Count Nikolay Nikolayevich Novosiltsev (Novoselcev) (, ) (1761–1838) was a Russian statesman and a close aide to

Alexander I of Russia Alexander I (, ; – ), nicknamed "the Blessed", was Emperor of Russia from 1801, the first king of Congress Poland from 1815, and the grand duke of Finland from 1809 to his death in 1825. He ruled Russian Empire, Russia during the chaotic perio ...

Life

He was a natural son of a wealthy nobleman, married to the aunt of Count

Pavel Stroganov Count Pavel Alexandrovich Stroganov (; 18 June 1774 – 22 June 1817) was a Russian military commander and statesman, Lieutenant General, Adjutant General to Alexander I of Russia. He took part in the Privy Committee that outlined Government ref ...

. This relationship secured for him a place in the Privy Committee that outlined the

Government reform of Alexander I A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a m ...

. He drafted a constitution for the Russian empire that mirrored the constitution suggested by Speransky; unlike Speransky's, Novosiltsev's constitutional suggestion had been accepted by Alexander but the plan was abandoned after Alexander's death in 1825. In 1804 to 1805, Sweden, Russia, England, Austria, Prussia and the Kingdom of Naples planned to form a coalition against Bonaparte's France. Alexander I sent Novosiltsev to mediate in the negotiations between England and France after Napoleon made a peace offering to England when he learned of the anti-Gallic coalition. Before leaving Berlin, Novosiltsev learned that Bonaparte had taken both Genoa and Lucca, and notified Alexander, ending the mediation towards peace in 1805. From 1813 to 1815 he governed the finances of the occupied

Duchy of Warsaw The Duchy of Warsaw (; ; ), also known as the Grand Duchy of Warsaw and Napoleonic Poland, was a First French Empire, French client state established by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1807, during the Napoleonic Wars. It initially comprised the ethnical ...

and between 1815 and 1830 he served in the government of the

Congress Kingdom of Poland Congress Poland or Congress Kingdom of Poland, formally known as the Kingdom of Poland, was a polity created in 1815 by the Congress of Vienna as a semi-autonomous Polish state, a successor to Napoleon's Duchy of Warsaw. It was established wh ...

. In the Kingdom of Poland, he was the tsar's commissar at the

Council of State A council of state is a governmental body in a country, or a subdivision of a country, with a function that varies by jurisdiction. It may be the formal name for the cabinet or it may refer to a non-executive advisory body associated with a head ...

.Jadwiga Nadzieja (1988). Od Jakobina do księcia namiestnika. Wydawnictwo "Śląsk". , p.235-236 He was very influential, widely feared, and one of the ''de facto'' rulers of the country. He organized and led the Russian secret police there (

okhrana The Department for the Protection of Public Safety and Order (), usually called the Guard Department () and commonly abbreviated in modern English sources as the Okhrana ( rus , Охрана, p=ɐˈxranə, a=Ru-охрана.ogg, t= The Guard) w ...

). He was responsible for arrests of student activists in the

Philomaths The Philomaths, or Philomath Society ( or ''Towarzystwo Filomatów'', or ''Filomatų draugija''; from the Greek φιλομαθεῖς "lovers of knowledge"), was a secret student organization that existed from 1817 to 1823 at the Imperial U ...

and

Filaret Association The Filaret Association (also translated as ''filaret(e)s'', ''philaret(e)s''; , , ''Towarzystwo Przyjaciół Pożytecznej Zabawy'', ''filareci''; from the Greek ''philáretos'', "lovers of virtue") was a secret student organization created in 18 ...

in 1823. From 1824, he was curator of

Vilna Governorate The Vilna Governorate was a province ('' guberniya'') of the Northwestern Krai of the Russian Empire. In 1897, the governorate covered an area of and had a population of 1,591,207 inhabitants. The governorate was defined by the Minsk Governo ...

's education and science. He was a supporter of

Russification Russification (), Russianisation or Russianization, is a form of cultural assimilation in which non-Russians adopt Russian culture and Russian language either voluntarily or as a result of a deliberate state policy. Russification was at times ...

policies, persecuted many pro-Polish organizations and activists, and was detested by contemporary Polish society. He concluded his career as the Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers. Nicholas I made him a count in 1835.

In popular culture

The character of count Novosiltsev appears as main antagonist in the drama ''

Dziady Dziady ( "grandfathers, eldfathers", sometimes translated as Forefathers' Eve) is a term in Slavic folklore for the spirits of the ancestors and a collection of pre-Christian rites, rituals and customs that were dedicated to them. The essence o ...

'' part III by

Adam Mickiewicz Adam Bernard Mickiewicz (24 December 179826 November 1855) was a Polish poet, dramatist, essayist, publicist, translator and political activist. He is regarded as national poet in Poland, Lithuania and Belarus. He also largely influenced Ukra ...

. The figure of the senator also appears in the film Chopin. Desire for Love (2002), directed by

Jerzy Antczak Jerzy Antczak (born 25 December 1929, in Włodzimierz Wołyński) is a Polish film director. His film ''Nights and Days'' was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film and was entered into the 26th Berlin International Film Fe ...

. The role was played by

Piotr Fronczewski Piotr Fronczewski (born 8 June 1946) is a Polish actor and a cabaret and theatre singer. He is regarded as one of the greatest and most popular actors of his generation. Life and career He was born in Łódź to a Polish mother, Bogna Duszyńsk ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Novosiltsev, Nikolay Nikolayevich 1761 births 1836 deaths Nobility from the Russian Empire Politicians from the Russian Empire Members of the State Council (Russian Empire) Members of the Russian Academy Honorary members of the Saint Petersburg Academy of Sciences Government officials of Congress Poland Russian people of the Kościuszko Uprising Burials at the Dukhovskaya Church