Kropotkin was born on December 9, 1842 in Moscow, Russia. His father, Aleksey Petrovich Kropotkin was a prince of the Rurik Dynasty. His father owned large amounts of land and over 1000 serfs. His mother, Yekaterina Nikolaevna Sulima was the daughter of a Cossack general. In 1846, Kropotkin's mother died of tuberculosis. Two years after, Kropotkin's father married a woman named Yelizaveta Mar'kovna Korandino.