Vorontsov family

thumb|Coat of arms of the Princes Vorontsov in the Empire of Russia (1845) thumb|Coat of arms of the Counts Vorontsov-Dashkov (1895) The House of Vorontsov (), also Woroncow and de Woroncow-Wojtkowicz, is the name of a Russian noble family whose members attained the dignity of Counts of the Holy Roman Empire in 1744 and became Princes of the Russian Empire on 6 April 1845, with the style of Serene Highness. Most likely, the Vorontsovs represent a collateral branch of the great Velyaminov family of Muscovite boyars, which claimed male-line descent from a Varangian nobleman named Šimon. The Velyaminovs served as hereditary mayors of Moscow until the office was abolished by Dmitry Donskoy (Prince of Moscow from 1359 to 1389), whose mother Alexandra came from this family.

==History== The Vorontsov branch of the Velyaminovs reached a zenith of its power in the person of the boyar Feodor Vorontsov, who became de facto ruler of Russia during the minority of Ivan IV ("Ivan the Terrible", 1543). Three years later, he was accused of treason and beheaded. For the next two centuries, the family history is obscure. Under Empress Elizabeth (reigned 1741-1762), its fortunes soared once again, when Mikhail Illarionovich Vorontsov became Vice-Chancellor of the Russian Empire. The Vorontsov Palace in Saint Petersburg, designed by Rastrelli, remains a monument to his power.