Page 7 - The Mirror of My Soul. Vol. 1

Nicolai Levashov. The Mirror of My Soul. Vol. 1. Born in the USSR

Genealogical and Rank Books to be destroyed and a new genealogical book, the Velvet
Book, to be created in its place. Fortunately, these ancient books have been kept up until

now in Europe. The noble family of the Levashovs was removed from the rostrum of the
tsar's court and the state service for over a hundred years.
Only one branch of the family was allowed to approach the emperor's court, when
Russia had fallen on really hard times. Vasiliy Vasilievich Levashov (1783-1848), a
battle lieutenant-general, was the governor of Podolsk, Chernigov, Poltava and Kharkov.
From 1838 he was chairman of both the State Council and the Committee of Ministers
of the Russian Empire in 1847-1848. He was a cavalier of all the Russian orders. In 1833
Emperor Nicolai I gave him the title of Count.

By the start of the 1917 revolution, my family, while not the richest in Russia,
nevertheless, had considerable wealth, including gold mines, stud-farms, etc. So, my
ancestors had much to lose when the great “Russian” revolution swept over the land. In
a single day they were stripped of everything but their lives, and shipped away in cattle
cars, along with other victims of fatal events, to-wards an uncertain destiny.

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