Prince Nikolai Grigoryevich Repnin-Volkonsky (Russian: Николай Григорьевич Репнин-Волконский; 1778 – 6/18 January 1845
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 ...
/ New 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 ...
) was a general in the
Imperial Russian Army.
Life
He was the son of General Prince Grigorij Semënovič
Volkonsky
Volkonsky is a Russian language locational surname, named after the Volkona river south of Moscow, and borne by a Russian noble family.Ziegler, Dominic. ''Black Dragon River: A Journey Down the Amur River at the Borderlands of Empires.'' New York: ...
, but the adoptive son of his maternal grandfather
Nicholas Repnin
Prince Nikolai Vasilyevich Repnin (russian: Никола́й Васи́льевич Репни́н; – ) was an Imperial Russian statesman and general from the Repnin princely family who played a key role in the dissolution of the Polish–Lit ...
. He joined the
Russian Imperial Guard
The Russian Imperial Guard, officially known as the Leib Guard (russian: Лейб-гвардия ''Leyb-gvardiya'', from German ''Leib'' "body"; cf. Life Guards / Bodyguard) were military units serving as personal guards of the Emperor of Russi ...
before taking up a colonelcy in the
Chevalier Guard Regiment
The Chevalier Guard Regiment (russian: Кавалергардский полк, Kavalergardskiy polk) was a Russian heavy cavalry guard regiment, created in 1800 by the reformation of the Chevalier Guard corps, itself created in 1764 by Catherin ...
during the campaign against the French. He was captured at the
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 i ...
and only freed after the
Peace of Tilsit. He was promoted to major general and was made ambassador to the
Kingdom of Westphalia
The Kingdom of Westphalia was a kingdom in Germany, with a population of 2.6 million, that existed from 1807 to 1813. It included territory in Hesse and other parts of present-day Germany. While formally independent, it was a vassal state of the ...
in 1809 and
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
in 1810. In 1809 he was elected an honorary member of the
Göttingen Academy of Sciences
Göttingen (, , ; nds, Chöttingen) is a university city in Lower Saxony, central Germany, the capital of the eponymous district. The River Leine runs through it. At the end of 2019, the population was 118,911.
General information
The or ...
.
He returned to Russia in 1811 and a year later was put in command of a cavalry regiment in the army department commanded by
Peter Wittgenstein
, title = 1st Prince of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Ludwigsburg-Berleburg
, image = Pjotr-christianowitsch-wittgenstein.jpg
, image_size =
, caption = Portrait by George Dawe
, birth_date =
, birth_place = Pereias ...
. In October 1813, after the
Battle of Leipzig, he became military governor in
Saxony
Saxony (german: Sachsen ; Upper Saxon: ''Saggsn''; hsb, Sakska), officially the Free State of Saxony (german: Freistaat Sachsen, links=no ; Upper Saxon: ''Freischdaad Saggsn''; hsb, Swobodny stat Sakska, links=no), is a landlocked state of ...
, until being replaced by the Prussian General Government in November 1814. During this period he worked to stabilise and rebuilt Saxony and attempted to turn its capital
Dresden
Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label= Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth ...
into the centre of German art, commissioning the external staircase to
Brühl's Terrace and opening the
Großer Garten
The Großer Garten (English: Great Garden) is a Baroque style park in central Dresden. It is rectangular in shape and covers about 1.8 km². Originally established in 1676 on the orders of John George III, Elector of Saxony, it has been a p ...
to the public. He also put up a monument on the Räcknitzhöhe near Dresden to the wounding of
Jean-Victor Moreau.
He took part in the
Hundred Days campaign and the
Congress of Vienna
The Congress of Vienna (, ) of 1814–1815 was a series of international diplomatic meetings to discuss and agree upon a possible new layout of the European political and constitutional order after the downfall of the French Emperor Napoleon B ...
. In 1816 he became governor of the
Province of Poltava and in 1835 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 ...
.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Repnin-Volkonsky, Nikolai
Military personnel of the Russian Empire
Russian generals
1778 births
1845 deaths
Russian diplomats