Count Nikita Ivanovich Panin (Russian: Ники́та Ива́нович Па́нин) (September 18, 1718–March 31, 1783) was an influential Russian statesman and political mentor to Catherine the Great for the first eighteen years of her reign. He advocated the Northern Alliance and closer ties with Frederick the Great of Prussia. His staunch opposition to the partitions of Poland led to his being replaced by the more compliant Prince Bezborodko. September 18 is the 261st day of the year (262nd in leap years). ... // Events July 21 - Treaty of Passarowitz signed November 22 - Off the coast of Virginia, English pirate Edward Teach (best known as Blackbeard) is killed in battle when a British boarding party cornered and then shot and stabbed him more than 25 times. ... March 31 is the 90th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (91st in Leap years), with 275 days remaining, as the final day of March. ... 1783 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... H.I.M. Ekaterina II Aleksejevna the Great, Empress and Autocrat of all the Russias Catherine II (Екатерина II Алексеевна: Yekaterína II Alekséyevna, April 21, 1729 - November 6, 1796 (O.S.)), born Sophie Augusta Fredericka, known as Catherine the Great, reigned as empress of Russia from June 28, 1762, to... Frederick the Great Frederick II of Prussia (Friedrich der Große, Frederick the Great, January 24, 1712 – August 17, 1786) was the Hohenzollern king of Prussia 1740–86. ... The coat of arms of the Kingdom of Prussia, 1701-1918 The word Prussia (German: Preußen or Preussen, Polish: Prusy, Lithuanian: PrÅ«sai, Latin: Borussia) has had various (often contradictory) meanings: The land of the Baltic Prussians (in what is now parts of southern Lithuania, the Kaliningrad exclave of... The Partitions of Poland (Polish Rozbiór or Rozbiory Polski) happened in the 18th century and ended the existence of a sovereign state of Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. ... Prince Alexander Andreyevich Bezborodko (1747-1799) was the Grand Chancellor of Russia and chief architect of the Catherine the Greats foreign policy after the death of Nikita Panin. ...

Early career

He was born at Gdańsk, Poland, to the Russian commandant of Pärnu, the Estonian city where he would spend most of his childhood. In 1740 he entered the Russian army, and was rumored to be one of the favorites of the empress Elizabeth. In 1747 he was accredited to Copenhagen as Russian minister, but a few months later was transferred to Stockholm, where for the next twelve years he played a conspicuous part as the chief opponent of the French party. It is said that during his residence in Sweden, Panin, who certainly had a strong speculative bent, conceived a fondness for constitutional forms of government. Politically he was a pupil of Aleksei Bestuzhev; consequently, when in the middle fifties Russia suddenly turned Francophile instead of Francophobe, Panin's position became extremely difficult. However, he found a friend in Bestuzhev's supplanter, Mikhail Vorontsov, and when in 1760 he was unexpectedly appointed the governor of the little grand duke Paul, his influence was assured. For alternative meanings of Gdańsk and Danzig, see Gdansk (disambiguation) and Danzig (disambiguation) Motto: Nec temere, nec timide (Neither rashly nor timidly) Voivodship Pomeranian Municipal government Rada miasta Gdańska Mayor Paweł Adamowicz Area 262 km² Population  - city  - urban  - density 461 400 (2003) Ranked 6th 1 035 000 1761/km² Founded... The city of Pärnu is located within the county of Pärnu. ... Events May 31 - Friedrich II comes to power in Prussia upon the death of his father, Friedrich Wilhelm I. October 20 - Maria Theresia of Austria inherits the Habsburg hereditary dominions (Austria, Bohemia, Hungary and present-day Belgium). ... H.I.M. Yelizaveta Petrovna, Empress and Autocrat of all the Russias (1709-62) Yelizaveta (Yelisavet) Petrovna (Елизаве́та (Елисаве́т) Петро́вна) (December 29, 1709 - January 5, 1762), also known as Elizabeth, was an Empress of Russia (1741 - 1762) who took the country into the War of Austrian succession (1740 - 1748) and the Seven Years... // Events January 31 - The first venereal diseases clinic opens at London Dock Hospital April 9 - The Scottish Jacobite Lord Lovat was beheaded by axe on Tower Hill, London, for high treason; he was the last man to be executed in this way in Britain May 14 - First battle of Cape... City nickname: none Location in Denmark Area  - Total  - Water 526 km² xxx km² xx% Population  - City (2004)  - Metropolitan  - Density 502,204 1,116,979 954/km2 [including water] xxx/km2 [land only] Time zone Eastern: UTC+1 Latitude Longitude 55°43 N 12°34 E Copenhagen (Danish: København) is...   Stockholm? is the capital and the largest city in Sweden. ... Count Aleksei Petrovich Bestuzhev-Ryumin (Алексе́й Петро́вич Бесту́жев-Рю́мин) (1693 - 1768), Grand Chancellor of Russia, who was chiefly responsible for the Russian foreign policy during the reign of Empress Elizaveta Petrovna. ... Count Mikhail Illarionovich Vorontsov (Михаи́л Илларио́нович Воронцо́в) (1714 - 1767) was a Russian statesman and diplomat. ... 1760 was a leap year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... Paul I of Russia Paul I of Russia (Russian: Pavel Petrovich, Павел I Петрович) (October 1, 1754 - March 23, 1801) was an Emperor (Tsar) of Russia (1796 - 1801). ...

