The Rzhevsky family (Russian: Рже{{acuteвские) is a Russian noble family descended from

Smolensk Smolensk ( rus, Смоленск, p=smɐˈlʲensk, a=smolensk_ru.ogg) is a city and the administrative center of Smolensk Oblast, Russia, located on the Dnieper River, west-southwest of Moscow. First mentioned in 863, it is one of the oldest ...

Rurikids.

History

The Rzhevskys are descended from Prince Fyodor Fyodorovich of

Rzhev Rzhev ( rus, Ржев, p=ˈrʐɛf) is a town in Tver Oblast, Russia, located southwest of Staritsa and from Tver, on the highway and railway connecting Moscow and Riga. It is the uppermost town situated on the Volga River. Population: His ...

, the son of Fyodor Konstantinovich the Younger, from the reigning family of the Fomin domain (now extinct), an

appanage An appanage, or apanage (; french: apanage ), is the grant of an estate, title, office or other thing of value to a younger child of a sovereign, who would otherwise have no inheritance under the system of primogeniture. It was common in much ...

of the

Smolensk principality The Principality of Smolensk (eventually Grand Principality of Smolensk) was a Kievan Rus' lordship from the 11th to the 16th century. Until 1127, when it passed to Rostislav Mstislavich, the principality was part of the land of Kiev. The princip ...

. In 1315 Prince Fyodor Fyodorovich of Rzhev was sent by Prince Yury Danilovich of Moscow to

Veliky Novgorod Veliky Novgorod ( rus, links=no, Великий Новгород, t=Great Newtown, p=vʲɪˈlʲikʲɪj ˈnovɡərət), also known as just Novgorod (), is the largest city and administrative centre of Novgorod Oblast, Russia. It is one of the ...

to defend it from the Grand Duke of Tver,

Mikhail Yaroslavich Mikhail Yaroslavich (russian: Михаил Ярославич) (1271 – 22 November 1318), also known as Michael of Tver, was a Prince of Tver (from 1285) who ruled as Grand Prince of Vladimir from 1304 until 1314 and again from 1315–1318. ...

. The Novgorodians gave him away to the Duke of Tver, who took over his domain. Since then, his descendants were non-titled. The Rzhevsky family is listed in the Part 6 (ancient nobility) of the genealogical books of

Voronezh Voronezh ( rus, links=no, Воро́неж, p=vɐˈronʲɪʂ}) is a city and the administrative centre of Voronezh Oblast in southwestern Russia straddling the Voronezh River, located from where it flows into the Don River. The city sits on ...

Kostroma Kostroma ( rus, Кострома́, p=kəstrɐˈma) is a historic city and the administrative center of Kostroma Oblast, Russia. A part of the Golden Ring of Russian cities, it is located at the confluence of the rivers Volga and Kostroma. Popul ...

Kursk Kursk ( rus, Курск, p=ˈkursk) is a city and the administrative center of Kursk Oblast, Russia, located at the confluence of the Kur, Tuskar, and Seym rivers. The area around Kursk was the site of a turning point in the Soviet–German str ...

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

Oryol Oryol ( rus, Орёл, p=ɐˈrʲɵl, lit. ''eagle''), also transliterated as Orel or Oriol, is a city and the administrative center of Oryol Oblast situated on the Oka River, approximately south-southwest of Moscow. It is part of the Central Fe ...

Ryazan Ryazan ( rus, Рязань, p=rʲɪˈzanʲ, a=ru-Ryazan.ogg) is the largest city and administrative center of Ryazan Oblast, Russia. The city is located on the banks of the Oka River in Central Russia, southeast of Moscow. As of the 2010 Cens ...

, Saint-Petersburg,

Tambov Tambov (, ; rus, Тамбов, p=tɐmˈbof) is a city and the administrative center of Tambov Oblast, central Russia, at the confluence of the Tsna and Studenets Rivers, about south-southeast of Moscow. Population: 280,161 ( 2010 Census); 293 ...

and

Tver Tver ( rus, Тверь, p=tvʲerʲ) is a city and the administrative centre of Tver Oblast, Russia. It is northwest of Moscow. Population: Tver was formerly the capital of a powerful medieval state and a model provincial town in the Russia ...

.Ржевские // Энциклопедический словарь Брокгауза и Ефрона : в 86 т. (82 т. и 4 доп.). — СПб., 1890—1907.

Notable members

* Rodion Fyodorovich Rzhevsky was a

voivode Voivode (, also spelled ''voievod'', ''voevod'', ''voivoda'', ''vojvoda'' or ''wojewoda'') is a title denoting a military leader or warlord in Central, Southeastern and Eastern Europe since the Early Middle Ages. It primarily referred to the ...

killed in action at the

Battle of Kulikovo The Battle of Kulikovo (russian: Мамаево побоище, Донское побоище, Куликовская битва, битва на Куликовом поле) was fought between the armies of the Golden Horde, under the command ...

. * Matvey Mikhailovich Rzhevsky was a

boyar A boyar or bolyar was a member of the highest rank of the feudal nobility in many Eastern European states, including Kievan Rus', Bulgaria, Russia, Wallachia and Moldavia, and later Romania, Lithuania and among Baltic Germans. Boyars were s ...

who escorted Princess

Helena of Moscow Helena Ivanovna of Moscow (russian: Елена Ивановна; lt, Elena; pl, Helena Moskiewska; 19 May 1476 – 20 January 1513) was daughter of Ivan III the Great, Grand Prince of Moscow, and an uncrowned Grand Duchess of Lithuania and Q ...

