Prince Christoph Heinrich von Lieven (russian: Христофор Андреевич Ливен, Khristofor Andreyevich Liven; 6 May 1774 – 10 January 1839) was a

Baltic German Baltic Germans (german: Deutsch-Balten or , later ) were ethnic German inhabitants of the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea, in what today are Estonia and Latvia. Since their coerced resettlement in 1939, Baltic Germans have markedly declined ...

nobleman, Russian general, ambassador to

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

in 1812–1834, and educator of

Tsesarevich Tsesarevich (russian: Цесаревич, ) was the title of the heir apparent or presumptive in the Russian Empire. It either preceded or replaced the given name and patronymic. Usage It is often confused with " tsarevich", which is a di ...

Alexander Nikolaevich.

Early life

Christoph von Lieven was born on May 6, 1774 (

Old Style Old Style (O.S.) and New Style (N.S.) indicate dating systems before and after a calendar change, respectively. Usually, this is the change from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar as enacted in various European countries between 158 ...

) into the old noble family of

Lieven The House of Lieven ( lv, Līveni; russian: Ливен) is one of the oldest aristocratic families of Baltic Germans. History The family claims descent from Caupo of Turaida (Latvian, ''Kaupo''), the Livonian ''quasi rex'' who converted to Ch ...

(

Livonia Livonia ( liv, Līvõmō, et, Liivimaa, fi, Liivinmaa, German and Scandinavian languages: ', archaic German: ''Liefland'', nl, Lijfland, Latvian and lt, Livonija, pl, Inflanty, archaic English: ''Livland'', ''Liwlandia''; russian: Ли ...

n-originated medieval

knights), as the third son of Baroness

Charlotte von Gaugreben Charlotte Margarete Fürstin von Lieven (Née Baroness von Gaugreben; 1748–1828), was a Russian princess of German origin and an Imperial governess. Early life She was born as daughter of Carl Caspar, Baron von Gaugreben (1716-1767) and Bar ...

, afterwards 1st Princess Lieven (1743–1828) and

Baron Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than a lord or knig ...

Otto Heinrich Andreas von Lieven of Eksjö (1726–1781) (source: Gustav Elgenstierna, Ättartavlor). Since his youth, his mother served as governess of the younger children of the then Grand Duke Paul Petrovich of Russia,

Heir-Apparent An heir apparent, often shortened to heir, is a person who is first in an order of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting by the birth of another person; a person who is first in the order of succession but can be displaced by the b ...

to the throne of the then

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 Anhal ...

. As such, young Baron Christoph's "foster-siblings" were a number of young grand dukes and grand duchesses, including his future liege lord the

Emperor Nicholas I , house = Romanov-Holstein-Gottorp , father = Paul I of Russia , mother = Maria Feodorovna (Sophie Dorothea of Württemberg) , birth_date = , birth_place = Gatchina Palace, Gatchina, Russian Empire , death_date ...

(1796-1855).

Career

Early military

Fifteen-year-old Lieven was registered in an artillery regiment, and made a quick military career: in 1791 he was promoted from the rank of warrant officer (''

Praporshchik ( rus, Пра́порщик, 3=ˈprapərɕːɪk, ) is a rank used by the Russian Armed Forces and a number of former communist states. The rank is a non-commissioned officer's and is equivalent to in navies. It is usually equivalent to Warrant ...

'') to the rank of second lieutenant (''

podporuchik ''Podporuchik'' ( sh-Cyrl-Latn, потпоручник, potporučnik, cs, podporučík, pl, podporucznik, russian: подпору́чик, bg, подпоручик, sk, podporučík) is the most Junior officer in some Slavic armed forces, an ...

