Nikolai Petrovich Vertinsky came from a modest family.[1] He was most likely born in the Russian Empire, in what is now Kiev.
Nikolai became a well-known lawyer.[2] It is said he defended poor people, and even helped a few financially.[1] Nikolai was also a hobbyist journalist, published under the name Graf Niver.[1][2] Nicolai first married a woman named Varvara.[1] He later wanted to divorce her, but she refused.[1][2] Nikolai lived with Eugenia Stepanovna Skolatskaya, who was from a noble family, and had two children with her - Nadiya and Oleksandr.[1][2][3]
Eugenia died in 1892, and Nikolai died in 1894, from tuberculosis.[3]