Biography
Boris Johnson — politician with roots in the Russian Empire
Boris Johnson served as UK Prime Minister 2019–2022, previously as Foreign Secretary and Mayor of London. A Conservative firebrand, he delivered Brexit and led Britain through the COVID-19 pandemic.
"Elias Avery Lowe emigrated from Kalvarija, Russian Empire, in the late 19th or early 20th century."
Migration storyRussian Connection
Tracing the roots — Lithuania
Johnson's great-grandfather Elias Avery Lowe was born in Kalvarija, then part of the Russian Empire, before emigrating westward. This Jewish Lithuanian lineage is one strand in Johnson's famously eclectic ancestry, which he has occasionally invoked to deflect charges of prejudice.
Family Tree
Subject
Boris Johnson🇬🇧 UK
↑
Great-Grandfather
Elias Avery Lowe
↑
Origin
Lithuania🇷🇺 Russian Empire
Historical context
Russian Empire · c. 1721–1917
.svg?width=900)
Lithuania. At the time, this region lay within the Russian Empire, which spanned from Poland to the Pacific.
Map: Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA)
Key Achievements
A career defined by ambition
01
Prime Minister of the UK 2019–2022
02
Delivered Brexit
03
Mayor of London 2008–2016
04
Foreign Secretary 2016–2018
05
Bestselling author and journalist
Sources