Osteman Andrei Ivanovich - a prominent statesman who began his career under, and under the Empress, who actually managed the entire policy of the country, after the accession of Elizabeth Petrovna to the throne, he ended his days in exile.
Osterman Andrei Ivanovich, or rather Heinrich Johann, was born in 1686, and was the son of a poor pastor. However, he received a good education. His abilities in science helped him take one of the highest places in the state. The story of young Osterman is a series of accidents. By chance, in 1704, he meets the Russian Vice Admiral Kreis and he takes him on as his secretary. Accidentally provides services to Peter I in writing papers. Since then, he did not part with the king, giving him all his knowledge.
By 1708 he spoke Latin, Russian, Italian, German, French and Dutch. Peter appoints him to the Ambassadorial Office as a translator. Soon Osteman was promoted to secret secretary, and since 1716 he has been carrying out important assignments of Peter I. He earned his new position for successful peace negotiations with Sweden.
His role in the negotiations with Sweden was so great that it can only be assessed in the totality of the entire political situation in Europe. While Osterman was negotiating, Russian troops were able to land on the Swedish coast. The army began hostilities in favorable conditions. Osterman participated in new negotiations with Sweden as a Privy Councilor and holding the title of baron.
Osterman's proposals regarding the Collegium of Foreign Affairs were highly appreciated by the tsar, but were not accepted due to his death. However, with the death of Peter, the outstanding politician did not lose his influence. For fifteen years he directed the entire foreign policy of Russia.
Despite the fact that Osterman occupied a prominent position in society, his origins could not be forgotten. We had to constantly look for influential patrons. At the same time, he sensitively captured all the changes that were taking place in the country. At first he sided with Menshikov, but very quickly moved to the camp of the Dolgoruky princes. During the reign of Anna Ioanovna, Osterman was able to find the key to the suspicious Biron. The powerful favorite always listened to his opinion and, for the services rendered, helped in granting him the title of count. A subtle political sense helped Osterman survive under five monarchs and not lose his influence.
Then there was another war with Turkey and another peace treaty, which brought Osterman a pension of 5,000 rubles on top of his salary and numerous gifts from the Empress.
After the death of Anna Ioanovna, Osterman decided that his time had come. He took a high position and became the de facto head of state. However, he did not have the breadth of state views and could not become a leader. Besides, he made the biggest mistake in his life. When an embassy from Persia arrived in Russia to meet with the princess, Osterman prevented this meeting. This act greatly angered Elizabeth. After ascending the throne, she did not forgive the politician. Osterman was arrested and sentenced to death. On the scaffold he was pardoned by decree of the empress and sent with his wife into exile in Berezov. Five years later, the all-powerful politician died, forgotten by his contemporaries.
Andrey Ivanovich Osterman
Count A.I. Osterman.
Osterman Andrei Ivanovich (Heinrich Johann Friedrich) eternal and thorough order." According to Osterman, the servants of the College should be "smart and already trained in business, and due to the paucity of people they will be forced to work day and night, then it is necessary for them to establish good order and honest and ample food. At the same time, it was proposed to release the servants from standing duties, since they were engaged in secret matters, for “excessive company at home often leads to unnecessary conversations.” Osterman's "proposals" were not approved due to the death of Peter I. However, they were studied and used in drawing up states throughout the 18th century. Peter the Great paid tribute to the intelligence and insight of Baron Osterman, noted that he knew better than other ministers the true benefit of the Russian state, and was necessary for it. Empress Catherine I, upon her accession to the throne in 1725, granted him state vice-chancellor and actual privy councilor. Since then, Osterman entered into the management of foreign affairs and subsequently justified the good opinion that the late emperor had of him. In the post-Petrine era, Osterman became one of the key figures in Russian politics. He was distinguished by his fantastic performance; According to contemporaries, Osterman was busy with business day and night, on weekdays and on holidays. For 15 years, he actually led Russian foreign policy.
Thanks to Osterman, in 1726 Russia concluded an alliance treaty with Austria, which retained its significance throughout the 18th century, because, according to Osterman’s idea, it was based on a commonality of interests in the dismemberment of Poland, the “taming” of Prussia and the expulsion of the Turks from Europe. Russia's new foreign policy program was formulated by Osterman in July - August 1727 and developed in letters to B.I. Kurakin and A.G. Golovkin, Russian representative at the Soissons Congress. Its basic principles are as follows: “to run away from everything” that “could lead us into any space,” that is, to avoid any military clashes; “free yourself in good order” from existing obligations in relation to the Holstein and Mecklenburg courts, and having achieved this, “renew the previous agreement with the Danish”; restore former friendly relations with England; keep the king of Prussia on his side, for, “although it is impossible to expect great help from him, it will nevertheless be useful for other neighbors”; with Austria “to remain in alliance” to resolve Turkish and Iranian affairs, and with other neighbors to “seek friendship and alliance.” This conciliatory program of gradual rapprochement with England and Denmark, further strengthening the Russian-Austrian alliance during its implementation would allow Russia to strengthen its position in the Baltic and in Europe as a whole, as well as begin to resolve “eastern” problems. Osterman was valued as a professional, experienced and intelligent person, but still, due to his character and origin, he remained a stranger to the Russian nobility, and therefore especially clung to the favorites and “strongest” at the foot of the throne. At first, A.D. became his patron. Menshikov, an influential nobleman at the court of Catherine I. Thanks to his closeness to him, Osterman received the important position of educator - chief chamberlain of the Grand Duke, and then Emperor Peter II. In the fall of 1727, Osterman went over to the side of the clan of princes Dolgoruky, hostile to Menshikov, and became one of the initiators of the overthrow and exile of His Serene Highness to Siberia. A subtle political sense, knowledge of human weaknesses, self-control, unprincipledness and the ability to bet on the winner in time, weave a complex intrigue and at the same time remain in the shadows - all these qualities allowed Osterman to stay afloat under five autocrats.
He had a hard time at the beginning of 1730, when members of the highest government body - the Supreme Privy Council, which, by the way, included Osterman, set out to limit the power of Empress Anna Ioannovna. After the failure of this enterprise, Osterman miraculously managed to avoid disgrace. With considerable difficulty, Osterman, a member of the Cabinet of Ministers and a count, managed to find an approach to the capricious and suspicious favorite of Anna Ioannovna E.I. Biron, who although did not like Andrei Ivanovich, valued him as a major specialist, took his opinion into account. General Manstein writes in his memoirs: “Count Osterman was without a doubt in his time one of the greatest ministers in Europe. He completely knew the benefits of all powers; he had the ability to embrace everything at one glance, and was gifted by nature with a rare mind, combining with it exemplary hard work , agility and selflessness. He never accepted the slightest gift from foreign courts without first receiving permission from his court. On the other hand, he was extremely distrustful and often extended his suspicions too far; , perhaps ignorant. His colleagues in the Cabinet were never happy with him; he wanted to be in charge in everything, and for others to agree only with him and sign.
In difficult affairs of State, when, according to the position he occupied, he should have given his opinion, he feigned illness, fearing to do something reprehensible for himself, and through such a policy he remained under six different Governments." Osterman's diplomatic papers show his sophisticated mind, the ability to take into account, weigh all the circumstances of the case, to foresee all the negative consequences of political actions. It is also interesting that he never signed himself with the title of baron and count, but always simply: As a leader of foreign policy, he was characterized by a developed sense of balance and prudence. and - most importantly - the desire to leave Russia a field for diplomatic maneuver, and, accordingly, for an independent policy. “Our system,” Osterman wrote in 1727, “should be to run away from everything that could lead us into problems.” After the death of the Great Chancellor Count Golovkin on January 20, 1734, Count Osterman joined the Main Directorate of the Foreign Department and in December of the same year concluded a treaty in St. Petersburg with the English resident Rondo in 30 articles on friendship and mutual trade for 15 years.
