Osterman andrey ivanovich short biography. "Gray Cardinal" Count Andrei Ivanovich Osterman

On May 4, 1703, in Germany, in the city of Jena, in a tavern "At the Rose", drunken students fought, and one of them, pulling out his sword, killed a comrade. So, with murder in a drunken tavern brawl, he began his independent life a sixteen-year-old student, the future first minister of Russia, Heinrich Osterman ...

Demon inside

Such a beginning seems inconceivably strange for a person, whose whole life and activity is rationalism itself, prudence itself, as well as careful calculation, subtle, thoughtful intrigue. But before this fight in the "U Rosa" tavern, everything was going as well as possible.

Heinrich is a pretty, short youth, obedient son of a pastor from the small Westphalian town of Bochum. He was born in 1686, studied well at school, easily entered Jena University. His father hoped that his son would become a pastor, a theologian, maybe even a professor.

And now such a terrible incident! They say that the poor father fainted from shame and grief when he had to read from the pulpit of his native church an announcement about the search for his own son, who did not obediently surrender himself to the police, but fled from Jena who knows where ...

And yet, knowing a lot about the long and difficult life of Osterman, I cannot say that the event in the tavern "At the Rose" was an accident, unexpected and illogical. There is a mystery in the character, in the personality of Osterman. Meek and quiet, he sometimes exploded with an evil act suddenly and unexpectedly for those around him.

Behind his external composure, cunning, and rationality was a volcano of ambition, pride, vanity and even adventurism. And then this most intelligent analyst could not cope with his passions and made ridiculous blunders, finding himself, as in Jena, in an extremely difficult situation.

Escape to Russia

Fearing justice, Osterman fled to Holland, to Amsterdam ... The fugitive student, penniless, without a future, took refuge in the narrow and noisy streets of this trading Mecca of Europe.

It should be said that the events in the "U Rosa" tavern took place in the days of May 1703. It was at this time that Peter I was founding Petersburg, walked with a yardstick in his hands on the Hare Island, where the fortress was being erected, celebrated his first victory at sea when he took two Swedish ships at the head of the boarding team.

Russia noisily went to the shores of the Baltic. And she badly needed specialists. Therefore, Peter sent to Amsterdam the recently hired Admiral Cornelius Cruis, who recruited people to work in Muscovy. And it was here that the paths of Osterman and Cruis crossed, and this was the second turning point in the life of our hero.

However, Osterman did not choose Russia by chance - he knew that his older brother Johann was a teacher in Moscow under the Russian princesses - the daughters of the late Tsar Ivan Alekseevich, brother of Peter 1.

When Osterman arrived in St. Petersburg, we do not know. For the first time he slips out of the shadow of obscurity in 1705, when his name was mentioned among the diligent parishioners of the first Lutheran church of St. Peter (which is now on Nevsky). Apparently, Osterman zealously atoned for his sin. Then his career began.

In the 1730s, the caustic, tongue-in-cheek princess Praskovya Yusupova (she suffered for her language) told how Osterman interrogated her:

« And what Osterman asked me about, I did not understand, because Osterman did not speak so eloquently as the Russians say: we will ask you about it, about that and answer. "

But the accent is a mere trifle. Half of Peter's associates spoke with an accent. The main thing is that Osterman was in business, he was needed by Peter the Great's Russia. Without connections, friends, money, patrons, he began his career as a simple clerk and translator in the Ambassadorial Chancellery, which later became the Collegium of Foreign Affairs, and then achieved brilliant results. Peter himself noticed him and began to involve him in serious diplomatic work.

A flexible mind, diligence, German pedantry and accuracy - everything was to the liking of the tsar. And further. Osterman had one quality that amazed everyone in Russia. He was distinguished by a fantastic capacity for work. According to his contemporaries, he always worked: day and night, on weekdays and holidays, which, of course, no self-respecting Russian minister could afford.

Negotiator from God

Osterman as a diplomat grew in importance over the years. Not a single major foreign policy event in which Russian diplomacy took part could do without it. The pinnacle of Osterman's professional successes can be considered the conclusion in the fall of 1721 of the Nystadt peace with Sweden, according to which Russia received the Baltic territories.

And although the name of Osterman is on the list of plenipotentiary ambassadors in Nishtadt second after Count Jacob Bruce, it was he, Osterman, who was the brain of the Russian delegation, the true father of the treaty most beneficial for Russia. And Tsar Peter understood this.

