Prince Boris Ivanovich Kurakin (Борис Иванович Куракин in Russian) (7.20(30).1676, Moscow - 10.17(28).1727, Paris) was the first permanent Russian ambassador abroad, and one of the closest associates of Peter the Great. He was also the tsar's brother-in-law, being married to a sister of Eudoxia Lopukhina. // Events January 29 - Feodor III becomes Tsar of Russia First measurement of the speed of light, by Ole Rømer Bacons Rebellion Russo-Turkish Wars commence. ... Saint Basils Cathedral Moscow (Russian/Cyrillic: Москва́, IPA:   listen?) is the capital of Russia, located on the river Moskva, and encompassing 1097. ... Events June 11 - George, Prince of Wales becomes King George II of Great Britain. ... The Eiffel Tower has become a symbol of Paris throughout the world. ... For other uses, see Ambassador (disambiguation). ... Peter I Emperor and Autocrat of All Russia Peter I (Pyotr Alekseyvich) (9 June 1672–8 February 1725 [30 May 1672–28 January 1725 O.S.1]) ruled Russia from 7 May (27 April O.S.) 1682 until his death. ... Tsar (Bulgarian цар, Russian царь,  listen; often spelled Czar or Tzar and sometimes Csar or Zar in English), was the title used for the autocratic rulers of the First and Second Bulgarian Empires since 913, in Serbia in the middle of the 14th century, and in Russia from 1547 to... Eudoxia Lopukhina (1669 - 1731) was the Russian first wife of Peter I, they married in 1689 but divorced in 1698. ...

Prince Boris Ivanovich Kurakin (1676-1727).

Career

The Kurakins were one of the greatest Gedyminid families of Muscovy, whose members were promoted straight to the rank of okolnichy, skipping lower ranks like stolnik. In 1683, Boris Kurakin was appointed to young Peter's retinue and took part in all of his military games. In 1695-1696, he participated in the Azov campaigns. In 1697, he was sent to Italy to learn navigation. The Gediminaičiai (singular: Gediminaitis) were a dynasty of grand dukes of Lithuania that reigned from the 13th to the 16th century. ... This article is about Muscovite Russia. ... Okolnichy was an old rank and a position at the court of Russian rulers of 13th — early 18th centuries. ... Stolnik was a court office in Poland and Muscovy , responsible for serving the royal table. ... Events June 6 - The Ashmolean Museum opens as the worlds first university museum. ... A retinue (O. Fr. ... Events January 27 - Change of emperor of the Ottoman Empire from Ahmed II to Mustafa II (1695-1703) July 17 - The Bank of Scotland is founded by an Act of Parliament of the old Scottish Parliament. ... The year 1696 had the earliest equinoxes and solstices for 400 years in the Gregorian calendar, because this year is a leap year and the Gregorian calendar would have behaved like the Julian calendar since March 1500 had it have been in use that long. ... Azov campaigns of 1695-1696 (Азовские походы in Russian), two Russian military campaigns during the Russo-Turkish War of 1686-1700, led by Peter the Great and aimed at capturing the Turkish fortress of Azov (garrison - 7,000 men), which had been blocking Russias access to the Azov Sea... Events September 20 - The Treaty of Ryswick December 2 – St Pauls Cathedral opened in London Peter the Great travels in Europe officially incognito as artilleryman Pjotr Mikhailov Use of palanquins increases in Europe Christopher Polhem starts Swedens first technical school. ... There are several traditions of navigation. ...

