Zubov

Who is Zubov?

Zubov was a Russian noble family which rose to the highest offices of state in the 1790s, when Platon Zubov succeeded Count Orlov and Prince Potemkin as the favourite of Catherine II of Russia.

The Zubovs were an ancient family of good standing, first noticed in the service of Muscovite dukes in the 15th century. Nikolay Vasilievich Zubov served in the Collegium of Economics, and his son Alexander Zubov was reputed to have enriched himself serving as Vice-Governor of Vladimir. He had three daughters and four sons, of whom three—Nicholas, Platon, and Valerian—were made counts by Emperor Francis II:

⁕Platon Zubov was introduced by his distant relative, Nicholas Saltykov, to the ageing Empress and soon became her lover and the most powerful man in Russia. He was the fourth Russian to bear the title of Prince of the Holy Roman Empire.

⁕Valerian Zubov, while serving under Suvorov in Poland, married a Princess Lubomirska and lost his leg in a toy battle. At the time of Catherine's death, he was leading the Russian army in Persia to avenge the Krtsanisi massacre.

⁕Nicholas Zubov was made general when his family was still in power. Known as a strongman, he served in Suvorov's army, supported the Field Marshal in his intrigues against Prince Potemkin and married his only daughter. It was he who dealt a violent blow to Tsar Paul's left temple with a solid gold snuffbox on the night of his assassination.