Count Alexei Grigorievich Razumovsky (, ; 1709–1771)Russian biographical dictionary
/ref> was a Ukrainian-born

Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

Registered Cossack who rose to become the lover, and it was suggested he was the

morganatic Morganatic marriage, sometimes called a left-handed marriage, is a marriage between people of unequal social rank, which in the context of royalty or other inherited title prevents the principal's position or privileges being passed to the spous ...

spouse, of Empress Elizabeth Petrovna of Russia. A member of the House of Razumovsky, he survived Elizabeth. The matter of any children they may have had together is unresolved.

Early life

Alexei Grigorievich Razumovsky was born as Alexei (or Oleksiy) Rozum on 17 March 1709 (NS: 28 March) on Lemeshi, a farm in the area of Chernigov Regiment,

Tsardom of Russia The Tsardom of Russia, also known as the Tsardom of Moscow, was the centralized Russian state from the assumption of the title of tsar by Ivan the Terrible, Ivan IV in 1547 until the foundation of the Russian Empire by Peter the Great in 1721. ...

(now Ukraine), to the family of a registered Ukrainian Cossack, Gregory Rozum. In his youth he was a shepherd and he was taught to read and write by a rural sexton. Having a fine voice, he sang in the choir at the village church. In 1731, Colonel Vyshnevsky, one of empress

Anna Ivanovna Anna Ioannovna (; ), also russified as Anna Ivanovna and sometimes anglicized as Anne, served as regent of the Duchy of Courland and Semigallia from 1711 until 1730 and then ruled as Empress of Russia from 1730 to 1740. Much of her administration ...

's courtiers, while passing through the village on his way back to the Russian capital from a mission to Hungary, was impressed with his vocal ability, and took him to

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

where he joined the choir of the Russian palace chapel as Alexei Grigoriev. Razumovsky was handsome, which, along with his vocal talents, captivated Elizabeth Petrovna, who brought him to the imperial court in 1732. With the deportation of Elizabeth's then favourite, Alexis Shubin, Razumovsky became her favorite. After losing his voice, he was accepted in the post of the court

bandura A bandura ( ) is a Ukrainians, Ukrainian plucked string instrument, plucked-string folk-instrument. It combines elements of the zither and lute and, up until the 1940s, was also often called a kobza. Early instruments () had 5 to 12 strings and ...

player, and then the manager of one of Elizabeth's mansions. He received the rank of the hof-quartermeister; and actually supervised Elizabeth's court. During the period of Anna Leopoldovna's reign he was made a Kamer-Junker.Brockhaus and Efron encyclopedic dictionary
/ref>

''Night Emperor''

Razumovsky played an important role in the palace revolution of 25–26 November 1741 (NS 6–7 December), which brought about Elizabeth Petrovna's accession to the throne. On 30 November (NS 11 December) he was appointed as a chamberlain with the rank of a general-lieutenant. On the coronation day (25 April (NS: 6 May) 1742) he was made a

Hofmarschall The ''Hofmarschall'' (plural: Hofmarschälle) was the administrative official in charge of a princely German court, supervising all its economic affairs. Historically, every civil service was regarded as court service (e.g. the Russian nobility i ...

. Other honours bestowed on him included the Order of Saint Andrew and the

Order of Alexander Nevsky The Order of Alexander Nevsky () is an Order (distinction), order of merit of the Russia, Russian Federation named in honour of saint Alexander Nevsky (1220–1263) and bestowed to civil servants for twenty years or more of highly meritorious ser ...

, as well as being awarded numerous estates in

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

and elsewhere. Two years later in 1744, he received the comital title

Reichsgraf Imperial Count (, ) was a title in the Holy Roman Empire. During the medieval era, it was used exclusively to designate the holder of an imperial county, that is, a fief held directly (Imperial immediacy, immediately) from the emperor, rather th ...

(рейхграф in Russian) from the Holy Roman Emperor Charles VII and he was made a count in Russia in the same year. In 1745 he became the captain-lieutenant of the life-guards, and in 1748 he became the lieutenant-colonel of life-guards. On 5 September (NS: 16 September) 1756 he received the rank of field marshal. During Elizabeth Petrovna's reign he kept an exclusive position at court (though in his last years he was rivaled by the younger

Ivan Shuvalov Ivan Ivanovich Shuvalov (; 1 November 172726 November 1797) was called the ''Maecenas'' (patron) of the Russian Enlightenment, the first Russian Minister of Education and Active Privy Councillor (1773). Russia's first theatre, university, and ...

