Of Russian nationality, Dimitri Philippoff (Dima to his friends) is a "White Russian." White Russians were part of the Russian nobility who remained loyal to the Tsar. Many fought against the Reds during the 1917 revolution and resisted the rise of Bolshevism.
It was during this period that many chose exile, finding refuge in France, and more specifically in Paris. The largest wave of emigration took place in the early 1920s, and it was with this wave that Dima arrived in the capital at the age of only 13.
A high-level swimmer, Dima became a sports journalist for L'Auto, the leading sports magazine, as well as for Paris Soir, a daily newspaper that ceased publication after the Liberation. In the early 1930s, he teamed up with some fellow Russians to form a water polo team. The team was named the White Bears. He also used this name to open the first "club" in Corsica, near Calvi. This was in 1935.
During the Second World War, Dimitri reconnected with a number of swimmers and joined the Racing Club de France with them.
In 1948, he partnered with Edith Filipacchi to revive the White Bears concept and open the Club Olympique, also in Calvi. In 1951, he joined Gérard Blitz and Club Méditerranée. He oversaw the opening of Golfo di Baratti that same year as village chief.
After leaving Club Med in the late 1950s, he founded Voyages Philippoff. Philippoff Holiday villages are cottage villages organized in the same way as those of Club Med (why reinvent the wheel?). There is one village in Livorno, Tuscany, and another in Nisportino on the island of Elba.
The village was built by Philoppoff in 1959 in the province of Livorno, but in San Vincenzo (10 km north of Baratti). Initially called "White Bear," it later became "Europe No. 1."
In 1965/1966, 12 km north of this village, I surveyed and then oversaw the construction of the Club Med Village "DONORATICO" with Roger Caillet, the village chief in 1966.
Hello Giorgio.
Paul.
Mr. Manetti, greetings from Paris from Robert's son.
Hello, my name is Patricia Courbez. I went on holiday to San Vincenzo around 1965 or 1966 with my parents and sister. So many wonderful memories! I was friends with Mathilde Philipoff, whose daughter was known as Tidou at the time. I have photos of Tidou and me on the beach at the resort. I'd love to get in touch with her, but I can't find anything about her online. I think her wife and Tidou's mother was named Françoise at the time, but I'm not sure. It's all so long ago, but if you have any information to share, please don't hesitate. Here's my email address.
Hello, I'm Tidou's cousin. My aunt was Odette Coterelle, who married Dima after his divorce from Françoise.
Sadly, my dear Tidou passed away very young after a difficult life. I learned of her death by chance while talking with her sister-in-law, Hélène.
I was very fond of her and I don't have any photos of her.
Christian Duparque,
this page does not permit copying and pasting. I only speak English and Russian.
Dimitrii Philippoff, when did he die (date of death), and where was he buried? Cemetery? Any living family?
Константин, напишите мне.
Hi, that's done, kisses, Hélène, half-sister of Thidou.
Hello Hélène, my name is Elisabeth (Lisa). I am Basil's daughter, a White Russian émigré like Dima, who was one of his best friends. I have wonderful memories of our holidays in Nisportino, and I still have a commemorative gold medal that Dima had minted for the 30th anniversary of the Polar Bear Villages.
Hello, my name is Jean-François Joffre. I met Mathilde, a GO (Gentil Organisateur) at the miniclub in Donoratico, Italy, in the summer of 1975, along with her friend Caroline Weinberg. I was an excursion GO. My father, Lucien Joffre, was a member of the club from the very first village of Alcudia and later became the club's lawyer.
I have photos and Ektachrome slides from that time.
Hello, I'm saddened to hear of Thidou's passing. I spent some very pleasant times with her in Italy, and I haven't forgotten them.
I've been searching for photos of Thidou; I have some from 1964 in San Vincenzo, but I can't seem to upload them through this website. If you'd like me to send them to you by email or postal address, please send me your contact information and I'll send them to you. She was a pretty little blonde girl; we're in photos together on the beach and at a costume party with an entertainer. Please feel free to contact me.
Family holidays, we first enjoyed the Philipoff village in San Vincenzo in 1968 (end of August, September). We went back the following years until the village closed forever. But the pinewood is still there, at Ripa degli Etruschi, and you can try to do uninvasive tourist archaeology: beyond the outdoors eating and dancing areas easy to recognize, if you sweep a bit the sand here and there, you can find the foundations of the “paillottes”, (at least, this was the case when I visited the region in the 2000's). At the time, we also put on San Vincenzo harbor the ancient baker of, as he said, the “villaggio francese”. Buon viaggio nel tempo!
This is Hélène, from the Philippoff family, Mr. Konstantin. Could you tell me why you are interested, as it concerns our family? Thank you
Hello Helene. I would like to share with you some information about the history of the Philippoff family in Russia. (Dmitry's mother was Galina Fedorovna, his father was Dimitri Dmitrievich, and Dmitry's father had two brothers). Please contact me at gru.kaluga@mail.ru
Hello Hélène, I'm a sports historian and I'm looking for some information (birth and death dates) about Dimitri. Could you help me? Thank you
Hello Hélène, I'm Patricia Courbez. My parents, still alive at 92, remember you well; they were loyal customers of your father's resorts. So many wonderful memories for me, my sister, and my parents: simple holidays in straw bungalows, sometimes with rather remote restrooms, but a fantastic feeling of freedom.
I have photos of Thidou from 1964 in San Vincenzo, on the beach and at a costume party with an entertainer. I can send them to you if you'd like. Here's my email address if you want to contact me; I can't send photos through this website. I'm very sad to know that Thidou has passed away; I had some wonderful times with her. My mother still wears her polar bear medal; she cherishes it. With best wishes, Patricia Courbez
I just saw your message… Here is my email address: Hélène.nikita@orange.fr . Thank you. Hélène Philippoff (I'm not sure if this email address works). It's April 8, 2024. If you have any photos… Thank you very much. Best regards.
I had the great joy of meeting the Philippoff family at the age of 9 during my first season in the village of San Vincenzo, with images very present in my memory of Thidou (we were the same age) and of Dima with his aura and his American convertible.
Shortly afterwards Dima met my father at the port of Piombino and convinced him to join him in Nisportino for the season at the bar, bringing with him his little boy whom he didn't know what to do with that summer.
Looking back on this period of my childhood allowed me to realize how much Dima had influenced my entire existence through his spirit, his charisma, and his example…
The "Philippoff Holidays" logo, which was printed on the white t-shirts of all the staff, the magnificent polar bear, sits enthroned in my garden (arranged as Dima envisioned) and I take the liberty of telling
Helene again how much her Dad meant to me.
I send you a very fond memory
Giancarlo
Nisportino, I was 18 in 1968. Raimondo was at the beach bar. Hey Jude! The Beatles had just come out. I bought the 45 and we flirted in the evenings to the sound of the Fab Four. I shared my beach hut with a future dentist. So many vivid memories! I'm 74 years old and I still think about those tickets of all colors with a polar bear in the middle. Do you remember that time? What became of Raimondo, Maud, etc
Hello, I was a GO (Gentil Organisateur) with Mathilde at the Donoratico club