The Princes Vorotynsky — from the mid-16th century to the end of the 18th century — were the largest landowners in the The Principality of Nizhny Novgorod. An ancient princely family descended from Prince Mikhail Vsevolodovich of Chernigov and his third son, Semyon.
Background
In the late 15th and early 16th centuries, the Princes Vorotynsky passed from Lithuanian allegiance into Russian allegiance.
The most notable representatives of the Vorotynsky family:
- Ivan Mikhailovich Vorotynsky (? – 1534), a voivode, took part in wars against Lithuania and the Tatars, and in the siege of Smolensk in 1512 and 1513. In 1521 and 1534 he fell into disgrace and was imprisoned in the Kirillov Monastery, where he died.
- Vladimir Ivanovich Vorotynsky (? – September 27, 1553), a participant in the Kazan campaign and the capture of Kazan. During the illness of Ivan IV (1553), V. I. Vorotynsky was among the supporters of Tsarevich Dmitry and did not shy from disputing with Prince Vladimir Andreyevich, urging him to swear allegiance to Dmitry.
- Mikhail Vorotynsky ((1510 – June 13, 1573), an outstanding military commander.
- Alexander Ivanovich Vorotynsky (? – 1564), the third son of Ivan Mikhailovich, was the first voivode in Kazan (1558); in 1560 he was granted the rank of boyar. In 1561 he fell into disgrace.
- Ivan Mikhailovich Vorotynsky (? – January 8, 1627), a prince and voivode.
- Alexei Ivanovich Vorotynsky (1610 – June 19, 1642), a prince and voivode.
- Ivan Alekseyevich Vorotynsky (? – June 24, 1679), a prince and boyar, first cousin (on his mother's side) of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich.
After the death of Ivan Alekseevich, the line of the Princes Vorotynsky died out, and the entire vast estate of the Princes Vorotynsky passed fully into state ownership.