Poltava roots of the British politician №1
As you know, after the recently held general elections in the UK won opposition Conservative Party, but not
winning an absolute majority, formed a coalition with the Liberal Democratic Party headed by Nick Clegg, who became the Deputy Prime Minister of Great Britain. With a convincing victory in the first round of the election debate Nick Clegg became the most popular British politician since Winston Churchill. His rating rose to 72%, second in historical terms only after Winston Churchill, whose share of popularity in 1945 was 83%. But more interesting is the fact that the ancestors of the leader of the Liberal Democrats of the UK originating from Poltava.
It turns out that Nick Clegg - a grandson of Alexandra Gnativna Zakrevska, consanguineous older sister of Mary Zakrevska Benkendorf Budberg - known among the British as a bewitching spy Moora Budberg or “Russian Mata Hari”. “Olexandra Ignativina Zakrevska, in turn, was the daughter of Gnat Platonovych Zakrevsky the last representative of the fifth generation of Zakrevsky family in Poltava land, chief prosecutor of the Senate of the Russian Empire, a man of liberal views and European education, articles of whom appeared in many contemporary Russian magazines and touched upon crucial legal problems. Tsar Alexander III dismissed him from office in 1900 after Gnat Platonovych wrote an article against the infamous case of Alfred Dreyfus. When in 1906 Gnat Platonovych died, was buried in the family estate in the village of Berezova Rudka Pyriatyn District in 10-meter-high pyramid, built by him in 1898 over the graves of his parents.
By the way, this family estate of Zakrevsky in the 1840's was five times visited by Taras Shevchenko and even asked in marriage one of Nick Clegg’s great-grandmother Zakrevska Anna Ivanivna, the image of her is known in history through a beautiful portrait created by the Great Kobzar.
This forefather of this dynasty Josyp Lukyanovych Zakrevsky, who in 1752 purchased Berezova Rudka from the descendants of the founder of the village Ivan Skoropadsky, was general Bunchuzny of the Zaporozhian Cossacks, and his wife Hanna was a sister of the last Hetman of Ukraine Kyrylo Rozumovsky. Their son, Andry Josypovych Zakrevsky was a director of the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts. Another son Gregory Josypovych was a Marshal of Kyiv province, started in Berezova Rudka building of palace complex, laying the homestead and created a luxurious park, made the family estate gem of landscape architecture of XVIII - beginning XIX century. Two-storey palace in the classical style and two wing next to him were erected in late XVIII - early XIX century. This first wooden palace burned down, and instead of in 1838 was built new two-storey brick palace in neobaroque. Construction was completed by grandson of Gregory Josypovych staff-captain Zakrevsky Plato, whom loved to visit Shevchenko. Great-grandson of the founder of the dynasty Mykola V. Zakrevsky become famous as a historian, ethnographer, artist. It is famous for his works "Annals and the description of Kyiv" and "Essay of History of Kyiv”, which have long since become classic and set the name of the scientist in a number of prominent historians of Ukraine. A well-known ethnographer made him his anthology of Ukrainian folk art in three volumes “Old time Banduryst”.
The oldest daughter of above mentioned prominent lawyer Gnat Platonovych Zakrevsky Oleksandra Ignatiyivna, also known as Alla, first married Baron Arthur von Engelhard and on the 2nd of July 1909 in the French Nice gave birth to her daughter Kira. Later, Alla moved to Paris and married Rene Mullen. It was the
daughter of Alla Ignatiyivna Kira whom married in 1932 editor of the “British medical journal” Hugh Anthony Clegg, grandfather of the current British Deputy Prime Minister. Their son, Nicholas (Mykola Antonovych) Clegg arrived in March 2004 in Ukraine together with his son Olexandr. With great-granddaughter of Anna Gnativna Kateryna Leonidivna Tsurikova they visited family estate.
After the October Revolution of 1917, family of Zakrevska were forced to leave their homeland. Today, representatives of this family live in England, France, Germany, Luxembourg and the USA. From time to time they visit Berezova Rudka.
It is remarkable that in 2007, when Nick Clegg was elected chairman of the British party “Liberal Democrats”, he announced at the ceremony himself as "liberal by temperament, instincts and breeding, who advocates open and tolerant Britain”. Hopefully, the tradition of European liberalism was inherited from his great ancestor, the creator of one of the two pyramids in Poltava.
