The Wykehamist
Boris Yeltsin( E, 1997-99)
Boris was the other Boris Yeltsin’ s grandson. His grandfather upset a lot of the Russian public by sending his grandson abroad, whilst many Russians could still hardly afford bread. He spent a year at Millfield( 1996-97) before being sent to Winchester. It is noted that he was forced to shave his moustache at Millfield— oh, how familiar... At Winchester, he was in the Firsts for tennis and is rumoured— though I could not confirm this— to have been expelled due to the SVR( Russian Foreign Intelligence Service) breaking him out of Freddie’ s to take him partying at night. That mostly sums up his life so far. Although receiving an elite education in England and in Russia, it is said that he has not done much except dating models and partying.
Boris Yeltsin, 2010s.
Overall, if we look at the three generations of Russians to come to the College, a general background can be attributed to each. The first generation of Russians were all affluent and liberal-minded to some extent, explaining why they came to England. Their children, or the‘ middle’ generation of Russians, were all assimilated into English culture from birth, losing much of their‘ Russian-ness’. Finally, the‘ modern’ generation, eager to become a part of global society, mostly consisted of new money— though this is less of a trend nowadays. Yet, despite their similarities, we find a fascinating diversity of lives and careers; from a potential secret service agent to a marine biologist, from a film director to a crypto-mogul. All, mind you, in a span of less than 100 years.
During the writing of this last section, a discovery forgotten by time was made. There was a Russian Wykehamist in the 1600s. A group of eighteen young Russian men were sent to Europe by Tsar Boris Godunov in 1602 to learn Latin and European vernaculars; out of them, four came to England. They were sent to four different institutions: Cambridge, Oxford, Eton and Winchester. I was unable to find out exactly which one came to the College, but here are their names: Sofon Mikhailov syn Kozhukhov( Sofony Cozucke); Kazarin Davydov( Cassarian David); Fyodor Semyonov syn Kostomarov; Mekepher Alpheriev syn Grigoriev( the first Russian graduate of Cambridge). Cassarian and Sofony would go on to have illustrious careers in the East Indies, whilst Fyodor became a secretary to the King in Ireland. Perhaps something for The Trusty Servant?
A summary: Nicolas Katkoff( H, 1906-08) Igor Vinogradoff( Coll:, 1915-20) Alexander Wolkoff( E, 1916-18) Michael Zvegintsov( Coll:, 1918-23) Count Serge Davidoff-Orloff( Coll:, 1919-24) Wladimir Wolkoff( Coll:, 1923-27) Ivan Mrosovsky( H, 1946-50) Nicholas Mrosovsky( H, 1948-52) Serge Zvegintsov( Coll:, 1949-55) Nicholas Pasternak Slater( Coll:, 1951-56) Nicholas Zvegintsov( Coll:, 1952-57) Oleg De Baïkoff( D, 1975-79) Alex Grebnev( E, 1996-98) Boris Yeltsin( E, 1997-99) Et alii …
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