Alexander Lvovich Naryshkin (russian: Александр Лвович Нарышкин) (14 April 1760 - 21 January 1826) was a Russian noble of the

Naryshkin family The House of Naryshkin (russian: Нарышкины) is a noble Moscow boyar family of Crimean Tatar descent, going back to a certain Mordko Kurbat Naryshko, a Crimean Tatar, who moved to Moscow in the 15th century.Sergei O. Prokofieff, ''The Spi ...

. He was the director of the

Imperial Theatres Imperial Theatres of Russian Empire ( rus, Императорские театры Российской империи) was a theatrical organization financed by the Imperial exchequer and managed by a single directorate headed with a director; was ...

from 1799 to 1819 and Marshal of Nobility of Saint-Petersburg from 1818 to 1826. He and his brother were famous for their lavish parties in Saint-Petersburg.

Life

Aleksandr Naryshkin was born on the 14th of April, 1760 into the

. After being tutored at home, he embarked on a

Grand Tour The Grand Tour was the principally 17th- to early 19th-century custom of a traditional trip through Europe, with Italy as a key destination, undertaken by upper-class young European men of sufficient means and rank (typically accompanied by a tuto ...

, as was often done by upper-class young European men as a rite of passage. Upon his return, he entered the Izmailovsky Life Guards regiment, where he rose to the rank of lieutenant captain. In 1778, he was granted the position of chamber-junker and began building his career at the Imperial Court. In 1785, he was promoted to chamberlain and made friends with the heir to the throne,

Catherine the Great , 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 Anhal ...

's son

Paul Paul may refer to: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) * Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity *Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chri ...

. After the accession to the throne of Paul I in 1797, he was awarded the

Order of St. Anna The Imperial Order of Saint Anna (russian: Орден Святой Анны; also "Order of Saint Anne" or "Order of Saint Ann") was a Holstein ducal and then Russian imperial order of chivalry. It was established by Karl Friedrich, Duke of Holst ...

of the 1st degree, and shortly after in 1798 he was awarded the

Order of St. Alexander Nevsky The Imperial Order of Saint Alexander Nevsky was an order of chivalry of the Russian Empire first awarded on by Empress Catherine I of Russia. History The introduction of the Imperial Order of Saint Alexander Nevsky was envisioned by Empero ...

and granted the position of chief marshal. In 1799, he was appointed director of the

. In 1812, he became a member of a special committee responsible for the management of all St. Petersburg and Moscow theaters. In 1815, he accompanied Empress Elizaveta Alekseevna on her trip to the

Congress of Vienna The Congress of Vienna (, ) of 1814–1815 was a series of international diplomatic meetings to discuss and agree upon a possible new layout of the European political and constitutional order after the downfall of the French Emperor Napoleon B ...

. In 1819, he resigned from his post as director of the Imperial Theatres. He was then an honorary member of the Imperial Academy of Arts. In 1820, he went abroad and lived the rest of his life in Paris, where he died of

dropsy Edema, also spelled oedema, and also known as fluid retention, dropsy, hydropsy and swelling, is the build-up of fluid in the body's tissue. Most commonly, the legs or arms are affected. Symptoms may include skin which feels tight, the area ma ...

on the 21st of January, 1826.

Public Image

Following several generations of the Naryshkins, Alexander Lvovich was known as a bon vivant, an epicurean and yet forever without money and saddled with debt. At the Bellevue country estate, he hosted the entire Petersburg society, including

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 ...

, who referred to Naryshkin as his cousin. In the book "Ten Years' Exile", describing concerts of horn music at Naryshkin's estate,

Madame de Staël Madame may refer to: * Madam, civility title or form of address for women, derived from the French * Madam (prostitution), a term for a woman who is engaged in the business of procuring prostitutes, usually the manager of a brothel * ''Madame'' ...

characterized the owner as "an amiable and courteous man," but inclined to seek entertainment not in books, but in a noisy company: surrounded by 20 people, he imagines himself in "philosophical seclusion".

Family

From his marriage to

Maria Alekseevna Naryshkina Maria may refer to: People * Mary, mother of Jesus * Maria (given name), a popular given name in many languages Place names Extraterrestrial *170 Maria, a Main belt S-type asteroid discovered in 1877 *Lunar maria (plural of ''mare''), large, da ...

, daughter of admiral

Alexei Senyavin Alexei Naumovich Senyavin (also spelled Sinyavin) (russian: Алексей Наумович Сенявин) (5 October 1716 – 10 August 1797) was an admiral of the Imperial Russian Navy, son of Naum Senyavin. Early career Senyavin began his c ...

, he had four children: *

Lev Naryshkin Lev Alexandrovich Naryshkin (russian: Лев Александрович Нарышкин; also known as Léon Narychkine) (5 February 1785—1846, Naples) was a Russian Imperial aristocrat who fought in the Napoleonic Wars. Biography He was the ...

(1785—1846), lieutenant-general in the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It bega ...

and acquaintance of

Alexander Pushkin Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin (; rus, links=no, Александр Сергеевич ПушкинIn pre-Revolutionary script, his name was written ., r=Aleksandr Sergeyevich Pushkin, p=ɐlʲɪkˈsandr sʲɪrˈɡʲe(j)ɪvʲɪtɕ ˈpuʂkʲɪn, ...

Odessa Odesa (also spelled Odessa) is the third most populous city and municipality in Ukraine and a major seaport and transport hub located in the south-west of the country, on the northwestern shore of the Black Sea. The city is also the administrativ ...

Elena Aleksandrovna Naryshkina Elena Aleksandrovna Naryshkina, Serene Princess of Italy, Countess Suvorov-Rymniksky (1785 - December 3, 1855 ) was a Russian noblewoman and maid of honour. Family She was a daughter of chancellor A L Naryshkin, granddaughter of admiral Alexei ...

(1785—1855), maid of honour and mother of

Alexander Arkadyevich Suvorov Alexander Arkadyevich Suvorov, Prince Italsky, Count Rymniksky (russian: Алекса́ндр Арка́дьевич Суво́ров; 13 June 1804, Saint Petersburg – 12 February 1882, Saint Petersburg), was a Russian general, diplomat and pol ...

Kirill Alexandrovich Naryshkin Kirill is a male given name, deriving from the Greek name Κύριλλος (Kyrillos) which in turn derives from Greek κύριος (kyrios) "lord". There are many variant forms of the name: Cyril, Cyrill, Kyrill, Kiryl, Kirillos, Kyryl, Kiril, Ky ...

(1786—1838), 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 ...

*Maria(?-1800), died in childhood Along with many members of his family, Alexander Naryshkin was buried in

Alexander Nevsky Lavra Saint Alexander Nevsky Lavra or Saint Alexander Nevsky Monastery was founded by Peter I of Russia in 1710 at the eastern end of the Nevsky Prospekt in Saint Petersburg, in the belief that this was the site of the Neva Battle in 1240 when Alex ...

References

External links

Alexander Alexander is a male given name. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here are Aleksandar, Al ...

1760 births 1826 deaths {{Russia-noble-stub