On the day of the celebration of the Peace of Nystad, Osterman becomes a nobleman and a baron - could a modest pastor's son from Bochum, for whom the noose on the Jena gallows have been crying for a long time, could have dreamed of this? In 1723, Osterman became vice-chancellor of Russia, a position almost transcendental for any official. Send orders, awards, lands in shoals ...

Count Heinrich Johann Friedrich Ostermann, in Russia - Andrei Ivanovich - one of the associates of Peter I, a native of Westphalia, who actually led foreign policy Russian Empire in the 1720s and 1730s. He served as vice chancellor and first cabinet minister. In 1740 he was promoted to the rank of admiral general.

What was Osterman's strength as a diplomat? The surviving documents demonstrate his iron logic, acumen, common sense. The vice-chancellor built Russian foreign policy on consistent observance of Russian interests, sober calculation, intention and ability to establish allied relations only with those powers that could be useful to Russia.

Osterman carefully, pedantically, “in an accounting” manner analyzed and compared the correlation between Russia's “general interests” and the “benefits” or “dangers” arising from its potential partners and allies.

« Our system, - wrote Osterman in 1728, - should be to run away from everything, if it could lead us into what space. " That is, to preserve freedom of action, not to be drawn into a dubious adventure or an unprofitable union. This was not a sign of cowardly politics, but a call to act wisely in everything.

In 1726, Osterman initiated the conclusion of an alliance with Austria, whose "general interests" in Poland and the Black Sea region then exactly coincided with the Russians. And this calculation of the vice-chancellor turned out to be accurate for a century - almost the entire XVIII and early XIX for centuries Russia and Austria were together. The white uniforms of the Austrians ended up next to the green uniforms of the Russians in all wars with Prussia, Turkey, during the partition of Poland, in campaigns against Napoleon.

But being a diplomat and not being a politician is impossible, especially in the royal court, which lived in a world of intrigue. It was difficult to stay in the saddle on the sharp turns of history! Many times Osterman hovered over the abyss, but safely climbed up.

Anna Ioannovna - Russian empress from the Romanov dynasty

During the reign of Empress Anna Ioannovna (1730–1740), he came closest to the pinnacle of power. He became a cabinet minister, an influential dignitary and no longer limited himself only to foreign policy, but also conducted internal affairs.

With his colossal capacity for work, with his mind, he clearly suppressed his other colleagues. He also collaborated with General Andrei Ushakov, the head of the Secret Chancellery. Together they conducted secret search cases, together they interrogated criminals. Let's remember Princess Yusupova - from the above quote it is clear that the minister was not talking with the girl in the salon ...

Imaginary sick

As a cabinet minister, Osterman remained what nature created him and shaped his everyday experience: an intelligent, cunning, secretive, selfish person, an unprincipled politician who knew his own worth well.

« King, our sovereign,- wrote the Spanish envoy, the Duke de Liria, - let him not think that Osterman perfect man: he is deceitful, ready for anything to achieve his goal, he has no religion because he has changed it three times, and is extremely cunning, but this is the kind of person we need and without whom we will not do anything.»

It is important to note here that he was one of those rare figures Russia XVIII centuries who have not smeared themselves with bribes and theft. His life was entirely absorbed in work and intrigue. Everything else seemed secondary and unimportant to him.

Andrei Ivanovich (as the Russians called him), having lived in Russia for almost half a century, never made any friends or acquaintances. He was always alone. Yes, this is understandable - communication with Osterman was extremely unpleasant. His secrecy and hypocrisy were the talk of the town, and not particularly clever pretense was anecdotal.

Count Osterman Andrey Ivanovich

In the most crucial or delicate moments of his political career, he suddenly fell ill. He developed either gout of his right hand (so as not to sign dangerous papers), then rheumatism (so as not to go to the palace), then hiragra or migraine (so as not to answer sensitive questions).

He went to bed for a long time, and there was no way to get him out of there - he groaned so loudly that the unfortunate patient could be heard from the street.

Often during diplomatic negotiations, when the vice-chancellor wanted to interrupt an uncomfortable conversation for him, he suddenly began to vomit. The English envoy Finch wrote that in this case one should sit and wait in cold blood:

« Those who know him leave him to continue the crappy game, sometimes taken to extremes, and continue their speech; the count, seeing that it is not possible to expel the interlocutor, immediately recovers as if nothing had happened».

Rootless and obedient

Indeed, in his pretense, Osterman knew when to stop: the courtier's keen nose always told him when to lie flat, barely raising his eyelids, and when, groaning and groaning, often on a stretcher, he should still go to the palace.

