Pyotr Borisovich Sheremetev () (1713–1788) was a Russian nobleman and courtier, the richest man in Russia aside from the tsar; he was the son of

Boris Sheremetev Count Boris Petrovich Sheremetev (; – ) was a Russian diplomat and field marshal (Russian Empire), general field marshal during the Great Northern War. He became the first Russian count in 1706. His children included Pyotr Sheremetev and Nat ...

. When his father Boris died in 1719, tsar

Peter Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a su ...

promised to be "like a father" to Boris's children, and young Pyotr was brought up at court as a companion to the heir to the throne, who became tsar Peter II.

After a teenage career in the Guards, Sheremetev became a chamberlain to the Empress Anna, and then to the Empress Elizabeth. Under Catherine the Great, he became a senator and was the first elected Marshal of the Nobility. Unlike other court favourites, who rose and fell with the change of sovereign, Sheremetev remained in office for six consecutive reigns. ... He was one of Russia's first noblemen to be independent in the European sense.Orlando Figes, ''Natasha's Dance'' (Picador, 2002), p. 19.

He was a lover of art and theater, using his vast wealth to remodel the

Sheremetev Palace The Fountain House is a palace in Russia built by the Sheremetev family, named after the nearby Fontanka river. Since its erection in 1712 the building was reconstructed several times by famous architects G. Dmitryev, Savva Chevakinsky, Fyodor Arg ...

(known as the "Fountain House") on the

Fontanka The Fontanka (), a left branch of the river Neva, flows through the whole of Central Saint Petersburg, Russia – from the Summer Garden to . It is long, with a width up to , and a depth up to . The Moyka River forms a right-bank branch ...

Embankment and the family estate at

Kuskovo Kuskovo () was the summer country house and estate of the Sheremetev family. Built in the mid-18th century, it was originally situated several miles to the east of Moscow but now is part of the East District of the city. It was one of the ...

, where he collected a gallery of portraits, and to create a famous serf orchestra. He married Varvara Alekseevna Cherkasskaya, daughter of an important court official, who brought him an expensive dowry. Their son was

Nikolai Sheremetev Nikolai Petrovich Sheremetev () (28 June 1751 - 2 January 1809 O.S., 9 July 1751 - 14 January 1809 N.S.) was a Russian count, the son of Petr Borisovich Sheremetev, notable grandee of the epoch of empresses Anna Ivanovna, Elizabeth Petrovna, a ...

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sheremetev, Pyotr Borisovich 1713 births 1788 deaths Pyotr Recipients of the Order of the White Eagle (Poland) People from the Russian Empire

See also

Notes