He was the son of (1812-1859), a senator and state secretary for the Kingdom of Poland, and the grandson of (1772-1843), governor-general of St. Petersburg 1825-1830 (the latter is not to be confused with field marshal Mikhail Illarionovich Goleníschev-Kutúzov who commanded the Russian forces against the Napoleon invasion in Russia in 1812, and who came from a younger noble branch of the family).