In 1736, the Empress declared war on the Porte. Frequent attacks by Crimean Tatars on Russian borders were the reason for this. Some of the Russian politicians, and above all Count Osterman, were against this war. He argued that Russia could not benefit from this; the war would lead to significant military losses and large financial costs. Count Osterman's assumptions were justified. Russia, apart from some expansion of borders and the brilliant successes of the weapons of its troops, did not receive any significant benefit from the war with the Porte. The war ended in 1739. The manifesto on peace concluded with the Turks, published in February 1740, was composed by Count Osterman. He received from Empress Anna Ioannovna a silver service, a diamond ring and a pension of 5,000 rubles, in addition to the salary he received. Osterman had no friends or good acquaintances, which is no wonder - communication with him, according to unanimous opinion, was extremely unpleasant. He was very stingy and unclean. His rooms were poorly decorated, and the servants were dressed like beggars. The silver utensils he used every day were more like pewter. The Osterman couple had two sons and one daughter - Countess Anna Andreevna, who was married to Chief General Matvey Andreevich Tolstoy. The eldest son, Count Fyodor Andreevich, rose to the rank of lieutenant general. He was an actual privy councilor and senator.
Another son, Count Ivan Andreevich, rose even higher, becoming Chancellor of Russia. Osterman's secrecy, deceit and hypocrisy became the talk of the town, and not a particularly skillful pretense - a reason for jokes. In moments of risk, when it was necessary to speak out definitely about something or sign a document requiring special caution, Osterman suddenly and seriously fell ill. He started having gout, migraine, rheumatism or something else. He moaned pitifully, went to bed, and it was impossible to get him out of there. Not without sarcasm, Biron wrote in April 1734 to the Russian envoy in Warsaw, Count Keyserling: “Osterman has been lying in bed since February 18th and has only shaved once, complains of pain in the ears, has bandaged his face and head. As soon as he gets relief in In this case, he will again suffer from gout, so, therefore, he does not leave the house. The whole illness can be of this kind: firstly, in order not to give Prussia an unfavorable response... secondly, the Turkish war is not going as desired. would". In the last years of Anna Ioannovna's reign (from 1736), Osterman rarely left home, under the pretext that he could not walk from severe gout. However, the feigned illness from his sedentary life turned into a real one, so he left his chairs and went to the palace only in emergencies, and when they specifically sent for him.
In 1740, after the death of Anna Ioannovna, the overthrow of Biron, the resignation of Minich and the establishment of the regency of Anna Leopoldovna, Osterman decided that his time had come, and, using the special trust of the ruler, he became the leader of the state - in fact, he became the head of the government. This position, like the rank of the highest naval commander - admiral general, received by Osterman in 1740, was clearly not for him: accustomed to acting unnoticed, carefully weaving networks of intrigue, he did not have the necessary breadth of approach to state problems, the authority of a leader, decisiveness and courage.
In 1741, the Persian embassy arrived in Russia to meet with Tsarevna Elizaveta Petrovna, but the reception did not take place - Osterman prevented this meeting. It was then that the daughter of Peter I, in a rage, ordered to tell the influential minister that “he is forgetting who I am and who he himself is - a scribe who became a minister thanks to the grace of my father... He can be sure that nothing will be forgiven him.” Having received information about the impending conspiracy of Elizabeth Petrovna, Osterman was unable to prevent it and became one of the first victims of the coup - he was arrested on the night of November 25, 1741 and imprisoned in the Peter and Paul Fortress - the citadel of St. Petersburg. The new Empress Elizabeth did not forget the insult inflicted on her during the visit of the Persian ambassador to St. Petersburg. She did not forgive Osterman for his attempts to strengthen the power of ruler Anna Leopoldovna.
In January 1742, according to the court's verdict, Osterman's death penalty was to take place. The 19th century historian D. Bantysh-Kamensky wrote: “...The soldiers, having then pulled the count off the stretcher, laid his head on the block, to which the executioner approached and unbuttoned the collar of his shirt and dressing gown, exposing his neck. All this lasted no more than a minute. , as they announced to Count Osterman that the Empress had changed his death penalty to eternal imprisonment in Berezov. The soldiers then lifted the Count and put him back on the stretcher. At that time he demanded that they give him his wig and put it on his head and fasten his collar; shirt and dressing gown, without showing the slightest change in his face. A great man is always great, even in misfortune! The next day, Count Osterman, tormented by severe gout, was sent from the Peter and Paul Fortress to Siberia. His last words consisted of a humble request, so that the empress does not leave the merciful and generous protection of his children." He went with his wife, who was a lady of state under Anna Ioannovna, to Berezov and died there five years later, on May 20, 1747.
Used materials from the site http://100top.ru/encyclopedia/
Osterman Andrei Ivanovich (Heinrich Johann Friedrich) (May 30, 1686-05/20/1747), count (1730), admiral general, actual state councilor, baron. From the family of a Lutheran pastor. Osterman's elder brother, Johann Christoph Dietrich, was the mentor of the daughters of Tsar Ivan Alekseevich: Catherine, Anna (the future empress) and Praskovya; after Princess Ekaterina Ivanovna married the Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Leopold was granted the rank of baron (1721), privy councilor and appointed Mecklenburg ambassador to Russia (until 1741). Osterman was educated at home, which he continued at the University of Jena, then in Eisenach. While in Holland, in 1703 he was accepted into Russian service by Admiral Kruys, with whom he arrived in Russia in October 1704. In 1708 he was assigned as a translator to the Ambassadorial Prikaz. During the Northern War 1700-1721 he was at the traveling office of Peter I, carrying out diplomatic assignments (in 1710 - with a mission in Berlin and Copenhagen). Secretary of the embassy office (1710). In 1711, during the Prut campaign of 1710-1713, he participated in negotiations with the Turkish vizier. As a secret secretary (1711) he was on diplomatic missions in Berlin (1713) and in the rank of councilor's office in The Hague (1715). In the same capacity, for the first time he independently participated in the Åland Congress (1717), where, along with Y.V. Bruce was one of the commissioners; Through the efforts of Osterman, all proposals from the Russian side were included in the final text of the draft agreement. In 1719 he was on a mission in Stockholm, where he managed to persuade the Swedish government to accept the terms of a peace agreement with Russia. In February 1720 he was appointed secret chancellery adviser to the College of Foreign Affairs. In 1721 he participated in the congress in Nystadt; at the conclusion of the Peace of Nystadt, he contributed to Sweden's diplomatic recognition of territorial changes after the Northern War. As a result of the congress, he was granted the title of baron and privy councilor, and was awarded money and villages. From 1723 he served as vice-president of the College of Foreign Affairs, taking a direct part in streamlining the College's paperwork and improving the training of its personnel (“Proposal for the composition of the staff of the College of Foreign Affairs”, 1724). Upon the accession of Empress Catherine I to the throne, Osterman received the rank of vice-chancellor and the rank of actual privy councilor (1725). With the establishment of the Supreme Privy Council, he became its member (1726). Being the head of the post office (from November 1726), he contributed to the development of postal routes, including. through Kazan and Nizhny Novgorod to the borders with China and across all of Siberia. From 1727 he headed the Commission on Commerce, which dealt with issues of supporting the activities of the Russian merchants in foreign trade and took a number of significant measures in this regard, including a number of customs benefits, measures aimed at the development of shipbuilding, as well as the first Bill of Exchange Charter in Russia (1729) . At the same time and later, Osterman proposed measures to overcome class and other privileges that took place in the Baltic provinces annexed to Russia, to closer unify these areas, in particular Estland and Livonia, with the Russian state. Osterman had a direct influence on the formation of Russian foreign policy. “Opinions are not a decree,” written by Osterman, received the meaning of a government resolution; Based on his notes, rescripts and instructions were drawn up for Russian diplomatic representatives abroad. Osterman’s foreign policy system was outlined by him in the memoria “The General State of Affairs and Interests of the All-Russian with all neighboring and other foreign states in 1726” and in “Discourse on Persian Affairs”, where he argued in favor of the union of Russia with the Holy Roman Empire, but against the union with France, recommendations were made for the continuation of the previous policy in the Baltic, as well as for a more balanced Russian policy in the eastern direction. In 