Talk:Meshchersky

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Meshchersky transliterations[edit]

I believe Meshchersky is most commonly transliterated Mestchersky, but also (according to the target of the genealogic link at the bottom of the article), as Mestcherski. They are descended from Prince Moukhamet of the Meshchera (probably with a similar variation in spelling, that is, with "t" or "ts" sometimes inserted before the "ch"), whose father was Prince Hussem of the Chirini.

Note that Mestchersky has the advantage in English of being pronounced as three simple English words: "mess" "chair", and "ski", perhaps accounting for its prevalence in the USA.

By the way, The New York Times mentioned "Prince Vladimir Petrovitsch Mestchersky" ("Petrovitsch", "Petrovitch", or "Petrovich" means "Peter's son"), "Aid de Camp" to the Russian emperor, 17 times within about 20 years of 1900, stating (July 24, 1914) in his death announcement that he "came of Finno-Tartar ancestors who were the rulers of the Principality of Mestchere" and that "Before he was thirty years of age he had become the brains of the late Czar Alexander III..."! He "wrote and published more than twelve novels" showing "the high life of St. Petersburg in a coarse and realistic manner". "He founded his paper, The Grazhdanin, in 1878, and ... gained the nickname of "The Knower." "His paper was the most reactionary in Russia, and through it the Prince made himself one of Russia's most-hated men." "His influence over the Czar Nicholas II. was so strong that it was commented on in all the capitals of Europe."

Is this the man most responsible for the murders of the imperial family, followed by the Russian Revolution(s)? No, it cannot be! Unfree (talk) 22:12, 8 August 2009 (UTC)[reply]

It was my mother, who married one Prince Igor Mestchersky, who pointed out the three English words, but now I see that the name (at least in the poem "On the Death of Prince Meshchersky" by Derzhavin) contains a Russian letter corresponding to "shch" in English, and it occurs to me now that "mesh" is also an English word, so pronouncing it "mess" makes little sense to me now! Unfree (talk) 22:27, 8 August 2009 (UTC)[reply]