Alexey Fyodorovich Orlov
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Prince Alexey Fyodorovich Orlov | |
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Russia Ambassador to Constantinople | |
Assumed office 1833 | |
Prince Alexey Fyodorovich Orlov (Russian: Алексе́й Фёдорович Орло́в; 30 October [O.S. 19 October] 1787 – 2 June [O.S. 21 May] 1862) was a Russian diplomat, the natural son of Count Fyodor Grigoryevich Orlov. He was born in Moscow and took part in all the Napoleonic Wars from 1805 to the capture of Paris. For his services as commander of the cavalry regiment of the Horse Life Guards on the occasion of the rebellion of 1825 he was granted a title of count, and in the Turkish War of 1828–1829 rose to the rank of lieutenant-general.
It is from this time that his diplomatic career of Orlov began. He was the Russian plenipotentiary at the Peace of Adrianople, and in 1833 was appointed Russian ambassador at Constantinople, holding at the same time the post of commander-in-chief of the Black Sea Fleet. He was, indeed, one of the most trusted agents of Nicholas I, whom in 1837 he accompanied on his foreign tour. From 1844 to 1856 he was in charge of the infamous Third Section, or secret police.
In 1854, he was sent to Vienna to bring Austria over to the side of Russia during the Crimean War, but without success. In 1856 he was one of the plenipotentiaries who concluded the Peace of Paris. In the same year he was raised to the dignity of prince, and was appointed president of the Imperial Council of State and of the Council of Ministers. In 1857, during the emperor's absence, he presided over the commission formed to consider the question of the emancipation of the serfs, to which he was altogether hostile. He died in Saint Petersburg.
In Popular Culture
Orlov was the subject of a satirical verse by Alexander Pushkin, alleging that Orlov's mistress, the dancer Istomina, could only see his penis through a microscope. [1]
References
- ^ Simon Sebag Montefiore, The Romanovs 1613–1918, Weidenfeld & Nicolson 2016, p 327
- 1787 births
- 1862 deaths
- People from Moscow
- People from Moscow Governorate
- Russian princes
- Members of the State Council of the Russian Empire
- Imperial Russian Army generals
- Russian military personnel of the Napoleonic Wars
- Honorary Members of the St Petersburg Academy of Sciences
- Recipients of the Order of St. Andrew
- Recipients of the Order of St. George
- Recipients of the Order of St. Vladimir, 1st class
- Recipients of the Order of St. Alexander Nevsky
- Recipients of the Order of St. Anna, 1st class
- Recipients of the Order of St. Anna, 3rd class
- Grand Crosses of the Order of Saint Stephen of Hungary
- Recipients of the Order of the Black Eagle
- Recipients of the Order of the Red Eagle, 1st class
- Recipients of the Pour le Mérite (military class)
- Recipients of the Kulm Cross
- Knights of the Order of Saint Hubert
- Knights of the Military Order of Max Joseph
- Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Crown (Württemberg)
- Order of the Zähringer Lion
- Recipients of the Order of the White Falcon
- Knights Commander of the Military Order of William
- Grand Croix of the Légion d'honneur
- Recipients of the Gold Sword for Bravery