The family of the Golitsyn princes has a rather long and interesting history. A large number of works of genealogists are devoted to it. The ancestor of one of the branches of this family, Vasily Vasilyevich, is of particular fame. We will study the biography of this person, as well as the history of the Golitsyn princes.
The emergence of the Golitsyn family
The Golitsyn family originates from the Grand Duke of Lithuania Gediminas and his son Narimont. The son of the latter, Patrikey, in 1408 went to the service of the Moscow prince Vasily I. Thus the Patrikeyev family was founded.
The grandson of Yuri (son of Patrikey) - Ivan Vasilyevich Patrikeev - had the nickname Bulgak. Therefore, all his children began to be written as princes Bulgakov. One of Ivan's sons, Mikhail Bulgakov, was nicknamed Golitsa, and all thanks to his habit of wearing a plate glove on his left hand. His only son Yuri, who was in the service of Tsar Ivan the Terrible, was sometimes written as Bulgakov and sometimes as Golitsyn. But already the descendants of the latter were called exclusively princesGolitsyn.
Dividing into four branches
Yuri Bulgakov-Golitsyn had sons - Ivan and Vasily Golitsyn. Vasily Bulgakov had three sons, however, they were all childless. This branch of the Golitsyns broke off. One of the sons of Yuri Bulgakov-Golitsyn was the commander and statesman of the Time of Troubles Vasily Vasilyevich.
But the line of Ivan Yurievich gave numerous offspring. His grandson Andrei Andreevich had four sons who were the ancestors of the branches of the Golitsyn family: Ivanovichi, Vasilyevichi, Mikhailovichi and Alekseevichi.
Youth of Vasily Golitsyn
Prince Vasily Golitsyn was born in 1643 in Moscow. He was the son of the boyar Vasily Andreyevich Golitsyn, who held high positions under the tsar, and Tatyana Romodanovskaya. There were four children in the family, but, given that the eldest son Ivan left no descendants, Vasily became the ancestor of the senior branch of the Golitsyn princes - the Vasilievichs.
Vasily Golitsyn lost his father at the age of nine, after which the care of his son and other children was completely entrusted to his mother. The young prince was addicted to the knowledge of sciences and received a good education for that time at home.
In public service
With the advent of fifteen years, a new stage in his life began: Vasily Golitsyn (Prince) went to the service of the Russian Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich. He held the positions of chalice, stolnik and charioteer. But Prince Vasily Golitsyn became especially promoted after the accession of Fyodor Alekseevich in 1676. He was immediately complainedboyar position.
Under Tsar Fyodor, Vasily Golitsyn rose to prominence in a fairly short time. Already in 1676, he was instructed to deal with the issues of Little Russia (now Ukraine), so he left for Putivl. It should be noted that Vasily Golitsyn perfectly solved the assigned tasks. After that, the prince was forced to face the Turkish-Tatar threat, which became especially aggravated in 1672-1681, when the Russian-Turkish war was going on, and participated in the Chigirinsky campaigns. In 1681, the Treaty of Bakhchisaray was concluded, effectively establishing the status quo. After that, Vasily Golitsyn returned to Moscow.
Having headed the Vladimir court order, Vasily became quite close friends with the tsar's sister, Princess Sophia, and her relatives, the Miloslavskys. Then he became the head of the commission that was in charge of reforms in the army, which to a large extent contributed to the strengthening of the Russian army, which is clearly evidenced by the future victories of Peter I.
Rise
In 1982 Tsar Fyodor died. As a result of the Streltsy uprising, Tsarina Sophia came to power, who favored Prince Golitsyn. She became regent under the young brothers Ivan and Peter Alekseevich. Vasily Golitsyn was appointed head of the embassy department. The prince began to actually manage the foreign policy of the Russian kingdom.
And the times were turbulent: relations with the Commonwe alth escalated, with which Russia was de jure at war; hostilities began with the Crimean Tatars, despite the recently concluded Bakhchisaray peace treaty. All these questionsit was Vasily Vasilyevich who had to decide. In general, in this regard, he acted quite successfully, preventing a direct clash with the Poles and Turks at a time when it was unprofitable for Russia.
However, Vasily Golitsyn had pro-European views and always sought rapprochement with Western states to counter Turkish expansion. In this regard, he temporarily abandoned the struggle for access to the B altic Sea, confirming in 1683 the agreement concluded earlier with the Swedes. Three years later, the Golitsyn embassy concluded the Eternal Peace with the Commonwe alth, legally ending the Russian-Polish war, which had lasted since 1654. According to this agreement, Russia and the Commonwe alth were obliged to start military operations against the Ottoman Empire. In this regard, another Russian-Turkish war began, within the framework of which our troops launched not very successful Crimean campaigns in 1687 and 1689.
One of the most famous diplomatic events of that time was the conclusion of the Treaty of Nerchinsk with the Qing Empire. It was the first official document that marked the beginning of the history of centuries-old diplomatic relations between Russia and China. Although it must be said that in general this agreement was unprofitable for Russia.
During the reign of Princess Sofia Alekseevna, Vasily Golitsyn became not only a leading figure in the country's foreign policy, but also the most influential official in the state, being in fact the head of government.
Disgrace and death
Despite his talents as a statesman, Vasily Golitsyn was in no small measure obligedhis elevation to the fact that he was the favorite of Princess Sophia. And this predetermined his fall.