Empress Anna Ioannovna, a simple and dark woman, highly valued her minister for his solidity, scholarship and thoroughness. She could not do without Osterman's advice - she just needed to be patient and, ignoring all his numerous reservations, digressions and vague hints, wait for practical advice on how to proceed.

Osterman was good for Anna as a person completely dependent on her favors. He never managed to become his own for the Russians. Although he married a girl Martha from the old boyar family of the Streshnevs, he remained a stranger for the Russian nobility, a "German", which, as you know, was not the best characteristic person in Russia. That is why he clung so tightly to the strongest.

Countess Marfa Ivanovna Osterman, nee Streshneva - lady of state of Catherine I, wife of Vice-Chancellor Andrei Osterman

Osterman has always done it flawlessly. At first, such a person was for Andrei Ivanovich his boss, Vice-Chancellor P. P. Shafirov. But when in 1723 Shafirov was in disgrace, Osterman, who took his place, in every possible way prevented his former patron from "surfacing" to the surface.

Then A.D. Menshikov became the idol of Andrei Ivanovich. And Osterman betrayed him for the sake of Peter II and the Dolgoruky princes. Under Anna Ioannovna, he first flirted with Field Marshal Munnich, and then long sought the location of Biron, eventually becoming an indispensable assistant and consultant for the temporary worker.

In this line of Osterman the politician there is no special malice of character: "cosi" fan tutte "-" everyone does this "(Italian).

This is not your role, director!

But Biron himself was a grated, smart guy and did not particularly trust Osterman. The temporary worker understood that the special strength of Osterman the politician consisted in his phenomenal ability to act secretly, from behind the scenes. But at some point, Biron missed a blow from another of his associates - Field Marshal Minich - and was overthrown.

However, soon Minich himself, against his will, flew from the top. It so happened that by the beginning of 1741 the political scene was suddenly cleared of powerful figures. The weak and narrow-minded ruler Anna Leopoldovna was in power. It was then that Osterman decided that his hour had struck!

Osterman in order clothes

That latent ambitious energy, which bubbled in him since his youth, burst out. Under the ruler, he became the first minister, the de facto leader of the state. It was the hour of triumph, victory ...

In 1741, Osterman first stepped out from behind the scenes to the forefront of politics. Accustomed to acting in political darkness, who knew how to rake in the heat with someone else's hands, he turned out to be untenable in the world as a public politician, a leader.

He did not have the qualities necessary for this role - will, decisiveness, authority, what is called charisma. And he had many enemies. One of them was just waiting for the moment to cling to Osterman ...

Adorable Fury's Wrath

It was the beautiful princess Elizaveta Petrovna, who knew about Osterman's many intrigues against her. She remembered well how he wanted to marry her off to some seedy German prince, how he ordered to follow her every step, how, finally, in 1740, he did not allow the Persian envoy to give her luxurious gifts on behalf of Shah Nadir.

No, this was impossible to forget! Therefore, it is not surprising that the coup on November 25, 1741, which brought Elizaveta Petrovna to power, carried Osterman into oblivion. The new empress, knowing the resourcefulness and cunning of the first minister, sentenced him to death penalty.

Elizabeth I Petrovna is a Russian empress from the Romanov dynasty, the youngest daughter of Peter I and Catherine I, born two years before their marriage.

He was taken to the place of execution near the building of the Twelve Collegiums on a sleigh - he was sick with gout, or maybe hiragra, or maybe he was really sick. But they did not believe him, groaning and groaning. They dragged him to the scaffold by force, tore off the wig from his head, nailed his neck, put his head on the block.

The executioner raised the ax, but at that moment the secretary stopped the executioner's hand and read the decree on replacing the death penalty with exile to Siberia, to Berezov, that is, to the very place where he had sent Menshikov together with the Dolgoruks.

Inflamed with vodka and the general attention of the crowd, the executioner, as if annoyed by the fact that his victim was taken away from him, kicked the first minister off the block with a kick - after all, there is no sweeter pleasure than mocking the fallen ruler.

The old fox is caught!

Osterman was evidently discouraged. When Prince Yakov Shakhovskoy, who was fulfilling the will of the empress, read to him in the Peter and Paul Fortress an order for immediate exile, the former first minister, lying on the straw, only groaned.

The old, wise fox realized that he could no longer get out, that the trap was locked up forever and everyone had betrayed him, an everlasting traitor. No, not all! At the door of the prison stood, shifting in the cold, wrapped in a fur coat Martha. She, like the wife of Minich, Osterman's accomplice, was waiting for her husband to be taken into exile to sit with him in a sleigh and share his fate ...

"View of the city of Berezov from the south."