Catherine's reign

Panin supported Catherine when she overthrew her husband, Tsar Peter III, and declared herself empress in 1762, but his jealousy of the influence which Grigori Orlov and his brothers seemed likely to obtain over the new empress predisposed him to favor the proclamation of his ward the grand duke Paul as emperor, with Catherine as regent only. To circumscribe the influence of the ruling favorites he next suggested the formation of a cabinet council of six or eight ministers, through whom all the business of the state was to be transacted; but Catherine, suspecting in the skillfully presented novelty a subtle attempt to limit her power, rejected it after some hesitation. Nevertheless Panin continued to be indispensable. He owed his influence partly to the fact that he was the governor of Paul, who was greatly attached to him, partly to the peculiar circumstances in which Catherine had mounted the throne, and partly to his knowledge of foreign affairs. Although acting as minister of foreign affairs he was never made chancellor. Portrait of Peter III by an uknown artist Peter III (February 21, 1728 - July 17, 1762) (Russian Пётр III Федорович (Pyotr III Fyodorovitch)) was Emperor of Russia for six months in 1762. ... 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... 1762 was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... Count Grigory Orlov Orlov is the name of a Russian noble family which produced several distinguished statesmen, diplomatists and soldiers. ... // high public office A regent, from the Latin regens who reigns is anyone who acts of head of state, especially if not the Monarch (who has higher titles). ...

Panin was the inventor of the famous Northern Accord, which aimed at opposing a combination of Russia, Prussia, Poland, Sweden, and perhaps Great Britain, against the Bourbon-Habsburg League. Such an attempt to bind together nations with such different aims and characters was doomed to failure. Great Britain, for instance, could never be persuaded that it was as much in her interests as in the interests of Russia to subsidize the anti-French party in Sweden. Yet the idea of the Northern Accord, though never quite realized, had important political consequences and influenced the policy of Russia for many years. It explains, too, Panin's strange tenderness towards Poland. For a long time he could not endure the thought of destroying her, because he regarded her as an indispensable member of his Accord, wherein she was to supply the place of Austria, which circumstances had temporarily detached from the Russian alliance. All of the diplomatic questions concerning Russia from 1762 to 1783 are intimately associated with the name of Panin. It was only when the impossibility of realizing the Northern Accord and the fact that Russia had sacrificed millions of rubles fruitlessly in the endeavor to carry out his pet scheme became patent that his influence began to wane. The coat of arms of the Kingdom of Prussia, 1701-1918 The word Prussia (German: Preußen or Preussen, Polish: Prusy, Lithuanian: Prūsai, Latin: Borussia) has had various (often contradictory) meanings: The land of the Baltic Prussians (in what is now parts of southern Lithuania, the Kaliningrad exclave of... The House of Bourbon dates from at least the beginning of the 13th century, when the estate of Bourbon was ruled by a Lord, vassal of France. ... Habsburg (sometimes spelled Hapsburg, but never so in official use) was one of the major ruling houses of Europe. ... 1762 was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... 1783 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... 1997 Russian Federation one rouble coin. ...