1727, Osterman was awarded the Knights of the Order of St. Andrew the First-Called Apostle and appointed chief chamberlain of the Grand Duke and heir Peter Alekseevich (he retained the title of chamberlain throughout the reign of Peter II). Being one of the influential figures in the struggle of court factions, he tried to reconcile their interests, in particular through the marriage of Grand Duke Peter Alekseevich with the daughter of Peter I, Elizaveta Petrovna. After the death of Peter II, Osterman managed to avoid participating in a meeting of the Supreme Privy Council, at which the issue of “conditions” was decided, and acted as a supporter of autocratic rule. During the reign of Peter II, thanks to the efforts of Russian foreign policy, led by Osterman, for the first time since 1721, the imperial title was recognized for Russian sovereigns (officially in August 1729 this was done by Sweden). Treaties of 1727 and 1728 regulated Russian-Chinese relations and streamlined contacts in the field of trade. During the accession of Empress Anna Ivanovna, Osterman was granted a count (1730). With the rank of second cabinet minister (1731), Osterman became a member of the established Cabinet. From 1733 he chaired the Naval Commission, created to streamline the activities of the Admiralty and the Navy. In 1734 he was appointed the first cabinet minister. In 1732, in opposition to Cabinet member General Feldzeichmeister B.Kh. To Minich, a supporter of the French orientation, Osterman insisted that the government refuse to support the candidate for the Polish throne, Stanislaw Leszczynski, in exchange for France's guarantee of Russia's European borders and its support in the war with Turkey; The Russian government supported the Saxon candidate only after it received promises that Russia’s claims to Poland would be satisfied, and Courland would retain its previous form of government. Also in 1732, a treaty of friendship and guarantees was concluded between Russia, Austria and Denmark, which was important for streamlining Schleswig-Holstein affairs. In 1732-1733, with the participation of Osterman, relations between Russia and Great Britain were restored, and in 1733-1734, the Russian resident in London A. Cantemir participated in negotiations on concluding an alliance. Being the drafter of the charter on the regency of E.I. Biron (1740), Osterman, while maintaining his influential position at court, did not participate in the coup of 1740, but during the accession of Anna Leopoldovna he was promoted to admiral general (1740), took full control of the Naval Department and presided over the Second Department of the Cabinet. An influential rival of Field Marshal Minich, Osterman, together with Anton-Ulrich of Brunswick, contributed to his disgrace and resignation, becoming in fact the first minister. In December 1739, the Russian-Turkish war, which was waged by Russia in alliance with Austria, ended with the signing of the Belgrade Peace. In an effort to extract the greatest benefits from an alliance with Austria, Osterman outlined in his instructions to Russian diplomatic representatives at the peace congress in Nemirov (1737) a number of important initiatives to achieve greater security on Russia's southern borders. Later, in 1740, the Russian government, as a result of the efforts of Osterman, supporting the so-called Pragmatic Sanction, acted as a mediator between Austria and Prussia, allied with Russia, which sought to defend its rights to Silesia. As a result of the palace coup that brought Elizaveta Petrovna to power, Osterman was arrested on the night of November 25, 1741. By the verdict of the Senate he was sentenced to execution (scheduled for January 18, 1742). After reading the verdict (Osterman was accused of concealing the will of Catherine I, of drawing up protocols that proved that Elizaveta Petrovna and her niece had no rights to the Russian throne, etc. ) a ritual of execution was performed on Osterman, but the execution itself was replaced by eternal exile to Berezov, where he lived the last five years of his life.
He was married (1721) to Mavra Ivanovna Streshneva (1698-24.2.1781), with whom he had children: Petra (21.3.1722-1.5.1723); Fedora (21.5.1723-10.11.1804), lieutenant general, senator and actual privy councilor, author of “Notes” on “Manstein’s Notes on Russia”; Anna (22.4.1724-15.2.1769); Ivana (25.4.1725-19.4.1811), diplomat, envoy to Sweden, vice-chancellor, commander-in-chief of the College of Foreign Affairs and state chancellor.
Book materials used: Sukhareva O.V. Who was who in Russia from Peter I to Paul I, Moscow, 2005.
Osterman, Count Andrei Ivanovich (Heinrich-Johann-Friedrich) - statesman (1686 - 1747), son of a Lutheran pastor in Westphalia. Accepted into the Russian service in 1703, speaking German, Dutch, Latin, French and Italian and having studied Russian perfectly, Osterman was appointed in 1708 as a translator of the embassy order and soon began to receive serious diplomatic assignments. In 1717 he played a major role at the Åland Congress; To a large extent, his work was the conclusion of the Peace of Nystadt in 1721. From 1723 he was vice-president of the College of Foreign Affairs. Under the successors of Peter the Great, he begins to take a prominent part in the affairs of our internal politics. With the establishment of the Supreme Privy Council (1726), he became one of the members of the latter; was in charge of the post office and the “commission on commerce.” On January 1, 1727, Osterman was appointed chief chamberlain (educator) of the Grand Duke's heir Peter Alekseevich; He retained this title throughout the entire reign of Peter II. Osterman's role in the events of 1730 earned him the favor of Empress Anna; he was elevated to the rank of count and, with the rank of second cabinet minister, became a member of the newly established Cabinet. From 1733 he chaired the naval commission “to review and bring into good and reliable order the fleet, admiralties and everything that belongs to it.” In 1734 he received the title of first cabinet minister. After the death of Anna Ioannovna, Osterman's position wavered somewhat; he was promoted to admiral general and presided over the second department of the Cabinet, where foreign and naval affairs were concentrated, but the title of vice-chancellor was not retained for him. By the end of Anna Leopoldovna's reign, Osterman's dominant influence on the course of state affairs began to be restored again. The fall of the Brunswick family interrupted his career. Arrested on the night of November 25, 1741, he was sentenced to death, but the execution was replaced by exile to Berezov, where Osterman lived the last five years of his life. Osterman owed his career successes as much to his ability to adapt to people and circumstances as to the remarkable abilities of a major statesman. He was distinguished not so much by his creative abilities as by his ability to correctly understand the requirements and conditions of a given moment and set himself specific and completely achievable goals. He had sufficient flexibility to deviate in detail from the developed program in time if the conditions of living reality contradicted it. His ultimate goal, however, remained constantly the same; it was the state interest - the prosperity of the state, the strengthening of its external power, with the most careful attitude towards the people's forces. A stranger in Russia and hardly at all capable of sincere national feeling, Osterman looked at his state activities as a duty he had taken upon himself, which he was forced to conscientiously fulfill, first of all, by his own interests. Having approached Peter the Great and drawn into his work, he was, apparently, carried away by it, like a European, and faithfully stood guard over this matter even after the Tsar-Transformer had gone to his grave, and his successors sometimes forgot, sometimes deliberately distorted his covenants. This did not prevent Osterman from treating Peter’s state program quite independently. Having undergone serious service school during the difficult years of the Northern War, Osterman formed a clear idea of the new conditions that were created for Russia by its new position in Europe, and of the tasks that flowed from these conditions. A student in many respects of Peter, Osterman, thanks to the clarity and versatility of his mind, was often an active assistant to the tsar, clearly formulating his thoughts and, perhaps, sometimes suggesting the conclusions flowing from them. Peter's program - mainly in the field of foreign policy - adopted by Osterman and carried out by him since 1721, was in some parts his own program. This program in the last years of Peter's reign was distinguished by its aggressive nature in many of its features. Having become more closely acquainted after the death of Peter with the internal state of affairs in the state and with its available forces, Osterman retreated from Petrine principles in the sphere of domestic policy, which under Peter was imbued with the beginning of strict mercantilism and consistent state tutelage; in the sphere of foreign policy, remaining true to Peter's traditions, he gradually moved towards a more conciliatory direction. At this time, he gradually becomes the true inspirer of Russian politics. It is not always easy to determine the degree of his personal participation in each individual case. Maneuvering among various parties, he was often forced to wait for an opportune moment when, after a series of concessions and compromises, he could finally openly pursue his views. All the main points of Russian foreign policy from 1721 to 1741 - the demand for the exemption of Russian courts from paying the Sund duty, the issue of Holstein claims and their later liquidation, the Russian-Swedish