Page 6 - The Mirror of My Soul. Vol. 1

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

1. My childhood. My family’s past

I was born in 1961 in Kislovodsk, Stavropolsky, to a family classified as "the
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former " (i.e., "the former aristocracy")—a fact that I certainly discovered only later on
in my life. My parents lived with us, three children, in a basement, which my father
adapted for living quarters; there was simply nothing else available. Before his wedding
my father lived with his parents in a small semi-basement shed on the outskirts of
Kislovodsk. The basement that became our home was attached to this shed.

The world of my childhood consisted of mountains, canyons and gorges, which
were right behind my house. Mountains made the strongest and brightest impression
upon me. Their beauty and grandeur simply charmed my child's imagination. But before
I continue my recollections of childhood, I would like to give my ancestors their due.

Lately it has become very popular to search for aristocratic roots. Although, until

quite recently such roots gave no advantage to people who authentically had them; on
the contrary, they brought only problems. Most “formers” were totally destroyed by the
Soviet power, and those who survived were doomed into oblivion by this power. My
ancestors experienced it in full measure. More of this later, but for now—some words
about my ancestors, who, for centuries, served their Motherland Russia with honor.

The origin of the last name, Levashov, is quite interesting. It comes from the
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nickname “Levash”. At the time of the Ryurikovich, boyars sat to the left of the tsar in
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the Boyar Duma , while to the right were Duma dyaks . One of my ancestors of an old
princely family was a Duma boyar: hence his nickname “Levash”. According to
centuries-old tradition only one representative of a family had the right to be a member
of the Boyar Duma; usually the most outstanding representative merited that right.

Subsequently, everyone was given a nickname, which reflected his occupation or
personal qualities. Family surnames were numerous, and nicknames prevented mixing

up people of the same family. In the course of time, this nickname was attached to the
descendants, designating all the family members, and was transformed into the surname
of Levashov.

The Levashov family had been the richest noble family of Russia before the
Romanovs, a westernized clan who seized the power in the country in 1613. The
Levashovs conserved their status even during the rule of the first Romanovs. Such a state
of affairs, certainly, could not please the new tsars. My ancestors fell into disfavor, as
they were not a “new” nobility and refused to cooperate with the new dynasty. In 1682,
in order to strengthen his power, Tsar Feodor Alekseevich Romanov ordered the ancient

1 After the 1917 revolution the term was applied to a broad spectrum of Russian society, including the royal family,
aristocrats, bourgeoisie, clerics, as well as the intelligentsia, business entrepreneurs, landowners and kulaks (well-off
peasants), all of whom at various times were declared "enemies of the people," "enemies of the proletariat" or "class
enemies." The latter, highly derogatory terms, were meant to imply that these "enemies" were conspiring against the entire
state of workers and peasants. This was done to justify the Red Terror, a campaign of mass arrests, deportations and
executions conducted by the Bolshevik government in Soviet Russia from 1918 to 1922. The victims were thereby subjected
to imprisonment, exile or execution, plus confiscation of their property without any judicial process.
2 A boyar was a highest-ranking member of Slavonic aristocracy, second only to the ruling princes.
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3 The term is derived from the Russian word “to think” or “to consider”. The Boyar Duma (10 -18 centuries) was an
advisory council to the grand princes and tsars of Kievan Rus and Muscovy. The Duma was discontinued by Peter the Great,
who transferred its functions to the Governing Senate in 1721.
4 Dyak denotes an historical Russian bureaucratic occupation, the meaning of which varied over time and approximately
corresponds to a “Bureaucratic Chief”.

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