Sir Dimitri Dimitrievich Obolensky (; – 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 A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...

Dimitri Dimitrievich Obolensky was born in the Russian Soviet Republic on 1 April 1918 in

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

, the son of

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

Rurik Rurik (also spelled Rorik, Riurik or Ryurik; ; ; died 879) was a Varangians, Varangian chieftain of the Rus' people, Rus' who, according to tradition, was invited to reign in Veliky Novgorod, Novgorod in the year 862. The ''Primary Chronicle' ...

, Igor, 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 revolution (Trotskyism), political and social revolution, social change in Russian Empire, Russia, starting in 1917. This period saw Russia Dissolution of the Russian Empire, abolish its mona ...

, the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

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 (; 'Neuilly-on-Seine'), also known simply as Neuilly, is an urban Communes of France, commune in the Hauts-de-Seine Departments of France, department just west of Paris in France. Immediately adjacent to the city, north of the ...

, before going up to

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, 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 ...

, where he distinguished himself with a

Blue Blue is one of the three primary colours in the RYB color model, RYB colour model (traditional colour theory), as well as in the RGB color model, RGB (additive) colour model. It lies between Violet (color), violet and cyan on the optical spe ...

for lawn tennis and graduated in 1940. Obolensky became a distinguished

academic An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...

. He was elected a

Fellow A fellow is a title and form of address for distinguished, learned, or skilled individuals in academia, medicine, research, and industry. The exact meaning of the term differs in each field. In learned society, learned or professional society, p ...

of Trinity College (1942–1948, Honorary Fellow 1991–2001) and Lecturer in Slavonic Studies,

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

(1946–1948). 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 The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

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

Student A student is a person enrolled in a school or other educational institution, or more generally, a person who takes a special interest in a subject. In the United Kingdom and most The Commonwealth, commonwealth countries, a "student" attends ...

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church (, the temple or house, ''wikt:aedes, ædes'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by Henry V ...

(1950–1985, 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 on the cultural influence of the Eastern Roman Empire. Other major studies include ''The Bogomils: 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 (post-nominal letters 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 t ...

(1974, Vice-President 1983–85), as well as Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries, 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 Order of chivalry, orders of chivalry; it is a part of the Orders, decorations, and medals ...

(1984). He was a member of the Athenaeum Club. In 1988, he returned to

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

as a delegate to the ''Sobor'' or Council of the Russian Orthodox Church 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) is an American scholarly organization and learned society founded in 1743 in Philadelphia that promotes knowledge in the humanities and natural sciences through research, professional meetings, publicat ...

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, and he is buried at Wolvercote Cemetery. Knights Bachelor Insignia

Selected works

* * * * * *

Notes

External links

Robin Milner-Gulland, 'Professor Sir Dimitri Obolensky, 1918-2002', ''Society for the Promotion of Byzantine Studies''

''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 Historians of the University of Oxford