Adlerberg, Vladimir Fedorovich

Born on November 10, 1791 in Vyborg . Came from a noble Swedish family . Vladimir Fedorovich’s father, Colonel Gustav-Friedrich (Fedor Yakovlevich) Adlerberg , moved from Swedish service to Russian and married Anna-Charlotte-Juliana (Julia Fedorovna) Baggovut , who later became the main teacher of the Grand Dukes Nikolai and Mikhail Pavlovich . This circumstance quite brought Adlerberg closer to the Emperor Nikolai Pavlovich , who had wholeheartedly and sincere friendship with him all his life.

V.F. Adlerberg was brought up in the Page Corps (together with the future Decembrist P.I. Pestel ). Produced on December 14, 1811 as ensign , Adlerberg in the ranks of the Life Guards of the Lithuanian Regiment took part in the Patriotic War and in the Foreign Campaign , fighting at Vitebsk , Smolensk , Borodin , Tarutin , Maloyaroslavets , Krasny , Lutsen , Bauzen , Kulma , Leipenzig Arcy-sur-Ob and near Paris . He particularly distinguished himself in the battle of Borodin, as well as in the battles of Lutzen and Bautzen. In August 1813 he was promoted to second lieutenant and in January 1816 - to be promoted to lieutenant . Mason , took part in meetings of military camping lodges during the foreign campaigns of the Russian army.

Appointed May 2, 1817, adjutant to Grand Duke Nikolai Pavlovich, Adlerberg in July of that year accompanied him abroad to meet the august bride of the Grand Duke, Princess of Prussia Charlotte, later Empress Alexandra Fedorovna . In January 1818 he was promoted to captains of staff , in August 1819 - to captains .

In March 1820, Adlerberg was promoted to colonel and three years later was appointed head of the office of the inspector general for engineering. On January 14, 1825, Adlerberg was granted the title of adjutant wing .

Upon the accession to the throne of Emperor Nicholas I, on December 14, 1825, in the morning, at the first news of the unrest in the city , Adlerberg brought from the Anichkov Palace to the Winter Heir to the throne . After this, Adlerberg was sent to reassure the empresses and was with their majesties until the arrival of Nicholas I. After the suppression of the uprising, Adlerberg took a significant part in the work of the commission of inquiry to disclose the activities of secret societies and, in general, in the case of the Decembrists . Known for his sketches, giving some details about the meeting of the Investigative Committee, in particular, he owns a regularly reproduced sketch from the Decembrist Bestuzhev-Ryumin.

Appointed on March 25, 1828, Director of the Office of the Chief of the General Staff, Adlerberg accompanied Emperor Nicholas I to the army operating against the Turks and was with him when crossing the Danube , during the siege of Brailov , the imposition of Shumla , the siege and surrender of Varna , for which he was promoted to general on June 25 majors , with the appointment of His Majesty in the retinue, and on September 29 he was granted the rank of adjutant general .

Since 1829, Adlerberg was with the sovereign in all his travels, being the head of the field camp of His Imperial Majesty the Chancellery and a member of the military council (from May 1, 1832), he chaired a special committee on the organization of weapons factories and for the preparation of regulations on their management (1835) ; he reported on the institutions of the Empress Maria and in 1836 temporarily managed the Ministry of War. December 6, 1832 promoted to lieutenant general . During this time he was awarded the orders of St. Stanislav 1st degree (1829), St. Annes of the 1st degree (1829), St. Vladimir , 2nd degree (1831), White Eagle (1835), St. St. George 4th degree (December 1, 1835, for the immaculate length of service 25 years in officer ranks, No. 5094 on the list of cavaliers Grigorovich - Stepanov) and St. Alexander Nevsky (1837, diamond signs for this order were granted in 1841).

In 1841, Adlerberg received the administration of the Postal Department , and upon the death of Prince AH Golitsyn, he was approved (March 27, 1842) as the head of the department, during the management of which he made many changes to the postal department, which helped to facilitate mailing. The nearly fifteen-year administration of the Adlerberg postal department was marked, among other things, by the introduction of postage stamps in the Russian Empire.

On October 10, 1843, Adlerberg was promoted to general of the Infantry ; on April 7, 1846 he was granted the Order of St. Vladimir of the 1st degree, and in 1847 he was elevated, with descending offspring, to the count of the Russian Empire dignity.