union of 1724. , Persian affairs, the Russian-Austrian alliance of 1726, restoration in 1732 and 33 after a twelve-year severance of diplomatic relations with England, the Polish question in 1733, Russian-Turkish relations of 1735 - 39, which ended with the Peace of Belgrade - are closely related to named after Osterman. Osterman's participation in domestic policy affairs under Peter had an impact on the organization of the collegiums, mainly the collegium of foreign affairs. After Peter's death, Osterman's activities on domestic policy issues expanded significantly and took on a more principled character. This activity was most clearly expressed in the measures taken, according to his instructions, the purpose of which was to raise the people's well-being, shaken by the long years of war, to weaken tax oppression and develop the country's payment forces. These include, for example, relief in collecting the poll tax (1726), the transition from the prohibitive tariff of 1724 to a more liberal tariff of 1733, the bill of exchange charter of 1729, the restoration of trade with Khiva and Bukhara, the establishment of “free trade” with China . Osterman also did a lot to develop the network of postal routes and to restore the fleet, which had fallen into disrepair under Peter II. Already in the last years of Peter's reign, Osterman had to face envy and hostility. Shafirov and the Holstein minister Bassewitz, Menshikov and his opponents Dolgoruky, later Minikh and Biron - they all measured their strength with Osterman and in most cases were defeated. Tsesarevna Elizabeth, dissatisfied with Osterman as the heiress of Peter the Great who was bypassed in 1727, later aroused suspicions in him, mainly due to her sympathies for Holstein interests. This attitude of Osterman towards Elizabeth explains, first of all, the harsh fate that befell him when she occupied the Russian throne. Those dynastic aspirations that she sometimes revealed as an empress and with which Osterman’s student and opponent, Bestuzhev-Ryumin, sometimes had to fight, showed that Osterman was not wrong in treating her with distrust during the reign of Peter II and Anna. We have received a large number of reviews and news about Osterman, not so much reporting factual details about his activities, but rather noting individual traits of his character. For the most part, these reviews are quite consistent with each other. Osterman, apparently, was sincerely loved by few people outside his narrow family circle. Extreme isolation in private life and duplicity in business relationships, which often turned directly into deceit, were, it seems, the main reasons for this. Along with many unsympathetic traits in Osterman’s character, there are, however, many things that distinguish him favorably from many of his contemporaries. Although stingy, he was distinguished by extreme incorruptibility. Two-faced and deceitful, he did not betray the one he served: contemporaries found it difficult to name a power to whose interests Osterman would consciously and for selfish reasons sacrifice the interests of Russia. Concerned about his personal career, Osterman successfully intrigued against his rivals; but his guiding motives, along with considerations of a personal nature, were sometimes a fundamental disagreement on issues of foreign policy. - Wed: "Essay on the history of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs 1802 - 1902" (St. Petersburg, 1902); Hempel "Leven und trauriger Fall Gr. v. Ostermann"; S. Shubinsky "Count A.I. Osterman" ("Northern Lights" 1863, part II); Gelbig "Russian chosen ones and random people in the 18th century" ("Russian Antiquity" 1886, No. 4); A. Kochubinsky "Count A.I. Osterman and the division of Turkey" (O., 1899).
M. Polievktov.
Materials from the site http://www.rulex.ru/ were used
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Literature:
Shubinsky S. Count Andrei Ivanovich Osterman: Biographical sketch. St. Petersburg, 1863.
Shubinsky S., Gr. A. I. Osterman, "Northern Lights", 1863, part 2;
Nikiforov L.A., Russian foreign policy in the last years of the Northern War. Nystadt world, M., 1959.
Kochubinsky A., Count A.I. Osterman and the division of Turkey, O., 1899;
Dolgorukov P., Gr. A. I. Osterman, "Russian conversation", 1841, vol. 2;
Tyrtov E., Life gr. A. I. Osterman, M., 1809;
Feigina S. A., Åland Congress. Ext. Russian politics at the end of the North. wars, M., 1959;
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(1686-1747).
Almost nothing is known about Osterman's childhood and youth. Son of a Lutheran pastor. It is believed that he studied at the University of Jena, from where, accused of murder, he fled first to Eisenach and then to Amsterdam. Here in 1703 he was first accepted into Russian service. Since at that time he was no more than seventeen years old, it is obvious that Osterman did not have time to receive a deep education, but he spoke German, French, Dutch, Italian and Latin, and subsequently mastered the Russian language perfectly. It was the knowledge of foreign languages that became the key to his successful career and in 1708 he became a translator of the Ambassadorial Prikaz, serving in the Campaign Office Peter I. Apparently, he quickly established himself as an executive official, distinguished by a clear mind, clarity of thinking, and the ability to make independent decisions. He knew how to be flexible in communicating with others, and later, when occupying senior government positions, he showed himself to be a master of behind-the-scenes political intrigue. For many years, Osterman knew how to maintain power, each time going into the shadows (often calling in sick) at the most critical moments. As a diplomat, he knew how to negotiate for hours with foreign representatives, without saying “yes” or “no” and without directly answering any question posed. Osterman's political views were distinguished by frank pragmatism. Apparently, he did not experience patriotic feelings either towards Russia, which became his second homeland, or towards Germany or any other country, but he was a faithful disciple of Peter I, in his practical activities he always put his interests first states. Contemporaries did not like Osterman for his cunning, resourcefulness, and duplicity. In addition, in everyday life he was pathologically unclean and communicating with him was a real test for his interlocutors.
The first diplomatic assignments were given to Osterman by the Tsar already in 1710, when he was sent first to the Polish King Augustus II, and then to Prussia and Denmark. In 1711, during the Prut campaign, he, together with P.P. Shafirov, participated in negotiations with the Turks, and in 1713-1715 he went on diplomatic missions to Berlin and Amsterdam. In 1717, Osterman was instructed to accompany J. V. Bruce to the Åland Congress, where he actually played the main role. Already in 1720, he was appointed Privy Councilor of the College of Foreign Affairs, and in 1721 he signed the Treaty of Nystadt with the Swedes on behalf of Russia, after which he was awarded the title of Baron and the rank of Privy Councilor.
Osterman's career flourished after the death of Peter I. In 1725 Catherine I made him vice-chancellor and actual privy councilor, in 1726 he became a member of the Supreme Privy Council. At the same time, for the first time, he was in charge of not only foreign policy, but also matters of internal administration: the post offices and the Commerce Commission were under his command. Osterman did a lot to establish regular postal communication between the most important cities of the country, as well as to establish trade. At the initiative of the Commission on Commerce, the Arkhangelsk port was opened for foreign trade, trade relations with Khiva and Bukhara were restored, the first bill of exchange charter in Russia was introduced in 1729, and a new customs tariff was introduced in 1734. At the same time, the time of Catherine I was for Osterman a time of triumph of his foreign policy doctrine, the most important place in which was occupied by the alliance treaty concluded in 1726 with Austria, which for a long time determined the direction of Russian foreign policy. In 1727, he was awarded the Order of St. Andrew the First-Called and appointed chief chamberlain of Grand Duke Peter Alekseevich (future emperor Peter II). After the death of Catherine I, he was the main organizer of the conspiracy against Menshikova and, when he was exiled, he actually headed the government. However, he unsuccessfully fought for influence on the new emperor with the Dolgoruky princes and only in the last months of his life managed to achieve some success. Osterman’s non-participation in the “supreme bosses’ venture” of 1730 ensured that he retained his power during his reign Anna Ioannovna. Already after her accession to the throne, he was elevated to count, appointed senator, and from 1731 he was a cabinet minister, and from 1734, after the death of G.I. Golovkin, he became the first cabinet minister. Throughout Anna's reign, Osterman managed to successfully balance between the Empress's favorite E.I. Biron and other members of the cabinet, actually leading not only foreign policy, but also participating in the adoption of the most important political decisions. Thus, from 1733 he headed the naval commission and did a lot to streamline shipbuilding. During Anna Ioannovna's dying illness and Biron's appointment as regent, Osterman managed to remain in the shadows, but then supported the coup led by B. K. Minich. After this, he received the rank of admiral general and remained Anna Leopoldovna's chief adviser throughout her reign. Osterman was aware of a new conspiracy being prepared against her and unsuccessfully tried to convince the ruler to take preventive measures.