Upon reaching the age of majority, Peter I removed Sofya Alekseevna from power, and Golitsyn tried to receive the sovereign, but he was refused. Vasily Vasilyevich was taken into custody on charges of unsuccessful Crimean campaigns and that he acted in the interests of the regent, and not the tsars Peter and Ivan. He was not deprived of his life only thanks to the intercession of his cousin, Boris Alekseevich, who was the tutor of Peter I.
Vasily Golitsyn was deprived of the boyar title, but left in princely dignity. He and his family were waiting for eternal exile. At first, Kargopol was assigned as the place of her serving, but then the exiles were transported several times to other places. The last point of exile was the village of Kologory, Arkhangelsk province, where the previously all-powerful statesman died in obscurity in 1714.
Vasily Golitsin's family
Vasily Golitsyn was married twice. The prince was first married to Feodosia Dolgorukova, but she died without giving him children. Then Vasily Vasilyevich married the daughter of the boyar Ivan Streshnev - Evdokia. There were six children from this marriage: two daughters (Irina and Evdokia) and four sons (Aleksey, Peter, Ivan and Mikhail).
After the death of Vasily Golitsyn, the family was allowed to return from exile. The eldest son of the prince, Alexei Vasilyevich, suffered from a mental disorder, which is why he could not be in the public service. He lived all his life on the estate, where he died in 1740. From his marriage to Marfa Kvashnina, he had a son, Mikhail,who fell into disgrace with the Empress Anna Ioannovna and became her court jester. Died 1775.
Another son of Vasily Golitsyn - Mikhail - became famous for his service in the Navy. He was married to Tatyana Neelova, but had no children.
Dmitry Golitsyn, statesman of the Petrine era
One of the most prominent statesmen of his era was Dmitry Mikhailovich Golitsyn. The prince, born in 1665, was the son of the ancestor of the Mikhailovich branch, Mikhail Andreevich, and thus was the cousin of Vasily Vasilyevich, whom we spoke about above. But, unlike his relative, he should be grateful to Peter the Great for his elevation.
His first significant position was the post of stolnik under the sovereign. Later, Prince Dmitry Golitsyn participated in the Azov campaigns and in the Northern War. But his main achievements were in the civil service. In 1711-1718 he was the governor of Kyiv, in 1718-1722 he was the president of the College of Chambers, which corresponded to the modern position of the Minister of Finance. In addition, Dmitry Mikhailovich became a member of the Senate. Under Peter II, from 1726 to 1730, he was a member of the Supreme Privy Council, and from 1727 - President of the College of Commerce (Minister of Trade).
But with the coming to power of Empress Anna Ioannovna (whose name he himself named when choosing a candidate worthy to take the throne), due to the fact that he tried to legally limit her power, he was disgraced. In 1736 he was imprisoned in the Shlisselburg Fortress, where he died the following year.
Mikhail Golitsyn - General of the times of Peter the Great
Dmitry Golitsyn's brother was born in 1675 Prince Mikhail Mikhailovich. He became famous as a famous commander.
Prince Mikhail Golitsyn proved himself well during the Azov campaigns of Peter I (1695-1696), but gained real fame during the Northern War. It was he who led many brilliant operations against the Swedes, in particular in the Battle of Grengam (1720).
Already after the death of Peter I, Prince Golitsyn was awarded the highest military rank of Field Marshal General at that time, and under Peter II he became a senator. From 1728 until his death (1730) he was the president of the military college.
Mikhail Mikhailovich was married twice. He had 18 children from both marriages.
It is noteworthy that one of his younger brothers, oddly enough, was also named Michael (born in 1684). He also gained fame on the military path, participating in the Northern War. And from 1750 until his death in 1762, he led the entire Russian fleet, being president of the Admir alty Board.
Alexander Golitsyn is the successor of his father's work
One of the sons of Field Marshal Mikhail Mikhailovich was Prince Alexander Golitsyn, born in 1718. He also became famous in the military field. He was one of the leaders of the Russian troops during the Seven Years' War against Prussia (1756-1763), as well as during the Russian-Turkish won (1768-1774), which ended with the signing of the famous Kyuchuk-Kaynardzhi peace.
For his services to the Fatherland and military abilities, like his father, he was awarded the rank of Field Marshal. In 1775, and also from 1780 until his death in 1783, he was the governor-general of St. Petersburg.
Their marriage to Princess Daria Gagarina was childless.
Pyotr Golitsyn is the winner of Pugachev
The youngest son of Mikhail Golitsyn, the brother who was president of the Admir alty College, was Prince Pyotr Golitsyn, born in 1738. Even in his early youth, he participated in the Seven Years and Russian-Turkish wars. But he gained historical fame as a man who commanded troops aimed at suppressing the Pugachev uprising, which shook the Russian Empire. For the victory over Pugachev, he was elevated to the rank of lieutenant general.
It is not known how much benefit Pyotr Golitsyn would have brought to the Russian state if he had not been killed in a duel in the same 1775, at the age of 38.
Lev Golitsyn is a famous winemaker
Prince Lev Golitsyn was born in 1845 in the family of Sergei Grigorievich, who belonged to the Alekseevich branch. He became famous as an industrialist and entrepreneur. It was he who established the industrial production of wines in the Crimea. So this region is wine-growing, not least thanks to Lev Sergeevich.
Died on the eve of the era of change in 1916.
Golitsyny today
At the moment, the Golitsyn family is the largest Russian princely family. At present, out of fourthree branches remained: Vasilievichi, Alekseevichi and Mikhailovichi. The Ivanovich branch broke off in 1751.
The Golitsyn family gave Russia many outstanding statesmen, generals, entrepreneurs, artists.
