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Vasily Golitsyn

Type Figure Region Russia Time 1643–1714 Also known as 瓦西里·瓦西里耶维奇·戈利岑、Vasily Vasilyevich Golitsyn、Prince Golitsyn、Galitzine、Василий Васильевич Голицын

Vasily Vasilyevich Golitsyn (1643–1714) was a Romanov boyar and diplomat, chief minister under Sophia Alekseyevna's regency, who brokered the 1686 et…

Timeline

  1. 1676–1682Chyhyryn · Right-bank DnieperBorn in 1643 into the Golitsyn princely family, he rose steadily at the court of Alexis I. Under Feodor III he was sent to Ukraine to guard against the Crimean Tatars and took part in the Battle of Chyhyryn. He personally experienced how the precedence system (mestnichestvo) hamstrung the army and pushed for its abolition around 1678.
  2. 1682–1689Moscow · MoscowAfter the Streltsy uprising of 1682, Sophia assumed the regency; Golitsyn became head of the Foreign Office and keeper of the state seal, effectively prime minister. In 1686 he concluded the Polish-Russian Eternal Peace, recovering Kiev for Russia and joining the Holy League. To honor the alliance he led large armies against Crimea in 1687 and 1689, but scorched steppe and lack of water forced both campaigns to end in failure; he nonetheless received rewards from Sophia, sharpening his rivalry with Peter's faction.
  3. 1689–1714Kholmogory · NorthIn August–September 1689 Sophia and Peter clashed; Golitsyn gave the regency only halfhearted support, and after the defeat his cousin Boris interceded to spare his life. He was stripped of his boyar rank and estates, exiled in turn to Kargopol, Mezen, and finally Kholmogory, where he died in 1714.

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