Mikhail Nikolayevich Ostrovsky (russian: Михаил Николаевич Островский; 1827–1901) was a Russian statesman who served as Minister of State Property (a post roughly equivalent to the American position of Secretary of the Interior) during the reign of Alexander III.

Early life and career

Ostrovsky was born March 30 (April 11

new style Old Style (O.S.) and New Style (N.S.) indicate dating systems before and after a calendar change, respectively. Usually, this is the change from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar as enacted in various European countries between 158 ...

), 1827, in the

Zamoskvorechye District Zamoskvorechye District (russian: райо́н Замоскворе́чье) is a district of Central Administrative Okrug of the federal city of Moscow, Russia. Population: The district contains the eastern half of historical Zamoskvorechye ...

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

. His father was a first-generation nobleman of the church estate, and his older brother

Alexander Ostrovsky Alexander Nikolayevich Ostrovsky (russian: Алекса́ндр Никола́евич Остро́вский; ) was a Russian playwright, generally considered the greatest representative of the Russian realistic period. The author of 47 original ...

became a noted playwright. Ostrovsky studied at the First Moscow Gymnasium and in 1848 was graduated from Moscow Imperial University. He entered government service in the office of the Civil Governor of

Simbirsk Ulyanovsk, known until 1924 as Simbirsk, is a city and the administrative center of Ulyanovsk Oblast, Russia, located on the Volga River east of Moscow. Population: The city, founded as Simbirsk (), was the birthplace of Vladimir Lenin (born ...

, assisting Auditor General V. A. Tatarinov in the introduction of auditing reforms. From April 17, 1871 to 1878, Ostrovsky was Associate State Comptroller. He was assigned to perform audits in Vladimir,

Tula Tula may refer to: Geography Antarctica *Tula Mountains * Tula Point India * Tulā, a solar month in the traditional Indian calendar Iran *Tula, Iran, a village in Hormozgan Province Italy *Tula, Sardinia, municipality (''comune'') in the pr ...

, Kaluga,

Yaroslavl Yaroslavl ( rus, Ярослáвль, p=jɪrɐˈsɫavlʲ) is a city and the administrative center of Yaroslavl Oblast, Russia, located northeast of Moscow. The historic part of the city is a World Heritage Site, and is located at the confluence ...

Kostroma Kostroma ( rus, Кострома́, p=kəstrɐˈma) is a historic city and the administrative center of Kostroma Oblast, Russia. A part of the Golden Ring of Russian cities, it is located at the confluence of the rivers Volga and Kostroma. Popul ...

, Pskov,

Vilna Vilnius ( , ; see also other names) is the capital and largest city of Lithuania, with a population of 592,389 (according to the state register) or 625,107 (according to the municipality of Vilnius). The population of Vilnius's functional ur ...

Grodno Grodno (russian: Гродно, pl, Grodno; lt, Gardinas) or Hrodna ( be, Гродна ), is a city in western Belarus. The city is located on the Neman River, 300 km (186 mi) from Minsk, about 15 km (9 mi) from the Polish ...

, Kovno Province, and the former Kingdom of Poland (then a Russian possession). In 1877 he performed a field audit of the Caucasus Army.

Later achievements and honors

In 1872, Ostrovsky was a made a senator, and in 1878 a member of the

State Council of Imperial Russia The State Council ( rus, Госуда́рственный сове́т, p=ɡəsʊˈdarstvʲɪn(ː)ɨj sɐˈvʲet) was the supreme state advisory body to the Tsar in Imperial Russia. From 1906, it was the upper house of the parliament under the ...

. From May 4, 1881 to January 1, 1893, Ostrovsky was Minister of State Property. He was in office in 1888 when an important law on the protection of forests was proclaimed. From January 1, 1893 to October 3, 1899, Ostrovsky was chairman of the Department of Legislation 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 ...

. By an Imperial

Rescript In legal terminology, a rescript is a document that is issued not on the initiative of the author, but in response (it literally means 'written back') to a specific demand made by its addressee. It does not apply to more general legislation. Over ...

of April 26, 1899, Ostrovsky was made a Chevalier of the

Order of St. Andrew The Order of St. Andrew the Apostle the First-Called (russian: Орден Святого апостола Андрея Первозванного, translit=Orden Svyatogo apostola Andreya Pervozvannogo) is the highest order conferred by both the ...

. Ostrovsky was an honorary member of the

Imperial Academy of Sciences The Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS; russian: Росси́йская акаде́мия нау́к (РАН) ''Rossíyskaya akadémiya naúk'') consists of the national academy of Russia; a network of scientific research institutes from across t ...

, Chairman of the Museum of Applied Knowledge in St. Petersburg, and (from May 15, 1883) an

Actual Privy Counsellor The Table of Ranks (russian: Табель о рангах, Tabel' o rangakh) was a formal list of positions and ranks in the military, government, and court of Imperial Russia. Peter the Great introduced the system in 1722 while engaged in a s ...

, a civilian rank equivalent to full general or admiral. Ostrovsky died July 25 (August 7

), 1901, in

St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

. His funeral was held July 28 in the Holy Spirit Church of

Alexander Nevsky Monastery 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 Ale ...

, and was attended by Ivan Durnovo (Chairman of the

Council of Ministers A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county/ shire level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or nati ...

) and others. He was buried in the monastery, in St. Nicholas Cemetery.

References

Notes

External links

* *Obituary, Правительственный Вѣстникъ. , № 163, p. 3 {{DEFAULTSORT:Ostrovsky, Mikhail Nikolayevich 1827 births 1901 deaths Politicians from Moscow Politicians of the Russian Empire Members of the State Council (Russian Empire)