Ivan Konstantinovich Grigorovich (russian: Ива́н Константи́нович Григоро́вич) (26 January 1853 – 3 March 1930) served as Imperial Russia's last Naval Minister from 1911 until the onset of the

1917 revolution The Russian Revolution was a period of political and social revolution that took place in the former Russian Empire which began during the First World War. This period saw Russia abolish its monarchy and adopt a socialist form of governm ...

Early career

Grigorovich was from a Russian noble family and opted for a military career after the death of his father, Konstantin Ivanovich Grigorovich. Graduating from the Sea Cadet Corps in 1874 Grigorovich served as an officer on various ships. In 1893, he was promoted to captain, 1st rank. In 1896 to 1898 he was appointed Russian naval attaché in London. In 1899 he was appointed to command the battleship , which was being completed in France. In 1903 ''Tsesarevich'' sailed to Port Arthur.Kowner, '' Historical Dictionary of the Russo-Japanese War'', p. 134-135. During the surprise Japanese torpedo boat attack on Port Arthur, starting the

Russo-Japanese War The Russo-Japanese War ( ja, 日露戦争, Nichiro sensō, Japanese-Russian War; russian: Ру́сско-япóнская войнá, Rússko-yapónskaya voyná) was fought between the Empire of Japan and the Russian Empire during 1904 and 1 ...

, ''Tsesarevich'' was hit by a Japanese torpedo but remained afloat and contributed to driving off the Japanese attack. Grigorovich was awarded the

Order of St Vladimir The Imperial Order of Saint Prince Vladimir (russian: орден Святого Владимира) was an Imperial Russian order established on by Empress Catherine II in memory of the deeds of Saint Vladimir, the Grand Prince and the Baptize ...

, 3rd class with swords for his role in the battle. After the death of Admiral Stepan Makarov, he was promoted to rear admiral and appointed chief of Port Arthur's port. Under his effective management, Russian Pacific squadron had no shortage of coal, munitions or any supplies during the

Siege of Port Arthur The siege of Port Arthur ( ja, 旅順攻囲戦, ''Ryojun Kōisen''; russian: link=no, Оборона Порт-Артура, ''Oborona Port-Artura'', August 1, 1904 – January 2, 1905) was the longest and most violent land battle of the Russ ...

. In 1904 he was also awarded with the Order of Saint Stanislaus, 1st class.

As admiral

After the end of the war Grigorovich was appointed chief of staff of the Black Sea Fleet. He was appointed commander of the naval base at Libau in 1908 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 Hol ...

, 1st class, and became commander of the naval base at

Kronstadt Kronstadt (russian: Кроншта́дт, Kronshtadt ), also spelled Kronshtadt, Cronstadt or Kronštádt (from german: link=no, Krone for " crown" and ''Stadt'' for "city") is a Russian port city in Kronshtadtsky District of the federal city ...

in 1909. In 1909 he was appointed Deputy Navy Minister and promoted to admiral in 1911. From 1911 until the onset of revolution in 1917 he served as Russia's Naval Minister, overseeing a huge rearmament programme. The naval build-up included building four ''Gangut''-class battleships for the Baltic Fleet and four ''Imperatritsa Mariya''-class battleships for the Black Sea Fleet. He personally visited the shipyards and the different fleets of Imperial Russia to supervise the progress of the construction of warships, training of crew and sailors. He enjoyed good relationships with the

Duma A duma (russian: дума) is a Russian assembly with advisory or legislative functions. The term ''boyar duma'' is used to refer to advisory councils in Russia from the 10th to 17th centuries. Starting in the 18th century, city dumas were for ...

and used his popularity to secure huge extra funds to expand the navy. He remained in charge of the Imperial Russian Navy through most of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. He was chairman of the Admiralty Board from 1911 to 1915, and was a 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 ...

from 1913 to 1917. Grigorovich was politically sympathetic to the

Octobrist Party The Union of 17 October (russian: Союз 17 Октября, ''Soyuz 17 Oktyabrya''), commonly known as the Octobrist Party (Russian: Октябристы, ''Oktyabristy''), was a liberal-reformist constitutional monarchist political party in ...

and was nominated as a candidate for Prime Minister in 1916; however his candidacy was rejected due to objections from dowager tsarina Maria Feodorovna over Grigorovich's liberal views.

Post-Revolution

Grigorovich was dismissed from office in the wake of the February Revolution on 31 March 1917. He served on the Historical Commission and was asked to write his memoirs (which were only published in 1993, after the fall of the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

. However, he was dismissed in October 1921 due to downsizing, and lived in extreme poverty, suffering frequently from

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severi ...

and for sometime lived in the apartment of

Aleksey Krylov , birth_date = O.S. (August 15, 1863 N.S.) , death_date = , image = Alexey Krylov 1910s.JPG , image_size = 200px , caption = Official portrait (1910) , birth_place = Alatyrsky uezd of Simbirsk Gubernia, Russia ...

. From his retirement he asked for permission to get medical treatment abroad, and left for

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

in the autumn of 1924. He lived in exile in France in poverty until his death in 1930, with an income by selling his own

oil painting Oil painting is the process of painting with pigments with a medium of drying oil as the binder. It has been the most common technique for artistic painting on wood panel or canvas for several centuries, spreading from Europe to the rest of ...

s of seascapes. On his death, he was initially buried in the Russian Cemetery in

Menton Menton (; , written ''Menton'' in classical norm or ''Mentan'' in Mistralian norm; it, Mentone ) is a commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region on the French Riviera, close to the Italian border. Me ...

. In 2005 the

urn An urn is a vase, often with a cover, with a typically narrowed neck above a rounded body and a footed pedestal. Describing a vessel as an "urn", as opposed to a vase or other terms, generally reflects its use rather than any particular shape or ...

containing his ashes was taken aboard the cruiser , which carried his remains to Novorossiysk. The ashes were then flown 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 ...

and buried in his family vault in the

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 ...

in accordance with his will. The Russian Navy has named the first of the ''Admiral Grigorovich''-class frigates after Ivan Grigorovich. He was awarded

Order of Prince Danilo I The Order of Prince Danilo I ( cnr, Орден Књаза Данила I, translit=Orden Knjaza Danila I) was an order of the Principality and later Kingdom, of Montenegro. It is currently a dynastic order granted by the head of the House of Pet ...

Order of the Cross of Takovo The Order of the Cross of Takovo was a Serbian state order. History It was instituted in the Principality of Serbia in 1865 to mark the 50th anniversary of the Second Serbian Uprising against the Ottoman Empire, which had started in Takovo, Serbi ...

and a number of other decorations.

Notes

References

External links

Short biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Grigorovich, Ivan 1853 births 1930 deaths Government ministers of Russia Imperial Russian Navy admirals Politicians of the Russian Empire Members of the State Council (Russian Empire) Russian military personnel of the Russo-Japanese War Russian military personnel of World War I Recipients of the Order of Saint Stanislaus (Russian), 1st class Recipients of the Order of St. Anna, 1st class Recipients of the Order of St. Vladimir, 3rd class Admirals of World War I Burials at Nikolskoe Cemetery Naval Cadet Corps alumni