Konstantin Litke
Tchaikovsky Research
Second cousin of the composer (b. 1/13 February 1873; d. 30 September/13 October 1915 near Vilnius), born Count Konstantin Nikolayevich Litke (Константин Николаевич Литке), and known jokingly to Tchaikovsky as "The Divine One" (Божество), or Koka (Кока).
He was the son of state councillor Nikolay Litke (1839–1887) and his wife Amaliya, and younger brother of Aleksandr Litke. He entered military service in August 1891, and in 1912 rose to the rank of colonel in the Preobrazhensky Guards' Regiment. He was killed in action during the First World War, and for his heroism under fire he was posthumously awarded the Order of St. George (4th class).