Count Osterman Andrey Ivanovich.Count A.I. Osterman. Unknown thin 1730s
The life and government activities of Count Andrei Ivanovich Osterman, who for thirty years was the soul of the St. Petersburg cabinet, the leader of the weak successors and the young successor who inherited the throne of Peter the Great, are so well known that it would be unnecessary to expand on them. And the moral character of the great statesman, his double-mindedness, pretense, cunning, insinuation, have already been described many times by Russian and foreign historians, from whose stories we have developed more or less exaggerated, stereotypical concepts about Count Osterman. It is difficult to say anything new or little-known about him.
Only one side of his life, namely family life, his relationship with his wife and children, did not attract enough attention from his biographers. Now, thanks to interesting archival documents reported to the editors of the Historical Bulletin, we have the opportunity to partially fill this gap. A cunning diplomat, a crafty courtier, sometimes feigning illness, sometimes feigning health - Count Osterman, in his family life, without any disguise, was a kind husband and an exemplary father. No matter how callous his heart was, he knew how to inspire his wife with the most tender love and boundless devotion.
Count (from 1730) Heinrich Johann Friedrich Osterman in Russia - Andrei Ivanovich; (1687, Bochum -1747, Berezov) - one of the associates of Peter I, a native of Westphalia, who actually led the foreign policy of the Russian Empire in the 1720s and 1730s. He adhered to the policy of alliance with the Holy Roman Empire and became one of the authors of the treaty of alliance of 1726. He served as vice-chancellor and first cabinet minister. In 1740 he was promoted to the rank of admiral general, but after the coup of 1741 he fell into disgrace and was deprived of ranks and titles. French engraving. 1729
Born into a pastor's family in Bochum, Westphalia, he studied at the University of Jena, but because of a duel he had to flee to Amsterdam, from there he came to Russia with Admiral Cruys in 1704.
Having quickly learned Russian, Osterman gained the trust of Peter and in 1707 he was already a translator of the embassy order, and in 1710 - his secretary. In 1711, Osterman, whom the Russians called Andrei Ivanovich, (One of the Osterman family legends connects this event with the assembly of Prince A.D. Menshikov, where the young German was introduced to Tsarina Praskovya Feodorovna, the wife of the late Tsar Ivan Alekseevich. “Having said a few kind words to Osterman, the old woman asked him: “And how, father, “your name?” “Henry, your Majesty,” he answered. “What was your father’s name?” “John.” “So you should be called Andrei Ivanovich,” the queen concluded. handed over to Peter, who, as legend says, laughed and from then on began calling Osterman Andrei Ivanovich.) accompanied Peter on the Prut campaign; in 1713 he participated in negotiations with Swedish commissioners; in 1721, together with Bruce, he achieved the conclusion of the Peace of Nystadt, for which he was elevated to the baronial dignity. “We hereby announce that We have graciously granted Andrei Osterman, for his faithful service to Us, Our Privy Advisor and Baron of Our Russian State. Peter. P.S. Announce upon signing the treaty"
Peter I.
He was also responsible for concluding a trade agreement with Persia that was beneficial for Russia in 1723, which gave him the title of vice-president of the College of Foreign Affairs. In 1726 he initiated the conclusion of an alliance with Austria. He was a constant adviser to Peter I in matters of internal administration: according to his instructions, a “table of ranks” was compiled, the Collegium of Foreign Affairs was transformed, and many other innovations were made.
Peter valued his comrade-in-arms very much and granted him many lands, including the village of Krasny Ugol in the Ryazan province, which became the family nest of the Ostermans.
Catherine I (1684 -1727) Marta Samuilovna Skavronskaya, married Kruse; after accepting Orthodoxy Ekaterina Alekseevna Mikhailova) - Russian empress from 1721 as the wife of the reigning emperor, from 1725 as the reigning empress; second wife of Peter I the Great, mother of Empress Elizabeth Petrovna. Portrait by J.-M. Nattier, 1717
With the accession of Catherine I to the throne, Osterman, as a supporter of the Empress and Menshikov, was appointed vice-chancellor, chief postmaster, president of the commercial board and member of the Supreme Privy Council.
Peter II Alekseevich (October 12 (23), 1715, St. Petersburg - January 19 (30), 1730, Moscow) -Russian Emperor, who succeeded Catherine I on the throne. Grandson of Peter I, son of Tsarevich Alexei Petrovich and German Princess Sophia-Charlotte of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, the last representative of the Romanov family in the direct male line. He ascended the throne on May 6 (17), 1727, when he was only eleven years old, and died at the age of 14 from smallpox.
The year 1727 was significant in Osterman’s life: he became a holder of the Order of St. Andrew the First-Called and the tutor of the young Peter II. Osterman even wrote a special work for him, “The Outline of the Doctrine.” As contemporaries testify, the diplomat looked after his pet with paternal tenderness; he was also present in the chambers at the last breath of the young monarch. Chosen to be the tutor of Peter II, on whom, however, he had little influence, Osterman remained, after the removal of Menshikov, at the head of the administration.
After the death of Peter II, Osterman showed his famous caution, which later became legendary. Anticipating heated disputes about the succession to the throne, during these days he refused to sign any acts drawn up by the Supreme Privy Council. The adroit diplomat justified his refusal by his position as a foreigner, supposedly not having the moral right to officially intervene in a delicate set of circumstances when the interests of the country are at stake. Having avoided participating in the plans of the supreme leaders and not even signing up to the “conditions,” Osterman joined the nobility, became, together with Feofan Prokopovich, the head of a party hostile to the supreme leaders, and corresponded with Anna Ioannovna, giving her advice.
According to another version, Osterman simply locked himself at home, saying he had sore eyes. However, he communicated daily with Anna Ioannovna, who had just been elected by the Supreme Council, sending her advice through his wife. “As soon as Anna became an autocrat,” writes 19th-century researcher A. Skalkovsky, “Osterman’s eye pain disappeared as if by hand: he appeared in the palace more cheerful and healthier than before...”
Anna Ioannovna (January 28 (February 7) 1693 - October 17 (28), 1740) - Russian empress from the Romanov dynasty. The second daughter of Tsar Ivan V (brother and co-ruler of Tsar Peter I) and Tsarina Praskovya Fedorovna Saltykova. In 1710 she was married to the Duke of Courland, Friedrich Wilhelm; Having become a widow 2.5 months after the wedding, she remained in Courland. After the death of Peter II, she was invited to the Russian throne in 1730 by the Supreme Privy Council, as a monarch with limited powers in favor of the aristocrats. Coronation portrait by L. Caravaque, 1730. State Tretyakov Gallery. Moscow.
Having come to power, Anna did not forget what she owed to Osterman: in the same 1730 he was elevated to the rank of count, and his wife was made a lady of state. (State ladies- the second largest group of court ladies, as a rule - the wives of high ranks. Most of them were “dames of cavalry” - they had the Order of St. Catherine or other awards. Many of them were on vacation. Neither the ladies-in-waiting nor the ladies of state had any specific duties at court).
Under Anna Ioannovna, Osterman became the organizer of a new government institution for Russia - the Cabinet of Ministers, which he himself headed.
Since 1731, Osterman has led Russia's domestic and foreign policy and actually introduced our country to one of the five great powers of Europe. This was the peak of Osterman's political career. It is unlikely that the son of a poor German pastor could imagine that in the future he would become the “shadow” ruler of the Russian Empire...
Being the main and only arbiter of external affairs, he was Biron’s best adviser in all serious matters of internal governance. According to Osterman, a cabinet of ministers was established, in which all the initiative belonged to him and his opinions almost always prevailed, so Osterman should be entirely credited with the actions of the cabinet at that time: reduction of the noble service, reduction of taxes, measures to develop trade, industry and literacy, improvement of the judicial system. and financial parts and much more. He also settled the Holstein and Persian issues and concluded trade agreements with England and Holland. He was against the ruinous war with the Turks, which ended with the Peace of Belgrade he concluded.