); in 1744, the empress visited his native village and met members of his family. Razumovsky's apartments in the Summer Palace directly adjoined to Elizabeth's apartments, and he had constant access to her. Razumovsky was not interested in politics, but he quite often supported chancellor Bestuzhev. On his advice, the office of Ukrainian ''

hetman ''Hetman'' is a political title from Central and Eastern Europe, historically assigned to military commanders (comparable to a field marshal or imperial marshal in the Holy Roman Empire). First used by the Czechs in Bohemia in the 15th century, ...

'' was restored and his younger brother

Kirill Razumovsky Count Kirill Grigoryevich Razumovsky or Razumovski (also known as ''Cyril Razumovski''; ; ; Oleksander Ohloblyn. Rozumovsky, Kyrylo'. Encyclopedia of Ukraine – ) was a Russian statesman of Ukrainian Cossack origin who served as the last ...

was made a ''hetman'' of the Zaporozhian Host and president of the

Russian Academy of Sciences The Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS; ''Rossíyskaya akadémiya naúk'') consists of the national academy of Russia; a network of scientific research institutes from across the Russian Federation; and additional scientific and social units such ...

Later years

Before her death, the empress made her successor Peter III promise not to offend her favorites. In 1762, Razumovsky submitted his resignation and moved from the

Winter Palace The Winter Palace is a palace in Saint Petersburg that served as the official residence of the House of Romanov, previous emperors, from 1732 to 1917. The palace and its precincts now house the Hermitage Museum. The floor area is 233,345 square ...

to the

Anichkov Palace The Anichkov Palace, a former imperial palace in Saint Petersburg, stands at the intersection of Nevsky Avenue and the Fontanka River. History 18th century The palace, situated on the plot formerly owned by Antonio de Vieira (1682?-1745), ...

, which had been presented to him by Elizabeth. After

Catherine II Catherine II. (born Princess Sophie of Anhalt-Zerbst; 2 May 172917 November 1796), most commonly known as Catherine the Great, was the reigning empress of Russia from 1762 to 1796. She came to power after overthrowing her husband, Peter III ...

's accession to the throne, Razumovsky refused the title of highness that was offered to him. At the empress's request, he destroyed all documents about his marriage with Elizabeth. He died on 6 July (NS 17 July) 1771 in Saint Petersburg and was buried in the Annunciation Church of the Alexandro-Nevskaya Lavra. The question of Razumovsky and Elizabeth Petrovna's children remains unresolved and subject to many legends. The best known pretenders were two princesses Tarakanova, one of whom (Augusta Tarakanova) became a nun under the name Dosifeya. She died in 1810 and was buried in the

Romanov family The House of Romanov (also transliterated as Romanoff; , ) was the reigning imperial house of Russia from 1613 to 1917. They achieved prominence after Anastasia Romanovna married Ivan the Terrible, the first crowned tsar of all Russia. Ni ...

crypt; another (Elizabeth Tarakanova) was arrested in

Livorno Livorno () is a port city on the Ligurian Sea on the western coast of the Tuscany region of Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Livorno, having a population of 152,916 residents as of 2025. It is traditionally known in English as Leghorn ...

, Tuscany by

Aleksei Grigoryevich Orlov Count Alexei (Alexey) Grigoryevich Orlov-Chesmensky (; – ) was a Russian soldier, general-in-chief, general admiral and statesman, who rose to prominence during the reign of Catherine the Great. His joint victory with Grigory Spiridov an ...

and returned to Russia in February 1775. She was then imprisoned in the

Peter and Paul Fortress The Peter and Paul Fortress () is the original citadel of Saint Petersburg, Russia, founded by Peter the Great in 1703 and built to Domenico Trezzini's designs from 1706 to 1740 as a star fortress. Between the first half of the 1700s and early ...

, where she died from

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

. The legend of her being drowned during the floods of 1777 served as the plot for a painting by artist Konstantin Flavitsky (1864, Tretyakov Gallery).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Razumovsky, Alexey 1709 births 1771 deaths Field marshals of the Russian Empire Ukrainian people in the Russian Empire Ukrainian Cossacks Zaporozhian Cossacks Kobzarstvo Torbanists Alexei 18th-century people from the Russian Empire 18th-century Ukrainian people 18th-century generals Male lovers of Russian royalty Princes of the Holy Roman Empire Morganatic spouses of Russian royalty Burials at the Annunciation Church of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra Recipients of the Order of the White Eagle (Poland) Recipients of the Order of Alexander Nevsky Recipients of the Order of St. Andrew

Early life

''Night Emperor''

Later years

See also

References