Count Dmitry Nikolayevich Bludov (Russian: Граф Дмитрий Николаевич Блудов; 1785–1864) was an Imperial Russian official who filled a variety of posts under Nicholas I - Deputy Education Minister (1826–28),

Minister of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...

(1830–31, 1838–39), Minister of the Interior (1832–38), Chief of the Second Section (1839–62). Alexander II appointed him President of the

Academy of Sciences An academy of sciences is a type of learned society or academy (as special scientific institution) dedicated to sciences that may or may not be state funded. Some state funded academies are tuned into national or royal (in case of the Unit ...

(1855) and Chairman of the State Council (1862). Despite his distinguished official career, Bludov is also notable for his literary background. He was related by blood to

Gavrila Derzhavin Gavriil (Gavrila) Romanovich Derzhavin ( rus, Гаврии́л (Гаври́ла) Рома́нович Держа́вин, p=ɡɐˈvrilə rɐˈmanəvʲɪtɕ dʲɪrˈʐavʲɪn, a=Gavrila Romanovich Dyerzhavin.ru.vorb.oga; 14 July 1743 – 20 ...

and Vladislav Ozerov. He was also a founding member of the

Arzamas Society The Arzamas Society (russian: "Арзамас") was a literary society in Saint Petersburg in 1815-1818. The society received its name after a humorous work by a Russian statesman Dmitry Bludov called ''A Vision at the Inn at Arzamas, Published ...

, with ''Cassandra'' as his alias. Bludov's personal friends included Nikolay Karamzin and

Vasily Zhukovsky Vasily Andreyevich Zhukovsky (russian: Василий Андреевич Жуковский, Vasiliy Andreyevich Zhukovskiy; – ) was the foremost Russian poet of the 1810s and a leading figure in Russian literature in the first half of the 19t ...

. It was Bludov who edited and published their posthumous works. Antonina Bludova, a writer and salon-holder, was his daughter. Bludov headed the Russian embassy in London in 1817–20. Although on friendly terms with many of the

Decembrists The Decembrist Revolt ( ru , Восстание декабристов, translit = Vosstaniye dekabristov , translation = Uprising of the Decembrists) took place in Russia on , during the interregnum following the sudden death of Emperor Al ...

, Bludov presided over the court that condemned them to death. During Nicholas I's reign he was considered one of the more liberal officials. He was in charge of reorganizing the courts and drafting a new

criminal code A criminal code (or penal code) is a document that compiles all, or a significant amount of a particular jurisdiction's criminal law. Typically a criminal code will contain offences that are recognised in the jurisdiction, penalties that might ...

(adopted in 1845). Bludov's extensive diaries have never been published.Biography in the Russian Humanitarian Dictionary
/ref> Leo Tolstoy described Bludov's house on Nevsky Avenue as the place "where writers, and in general, the best people of the time would gather. I remember that I read '' Two Hussars'' there for the first time. Bludov was a man who was at one time close to the Decembrists and sympathetic in spirit to the whole progressive movement. All the same he continued in government service under Nicholas". In 1830,

Carl Friedrich von Ledebour Carl Friedrich von Ledebour (8 July 1786, Stralsund – 4 July 1851, Munich;NDB/ADB Deutsche Bi ...

in 'Icones Plantarum' (Icon. Pl.) Vol.2 page5 named an iris with specific name of ''

Iris bloudowii ''Iris bloudowii'' is a species in the genus '' Iris'', it is also in the subgenus of '' Iris'' and in the ''Psammiris'' section. It is a rhizomatous perennial, from Russia, Siberia, Kazakhstan, Mongolia and China, with sickle-shaped leaves, sl ...

'' after Dmitry.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bludov Politicians of the Russian Empire Members of the Russian Academy Members of the State Council (Russian Empire) Interior ministers of the Russian Empire 1785 births 1864 deaths 19th-century politicians from the Russian Empire Burials at Tikhvin Cemetery Expatriates from the Russian Empire in the United Kingdom