Sir Dimitri Obolensky (19 March/1 April 1918, in

St Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

– 23 December 2001) was a Russian-British historian who was Professor of Russian and Balkan History at the University of Oxford and the author of various historical works.

Biography

Prince Dimitri Dimitrievich Obolensky was born in

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...

on 1 April 1918 in St Petersburg, the son of Prince

Dimitri Alexandrovich Obolensky Prince Dimitri Alexandrovich Obolensky (19 March ( old style) 1882 – 27 April 1964) was a Russian nobleman, landowner and marshal of the nobility who after the October Revolution and the Russian Civil War became a night watchman and a taxi dr ...

(1882–1964) and Countess Maria (Shuvalova) (1894–1973). His family was descended from

Rurik Rurik (also Ryurik; orv, Рюрикъ, Rjurikŭ, from Old Norse '' Hrøríkʀ''; russian: Рюрик; died 879); be, Рурык, Ruryk was a semi-legendary Varangian chieftain of the Rus' who in the year 862 was invited to reign in Novgor ...

Igor Igor may refer to: People * Igor (given name), an East Slavic given name and a list of people with the name * Mighty Igor (1931–2002), former American professional wrestler * Igor Volkoff, a professional wrestler from NWA All-Star Wrestling * ...

, Svyatoslav, St Vladimir of Kiev, St Michael of Chernigov, and Prince Mikhail Semyonovich Vorontsov - however, as one of his students has written, "he was a sober enough scholar to know that Rurik may not actually have existed." After the

Russian Revolution The Russian Revolution was a period of political and social revolution that took place in the former Russian Empire which began during the First World War. This period saw Russia abolish its monarchy and adopt a socialist form of government ...

, the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against Fr ...

helped the Obolensky family to escape from Russia in 1919, together with the Dowager Empress Marie Feodorovna and the Grand Duke Nicholas. He was educated in Britain at Lynchmere Preparatory School, Eastbourne, and in France at the Lycée Pasteur in

Neuilly-sur-Seine Neuilly-sur-Seine (; literally 'Neuilly on Seine'), also known simply as Neuilly, is a commune in the department of Hauts-de-Seine in France, just west of Paris. Immediately adjacent to the city, the area is composed of mostly select residentia ...

, before going up to

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge or Oxford. ...

, where he distinguished himself with a

Blue Blue is one of the three primary colours in the RYB colour model (traditional colour theory), as well as in the RGB (additive) colour model. It lies between violet and cyan on the spectrum of visible light. The eye perceives blue when ...

for

lawn tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball cove ...

and graduated in 1940. Obolensky became a distinguished

academic An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, ...

. He was elected a

Fellow A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher education ...

Trinity College Trinity College may refer to: Australia * Trinity Anglican College, an Anglican coeducational primary and secondary school in , New South Wales * Trinity Catholic College, Auburn, a coeducational school in the inner-western suburbs of Sydney, New ...

(1942–48, Honorary Fellow 1991-2001) and Lecturer in Slavonic Studies,

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

(1946–48). He became a British national in 1948. From 1949 to 1961, Obolensky was Reader in Russian and Balkan Medieval History at the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

(1949–61) and subsequently Professor of Russian and Balkan History (1961–85, Emeritus 1985-2001). He was also a

Student A student is a person enrolled in a school or other educational institution. In the United Kingdom and most commonwealth countries, a "student" attends a secondary school or higher (e.g., college or university); those in primary or elementa ...

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church ( la, Ædes Christi, the temple or house, '' ædēs'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, the college is uniq ...

(1950–85, Emeritus 1985-2001). He later became Vice-President of the Keston Institute, Oxford. Obolensky's most enduring achievement was ''The Byzantine commonwealth'' (1971), a large-scale synthesis of the history of the eastern Roman Empire. Other major studies include ''The

Bogomils Bogomilism ( Bulgarian and Macedonian: ; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", bogumilstvo, богумилство) was a Christian neo-Gnostic or dualist sect founded in the First Bulgarian Empire by the priest Bogomil during the reign of Tsar P ...

: a study in Balkan neo-Manichaeism'' (1946) and ''Six Byzantine Portraits'' (1988). Obolensky was elected a

Fellow of the British Academy Fellowship of the British Academy (FBA) is an award granted by the British Academy to leading academics for their distinction in the humanities and social sciences. The categories are: # Fellows – scholars resident in the United Kingdom # ...

(1974, Vice-President 1983-85), as well as

Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher educatio ...

, and appointed a

Knight Bachelor The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised orders of chivalry; it is a part of the British honours system. Knights Bachelor are ...

(1984). He was a member of the Athenaeum. In 1988 he returned to Russia as a delegate to the 'Sobor' or Council of the

Russian Orthodox Church , native_name_lang = ru , image = Moscow July 2011-7a.jpg , imagewidth = , alt = , caption = Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow, Russia , abbreviation = ROC , type ...

convoked to celebrate the 1,000th anniversary of the conversion of Russia to Christianity. He was elected to the

American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS), founded in 1743 in Philadelphia, is a scholarly organization that promotes knowledge in the sciences and humanities through research, professional meetings, publications, library resources, and communit ...

in 1990. Obolensky married Elisabeth Lopukhin in 1947; they had no children, and the marriage was dissolved in 1989. Sir Dimitri died on 23 December 2001 at Burford in Oxfordshire. His memorial service was held in

Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford Christ Church Cathedral is the cathedral of the Anglican diocese of Oxford, which consists of the counties of Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Berkshire. It is also the chapel of Christ Church, a college of the University of Oxford. This dual r ...

, and he is buried at

Wolvercote Cemetery Wolvercote Cemetery is a cemetery in the parish of Wolvercote and district of Cutteslowe in Oxford, England. Its main entrance is on Banbury Road and it has a side entrance in Five Mile Drive. It has a funeral chapel, public toilets and a small a ...

Main works: * * *

Notes

External links

Anthony Bryer, Obituary, ''The Independent'' (31 December 2001)

, 'Sir Dimitri Obolensky: Distinguished scholar of Byzantium whose infectious enthusiasm drew students to the fields of Russian and Balkan history', ''The Guardian'' (4 January 2002)

External links

* ttp://www.burkespeerage.com/ ''Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Obolensky, Dimitri 1918 births 2001 deaths Burials at Wolvercote Cemetery Dimitri Fellows of Christ Church, Oxford Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Fellows of Trinity College, Cambridge Fellows of the British Academy Historians of Russia British historians of religion Historians of Europe British Byzantinists British medievalists Knights Bachelor White Russian emigrants to the United Kingdom Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries of London Lycée Pasteur (Neuilly-sur-Seine) alumni Foreign Members of the Russian Academy of Sciences 20th-century British historians British expatriates in France Scholars of Byzantine history Members of the American Philosophical Society