Count Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York ...

Fyodor Alexeyevich Golovin (russian: Фёдор Алексеевич Головин; 1650 – ) was the last

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...

boyar A boyar or bolyar was a member of the highest rank of the feudal nobility in many Eastern European states, including Kievan Rus', Bulgaria, Russia, Wallachia and Moldavia, and later Romania, Lithuania and among Baltic Germans. Boyars were ...

and the first

Chancellor of the Russian Empire Chancellor of the Russian Empire (russian: канцлер Российской империи) was a civil position (class) in the Russian Empire, according to the Table of Ranks introduced by Peter the Great in 1722. Chancellor was a civil rank o ...

, he was also a

field marshal Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, ordinarily senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army and as such few persons are appointed to it. It is considered as ...

, and general admiral (1700). He was perhaps the most influential of

Peter the Great Peter I ( – ), most commonly known as Peter the Great,) or Pyotr Alekséyevich ( rus, Пётр Алексе́евич, p=ˈpʲɵtr ɐlʲɪˈksʲejɪvʲɪtɕ, , group=pron was a Russian monarch who ruled the Tsardom of Russia from t ...

's associates until his death in 1706.

Biography

Golovin was descended from the family of Russian treasurers of Byzantine Greek descent. Golovin memorial vasilievskii island

Military career

During the regency of

Sophia Alekseyevna Sophia Alekseyevna ( rus, Со́фья Алексе́евна, p=ˈsofʲjə ɐlʲɪˈksʲejɪvnə; ) was a Russian princess who ruled as regent of Russia from 1682 to 1689. She allied herself with a singularly capable courtier and politician, Pr ...

, sister of Peter the Great, he was sent to the

Amur The Amur (russian: река́ Аму́р, ), or Heilong Jiang (, "Black Dragon River", ), is the world's tenth longest river, forming the border between the Russian Far East and Northeastern China (Inner Manchuria). The Amur proper is long ...

to defend the new

fortress A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

Albazin Albazino (russian: Албазино́; ) is a village ('' selo'') in Skovorodinsky District of Amur Oblast, Russia, noted as the site of Albazin (), the first Russian settlement on the Amur River. Before the arrival of Russians, Albazino belo ...

against the Chinese

Qing Empire The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu people, Manchu-led Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin (1616–1636), La ...

. In 1689, he ended with the Qing Empire the

Treaty of Nerchinsk The Treaty of Nerchinsk () of 1689 was the first treaty between the Tsardom of Russia and the Qing dynasty of China. The Russians gave up the area north of the Amur River as far as the Stanovoy Range and kept the area between the Argun River ...

, by which the line of the Amur, as far as its tributary the Gorbitsa, was retroceded to China because of the impossibility of seriously defending it. In Peter's

Grand Embassy The Grand Embassy (russian: Вели́кое посо́льство, translit=Velíkoye posól'stvo) was a Russian diplomatic mission to Western Europe from 9 March 1697 to 25 August 1698 led by Peter the Great. Description In 1697 and 1698, Pete ...

to the West in 1697 Golovin occupied the second place immediately after

Franz Lefort Franz may refer to: People * Franz (given name) Franz is a German name and cognate of the given name Francis. Notable people named Franz include: Nobility Austria-Hungary * Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor (1708–1765) * Francis II, Holy ...

. It was his chief duty to hire foreign sailors and obtain everything necessary for the construction and complete equipment of a

fleet Fleet may refer to: Vehicles *Fishing fleet *Naval fleet *Fleet vehicles, a pool of motor vehicles *Fleet Aircraft, the aircraft manufacturing company Places Canada * Fleet, Alberta, Canada, a hamlet England * The Fleet Lagoon, at Chesil Beach ...

. On Lefort's death, in March 1699, he succeeded him as

Field Marshal Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, ordinarily senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army and as such few persons are appointed to it. It is considered as ...

. The same year he was created as the first Russian count and was also the first to be decorated with the newly instituted Russian Order of St. Andrew.

Foreign affairs

The conduct of foreign affairs was at the same time entrusted to him, and from 1699 to his death he was the premier minister of the

Tsar Tsar ( or ), also spelled ''czar'', ''tzar'', or ''csar'', is a title used by East and South Slavic monarchs. The term is derived from the Latin word ''caesar'', which was intended to mean "emperor" in the European medieval sense of the ter ...

. Golovin's first achievement as

foreign minister A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between co ...

was to supplement the

Treaty of Karlowitz The Treaty of Karlowitz was signed in Karlowitz, Military Frontier of Archduchy of Austria (present-day Sremski Karlovci, Serbia), on 26 January 1699, concluding the Great Turkish War of 1683–1697 in which the Ottoman Empire was defeated by ...

, by which peace with the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University ...

had only been secured for three years, by concluding with the

Porte Porte may refer to: *Sublime Porte, the central government of the Ottoman empire *Porte, Piedmont, a municipality in the Piedmont region of Italy *John Cyril Porte, British/Irish aviator *Richie Porte, Australian professional cyclist who competes ...

a new treaty at

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...

(June 13, 1700), by which the term of the peace was extended to thirty years and, besides other concessions, the

Azov Azov (russian: Азов), previously known as Azak, is a town in Rostov Oblast, Russia, situated on the Don River just from the Sea of Azov, which derives its name from the town. Population: History Early settlements in the vicinity The mout ...

district and a strip of territory extending into

Kuban Kuban ( Russian and Ukrainian: Кубань; ady, Пшызэ) is a historical and geographical region of Southern Russia surrounding the Kuban River, on the Black Sea between the Don Steppe, the Volga Delta and the Caucasus, and separated ...

and surrendering to Russia. He also controlled, with consummate ability, the operations of the brand new Russian

diplomat A diplomat (from grc, δίπλωμα; romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state or an intergovernmental institution such as the United Nations or the European Union to conduct diplomacy with one or more other states or interna ...

s at the various foreign courts. It is of the opinion of historian R. N. Bain that he was superior to his Moscow contemporaries because of his previous knowledge of statesmanship, something his contemporaries lacked. Bain also claims his death was of great loss to the Tsar, who wrote the words upon his death: "Peter filled with grief".

References

Sources

* * Bushkovitch, Paul, A Concise History of Russia. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2012. {{DEFAULTSORT:Golovin, Feodor Alekseyevich Foreign ministers of the Tsardom of Russia Chancellors of the Russian Empire Field marshals of Russia Imperial Russian Navy admirals Russian nobility 1650 births 1706 deaths 17th-century Russian military personnel 18th-century military personnel from the Russian Empire Russian people of Greek descent