Russian Duke Craves Power in Canada
The National Post wrote that if the Bolshevik Revolution had not won in Russia nearly 100 years ago, the Liberal Party leader Michael Ignatieff would have had the official Prince’s title and would probably live in a large mansion given to his ancestors by Ekaterina the Great. The palace where the parliamentarian’s grandmother was born was burnt down in 1917 after Romanov dynasty was overthrown. Ignatieff is convinced that it would be hard for him to be a prince nowadays.
In 1919 Ignatieff's grandparents and their five children fled Russia on a British military ship. Ignatieff ' s father was six at the time . In 1878 they were granted Prince’s title л by Alexander the second.
His grandfather Pavel served as the governor of Kiev and later minister of education in the government of Nikolai the second. In the anticipation of the “Russian revolt", Pavel tried to do everything he could to prevent catastrophic events conducting negotiations with members of Duma, Tsar’s officials and representatives of the military. The initiative was punished.
The Tsar listened to the advice of another minister and decided to fire Ignatieff. Ignatieff proudly resigned himself . It happened a year before the revolution . By the time he left Russia, he had experienced the jail of the new regime and barely avoided being killed.
He had Paris, Great Britain and then Canada ahead of him. In Canada Ignatieff’s grandfather first worked at the construction of railway. Later he became a diplomat. Michael Ignatieff later wrote that his ancestors taught him not to complain and give up when the times are tough but work towards your goals.
He will likely need these lessons on his way to the Prime Minister’s office of the country created by many generations of multilingual immigrants.
Stanislav Varykhanov
Pravda.Ru
