spent 25 years buying the tsars' Fabergé eggs, his family sold all nine to a Russian billionaire before the auction, and the US sanctioned the buyer in 2018Alexander III ordered the first imperial Easter egg from Fabergé in 1885 as a gift for his wife. After the October 1917 coup the firm was nationalised and broken up.home.treasury.gov and 5 moreVon Dervis Mansion Exhibition 1902 - Third Imperial Egg magnified: The Third Imperial Fabergé Easter Egg displayed among Marie Feodorovna's Fabergé treasures in the Von Dervis Mans1917 · Moscow, Russia; New York, USA; London, UKThe Bolsheviks sold the tsars' Fabergé eggs abroad, and one sold in New York in 1964 as a gold watch turned up with a man who had bought it for scrapAt Easter 1887 Alexander III gave his wife, Maria Feodorovna, a gold egg made in Fabergé's workshop by August Holmström. Inside was a lady's watch by Vacheron Constantin. In the revolution the Bolsheviks confiscated it.vam.ac.uk and 3 moreBadri Patarkatsishvili: Badri Patarkatsishvili IMEDI2008 · Downside Manor, Leatherhead, Surrey, UK; Tbilisi, GeorgiaBadri Patarkatsishvili died in Surrey worth over $1 billion, a relative produced a copy of a will naming himself executor, and the widow called it a forgery in courts in five jurisdictionsBadri Patarkatsishvili founded Imedi TV in 2003. Riot police raided it in November 2007, and control passed to allies of President Mikheil Saakashvili. Living in exile, he came third in the January 2008 presidential election.kommersant.ru and 11 moreMap of United Kingdom, marked on the globe2013 · Ascot, Berkshire, UKBoris Berezovsky lost his case against Abramovich, died seven months later, and a judge called his estate hopelessly insolventBoris Berezovsky lived in exile in Britain from 2000. He sued Roman Abramovich for more than $5 billion over Sibneft and Rusal shares.The National Archives, Find Case Law and 6 moreGrave of Vlad III the Impaler: Interior view of the Snagov monastery, where Vlad III the Impaler is supposed to be graved. The monastery is located in an island of the Lake Snagov,1476 · Snagov and Comana, RomaniaVlad III Dracula's head was sent to the sultan, and the grave at Snagov opened in 1933 held no bodyVlad III, called Țepeș, the Impaler, spent part of his childhood as a hostage at the Ottoman court with the future Mehmed II.research.library.kutztown.edu and 5 moreВременный деревянный мавзолей: Временный деревянный Мавзолей Ленина, 19241924 · Red Square, Moscow, RussiaLenin's widow opposed embalming him and gave the party his letter asking it to remove Stalin; the party put the body on display and kept the letter from the congress floorBetween 23 December 1922 and 4 January 1923 Vladimir Lenin, disabled by strokes, dictated letters to the next party congress that became known as his testament.marxists.org and 5 moreMaria Pavlovna of Russia in tiara: Maria Pavlovna of Russia1920 · Petrograd (Saint Petersburg), Russia; Moscow, Russia; LondonThe Soviet state sold the Romanov jewels by the kilogram in 1926, while a British antiquarian helped a grand duchess get her jewels out and her daughter sold the tiara to Queen MaryIn 1874 Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich, brother of the future Alexander III, gave his bride a tiara made by the court jeweller Carl Edvard Bolin. It became known as the Vladimir Tiara.Internet Archive and 2 moreIpatjew-Haus2: Das Ipatjew-Haus in Swerdlowsk, in dem die Zarenfamilie erschossen wurde. Abgescannt von einer sowjetischen Postkarte von 1928.1918 · Yekaterinburg, Russia; Peter and Paul Cathedral, Saint PeterRussia buried the last tsar's family 80 years after the shooting, the Church has not accepted the bones, and two of the children's remains have been in archive boxes since 2007On the night of 16 to 17 July 1918 Bolshevik agents shot Nicholas II, his wife, their five children and four servants in the Ipatiev House in Yekaterinburg. The bodies were reburied at a second site.meduza.io and 3 moreIvan VI of Russia: Ivan VI Antonovich (Oranienbaum)1774 · Kholmogory, Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia; Horsens, DenmarkIvan VI's brothers and sisters were born in prison, held at Kholmogory for 36 years, and sent to Denmark in 1780 on a Russian pensionWhen Elizabeth seized the throne in December 1741, she arrested the infant emperor Ivan VI with his parents, the regent Anna Leopoldovna and Duke Anton Ulrich of Brunswick, and their baby daughter Ekaterina.ru.wikisource.org and 4 moreIvan III of Russia: Ivan III of Russia 31509 · Moscow, RussiaIvan III crowned his grandson Dmitry as heir in 1498, then made his son Vasily heir and kept the grandson under guard until he died in 1509Ivan III's eldest son, Ivan the Young, married Elena, daughter of Stephen the Great of Moldavia, on 12 January 1483. Their son Dmitry was born