"A Sample of the Enlightened Grandee": how Nikolai Repnin contributed to the strengthening of the power of the Russian Empire

Nikolay Repnin was born on March 22, 1734 in St. Petersburg in a noble family, going back to Prince Mikhail of Chernigov. Repnin's ancestors played an important role in strengthening the Russian statehood during the times of Ivan the Terrible, Alexei Mikhailovich and Peter I. From the age of 11 Nikolay Repnin was listed as a soldier in the Preobrazhensky Life Guards Regiment, and in 14 he took part in the Rhine campaign of the Russian army commanded by his father, Vasily Repnina. In 1749 he was promoted to ensign, and two years later he became a second lieutenant of the guard. He received education in Germany and France, but was recalled from Europe by Empress Elizabeth Petrovna, who feared for the moral character of the young prince.

Later Nikolay Repnin took part in the Seven Years War, during which he showed courage in a number of battles, and went from captain to major general.

Polish triumph

In 1762 Repnin changed the path from military to diplomatic. The Emperor Peter III sent him as an ambassador to Berlin, in the capture of which Repnin had taken a personal part shortly before. While there was a coup in Russia and power passed from Peter III to Catherine II, Repnin studied the military experience of the Prussian army. A year later, the new empress recalled him from Germany and appointed the director of the land gentry corps. However, soon Repnin was sent to Poland, where he became an assistant to Catherine II’s chief adviser on foreign policy issues, Baron Hermann Karl von Keyserling, who defended the interests of Russia in Warsaw. Keyserling was seriously ill and soon died, after which Repnin was appointed Russian Minister Plenipotentiary in the Commonwealth.

The head of the diplomatic mission was faced with the most difficult tasks: the Polish king Augustus III passed away, and Repnin was to promote the ascension to the throne of the favorite of the Empress Stanislav Ponyatovsky. In addition, the duties of the diplomat included the protection of the rights of the Orthodox and Protestant population of the Commonwealth and limiting the influence of the Catholic Church in the country.

• Marie Elizabeth Louise Vishe-Lebrun. Portrait of Stanislav Poniatowski, King of Poland

Stanislav Ponyatovsky with the help of Repnin became king, but his policy is hardly consistent. Relatives of Poniatowski Chartoryi, who initially collaborated with Repnin, now opposed a number of reforms and agreements in which Russia was interested. In Poland, the rivalry of various parties intensified, some of which were pro-Russian, while others took extreme right-wing positions and opposed the expansion of cooperation with St. Petersburg.

Gradually, Ponyatovsky and his entourage began reforms aimed at restricting the rights of the gentry and centralizing power in the Commonwealth. Russia was not interested in this. In 1766, the Polish Sejm refused to grant civil and political rights to Orthodox and Protestants. Repnin made a bet on disgraced representatives of the Polish aristocracy who were in opposition to Poniatowski. In June 1767, to defend the political rights of the nobility, with the support of Russia, the Radom Confederation was formed.

On October 5, 1767, a meeting of the Polish Sejm began, known as the “Repnin Sejm”. The Russian envoy conducted difficult negotiations with the delegates, persuaded them to cooperate with Russia, distributed awards, and put pressure on someone. Meetings of the Seym with breaks continued until February 27, 1768.

“Repnin was able to achieve a decision, consisting of two main parts. The first concerned the protection of the rights of non-Catholics, the second - guarantees of the preservation of the political system of the Commonwealth. This was a major success for Russian diplomacy. Poland began to go under a kind of political protectorate of Russia, ”said Kirill Kochegarov, a senior researcher at the Institute of Slavic Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences in an interview with RT.

On February 24, 1768, a “treatise on eternal friendship” was signed between Russia and Poland, which angered the radical representatives of the right-wing Polish parties. Their discontent then resulted in the creation of the Bar Confederation and the uprising, which in fact led to the division of the Commonwealth.

“It was under the pressure of Repnin in 1768 that the Polish Sejm adopted“ cardinal laws ”that provided freedom of religion and equalized the rights of non-Catholic people of the Commonwealth with Catholics. According to the Warsaw Pact, which Nikolai Repnin had lobbied for, Russia had the right to actually interfere in the internal affairs of the Commonwealth, ”historian Yevgeny Pchelov emphasized in an interview with RT.

According to Kirill Kochegarov, Polish historiography interprets Repnin's actions mainly in a negative way.

“Scientists understand that Repnin was in his place and followed the instructions he received. However, this historical period in Poland today is treated very badly, and in this context they evaluate the activities of a Russian diplomat, ”Kochegarov said in an interview with RT.

