Count Pyotr Andreevich Kleinmichel (), also known by his German name Peter von Kleinmichel (30 November 1789 – 3 February 1869), was a Russian politician who served as the

minister of transport A ministry of transport or transportation is a ministry responsible for transportation within a country. It usually is administered by the ''minister for transport''. The term is also sometimes applied to the departments or other government a ...

from 1842 to 1855. He fought at the

Battle of Leipzig The Battle of Leipzig, also known as the Battle of the Nations, was fought from 16 to 19 October 1813 at Leipzig, Saxony. The Coalition armies of Austria, Prussia, Sweden, and Russia, led by Tsar Alexander I, Karl von Schwarzenberg, and G ...

and the

Battle of Borodino The Battle of Borodino ( ) or Battle of Moscow (), in popular literature also known as the Battle of the Generals, took place on the outskirts of Moscow near the village of Borodino on 7 September 1812 during Napoleon's invasion of Russia. ...

. In March 1814,

Alexander I Alexander I may refer to: * Alexander I of Macedon, king of Macedon from 495 to 454 BC * Alexander I of Epirus (370–331 BC), king of Epirus * Alexander I Theopator Euergetes, surnamed Balas, ruler of the Seleucid Empire 150-145 BC * Pope Alex ...

was concerned for the safety of his brothers

Nicholas Nicholas is a male name, the Anglophone version of an ancient Greek name in use since antiquity, and cognate with the modern Greek , . It originally derived from a combination of two Ancient Greek, Greek words meaning 'victory' and 'people'. In ...

and

Constantine Constantine most often refers to: * Constantine the Great, Roman emperor from 306 to 337, also known as Constantine I * Constantine, Algeria, a city in Algeria Constantine may also refer to: People * Constantine (name), a masculine g ...

, who were involved in the

occupation of Paris The city of Paris started mobilizing for war in September 1939, when Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union attacked Poland, but the war seemed far away until May 10th 1940, when the Germans attacked France and quickly defeated the French army. The ...

. He dispatched Kleinmichel to warn them and advise them to return to

Basel Basel ( ; ), also known as Basle ( ), ; ; ; . is a city in northwestern Switzerland on the river Rhine (at the transition from the High Rhine, High to the Upper Rhine). Basel is Switzerland's List of cities in Switzerland, third-most-populo ...

. After succeeding in this, Kleinmichel was made Aide-de-Camp to the Tsar. The event also brought him to the attention of the future Tsar Nicholas I He was responsible for building the

Saint Petersburg–Moscow Railway The Saint Petersburg to Moscow railway (1855–1923 – ''Nikolaevskaya railway'') runs for through four oblasts: Leningrad Oblast, Leningrad, Novgorod Oblast, Novgorod, Tver Oblast, Tver and Moscow Oblast, Moscow. It is a major traffic artery ...

and for restoring the

Winter Palace The Winter Palace is a palace in Saint Petersburg that served as the official residence of the House of Romanov, previous emperors, from 1732 to 1917. The palace and its precincts now house the Hermitage Museum. The floor area is 233,345 square ...

after the 1837 fire. It was rumored that Nicholas I promoted his career because Kleinmichel adopted the Emperor's illegitimate children as his own. His first wife divorced him, citing his

sexual dysfunction Sexual dysfunction is difficulty experienced by an individual or partners during any stage of normal sexual activity, including physical pleasure, desire, preference, arousal, or orgasm. The World Health Organization defines sexual dysfunction ...

Family

Kleinmichel was married twice, first in 1816 to Varvara Kokoshkina (died 1842), the granddaughter of the business magnate Alexei Turchaninov. They divorced, according to rumours, because of his

impotence Erectile dysfunction (ED), also referred to as impotence, is a form of sexual dysfunction in males characterized by the persistent or recurring inability to achieve or maintain a Human penis, penile erection with sufficient rigidity and durat ...

. In 1832 Kleinmichel married Kleopatra Petrovna Ilyinskaya (October 17, 1811 – January 17, 1865), a relative of Nicholas I's mistress Varvara Nelidova. She died of tuberculosis in Paris, and was buried in St. Petersburg. She was known in society for adopting Nicholas's illegitimate children. They had eight children. * Yelizaveta (1833–1896), married the lieutenant general Pilar von Pilchau. * Aleksandra (1835–1912),

lady-in-waiting A lady-in-waiting (alternatively written lady in waiting) or court lady is a female personal assistant at a Royal court, court, attending on a royal woman or a high-ranking nobility, noblewoman. Historically, in Europe, a lady-in-waiting was o ...

. * Nikolai (1836–1878), major general, married Countess Maria von Keller (1846–1931), granddaughter of Countess Amalie zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg-Ludwigsburg, sister of Prince Peter zu Sayn-Wittgenstein, who, as Marie Kleinmichel, was the author of Memories of a Shipwrecked World. They had one surviving daughter, Olga. * Alexander (1837–1856) *

Vladimir Vladimir (, , pre-1918 orthography: ) is a masculine given name of Slavic origin, widespread throughout all Slavic nations in different forms and spellings. The earliest record of a person with the name is Vladimir of Bulgaria (). Etymology ...

(1839–1882), major general *

Konstantin The first name Konstantin () is a derivation from the Latin name '' Constantinus'' ( Constantine) in some European languages, such as Bulgarian, Russian, Estonian and German. As a Christian given name, it refers to the memory of the Roman empe ...

(1840–1912) * Olga (1845–1920) * Mikhail (1848–1872), died in Paris.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kleinmichel, Pyotr 1789 births People from the Russian Empire in rail transport 1869 deaths