16
 

Nathaniel Knight
 

use Russian as their primary language. Russian was used occasion¬
ally for matters related to service, but personal relations were car¬
ried on solely in French or German. The Benckendorffs' lack of a
cultural identification with Russia was offset by the ease with which
 

Count Alexander Constantinovich Benckendorff, last

Russian ambassador to the Court of St, James's,

ca, 191J
 

they were integrated into aristocratic circles throughout Europe—
particularly after a series of well-planned marriages connected the
Benckendorffs with some of the oldest and most prestigious fami¬
lies on the continent. Given their connections, diplomacy was the
natural career of choice. The Benckendorffs held a variety of posts