Count Sergei Grigoryevich Stroganov (russian: Граф Сергей Григорьевич Строганов; 8 November 1794 – 22 March 1882) was a Russian nobleman, statesman, art historian, archaeologist, collector, and philanthropist. He was a member of the highly successful and prominent

Stroganov family The Stroganovs or Strogonovs (russian: link=no, Стро́гановы, Стро́гоновы), French spelling: Stroganoff, were a family of highly successful Russian merchants, industrialists, landowners, and statesmen. From the time of Iva ...

He also founded the

Stroganov Moscow State Academy of Arts and Industry Moscow State Stroganov Academy of Industrial and Applied Arts (russian: Московская Государственная Художественно-Промышленная Академия им. С.Г. Строганова) informally named S ...

Life

He was born 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 ...

, the capital of the

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. ...

, in 1794 to Baron Grigory Stroganov (1770–1857) and Princess Anna Trubetskaya (1765–1824). As a teenager and young adult, he fought for Russia in the

Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...

and distinguished himself at the

Battle of Borodino The Battle of Borodino (). took place near the village of Borodino on during Napoleon's invasion of Russia. The ' won the battle against the Imperial Russian Army but failed to gain a decisive victory and suffered tremendous losses. Napoleon ...

and at the

Battle of Leipzig The Battle of Leipzig (french: Bataille de Leipsick; german: Völkerschlacht bei Leipzig, ); sv, Slaget vid Leipzig), also known as the Battle of the Nations (french: Bataille des Nations; russian: Битва народов, translit=Bitva ...

. In 1815, Stroganov married Natalia Pavlovna Stroganova (1796–1872), daughter of Sophie Golitsyn, with whom he had four sons and three daughters. Subsequently, Stroganov participated in the

Russian-Turkish War The Russo-Turkish wars (or Ottoman–Russian wars) were a series of twelve wars fought between the Russian Empire and the Ottoman Empire between the 16th and 20th centuries. It was one of the longest series of military conflicts in European histor ...

of 1828–1829 and in the

Crimean War The Crimean War, , was fought from October 1853 to February 1856 between Russia and an ultimately victorious alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom and Piedmont-Sardinia. Geopolitical causes of the war included the de ...

. Count Stroganov played a large role in the development of the Russian education and culture during the 19th century. In 1825, Stroganov founded the first private academy of art in Russia (in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

) using his own money. This art academy taught arts and crafts to 360 people, including to children and

serfs Serfdom was the status of many peasants under feudalism, specifically relating to manorialism, and similar systems. It was a condition of debt bondage and indentured servitude with similarities to and differences from slavery, which developed ...

. From 1835 until 1847, Stroganov was the curator of the Moscow Educational District, which included Moscow University (now known as

Moscow State University M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University (MSU; russian: Московский государственный университет имени М. В. Ломоносова) is a public research university in Moscow, Russia and the most prestigious ...

) which then flourished as a major center of Russian intellectual life. In 1860, this art academy was renamed the Stroganov School (it is now known as it

Stroganov Moscow State University of Arts and Industry Moscow State Stroganov Academy of Industrial and Applied Arts (russian: Московская Государственная Художественно-Промышленная Академия им. С.Г. Строганова) informally named S ...

), and it produced many prominent architects and artists. From 17 April 1859 to 8 September 1859, Count Stroganov served as

Governor-General Governor-general (plural ''governors-general''), or governor general (plural ''governors general''), is the title of an office-holder. In the context of governors-general and former British colonies, governors-general are appointed as viceroy t ...

of Moscow. Starting in 1860, Stroganov was the tutor of

Tsesarevich Tsesarevich (russian: Цесаревич, ) was the title of the heir apparent or presumptive in the Russian Empire. It either preceded or replaced the given name and patronymic. Usage It is often confused with "tsarevich", which is a dis ...

Nicholas Alexandrovich Nicholas Alexandrovich (russian: Николай Александрович; – ) was tsesarevich—the heir apparent—of Imperial Russia from 2 March 1855 until his death in 1865. Early life Grand Duke Nicholas was born on 1843, i ...

, Emperor Alexander II's eldest son, as well as of the younger sons of Alexander II. Stroganov also served on the

State Council of the Russian Empire 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 ...

and was the Chairman of the Society of Russian History and Antiquities between 1837 and 1874, as well as the founder of the Archaeological Commission, which conducted excavations of old Russian towns. As a landowner, Stroganov opposed Tsar Alexander II's emancipation of the Russian serfs in 1861. After the

assassination of Alexander II On 13 March Old Style], 1881, Alexander II of Russia, Alexander II, the Emperor of Russia, was assassinated in Saint Petersburg, Russian Empire, Russia while returning to the Winter Palace from Mikhailovsky Manège in a closed carriage. The ass ...

in 1881, Stroganov, along with

Konstantin Pobedonostsev Konstantin Petrovich Pobedonostsev ( rus, Константи́н Петро́вич Победоно́сцев, p=kənstɐnʲˈtʲin pʲɪˈtrovʲɪtɕ pəbʲɪdɐˈnostsɨf; 30 November 1827 – 23 March 1907) was a Russian jurist, statesman, ...

and some others, succeeded in convincing the new Russian Tsar, Alexander III, to shelve Count

Mikhail Loris-Melikov Count Mikhail Tarielovich Loris-Melikov (, hy, Միքայել Լորիս-Մելիքյան; – 24 December 1888) was a Russian-Armenian statesman, General of the Cavalry, and Adjutant General of H. I. M. Retinue. The Princes of Lori - Loris-M ...

's proposal for a Russian

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 constitution. In 1882, Stroganov died in his Saint Petersburg home, age 87.

Ancestors

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stroganov, Sergei Grigoryevich 1794 births 1882 deaths 19th-century archaeologists Politicians of the Russian Empire Sergei Grigoryevich Members of the State Council (Russian Empire) Counts of the Russian Empire Burials at the Feodorovskaya Church of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra Governors-General of Moscow

Life

Ancestors

See also

References