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. Th ...

Dmitry Mikhailovich Golitsyn (russian: Дмитрий Михайлович Голицын, Golitsyn, ɡɐˈlʲitsɨn; 16651737) was a Russian

aristocrat The aristocracy is historically associated with "hereditary" or "ruling" social class. In many states, the aristocracy included the upper class of people (aristocrats) with hereditary rank and titles. In some, such as ancient Greece, ancient Ro ...

of the

Golitsyn family The House of Golitsyn or Galitzine was one of the largest princely of the noble houses in the Tsardom of Russia and Russian Empire. Among them were boyars, warlords, diplomats, generals (the Mikhailovichs), stewards, chamberlains, the richest me ...

. A cousin of Prince

Vasily Vasilyevich Golitsyn Prince Vasily Vasilyevich Golitsyn (russian: Василий Васильевич Голицын, Romanization of Russian, tr. ; 1643–1714) was a Russian aristocrat and statesman of the 17th century. He belonged to the Golitsyn family, Golitsyn ...

, he was noted for his noble attempt to turn Russia into a

constitutional monarchy A constitutional monarchy, parliamentary monarchy, or democratic monarchy is a form of monarchy in which the monarch exercises their authority in accordance with a constitution and is not alone in decision making. Constitutional monarchies dif ...

. Golitsyn was sent by Peter the Great in 1697 to Italy to learn military affairs; in 1704 he was appointed to the command of an auxiliary corps in Poland against

Charles XII Charles XII, sometimes Carl XII ( sv, Karl XII) or Carolus Rex (17 June 1682 – 30 November 1718 O.S.), was King of Sweden (including current Finland) from 1697 to 1718. He belonged to the House of Palatinate-Zweibrücken, a branch line of t ...

; from 1711 to 1718 he was governor of

Belgorod Belgorod ( rus, Белгород, p=ˈbʲeɫɡərət) is a city and the administrative center of Belgorod Oblast, Russia, located on the Seversky Donets River north of the border with Ukraine. Population: Demographics The population of Be ...

. In 1718 he was appointed president of the newly erected Commerce Collegium and a senator. In May 1723 he was implicated in the disgrace of the vice-chancellor

Shafirov Baron Peter Pavlovich Shafirov (russian: Пётр Павлович Шафиров; 1670–1739) was a Russian statesman and a prominent coadjutor of Peter the Great. Early life and career Shafirov was born into a Polish Jewish family. His father ...

and was deprived of all his offices and dignities, which he only recovered through the mediation of the empress. After the death of Peter the Great, Golitsyn became the recognized head of the old Conservative party which had never forgiven Peter for divorcing Eudoxia and marrying the plebeian Martha Skavronskaya (

Catherine I of Russia Catherine I ( rus, Екатери́на I Алексе́евна Миха́йлова, Yekaterína I Alekséyevna Mikháylova; born , ; – ) was the second wife and empress consort of Peter the Great, and Empress Regnant of Russia from 1725 un ...

). But the reformers, as represented by

Alexander Menshikov Alexander Menshikov may refer to: * Alexander Danilovich Menshikov (1673–1729), Russian statesman * Alexander Sergeyevich Menshikov Prince Alexander Sergeyevich Menshikov (russian: Князь Алекса́ндр Серге́евич Ме́н� ...

and Peter Tolstoi, prevailed; and Golitsyn remained in the background till the fall of Menshikov, 1727. During the last years of Peter II (1728–1730), Golitsyn was the most prominent statesman in Russia and his high

aristocratic Aristocracy (, ) is a form of government that places strength in the hands of a small, privileged ruling class, the aristocrats. The term derives from the el, αριστοκρατία (), meaning 'rule of the best'. At the time of the word's ...

theories had full play. On the death of Peter II he conceived the idea of limiting the

autocracy Autocracy is a system of government in which absolute power over a state is concentrated in the hands of one person, whose decisions are subject neither to external legal restraints nor to regularized mechanisms of popular control (except perh ...

by subordinating it to the authority of the

Supreme privy council The Supreme Privy Council (russian: Верховный тайный совет) of Imperial Russia, founded on 19 February 1726 and operative until 1730, originated as a body of advisors to Empress Catherine I. History Originally, the council comp ...

, of which he was president. He drew up a Conditions which Anna of Courland, the newly elected Russian empress, was forced to sign at Mittau before being permitted to proceed to

Saint 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 ...

. Anna lost no time in repudiating this constitution, and never forgave its authors. Golitsyn was left in peace, however, and lived for the most part in retirement, till 1736, when he was arrested on suspicion of being concerned in the

conspiracy A conspiracy, also known as a plot, is a secret plan or agreement between persons (called conspirers or conspirators) for an unlawful or harmful purpose, such as murder or treason, especially with political motivation, while keeping their agree ...

of his son-in-law Prince

Konstantin Dmitrievich Kantemir The first name Konstantin () is a derivation from the Latin name ''Constantinus'' ( Constantine) in some European languages, such as Russian and German. As a Christian given name, it refers to the memory of the Roman emperor Constantine the Great ...

. This, however, was a mere pretext, it was for his anti-monarchical sentiments that he was really prosecuted. A court, largely composed of his antagonists, condemned him to death, but the empress reduced the sentence to lifelong imprisonment in

Schlisselburg Shlisselburg ( rus, Шлиссельбу́рг, p=ʂlʲɪsʲɪlʲˈburk; german: Schlüsselburg; fi, Pähkinälinna; sv, Nöteborg), formerly Oreshek (Орешек) (1323–1611) and Petrokrepost (Петрокрепость) (1944–1992), is ...

and

confiscation Confiscation (from the Latin ''confiscatio'' "to consign to the ''fiscus'', i.e. transfer to the treasury") is a legal form of seizure by a government or other public authority. The word is also used, popularly, of spoliation under legal forms, o ...

of all his estates. He died in his prison on the 14th of April 1737, after three months of confinement.Всё о жизни Дмитрия Михайловича Голицына
/ref>

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Golitsyn, Dmitry Mikhailovich 1665 births 1737 deaths Russian princes Dmitry Mikhailovich Members of the Supreme Privy Council Prisoners who died in Russian detention Russian people who died in prison custody Prisoners of Shlisselburg fortress Russian bibliophiles Politicians of the Russian Empire Diplomats of the Russian Empire Senators of the Russian Empire Governors of the Kiev Governorate