Prince Boris Ivanovich Kurakin (; 30 July O.S. 20 July">Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html" ;"title="nowiki/>Old Style and New Style dates">O.S. 20 July1676 – 28 October O.S. 17 October">Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html" ;"title="nowiki/>Old Style and New Style dates">O.S. 17 October1727) was the third permanent

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or so ...

abroad, succeeding Andrey Matveyev in The Hague and one of the closest associates of Peter the Great. He was also the brother-in-law of the

tsar Tsar (; also spelled ''czar'', ''tzar'', or ''csar''; ; ; sr-Cyrl-Latn, цар, car) is a title historically used by Slavic monarchs. The term is derived from the Latin word '' caesar'', which was intended to mean ''emperor'' in the Euro ...

, being married to Xenia Feodorovna Lopukhina, daughter of Feodor Abramovich Lopukhin and sister of Eudoxia Lopukhina.

Early life

Boris was born in

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

on 30 July O.S. 20 July">Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html" ;"title="nowiki/> O.S. 20 July1676 to the Kurakin">House of Kurakin, one of the Gedyminid">Old Style and New Style dates">O.S. 20 July1676 to the Kurakin">House of Kurakin, one of the Gedyminid families of Tsardom of Russia">Muscovy.

Career

Members of this family were promoted straight to the rank of ''okolnichy'', skipping lower ranks like the ''stolnik''. Due to the upheavals during the rule of Tsar Feodor III of Russia, Feodor III, he was appointed as part of the retinue of Tsar Peter the Great. The connections he made while in Muscovite court life led him to marry the sister of Eudoxia (Peter's first wife). In 1697, he participated in the Azov campaigns and then sent to

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

to learn

navigation Navigation is a field of study that focuses on the process of monitoring and controlling the motion, movement of a craft or vehicle from one place to another.Bowditch, 2003:799. The field of navigation includes four general categories: land navig ...

. His long and honourable diplomatic career began in 1707, when he was sent to

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

to induce the pope not to recognize

Charles XII Charles XII, sometimes Carl XII () or Carolus Rex (17 June 1682 – 30 November 1718 Old Style and New Style dates, O.S.), was King of Sweden from 1697 to 1718. He belonged to the House of Palatinate-Zweibrücken, a branch line of the House of ...

's candidate, Stanislaus Leszczynski, as king of

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

. In 1709, Boris Kurakin was appointed commander of the Semenovsky Regiment during the Battle of Poltava. From 1708 to 1712, he represented

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

Hanover Hanover ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Lower Saxony. Its population of 535,932 (2021) makes it the List of cities in Germany by population, 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-l ...

, and

the Hague The Hague ( ) is the capital city of the South Holland province of the Netherlands. With a population of over half a million, it is the third-largest city in the Netherlands. Situated on the west coast facing the North Sea, The Hague is the c ...

successively, and, in 1713, was the principal Russian

plenipotentiary A ''plenipotentiary'' (from the Latin ''plenus'' "full" and ''potens'' "powerful") is a diplomat who has full powers—authorization to sign a treaty or convention on behalf of a sovereign. When used as a noun more generally, the word can als ...

at the peace congress of Utrecht. From 1716 to 1722, he held the post of

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, and when, in 1722, Peter set forth on his Persian campaign, Kurakin was appointed the supervisor of all the Russian ambassadors accredited to the various

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

an courts. In 1723, he attempted to arrange the marriage of Elizaveta Petrovna to

Louis XV Louis XV (15 February 1710 – 10 May 1774), known as Louis the Beloved (), was King of France from 1 September 1715 until his death in 1774. He succeeded his great-grandfather Louis XIV at the age of five. Until he reached maturity (then defi ...

. He died on 28 October O.S. 17 October">Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html" ;"title="nowiki/>Old Style and New Style dates">O.S. 17 October1727 in Paris.

Legacy

Kurakin has been referred to as “the father of Russian diplomacy” for his role in shaping Russia’s early foreign policy. Contemporary accounts praised his diplomatic skill and political awareness. He played a significant role during the final stages of the Great Northern War, particularly in preventing Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain from declaring war against Peter's close ally, Denmark–Norway, Denmark, at the crisis of the struggle. As Duc de Saint-Simon put it, "c'etait un grand homme, bien fait, qui sentait fort la grandeur de son origine, avec beaucoup d'esprit, de tour et d'instruction". Kurakin was one of the best-educated Russians of his day, and his

autobiography An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life, providing a personal narrative that reflects on the author's experiences, memories, and insights. This genre allows individuals to share thei ...

, carried down to 1709, is an important historical document. He intended to write a history of his own times with Peter the Great as the central figure, but got no further than the summary, entitled ''History of Tsar Peter Aleksievich and the People Nearest to Him (1682-1694)''. His vast

archive An archive is an accumulation of historical records or materials, in any medium, or the physical facility in which they are located. Archives contain primary source documents that have accumulated over the course of an individual or organ ...

was published in the 19th century, revealing Kurakin as a master of literary style. He is held responsible for introducing many new words to the

Russian language Russian is an East Slavic languages, East Slavic language belonging to the Balto-Slavic languages, Balto-Slavic branch of the Indo-European languages, Indo-European language family. It is one of the four extant East Slavic languages, and is ...

Family

Kurakin's descendants were also noted for their diplomatic careers. His son Alexander (1697–1749) was likewise ambassador to Paris, whereas the latter's grandson Alexander Kurakin (1752–1818) served as ambassador to Paris and

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

under Alexander I and Vice-Chancellor of the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

in 1796.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kurakin, Boris 1676 births 1727 deaths Politicians from the Russian Empire Gediminids 18th-century diplomats of the Russian Empire 17th-century Russian diplomats 18th-century writers from the Russian Empire 18th-century male writers from the Russian Empire Ambassadors of the Russian Empire to France Battle of Poltava Ambassadors of the Russian Empire to the United Kingdom Ambassadors of the Russian Empire to the Netherlands