Ivan Konstantinovich Grigorovich () (26 January 1853 – 3 March 1930) served as Imperial Russia's last Naval Minister from 1911 until the onset of the 1917 revolution.

Early career

Grigorovich was from a Russian noble family and opted for a military career after the death of his father, Konstantin Ivanovich Grigorovich. Graduating from the Sea Cadet Corps in 1874 Grigorovich served as an officer on various ships. In 1893, he was promoted to captain, 1st rank. In 1896 to 1898 he was appointed Russian naval attaché in London. In 1899 he was appointed to command the battleship , which was being completed in France. In 1903 ''Tsesarevich'' sailed to Port Arthur.Kowner, '' Historical Dictionary of the Russo-Japanese War'', p. 134-135. During the surprise Japanese torpedo boat attack on Port Arthur, starting the

Russo-Japanese War The Russo-Japanese War (8 February 1904 – 5 September 1905) was fought between the Russian Empire and the Empire of Japan over rival imperial ambitions in Manchuria and the Korean Empire. The major land battles of the war were fought on the ...

, ''Tsesarevich'' was hit by a Japanese torpedo but remained afloat and contributed to driving off the Japanese attack. Grigorovich was awarded the Order of St Vladimir, 3rd class with swords for his role in the battle. After the death of Admiral

Stepan Makarov Stepan Osipovich Makarov (, ; – ) was a Russian vice-admiral, commander in the Imperial Russian Navy, oceanographer, member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, and author of several books. He was a pioneer of insubmersibility theory (the ...

, he was promoted to rear admiral and appointed chief of Port Arthur's port. Under his effective management, the Russian Pacific squadron had no shortage of coal, munitions or any supplies during the Siege of Port Arthur. In 1904 he was also awarded the

Order of Saint Stanislaus The Order of Saint Stanislaus (, ), also spelled Stanislas, was a Polish order of knighthood founded in 1765 by King Stanisław August Poniatowski of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. It remained under the Congress Poland, Kingdom of Pola ...

, 1st class.

As admiral

After the end of the war, Grigorovich was appointed chief of staff of the

Black Sea Fleet The Black Sea Fleet () is the Naval fleet, fleet of the Russian Navy in the Black Sea, the Sea of Azov and the Mediterranean Sea. The Black Sea Fleet, along with other Russian ground and air forces on the Crimea, Crimean Peninsula, are subordin ...

. He was appointed commander of the naval base at Libau in 1908 awarded the Order of St Anna, 1st class, and became commander of the naval base at

Kronstadt Kronstadt (, ) is a Russian administrative divisions of Saint Petersburg, port city in Kronshtadtsky District of the federal cities of Russia, federal city of Saint Petersburg, located on Kotlin Island, west of Saint Petersburg, near the head ...

in 1909. In 1909 he was appointed Deputy Navy Minister and promoted to admiral in 1911. From 1911 until the onset of revolution in 1917 he served as Russia's Naval Minister, overseeing a huge rearmament programme. The naval build-up included building four ''Gangut''-class battleships for the

Baltic Fleet The Baltic Fleet () is the Naval fleet, fleet of the Russian Navy in the Baltic Sea. Established 18 May 1703, under Tsar Peter the Great as part of the Imperial Russian Navy, the Baltic Fleet is the oldest Russian fleet. In 1918, the fleet w ...

and four ''Imperatritsa Mariya''-class battleships for the

. He personally visited the shipyards and the different fleets of Imperial Russia to supervise the progress of the construction of warships, and the training of crew and sailors. He enjoyed good relationships with the

Duma A duma () is a Russian assembly with advisory or legislative functions. The term ''boyar duma'' is used to refer to advisory councils in Russia from the 10th to 17th centuries. Starting in the 18th century, city dumas were formed across Russia ...

and used his popularity to secure huge extra funds to expand the navy. He remained in charge of the Imperial Russian Navy through most of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. He was chairman of the Admiralty Board from 1911 to 1915, and was a member of the State Council from 1913 to 1917. Grigorovich was politically sympathetic to the Octobrist Party and was nominated as a candidate for Prime Minister in 1916; however, his candidacy was rejected due to objections from dowager tsarina Maria Feodorovna over Grigorovich's liberal views.

Post-Revolution

Grigorovich was dismissed from office in the wake of the

February Revolution The February Revolution (), known in Soviet historiography as the February Bourgeois Democratic Revolution and sometimes as the March Revolution or February Coup was the first of Russian Revolution, two revolutions which took place in Russia ...

on 31 March 1917. He served on the Historical Commission and was asked to write his memoirs (which were only published in 1993, after the fall of the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

. However, he was dismissed in October 1921 due to downsizing, and lived in extreme poverty, suffering frequently from

pneumonia Pneumonia is an Inflammation, inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as Pulmonary alveolus, alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of Cough#Classification, productive or dry cough, ches ...

and for some time lived in the apartment of Aleksey Krylov. From his retirement, he asked for permission to get medical treatment abroad, and left for

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

in the autumn of 1924. He lived in

exile Exile or banishment 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 ...

in France in

poverty Poverty is a state or condition in which an individual lacks the financial resources and essentials for a basic standard of living. Poverty can have diverse Biophysical environmen ...

until his death in 1930, with an income by selling his own

oil painting Oil painting is a painting method involving the procedure of painting with pigments combined with a drying oil as the Binder (material), binder. It has been the most common technique for artistic painting on canvas, wood panel, or oil on coppe ...

s of

seascape A seascape is a photograph, painting, or other work of art which depicts the sea, in other words an example of marine art. The word originated as a formation from landscape, which was first used for images of land in art. By a similar de ...

s. On his death, he was initially buried in the Russian Cemetery in

Menton Menton (; in classical norm or in Mistralian norm, , ; ; or depending on the orthography) is a Commune in France, commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region on the French Riviera, close to the Italia ...

. In 2005 the urn containing his ashes was taken aboard the cruiser , which carried his remains to

Novorossiysk Novorossiysk (, ; ) is a city in Krasnodar Krai, Russia. It is one of the largest ports on the Black Sea. It is one of the few cities designated by the Soviet Union as a Hero City. The population was History In antiquity, the shores of the ...

. The ashes were then flown to

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 ...

and buried in his family vault in the

Alexander Nevsky Lavra Saint Alexander Nevsky Lavra or Saint Alexander Nevsky Monastery was founded by Peter I of Russia in 1710 at the eastern end of the Nevsky Prospekt in Saint Petersburg, in the belief that this was the site of the Neva Battle in 1240 when Alexa ...

in accordance with his will. The Russian Navy has named the first of the ''Admiral Grigorovich''-class frigates after Ivan Grigorovich. He was awarded Order of Prince Danilo I, Order of the Cross of Takovo and a number of other decorations.

Notes

References

External links

Short biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Grigorovich, Ivan 1853 births 1930 deaths Government ministers of Russia Imperial Russian Navy admirals Politicians from the Russian Empire Members of the State Council (Russian Empire) Russian military personnel of the Russo-Japanese War Russian military personnel of World War I Russian Provisional Government admirals Recipients of the Order of Saint Stanislaus (Russian), 1st class Recipients of the Order of St. Anna, 1st class Recipients of the Order of St. Vladimir, 3rd class Admirals of World War I Burials at Nikolskoe Cemetery Naval Cadet Corps alumni