, a fiancée of King Alexander of Jagiellon to Lithuania in 1495. * Nikita Grigoryevich Rzhevsky was a boyar scion, a voivode at

Dankov Dankov (russian: Данко́в) is a town and the administrative center of Dankovsky District in Lipetsk Oblast, Russia, located on the Don River northwest of Lipetsk, the administrative center of the oblast. Population: It was previously known ...

and

; participated in the Livonian war. * Ivan Nikitich Rzhevsky (d. 1611) was a participant in the Time of Trouble; he actively sided with the pro-Polish party, received the rank of

okolnichy Okolnichy (russian: око́льничий, ) was an old Muscovite court official position. According to the '' Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary'', directives on the position of ''okolnichy'' date back to the 14th century. Judging by ...

from King

Sigismund III Sigismund III Vasa ( pl, Zygmunt III Waza, lt, Žygimantas Vaza; 20 June 1566 – 30 April 1632 N.S.) was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1587 to 1632 and, as Sigismund, King of Sweden and Grand Duke of Finland from 1592 to ...

, and was one of the signers for his son, Wladislaw, to be elected to the Russian throne. In 1601 was an envoy to

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

. *Matvey Ivanovich Rzhevsky (d. after 1579) was a boyar scion, one of the first heads of the streltsy, the viceroy at

Putivl Putyvl′ Frank SysynBetween Poland and the Ukraine: The Dilemma of Adam Kysil, 1600-1653 - P. 25. (, ) or Putivl′ ( rus, Пути́вль, p=pʊˈtʲivlʲ) is a city in north-east Ukraine, in Sumy Oblast. The city served as the administrative ...

Chernigov Chernihiv ( uk, Черні́гів, , russian: Черни́гов, ; pl, Czernihów, ; la, Czernihovia), is a city and municipality in northern Ukraine, which serves as the administrative center of Chernihiv Oblast and Chernihiv Raion within t ...

and

Ryazhsk Ryazhsk (russian: Ряжск) is town and the administrative center of Ryazhsky District in Ryazan Oblast, Russia, located south of Ryazan, the administrative center of the oblast. Population: 26,000 (1974). History It has been known to exi ...

. Participated in the

siege of Kazan The siege of Kazan in 1552 was the final battle of the Russo-Kazan Wars and led to the fall of the Khanate of Kazan. Conflict continued after the fall of Kazan, however, as rebel governments formed in Çalım and Mişätamaq, and a new khan w ...

. He took part in a campaign against the Crimean Khanate in 1556, when with a troop of Cossacks he captured a few Turkish strongholds. In 1559 he took part in another Crimean campaign as one of the voivodes. In 1565—1566 he participated in a campaign in

Kabarda Grand Principality of Great Kabarda or East Circassia was a historical country in the North Caucasus corresponding partly to the modern Kabardino-Balkaria. It had better political organization than its neighbors and existed as a political commu ...

assisting the local prince Temryuk Idarovich in a warfare with his rivals. In 1579 as a voivode he participated in the defense of Polotsk against King

Stephen Bathory Stephen or Steven is a common English first name. It is particularly significant to Christians, as it belonged to Saint Stephen ( grc-gre, Στέφανος ), an early disciple and deacon who, according to the Book of Acts, was stoned to deat ...

; Polotsk surrendered to the Polish-Lithuanian troops and M. Rzhevsky was captured. *Elizary Leontievich Rzhevsky (d. 1599) was an okolnichy, voivode and an envoy to

Crimean Khanate The Crimean Khanate ( crh, , or ), officially the Great Horde and Desht-i Kipchak () and in old European historiography and geography known as Little Tartary ( la, Tartaria Minor), was a Crimean Tatar state existing from 1441 to 1783, the long ...

(1564 and 1572) and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Upon the death of King

, in 1587 he visited Poland with a suggestion to elect Tsar

Fyodor Ivanovich Fyodor I Ivanovich (russian: Фёдор I Иванович) or Feodor I Ioannovich (russian: Феодор I Иоаннович; 31 May 1557 – 17 January (NS) 1598), also known as Feodor the Bellringer (russian: Феодор Звонарь), ...

King of Poland. *Ivan Stepanovich Rzhevsky (d. 1611) was the viceroy at Shatsk and an envoy of

Boris Godunov Borís Fyodorovich Godunóv (; russian: Борис Фёдорович Годунов; 1552 ) ruled the Tsardom of Russia as ''de facto'' regent from c. 1585 to 1598 and then as the first non-Rurikid tsar from 1598 to 1605. After the end of hi ...

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establishe ...

in 1601. *Yuri Alekseevich Rzhevsky (1674 — 1729) was the Governor of Nizhny Novgorod (1719—1728) *Vladimir Alekseevich Rzhevsky (b. 1865 — ?) was a Russian politician. He was a deputy at the 4th State Imperial Duma. After the February Revolution, he was a member of the

Provisional Committee of the State Duma The Provisional Committee of the State Duma () was a special government body established on March 12, 1917 (27 February O.S.) by the Fourth State Duma deputies at the outbreak of the February Revolution in the same year. It was formed under t ...

, and in June 1917 he stepped down from his office. Until 1923 he was the principal of the school # 30, the former girls' boarding school owned by his wife.

References

Russian noble families Rurikids Untitled Rurikids