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 Zakhar Grigoryevich Chernyshev (172231 August 1784) was a Russian noble, courtier to Catherine the Great, Imperial Russian Army officer, and Imperial Russian politician in the 18th century. After made a courtier to then-Princess Sophie of Anha ...

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. They were handsomely rewarded for their loyalty. Catherine II first appointed Ivan Chernyshov to serve in the

Governing Senate The Governing Senate (russian: Правительствующий сенат, Pravitelstvuyushchiy senat) was a legislative, judicial, and executive body of the Russian Emperors, instituted by Peter the Great to replace the Boyar Duma and last ...

. 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 ...

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, Traf ...

; 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 the Great for the first 18 years of her reign (1762-1780). In that role, he advocated ...

, 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

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 The Decembrist Revolt ( ru , Восстание декабристов, translit = Vosstaniye dekabristov , translation = Uprising of the Decembrists) took place in Russia on , during the interregnum following the sudden death of Emperor Al ...

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)