Dolgorukov Vasiliy Lukich (painted portrait)

Prince Vasiliy Lukich Dolgorukov (russian: Князь Василий Лукич Долгоруков; 16728 November 1739) was a 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 ...

and minister who was the most powerful man in the country in the later years of Peter II's reign. A male-line descendant of the legendary prince

Rurik Rurik (also Ryurik; orv, Рюрикъ, Rjurikŭ, from Old Norse '' Hrøríkʀ''; russian: Рюрик; died 879); be, Рурык, Ruryk was a semi-legendary Varangian chieftain of the Rus' who in the year 862 was invited to reign in Novgor ...

, Dolgorukov was one of the first batch of young Russians whom

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 ...

sent abroad to be educated. From 1687 to 1700 he resided in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...

, where he learned thoroughly the principal

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, acquired the superficial elegance of the court of

Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; french: Château de Versailles ) is a former royal residence built by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, about west of Paris, France. The palace is owned by the French Republic and since 1995 has been managed, ...

, and associated with the

Jesuits , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders = ...

, whose moral system he is said to have appropriated. He began his diplomatic career as his uncle Yakov Fyodorovich's aide. He also accompanied another uncle Grigory Fyodorovich on a mission to Poland. On his return home he entered the

diplomatic service Diplomatic service is the body of diplomats and foreign policy officers maintained by the government of a country to communicate with the governments of other countries. Diplomatic personnel obtains diplomatic immunity when they are accredited to o ...

. From 1706 to 1707 he represented

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 ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

; and from 1707 to 1720 he was appointed minister in

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. There, he succeeded in persuading King Frederick IV to join the second

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against

Charles XII Charles XII, sometimes Carl XII ( sv, Karl XII) or Carolus Rex (17 June 1682 – 30 November 1718 O.S.), was King of Sweden (including current Finland) from 1697 to 1718. He belonged to the House of Palatinate-Zweibrücken, a branch line of ...

in the

Treaty of Copenhagen (1709) On 22 October 1709, during the Great Northern War, the alliance between the Russian Empire and Denmark-Norway was renewed in the Treaty of Copenhagen. Charles XII of Sweden had destroyed the previous alliance in Travendal (1700). For Russia, V ...

. At the end of 1720 he was transferred to Versailles, in order to seek the

mediation Mediation is a structured, interactive process where an impartial third party neutral assists disputing parties in resolving conflict through the use of specialized communication and negotiation techniques. All participants in mediation are ...

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in the projected

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with

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and obtain the recognition of Peter's imperial title by the

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court. In 1724 he represented Russia in

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officiall ...

and in 1726 in

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, the object of the latter mission being to detach

from the

Hanoverian alliance The Treaty of Hanover was a treaty of defensive alliance signed on 3 September 1725 by the Kingdom of Great Britain, the Electorate of Hanover, the Kingdom of France, and the Kingdom of Prussia. The alliance was formed to combat the power of the Au ...

, in which he did not succeed. During the reign of Peter II, Dolgorukov was appointed a member of the

Supreme Privy Council The Supreme Privy Council (russian: Верховный тайный совет) of Imperial Russia, founded on 19 February 1726 and operative until 1730, originated as a body of advisors to Empress Catherine I. History Originally, the council com ...

. After procuring the

banishment Exile is primarily penal expulsion from one's native country, and secondarily expatriation or prolonged absence from one's homeland under either the compulsion of circumstance or the rigors of some high purpose. Usually persons and peoples su ...

of Menshikov he drew up a letter purporting to be the last will of the emperor, appointing Catherine Dolgorukova his successor, but shortly afterwards abandoned the nefarious scheme as impracticable, and was one of the first to support the election of Anne of Courland to the throne on condition that she first signed nine "articles of limitation", which left the supreme power in the hands of the Russian council. Anne, who repudiated the "articles" on the first opportunity, never forgave Dolgorukov for this. He was deprived of all his offices and dignities on April 17, 1730, and banished first to his country seat and then to the

Solovetsky Monastery The Solovetsky Monastery ( rus, Солове́цкий монасты́рь, p=səlɐˈvʲɛtskʲɪj mənɐˈstɨrʲ) is a fortified monastery located on the Solovetsky Islands in the White Sea in northern Russia. It was one of the largest Chris ...

. Nine years later the charge of forging the will of Peter II was revived against him, and he was tortured and then beheaded in

Novgorod Veliky Novgorod ( rus, links=no, Великий Новгород, t=Great Newtown, p=vʲɪˈlʲikʲɪj ˈnovɡərət), also known as just Novgorod (), is the largest city and administrative centre of Novgorod Oblast, Russia. It is one of the ...

on November 8, 1739.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dolgorukov Vasily Lukicha Politicians of the Russian Empire 1672 births 1739 deaths Members of the Supreme Privy Council Ambassadors of the Russian Empire to Poland Ambassadors of the Tsardom of Russia to Denmark Ambassadors of the Russian Empire to France Ambassadors of the Tsardom of Russia to Poland Recipients of the Order of the White Eagle (Poland)