Count Dmitry Nikolayevich Bludov (Russian: Граф Дмитрий Николаевич Блудов; 1785–1864) was an

Imperial Russian The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War ...

official who filled a variety of posts under Nicholas I - Deputy Education Minister (1826–28),

Minister of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice is a Ministry (government department), ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of ju ...

(1830–31, 1838–39),

Minister of the Interior An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and identification, emergency ...

(1832–38), Chief of the

Second Section The second (symbol: s) is the unit of time in the International System of Units (SI), historically defined as of a day – this factor derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes and finally to 60 seconds eac ...

(1839–62). Alexander II appointed him President of the

Academy of Sciences An academy of sciences is a type of learned society or academy (as special scientific institution) dedicated to sciences that may or may not be state funded. Some state funded academies are tuned into national or royal (in case of the Unit ...

(1855) and Chairman of the

State Council State Council may refer to: Government * State Council of the Republic of Korea, the national cabinet of South Korea, headed by the President * State Council of the People's Republic of China, the national cabinet and chief administrative autho ...

(1862). Despite his distinguished official career, Bludov is also notable for his literary background. He was related by blood to

Gavrila Derzhavin Gavriil (Gavrila) Romanovich Derzhavin ( rus, Гаврии́л (Гаври́ла) Рома́нович Держа́вин, p=ɡɐˈvrilə rɐˈmanəvʲɪtɕ dʲɪrˈʐavʲɪn, a=Gavrila Romanovich Dyerzhavin.ru.vorb.oga; 14 July 1743 – 20 ...

and Vladislav Ozerov. He was also a founding member of the Arzamas Society, with ''Cassandra'' as his alias. Bludov's personal friends included

Nikolay Karamzin Nikolay Mikhailovich Karamzin (russian: Николай Михайлович Карамзин, p=nʲɪkɐˈlaj mʲɪˈxajləvʲɪtɕ kərɐmˈzʲin; ) was a Russian Empire, Russian Imperial historian, romantic writer, poet and critic. He is best ...

and

Vasily Zhukovsky Vasily Andreyevich Zhukovsky (russian: Василий Андреевич Жуковский, Vasiliy Andreyevich Zhukovskiy; – ) was the foremost Russian poet of the 1810s and a leading figure in Russian literature in the first half of the 19t ...

. It was Bludov who edited and published their posthumous works. Antonina Bludova, a writer and salon-holder, was his daughter. Bludov headed the Russian embassy in London in 1817–20. Although on friendly terms with many of the Decembrists, Bludov presided over the court that condemned them to death. During Nicholas I's reign he was considered one of the more liberal officials. He was in charge of reorganizing the courts and drafting a new

criminal code A criminal code (or penal code) is a document that compiles all, or a significant amount of a particular jurisdiction's criminal law. Typically a criminal code will contain offences that are recognised in the jurisdiction, penalties that migh ...

(adopted in 1845). Bludov's extensive diaries have never been published.Biography in the Russian Humanitarian Dictionary
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Leo Tolstoy Count Lev Nikolayevich TolstoyTolstoy pronounced his first name as , which corresponds to the romanization ''Lyov''. () (; russian: link=no, Лев Николаевич Толстой,In Tolstoy's day, his name was written as in pre-refor ...

described Bludov's house on

Nevsky Avenue Nevsky Prospect ( rus, Не́вский проспе́кт, r=Nevsky Prospekt, p=ˈnʲɛfskʲɪj prɐˈspʲɛkt) is the main street ( high street) in the federal city of St. Petersburg in Russia. It takes its name from the Alexander Nevsky ...

as the place "where writers, and in general, the best people of the time would gather. I remember that I read ''

Two Hussars "Two Hussars" ("Два гусара" Dva gusara" is a novella by Leo Tolstoy published in 1856, and translated into English by Nathan Haskell Dole. This is a novel in which one generation struggles against an earlier generation, or Tolstoy's gene ...

'' there for the first time. Bludov was a man who was at one time close to the Decembrists and sympathetic in spirit to the whole progressive movement. All the same he continued in government service under Nicholas". In 1830,

Carl Friedrich von Ledebour Carl Friedrich von Ledebour (8 July 1786, Stralsund – 4 July 1851, Munich;NDB/ADB Deutsche Bi ...

in 'Icones Plantarum' (Icon. Pl.) Vol.2 page5 named an iris with

specific name Specific name may refer to: * in Database management systems, a system-assigned name that is unique within a particular database In taxonomy, either of these two meanings, each with its own set of rules: * Specific name (botany), the two-part (bino ...

of '' Iris bloudowii'' after Dmitry.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bludov Politicians of the Russian Empire Members of the Russian Academy Members of the State Council (Russian Empire) Interior ministers of the Russian Empire 1785 births 1864 deaths 19th-century politicians from the Russian Empire Burials at Tikhvin Cemetery Expatriates from the Russian Empire in the United Kingdom