Pyotr Bestuzhev-Ryumin

Count Pyotr Mikhailovich Bestuzhev-Ryumin (russian: Пётр Миха́йлович Бесту́жев-Рюмин, lv, Pēteris Bestuževs-Rjumins; 1664–1742) was a Russian statesman who effectively governed the

Duchy of Courland The Duchy of Courland and Semigallia ( la, Ducatus Curlandiæ et Semigalliæ; german: Herzogtum Kurland und Semgallen; lv, Kurzemes un Zemgales hercogiste; lt, Kuršo ir Žiemgalos kunigaikštystė; pl, Księstwo Kurlandii i Semigalii) was ...

in the name of Anna Ivanovna between 1712 and 1728. Bestuzhev came from an ancient

boyar A boyar or bolyar was a member of the highest rank of the feudal nobility in many Eastern European states, including Kievan Rus', Bulgaria, Russia, Wallachia and Moldavia, and later Romania, Lithuania and among Baltic Germans. Boyars were s ...

family of

Novgorod Veliky Novgorod ( rus, links=no, Великий Новгород, t=Great Newtown, p=vʲɪˈlʲikʲɪj ˈnovɡərət), also known as just Novgorod (), is the largest city and administrative centre of Novgorod Oblast, Russia. It is one of the o ...

extraction. In 1701 he governed

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 ...

Peter the Great Peter I ( – ), most commonly known as Peter the Great,) or Pyotr Alekséyevich ( rus, Пётр Алексе́евич, p=ˈpʲɵtr ɐlʲɪˈksʲejɪvʲɪtɕ, , group=pron was a Russian monarch who ruled the Tsardom of Russia from t ...

sent him on diplomatic errands to

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

and

Berlin Berlin is Capital of Germany, the capital and largest city of Germany, both by area and List of cities in Germany by population, by population. Its more than 3.85 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European U ...

. After the tsar's niece Anna Ivanovna widowed and became the Duchess Dowager of Courland in 1712, Bestuzhev was attached to her court in order to superintend Courland's policies and affairs. A year later he was transferred to

The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a list of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's ad ...

, only to return to Anna's court in 1715. It is not entirely clear whether he was Anna's lover, but it is certain that his mistress was a sister of Ernst Johann Biron, the future duke. The most powerful man in the duchy, Bestuzhev was implicated in intrigues to sell the crown to various German princes, whereupon he was forbidden to interfere into internal affairs of Courland. If anything of importance happened, he was to report to Prince

Anikita Repnin Prince Anikita Ivanovich Repnin (russian: Аники́та Ива́нович Репни́н, tr. ; 1668 – 3 July 1726, in Riga) was a prominent Russian general during the Great Northern War who superintended the taking of Riga in 1710 and se ...

, the Russian governor of

Riga Riga (; lv, Rīga , liv, Rīgõ) is the capital and largest city of Latvia and is home to 605,802 inhabitants which is a third of Latvia's population. The city lies on the Gulf of Riga at the mouth of the Daugava river where it meets the B ...

. This did not undermine Bestuzhev's authority in

Mitau Jelgava (; german: Mitau, ; see also other names) is a state city in central Latvia about southwest of Riga with 55,972 inhabitants (2019). It is the largest town in the region of Zemgale (Semigalia). Jelgava was the capital of the united Duch ...

, however, and he remained in charge of the government until 1728. When Aleksandr Menshikov contested Courland's throne with

Maurice de Saxe Maurice, Count of Saxony (german: Hermann Moritz von Sachsen, french: Maurice de Saxe; 28 October 1696 – 20 November 1750) was a notable soldier, officer and a famed military commander of the 18th century. The illegitimate son of Augustus ...

, Bestuzhev supported the latter. In response, Menshikov had him arrested and delivered to

Saint 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 ...

. After Duchess Anna (who had supported him heretofore) accused him of mismanaging her affairs and embezzling the ducal treasury, only the intercession of his sons - Mikhail Bestuzhev-Ryumin and

Aleksey Bestuzhev Count Alexey Petrovich Bestuzhev-Ryumin (russian: Алексе́й Петро́вич Бесту́жев-Рю́мин; 1 June 1693 – 21 April 1766) was a Russian diplomat and chancellor. He was one of the most influential and successful diplomats ...

- helped him avoid criminal prosecution. In 1730 Duchess Anna became Empress of Russia and her former prime minister was sent to govern

Nizhny Novgorod Nizhny Novgorod ( ; rus, links=no, Нижний Новгород, a=Ru-Nizhny Novgorod.ogg, p=ˈnʲiʐnʲɪj ˈnovɡərət ), colloquially shortened to Nizhny, from the 13th to the 17th century Novgorod of the Lower Land, formerly known as Gork ...

. He publicly denounced the appointment as a semi-exile and on this account was commanded by his rival, Biron, to settle into retirement. Seven years later he was allowed to return to Moscow. Anna's successor

Elizaveta Petrovna Elizabeth Petrovna (russian: Елизаве́та (Елисаве́та) Петро́вна) (), also known as Yelisaveta or Elizaveta, reigned as Empress of Russia from 1741 until her death in 1762. She remains one of the most popular Russian ...

made him a count. ---- * 1664 births 1742 deaths Politicians of the Russian Empire Diplomats of the Russian Empire Counts of the Russian Empire People from the Duchy of Courland and Semigallia Male lovers of Russian royalty Privy Councillor (Russian Empire) {{Russia-noble-stub