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 ...

Yakov Petrovich Shakhovskoy (; 8 October 1705 – 23 July 1777) was a Russian statesman. Prince Yakov Shakhovskoy was born in the family of Prince Pyotr Ivanovich Shakhovskoy, who died when Yakov was several months old. His mother remarried twice, but the names of her husbands are unknown. From the age of 9 years Yakov was brought up by his uncle, Prince Aleksey Shakhovskoy, who was at this time a guard officer. He started his military service in 1720 as a soldier of the Leib-Guard Semyonovsky Regiment. In 1725 he became a first lieutenant and in the reign of Peter II was promoted to captain. In 1730 he was transferred to the Сavalry guards. In the middle of 1730s Yakov Shakhovsky served under his uncle, who governed Malorossia from December 1731, and on his behalf often personally reported to Empress Anna Ioanovna and Duke Biron on the Ukrainian affairs. After the deaths of his uncle in April 1737, Shakhovsky was forced to leave the civil service and took part in the

Russo-Turkish War The Russo-Turkish wars ( ), or the Russo-Ottoman wars (), began in 1568 and continued intermittently until 1918. They consisted of twelve conflicts in total, making them one of the longest series of wars in the history of Europe. All but four of ...

with the Leib-Guard Сavalry regiment. He fought in the

Ochakov Ochakiv (, ), also known as Ochakov (; ; or, archaically, ) and Alektor (), is a small city in Mykolaiv Raion, Mykolaiv Oblast (region) of southern Ukraine. It hosts the administration of Ochakiv urban hromada, one of the hromadas of Ukraine. ...

Dnieper The Dnieper or Dnepr ( ), also called Dnipro ( ), is one of the major transboundary rivers of Europe, rising in the Valdai Hills near Smolensk, Russia, before flowing through Belarus and Ukraine to the Black Sea. Approximately long, with ...

and

Khotin Khotyn (, ; , ; see other names) is a city in Dnistrovskyi Raion, Chernivtsi Oblast of western Ukraine, located south-west of Kamianets-Podilskyi. It hosts the administration of Khotyn urban hromada, one of the hromadas of Ukraine. According ...

operations under command of Burkhard Christoph von Munnich. During the regency of Biron and the short reign of Empress Anna Leopoldovna, the position of Shakhovskoy was precarious, although he was the Head of Police and senator for a short time. When Empress

Elizabeth of Russia Elizabeth or Elizaveta Petrovna (; ) was Empress of Russia from 1741 until her death in 1762. She remains one of the most popular List of Russian rulers, Russian monarchs because of her decision not to execute a single person during her reign, ...

usurped the throne, all the protectors of Shakhovsky were arrested and he was forced to retire, yet the patronage of Prince

Nikita Trubetskoy Prince Nikita Yurievich Trubetskoy (Russian language, Russian: ''Никита Юрьевич Трубецкой'') (26 May 1699 – 16 October 1767) was a Russian politician, statesman and Field Marshal (1756), Political minister, minister of def ...

helped him secure the position of the General-Prosecutor of the

Most Holy Synod The Most Holy Governing Synod (, pre-reform orthography: ) was the highest governing body of the Russian Orthodox Church between 1721 and 1917. It was abolished following the February Revolution of 1917 and replaced with a restored patriar ...

. Shakhovsky gained reputation as the most exacting prosecutor in decades and earned the animosity of many powerful clerics, who entreated Elizabeth to remove Shakhovskoy from his post. However, he presided over the Holy Synod for 12 years. For his integrity he was rewarded with the rank of

Privy Counsellor The Privy Council, formally His Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, is a formal body of advisers to the sovereign of the United Kingdom. Its members, known as privy counsellors, are mainly senior politicians who are current or former ...

and orders of

Alexander Nevsky Alexander Yaroslavich Nevsky (; ; monastic name: ''Aleksiy''; 13 May 1221 – 14 November 1263) was Prince of Novgorod (1236–1240; 1241–1256; 1258–1259), Grand Prince of Kiev (1249–1263), and Grand Prince of Vladimir (1252–1263). ...

and of St. Anna. On 29 May 1753 he became General-krigskomissar and at this post strictly controlled state expenditures during the

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War, 1756 to 1763, was a Great Power conflict fought primarily in Europe, with significant subsidiary campaigns in North America and South Asia. The protagonists were Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of Prus ...

. On 15 August 1760, Shakhovskoy become the General-Prosecutor and simultaneously the Conference-minister. On 25 December 1761 Emperor Peter III, who just assumed the throne, fired Shakhovskoy from his post. The short reign of Peter III ended with a coup d'etat, and

Catherine II 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 III ...

returned Shakhovsky for the service, appointing him a senator. On the day of her coronation the Empress granted to him the Order of St. Andrew. On 1 April 1766 Yakov Shakhovsky laid down his offices and settled in

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

. His stormy life, rich with events, is the subject of his interesting "Notes", which were for the first time published in 1810.

External links

Biography at the site of Ministry of Justice
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Shakhovsky, Yakov Petrovich 1705 births 1777 deaths Nobility from the Russian Empire Most Holy Synod