Andrey Matveyev

Andrey Matveyev

Count Andrey Artamonovich Matveev ( _ru. Андрей Артамонович Матвеев) (1666 – 1728), was a Russian statesman of the Petrine epoch best remembered as one of the first Russian ambassadors and Peter the Great's agent in London and the Hague.

Andrey Matveyev was the son of the more famous Artamon Matveev by a Scottish woman, Eudoxia Hamilton. At the age of eight he was granted a rank of "chamber stolnik" (комнатный стольник) but was exiled together with his father during Feodor III's early reign. The Matveyevs returned to Moscow on 11 May 1682, and four days later Artamon Matveev was killed by the rebellious "Streltsy" during the Moscow Uprising of 1682, while Andrey fled the capital again. In 1691-1693 he served as "voyevoda" in the Dvina Region.

Peter the Great, who had deeply respected Matveyev the elder and whose own mother had been brought up in the Matveyev family, sent him in 1700 as ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary, firstly in the Dutch Republic (1699 – 1712), afterwards in Austria (1712 – 1715), where he was granted in 1715 a comital title of the Holy Roman Empire. In 1705 Matveev did not succeed in his Paris mission to treat with France on trade issues. He then settled in London with the purpose of persuading Queen Anne to mediate between Sweden and Russia and not to acknowledge Stanisław Leszczyński as King of Poland.

Just before leaving Britain, Matveyev was accosted and apprehended by some bailiffs, "a Brutal sort of People", who made his release contingent on payment of 50 pounds. Having suffered verbal and physical abuse, Matveyev reported to the Russian Foreign Office that the Britons "have no respect for common law whatsoever". Despite subsequent apologies from the Parliament and the Queen, the diplomatic corps in London raised such an outcry over the incident that it led the Parliament to adopt the Act Preserving the Privileges of Ambassadors (April 21, 1709), the first-ever act to guarantee diplomatic immunity.

In 1716 Matveyev was recalled to St Petersburg, where he received the rank of Privy Counsellor and was appointed to run a naval academy. Three years later, he became Senator and President of Justice Collegium. For three years before his retirement in 1727 he presided over the senate office in Moscow. His daughter Maria — rumoured to have been the tsar's mistress — was the mother of Field-Marshal Peter Rumyantsev.

In his declining years, presumably influenced by Pyotr Shafirov's research on Russian history, Matveyev described the Moscow Uprising of 1682, appending a summary account of the subsequent events up to 1698. The book is written in florid, antiquated language replete with outlandish spellings. It has a tangible bias: the actions of tsarevna Sofia and her party are painted as evil, while those of the Naryshkins and the author's father are immoderately glorified.

References

*
* [http://www.magister.msk.ru/library/history/solov/solv15p1.htm Matveyev letters quoted in Sergey Solovyov's history of Russia]
* [http://www.fathom.com/feature/122389/ Matveyev Incident of 1709]


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать курсовую

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Matveyev — Matveyev, sometimes spelled as Matveev (Russian: Матвеев), or Matveyeva (feminine; Матвеева), is a Russian last name and may refer to: People Aleksandr Matveyev (b. 1926), Russian linguist Alexander Matveyev (1878 1960), Russian sculptor… …   Wikipedia

  • Danila Matveyev — Danila Matveyev, also known as Nil Matveyev (Russian: Данила Матвеев, Нил Матвеев) (? after 1651) was a prominent Russian bellmaker of the 17th century. The information about Danila Matveyev s life and career is rather scarce. It is known that he …   Wikipedia

  • Maria Rumyantseva — Portrait by Aleksey Antropov, 1764 Countess Maria Andreyevna Rumyantseva née Matveyeva (1699–1788) was a Russian lady in waiting and alleged royal mistress of Tsar Peter the Great. She was the daughter of privy councilor of Count Andrey Matveyev… …   Wikipedia

  • Diplomatic immunity — For other uses, see Diplomatic immunity (disambiguation). Diplomatic immunity is a form of legal immunity and a policy held between governments that ensures that diplomats are given safe passage and are considered not susceptible to lawsuit or… …   Wikipedia

  • Rumyantsev — For other uses, see Rumyantsev (disambiguation). The Rumyantsev family (Румянцевы) were Russian counts prominent in Russian imperial politics in the 18th and early 19th centuries. The family claimed descent from the boyar Rumyanets who broke his… …   Wikipedia

  • Pyotr Rumyantsev — Count Pyotr Alexandrovich Rumyantsev Zadunaisky ( s odes. Early life Peter was the only son of Count Alexander Rumyantsev by Maria, the daughter and heiress of Count Andrey Matveyev. As his mother spent much time in the company of Peter the Great …   Wikipedia

  • Alexander Rumyantsev — Count Alexander Ivanovich Rumyantsev ( ru. Александр Иванович Румянцев; 1677 1749) was an assistant of Peter the Great and father of Field Marshal Peter Rumyantsev Zadunaisky. He came from the Rumyantsev family which, though little known and… …   Wikipedia

  • Artamon Matveev — Artamon Matveïev Artamon Matveev Artamon Sergueïevitch Matveïev (en russe : Артамон Сергеевич Матвеев), né en 1625 et mort le 27  mai 1682 à Moscou, est un diplomate et homme politique russe. Il dirige …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Artamon Sergueïevitch Matveïev — Artamon Matveïev Artamon Matveev Artamon Sergueïevitch Matveïev (en russe : Артамон Сергеевич Матвеев), né en 1625 et mort le 27  mai 1682 à Moscou, est un diplomate et homme politique russe. Il dirige …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Charles Whitworth, 1st Baron Whitworth — (14 October 1675 – 23 October 1725) was a British diplomat. Early life and education Whitworth was possibly born at Blore Pike, near Eccleshall, Staffordshire. H …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”