Grigory Nikolayevich Teplov (; 20 November 1717 in

Pskov Pskov ( rus, Псков, a=Ru-Псков.oga, p=psˈkof; see also Names of Pskov in different languages, names in other languages) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city in northwestern Russia and the administrative center of Pskov O ...

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

– 30 March 1779 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 ...

) was a Russian philosopher,

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and def ...

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human species; as well as the ...

and

academic administrator Academic administration is a branch of university or college employees responsible for the maintenance and supervision of the institution and separate from the faculty or academics, although some personnel may have joint responsibilities. Some ...

of lowly birth who managed the

St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences The Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS; ''Rossíyskaya akadémiya naúk'') consists of the national academy of Russia; a network of scientific research institutes from across the Russian Federation; and additional scientific and social units such ...

. He also wielded influence over

Little Russia Little Russia, also known as Lesser Russia, Malorussia, or Little Rus', is a geographical and historical term used to describe Ukraine. At the beginning of the 14th century, the patriarch of Constantinople accepted the distinction between wha ...

in his capacity as secretary and advisor to

Kirill Razumovsky Count Kirill Grigoryevich Razumovsky or Razumovski (also known as ''Cyril Razumovski''; ; ; Oleksander Ohloblyn. Rozumovsky, Kyrylo'. Encyclopedia of Ukraine – ) was a Russian statesman of Ukrainian Cossack origin who served as the last ...

(whose cousin he married).Biography
in the

Russian Biographical Dictionary The ''Russian Biographical Dictionary'' (''RBD''; ) is a Russian-language biographical dictionary published by the Imperial Russian Historical Society and edited by a collective with Alexander Polovtsov as the editor-in-chief An editor-in-c ...

. He was also an amateur musician and in 1751 printed a collection of his songs entitled ''Idle Hours Away from Work''.

Biography

Teplov was educated at

Feofan Prokopovich Theophan or Feofan Prokopovich (; ; ) was a Russian Orthodox bishop, theologian, pietist, writer, poet, mathematician, astronomer, pedagogue and philosopher of Ukrainian origin. He was the rector of the Academia Mohileana in Kiev (1711–1716), ...

's school in St. Petersburg and in Göttingen,

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. On his return to

Aleksey Razumovsky Count Alexei Grigorievich Razumovsky (, ; 1709–1771) was a Ukrainian-born Russian Registered Cossack who rose to become the lover, and it was suggested he was the morganatic spouse, of Empress Elizabeth Petrovna of Russia. A member of th ...

, the secret spouse of Empress Elisabeth, asked him to look after his junior brother Kirill. After Kirill turned 18, he was appointed President of the Academy of Sciences. It was Teplov who ran the institution on his behalf. He published a Russian translation of Christian Wolff's writings, quarrelled with

Mikhail Lomonosov Mikhail Vasilyevich Lomonosov (; , ; – ) was a Russian polymath, scientist and writer, who made important contributions to literature, education, and science. Among his discoveries were the atmosphere of Venus and the law of conservation of ...

, persecuted

Gerhardt Friedrich Müller Gerhardt is a masculine name of German origin. It can refer to the following: As a first name * Ants Eskola (1908–1989), Soviet-Estonian actor and singer born Gerhardt Esperk * Gerhardt Knodel (born 1940), American textile artist, educator * Ger ...

for his Normanist theories, and publicly berated

Vasily Trediakovsky Vasily Kirillovich Trediakovsky (; – ) was a Russian poet, essayist and playwright who helped lay the foundations of classical Russian literature. Biography The son of a poor priest, Trediakovsky became the first Russian commoner to rec ...

. He developed a keen interest in the history of

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

, amassing many documents on the subject.

Peter III of Russia Peter III Fyodorovich (; ) was Emperor of Russia from 5 January 1762 until 9 July of the same year, when he was overthrown by his wife, Catherine II (the Great). He was born in the German city of Kiel as Charles Peter Ulrich of Schleswig-Holst ...

had Teplov arrested for obscure reasons but he was released shortly thereafter. The event pushed him towards the party of

Empress Catherine Catherine II. (born Princess Sophie of Anhalt-Zerbst; 2 May 172917 November 1796), most commonly known as Catherine the Great, was the reigning empress of Russia from 1762 to 1796. She came to power after overthrowing her husband, Peter I ...

and the

Orlov brothers Orlov or Orlova may refer to: Places *Orlov, Russia (''Orlova''), several inhabited localities in Russia *Orlov, Stará Ľubovňa District, a village in Slovakia *Orlová, a town in the Moravian-Silesian Region, Czech Republic *Orlov, a village ...

. Teplov contributed to the downfall of the emperor and was present at his murder in the Ropsha Palace. It was Teplov who drafted Catherine's first

ukase In Imperial Russia, a ukase () or ukaz ( ) was a proclamation of the tsar, government, or a religious leadership (e.g., Patriarch of Moscow and all Rus' or the Most Holy Synod) that had the force of law. " Edict" and " decree" are adequate trans ...

s and persuaded her to abolish the

Cossack Hetmanate The Cossack Hetmanate (; Cossack Hetmanate#Name, see other names), officially the Zaporozhian Host (; ), was a Ukrainian Cossacks, Cossack state. Its territory was located mostly in central Ukraine, as well as in parts of Belarus and southwest ...

. Mindful of Chancellor Bestuzhev's advice, Catherine bestowed upon him the title of

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 ...

but effectively removed him from power.

Giacomo Casanova Giacomo Girolamo Casanova (; ; 2 April 1725 – 4 June 1798) was an Italian adventurer who was born in the Republic of Venice and travelled extensively throughout Europe. He is chiefly remembered for his autobiography, written in French and pu ...

describes him as the man "whose vice was that he loved boys, and his virtue that he had strangled

Peter III Peter III may refer to: Politics * Peter III of Bulgaria (ruled in 1072) * Peter III of Aragon (1239–1285) * Peter III of Arborea (died 1347) * Peter III Aaron (died 1467) * Pedro III of Kongo (ruler in 1669) * Peter III of Russia (1728–1762) ...

".Casanova's Memoirs
/ref>

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Teplov, Grigory Senators of the Russian Empire Russian male composers Russian academic administrators Full members of the Saint Petersburg Academy of Sciences Honorary members of the Saint Petersburg Academy of Sciences Russian LGBTQ musicians 1717 births 1779 deaths People from Pskov 18th-century composers 18th-century male musicians from the Russian Empire Burials at Lazarevskoe Cemetery (Saint Petersburg) Composers from the Russian Empire