During the Hungarian campaign of 1849 , on the occasion of the absence of the Commander-in-Chief of the army in Warsaw , Field Marshal Prince Paskevich , Adlerberg reported to Emperor Nicholas I the affairs of the troops remaining in the Kingdom of Poland . On August 22, 1849, Nicholas I personally entrusted the Order of St. Adlerberg to Adlerberg . St. Andrew the First-Called with a special highest rescript.

Upon the death of Prince P.M. Volkonsky , on August 30, 1852, Adlerberg was appointed Minister of the Imperial Court, with the remainder of his posts.

Upon the accession to the throne of Emperor Alexander II, Count Adlerberg, with the highest rescript, was awarded the diamond portrait of Emperor Nicholas I, and on April 8, 1856, he was appointed commander of the Imperial Headquarters; on August 26, he received diamond signs of the Order of St. Andrew the First-Called, and on November 10 he was appointed chancellor of the Russian imperial and tsarist orders and minister of destinies ^[2] .

Dismissed on January 1, 1857 upon a petition from the post of chief executive over the postal department, Count Adlerberg was appointed on January 3 a member of the Secret (subsequently the Main) Committee on Peasant Affairs and a member of the committee for arranging the life of peasants: unit, state, palace and factory.

Having received, at a special rescript, on September 8, 1859, a portrait adorned with diamonds depicting Emperors Alexander II and Nicholas I, on December 14, 1861, on the day of the 50th anniversary of Adlerberg’s service in officer ranks, he was appointed chief of the 25th Smolensk Infantry Regiment and 5 company of the Life Guards of the Moscow Regiment , and in 1864 - and the chief of the 85th Infantry Vyborg Regiment .

On April 17, 1870, due to his frustrated health (by which time he had almost completely lost his sight), Adlerberg was dismissed from his posts, with the appointment of a member of the Council of State . September 29, 1878, on the day of the 50th anniversary of service in general ranks, was appointed 2nd chief of the Life Guards of the Moscow Regiment.

The diverse and multifaceted occupations of Count Adlerberg were highly appreciated by the sovereigns. Nicholas I, according to a spiritual testament, appointed him his executor and left a pension of 15 thousand rubles. “Since my childhood,” it was said in this testament, “two persons have been friends and comrades to me; their friendship for me has never changed. Adjutant General Adlerberg I loved, as a brother, and I hope to have in him at the end of my life an unchanging and true friend ... ”

Alexander II, in a copy in the name of Adlerberg on the occasion of accession to the throne, said that his parent had an infinite power of attorney for Count Adlerberg. “He did not have a spiritual secret before you,” this rescript says, “He shared joy and sorrow with you. His pure beautiful soul could not but appreciate your high virtues, and He, loving you, as a person, was glad that he found a friend in His subject ... "

Otto von Bismarck characterized Adlerberg: "... the brightest head of those with whom I had to meet there, a man who lacked only hard work to play a leadership role" ^[3] .

There is evidence that Count Adlerberg kept notes for a long time, the manuscript of which, at the behest of Alexander II, was deposited in a safe place.

He died on March 8 (20), 1884 in St. Petersburg . He was buried at the Volkovsky Orthodox cemetery ^[4] . The grave has been lost ^[5] .

Wife (since 1817) - Maria Vasilievna Nelidova (1797-1870), maid of honor, daughter of Senator Vasily Ivanovich Nelidov (1751-1810) from marriage to Anastasia Alekseevna Senyavina; granddaughter of Admiral A.N. Senyavin . According to A.O. Smirnova-Rosset , the Adlerbergs marriage was not happy. Maria Vasilievna took care of the house and children, and Vladimir Fedorovich, being a big womanizer, started novels under the very nose of his wife. “Scenes began, reproaches: he was angry, his wife cried and drank valerian” ^[6] . Countess Adlerberg was a non-secular woman, she didn’t go anywhere, she didn’t interfere in matters and had little influence. For the merits of her husband March 28, 1836 was granted to the cavalry ladies of the Order of St. Catherine (Small Cross) ; since August 26, 1856 - State Lady. Children:

• Alexander (1818-1888), adjutant general, succeeded his father as minister of the imperial court;
• Nicholas (1819-1892), infantry general, Finnish governor general;
• Anna (1821-1898), married to Lieutenant General N. A. Novitsky ;
• Vasily (09.09.1827-1905), was baptized on September 30, 1827 in the Simeonovsky Church, the godson of his grandmother, Yu. F. Adlerberg ^[7] , major general;
• Julia (1829-1854), married to a Privy Councilor, Hoffmeister A. A. Kovalkov .