The spouses were brought to Berezov. From St. Petersburg, the guards were strictly ordered not to take their eyes off the cunning man - they did not believe his illnesses. Did the officials in St. Petersburg think that he was dangerous, that he would be able to carry on? And where? Not to Bochum! However, the authorities in these cases always try to play it safe.

So, one prisoner put on a chain, famous as a sorcerer, was not allowed to drink in prison. More precisely, they let a wet rag suck, and a mug or a ladle of water - no, no! It turns out that they feared lest he, folding his hands in a boat, dive into the water and escape the sovereign's wrath!

Ay yes Martha!

Meanwhile, in St. Petersburg Osterman was sorely lacking - for fifteen years the foreign policy of Russia was done by his hands, and it turned out quite well. It took a long time to tie the threads of the diplomatic web, torn by the sudden overthrow of the vice-chancellor. But, as you know, there are no irreplaceable people in Russia, and Osterman was quickly forgotten.

He died in 1747, not even reaching the age of sixty. We do not know what he thought about during Berezov's long winter nights. Did he remember his native green Bochum, that terrible night on May 4, 1703, when he killed his comrade and crippled his own life in the "At the Rose" tavern (damn it, that Rose!)?

Or maybe not at all crippled? If he had not started this fight, he would have graduated from the university, become a pastor, a professor, would have strangled his ambitious aspirations and dreams, he would have died unknown, he would not have gone down in history as an outstanding diplomat. Dying, he bequeathed to his wife to bury him in European Russia.

At the beginning of September, the same 1747, Osterman's wife was to leave Berezovo by ship to Tobolsk, and from there to Russia. She spent the whole last night at her husband's grave, in tears and prayers.

Osterman's grave in Berezovo. Engraving by L. Seryakov after fig. M. Znamensky. 1862 g.

After her departure from Berezovo, a rumor spread among the residents that on the last night, with the help of the courtyard people who were with her, she dug her husband's body out of the ground and, putting it in a large box, filled with wax, took it with her to Russia.

Martha buried her priceless cargo somewhere. Maybe in Suzdal - there she settled in one of the monasteries (possibly in Pokrovsky, famous for its prisoners).

We learned about this from the denunciation of the local priest, who, on some patronal holiday, impudently climbed into her cell for refreshments once, twice, until Ostermanikha kicked him out into the yard. Then the priest out of spite and wrote an empty, useless denunciation to the old woman ... Otherwise, we would not have learned about the fate of the faithful Martha ...

Evgeny Anisimov

Andrey Ivanovich Osterman

Count A.I. Osterman.

Osterman Andrei Ivanovich (Heinrich Johann Friedrich) is eternal and solid order. "According to Osterman, the ministers of the College should be" smart and already trained in matters, and due to their scarcity of people they will be forced to work day and night, then it is necessary for them to establish good order and honest and contented food. At the same time, it was proposed to release the ministers from their posts, since they were engaged in secret matters, for "excessive company at home often leads to unnecessary conversations." Osterman's "proposals" were not approved due to the death of Peter I. However, they were studied and used in the compilation of the states throughout the 18th century. Peter the Great paid tribute to the intelligence and perspicacity of Baron Osterman, noted that he knew better than other ministers the true benefits of the Russian state, and was necessary for it. Empress Catherine I, upon her accession to the throne in 1725, granted him vice-chancellor and actual privy councilor. Since then, Osterman took over the administration of foreign affairs and subsequently justified the good opinion that the late emperor had about him. In the post-Petrine era, Osterman became one of the key figures in Russian politics. He was distinguished by fantastic efficiency; according to contemporaries, Osterman was busy day and night, and on weekdays and holidays. For 15 years, he was actually in charge of Russian foreign policy.

