Boris Skossyreff place of birth Vilnius
Boris Mikhailovich Skossyreff (Russian: Бори́с Миха́йлович Ско́сырев, romanized: Boris Mikhailovich Skosyrev; Catalan: Borís Mikhàilovitx Skóssirev pronounced [boˌɾis .mikˌaj.lo.vit͡ʃ ˈsko.si.ɾef]; 12 January 1896 – 27 February 1989) was a Russian adventurer, international swindler and pretender who attempted to seize the monarchy of the Principality of Andorra during the early 1930s, styling himself King Boris I of Andorra.
Skossyreff was born in Lithuania to a family of lower nobility. Following the outbreak of the 1917 Russian Revolution, Skossyreff was able to seek political asylum in England, where he enlisted in the British army for the end of World War I. This was followed by his work in the British Foreign Office. He moved to the Netherlands in the mid 1920s, where he was in a list of Prominent Foreign Revolutionaries in 1924, prepared by the General Intelligence and Security Service, in which he was noted as an international swindler. Despite this, Skossyreff falsely claimed to have been working in the Royal household of the Netherlands.
Through his visits to Andorra, a co-Principality in the Pyrenees co-princed by the Bishop of Urgell and President of France, in the early 1930s, Skossyreff worked on gaining power. During extensive conversations with local politicians in May 1934, Skossyreff presented the Government of Andorra a document in which he justified his intentions of rule.
Through falsely portraying himself as a member of the European aristocracy, Skossyreff proposed freedoms, modernisation, foreign investments and the recognition of a tax haven to Andorra through his self-published constitution.Early life
Skossyreff was born on 12 January 1896, in Vilnius, Lithuania, then part of the Russian Empire. He later acquired a Dutch passport which elaborated that his supposed title was Monsieur le Baron Boris de Skossyreff - a possible title, but likely to be false, due to the rarity of Barons in Russia. He was likely from a family of lower nobility, corresponding to his serving as an Officer in World War I.Skossyreff's educational background is quite ambiguous. In press interviews, he spoke about a childhood friendship with Edward VIII. He also stated that he attended the prestigious Lycée Louis-le-Grand in Paris, followed by Magdalen College, Oxford. While these claims allowed Skossyreff to build up his persona, both the Lycée Louis-le-Grand and Magdalen College confirm that he was not a student.
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