His long and honorable diplomatic career began in 1707, when he was sent to Rome to induce the pope not to recognize Charles XII's candidate, Stanislaus Leszczynski, as king of Poland. In 1709, Boris Kurakin was appointed commander of the Semenovsky Regiment during the Battle of Poltava. From 1708 to 1712, he represented Russia at London, Hanover, and the Hague successively, and, in 1713, was the principal Russian plenipotentiary at the peace congress of Utrecht. From 1716 to 1722, he held the post of ambassador at Paris, and when, in 1722, Peter set forth on his Persian campaign, Kurakin was appointed the supervisor of all the Russian ambassadors accredited to the various European courts. In 1723, he attempted to arrange the marriage of Elizaveta Petrovna to Louis XV. Next year, he was sent to Paris as an ambassador, where he would eventually die. Events January 1 - John V is crowned King of Portugal March 26 - The Act of Union becomes law, making the separate Kingdoms of England and Scotland into one country, the Kingdom of Great Britain. ... City motto: Senatus Populusque Romanus – SPQR (The Senate and the People of Rome) Founded 21 April 753 BC mythical, 1st millennium BC Region Latium Mayor Walter Veltroni (Democratici di Sinistra) Area  - City Proper  1290 km² Population  - City (2004)  - Metropolitan  - Density (city proper) 2,546,807 almost 4,000,000 1... Clement XI, né Giovanni Francesco Albani (July 23, 1649 - March 19, 1721) was pope from 1700 to 1721. ... Charles XII is: Charles XII, or Karl XII, (1682 - 1718), King of Sweden - see Charles XII of Sweden a 19th_century racehorse _ see Charles XII (horse) a pub in the Yorkshire village of Heslington, named after the racehorse - see Heslington This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists... Reign From 1704 until 1709 and from 1733 until 1736 Elected In 1704 and 1733 in Wola, today suburb of Warsaw, Poland Coronation On October 4, 1705 in the St. ... // Events January 12 - Two-month freezing period begins in France - The coast of the Atlantic and Seine River freeze, crops fail and at least 24. ... The Battle of Poltava (or Pultowa) was a battle between the armies of Peter I of Russia and Charles XII of Sweden on 28 June (new style 8 July) 1709, the most famous of the battles of the Great Northern War. ... // Events March 23 - James Francis Edward Stuart lands at the Firth of Forth July 1 - Tewoflos becomes Emperor of Ethiopia September 28 - Peter the Great defeats the Swedes at the Battle of Lesnaya Kandahar conquered by Mir Wais In Masuria one third of the population die during the plague J... // Events Treaty of Aargau signed between Catholic and Protestants. ... St Stevens Tower - The Clock Tower of the Palace of Westminster which contains Big Ben London (see also different names) is the capital city of the United Kingdom and of England. ... Map of Germany showing Hanover Hanover (German: Hannover [haˈnoːfɐ]), on the river Leine, is the capital of the state of Lower Saxony (Niedersachsen), Germany. ... Arms of The Hague The Hague (with capital T; Dutch: Den Haag, or officially s-Gravenhage) is the administrative capital of the Netherlands, located in the west of the country, in the province South Holland of which it is also the capital. ... // Events April 11 - War of the Spanish Succession: Treaty of Utrecht June 23 - French residents of Acadia given one year to declare allegiance to Britain or leave Nova Scotia Canada first Orrery built by George Graham Ongoing events Great Northern War (1700-1721) War of the Spanish Succession (1702-1713... The term plenipotentiary (from the Latin, plenus + potens, full + power) refers to a person who has full powers. ... The Treaty of Utrecht, a series of treaties signed in 1713, helped end the War of the Spanish Succession. ... // Events Natchez, one of the oldest towns on the Mississippi, founded. ... Events Abraham De Moivre states De Moivres theorem connecting trigonometric functions and complex numbers Publication of the first book of Bachs Well-Tempered Clavier Fall of Persias Safavid dynasty during a bloody revolt of the Afghani people. ... For other uses, see Ambassador (disambiguation). ... Events Abraham De Moivre states De Moivres theorem connecting trigonometric functions and complex numbers Publication of the first book of Bachs Well-Tempered Clavier Fall of Persias Safavid dynasty during a bloody revolt of the Afghani people. ... This article is about the continent. ... Events February 16 - Louis XV of France attains his majority Births February 24 - John Burgoyne, British general (d. ... Empress Elizaveta Petrovna (1709-62) Yelizaveta Petrovna (Елизаве́та Петро́вна) (December 29, 1709 - January 5, 1762) was an Empress of Russia (1741 - 1762) who took the country into the War of Austrian succession (1740 - 1748) and the Seven Years War (1756-63). ... Louis XV (February 15, 1710 – May 10, 1774), called the Well-Beloved (French: le Bien-Aimé), was King of France from 1715 to 1774. ...

Kurakin's descendants were also noted for their diplomatic careers. His son Alexander (1697-1749) was likewise ambassador to Paris, whereas the latter's grandson Alexander Kurakin (1752-1818) served as ambassador to Paris and Vienna under Catherine the Great and Vice-Chancellor of the Russian Empire in 1796. Vienna (German: Wien [viːn]) is the capital of Austria, and also one of Austrias nine federal states (Bundesland Wien). ... Catherine II (Екатерина II Алексеевна: Yekaterína II Alekséyevna, April 21, 1729 - November 6, 1796), born Sophie Augusta Fredericka, known as Catherine the Great, reigned as empress of Russia from June 28, 1762, to her death on November 6, 1796. ... Imperial Russia is the term used to cover the period of Russian history from the expansion of Russia under Peter the Great, through the expansion of the Russian Empire from the Baltic to the Pacific Ocean, to the deposal of Nicholas II of Russia, the last tsar, at the start... 1796 was a leap year starting on Friday. ...

Assessment

The father of Russian diplomacy, as he has justly been called, was remarkable throughout his career for infinite tact and insight, and a wonderfully correct appreciation of men and events. He was most useful to Russia, perhaps, when the Great Northern War was drawing to a close. Notably, he prevented Great Britain from declaring war against Peter's close ally, Denmark, at the crisis of the struggle. As Duc de Saint-Simon put it, "c'etait un grand homme, bien fait, qui sentait fort la grandeur de son origine, avec beaucoup d'esprit, de tour et d'instruction". The Swedish Victory at Narva, 1700 by Gustaf Cederström, painted 1910 Battle of Poltava as painted by Denis Martens the Younger in 1726 The Great Northern War was the war fought between a coalition of Russia, Denmark-Norway and Saxony-Poland (from 1715 also Prussia and Hanover) on one... The word Ally, when used alone, has several possible meanings. ... Louis de Rouvroy, duc de Saint-Simon (January 16, 1675 - March 2, 1755), French soldier, diplomatist and writer of memoirs, was born at Versailles. ...

Kurakin was one of the best-educated Russians of his day, and his autobiography, carried down to 1709, is an historical document of the first importance. He intended to write a history of his own times with Peter the Great as the central figure, but got no further than the summary, entitled History of Tsar Peter Aleksievich and the People Nearest to Him (1682-1694). His vast archive was published in the 19th century, revealing Kurakin as a master of literary style. He is held responsible for introducing many new words to the Russian language. Autobiography (from the Greek auton, self, bios, life and graphein, write) is biography, the writing of a life story, from the viewpoint of the subject. ... An archive is a collection of documents, and in some senses, the building(s) its kept in. ... Russian (русский язык   listen?) is the most widely spoken language of Europe and the most widespread of the Slavic languages. ...

The public domain comprises the body of all creative works and other knowledge—writing, artwork, music, science, inventions, and others—in which no person or organization has any proprietary interest. ... The Eleventh Edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica (1911) in many ways represents the sum of knowledge at the beginning of the 20th century. ...

External link

• Genealogy of Kurakin Family