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. ...

Alexey Fyodorovich Orlov (russian: Алексе́й Фёдорович Орло́в; ) was a Russian diplomat, the natural son of Count Fyodor Grigoryevich Orlov. Born 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 ...

, he took part 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 Fre ...

from 1805 to the capture of Paris in 1814. For his services as commander of the cavalry regiment of the Horse Life Guards during the rebellion of 1825 he was granted the title of

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 ...

, and in the Turkish War of 1828–1829 he rose to the rank of

lieutenant-general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

. At this time his diplomatic career began. He served as the Russian plenipotentiary at the Peace of Adrianople, and in 1833 was appointed Russian ambassador at Constantinople, holding at the same time the post of commander-in-chief of the

Black Sea Fleet Chernomorskiy flot , image = Great emblem of the Black Sea fleet.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = Great emblem of the Black Sea fleet , dates = May 13, ...

. He became, indeed, one of the most trusted agents of Emperor Nicholas I, whom in 1837 he accompanied on his foreign tour. From 1844 to 1856 Orlov headed the infamous ''

Third Section The Third Section of His Imperial Majesty's Own Chancellery (russian: Tretiye Otdeleniye, or ''III otdeleniye sobstvennoy E.I.V. kantselyarii'' - in full: Третье отделение Собственной Его Императорского � ...

'' (secret police). In 1854 he travelled to

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

to bring Austria over to the side of Russia during 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 ...

of 1853-1856, but without success. In 1856 he was one of the plenipotentiaries who concluded the Peace of Paris. In the same year, raised to the dignity of

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. ...

, he was appointed president of the Imperial Council of State and of the Council of Ministers. In 1857, during the absence of Emperor Alexander II, he presided over the commission formed to consider the question of the emancipation of the

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 ...

, to which he was altogether hostile. He died in Saint Petersburg.

In popular culture

Orlov was the subject of a satirical verse by

Alexander Pushkin Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin (; rus, links=no, Александр Сергеевич ПушкинIn pre-Revolutionary script, his name was written ., r=Aleksandr Sergeyevich Pushkin, p=ɐlʲɪkˈsandr sʲɪrˈɡʲe(j)ɪvʲɪtɕ ˈpuʂkʲɪn, ...

, alleging that Orlov's mistress, the dancer Istomina, could see his penis only through a microscope.

Simon Sebag Montefiore Simon Jonathan Sebag Montefiore (; born 27 June 1965) is a British historian, television presenter and author of popular history books and novels, including ''Stalin: The Court of the Red Tsar' (2003), Monsters: History's Most Evil Men and ...

, '' The Romanovs 1613–1918'', Weidenfeld & Nicolson 2016, p 327

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Orlov, Alexey Fyodorovich 1787 births 1862 deaths Diplomats from Moscow People from Moskovsky Uyezd Russian princes Members of the State Council (Russian Empire) Ambassadors of the Russian Empire to the Ottoman Empire Imperial Russian Army generals Russian military personnel of the Napoleonic Wars Russian duellists Honorary members of the Saint Petersburg Academy of Sciences Recipients of the Order of St. George Recipients of the Order of St. Vladimir, 1st class Recipients of the Order of St. Anna, 1st class Recipients of the Order of St. Anna, 3rd class Grand Crosses of the Order of Saint Stephen of Hungary Recipients of the Pour le Mérite (military class) Knights of the Military Order of Max Joseph Knights Commander of the Military Order of William Grand Croix of the Légion d'honneur Recipients of the Gold Sword for Bravery Military personnel from Moscow