Count Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...

Peter Ivanovich Shuvalov (; 1711 – ) was a Russian

statesman A statesman or stateswoman is a politician or a leader in an organization who has had a long and respected career at the national or international level, or in a given field. Statesman or statesmen may also refer to: Newspapers United States ...

and

Field Marshal Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army (in countries without the rank of Generalissimo), and as such, few persons a ...

who, together with his brother Aleksandr Shuvalov, paved the way for the elevation of the Shuvalov family to the highest offices 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 is also remembered as the founder of

Izhevsk Izhevsk or Ijevsk (, ; , or ) is the capital city of Udmurtia, Russia. It is situated along the Izh River, west of the Ural Mountains in Eastern Europe. It is the 21st-largest city in Russia, and the most populous in Udmurtia, with over 600,000 ...

, the capital of

Udmurtia Udmurtia, officially the Udmurt Republic, is a republics of Russia, republic of Russia located in Eastern Europe. It is administratively part of the Volga Federal District. Its capital city, capital is the types of inhabited localities in Russi ...

. Pyotr Shuvalov began his career as a

page Page most commonly refers to: * Page (paper), one side of a leaf of paper, as in a book Page, PAGE, pages, or paging may also refer to: Roles * Page (assistance occupation), a professional occupation * Page (servant), traditionally a young m ...

at the court of

tsesarevna Tsesarevich (, ) was the title of the heir apparent or heir presumptive, presumptive in the Russian Empire. It either preceded or replaced the Eastern Slavic naming customs, given name and patronymic. Usage It is often confused with the much ...

Elizabeth. He was brought to tsesarevna's attention when he married her close friend and in-law, Mavra Shepeleva. For his assistance in the enthronement of Elizabeth, he was promoted to the rank of Chamberlain, then 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 ...

and became a

count Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...

in 1746. Initially, he was in charge of an army division stationed near St.Petersburg and then the Observation Corps, formed by Shuvalov himself and designated to protect the rear of the regular army. He also held the post of a conference minister and managed the

artillery Artillery consists of ranged weapons that launch Ammunition, munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during sieges, and l ...

and weapons chancelleries. Shuvalov improved the Russian artillery and built a few weapons factories. He invented a special canister-shooting gun with an oval bore, called " secret howitzer", which had a limited success; his more useful addition to Russian artillery were licornes, a kind of gun-howitzers, which remained in service for almost hundred years. He enjoyed unlimited power throughout the reign of Elizabeth due to his wife's and cousin Ivan Ivanovich Shuvalov's influence on the empress. Almost no single affair of the state was to be taken care of without Shuvalov, especially those pertaining to national economy and military organization. In 1753, Shuvalov presented before the

Governing Senate From 1711 to 1917, the Governing Senate was the highest legislative, judicial, and executive body subordinate to the Russian emperors. The senate was instituted by Peter the Great to replace the Boyar Duma and lasted until the very end of the R ...

a project for eliminating internal customs offices and outposts and increasing

tariff A tariff or import tax is a duty (tax), duty imposed by a national Government, government, customs territory, or supranational union on imports of goods and is paid by the importer. Exceptionally, an export tax may be levied on exports of goods ...

s on imported goods, instead. Shuvalov is known to have been very selfish at times. He worried excessively about his own interests and, quite often, to the detriment of the state and private parties. For example, Shuvalov obtained for himself an exclusive right to export lumber,

lard Lard is a Quasi-solid, semi-solid white fat product obtained by rendering (animal products), rendering the adipose tissue, fatty tissue of a domestic pig, pig.

blubber Blubber is a thick layer of Blood vessel, vascularized adipose tissue under the skin of all cetaceans, pinnipeds, penguins, and sirenians. It was present in many marine reptiles, such as Ichthyosauria, ichthyosaurs and plesiosaurs. Description ...

oil and monopolized the

seal Seal may refer to any of the following: Common uses * Pinniped, a diverse group of semi-aquatic marine mammals, many of which are commonly called seals, particularly: ** Earless seal, also called "true seal" ** Fur seal ** Eared seal * Seal ( ...

trade. Having led a luxurious lifestyle, Shuvalov left a debt of more than a million

rubles The ruble or rouble (; rus, рубль, p=rublʲ) is a currency unit. Currently, currencies named ''ruble'' in circulation include the Russian ruble (RUB, ₽) in Russia and the Belarusian ruble (BYN, Rbl) in Belarus. These currencies are su ...

to the state treasury.

Footnotes

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Shuvalov, Peter Ivanovich Counts of the Russian Empire Inventors from the Russian Empire Politicians from the Russian Empire Field marshals of the Russian Empire Peter Ivanovich City founders from the Russian Empire 1762 deaths 1711 births Recipients of the Order of the White Eagle (Poland) Burials at Lazarevskoe Cemetery (Saint Petersburg)