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

Boris Alexeyevich Golitsyn (surname sometimes transcribed Galitzin, rus, Голи́цын, Golitsyn, ɡɐˈlʲitsɨn; 1654–1714) was a Russian politician of the noble Golitsyn family. His chief political opponent was his own cousin Prince Vasily Vasilyevich Golitsyn.

Life

Boris was a court chamberlain since 1676. He was the young tsar

Peter the Great Peter I (, ; – ), better known as Peter the Great, was the Sovereign, Tsar and Grand Prince of all Russia, Tsar of all Russia from 1682 and the first Emperor of Russia, Emperor of all Russia from 1721 until his death in 1725. He reigned j ...

's tutor and chief supporter when, in 1689, Peter resisted the usurpations of his elder half sister Sophia, and the head of the loyal council which assembled at the Trinity monastery during the crisis of the struggle. It was Golitsyn who suggested taking refuge in that strong fortress and won over the

boyars A boyar or bolyar was a member of the highest rank of the Feudalism, feudal nobility in many Eastern European states, including First Bulgarian Empire, Bulgaria, Kievan Rus' (and later Russian nobility, Russia), Boyars of Moldavia and Wallach ...

of the opposite party. In 1690 he was created a boyar and shared with Lev Naryshkin, Peter's uncle, the conduct of home affairs. After the death of the tsaritsa Natalia, Peter's mother, in 1694, his influence increased still further. The estate Bolshiye Vyazyomy was given to him; since then Vyazyomy remained the ancestral estate of the Golitsyns, although Boris rarely came to Vyazyomy preferring to live at the Dubrovitsy estate (near

Podolsk Podolsk ( rus, Подольск, p=pɐˈdolʲsk) is an industrial city, center of Podolsk Urban Okrug, Moscow Oblast, Russia, located on the Pakhra River (a tributary of the Moskva River). Population: History The first mentions of the vill ...

), which came from his wife's family. From 1690 to 1704, in the Dubrovitsy estate, he led the construction of a stone Church of the Theotokos of the Sign. His son Vasily (1681-1710) inherited the estate. He accompanied Peter to the

White Sea The White Sea (; Karelian language, Karelian and ; ) is a southern inlet of the Barents Sea located on the northwest coast of Russia. It is surrounded by Karelia to the west, the Kola Peninsula to the north, and the Kanin Peninsula to the nort ...

(1694–1695); he took part in the Azov campaign (1695); and was one of the triumvirate who ruled Russia during Peters first foreign tour (1697–1698) to Holland and England. The Astrakhan rebellion (1706), which affected all the districts under his government, shook Peter's confidence in him, and seriously impaired his position. In 1707 he was superseded in the

Volga The Volga (, ) is the longest river in Europe and the longest endorheic basin river in the world. Situated in Russia, it flows through Central Russia to Southern Russia and into the Caspian Sea. The Volga has a length of , and a catchment ...

n provinces by Andrei Matveev. A year before his death he entered a monastery. Golitsyn was a typical representative of Russian society of the end of the 17th century leaning towards Westernism. In many respects he was far in advance of his time. He was highly educated, spoke

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

with graceful fluency, frequented the society of scholars and had his children carefully educated according to the best European models. Yet this eminent, superior personage was an habitual drunkard, an uncouth savage who intruded upon the hospitality of wealthy foreigners, and was not ashamed to seize upon any dish he took a fancy to, and send it home to his wife. It was his reckless drunkenness which ultimately ruined him in the estimation of Peter the Great, despite his previous inestimable services. The Polish diplomat Foy de la Neuville visited Moscow at the end of 1689 and hosted a banquet for two Russian nobles, Golitsyn and Matveev, who had long wanted to try French roast. Both nobles were so pleased with this meal that they sent several plates to their wives. Three days after this banquet, Matveev invited to dine at his house, where Neuville was received with great dignity.

References

;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Golitsyn, Boris 1654 births 1714 deaths Boris Alexeyevich 17th-century Russian nobility