Of the favorites of the count, the most famous German tradeswoman from Moscow, Wilhelmina Gude, named him Mina Ivanovna , fictitiously married to an official of the postal service Burkov, who received the rank of state adviser for this, and nicknamed A. Herzen “Chukhon Aspaziya”. Their daughter Elena (d. 1873) became the wife of the artist K. E. Makovsky .

• Order of St. Anne 4th Art. (1812);
• Order of St. Stanislav 1st Art. (1829);
• Order of St. Anne 1st Art. (1829);
• Order of the White Eagle (1833);
• Order of St. George 4th Art. for 25 years of service (1835);
• Order of St. Alexander Nevsky (1837);
• Diamond signs to the Order of St. Alexander Nevsky (1841);
• Order of St. Vladimir 1st Art. (1846);
• Order of St. Andrew the First-Called (1849);
• Portrait of Emperor Nicholas I decorated with diamonds for wearing in a buttonhole (1855);
• Diamond signs to the Order of St. Andrew the First-Called (1856);
• Portrait of emperors Nicholas I and Alexander II decorated with diamonds for wearing in a buttonhole on the St. Andrew's ribbon (1859);
• Insignia for L years of immaculate service (1860).

Foreign

• Prussian Order of St. John of Jerusalem (1821);
• Diamond signs to this order (1825);
• Austrian Order of the Iron Crown 1st Art. (1833);
• Prussian Order of the Red Eagle 1st Art. (1834);
• Bavarian Order of Civil Merit of the Bavarian Crown 1st Art. (1838);
• Persian Order of Leo and the Sun 1st Art. with a golden chain (1838);
• Weimar Order of the White Falcon (1838);
• Swedish Order of the Sword , big cross (1838);
• Hessian Order of Ludwig 1st Art. (1840);
• Diamond signs for the Prussian Order of the Red Eagle 1st Art. (1843);
• Netherlands Order of the Netherlands Lion 1st Art. (1844);
• Sardinian Order of Saints Mauritius and Lazarus 1st Art. (1845);
• Sicilian Order of St. Januarius (1845);
• Austrian Order of Leopold 1st Art. (1846);
• Würtenberg Order of the Württemberg Crown 1st Art. (1846);
• Swedish Order of the Sword 1st Art. with diamonds (1846);
• Greek Order of the Savior 1st Art. (1848);
• Austrian Order of St. Stephen , the Great Cross (1849);
• Prussian Order of the Black Eagle (1851);
• Oldenburg Order of Merit of the Duke Peter-Friedrich-Ludwig 1st Art. large cross with a golden crown (1853);
• Diamond signs for the Prussian Order of the Black Eagle (1856);
• Bavarian Order of St. Hubert (1857);
• Baden Order of Loyalty (1857);
• Montenegrin Order of Prince Daniel I (1869).

• Adlerberg, Vladimir Feodorovich, Count // A (label of English Lloyd) - Algeria. - SPb. ; [ M. ]: Type. t-va I. D. Sytin , 1911. - S. 143-144. - ( Military Encyclopedia : [18 p.] / Edited by V.F. Novitsky [and others ]; 1911-1915, v. 1).
• Gr. Adlerberg 1. Vladimir Fedorovich // List of generals by seniority . Fixed on March 1st. - SPb. : Military Printing House, 1884. - S. 7-10.
• Miloradovich G. A. The list of persons of the retinue of their majesties from the reign of Emperor Peter I to 1886. - SPb. , 1886.
• Adlerberg, Vladimir Fedorovich // Russian Biographical Dictionary : in 25 volumes. - SPb. - M. , 1896-1918.
• Stepanov V.S., Grigorovich P.I. In memory of the centennial of the imperial Military Order of the Holy Great Martyr and Victorious George. (1769-1869). - SPb. , 1869.
• Fedorchenko V.I. Suite of Russian emperors. - Prince 1. - A — L. - M. , 2005.
• Shilov D.N., Kuzmin Yu.A. Members of the State Council of the Russian Empire. 1801-1906: Biobibliographic reference. - SPb. , 2007.
• Profile of Vladimir Fedorovich Adlerberg on the official website of the RAS

• Adlerberg, Vladimir Fedorovich // Great Soviet Encyclopedia : in 66 volumes (65 volumes and 1 additional) / Ch. ed. O. Yu. Schmidt . - M .: Soviet Encyclopedia , 1926-1947.