Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. Th ...

Pyotr Dmitrievich Svyatopolk-Mirsky (russian: Пётр Дми́триевич Святопо́лк-Ми́рский, tr. ; , in

Vladikavkaz Vladikavkaz (russian: Владикавка́з, , os, Дзæуджыхъæу, translit=Dzæwdžyqæw, ;), formerly known as Ordzhonikidze () and Dzaudzhikau (), is the capital city of the North Ossetia-Alania, Republic of North Ossetia-Alania, Ru ...

– , in

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 ...

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

) was a Russian general, politician, and police official.

Family

Svyatopolk-Mirsky was born in Vladikavkaz into the prominent

Svyatopolk-Mirsky The House of Sviatopolk-Mirsky ( be, Святаполк-Мірскі, Sviatapolk-Mirski, russian: Святополк-Мирский, pl, Światopełk-Mirski, also transliterated using ''Swiatopolk'' or ''Mirskii'') is a family of Russian and L ...

family. He was the only son of the general

Dmitry Ivanovich Svyatopolk-Mirsky Prince Dmitry Ivanovich Svyatopolk-Mirsky (russian: Дмитрий Иванович Святополк-Мирский, 1825–1899) was an Imperial Russian Army general, a politician and a member of the princely Svyatopolk-Mirsky family. Bac ...

and

Georgian Georgian may refer to: Common meanings * Anything related to, or originating from Georgia (country) ** Georgians, an indigenous Caucasian ethnic group ** Georgian language, a Kartvelian language spoken by Georgians **Georgian scripts, three scrip ...

Princess Sofia Orbeliani. Pyotr was educated at

Page Corps The Page Corps (russian: Пажеский корпус; french: Corps des Pages) was a military academy in Imperial Russia, which prepared sons of the nobility and of senior officers for military service. Similarly, the Imperial School of Jurisprud ...

, graduating in 1874 with first-class honours, and was appointed Page of the Chamber. In 1875, he became a

cornet The cornet (, ) is a brass instrument similar to the trumpet but distinguished from it by its conical bore, more compact shape, and mellower tone quality. The most common cornet is a transposing instrument in B, though there is also a sopr ...

at ''Her Empress Leib-Guards

Hussar A hussar ( , ; hu, huszár, pl, husarz, sh, husar / ) was a member of a class of light cavalry, originating in Central Europe during the 15th and 16th centuries. The title and distinctive dress of these horsemen were subsequently widely ...

s''. He was the father to literary historian

D. S. Mirsky D. S. Mirsky is the English pen-name of Dmitry Petrovich Svyatopolk-Mirsky (russian: Дми́трий Петро́вич Святопо́лк-Ми́рский), often known as Prince Mirsky ( – c. 7 June 1939), a Russian political and lit ...

Military career

Svyatopolk-Mirsky took part in the Russo-Turkish War, 1877–78 and was decorated for valour in the

Battle of Kars The Battle of Kars was a decisive Russian victory over the Ottoman Empire during the Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878). The battle for the city took place on November 17th, 1877, and resulted in the Russians capturing the city along with a large por ...

. Then he studied at the General Staff Academy and graduated in 1881. In 1884, he was made the acting commander of the staff of 31st Infantry division, and in 1887, he was appointed to commander of staff of 3d

Grenadier A grenadier ( , ; derived from the word '' grenade'') was originally a specialist soldier who threw hand grenades in battle. The distinct combat function of the grenadier was established in the mid-17th century, when grenadiers were recruited fr ...

division.

Political career

In 1895, he was appointed the governor of Penza, and in 1897 the governor of Yekaterinoslav. In 1900,

Dmitry Sipyagin Dmitry Sergeyevich Sipyagin (russian: Дми́трий Серге́евич Сипя́гин) ( – ) was a Russian politician. Political career Born in Kiev, Sipyagin graduated from the Judicial Department of St Petersburg University in 18 ...

appointed Svyatopolk-Mirsky assistant

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 ...

and commander of the Imperial Corps of

Gendarme Wrong info! --> A gendarmerie () is a military force with law enforcement duties among the civilian population. The term ''gendarme'' () is derived from the medieval French expression ', which translates to "Man-at-arms, men-at-arms" ...

s. After Sipyagin's assassination in 1902, Svyatopolk-Mirsky resigned as assistant minister but was persuaded to accept the position of

Governor-General of Vilna Vilna Governorate-General, known as Lithuania Governorate-General (russian: Литовское генерал-губернаторство, li, Vilniaus generalgubernatorija) before 1830, was a Governorate-General of the Russian Empire from 1794 ...

(modern-day

Lithuania Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...

and

Belarus Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by R ...