Thanks to Osterman in 1726, Russia concluded union treaty with Austria, which retained its importance for the entire 18th century, because, according to Osterman's idea, it was based on a common interest in the dismemberment of Poland, the "taming" of Prussia and the expulsion of the Turks from Europe. The new foreign policy program of Russia was formulated by Osterman in July - August 1727 and developed in letters to B.I. Kurakin and A.G. Golovkin, the Russian representative at the Soissons Congress. Its main principles are as follows: "to escape from everything" that "could lead us into what space", that is, to avoid any military clashes; "to free themselves in good order" from the existing obligations in relation to the Holstein and Mecklenburg courts, and having achieved this, "to renew the previous agreement with the Datsky courts"; restore former friendly relations with England; to keep the king of Prussia on their side, because "although it is impossible to expect great help from him, it will come in handy for other neighbors"; with Austria "to remain in the alliance" to resolve Turkish and Iranian affairs, and with other neighbors "to seek friendship and alliance." This conciliatory program of gradual rapprochement with England and Denmark, further strengthening of the Russian-Austrian alliance in its implementation would allow Russia to strengthen its positions in the Baltic and in Europe in general, as well as to begin solving "eastern" problems. Osterman was appreciated as a professional, experienced and intelligent person, but still, due to his disposition, his origin, he remained a stranger to the Russian nobility, and therefore especially clung to the favorites and "the strongest" at the foot of the throne. At first, A.D. Menshikov, an influential nobleman at the court of Catherine I. Thanks to his closeness to him, Osterman received an important position of educator - chief hofmeister of the Grand Duke, and then Emperor Peter II. In the fall of 1727, Osterman went over to the side of the clan of princes Dolgoruky, hostile to Menshikov, and became one of the initiators of the overthrow and exile of His Serene Highness to Siberia. A subtle political scent, knowledge of human weaknesses, self-control, lack of principle and the ability to put on a winner in time, weave a complex intrigue and at the same time remain in the shadows - all these qualities allowed Osterman to stay afloat with five autocrats.

He had a hard time at the beginning of 1730, when members of the highest government body - the Supreme Privy Council, which, by the way, included Osterman, set out to limit the power of Empress Anna Ioannovna. After the failure of this venture, Osterman miraculously managed to avoid disgrace. With considerable difficulty, Osterman, a member of the Cabinet of Ministers and a count, managed to find an approach to the capricious and suspicious favorite of Anna Ioannovna E.I. Biron, who, although he did not like Andrei Ivanovich, but appreciated him as a major specialist, took his opinion into account. General Manstein writes in his memoirs: "Count Osterman was undoubtedly at one time one of the greatest ministers in Europe. He perfectly knew the benefits of all powers; he had the ability to embrace everything with one glance, and being gifted by nature with a rare mind, combined with it exemplary diligence , agility and disinterestedness. He never accepted the slightest gift from foreign courts without first receiving permission from his court. His colleagues in the Cabinet were never satisfied with him; he wanted to be in charge in everything, and so that others would only agree with him and sign.

In the difficult affairs of the State, when, according to his place, he should have given his opinion, he pretended to be sick, fearing to do something reprehensible for himself, and through such a policy he kept himself under six different Governments. "Osterman's diplomatic papers show his sophisticated mind, the ability to take into account, weigh all the circumstances of the case, foresee all the negative consequences of political actions.It is also curious that he never signed the title of baron and count, but always simply: Andrei Osterman.As a head of foreign policy, he was characterized by a developed sense of balance, prudence and - most importantly - the desire to leave Russia room for diplomatic maneuver, and, accordingly, for an independent policy. "Our system," Osterman wrote in 1727, "should be to escape from everything that could lead us into any problems." After the death of the Grand Chancellor Count Golovkin, which followed on January 20, 1734, Count Ost rman joined the General Directorate of the Foreign Department and in December of the same year concluded a treatise in 30 articles on friendship and mutual trade for 15 years in St. Petersburg with the English resident Rondo.

In 1736, the empress declared war on the Porte. Frequent attacks Crimean Tatars on the Russian borders were the reason. Some of Russian politicians, and above all Count Osterman, were against this war. He argued that Russia could not benefit from this, the war would lead to significant military losses and large financial costs. Count Osterman's assumptions came true. Russia, in addition to some expansion of borders and the brilliant success of the weapons of its troops, did not receive any significant benefits from the war with the Porte. The war ended in 1739. The manifesto on the peace concluded with the Turks, published in February 1740, was composed by Count Osterman. He received from Empress Anna Ioannovna a silver service, a diamond ring and a pension of 5,000 rubles, in excess of his salary. Osterman had no friends or good acquaintances, which is not surprising - communication with him, according to the unanimous opinion, was extremely unpleasant. He was very mean and unscrupulous. His rooms were badly decorated, and the attendants were dressed like beggars. The silver dishes he used every day looked more like pewter. The Osterman couple had two sons and one daughter - Countess Anna Andreyevna, who was married to General-in-Chief Matvey Andreyevich Tolstoy. The eldest son, Count Fyodor Andreevich, rose to the rank of lieutenant-general. He was a valid privy councilor, a senator.

