The Counts Bobrinsky are a Russian noble family descending from Catherine the Great's natural son by Count Grigory Orlov - Aleksey Grigorievich Bobrinsky. Unlike many other Russian nobles, the Bobrinskys prosperous businessmen, starting coal-mining industry and helping to build railways all over Russia. They also founded the sugar-processing industry in Imperial Russia. The family is has also produced famous politicians, historian, archaeologist, biologists,and zoologists.