). As the Governor-General, Svyatopolk-Mirsky was credited with successful liberal reforms, defusing national tensions in the province by allowing more rights to the national minorities and stopping

pogrom A pogrom () is a violent riot incited with the aim of massacring or expelling an ethnic or religious group, particularly Jews. The term entered the English language from Russian to describe 19th- and 20th-century attacks on Jews in the Russia ...

s against the Jews. In August 1904, he succeeded to the position of

after Plehve's assassination. His appointment was seen as a victory of Liberals over the Conservatives and in the Court term as a victory of the party of widow Empress Maria Fyodorovna (who supported the liberal reforms and was a patroness of Pyotr's sister Olga) over the party of Empress consort Alexandra Fyodorovna. The Conservative Ministers

Witte Witte (and de Witte) are Dutch and Low German surnames meaning "(the) white one". Witte can also be a patronymic surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Alfred Witte (1878–1941), German astrologer * Carla Witte (1889–1943), German- ...

and Sipiagin credited Svyatopolk-Mirsky with being an honourable, intelligent man of the highest moral principles, which is notable due to his attempts at liberal reform in

Imperial Russia The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the List of Russian monarchs, Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended th ...

while minister. The reforms began with permitting members of the local

zemstvos A ''zemstvo'' ( rus, земство, p=ˈzʲɛmstvə, plural ''zemstva'' – rus, земства) was an institution of local government set up during the great emancipation reform of 1861 carried out in Imperial Russia by Emperor Alexand ...

to gather to discuss broader policy issues and coordination of zemstvo programs, something that had not been permitted in Russia regularly. The remaining reforms were embodied in a decree that called for the inclusion of elected members to the State Council, removal of the restrictions on the

Old Believers Old Believers or Old Ritualists, ''starovery'' or ''staroobryadtsy'' are Eastern Orthodox Christians who maintain the liturgical and ritual practices of the Russian Orthodox Church as they were before the reforms of Patriarch Nikon of Moscow bet ...

, measures to strengthen legality, extend freedom of the press and religion, broaden the authority of local self-government, eliminate unnecessary restrictions on non-Russians, and do away with exceptional laws in general. Svyatopolk-Mirsky not only allowed the congress but also participated in its work and personally delivered its decision to 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 ...

along with his own plan for constitutional reforms. Svyatopolk-Mirsky's plan included transferring more power to the

State Council of Imperial Russia The State Council ( rus, Госуда́рственный сове́т, p=ɡəsʊˈdarstvʲɪn(ː)ɨj sɐˈvʲet) was the supreme state advisory body to the Tsar in Imperial Russia. From 1906, it was the upper house of the parliament under the ...

. The plan was much less radical than the reforms implemented by the

October Manifesto The October Manifesto (russian: Октябрьский манифест, Манифест 17 октября), officially "The Manifesto on the Improvement of the State Order" (), is a document that served as a precursor to the Russian Empire's fi ...

1905, but in December 1904, it was considered ultra-radical and was dismissed. The massacre of a peaceful demonstration in

, known as

Bloody Sunday Bloody Sunday may refer to: Historical events Canada * Bloody Sunday (1923), a day of police violence during a steelworkers' strike for union recognition in Sydney, Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia * Bloody Sunday (1938), police violence agai ...

, occurred on . According to Svyatopolk-Mirsky, he never had authorised the shooting of the demonstrators but still fulfilled his final duty to the tsar and became the

scapegoat In the Bible, a scapegoat is one of a pair of kid goats that is released into the wilderness, taking with it all sins and impurities, while the other is sacrificed. The concept first appears in the Book of Leviticus, in which a goat is designate ...

for the massacre. According to Svyatopolk-Mirsky's opponents, he not only authorised the shooting but also actively encouraged the demonstration to push his own political agenda. Svyatopolk-Mirsky was replaced as minister of the Interior by

Alexander Bulygin Alexander Bulygin ( – 5 September 1919) was the Minister of Interior of Russia from February 1905 until October 1905. Biography Graduate of the Imperial School of Law, he began work in the Tambov district court in 1871. He then held various a ...

in February 1905 and retired from government service. As a retired Minister of Interior, he was expected to be appointed a member of the

, but it was not the case. He retired from the political life until his death on 16 May 1914.

References

*''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.
Biography of Pyotr Dmitrievich Svyatopolk-Mirsky in Russian
{{DEFAULTSORT:Svyatopolk-Mirsky, Pyotr Dmitrievich Politicians of the Russian Empire Russian police chiefs Members of the State Council (Russian Empire) 1857 births 1914 deaths People from Vladikavkaz People of the 1905 Russian Revolution Governors-General of Lithuania Governors of Penza Governorate