How is Osterman remembered by his contemporaries? For example, the Spanish ambassador to the Russian court, Duke de Liria, wrote about our hero that he was a great minister who never took bribes. “He truly wanted the good of the Russian land,” noted de Liria, “... but since he was a foreigner, few of the Russians loved him, and therefore several times he was close to falling, but he always knew how to get out of the net.”
Listing Osterman's awards and promotions during the period from 1725 to 1741 would distract us from the main subject of our article - a review of his family relationships.
Grand Duchess Anna Leopoldovna (born Elizabeth Katharina Christina, Princess of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (December 7, 1718, Rostock, Germany - March 19, 1746, Kholmogory) ruler (regent) of the Russian Empire from November 9, 1740 to November 25, 1741 under the young Emperor Ivan VI of Mecklenburg House. Portrait by L. Caravaque after 1733.
Under the unfortunate ruler Anna Leopoldovna, Osterman, as is known, was a cabinet minister, senator, admiral general, count, holder of the Order of St. Andrew the First-Called. His sons, in the ranks of captains of the guard, had Alexander ribbons. A tender and caring father, Count Osterman, with the assistance of his secretary Gross, gave them an excellent education; the hands of his daughter, Countess Anna Andreevna, were sought by young people of the most noble families.
For almost twenty years, a witness and partly accomplice of the falls of Shafirov, Menshikov, Dolgoruky, and finally, the most powerful of all these temporary workers - Biron, Count Andrei Ivanovich foresaw his inevitable fall and the coup d'etat associated with it.
The simple-minded, short-sighted and childishly gullible ruler Anna Leopoldovna laughed at Osterman’s fears. The last time Osterman saw Anna Leopoldovna was on November 11, 1741. He urged her to be careful, as he sensed the strengthening of “Elizabeth’s party.” In response, the ruler spoke to him about clothes and showed Osterman a new dress made for the baby Ivan Antonovich...
Apparently, that same evening Osterman decided to hastily leave Russia. The very next day, he gathered at his home the most famous doctors of the capital, who, at the request of the cabinet minister, ordered him to go to the Dutch resort of Spa to “consume the waters there.” The next morning, Osterman submitted his resignation to Anna Leopoldovna. The ruler hesitated with her decision until Elizabeth Petrovna’s supporters carried out a coup d’etat.
Elizaveta I Petrovna (December 18, 1709, Kolomenskoye - December 25, 1761, St. Petersburg) - Russian empress from the Romanov dynasty from November 25 (December 6), 1741, the youngest daughter of Peter I and Catherine I, born two years before their accession to marriage. Portrait by Georg Christopher Groth, before 1749.
After Elizabeth's accession, Osterman was arrested and put on trial.
The Empress replaced the execution with eternal imprisonment in Berezovo, where Osterman and his wife lived for five years, not going anywhere and not receiving anyone except the pastor, and constantly suffering from gout. He died in exile, was buried in the Berezovsky churchyard, the grave has survived to this day.
According to the historian V.N. Vinogradov, Count Osterman belonged to those foreigners for whom Russia became not a second homeland, but the only one. Educated, well-read, with a sharp analytical mind, Andrei Ivanovich combined all the advantages and vices of the Age of Enlightenment. He did not take bribes and even refused gifts that were traditional at that time in honor of the conclusion of contracts. At the same time, he was ambitious, vain, vengeful and was always at the center of court intrigue.
Countess Marfa Ivanovna Osterman (ur. Streshneva) (1698 - 1771). Portrait brushes by Frankart, 1738. State Historical Museum
A year before the Peace of Nystadt, Peter advised Osterman to get married. “Now you are noble and rich - while I am alive,” the king told him, “but if I am gone, what will happen to you? You are a stranger in Russia; you have no family ties. I want to choose a bride for you." On Sunday, December 18, 1720, on the birthday of Princess Elizabeth Petrovna, in the palace apartments of Sovereign Peter Alekseevich, in the presence of many noble persons of both sexes, the solemn engagement of the secret councilor of the royal chancellery Andrei Ivanovich Osterman took place with the hawthorn Marfa Ivanovna, the daughter of a nearby boyar and the steward, who was distantly related to Tsarina Evdokia Lukyanovna Streshneva, the grandmother of Emperor Peter I, Ivan Rodionovich Streshnev (1665-1738) and Natalya Lvovna Velyaminova (1664-1733).
This engagement, and then the wedding, aroused strong displeasure among the Russian nobility of that time and seemed humiliating to high-born Russian people. Indeed, the twenty-two-year-old hawthorn Marfa Ivanovna was the cousin-great-granddaughter of the late Tsarina Evdokia Lukyanovna, the sovereign’s own grandmother, and was considered one of the rich brides, and her thirty-four-year-old groom was nothing more than a foreigner, a pastor’s son, and, moreover, a Lutheran. But this marriage was arranged by the king himself, who did not allow any objections to his orders. With his characteristic insight, Peter the Great appreciated Osterman’s vast mind and rare abilities; foreseeing the enormous benefit this wonderful foreigner could bring to Russia, the tsar decided, so to speak, to “secure” him to his new fatherland. The best means for this seemed to be marriage ties, blood kinship with the ancient Russian boyars.
Osterman's wedding took place on Sunday, January 21, 1721. About this memorable day, twenty-one years later, in Berezovo, already exiled and deprived of all honors, Osterman, on the leaves of his German Bible, made the following note:
“On January 1721, 21st Old Calm, our marriage was celebrated with all possible splendor, in which on both sides: their imperial majesties, taking the place of our parents, deigned to be present and we from the highest persons, their imperial majesties were taken to the wedding bed.” .
Osterman Andrey Ivanovich (1686-1747) from 1740
Portrait by an unknown artist of the 18th century.
In addition to the rich dowry for his wife - money, jewelry and estates, Osterman, the owner of one of the most beautiful houses on Nevskaya Embankment, was generously awarded by the sovereign and in the same 1721 he was awarded the title of baron. However, the newlyweds did not have fun and feast for long: in March, Andrei Ivanovich went to Riga, from there on April 24th to Nystadt for a congress of Russian and Swedish diplomats, which had the goal of concluding a long-desired peace, which so gloriously ended the Great Northern War. In the summer, having received news of Andrei Ivanovich’s illness, his wife visited him in Riga, from where, after a short stay, she returned to St. Petersburg.
Memorable world was signed on August 30, but Osterman and Bruce, the royal envoys, returned only on October 22. Appreciating Osterman's merits, the sovereign granted him a gold medal, a monetary reward and several villages. The conclusion of peace was joyfully and solemnly celebrated in both capitals. Remembering his parent’s rule: “time for business, time for fun,” Peter the Great gave Osterman very short periods of rest; one thing was replaced by another, one thing was more important than the other, and for each of them the sovereign needed the smart, efficient Andrei Ivanovich. At the beginning of 1722, he began compiling a “table of ranks” and forming a board of foreign affairs; after the fall of Shafirov, he served as vice-chancellor; On September 12, 1723, he participated in the establishment of a peace treaty with the Persian Shah. The dragoman during the negotiations with the ambassador was Ostermann's secretary, one of the most learned orientalists of his time, Georg Jacob Kehr.
The Pokrovskoye-Streshnevo estate, acquired by Rodion Mikhailovich Streshnev in 1664. Moscow.
In January 1722, Baroness Marfa Ivanovna lived in Moscow with her mother. Here, on March 21, she was delivered of her first-born son, baptized on the 29th of the same month and named Peter in honor of the sovereign. The adopters and successors of the newborn were: Empress Ekaterina Alekseevna, Grand Duchesses Anna and Elizabeth and His Serene Highness Prince Alexander Danilovich Menshikov. Few of the noblest nobles received such an honor; The font of his son brought Osterman even closer to the royal family. The baby was short-lived; on May 1, 1723, he died in St. Petersburg, where Osterman’s wife moved with the court upon the sovereign’s return from the Derbent campaign. Osterman spent about a year constantly with his young wife.