Another son, Count Ivan Andreevich, rose even higher, becoming the Chancellor of Russia. Osterman's secrecy, deceit and hypocrisy became the talk of the town, and not particularly clever pretense - the reason for anecdotes. In moments of risk, when it was necessary to speak out about something definitely or to sign a document requiring special circumspection, Osterman suddenly and seriously fell ill. He got gout, migraine, rheumatism, or something else. He moaned pitifully, went to bed, and it was impossible to get him out of there. Not without sarcasm, Biron wrote in April 1734 to the Russian envoy in Warsaw, Count Keyserling: “Osterman has been lying since February 18 and all the time he shaved once, complained of ear pain, tied his face and head. this, he will again undergo gout, so that, therefore, does not leave the house.The whole illness can be of this kind: firstly, so as not to give Prussia an unfavorable answer ... secondly, the Turkish war is not going as they wanted would". V last years of the reign of Anna Ioannovna (from 1736) Osterman rarely left home, under the pretext that he could not walk from severe gout. However, the feigned illness from his sedentary life turned into a real one, so he left his armchairs and went to the palace on only one emergency, and when specially sent for him.

In 1740, after the death of Anna Ioannovna, the overthrow of Biron, the resignation of Minich and the establishment of the regency of Anna Leopoldovna, Osterman decided that his hour had come, and, using the special confidence of the ruler, he was promoted to the head of state - in fact, he became the head of government. This position, like the rank of the highest naval commander - admiral-general, received by Osterman in 1740, was clearly not for him: accustomed to acting inconspicuously, carefully weaving networks of intrigue, he did not have the necessary breadth of approach to state problems, the authority of a leader, decisiveness and courage.

In 1741, the Persian embassy arrived in Russia to meet with the crown princess Elizabeth Petrovna, but the reception did not take place - Osterman prevented this meeting. It was then that the daughter of Peter I, in a rage, ordered to convey to the influential minister that "he forgets who I am and who he is - a scribe who became a minister thanks to the grace of my father ... He can be sure that nothing will be forgiven him." Having received information about the impending plot of Elizabeth Petrovna, Osterman was unable to prevent it and became one of the first victims of the coup - he was arrested on the night of November 25, 1741 and imprisoned in the Peter and Paul Fortress - the citadel of St. Petersburg. The new empress Elizabeth did not forget the insult inflicted on her during the visit of the Persian ambassador to St. Petersburg. She did not forgive Osterman and his attempts to strengthen the power of the ruler Anna Leopoldovna.

In January 1742, according to the verdict of the court, Osterman's death penalty was to take place. The 19th century historian D. Bantysh-Kamensky wrote: “... The soldiers, then dragging the count from the stretcher, laid his head on the block, which the executioner approached and unbuttoned his neck and unbuttoned the collar of his shirt and dressing gown. All this lasted no more than a minute. , as they announced to Count Osterman that the empress had changed his death penalty to eternal imprisonment in Berezov. The soldiers then lifted the count and put him back on a stretcher. shirt and dressing gown, not showing the slightest change in his face. great person always, even in misfortune, is great! The next day, Count Osterman, suffering from severe gout, was sent from the Peter and Paul Fortress to Siberia. His last words consisted in a humble request that the empress not leave his children with merciful and generous patronage. "He went with his wife, who was a state lady under Anna Ioannovna, to Berezov and died there five years later, on May 20, 1747.

