Pyotr Ivanovich Shuvalov

Pyotr Shuvalov

Peter Ivanovich Shuvalov ( Russian Пётр Иванович Шувалов * 1710 , † January 4 ^jul. / 15. January  1762 ^greg. In Saint Petersburg ) was a Russian statesman and military, along with his brother Alexander Shuvalov and his cousin Ivan Shuvalov the foundations for laid the rise of the Shuvalov family .

biography

Pyotr Shuvalov was the son of General Ivan Maximowitsch Shuwalow the Elder, who commanded the fortresses of Vyborg and Arkhangelsk . In 1723 he was appointed page of Catherine I and in 1725 he was appointed chamberlain to Grand Duchess Elisabeth Petrovna . Shuvalov was one of the small group of people who accompanied the future empress in her exile in Ismailowo (now Moscow). There he befriended Elisabeth's best friend, Mawra Yegoryevna Shepelev, whom he married in 1742, which helped his rapid rise. At Elisabeth's coronation as emperor in April 1742 he was appointed chamberlain and senator, lieutenant general in 1744 and count in 1746 .

In order to further expand his position at court, he initiated the intimate relationship between the empress and his cousin Ivan Ivanovich Shuvalov in 1749. He managed to keep the monarch's favor until her death. Although Shuvalov was undoubtedly serious about the welfare of the state, he could not resist the temptation to enrich himself personally, thereby creating innumerable enemies. Among other things, Shuvalov obtained numerous monopolies, for example for seal hunting and wood export. After the death of Elisabeth Petrovna he was led by Peter III. appointed Field Marshal General , but died two weeks later. At his funeral, a spontaneous popular uprising broke out, which was suppressed by force of arms. Despite his high income, Shuvalov left an enormous mountain of debt due to his exceptionally luxurious lifestyle.

Act

Pyotr Shuvalov was responsible for a number of reforms in Russia. He modernized the army, created an efficient system of recruiting, and in 1756 reintroduced the post of general field witness, which he held as the first incumbent. In his capacity as General Feldzeugmeister, he re-equipped the army, brought the Russian artillery to a high level and was actively involved in the development of the so-called Shuvalov howitzer , which was lighter and more agile than the previous models and had a faster rate of fire. In 1756 he also founded a private army with 30,000 soldiers - the so-called observation corps, a reconnaissance unit .

Although he considered himself mainly a military man, Shuvalov also took care of economic matters. In 1752 he lowered the poll tax and introduced a state monopoly on the salt and vodka trade and indirect taxes , which stabilized the state budget. To stimulate trade, he abolished internal tariffs in 1753 . A year later he founded the Adelsbank , in which nobles could borrow money from the state - in this way Shuvalov wanted to counter the shortage of capital in Russian economic life. In order to open up additional sources of money for the state after the outbreak of the Seven Years' War , he lowered the copper content of the Kopeck coins several times , which, however, led to inflation. In 1760 he also initiated the introduction of paper money , which, however, was not accepted by the population - the fact that the state itself did not trust its paper money and only collected taxes in coins contributed to this failure.

Schuwalow was also the initiator of the so-called First General Land Survey , which began in 1752. Up to this point there had been no reliable maps or land registers in Russia, which led to constant disputes between landowners over property boundaries. Shuvalov suggested the establishment of a mathematics school in Moscow, which surveyors had to train specifically for this purpose. After the outbreak of the Seven Years' War, however, the surveying work progressed more and more slowly because the surveyors were drafted into the army, so that the survey was not completed and only the areas around Moscow were recorded.

In 1754, at Shuvalov's instigation, a legal commission was set up to replace the old, long outdated Reich Code of 1649 with a new one. In contrast to the later legislative commission of Catherine II , representatives of the peasants were also allowed here. In 1755 the commission submitted the first parts of the code to the empress, but she refused to sign because of excessive penalties. After that the work was continued, but not completed during Elisabeth Petrovna's lifetime.

Shuvalov wrote many writings about the state (for example Various Means for the Profit of the State of 1754) and was therefore ironically referred to as the "Russian Cicero".

Web links

Commons : Peter Ivanovich Shuvalov  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files