Marfa Ivanovna loved her husband limitlessly.
This site on the Lower (English) Embankment, which extends to Krasnaya Street, belonged to Prince Alexander Danilovich Menshikov since the 1710s, as well as the neighboring one, overlooking the glacis in front of the Admiralty. The stone house for Menshikov was built back in the 20s of the 18th century.
In 1727, after Menshikov’s exile, both plots were in the possession of the confiscation office, and in 1732 they were given to Baron Andrei Ivanovich Osterman. For the new owner, the stone house was rebuilt by the architect P. M. Eropkin. He built a two-story stone house here on a high base, with a width equal to the risalit (protruding part) of the house that now exists here. At that time the building had 24 living spaces. It belonged to the baron until 1741. (Now known as Laval House).
Not averse to the greater world, Marfa Ivanovna preferred her quiet, homely corner all the more to it, since for three years she annually presented her husband with offspring. On March 21, 1723, their son Fyodor was born, and on April 1, he was taken from the font by Princess Anna Petrovna. The next year they were delighted with the birth of their daughter Anna, and in 1725 - their son Ivan.
Several legends from contemporaries have survived about Osterman’s home life and his relationship with his wife, which are far from sympathetic. Lady Rondo, accusing Osterman of indifference to women, says that he called them “expensive toys.” But, probably, he spoke so about women precisely because he did not want to know anyone other than his wife. For some reason, Manstein calls the latter “one of the most evil creatures that existed on earth.” The vice characteristic of the Osterman spouses was excessive prudence, which closely bordered on stinginess. The wife was not a great fan of clothes, the husband even less so: his disdain for smart clothes reached the point of sloppiness, which was notorious, not without exaggeration, by all Osterman’s biographers.
But not loving panache, Andrei Ivanovich did not deny himself a tasty morsel, he loved to eat well, and on occasion, drink; the latter is always within the limits of prudence. No one had ever seen him drunk. Some biographers claim that he spent two-thirds of his annual income on his table. According to Prince M.M. Shcherbatov, he was one of the first to keep an open table, “although, however, he lived very moderately.” According to other legends, Osterman, when invited to dinner somewhere, used to take with him his own footman to serve him at the table, bringing with him his own wine.
Portrait of A.I. Ostermann, Johann Philipp Caspar Beer, 1730s. Podstanitsky collection.
But, no matter what contemporaries, and especially Manstein, say about the sloppiness in Osterman’s house, about the uncleanliness of his silver dishes, so dull that they seemed like tin, and finally, about his servants, constantly dirty and tattered - one cannot believe this unconditionally . Marfa Ivanovna ran her house regularly and carefully, attending to all the household details. Homely and thrifty in her youth, she became more prudent, perhaps even stingier, as she approached adulthood. But this shortcoming, in comparison with the extravagance and negligence of most noble ladies of that time, cannot be attributed to sin.
The reader may find it strange to want to present Osterman's home and family life in a more favorable light than the famous diplomat's contemporaries portray it to us - the letters of his wife printed below, in which the Russian landowner of bygone days speaks so artlessly and so innocently, are captivating. She grieves in separation from her “father” Andrei Ivanovich; expresses concern for his health, reassures him about his own - although he is in the last stage of pregnancy... And at the same time informs him about household matters, takes care of brewing beer, provisions, etc. Not a shadow of boyar carelessness, idleness, or arrogance; a conscientious account in every action, in every fleeting thought. An “evil” woman could not write such letters; in every line we see a good wife and a good housewife.
Osterman's wife Marfa Ivanovna. Unknown thin 1750s
In mid-February 1724, Tsar Peter Alekseevich was pleased to go to Moscow for the coronation of his wife. In the upcoming celebrations, Baron Andrei Ivanovich was scheduled to take one of the first places. His stay in Moscow lasted until June. On the day of the empress's coronation, May 7, Prince Dmitry Golitsyn and Baron Andrei Osterman carried the imperial mantle; when crowned Catherine sat on the throne, Osterman, in the words of Peter the Great, stood with him “like a guard.”
It was fun in Moscow, where the whole court gathered, where celebrations replaced celebrations; but it was sad in St. Petersburg, from which all the nobles with their wives and children had left, where Baroness Marfa Ivanovna remained, out of necessity. The stormy spring season only intensified her longing for her absent husband. During the first three months of this unfortunate separation, she wrote the following letters to Andrei Ivanovich:
From St. Petersburg March 2.
My dear father, my beloved friend Andrei Ivanovich! In my thoughts I kiss your arms and legs and your dear beloved neck and ask God to let me see you as soon as possible and in good health, and I ask you, my beloved friend, to try your best to keep you healthy and not to be like in Riga and Revel, our separation and your poor health have already frightened me, but if I don’t see you, my joy, it seems to me that you are still unwell, I believe that my friend arrived in Moscow today or yesterday, I ask you, my light, perhaps write back to me to see if you, my friend, were healthy on the road and if you received my two previous letters that I wrote to you.
Thank you, my dear father, for your gracious writings, which I received from Novgorod, as well as the Novgorod gifts sent for me, and I especially thank my dear friend, that you love and remember poor me, I hope that you will also keep me in yours in the future. mercy, and I will love and honor you until my death; I was with your brother yesterday; He was feeling bad from his illness and I asked him many times to send Doctor Zakharya, although he didn’t want to, he did, according to many of my words, and today, thank God, he felt much better than yesterday; You, my father, perhaps don’t be sad, you are not as strong as in your health, and for me, my beloved friend, don’t be sad, thank God, I and our son are healthy.
“Yesterday I was forced to have dinner with Senyavin, his wife had a birthday, and now I can’t write to you much, because I didn’t know that the mail would arrive so soon; this hour they sent the postmaster to tell me only it was given .... (know?) that our convoy has not arrived yet and has not been from our village, I sent Vasily on the 4th day, he has not been there yet, they started brewing beer today, my father, tell me how much var to brew, it seems to me that 5 var to brew. I need half an English beer, I’ll order 2 quarters to be brewed, I’ll write to you about everything on Thursday, and now if I don’t have time, I’m afraid that the mail won’t go away; I wrote today, I really didn’t have time.
“My beloved friend, dear father Andrei Ivanovich, live cheerfully and be healthy, and always love me, poor thing, and I will love you to death, your faithful Marfutchenka Ostermanova”.
“My beloved friend, dear Andrei Ivanovich!
“I ask you, for God’s sake, perhaps don’t be sad for me, my son and I are healthy, thank God, listen my dear father, if you love me, then spare your health, don’t be sad about anything.
“I sent it to your brother today,” he said, in the same dangerous state of health as he was yesterday.
“Perhaps, my father, be healthy, my beloved friend Andrei Ivanovich, in my thoughts I kiss your feet and your beloved neck, your poor Marfutchenka Ostermanova.
(In the second half of the post?)
“My dear father Andrei Ivanovich!
“I inform you, according to your order, I distributed annual and monthly money to everyone; Sinyavin said that his cellar was very large, the ice needed for it was 70 or 80 fathoms, and moreover he said that we could put them in the same cellar, I ordered to do this and when we need it, we can take a barrel from them and put it at our place, but now I’m brewing one, I’ll order a cellar to be built, they started crushing ice at 2 altyns per fathom, but I don’t know how much is needed, I’ll write from now on ; I took the firewood, they didn’t give me any firewood from Pavel Ivanovich, I bought 3 pounds of hops for one and a half rubles with a hryvnia pood, Ulyan Yakovlevich promised to send the rye that we have to the mill to grind, as I send it and what needs to be paid, I will write to you about that, It seems to me that it’s better to hire at the mill than to grind at our millstones, we will waste more and grind worse, it seems to me that there is no need to take from Meer, we can be happy with it as it is, I haven’t sent the horses yet, they (?) say, that we are waiting for a cart from the village, they will send them with them, the malt that we have, you ordered to sell and this malt is much cheaper... our club-maker told me that this malt is suitable for people for kvass and if you sell it instead of buy it, it seems to me I can’t help but sell it cheaply, the honey we have for it is 40 altyn with a hryvnia per pound, I’ll order it to be sold, rather than in vain the abyss, which will be imported from it, I’ll order it to cook some of it.
