Alexander Arkadyevich Suvorov, Prince Italiysky, Count Rymniksky (; 13 June 1804, in

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 ...

– 12 February 1882, in Saint Petersburg), was a Russian general, diplomat and politician.

Life

Education

His parents were

Arkadi Suvorov Arkadi or Arkady Alexandrovich Suvorov (; 4 ( 15) August 1784 – 25 April 1811), Count Rymniksky and Prince Italiysky, was a Russian general. A son of Alexander Suvorov, he rose to the rank of lieutenant general. Life He fought in the Italian ...

and his wife Elena Aleksandrovna Naryshkina, making him the grandson of

Alexander Suvorov Count Alexander Vasilyevich Suvorov-Rymniksky, Prince of Italy () was a Russian general and military theorist in the service of the Russian Empire. Born in Moscow, he studied military history as a young boy and joined the Imperial Russian ...

. His father was drowned in 1811 when Alexander was still a child. He was then sent to the Jesuit college in

, where he was raised (as was the fashion) alongside other sons of Russian aristocrats. Three years later, due to a change in his attitude towards the

Jesuits The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

, his uncle Cyril A. Naryshkin (who had himself been taught by the Jesuits) withdrew Alexander from the school and educated him himself, inviting the best teachers. Alexander's mother Elena was then living in

Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

and wanted him beside her, so he moved to Italy, where, at age 13, he was placed in a school run by the famous Swiss educator Fellenberg in Hofwyl near

Bern Bern (), or Berne (), ; ; ; . is the ''de facto'' Capital city, capital of Switzerland, referred to as the "federal city".; ; ; . According to the Swiss constitution, the Swiss Confederation intentionally has no "capital", but Bern has gov ...

. Alexander stayed here for five years, perfectly mastering several foreign languages, as well as studying history and natural sciences. At the age of 18, he left for Paris, studying at the Sorbonne, before moving on to the

University of Göttingen The University of Göttingen, officially the Georg August University of Göttingen (, commonly referred to as Georgia Augusta), is a Public university, public research university in the city of Göttingen, Lower Saxony, Germany. Founded in 1734 ...

. The long time he spent abroad as a young man undoubtedly influenced his worldview and made him familiar with intellectual movements in Western Europe — for example, while studying in

Göttingen Göttingen (, ; ; ) is a college town, university city in Lower Saxony, central Germany, the Capital (political), capital of Göttingen (district), the eponymous district. The River Leine runs through it. According to the 2022 German census, t ...

in 1825, he joined the student associated Corps Curonia Goettingensis or Kuron VII Göttingen (see ''

Studentenverbindung () or , often referred to as , is the umbrella term for many different kinds of fraternity-type associations in German-speaking countries, including Corps, , , , and Catholic fraternities. Worldwide, there are over 1,600 , about a thousand in ...

'').

Career

He fought in the Caucasus and in Poland and was repeatedly sent on diplomatic missions to the German courts. In 1848 he became Governor-General of Baltic provinces, which he managed highly successfully. From 1861 he was governor general of Saint Petersburg and from 1866 inspector general of the infantry. He is buried in the cemetery of the Trinity-Sergius Monastery. He was awarded Serbian Order of the Cross of Takovo and a number of other decorations.

Family

In 1830 he married Lyubov V Yartsova, and their children were: *Lyubov (1831–1883), first married to state councilor, Gentleman of the Bedchamber AV Golitsyn, second married to Colonel Vladimir Molostvovym (1835–1877), son of Lieutenant General and Senator Vladimir Porfirevich Molostvova. *Arkady (1834–1893), aide-de-camp to

Alexander II of Russia Alexander II ( rus, Алекса́ндр II Никола́евич, Aleksándr II Nikoláyevich, p=ɐlʲɪˈksandr ftɐˈroj nʲɪkɐˈlajɪvʲɪtɕ; 29 April 181813 March 1881) was Emperor of Russia, Congress Poland, King of Poland and Grand Du ...

, who died childless, causing the princes of Italy, Counts of Suvorov-Rymniksky line to become extinct. *Alexandra (1844–1927), maid of honour, married Major-General Sergei Kozlov (1853–1906).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Suvorov, Alexander Arkadyevich 1804 births 1882 deaths Military personnel from Saint Petersburg People from Sankt-Peterburgsky Uyezd Alexander Arkadyevich Nobility from the Russian Empire Princes in Italy Counts of the Holy Roman Empire Diplomats of the Russian Empire Politicians from the Russian Empire Imperial Russian Army generals 19th-century people from the Russian Empire 19th-century diplomats University of Paris alumni University of Göttingen alumni Recipients of the Order of the Cross of Takovo Diplomats from Saint Petersburg Governors-general of Saint Petersburg