Sila Nikolaevich Sandunov (), born Silovan Nikolozis dze Zandukeli ( ka, სილოვან ზანდუკელი), (born 1756— Died 1820) was a businessman and actor of Georgian origin active at the court of

Catherine the Great Catherine II. (born Princess Sophie of Anhalt-Zerbst; 2 May 172917 November 1796), most commonly known as Catherine the Great, was the reigning empress of Russia from 1762 to 1796. She came to power after overthrowing her husband, Peter I ...

. Sandunov's family emigrated from Georgia 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 ...

proper as part of an entourage accompanying the exiled Georgian monarch Vakhtang VI.

Life

Sandunov is best remembered today as the founder of the eponymous Sanduny Baths, an architectural and cultural landmark of downtown

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

. The businessman started his investment in the baths by selling

diamond Diamond is a Allotropes of carbon, solid form of the element carbon with its atoms arranged in a crystal structure called diamond cubic. Diamond is tasteless, odourless, strong, brittle solid, colourless in pure form, a poor conductor of e ...

s he had received as a wedding gift from Empress Catherine, who personally attended the wedding ceremony at the royal chapel.История Сандунов
Retrieved: 14 January 2016 Sandunov was married to

mezzo-soprano A mezzo-soprano (, ), or mezzo ( ), is a type of classical music, classical female singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the soprano and the contralto voice types. The mezzo-soprano's vocal range usually extends from the A bel ...

Elizabeth Sandunova.

References

Russian people of Georgian descent 18th-century male actors from the Russian Empire 1756 births 1820 deaths 18th-century businesspeople from the Russian Empire 19th-century male actors from the Russian Empire 19th-century businesspeople from the Russian Empire {{Russia-actor-stub