Decline

After 1772, when Gustav III upset Panin's plans in Sweden, Panin, whose policy hitherto had been at least original and independent, became more and more subservient to Frederick II of Prussia. As to Poland, his views differed widely from the views of both Frederick and Catherine. He seriously guaranteed the integrity of Polish territory, after placing Stanislaus II on the throne, in order that Poland, undivided and as strong as circumstances would permit, might be drawn wholly within the orbit of Russia. But he did not foresee the complications which were likely to arise from Russia's interference in the domestic affairs of Poland. Thus the Confederation of Bar, and the ensuing Russo-Turkish War, took him completely by surprise and considerably weakened his position. He was forced to acquiesce in the first partition of Poland, and when Russia came off third best, Grigori Orlov declared in the council that the minister who had signed such a partition treaty was worthy of death. 1772 was a leap year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... Gustav III (13 January 1746 (O.S.) (24 January 1746 (N.S.))–March 29, 1792) was the King of Sweden from February 12, 1771 until his death. ... Frederick II of Prussia (January 24, 1712–August 17, 1786) was a king of Prussia from the Hohenzollern dynasty, reigning from 1740–86. ... For other persons named Stanisław Poniatowski, see Stanisław Poniatowski. ... The Confederation of Bar (1768–1776), a grouping of Polish szlachta, formed at the fortress of Bar in Podolia in 1768 to defend the internal and external independence of Poland against the aggressions of the Russian government as represented by her representative at Warsaw, Prince Nikolai Repnin. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... The Partitions of Poland (Polish Rozbiór or Rozbiory Polski) happened in the 18th century and ended the existence of a sovereign state of Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. ...

Panin further incensed Catherine by meddling with the marriage arrangements of the grand duke Paul and by advocating a closer alliance with Prussia, whereas the empress was beginning to incline more and more towards Austria. Nevertheless, even after Paul's second marriage, Panin maintained all his old influence over his pupil, who, like himself, was now a warm admirer of the king of Prussia. There are even traditions from this period of an actual conspiracy of Panin and Paul against the empress. As the Austrian influence increased, Panin found a fresh enemy in Joseph II, and the efforts of the old statesman to prevent a matrimonial alliance between the Russian and Austrian courts determined Catherine to get rid of a counsellor of whom, for some mysterious reason, she was secretly afraid. The circumstances of his disgrace are complicated and obscure. The final rupture seems to have arisen on the question of the declaration of the armed neutrality of the North, but it is known that Grigori Potemkin and the English ambassador, James Harris (afterwards 1st earl of Malmesbury), were both working against him some time before that. In May 1781 Panin was dismissed. He died in Italy two years later. Holy Roman Emperor Joseph II Joseph II (March 13, 1741 – February 20, 1790) was Holy Roman Emperor from 1765 to 1790. ... Prince Grigori Aleksandrovich Potemkin (Russian: Григорий Александрович Потемкин) (September 13, 1739 (NS: September 24) – October 5, 1791 (NS: October 16)) was a Russian general-field marshal, statesman, and favorite of Catherine II the Great. ... James Harris, 1st Earl of Malmesbury (April 21, 1746 - November 21, 1820), English diplomatist, was born at Salisbury, being the son of James Harris, the author of Hermes. ... The title of Earl of Malmesbury was created in the Peerage of Great Britain in 1800. ... 1781 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ...

Personal qualities

Panin was one of the most learned, accomplished and courteous Russians of his day. Catherine called him her encyclopaedia. The earl of Buckinghamshire declared him to be the most amiable negotiator he had ever met. He was also of a most humane disposition and a friend of Liberal institutions. As to his honesty and kindness of heart there were never two opinions. By nature a sybarite, he took care to have the best cook in the capital, and women had for him an irresistible attraction, though he never married. 1913 advertisement for Encyclopædia Britannica. ...

Bibliography

This article incorporates text from the public domain 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica. 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. ...

The Britannica cites the following sources:

• Anonymous Life of Count N. I. Panin (Rus.; St Petersburg, 1787)
• Political correspondence (Rus. and Fr.), Collections of Russian Histor. Society, vol. ix. (St Petersburg, 1872)
• V. A. Bilbasov, Geschichte Katharina II. (Berlin, 1891f 893)
• A. Bruckner, Materials for the Biography of Count Panin (Rus.; St Petersburg, 1888).

