Count Ivan Grigoryevich Chernyshyov (1726 – 1797; russian: Граф Иван Григорьевич Чернышёв) was an Imperial Russian
Field Marshal
Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, ordinarily senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army and as such few persons are appointed to it. It is considered as ...
and
General Admiral, prominent during the reign of Empress
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 ...
.
Life and career
He started his career serving under his more illustrious brother
Zakhar Chernyshyov at the Russian missions in
Copenhagen
Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...
(1741) and
Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...
(1742–45). In 1749 he was commanded to resign from diplomatic service and marry Countess Elizabeth Yefimovskaya, a cousin of
Empress Elizabeth
Elizabeth Petrovna (russian: Елизаве́та (Елисаве́та) Петро́вна) (), also known as Yelisaveta or Elizaveta, reigned as Empress of Russia from 1741 until her death in 1762. She remains one of the most popular Russian ...
.
All three Chernyshov brothers backed Catherine in the coup that placed her on the Russian throne in 1762, after the assassination of her husband,
Peter III Peter III may refer to:
Politics
* Peter III of Bulgaria (ruled in 1072)
* Peter III of Aragon (1239–1285)
* Peter III of Arborea (died 1347)
* Peter III Aaron (died 1467)
* Pedro III of Kongo (ruler in 1669)
* Peter III of Russia (1728–1762)
* ...
. They were handsomely rewarded for their loyalty.
Catherine II first appointed Ivan Chernyshov to serve in the
Governing Senate. In 1768, Chernyshov was awarded the role of Chief
Plenipotentiary
A ''plenipotentiary'' (from the Latin ''plenus'' "full" and ''potens'' "powerful") is a diplomat who has full powers—authorization to sign a treaty or convention on behalf of his or her sovereign. When used as a noun more generally, the word ...
in
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 ...
. On his return to Russia two years later, he was made Vice-President of the
Admiralty
Admiralty most often refers to:
*Admiralty, Hong Kong
* Admiralty (United Kingdom), military department in command of the Royal Navy from 1707 to 1964
*The rank of admiral
* Admiralty law
Admiralty can also refer to:
Buildings
*Admiralty, Tr ...
; a position he retained until 1796. Being on friendly terms with
Nikita Panin
Count Nikita Ivanovich Panin (russian: Ники́та Ива́нович Па́нин) () was an influential Russian statesman and political mentor to Catherine II of Russia, Catherine the Great for the first 18 years of her reign (1762-1780). In ...
, the tutor and closest adviser to the future
Emperor Paul
Paul I (russian: Па́вел I Петро́вич ; – ) was Emperor of Russia from 1796 until his assassination. Officially, he was the only son of Peter III and Catherine the Great, although Catherine hinted that he was fathered by her l ...
, he was promoted to the rank of Navy
Field Marshal
Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, ordinarily senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army and as such few persons are appointed to it. It is considered as ...
upon the latter's ascension to the throne. By that time, Chernyshov's health was giving out and he had been living abroad for five years.
Family
Two of the Field Marshal’s grandchildren were tied to the
Decembrist plot to overthrow Tsar
Nicholas I in 1825. His grandson, Zakhar Grigoryevich Chernyshov, was an active participant in the uprising. Zakhar’s sister, Alexandra ("Alexandrine") Chernysheva, was married to the author of the Decembrist
constitution
A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of Legal entity, entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed.
When ...
,
Nikita Muravyov
Nikita Mikhailovich Muravyov (russian: Никита Михайлович Муравьёв) ( – ) was an Imperial Guards staff officer and plotter in what led to the Decembrist revolt of 1825.
Muravyov was active in a number of proto-Decem ...
.
Chernyshov's niece, Natalya Petrovna Galitzine, better known at the Russian court as "
Princesse Moustache Princesse (French 'princess') may refer to:
*"Princesse", single hit for Julie Zenatti
*Princesse (Nekfeu song)
*La Princesse
La Princesse is a 15-metre (50-foot) mechanical spider designed and operated by French performance art company La Mac ...
", was romanticized by
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, ...
under the name of
The Queen of Spades in his eponymous story from 1834.
[Binyon, T.J. ''Pushkin: A Biography,'' page 699. New York: Harper Collins, 2002]
Footnotes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chernyshyov, Ivan
1726 births
1797 deaths
Counts of the Russian Empire
Field marshals of Russia
Imperial Russian Navy admirals
18th-century military personnel from the Russian Empire
Burials at the Annunciation Church of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra
Ambassadors of the Russian Empire to the United Kingdom
Recipients of the Order of the White Eagle (Poland)