Used materials from the site http://100top.ru/encyclopedia/

Osterman Andrei Ivanovich (Heinrich Johann Friedrich) (May 30, 1686 - May 20, 1747), Count (1730), Admiral General, State Councilor, Baron. From the family of a Lutheran pastor. Osterman's older brother, Johann Christoph Dietrich, was the mentor of the daughters of Tsar Ivan Alekseevich: Catherine, Anna (the future empress) and Praskovya; after the release of princess Ekaterina Ivanovna, he married the Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin Leopold, he was granted to him as a baron (1721), privy councilors and was appointed Mecklenburg ambassador to Russia (until 1741). Osterman was educated at home, which he continued at the University of Jena, then at Eisenach. While in Holland, in 1703 he was accepted into the Russian service by Admiral Cruis, with whom he arrived in Russia in October 1704. In 1708 he was appointed translator in the Ambassadorial Prikaz. During the Northern War of 1700-1721 he was at the field office of Peter I, carrying out diplomatic assignments (in 1710 - with a mission in Berlin and Copenhagen). Secretary of the Embassy Chancellery (1710). In 1711, during the Prut campaign of 1710-1713, he participated in negotiations with the Turkish vizier. As a secret secretary (1711) he was with diplomatic missions in Berlin (1713) and in the rank of the office of the adviser - in The Hague (1715). In the same capacity, for the first time, he independently participated in the Aland Congress (1717), where, along with Ya.V. Bruce was one of the commissioners; Through the efforts of Osterman, all the proposals of the Russian side were included in the final text of the draft agreement. In 1719 he was on a mission in Stockholm, where he managed to persuade the Swedish government to accept the terms of a peace agreement with Russia. In February 1720 he was appointed secretary of the Chancellery as an adviser to the College of Foreign Affairs. In 1721 he took part in the work of the congress in Nystadt; at the conclusion of the Nystadt Peace, he contributed to Sweden's diplomatic recognition of territorial changes after the Great Northern War. As a result of the congress, he was granted to the barons and privy councilors, awarded with money and villages. From 1723 he served as vice-president of the Collegium of Foreign Affairs, taking direct part in streamlining the Collegium's office work and in improving the training of its personnel ("Proposal for the composition of the staff of the Collegium of Foreign Affairs", 1724). Upon the accession to the throne of Empress Catherine I, Osterman received the rank of vice-chancellor and the rank of actual privy councilor (1725). With the establishment of the Supreme Privy Council, he becomes a member (1726). As the head of the post office (from November 1726), he contributed to the development of post routes, including through Kazan and Nizhny Novgorod to the borders with China and across the whole of Siberia. Since 1727, he headed the Commission on Commerce, which was involved in supporting the activities of the Russian merchants in foreign trade and took in this regard a number of significant measures, including a number of customs privileges, measures aimed at the development of shipbuilding, as well as the first bill of exchange in Russia (1729) ... At the same time and later, Osterman proposed measures to overcome the estate and other privileges that existed in the Baltic provinces annexed to Russia, to a closer union of these regions, in particular Estonia and Livonia, with the Russian state. Osterman had a direct impact on the formation of Russia's foreign policy. Osterman's “Opinions not in a decree” acquired the meaning of a government resolution; on the basis of his notes, rescripts and instructions were drawn up to Russian diplomatic representatives abroad. Osterman's foreign policy system was outlined by him in the memorials "General state of affairs and interests of All-Russia with all neighboring and other foreign states in 1726" and in "Discourse on Persian affairs", where the idea was carried out in favor of the alliance of Russia with the Holy Roman Empire, but against the alliance with France, recommendations were made for the continuation of the previous policy in the Baltic, as well as for a more balanced Russian policy towards the east. In 1727 Osterman was awarded the Knight Commander of the Order of St. Andrew the First-Called and was appointed Chief Hoffmeister of the Grand Duke and heir to Peter Alekseevich (he retained the title of Hofmeister throughout the reign of Peter II). As one of the most influential figures in the struggle of the court groups, he tried to reconcile their interests, in particular, through the marriage of Grand Duke Peter Alekseevich with the daughter of Peter I, Elizaveta Petrovna. After the death of Peter II, Osterman managed to evade participation in the meeting of the Supreme Privy Council, at which the issue of "conditions" was decided, and advocated autocratic rule. During the reign of Peter II, thanks to the efforts of Russian foreign policy led by Osterman, for the first time after 1721 the imperial title was recognized for the Russian sovereigns (officially in August 1729 this was done by Sweden). Treaties of 1727 and 1728 settled Russian-Chinese relations and streamlined contacts in the field of trade. During the accession of Empress Anna Ivanovna Osterman was granted by the count (1730). In the rank of the second cabinet minister (1731), Osterman became a member of the established Cabinet. From 1733 he chaired the Naval Commission, created to streamline the activities of the Admiralty and the Navy. In 1734 he was appointed the first cabinet minister. In 1732, in contrast to a member of the Cabinet, General Feldzheikhmeister B.Kh. Munnich, a supporter of the French orientation, Osterman insisted that the government refuse to support the candidate for the Polish throne Stanislav Leszczynski in exchange for France's guarantees of the European borders of Russia and its support in the war with Turkey; the Saxon candidate was supported by the Russian government only after it received promises that Russia's claims to Poland would be satisfied, and Courland would retain its previous form of government. In the same 1732, a treaty of friendship and guarantees was concluded between Russia, Austria and Denmark, which was important for streamlining the Schleswig-Holstein affairs. In 1732-1733, with the participation of Osterman, relations between Russia and Great Britain were restored, and in 1733-1734 the Russian resident in London A. Cantemir participated in the negotiations on the conclusion of an alliance. As the compiler of the charter of the regency of E.I. Biron (1740), Osterman, while maintaining his influential position at the court, did not participate in the coup of 1740, but when Anna Leopoldovna ascended the throne, he was granted admiral-general (1740), assumed full control of the Naval Department and chaired the Second Department of the Cabinet. An influential rival of Field Marshal Minich, Ostermann, together with Anton-Ulrich of Braunschweig, contributed to his disgrace and resignation, becoming in fact the first minister. In December 1739, the Russian-Turkish war, which was waged by Russia in alliance with Austria, ended with the signing of the Belgrade Peace. Seeking to gain the most from the alliance with Austria, Osterman outlined in his instructions to Russian diplomatic representatives at the Peace Congress in Nemyriv (1737) a number of important initiatives to achieve greater security on Russia's southern borders. Later, in 1740, the Russian government, as a result of Osterman's efforts, supporting the so-called Pragmatic Sanction, acted as an intermediary between Austria and Prussia, allied with Russia, which sought to defend their rights to Silesia. As a result palace coup, who brought Elizaveta Petrovna to power, Osterman was arrested on the night of 11/25/1741. By sentence of the Senate, he was sentenced to death (appointed on January 18, 1742). After reading the verdict (Osterman was accused of concealing the will of Catherine I, in drawing up protocols in which it was proved that Elizaveta Petrovna and her niece had no rights to the Russian throne, etc.), the execution rite was performed over Osterman, but the execution itself was replaced eternal exile to Berezov, where he lived the last five years of his life.

