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Prince Alexander Borisovich Kurakin, sometimes spelled ''Kourakine'' (; 18 January 1752 –
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, 6 / 24 June 1818) was a Russian statesman and diplomat, a member of the
State Council State Council may refer to: Government * State Council of the Republic of Korea, the national cabinet of South Korea, headed by the President * State Council of the People's Republic of China, the national cabinet and chief administrative auth ...
(from 1810), who was ranked Active Privy Counsellor 1st Class (see
Table of Ranks The Table of Ranks (russian: Табель о рангах, Tabel' o rangakh) was a formal list of positions and ranks in the military, government, and court of Imperial Russia. Peter the Great introduced the system in 1722 while engaged in a s ...
).


Life

Born in
Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...
to a long line of Russian diplomats, he was the great grandson of
Boris Kurakin Prince Boris Ivanovich Kurakin (russian: Князь Борис Иванович Куракин; 30 July 1676, Moscow – 28 October 1727, Paris) was the third permanent Russian ambassador abroad, succeeding Andrey Matveyev in The Hague and one ...
, a Russian ambassador and close associate of
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 ...
. He moved to
St. 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 ...
in 1764 following the death of his father, Boris Alexandrovich Kurakin. There he became acquainted with Great Prince (Grand Duke) Pavel Petrovich, the future Emperor
Paul I of Russia Paul I (russian: Па́вел I Петро́вич ; – ) was Emperor of Russia from 1796 until his assassination. Officially, he was the only son of Peter III of Russia, Peter III and Catherine the Great, although Catherine hinted that he w ...
, and remained one of his most trusted friends. This friendship, though, did not meet the approval of the then reigning Empress
Catherine II , en, Catherine Alexeievna Romanova, link=yes , house = , father = Christian August, Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst , mother = Joanna Elisabeth of Holstein-Gottorp , birth_date = , birth_name = Princess Sophie of Anha ...
, and so Kurakin was forced to depart abroad. In 1776, he was elected a foreign member of the
Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences ( sv, Kungliga Vetenskapsakademien) is one of the Swedish Royal Academies, royal academies of Sweden. Founded on 2 June 1739, it is an independent, non-governmental scientific organization that takes special ...
. After Catherine II's death, Kurakin was allowed to return to St. Petersburg in 1796 and he resumed his career, becoming Vice Chancellor in 1796. During the reign of
Alexander I Alexander I may refer to: * Alexander I of Macedon, king of Macedon 495–454 BC * Alexander I of Epirus (370–331 BC), king of Epirus * Pope Alexander I (died 115), early bishop of Rome * Pope Alexander I of Alexandria (died 320s), patriarch of ...
Kurakin became the Ambassador of Russia in
Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...
in 1806. Two years later, he replaced Ambassador Pyotr Tolstoy in
Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
.


Ambassador in Paris

As ambassador in Paris, Kurakin was known for two political acts: taking an active part in the arrangements for the signing of the
Treaty of Tilsit The Treaties of Tilsit were two agreements signed by French Emperor Napoleon in the town of Tilsit in July 1807 in the aftermath of his victory at Friedland. The first was signed on 7 July, between Napoleon and Russian Emperor Alexander, when t ...
, and warning the Tsar about the upcoming war with the French. From 1810 Kurakin wrote numerous notes to Tsar Alexander, warning him of imminent war. After the last futile attempt to reconcile the Russian-French relationship at his meeting with
Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...
on 15 April 1812, the subsequent departure of Napoleon marking the start of
Napoleon's invasion of Russia The French invasion of Russia, also known as the Russian campaign, the Second Polish War, the Army of Twenty nations, and the Patriotic War of 1812 was launched by Napoleon Bonaparte to force the Russian Empire back into the continental block ...
led to Kurakin resigning as ambassador. In Paris' higher circles, Kurakin was famously referred to as a "diamond prince", due to magnificence and richness of his costumes. It was one of these costumes that actually saved his life during a fire that happened during a ball given by
Schwarzenberg Schwarzenberg may refer to: People * House of Schwarzenberg, Franconian and Bohemian aristocratic family which was first mentioned in 1172 ** Karl Philipp, Prince of Schwarzenberg (1771–1820), Field Marshal in Austrian service during the Napol ...
, the Austrian ambassador on 1 July 1810. While escorting the women out of the blazing hall, he fell to the ground and was trampled by the panicking crowd, but his richly decorated coat protected him from the worst of the intense heat. Nevertheless, he was still badly burned and was confined to bed for several months. He is also credited with introducing Russian-style ''
service à la russe The historical form of (; "service in the Russian style") is a manner of dining that involves courses being brought to the table sequentially, and the food being portioned on the plate by the waiter (usually at a sideboard in the dining room) bef ...
'' to France, where it replaced the previous ''
service à la française (; "service in the French style") is the practice of serving various dishes of meal at the same time, with the diners helping themselves from the serving dishes. That contrasts to (; "service in the Russian style") in which dishes are brought ...
''."''By contrast, service in the Russian style, came into vogue during the 1880s. Believed to have been introduced to France by the Russian prince Alexander Kurakin, service in the Russian style dictated that each dish was brought to the table individually retaining its maximum heat and flavor. Service in the Russian style allowed gueststo savor and enjoy the appearance and taste of each dish. Over time, Russian-style service repllaced French-style service as the preferred practice.''
Entertaining from Ancient Rome to the Super Bowl: An Encyclopedia
Melitta Weiss Adamson, Francine Segan (2 volumes), books.google.de, p.226
He never married but he had illegitimate issue by Akulina Dmitrievna Samoilova, the Barons Wrjevsky, and by an unknown woman, the Barons Serdobin.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kurakin, Alexander Borisovich 1752 births 1818 deaths Diplomats from Moscow Russian princes Diplomats of the Russian Empire Politicians of the Russian Empire Members of the State Council (Russian Empire) Active Privy Councillors, 1st class (Russian Empire) Members of the Russian Academy Gediminids Ambassadors of the Russian Empire to Austria Ambassadors of the Russian Empire to France Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences 19th-century diplomats