Russian and Soviet Foreign Ministers

Afanasy Ordin-Naschokin | Artamon Matveyev | Vasily Golitsyn | Fyodor Golovin | Peter Shafirov | Gavrila Golovkin | Andrey Osterman | Alexey Bestuzhev-Ryumin | Mikhailo Vorontsov | Nikita Panin | Alexander Bezborodko | Feodor Rostopchin | Alexander Vorontsov | Adam Jerzy Czartoryski | Nikolay Rumyantsev | John Capodistria | Karl Robert Nesselrode | Alexander Gorchakov | Nicholas de Giers | Alexis Lobanoff de Rostoff | Mikhail Muravyov | Vladimir Lambsdorff | Alexander Izvolsky | Alexander Sazonov | Pavel Milyukov | Leon Trotsky | Georgy Chicherin | Maxim Litvinov | Vyacheslav Molotov | Andrey Vyshinsky | Andrey Gromyko | Eduard Shevardnadze | Andrey Kozyrev | Yevgeny Primakov | Igor Ivanov | Sergey Lavrov This page lists foreign ministers of Russian Empire, Soviet Union, and Russian Federation: // Heads of Posolsky Prikaz, 1549-1699 Ivan Viskovatyi 1549-70 Brothers Vasily and Andrey Shchelkalov 1570-1601 Ivan Gramotin 1605-06, 1610-12, 1618-26, 1634-35 Pyotr Tretyakov 1608-10, 1613-18 Almaz Ivanov 1635-67... Russian coat of arms This image depicts a seal, an emblem, a coat of arms or a crest. ... Afanasy Lavrentievich Ordin-Naschokin (1605 - 1680) was one of the greatest Russian statesmen of the 17th century. ... Artamon Sergeyevich Matveyev (Артамон Сергеевич Матвеев in Russian) (1625 - 1682) was a Russian statesman, diplomat and Ukraine and took part in some of Russias wars with Poland. ... Peter I permitted the Galitzines to take an emblem of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania as their coat of arms Galitzine, more correctly Golitsyn (Russian: Голицын), is one of the largest and noblest princely houses of Russia. ... Count Feodor Alekseyevich Golovin (1650 - 1706) was the last Russian boyar and the first Russian chancellor. ... Baron Peter Pavlovich Shafirov (1670 - 1739), Russian statesman, one of the ablest coadjutors of Peter the Great, was of obscure, and in all probability of Jewish, extraction. ... Count Gavriil Ivanovich Golovkin (Гавриил Иванович Головкин in Russian) (1660-1734) was a Russian statesman. ... Andrey Ivanovich Ostermann (1686-1747) Count Andrei Ivanovich Osterman (June 9, 1686 _ May 31, 1747) was a German-born Russian statesman who came to prominence under Tsar Peter I of Russia (Peter the Great) and served until the accession of the Tsesarevna Elizabeth. ... Count Aleksei Petrovich Bestuzhev-Ryumin (Алексе́й Петро́вич Бесту́жев-Рю́мин) (1693 - 1768), Grand Chancellor of Russia, who was chiefly responsible for the Russian foreign policy during the reign of Empress Elizaveta Petrovna. ... Count Mikhail Illarionovich Vorontsov (Михаи́л Илларио́нович Воронцо́в) (1714 - 1767) was a Russian statesman and diplomat. ... Prince Alexander Andreyevich Bezborodko (1747-1799) was the Grand Chancellor of Russia and chief architect of the Catherine the Greats foreign policy after the death of Nikita Panin. ... Count Fyodor Vasilievich Rostopchin (Фёдор Васильевич Ростопчин in Russian) (3. ... Count Alexander Romanovich Vorontsov (1741-1805) was the Russian imperial chancellor during the early years of Alexander Is reign. ... Noble Family Czartoryski Coat of Arms Czartoryski Parents Adam Kazimierz Czartoryski Izabela Fleming Consorts Anna Zofia Sapieha Children with Anna Zofia Sapieha Witold Czartoryski Władysław Czartoryski Izabella Elżbieta Czartoryska Date of Birth January 14, 1770 Place of Birth Warsaw, Poland Date of Death July 15, 1861 Place of Death Montfermeil... The Rumyantsev family were the Russian counts prominent in the imperial politics of the 18th and early 19th century. ... 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Vyacheslav Molotov Vyacheslav Mikhailovich Molotov (Russian: Вячесла́в Миха́йлович Мо́лотов) (February 25, 1890 (O.S.) (March 9, 1890 (N.S.))–November 8, 1986), Soviet politician and diplomat, was a leading figure in the Soviet government from the 1920s, when he rose to power as a protege of Joseph Stalin, to the 1950s, when he... Andrey Yanuaryevich Vyshinsky (Андре́й Януа́рьевич Выши́нский) (December 10 [November 28, Old Style], 1883–November 22, 1954), also spelt Vishinsky, Vyshinski, was a Soviet jurist and later diplomat. ... Andrei Andreyevitch Gromyko (Андре́й Андре́евич Громы́ко) (July 5, 1909 – July 2, 1989) was foreign minister and chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union. ... Eduard Amvrosiyevich Shevardnadze (Georgian: ედუარდ შევარდნაძე, Russian: Эдуа́рд Амвро́сьевич Шевардна́дзе; pronounced ed-oo-ard am-vro-see-ye-vitch she-va-rd-nad-zuh) (born 25 January 1928) is a Georgian politician. ... 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