that October.azbyka.ru and 2 moreAlexander III of Russia: Tsar Alexander III c. 18851825 · Taganrog, Russia; crisis in Saint Petersburg, RussiaAlexander I sealed his brother's renunciation of the throne in envelopes, Russia swore allegiance to the wrong heir, and the guards revoltedUnder Paul I's succession law, the heir after Alexander I was his next brother, Grand Duke Constantine, who commanded the army in Poland.ru.wikisource.org and 4 morePorträt der Praskovia Kovalyova-Zhemchugovalabel QS:Len,"Porträt der Praskovia Kovalyova-Zhemchugova": Portrait of Praskovia Kovalyova-Zhemchugova (1768-1803), Russian opera singer1803 · Saint Petersburg and Moscow, RussiaRussia's richest count married his serf actress in secret, she died weeks after their son's birth, and the boy inherited about 150,000 serfsPraskovia Kovaleva was born in 1768, the daughter of a serf blacksmith on the Sheremetev lands in Yaroslavl province. At seven she was taken to the family estate at Kuskovo and trained for its serf theatre.ru.wikisource.org and 5 moreArrest of the Queen of Georgia (Geoffroy, 1845)-1: Arrest of Maria, Queen of Georgia, in 1801 (Geoffroy, 1845)1800 · Tbilisi, GeorgiaGeorgia's last king asked Russia for protection, Russia abolished his dynasty, and his heirs were suing each other over the royal name in 2019In September 1799 King George XII of Kartli-Kakheti asked Emperor Paul I to take his kingdom under Russian protection. He hoped to keep his royal rank and reign as his ancestors had. George died in 1800.acgs.ug.edu.ge and 5 moreCatherine the Great: Portrait of Catherine II of Russia (1729-1796)1796 · Saint Petersburg, RussiaCatherine the Great tried to pass over her son Paul for the throne, and Paul made a law that no ruler could choose an heir againOn 5 February 1722 Peter the Great made it law that the ruler could name any successor. Anna confirmed it in 1731 and Peter III in 1761.ru.wikisource.org and 2 moreTvorozhnikov: Vasily Mirovich Standing over the Body of Ivan VI at Schlusselburg Fortress1764 · Shlisselburg Fortress (Oreshek), Leningrad Oblast, RussiaRussia's infant emperor Ivan VI was deposed at 15 months, held prisoner for 23 years, and killed by his guards under standing orders in 1764Empress Anna of Russia named her great-nephew Ivan Antonovich her heir by manifesto in October 1740, when he was about eight weeks old. She died days later and the baby was proclaimed emperor, with Duke Biron as regent.Wikisource (primary text) and 3 moreTsarevich Dmitry Ivanovich of Russia (1552–1553): Facial Chronicle - b.21, p. 5051591 · Uglich, Yaroslavl Oblast, RussiaTsarevich Dmitry died at Uglich in 1591, a man using his name took the throne in 1605, and Moscow hanged his widow's small son in 1614Dmitry, son of Ivan IV and Maria Nagaya, was born on 19 October 1582. After Ivan's death he and his mother were sent to Uglich on 24 May 1584. He died there on 15 May 1591, aged 8.Wikisource (primary text) and 5 moreIvan the Terrible: Ivan grozny frame1581 · Aleksandrova Sloboda (Aleksandrov), Vladimir Oblast, RussiaIvan the Terrible struck his heir on the head in November 1581, and his dynasty ended with his surviving son in 1598Tsarevich Ivan Ivanovich was born on 28 March 1554, the son of Ivan IV and his first wife, Anastasia Romanovna. Ivan IV's testament of about 1572 named him heir.ru.wikisource.org and 3 moreSt Catherine Disputation - Andreas and Cem: St Catherine's Disputation / 2nd Room: Hall of the Saints (Sala dei Santi) The Borgia Apartments (Appartamento Borgia)Detail of probable1502 · Rome, ItalyThe last Byzantine emperor's nephew signed his imperial rights over to the King of France in 1494 for 4,400 ducats a yearAndreas Palaiologos was born in 1453, the year his uncle Constantine XI, the last Byzantine emperor, died when the Ottomans took Constantinople.hfrir.jvolsu.com and 4 moreBoris Gleb astride: Saints Boris and Gleb astride.1015 · Vyshhorod, Kyiv Oblast, UkraineThe Primary Chronicle says Sviatopolk had his brothers Borys and Hlib killed in 1015, and Yaroslav buried them as saints after taking KyivVolodymyr the Great had 11 sons by five wives and set them over the lands of Rus' to govern and collect tribute. Late in his reign his sons Sviatopolk of Turiv and Yaroslav of Novgorod defied him.encyclopediaofukraine.com and 6 moreBasil II: Basilios II1025 · Constantinople (Istanbul), TurkeyBasil II left 200,000 pounds of gold and no son; his successors spent it, and the gold coin was debased to almost nothing by the 1080sBasil II ruled Byzantium for about fifty years. The Byzantine historian Michael Psellus says the treasury reached "200,000 talents" and that Basil had spiral galleries dug underground to hold it.sourcebooks.fordham.edu and 4 moreIrene of Athens: Irene solidus sb 1599 (obverse)797 · Constantinople (Istanbul), TurkeyEmpress