“My father, write to me about this, whatever you want and whatever you don’t want, I will do what I can according to your order.
“I ask you, my beloved friend, when you deign to send Klyushnikov’s wife to me, please, my father, order a little girl to be found in the village and sent with her, our son will need her, when we release the nurse, mother alone cannot see if the girl is good , then her mother can teach her what she should do, please, my father, the clerk, ask why they didn’t send us cloth and panitka and thick linens, if possible, send ladles, also soap, the cauldron, which was left in Moscow, the thin one that was brought was from Stepanovskoe, order my father to make a font out of half, which you deigned to promise in Stepanovskoe, and from the other half to make basins: 4 tinned basins on both sides, 3 simple basins, so that they were not very large, one smaller than the other.
“They arrived from our village on the third day, brought 2 barrels of oats, I ordered them to carry hay and ice to the cellar.
“Our convoy arrived just now, only one bird, and nothing else, said the man who arrived with the birds, that the road to Tver is very bad, the mercenaries did not go any further (further?) and laid down all the stock, he also said that he hired them that if it was possible to go the winter route, then they would go, but if it were bad, then they would not go until spring and bring water to these mercenaries, then they didn’t want to go anymore, they just say that 1 goose died from the birds, 2. ducks, 1 chicken, turkey, I now asked your brother to order his woman to look after them.
“My dear friend, dear father Andrei Ivanovich!
“With all my heart I wish you, my dear, many years and good health, I congratulated you (sic) on yesterday’s solemn holiday in two of my letters and now I repeat again, hello my dear father and may God grant many years to you, my friend, to live in good health health and joy, and I wish I could see you, my beloved friend, sooner, and I thank God that this holiday has passed, I would like the whole week to pass as quickly as possible because I’m even more languid and bored on holiday, you yourself , my friend, can you judge whether there is a reason for me to grieve on such a great holiday, everyone is having fun in their houses with their husbands, also with their relatives, and I am poor now alone, I was at mass yesterday, I tried as hard as I could so that in such It’s a great day, don’t cry, I just couldn’t strengthen my tears, let’s go, when I left the church I thought that today is a great holiday, I’ll come home, who will meet me, who will console me with a kind word, who cares about me, when you are my friend was with me, I will come home, you will meet me with pleasantness, gracious words and take care of me. “Marfutka, what do you want to eat today and what would you like?” Now who cares so much about me, when I start thinking about all this, how can I, poor thing, not cry, even though I hope in God that he will give you, my friend, health and let me see you and you will keep me in your constant love? You're welcome, however, I can't believe that I'll see my dear friend like this soon; Yesterday after dinner Semyon Ivanovich and his wife were with me, I asked them to have dinner with me, they said that they had children at home who wanted to be with them, Schubert also came to dinner to congratulate me, I kept him for dinner, Schubert and our mother and I, and this is the first time that I dined in the middle room without you, there was nothing to do after dinner, there was no one to sit with, I, poor thing, sat a little with Fedyusha, he doesn’t understand anything, came to my place and lay down on the bed, not I got up before vespers, then Senyavin and his wife arrived, for their sake she got out of bed and sat with them.
“I thank you, my father, for your gracious letters, which were written from you on the 27th of March, I received them on the 3rd day of April and henceforth I ask, please, my friend, write as much as possible, I have only joy that your gracious letters, I especially thank you for sending from you the braids and our Fedyasha thanks for them and he needs them.
From St. Petersburg April 6 days.
Do you deign, my father, to write to me about your grandmother, does she come to see me often? After you, she was with me only once with Felten’s wife, she says that she can’t travel often, that she has a lot of women in labor, when I need me to send for her, you, my father, know yourself that she lives across the river, and If I need it at night, when should I send it? Our river has stood here until now, but now I hope it will pass in these days, and I’ll send it along and ask her to live with me, if in the last days she doesn’t live with me, I don’t know how I can it may be that I have no one, my only hope is in God, that he will deign to let me see you, my friend, and in what state you will find me; Until now, thank God, she is healthy, and in the future, whatever God wills...
“I asked Feltenova for a nurse, she pointed to my grandmother, what she could find, she just laughed: “Okay, I’ll look.” After that, I didn’t have her, I don’t know what kind of grandmother she will be in her work, only in words I seem to be much arrogant, not like my mother. Only I ask you, my beloved friend, don’t be sad about me, thank God, until now, although it was not without hardship for me, however, I thank God, I am not much sick; I’m telling you that yesterday I was at mass, so you can understand that I’m not sick yet, if I can drive from the yard, most of all, I wish you were healthy, my friend.
I’m informing you, my friend, that you don’t think about me and you can’t get a new message from me before the month of May, however, I’m asking you now, my father, perhaps write to me if God shows his mercy, gives me a belly and a child is born alive, son or daughter, what do you, my light, order to give him a name and who to baptize him? although he will be healthy, it would be better to baptize as soon as possible and without any ranks, when you, my father, come from the road, and you will still have a lot of work here, I feel sorry for you that you already have enough work; God alone knows how much I need your health and how dear you are to me now, in what condition I find myself; however, for your sake, I wish for myself a life, even if I only died in front of your eyes and in your dear hands. My dear father Andrei Ivanovich, our Fedyusha ask for your blessing, and with my thoughts I kiss all your fingers and ask God to see you as soon as possible, and you keep me in your mercy, until my death I will remain faithful to your youngster (sic) Only by loving you does he want to live in the world. Marfutchenka Ostermanova.
Sixteen days after this letter, Marfa Ivanovna gave birth to a daughter, about whose birth there is the following note in Osterman’s Bible:
"1724 April 22 born in St. Petersburg, in the morning at three o'clock, in my absence, daughter Anna, who was received from holy .. baptism by the brigadier and life guard Major Iv. Mikh. Likharev and Countess Nastasia Ermolaevna Matveeva."
Recording only family events on the pages of his Bible, Osterman, in 1725, noted two more numbers that were especially memorable to him:
"1725 Gen. 28, at five o'clock in the morning, Peter the Great, Emperor of All Russia, died."
“April 25 in the morning, between 4 and 5 o’clock, my son Ivan was baptized on the 29th of the same month. My brother, the Mecklenburg Privy Councilor and minister at the local imperial court, Baron Ivan-Christopher von Osterman, Lieutenant General and Life Guards Semenovsky Regiment Major Likharev, my mother-in-law Natalia Lvovna Streshneva and Major General Avdotya Alekseevna Senyavina."
- Peter(March 21, 1722 - May 1, 1723).
- Fedor(April 11, 1723 - November 10 (21), 1804).
- Anna(April 22, 1724-1769), wife of M. A. Tolstoy; their grandson Count Osterman-Tolstoy.
- Ivan(April 23 (May 4), 1725 - April 18 (30), 1811).
Fedor Ivanovich Osterman. Portrait of Frankart 1738.
Senator, actual privy councilor. He was married to Anna Vasilyevna Tolstoy (1732 - 1809). There were no children.
Anna Ivanovna Osterman. Portrait of F. Rokotov, 1760s. Tambov regional art gallery.
Married to Matvey Andreevich Tolstoy (1701 - 1763), general-in-chief. Three sons.
Ivan Ivanovich Osterman. Portrait of Frankart 1738. Second portrait by an unknown artist of the early 19th century.
Vice-Chancellor (1775), then Chancellor (1796-97) of the Russian Empire. His wife was Alexandra Ivanovna Talyzina (1745-1793), daughter of Admiral I. L. Talyzin. He died childless and was buried in his primary estate - the village of Krasnoye, Ryazan province. He also owned the Ilyinskoye estate. The surname Osterman, by decree of Catherine II in 1796, was transferred to the grandson of Countess A. A. Tolstoy, née Osterman, Alexander Ivanovich Tolstoy.
