Jacob Johann Sievers

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Count Jacob von Sievers

Jacob Johann Graf von Sievers (* 19 August July / 30 August  1731 greg. In Wesenberg in the governorate of Estonia ; † 11 July July / 23 July  1808 greg. In Bauenhof , today: Bauņu , near Wolmar in Livonia ) was a Russian ( German-Baltic ) diplomat and reformer. He is considered an important statesman for Tsarina Catherine II.

origin

Jacob Johann, born on August 30, 1731 in Wesenberg as the first of 13 children of Joachim von Sievers (1699–1770), grew up in noble but modest circumstances. His grandfather Joachim Johan von Sievers founded the noble Sievers family . A relationship of the family with the Holstein nobility of the same name is considered controversial. His uncle Karl von Sievers , Russian high court marshal, significantly promoted his later rise.

Career

Diplomatic service in Western Europe

In 1743 he moved to his uncle Karl von Sievers in St. Petersburg , where he began his service in the College for Foreign Affairs in 1744. In 1748 he worked for the Russian embassy in Copenhagen under the ambassador Baron von Korff . From 1749 to 1755 as a diplomat in London , where he also had the opportunity to travel to England , France and Germany with his superior, Count Tschernschew . The English democracy shaped him very much. Sievers had a fondness for this country throughout his life, and many suggestions, especially for later agricultural reforms in Russia, had their origin there. Through a private tutor and self-study, he was able to acquire a comprehensive education while working abroad.

Military career and stays at health resorts

The beginning of the Seven Years War meant that Jacob Johann von Sievers entered the military in 1756. He became a Russian officer and made it to major general under General Apraxin . The Battle of Gross-Jägersdorf he barely survived. After proving his bravery in further battles, he was accepted into the general staff of Count Fermor . Due to illness he was suspended from work at the beginning of 1761, after which he traveled to Italy and Austria with his brother Peter for a cure . Again he devotes himself to literature and its education, meanwhile he speaks seven languages ​​fluently. He did not return to Russia until the autumn of 1762. Sievers lived through the time of Peter III. only remotely with.

Governor of Novgorod

Novgorod district, between Poland, St. Petersburg and Moscow

Catherine II met him on her first inspection trip to the Russian Baltic provinces of Livonia and Estonia in 1764. Soon after, Sievers began his career as a senior administrative officer. Surprisingly, he was appointed governor general of Novgorod (1764 to 1776), then from 1776 as governor or governor general of Tver and Novgorod until 1781. Right at the beginning of his administrative work, Sievers sent the tsarina a report on the government's requirements. In the course of his correspondence with Catherine II, questions of water connections, shipbuilding, the preservation of the forests, the economic situation of the farmers, the recruiting were discussed, which showed their effects in practice. Sievers set up a post office for the first time in his Generalgouvernement. As governor general of Novgorod, Jacob Johann von Sievers prepared the large-scale government reform that Catherine II carried out throughout the empire in 1775 and which marked a major turning point in Russian administrative history with his work, which was based on the role models of the German-influenced Baltic provinces. Sievers was involved in this reform work in two ways: as governor of a model region and, secondly, through further theoretical proposals that he submitted to the Tsarina in countless letters. The introduction of potato cultivation and the abolition of torture (1767) also go back to his initiative . In 1779 he wrote a memorandum on prisons in Russia and suggested improvements to be made here as well. At his suggestion, Catherine II founded the first Russian assignat bank. The Tsarina, for her part, addressed Sievers in many letters with suggestions and advice - about 500 of which are known. In 1781 Sievers was replaced as governor general of Tver and Novgorod at his own request. Last but not least, his decision went back to disputes with Prince Potjomkin .

Ambassador to Poland

The New Castle of Grodno, this is where the partition of Poland was enforced.

After he was last active as a Livonian district administrator and farmer, he became the Russian ambassador to Poland in 1792. His first official act was to reprimand the Duke of Courland Peter von Biron on behalf of the Empress. Then he initiated the process of the second partition of Poland . The Polish king and the nobles were forced to consent by force of arms. In 1794, after successful negotiations, he was recalled as ambassador.

Last years of work

Tsar Paul appointed him senator in 1796 and head of the new department of water communication in 1797, as well as head of the Russian children's homes. In 1798 he and his two brothers Peter von Sievers and Karl E. von Sievers were raised to the status of hereditary count . In 1800 he resigned from civil service .

retirement

Jacob v. Sievers after being awarded the order by the King of Prussia, Friedrich Wilhelm II

After retiring from active service, he was presented with large possessions. Among other things, he received several villages near Minsk with over 2500 residents. Through further acquisitions and inheritances, he was the owner of numerous estates in Estonia (Heimar, Rasik and Kampen), Livonia (Bauenhof, Neuhall, Zarnau and Ostrominsky), Ingermanland (Gadebusch, Lopatino, Sel'co and Muratovo), in the Polock governorate (Starostei Kasian and Gut Rudnja) and in Finland (Sackala).

Sievers got involved in a variety of ways in retirement. B. for the establishment of the University of Dorpat . He set up a foundation for students that was active until 1917. Since 1804, he and his influential brothers repeatedly advocated a war against France in order to overthrow Napoleon .

family

He was married to his cousin Elisabeth von Sievers and had three daughters with her. The marriage ended in divorce after the "Affaire Poutiatine" scandal. Elisabeth von Sievers then married her lover, Prince Putyatin .

Orders and honors

The Sievers Canal was built between 1798 and 1803 and was named after him.

literature

  • Johannes Engelmann:  Sievers, Jakob Johann Graf . In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 34, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1892, pp. 232-240.
  • Karl Ludwig Blum : A Russian statesman, Memories of Count von Sievers , Leipzig 1857–58, 4 volumes
  • Karl Ludwig Blum : Count Jacob Johann von Sievers and Russia at his time . Leipzig; Heidelberg: Winter, 1864
  • Kleinschmidt, Arthur: Russia's history and politics depicted in the history of the Russian high nobility . Adamant Media Corporation, 2001
  • Jones, Robert E: Provincial Development in Russia. Catherine II and Jacob Sievers . Rutgers University Press 1984

Web links

Commons : Jacob Johann Sievers  - Collection of images, videos and audio files
predecessor Office successor
Stephan Fjodorowitsch Ushakow Governor of Novgorod
1764 to 1776
Jakob Ivanovich Bulgakov Russian Ambassador to Poland
February 16, 1793 to December 28, 1793
Otto Heinrich Igelström