Prince
A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...
Nikolai Dmitriyevich Golitsyn (; 12 April 1850 – 2 July 1925) was a Russian aristocrat, monarchist and the last
prime minister
A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...
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 ...
. He was in office from 29 December 1916 ( O.S.) or 9 January 1917 ( N.S.) until his government resigned after the outbreak of the February Revolution.
Congress Poland
Congress Poland or Congress Kingdom of Poland, formally known as the Kingdom of Poland, was a polity created in 1815 by the Congress of Vienna as a semi-autonomous Polish state, a successor to Napoleon's Duchy of Warsaw. It was established w ...
). He became vice-governor of Archangelsk (1879); vice-director of the Economics Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (1884); Governor of the guberniyas of
Arkhangelsk
Arkhangelsk (, ) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative center of Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia. It lies on both banks of the Northern Dvina near its mouth into the White Sea. The city spreads for over along the ...
(1885),
Kaluga
Kaluga (, ) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative center of Kaluga Oblast, Russia. It stands on the Oka River southwest of Moscow. Its population was 337,058 at the 2021 census.
Kaluga's most famous residen ...
(1893), and
Tver
Tver (, ) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative centre of Tver Oblast, Russia. It is situated at the confluence of the Volga and Tvertsa rivers. Tver is located northwest of Moscow. Population:
The city is ...
(1897). He was appointed
senator
A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...
Saratov Governorate
Saratov Governorate () was an administrative-territorial unit (''guberniya'') of the Russian Empire and the Russian SFSR.
History
On December 25, 1769, the Saratov province was established as part of the Astrakhan Governorate.
On January 11, 17 ...
he organized aid for famine-stricken areas (1907–1908). He was a member of the State Council (1912) and chairman of the commission to render assistance to the Russian prisoners of war abroad (1915). He was a deputy chairman of one of Empress Alexandra's
charity
Charity may refer to:
Common meanings
* Charitable organization or charity, a non-profit organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being of persons
* Charity (practice), the practice of being benevolent, giving and sha ...
commissions.
Prime minister
On 25 December he was invited by Empress Alexandra for an interview, but received by the tsar. A hesitating Prince Golitsyn did not want to succeed prime minister Alexander Trepov, insisted on the resignation of the Minister of Internal Affairs Alexander Protopopov and begged Nicholas II to cancel his appointment, citing his lack of preparation for the role of prime minister. The tsar refused, but Pavel Ignatieff, Alexander Makarov and
Dmitry Shuvayev
Dmitry Savelyevich Shuvayev (; – 19 December 1937) was a Russian military leader, Infantry General (1912) and Ministry of War of the Russian Empire, Minister of War (1916).
Life
Dmitry Shuvayev graduated from Alexander Military School in 187 ...
were replaced; Nikolai Dobrovolsky was appointed. The
Council of Ministers
Council of Ministers is a traditional name given to the supreme Executive (government), executive organ in some governments. It is usually equivalent to the term Cabinet (government), cabinet. The term Council of State is a similar name that also m ...
officially met once or twice a week (seven meetings in January, six in February). The main concern of the government was "food and transport." The most important thing, according to Prince Golitsyn, was the convocation of the Duma and the desire to work together with it and somehow make this work possible. The government discussed the timeframe for resuming the Duma sessions: it was originally scheduled to open on 12 January, then - on 31 January, but in the end, it was postponed until 14 February. Protopopov, who excused himself many times and did not attend the meetings, suggested dissolution or postponing the Duma even further.
Despite being the oldest member of the council (Golitsyn was 66, while the others were 36 to 63 years old), he was not a leader. (His advanced years led him to regularly fall asleep during State Council meetings.) In January 1917 two rival institutions, the Duma and the Petrograd Soviet, competed for power. On 8 February, at the wish of the tsar, Nikolay Maklakov, together with Protopopov drafted the text of the manifesto on the dissolution of the Duma (cancelled and scheduled to resume on 14 February 1917). On 14 February mass demonstrations broke out. On 15 February Alexander Kerensky made a speech in the Duma that almost called for the assassination of the emperor. A week later the demonstrations on Nevsky Prospekt became more serious. On 25th members of the government gathered at Golitsyn's apartment at Konnogvardeyskiy Bul'var, 13. Belyaev suggested his colleagues remove Protopopov from his post, as he saw in him the main cause of unrest.
On 26 February, the tsar ordered the army to suppress the rioting by force, but troops began to mutiny, joined the protesters, and demanded a new constitutional government. In the evening the meeting of the Duma was prorogued, although Golitsyn and Nikolai Pokrovsky opposed its dissolution. Golitsyn used a (signed, but not yet dated ukaze which had been given to Trepov) declaring that his majesty had decided to interrupt the Imperial Duma until 1 April, leaving it with no legal authority to act. The deputies refused to leave and a private committee of Duma members was formed to help restore order.
Downfall and execution
The Council of Ministers met the evening of 27 February 1917 and submitted its resignation to the emperor, asking Grand Duke Michael Alexandrovich to temporarily act as regent, which he refused. Following Nicholas's decision to abdicate, the Provisional Committee of the State Duma ordered former ministers and senior officials arrested. Golitsyn was arrested by police and transferred to the Peter and Paul Fortress for interrogation, where he was starved and tortured, then released on 13 March.
On 21 April 1917 he was again arrested by police and interrogated by the Extraordinary Commission of Inquiry of the Provisional Government. After the assumption of power by the
Bolsheviks
The Bolsheviks, led by Vladimir Lenin, were a radical Faction (political), faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (RSDLP) which split with the Mensheviks at the 2nd Congress of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party, ...
, Golitsyn was allowed to leave but decided to stay in Russia, earning his living by repairing shoes in Moscow or Petrograd and guarding vegetable gardens in Rybinsk. During the period from 1920 to 1924 he was twice arrested by the OGPU, on the suspicion of connection with counterrevolutionaries. After his third arrest (on 12 February 1925), he was executed on 2 July 1925 in
Leningrad
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 ...
on the charge of participating in a "counter-revolutionary monarchist organization".
Family
Prince Nikolai Golitsyn married in
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 ...
on 7 April 1881 Evgenia Andrejevna von Grünberg (Saint-Petersburg, 18 April 1864 -
Nice
Nice ( ; ) is a city in and the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative city limits, with a population of nearly one millionFrances Simpson Stevens
*Prince Nikolai Nikolayevich (Archangelsk, 1883 - executed at Solovki, 1931)
*Prince Alexander Nikolayevich (St. Petersburg, 1885 - Toulon, 1974), in exile married the Imperial Princess Marina Petrovna of Russia, daughter of Grand Duke Peter Nikolaevich of Russia.
*Prince Evgeni Nikolayevich (Archangelsk, 1888 - Paris, 1928)
*Princess Sofia Nikolayevna (1886 - 1891)
*Princess Olga Nikolayevna (1891 - 1892)