Mikhail Nikolayevich Muravyov
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Count Mikhail Nikolayevich Muravyov (russian: Граф Михаи́л Никола́евич Муравьёв) (, Saint Petersburg – ) was a Russian
statesman A statesman or stateswoman typically is a politician who has had a long and respected political career at the national or international level. Statesman or Statesmen may also refer to: Newspapers United States * ''The Statesman'' (Oregon), a n ...
who advocated transferring the attention of Russian foreign policy from Europe to the Far East. He is probably best remembered for having initiated the
Hague Peace Conference The Hague Conventions of 1899 and 1907 are a series of international treaties and declarations negotiated at two international peace conferences at The Hague in the Netherlands. Along with the Geneva Conventions, the Hague Conventions were amon ...
.


Life and career

Mikhail Muravyov was the son of General Count Nicholas Muravyov ( governor of
Grodno Grodno (russian: Гродно, pl, Grodno; lt, Gardinas) or Hrodna ( be, Гродна ), is a city in western Belarus. The city is located on the Neman River, 300 km (186 mi) from Minsk, about 15 km (9 mi) from the Polish b ...
), and grandson of Count Mikhail Nikolayevich Muravyov-Vilensky, who became notorious for his drastic measures in stamping out the
Polish insurrection of 1863 The January Uprising ( pl, powstanie styczniowe; lt, 1863 metų sukilimas; ua, Січневе повстання; russian: Польское восстание; ) was an insurrection principally in Russia's Kingdom of Poland that was aimed at ...
in the
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 ...
n provinces. He was educated at a
secondary school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' secondary education, lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) ...
at
Poltava Poltava (, ; uk, Полтава ) is a city located on the Vorskla River in central Ukraine. It is the capital city of the Poltava Oblast (province) and of the surrounding Poltava Raion (district) of the oblast. Poltava is administratively ...
, and was for a short time at Heidelberg University. In 1864, he entered the chancellery of the minister of foreign affairs at
St.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 ...
, and was soon afterwards attached to the Russian
legation A legation was a diplomatic representative office of lower rank than an embassy. Where an embassy was headed by an ambassador, a legation was headed by a Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary, minister. Ambassadors diplomatic rank, out ...
at
Stuttgart Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the ...
, where he attracted the notice of
Queen Olga of Württemberg Grand Duchess Olga Nikolaevna of Russia (11 September 1822 – 30 October 1892) was a member of the Russian imperial family who by marriage to Charles I of Württemberg became Queen consort of the Kingdom of Württemberg until Charles' death. ...
. He was transferred to Berlin, then to
Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...
, and back again to Berlin. In 1877, he was second secretary at The Hague. During the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-78, he was a delegate of the Red Cross Society in charge of an ambulance train provided by Queen Olga of Württemberg. After the war, he was successively first secretary in Paris,
chancellor Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...
of the embassy in Berlin, and then minister in Copenhagen. In Denmark, he was brought much into contact with the
imperial Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor, or imperialism. Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to: Places United States * Imperial, California * Imperial, Missouri * Imperial, Nebraska * Imperial, Pennsylvania * Imperial, Texa ...
family, and, on the death of Prince
Lobanov-Rostovsky The House of Lobanov-Rostovsky is a branch of the House of Rurik whose male-line ancestors ruled the Principality of Rostov in present-day Russia. History It originated with Prince Ivan (nicknamed Loban for his wide forehead), who lived at ...
in 1896, he was appointed by
Tsar Tsar ( or ), also spelled ''czar'', ''tzar'', or ''csar'', is a title used by East Slavs, East and South Slavs, South Slavic monarchs. The term is derived from the Latin word ''Caesar (title), caesar'', which was intended to mean "emperor" i ...
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 ...
to be his minister of foreign affairs. The next three and a half years were a critical time for European diplomacy. The revolt of Crete against Ottoman rule and events leading to the
Boxer Rebellion The Boxer Rebellion, also known as the Boxer Uprising, the Boxer Insurrection, or the Yihetuan Movement, was an anti-foreign, anti-colonial, and anti-Christian uprising in China between 1899 and 1901, towards the end of the Qing dynasty, by ...
in
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
were disturbing factors. Count Muravyov's policy regarding Crete was vacillating; in China, his hands were forced by Germany's action at
Kiaochow The Jiaozhou Bay (; german: Kiautschou Bucht, ) is a bay located in the prefecture-level city of Qingdao (Tsingtau), China. The bay has historically been romanized as Kiaochow, Kiauchau or Kiao-Chau in English and Kiautschou in German. Geo ...
. He misled Britain concerning the Russian leases of Port Arthur and
Talienwan Dalian Bay (), known historically as Talienwan, Talien-wan and Talien-hwan, is a bay on the southeast side of the Liaodong Peninsula () of Northeast China, open to the Korea Bay in the Yellow Sea () in the east. Downtown Dalian lies along the so ...
from China; he told the British ambassador that these would be open ports, and afterwards significantly modified this pledge. When Tsar Nicholas II inaugurated the Peace Conference at The Hague in 1899, Count Muravyov extricated his country from a situation of some embarrassment in China; but when, subsequently, Russian agents in Manchuria and Peking connived at the agitation which culminated in the
Boxer Rebellion The Boxer Rebellion, also known as the Boxer Uprising, the Boxer Insurrection, or the Yihetuan Movement, was an anti-foreign, anti-colonial, and anti-Christian uprising in China between 1899 and 1901, towards the end of the Qing dynasty, by ...
of 1900, relations between Muravyov and the tsar became strained. Muravyov died suddenly on June 21, 1900, after a stormy interview with Sergei Witte and Aleksey Kuropatkin in which Witte laid considerable blame on Muravyov for the crisis in China (Muravyov had insisted on taking Port Arthur against Witte's advice); because there was a wound on his left temple when he died, there was a rumor that he had committed suicide, but "the official government announcement asserted that, after rising late, he had merely slipped in his study and grazed his temple on the sharp side of a bureau." He was awarded Order of the White Eagle and a number of other decorations.


Notes


References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Muravyov 1845 births 1900 deaths Diplomats from Saint Petersburg People from Saint Petersburg Governorate Counts of the Russian Empire Foreign ministers of the Russian Empire Russian people of the Boxer Rebellion Members of the State Council (Russian Empire) Ambassadors of the Russian Empire to Denmark