Gerry's Collection
of Antique Wax Seal Stamps
Saltykov Family
A noble house intertwined with the Romanov dynasty
The House of Saltykov: One of the noble houses most intertwined with the Romanov dynasty
The House of Saltykov (Russian: Салтыков) is an old Russian noble family whose ancestry can be traced back to 1240. In March 1730, the family was elevated to the rank of Count of the Russian Empire by Empress Anna of Russia. Later on, they became princes. The Saltykovs are considered an ancient Russian boyar family. They are traditionally regarded as descending from the noble Obolensky princes of Rurikid lineage, through a branch that adopted the nickname Saltyk. The family rose to prominence during the Muscovite period and further consolidated its influence under the Romanovs.
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The Saltikovs were among the wealthiest and most politically influential noble houses of 18th-century Russia. They frequently held top positions in the Imperial court, the army, and provincial administration. Some lines were granted the title of Count of the Russian Empire. The family had extensive estates and patronized palaces in and around Moscow and St. Petersburg.
Among the estates of the family was the Saltykov Mansion - Салтыковский дом -, also known as the Saltykov Palace. Located in St Petersburg, right opposite the Winter Palace, it is an elegant neoclassical mansion designed by Giacomo Quarenghi in the late 18th century. Among the notable residents of the mansion was Count Nikolai Ivanovich Saltykov, who served as tutor to Tsar Paul I and held numerous high offices.
After the Revolution, the building was used by the Soviet government, but it is now part of the Russian Institute for the History of Arts.
Sometimes confused with the main Saltykov Mansion, the Saltykov-Chertkov Mansion is a residence on Bolshaya Morskaya Street that also belonged to branches of the extended family. It is known for rich interiors and a large library collection. Besides these, the family maintained grand houses in Moscow’s aristocratic quarters and in the provinces. Following the end of the Romanov's empire, most of the Saltykov properties were confiscated. Palaces were repurposed as government buildings, museums, or communal housing. Some family members fled abroad, while others remained in Soviet Russia under difficult conditions.
Among the notable members of the Saltykov family was Praskovia Fyodorovna Saltykova (Прасковья Фёдоровна Салтыкова). Born in 1664, she was the Tsarina of Russia as the only wife of Tsar Ivan V (co-ruler from 1682 to 1696). She was the daughter of Fyodor Petrovich Saltykov and a member of the ancient Rurikid-descended Saltykov family. Chosen during the last bride-parade tradition, she married Ivan V on 9 January 1684. Her father even changed his patronymic so she could be Fyodorovna, fitting Romanov naming customs. She had five daughters, including Catherine (who married Mecklenburg-Schwerin), Empress Anna of Russia, and Praskovia Ivanovna. After Ivan V’s death in 1696, she resided mainly at Izmailovo Estate near Moscow and was officially styled Her Majesty Tsarina Praskovia Feodorovna.
Another notable family member was Vassili Fiodorovitch Saltykov (1675 - 1751), who married with Princess Maria Alekseïevna Galitzine. He was a politician and served as Chief of Police in St Peterburg between 1732 and 1742.
Sergei Saltykov (1726–1765) is quite a fascinating figure, surrounded by legend and speculation.
Handsome, charming, and well-connected, he became a chamberlain at the court of Empress Elizabeth. In the early 1750s, as Grand Duchess Catherine’s marriage to the future Emperor Peter III remained childless, Saltykov was encouraged - possibly by Elizabeth herself - to pay special attention to Catherine. Their discreet affair soon became an open secret in court circles, and in 1754 Catherine gave birth to her first son, the future Emperor Paul I. Although Catherine herself hinted that Saltykov was Paul’s real father, historians remain divided, and the question has never been definitively settled. After the birth of the heir, Saltykov’s role quickly diminished. He was sent abroad on diplomatic assignments, first to Hamburg and then to Sweden, effectively removing him from Catherine’s circle. He never regained significant influence and died in 1765. Despite his short-lived prominence, Sergei Saltykov’s liaison with Catherine left an enduring mark on Russian history, fueling speculation about the true paternity of the Romanov dynasty’s next generation and illustrating the complex web of personal and dynastic politics at the Russian imperial court.
Countess Darya Petrovna Saltykova, born in 1739, was a lady-in-waiting, socialite and noble and Dame of the Order of St. Catherine's first degree. She was the sister of the lady in waiting Princess Nataliya Petrovna Chernysheva, and in 1769 married to Field Marshal Count Ivan Petrovich Saltykov, who was the governor-general of Moscow from 1797 to 1804, and owner of the grand estate of Marfino. Ivan was the only son of another field-marshal; Pyotr Semyonovich Saltykov. Ivan and Darya had an extremely close relationship. Together they had four children: Praskovya (1772–1859), Ekaterina (1776–1815), Anna (1777–1824), and Pyotr (1784–1813). The daughters all served as ladies-in-waiting at the Imperial Court, and two went on to marry and have children. Pyotr followed in his father's footsteps as a cavalry officer. He became a decorated colonel in the army during Napoleon's Invasion of Russia.
Field Marshal General Count Nikolai Ivanovich Saltykov (1736–1816), one of the most distinguished members of the family, was granted the princely title by Imperial Decree in 1814. He was a courtier also known as the tutor of the eventual Tsar Paul I of Russia and his two sons, Constantine and Alexander. His parents were general Ivan Alexeyevich Saltykov (himself the nephew of Anna I of Russia) and countess Anastasia Petrovna Tolstoy. It is in 1790, during the celebrations of the peace with Sweden, that Nikolai Ivanovich Saltykov was made a Count of the Russian Empire, and granted 5,000 serfs in Russian Poland and an annual pension of 125 rubles. On Paul's accession to the throne, Saltykov was made field marshal general on 8 November 1796 and then president of the Military Council of State. Alexander I, during the celebrations of his coronation, gave Saltykov his portrait decorated with diamonds. At the start of the Napoleonic Wars, Saltykov was instructed to look after military reports and to be head of state while Alexander was away leading the Russian army in 1813 and 1814. On Alexander's return to Saint Petersburg, Saltykov was promoted to Prince of the Russian Empire
It is correct to say that the Saltykov family had close ties with the Russian imperial family, and in fact, they are one of the noble houses most intertwined with the Romanov dynasty. Especially since Praskovia Fyodorovna Saltykova married Tsar Ivan V, making her Tsaritsa of Russia and mother of Empress Anna Ivanovna, and because Sergei Saltykov was the lover of Catherine the Great and possibly the biological father of Emperor Paul I. Many Saltykovs served as chamberlains, tutors, military commanders, and diplomats in the direct service of Romanov sovereigns. They were often at the center of court politics and intimately involved in the imperial household’s affairs. The Saltykovs were elevated to the rank of counts and later princes, honors that reflected their role in supporting the Romanovs.
Elisabeth Nikolaevna Saltykova (1772–1852), daughter of Prince Nikolai Ivanovich Saltykov, was married with Charles‑Louis‑François‑Gabriel de Raimond de Mormoiron, a French aristocrat who held the title of Count of Modena. This union reflected the cosmopolitan alliances common among the highest ranks of European nobility in the late 18th century, as Russian grandees often sought prestigious foreign matches. The marriage joined the old Russian boyar lineage of the Saltykovs, elevated to princely rank, with an established French noble house known for its traditions of military service and regional influence. Their marriage was commemorated in a family seals combining the Saltykov and de Raimond de Mormoiron coats of arms, which is part of the collection.
Gerry's Collection of Antique Seal Stamps.