Grand Duke Sergei Mikhailovich was the fifth son of Grand Duke Michael Nikolaievich of Russia and a first cousin of Alexander III of Russia. He followed a military career and served as General Inspector of the Artillery with the rank of Adjutant General during World War I. He was considered as sincere, affectionate, loved simplicity and was easily accessible without class distinction. His interests included mathematics and physics, which coincided with his fondness for artillery, an inclination for choral singing, and an extensive collection of numismatics. He never married although he was linked to several women, the most well known being Mathilde Kschessinskaya, prima ballerina assoluta of the St. Petersburg Imperial Theatres and former mistress of Nicholas II.
Grand Duke Sergei was murdered by the Bolsheviks, along with several other Romanov relatives, in a mineshaft at Alapayevsk. He was originally interred in the crypt of the Cathedral of the Holy Trinity in Alapayevsk. The advance of the Red Army forces necessitated the removal of his body eastward. His coffin and remains were transferred to Beijing in China where it was placed in the crypt of the Church of All Holy Martyrs attached to the Russian Mission by April, 1920. After the property of the Mission was transferred to the Soviet Embassy, the church was destroyed along with the rest of the mission property in 1957. He was reburied at that time at the Russian Orthodox cemetery (Russian Ecclesiastical Mission Cemetery). The government of the USSR did not have any interest in the preservation of the Russian cemetery in Beijing and in the late 1980s the Chinese authorities converted it into a park. His remains are still in place at the former cemetery site, now buried beneath a parking area.
Grand Duke Sergei was murdered by the Bolsheviks, along with several other Romanov relatives, in a mineshaft at Alapayevsk. He was originally interred in the crypt of the Cathedral of the Holy Trinity in Alapayevsk. The advance of the Red Army forces necessitated the removal of his body eastward. His coffin and remains were transferred to Beijing in China where it was placed in the crypt of the Church of All Holy Martyrs attached to the Russian Mission by April, 1920. After the property of the Mission was transferred to the Soviet Embassy, the church was destroyed along with the rest of the mission property in 1957. He was reburied at that time at the Russian Orthodox cemetery (Russian Ecclesiastical Mission Cemetery). The government of the USSR did not have any interest in the preservation of the Russian cemetery in Beijing and in the late 1980s the Chinese authorities converted it into a park. His remains are still in place at the former cemetery site, now buried beneath a parking area.
Grand Duke Sergei Mikhailovich was the fifth son of Grand Duke Michael Nikolaievich of Russia and a first cousin of Alexander III of Russia. He followed a military career and served as General Inspector of the Artillery with the rank of Adjutant General during World War I. He was considered as sincere, affectionate, loved simplicity and was easily accessible without class distinction. His interests included mathematics and physics, which coincided with his fondness for artillery, an inclination for choral singing, and an extensive collection of numismatics. He never married although he was linked to several women, the most well known being Mathilde Kschessinskaya, prima ballerina assoluta of the St. Petersburg Imperial Theatres and former mistress of Nicholas II.
Grand Duke Sergei was murdered by the Bolsheviks, along with several other Romanov relatives, in a mineshaft at Alapayevsk. He was originally interred in the crypt of the Cathedral of the Holy Trinity in Alapayevsk. The advance of the Red Army forces necessitated the removal of his body eastward. His coffin and remains were transferred to Beijing in China where it was placed in the crypt of the Church of All Holy Martyrs attached to the Russian Mission by April, 1920. After the property of the Mission was transferred to the Soviet Embassy, the church was destroyed along with the rest of the mission property in 1957. He was reburied at that time at the Russian Orthodox cemetery (Russian Ecclesiastical Mission Cemetery). The government of the USSR did not have any interest in the preservation of the Russian cemetery in Beijing and in the late 1980s the Chinese authorities converted it into a park. His remains are still in place at the former cemetery site, now buried beneath a parking area.
Grand Duke Sergei was murdered by the Bolsheviks, along with several other Romanov relatives, in a mineshaft at Alapayevsk. He was originally interred in the crypt of the Cathedral of the Holy Trinity in Alapayevsk. The advance of the Red Army forces necessitated the removal of his body eastward. His coffin and remains were transferred to Beijing in China where it was placed in the crypt of the Church of All Holy Martyrs attached to the Russian Mission by April, 1920. After the property of the Mission was transferred to the Soviet Embassy, the church was destroyed along with the rest of the mission property in 1957. He was reburied at that time at the Russian Orthodox cemetery (Russian Ecclesiastical Mission Cemetery). The government of the USSR did not have any interest in the preservation of the Russian cemetery in Beijing and in the late 1980s the Chinese authorities converted it into a park. His remains are still in place at the former cemetery site, now buried beneath a parking area.
