Prince Oleg Konstantinovich of Russia

Prince Oleg Konstantinovich
Prince Oleg Konstantinovich
Born	27 November 1892; Saint Petersburg, Russian Empire
Died	12 October 1914 (aged 21); Vilnius, Russian Empire
House	Holstein-Gottorp-Romanov
Father	Grand Duke Constantine Constantinovich of Russia
Mother	Princess Elisabeth of Saxe-Altenburg

Prince Oleg Konstantinovich of Russia (27 November [O.S. 15 November] 1892 – 12 October [O.S. 27 September] 1914) was the fourth son and fifth child of Grand Duke Constantine Constantinovich (1858-1915).

He died of wounds received fighting against the Imperial German Army during World War I.

Early life

Prince Oleg was generally considered to be the brightest of Grand Duke Konstantine's children. He had great curiosity and created complicated fantasy games for himself and his siblings to play.^[1]

Grand Duke Konstantin, a poet himself, arranged for his children to receive lessons from experts in a variety of fields. Well-known archaeologists told the children about their latest expeditions, architects showed the children slides and explained their works, choirs of Old Believers and peasants from all corners of the empire were brought to sing church music or folk songs to the children.^[2] Oleg was so intelligent that his father decided to send him to a prestigious school, the Alexander Lyceum, rather than to give him the standard military education that the other men in the family received. Konstantin's unconventional choice of education for Prince Oleg met with disapproval from his family members.^[2] Oleg was Grand Duke Konstantin's favorite son.^[3]

At one point he reportedly hoped to marry a cousin, Princess Nadezhda Petrovna of Russia, but this hope was prevented by the advent of World War I.^{[citation needed]}

Service in World War I and death

Prince Oleg, with four of his brothers, served in the Guards during World War I. He was wounded while fighting against the Germans near Vladislavovas (today Kudirkos Naumiestis). Emergency surgery in Vilna (today Vilnius) could not save him. As he was dying, he said, "I am so happy. It will encourage the troops to know that the Imperial House is not afraid to shed its blood."^[3]