Count Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...

Pavel Nikolayevich Ignatiev (russian: Павел Николаевич Игнатьев, sometimes rendered in English as Paul Ignatieff; June 30/July 12, 1870 – August 12, 1945) was an Imperial Russian politician who served as Education Minister for Tsar

Nicholas II Nicholas II or Nikolai II Alexandrovich Romanov; spelled in pre-revolutionary script. ( 186817 July 1918), known in the Russian Orthodox Church as Saint Nicholas the Passion-Bearer,. was the last Emperor of Russia, King of Congress Pola ...

. He was the son of Count

Nikolay Pavlovich Ignatyev Count Nikolay Pavlovich Ignatyev (historical spelling: ''Nicolai Ignatieff''; russian: Граф Никола́й Па́влович Игна́тьев; – ), a Russian statesman and diplomat, became best known for his aggressive expansion ...

, who was the

Minister of the Interior An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and identification, emergency ...

under Tsar Alexander III. After the

October Revolution The October Revolution,. officially known as the Great October Socialist Revolution. in the Soviet Union, also known as the Bolshevik Revolution, was a revolution in Russia led by the Bolshevik Party of Vladimir Lenin that was a key moment ...

brought the

Bolsheviks The Bolsheviks (russian: Большевики́, from большинство́ ''bol'shinstvó'', 'majority'),; derived from ''bol'shinstvó'' (большинство́), "majority", literally meaning "one of the majority". also known in English ...

into power, Ignatieff fled Russia with his family, ultimately ending up in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

Life and family

Ignatieff married Princess Natalia Nikolayevna Meshcherskaya (1877-1944) in

Nice, France Nice ( , ; Niçard dialect, Niçard: , classical norm, or , nonstandard, ; it, Nizza ; lij, Nissa; grc, Νίκαια; la, Nicaea) is the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes departments of France, department in France. The Nice urban unit, agg ...

, on April 16, 1903. They would have seven children, all boys, two of whom died as infants. He was a graduate of the

University of Kyiv Kyiv University or Shevchenko University or officially the Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv ( uk, Київський національний університет імені Тараса Шевченка), colloquially known as KNU ...

. Afterward, he entered the Imperial Ministry of Agriculture, eventually becoming a director of one of its departments in 1909. He was appointed in 1912 as Assistant Minister of Agriculture. In 1915, during the First World War, he was appointed Minister of Education. He held that position until December 1916. During the

, Ignatieff was arrested and was to be executed. However, he was spared by the Polish commissar overseeing his execution, who said that Ignatieff was a good man because he had implemented progressive policies such as Polish language rights while Education Minister. Ignatieff and his family then fled to England in 1919 and lived on a farm in

Sussex Sussex (), from the Old English (), is a historic county in South East England that was formerly an independent medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdom. It is bounded to the west by Hampshire, north by Surrey, northeast by Kent, south by the English ...

, before moving to Canada. In 1925, the family immigrated to

and settled permanently three years later in Upper Melbourne in

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

, where he died on August 12, 1945. One of Ignatieff's sons,

George George may refer to: People * George (given name) * George (surname) * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Washington, First President of the United States * George W. Bush, 43rd Presiden ...

, was a prominent

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

diplomat. One of his grandsons,

Michael Ignatieff Michael Grant Ignatieff (; born May 12, 1947) is a Canadian author, academic and former politician who served as the leader of the Liberal Party of Canada and Leader of the Official Opposition from 2008 until 2011. Known for his work as a histo ...

, is an author,

Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

professor, former Canadian

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

and former leader of the

Liberal Party of Canada The Liberal Party of Canada (french: Parti libéral du Canada, region=CA) is a federal political party in Canada. The party espouses the principles of liberalism,McCall, Christina; Stephen Clarkson"Liberal Party". ''The Canadian Encyclopedia'' ...

References

* Ignatieff, Michael. ''The Russian album''. New York, N.Y.: Viking, 1987. * "Countess Ignatieff". ''New York Times'', 30 Aug 1944: 17.
Index with link to Ignatieff genealogical information
* "Nicholas Ignatieff". ''New York Times'', 30 Mar 1952: 93. *''Out of My Past: The Memoirs of Count Kokovtsov'' Edited by H.H. Fisher and translated by Laura Matveev; Stanford University Press, 1935. *''The Memoirs of Count Witte'' Edited and translated by Sydney Harcave; Sharpe Press, 1990. {{DEFAULTSORT:Ignatieff, Count Paul 1870 births 1945 deaths Government ministers of Russia Emigrants from the Russian Empire to Canada Politicians of the Russian Empire Counts of the Russian Empire White Russian emigrants to Canada Emigrants from the Russian Empire to France White Russian emigrants to France Governors of the Kiev Governorate