In Poland, Repnin began an affair with the socialite Countess Isabella Czartoryska, one of the most famous patriots of the Commonwealth. According to some information, it was from the connection with Repnin that the Countess had a son - Adam Jerzy Chartoryski, who became the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Empire, and then the leader of Polish emigration.

• Giuseppe Filippo Liberati Marchi. Polish Countess Isabella Czartoryska

For political services, Catherine II awarded Repnin high awards - the Order of St. Alexander Nevsky, the rank of lieutenant-general and a prize of 50 thousand rubles. However, the Empress did not leave Repnin in Poland until the end of the conflict. In early 1769, he returned to Russia.

Commander and administrator

At home, the prince was expecting a military uniform: Repnin headed a separate corps operating against the Turks in Moldova and Wallachia. In 1770, the prince did not allow the 36-thousand Ottoman army to force the Prut, and on June 28 of the same year, despite the fact that his corps suffered huge losses due to the plague epidemic, overturned the left flank of the Turkish troops in the battle of Ryaboi Graves, where it operated under the command of Peter Rumyantsev. Repnin without a fight took Ishmael and took Kiliya by storm. For personal courage Nikolai Repnin was awarded the Order of St. George, II degree.

• Stefano Torelli. Allegory of the victory of Catherine II over the Turks and Tatars

In 1771, the prince won a victory at Bucharest, but quarreled with Rumyantsev and retired from the army. He recovered after three years to join the taking of Silistra. As a diplomat and a military man, he participated in the preparation and conclusion of the Kyuchuk-Kaynardzhiysky world, which actually donated Crimea to Russia. The text of the document to the Empress Repnin delivered personally. According to the results of the Russian-Turkish war of 1768-1774, he was awarded the rank of General-in-Chief.

In the future, Nikolai Repnin for two years was the envoy of Russia to Turkey, and on returning home he received an appointment as Governor-General to Smolensk and Orel, holding two posts at the same time. In the course of the War for the Bavarian inheritance, he led the 30-thousand Russian army and at the Teschen congress he urged Austria to make peace. In 1781, Repnin left the duties of Governor-General of Oryol governorship, but took a similar position in Pskov.

During the new Russian-Turkish war, he commanded the right wing of the Russian troops during the assault on Ochakov and fought again with the Turks in Moldova. After leaving the front, Grigory Potemkin assumed command of the combined forces of the Russian army. On July 9, 1791, he won a decisive victory in the Machinsky battle, thereby accelerating the conclusion of the Yassy peace, which secured the entire Northern Black Sea region for Russia.

After the war, Repnin was in administrative work in the Baltics. Formally, he led the Russian troops during the suppression of the Kosciusko uprising, although de facto the rebels were defeated by Alexander Suvorov. After the restoration of peace, Prince Repnin simultaneously held the posts of Governor-General of Vilna and Grodno, as well as Estland and Kurland. In 1796 Repnin was awarded the rank of Field Marshal. In 1798, he headed the Russian embassy in Berlin and Vienna in order to create an anti-French coalition, but failed to cope with this task. The attitude of Emperor Paul I to Repnin, in spite of all his past achievements, has significantly deteriorated. The prince was forced to resign.

In 1801, a retired field marshal Repnin died in his estate.

• Yanuari Sukhodolsky. Storm Ochakova

The only son of Repnin Ivan died in childhood. Only two daughters survived their father. By the decision of Alexander I, the son of the eldest of them, Alexandra, the wife of Grigory Volkonsky, inherited the name and title of his grandfather, becoming Prince Nikolai Repnin-Volkonsky. The grandson of a diplomat and commander of the Catherine epoch ruled Little Russia for many years. He and his daughter provided protection to Taras Shevchenko.

“As a diplomat, Nikolai Repnin was an instrument in the hands of Catherine II. The Empress personally made decisions in the field of foreign policy and firmly controlled this area. Diplomats only put into practice a certain strategy. This concerned Repnin. At the same time, the orders of the Empress, judging by the awards and promotions, he performed perfectly, ”said Igor Kurukin, professor of the RSUH, Doctor of Historical Sciences, in an interview with RT.

In general, according to the expert, the historical role of Nikolai Repnin was very significant.

“He did not belong to the brightest personalities of the Catherine epoch and did not enter the empress’s closest circle, unlike, for example, from Potemkin. But at the same time Repnin was a sample of an enlightened grandee. He received a good education and considered himself obliged to devote his life to serving the fatherland, showing himself at the same time as a talented military leader and administrator, ”concluded Kurukin.