Prince Aleksandr Ivanovich Odoevsky, a descendant of the ancient clan of the Rurikids, was born on 26 November 1802 in St. Petersburg. An illustrious ancestor, Prince Ivan Vasil'evich, had served as president of the Votchinaiia Kollegiia, the department in charge of landed estates, established in 1721 by Peter the Great. Odoevsky's father, Prince Ivan Sergeevich Odoevsky, served in his youth as adjutant to Prince Grigory Aleksandrovich Potemkin, fought in Poland and Turkey, attained the rank of general-major, which was fourth from the top in the Table of Ranks, and married his cousin, Princess Praskov'ia Aleksandrovna Odoevskaia, receiving as a wedding gift the substantial estate of Nikolaevskoe in Iaroslavl' Province, including a thousand serfs. Soon after the birth of his son, Prince Ivan went into retirement.

Aleksandr's youth and adolescence were passed in St. Petersburg, but the Odoevskys customarily spent summers in Nikolaevskoe. Devoted to their son, the parents expended all their...