SCOTLAND ROUND THE WORLD The Scots In Russia

by Lorraine Smith

Russia was often seen as a vast land of opportunity and adventure. It was therefore an appealing destination for vigorous and ambitious Scotsmen, It was often the case, that it was in war that they made their most obvious early contributions to the Russian state.

Scottish Russians are Russians with full (or partial) Scottish ancestry. Scottish migration to Russia began primarily during the early-17thcentury Polish–Muscovite War (1605–1618), Ingrian War (1610–1617) and Thirty Years' War (1618–1648). Some estimates of the number of Scottish settlers in Russia during the 17th century are as high as 100,000. This has led some researchers to conclude that the current number of Scottish Russians could be up to 1-2 million. There are believed to be around 400 different Russian surnames that owe their names to Scottish ancestors.

A number of families of Scottish origin were part of the Russian Empire's landed aristocracy. Two noble families were descended from Clan Ramsay: Ramsay and De Balmen (both Counts).

The Leslie family was headed by Alexander Leslie of Auchintoul (died 1663 in Smolensk), a Scottish soldier in the service of the Tsar Leslie commanded Russian forces during the Siege of Smolensk (1654), one of the first major events of the Russo-Polish War (1654–67), and was descended from Clan Leslie of Auchintoul. The owner of Gorchakov Manor, he was the voivode of Smolensk. A voivode is a Slavic term for military commander.

Tam Dalyell of the Binns (1615–1685), a Scottish Royalist general in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms known as "Bluidy Tam" and "The Muscovite De'il", was in Russian service.

Dalyell was born in Linlithgowshire the son of Thomas Dalyell of the Binns and Janet, daughter of the 1st Lord Bruce of Kinloss, Master of The Rolls in England. He was taken prisoner at the capitulation of Carrick Fergus in 1650 but he remained in Ireland having been banned from Scotland. He was present at the battle of Worcester and imprisoned in the Tower of London. He escaped and took part in in the Highland Rebellion. Exempted from Cromwells Act of Grace, a reward of 200 guineas was offered for his capture dead or alive. He escaped to Russia and entered the service of Tsar Alexis 1 and distinguished himself as General in the wars against the Turks and Tatars.

He returned to Britain on the Restoration of Charles the Second and was appointed Commander in Chief in Scotland and ordered to subdue the Covenanters, He defeated them at the Battle of Rullion Green and here he treated them with great cruelty and earned him the nickname “Bluidy Tam”.

There is a legend that he enjoyed an occasional game of cards with the Devil. On one occasion the Devil lost and threw the card table at Dalyell. The table missed and flew through the window and ended up in the pond at the House of Binns. Hence the nickname “the Muscovite Deil”. This story was passed down the generations of inhabitants of the House.

Several families are descendants of Clan Hamilton. The Gamontovs (or Gamoltovs) are descendants of Petr Gomoltov-Hamilton, an officer of Count Jacob De la Gardie since 1610 who remained in Russian service after the Battle of Klushino and had several granddaughters. The first was an aunt of Natalya Kirillovna Naryshkina, the Tsaritsa of Russia from 1671–1676 and the second wife of Tsar Alexei I and regent of Russia as the mother of Peter the Great in 1682. The second was a wife of Artamon Matveyev

The best-known and most infamous was Mary Hamilton Maria Danilovna Gamontova, A descendant of Scottish aristocrats, Mary Hamilton was the secret lover of Peter the Great. Her family had moved to Russia during the rule of Ivan the Terrible 1547-1584 and served the Russian Tsars for decades. She was Lady in waiting to Queen Catherine. Mary was executed for the killing of her newborn baby. She had successfully aborted her two previous pregnancies but could not prevent the third birth. She was was executed by beheading on 17th March 1719.

The Khomutov family are descendants of Thomas Hamilton, a soldier who began Russian service in 1542 and arrived in the country with his son Petr (David). Michail G. Khomutov was a cavalry General, Adjutant General and an earl of the Don Cossacks from 1848 to 1862. Anna Khomutova (1787–1858) was a Russian writer, sister of Michail Khomutov and cousin of Ivan Kozlov

The von Fersen family are descendants of the Clan Macpherson, and Baron Vasili Nikolaevich von Fersen (1858–1937) was an admiral in the Imperial Russian Navy.

The Bruces are descendants of the Clan Bruce. Count Roman Vilimovich Bruce (1668–1720) was the first commander of Saint Petersburg, brother of Jacob Bruce and father of Alexander Romanovich Bruce.[12] Bruce joined Peter the Great's army in 1683, became captain of the Preobrazhensky Regiment in 1695 and participated in Peter's 1695–6 Azov campaigns.

Jacob Bruce (1669–1735) was a statesman, military leader and scientist descended from the Clan Bruce. According to Bruce, his ancestors had lived in Russia since 1649. He was the brother of Robert Bruce, the first military governor of Saint Petersburg.

Count Yakov Alexandrovich Bruce (1732–1791) was a Russian general. Bruce was a grandson of Lieutenant General Robert Bruce and a great-nephew of Jacob Bruce His father was Count Alexander Bruce, and Ekaterina Alekseyevna Dolgorukova was his stepmother. Bruce married Praskovia Rumiantseva, sister of General (later Field Marshal) Pyotr Rumyantsev.

Prince Michael Andreas Barclay de Tolly was a field marshal and minister of war during Napoleon's 1812 invasion and the War of the Sixth Coalition. Prince Alexander Barclay de Tolly-Weymarn (1824–1905) was a Russian regimental, division corps commander.

Scots exported their military skills and forged links into even the Royal lineage of the Tsars. Always courageous, sometimes notorious there can be no doubt the Scots have made an indelible impression on Russia.

Lorraine is a keen student of history and writes about Dundee during WW1 and WW2.Her main interest is WW1 and comes from family research and family lore told to her when she was a child. Research has uncovered the interesting stories behind each family member’s path to war, and also the stories of those who stayed behind. These now form the basis of a novel using the stories of her grandparents.