Muravyov, Mikhail Nikolaevich (1845)

He studied at the Poltava gymnasium, attended the University of Heidelberg ; after the first year of classes, he returned to Russia and entered the service in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs , became an assistant envoy. At first he was at the mission in Berlin , then he was secretary in various embassies.

During the war with Turkey (1877–1878), he was at the theater of operations one of the representatives of the Red Cross ; after the war ended, he was first secretary of the embassy in Paris (with Prince Orlov after), then advisor to the embassy in Berlin (with the same Orlov); in Berlin, he was the first chairman of the Council of the Holy Prince Vladimir Brotherhood , of which he remained a member until his death; in 1893-1896 - envoy in Copenhagen .

January 1, 1897 (after the death of Lobanov-Rostovsky ) was appointed head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs ; from April 13 of the same year - Minister of Foreign Affairs. His appointment in Germany was perceived as an act to some extent hostile to Germany: the Ants were considered Slavophil . The Greek-Turkish war (1897), during which Russia led the Turkophile policy, belongs to the period of its administration by the ministry; she organized the European blockade of Crete , and the Russians and other European ships shot at the insurgents - the Christians. After the defeat of Greece, Russia, however, contributed to the recognition of the autonomy of Crete. By the policy of Muravyov in the south of the Balkan Peninsula and in Macedonia , seeds of distrust of Russia were sown among the Christian population.

In 1898, an agreement was signed with China regarding the lease of Port Arthur by Russia, which began the Far Eastern policy that led to the war with Japan . In China, Muravyov supported the old Chinese party (empresses and boxers ) against the reform party, which was one of the reasons for the uprising of boxers in 1900, which necessitated an international military expedition to China.

In August 1898, in accordance with the Highest Command, he addressed the powers with an invitation to the World Peace Conference , which met in The Hague in 1899. This beginning was in clear contradiction with the militant policy in the Far East , but it helped to strengthen Russia's prestige for a while.

He was buried in the church of St. Gregory the Theologian (“Kushelevskaya”) in the Sergius Desert (now in St. Petersburg).

The wife (since 06/30/1871, Karlsruhe) is Princess Sofya Nikolaevna Gagarin ( ^10/ 06/1847–25.01.1874) ^[2] , the granddaughter of Count N. D. Guriev and the daughter of the chamber junker Prince Nikolai Nikolayevich Gagarin. Died from puerperal fever in Stockholm. Their children Sophia (08.21.1872—19.09.1901), maid of honor, in marriage to Dabija , and Nikolai (01.20.1874-1934), were brought up in the Page Corps.

Count Sergei Yulievich Witte in his memoirs gave Muravyov the following assessment:

Count Ants was <...> a secular man and a secular amuser, <...> although he was funny, but funny with flat stories and manners, <...> literally little educated, if not to say - in many respects simply ignorant. In addition, gr. Ants had the weakness of a good lunch and a decent drink at lunch. Therefore, after lunch, c. Ants very reluctantly was engaged in affairs and in general, usually, they were not engaged. Regarding his studies, he was very stingy and devoted very little time to them.

A similar opinion was made about Muravyov Baron Nikolai Wrangel , who met him during his studies at the university :

Prince Mikhail Muravyov, the grandson of the Lithuanian dictator , was a cheerful and frivolous young man, without any convictions, by his nature a clever man, but rarely lazy and without the most basic knowledge. He did not go to the lectures, did not look into books, instead he liked to attend theaters, societies, meetings and to make friends with people from the highest circles.

According to the same Wrangel, the wife of N. N. Muravyov-Amursky, Ekaterina (nee Catherine de Richemon) once said about the hated graph Muravyov : “I will forgive him all his sins ... provided that he hangs both my nephews, Misha and (I forgot the name of the other [meaning N. V. Muravyov ]), these rascals ” ^[3] .

Russian Empire: ^[4]

• Order of St. Stanislav 2nd degree
• Order of St. Vladimir 3rd degree
• Medal “In Memory of the Russian-Turkish War of 1877–1878” Light Bronze

Foreign States: ^[4]

• Order of the Crown 2nd Class ( Kingdom of Prussia )
• Order of the Red Eagle 4th class ( Kingdom of Prussia )
• Order of the Württemberg crown knight’s cross ( Kingdom of Württemberg )
• Order of the Polar Star Knight's Cross ( Kingdom of Sweden )
• Order of the Oak Crown
• Order of the Legion of Honor officer cross ( Third French Republic )
• Order of the Wendian Crown 2nd Class with a star ( Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin )

1. Shilov D. N. State leaders of the Russian Empire. - SPb. 2002. pp. 494-495.
2. B. In — in. Muravyov, Mikhail Nikolaevich (earl, 1845–1900) // Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron : in 86 tons (82 tons and 4 extras). - SPb. , 1890-1907.