'') at the Semionovsky regiment; in 1794 to the rank of lieutenant (''poruchik''), and after a campaign in 1796 to the rank of lieutenant-colonel in the

Vladimir Vladimir may refer to: Names * Vladimir (name) for the Bulgarian, Croatian, Czech, Macedonian, Romanian, Russian, Serbian, Slovak and Slovenian spellings of a Slavic name * Uladzimir for the Belarusian version of the name * Volodymyr for the Ukr ...

dragoon regiment, later Tula musketeer regiment. Lieven was sent to

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, mainly comprising Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and parts of Southern Russia. The Caucasus Mountains, including the Greater Caucasus range, have historically ...

and participated in the Persian Expedition and in the Georgian expedition. In 1797, Emperor

Paul I Paul I may refer to: *Paul of Samosata (200–275), Bishop of Antioch *Paul I of Constantinople (died c. 350), Archbishop of Constantinople *Pope Paul I (700–767) *Paul I Šubić of Bribir (c. 1245–1312), Ban of Croatia and Lord of Bosnia *Paul ...

made him his aide-de-camp, and in 1798 he was promoted to the rank of Major-general and assigned to the post of the Director of the Mobile Field Chancellery (военно-походная канцелярия) of His Majesty. Lieven accompanied

Alexander I of Russia Alexander I (; – ) was Emperor of Russia from 1801, the first King of Congress Poland from 1815, and the Grand Duke of Finland from 1809 to his death. He was the eldest son of Emperor Paul I and Sophie Dorothea of Württemberg. The son of ...

during the

Battle of Vishkovo A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

and

Battle of Austerlitz The Battle of Austerlitz (2 December 1805/11 Frimaire An XIV FRC), also known as the Battle of the Three Emperors, was one of the most important and decisive engagements of the Napoleonic Wars. The battle occurred near the town of Austerlitz in ...

and at the signing of the Peace of Tilsit. He was promoted to the rank of lieutenant-general in 1807.

Ennobled to count and married

On 22 February 1799 Lieven received the title of Count, as his mother was granted a countship. He was somewhat overshadowed by his more illustrious wife, the famous socialite and political force,

Dorothea Lieven Princess Katharina Alexandra Dorothea von Lieven (russian: Дарья Христофоровна Ливен, tr. ), née Freiin von Benckendorff, 17 December 1785 – 27 January 1857), was a Baltic German noblewoman and the wife of Prin ...

, née Countess von Benckendorff (17 December 1785, Riga – 27 January 1857, Paris), whom he had married on February 1, 1800 in

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 ...

. Together they had one daughter and five sons: Magda, Paul (24 February 1805 – 1866), Alexander (9 March 1806 – 5 October 1885), Konstantin (1807–1838), Georg and Arthur.

Diplomacy

In 1808 he was assigned to the Foreign Office. In December 1809 he was sent to represent Russia at the

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an em ...

n court and, when Napoleon prepared to invade Russia in 1812, was appointed Ambassador to the

court of St. James A court is any person or institution, often as a government institution, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between parties and carry out the administration of justice in civil, criminal, and administrative matters in accordanc ...

, a post he kept for 22 years.

Ennobled to prince

In 1826, his mother was created 1st Princess of Lieven, whereby Count Christoph also received the title of Prince.

Governor

In 1834 tsar

Nicholas I of Russia Nicholas I , group=pron ( – ) was List of Russian rulers, Emperor of Russia, Congress Poland, King of Congress Poland and Grand Duke of Finland. He was the third son of Paul I of Russia, Paul I and younger brother of his predecessor, Alexander I ...

recalled Lieven to Russia and entrusted him to be governor of the heir to the throne,

tsesarevich Tsesarevich (russian: Цесаревич, ) was the title of the heir apparent or presumptive in the Russian Empire. It either preceded or replaced the given name and patronymic. Usage It is often confused with " tsarevich", which is a di ...

Alexander Nikolaevitch.

Death

Lieven died suddenly on January 10, 1839 at

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

as he escorted the future Alexander II of Russia on his

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 ...

References

External links

* Judith Lissauer Cromwell, "Dorothea Lieven: A Russian Princess in London and Paris, 1785-1857 (McFarland & Co., 2007) *
Russian Embassy webpage (Russian only)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lieven, Kristofor 1774 births 1838 deaths Imperial Russian Army generals Politicians of the Russian Empire Latvian nobility Lieven family Members of the State Council (Russian Empire) Baltic-German people Military personnel from Kyiv Recipients of the Order of St. George of the Third Degree People of the Russo-Persian Wars Russian commanders of the Napoleonic Wars Russian nobility Ambassadors of the Russian Empire to the United Kingdom Diplomats from Kyiv