Irene had her son Constantine VI blinded in the room where he was born and ruled Byzantium alone from 797Irene was born in Athens and married the future emperor Leo IV in 769. Their son Constantine was born on 14 January 771 in the Porphyra, the purple room of the palace in Constantinople.pbe.kcl.ac.uk and 4 moreChistyakovP SofVitovNaSvGRM: At the wedding of Vasilii the Dark Sofia Vitovtovna pulls the belt from Prince Vasilii Kosoi. Original title: see [1]1425 · Moscow, RussiaMoscow's grand prince was blinded by his cousin in 1446, after his mother tore a disputed gold belt from another cousin at his weddingDmitry Donskoy's will of 1389 left Vladimir and its land to his elder son Vasily I, and said that if Vasily died, Moscow and Vladimir would pass to the eldest of the other brothers.ru.wikisource.org and 3 moreGisant de Léon V d'Arménie: Gisant de Léon V d'Arménie1393 · Paris, FranceThe last king of Armenia was ransomed from Cairo, made lord of Madrid for life, and his title passed to the kings of CyprusLevon (Leo) of Lusignan was crowned king of Cilician Armenia at Sis on 14 September 1374, first by a Latin bishop and then by the Catholicos. Some Armenian nobles preferred Mamluk rule to a Catholic king.publications.gov.cy and 5 moreCharter of Dečani by Stefan Uroš III: Почетак Дечанске повеље (потписи Стефана Дечанског и Цара Душана) (arhiva SANU)1331 · Zvečan fortress, KosovoSerbia's King Milutin ordered his son blinded, and that son was later deposed by his own son and died in prison at Zvečan in 1331Stefan Uroš III rebelled against his father, King Milutin, in 1314. He was defeated, blinded and exiled.tib.oeaw.ac.at and 3 moreKing George III and his daughter, Queen Tamar: King George III and his daughter, Queen Tamar1213 · Gelati Monastery, near Kutaisi, GeorgiaGeorgia's King George III had no son and crowned his daughter Tamar co-ruler, and the place of her grave is still disputedKing George III of Georgia had no sons and named his daughter Tamar his successor. He crowned her co-ruler in front of the senior nobles and clergy.georgianencyclopedia.ge and 3 moreОслепление: Blinding of Vasilko1097 · Liubech, Chernihiv Oblast, UkraineThe princes of Rus' agreed at Liubech in 1097 that each would keep his father's lands, and two of them then blinded a thirdVolodymyr Monomakh called the princes of Rus' to Liubech in 1097 to end their feuds and unite them against the Cumans.ru.wikisource.org and 6 moreYaropolk murder: Murder of Yaropolk972 · Kyiv and Ovruch, Ukraine; Novgorod, RussiaSviatoslav split Rus' among three sons, and within eight years one had died in battle with his brother and another was killed on the third brother's ordersYaropolk, son of Sviatoslav I, ruled Kyiv from 970. His brother Oleh held the Derevlian land and his half-brother Volodymyr held Novgorod. Sviatoslav died in 972, and Yaropolk became ruler of all Rus'.encyclopediaofukraine.com and 3 moreJustinian II: Justinian ii (2, cropped and askew)711 · Constantinople (Istanbul), TurkeyJustinian II lost his throne and his nose in 695, took Constantinople back in 705, and was killed with his son in 711Justinian II became emperor in 685 at 16, after his father Constantine IV died. In 695 the general Leontios overthrew him, slit his nose and tongue, and exiled him to Cherson in Crimea.Wikisource (primary text) and 3 moreZoe Porphyrogenita: Zoe mosaic Hagia Sophia1041 · Constantinople (Istanbul), TurkeyEmpress Zoe adopted Michael V as her heir, he exiled her, and the people of Constantinople had him blinded in 1042Zoe was a daughter of Emperor Constantine VIII of the Macedonian dynasty. Her first husband, Romanos III, drowned in his bath in 1034 after she had plotted with her lover Michael, who then married her and became Michael IV.sourcebooks.fordham.edu and 2 moreThe Votive Portrait of Prince Constantin Brâncoveanu with Cyrillic inscription at Horezu Monastery (1709): Tabloul votiv din catoliconul Mănăstirii Hurezi: Constantin Brâncoveanu, 1714 · Istanbul (Constantinople), TurkeyThe Ottomans beheaded Prince Constantin Brâncoveanu and his four sons in Istanbul in 1714 after four months of torture over his fortuneConstantin Brâncoveanu ruled Wallachia, an Ottoman vassal state, from 1688 to 1714. Venetian reports put his fortune at over 2 million guruș.adevarul.ro and 4 morePatriarch Nicholas Mystikos baptizes Constantine VII Porphyrogennetos: Patriarch Nicholas Mystikos baptizes Constantine VII Porphyrogennetos in 906.912 · Constantinople (Istanbul), TurkeyLeo VI married his mistress as his fourth wife to make their son legitimate, and the patriarch who refused was forced outLeo VI's first three wives died without giving him a son. Theophano died in 895. Zoe Zaoutzaina died a year after their marriage in 898. Eudokia Baiana died in childbirth in 901.johnsanidopoulos.com and 4 more