He was married (1721) to Mavra Ivanovna Streshneva (1698-24.2.1781), from whom he had children: Peter (21.3.1722-1.5.1723); Fedor (21.5.1723-10.11.1804), lieutenant general, senator and actual privy councilor, author of "Notes" on "Manstein's Notes on Russia"; Anna (22.4.1724-15.2.1769); Ivana (25.4.1725-19.4.1811), diplomat, envoy to Sweden, vice-chancellor, head of the Collegium of Foreign Affairs and state chancellor.

Used materials of the book: Sukhareva O.V. Who was who in Russia from Peter I to Paul I, Moscow, 2005.

Osterman, Count Andrei Ivanovich (Heinrich-Johann-Friedrich) - statesman (1686 - 1747), son of a Lutheran pastor in Westphalia. Admitted to the Russian service in 1703, knowing the languages ​​of German, Dutch, Latin, French and Italian and perfectly studying Russian, Osterman was appointed translator of the ambassadorial order in 1708 and soon began to receive serious diplomatic assignments. In 1717 he played a major role at the Åland Congress; to a large extent his business was the conclusion in 1721 of the Nystadt peace. From 1723 he was vice president of the college for foreign affairs. Under successors Peter the Great he begins to take a prominent part in the affairs of our domestic policy. At the establishment of the Supreme Privy Council (1726), he became one of the members of the latter; in charge of the post office and the "commission on commerce". On January 1, 1727, Osterman was appointed Chief Hofmeister (tutor) of the Grand Duke, the heir to Peter Alekseevich; he retained this title throughout the entire reign of Peter II. Osterman's role in the events of 1730 won him the favor of Empress Anna; he was elevated to the rank of count and, in the rank of the second cabinet minister, became a member of the newly established Cabinet. From 1733 he chaired the naval commission "to consider and bring the fleet, the admiralty and everything to that into good and reliable order." In 1734 he was promoted to the first cabinet minister. After the death of Anna Ioannovna, Osterman's position was somewhat shaken; he was granted the rank of admiral-general and presided over the second department of the Cabinet, where foreign and naval affairs were concentrated, but the rank of vice-chancellor was not retained for him. Towards the end of Anna Leopoldovna's reign, Osterman's dominant influence on the course of state affairs begins to recover again. The fall of the Braunschweig surname interrupted his career. Arrested on the night of November 25, 1741, he was sentenced to death, but the execution was replaced by exile to Berezov, where Osterman lived the last five years of his life. Osterman owed his service success as much to the ability to adapt to people and circumstances as to the remarkable abilities of a major statesman. He was distinguished not so much by his creative abilities as by the ability to correctly understand the requirements and conditions of a given moment and set himself certain and completely achievable goals. He possessed sufficient flexibility to retreat in detail from the developed program in time if the conditions of living reality contradicted it. His ultimate goal, however, remained the same; it was the state interest - the prosperity of the state, the strengthening of its external power, with a careful attitude to the popular forces whenever possible. A stranger in Russia and hardly at all capable of a sincere national feeling, Osterman looked at his state activities as a duty he had taken upon himself, which he was compelled to fulfill in good faith primarily by his own interests. Approaching Peter the Great and being drawn into his work, he was, apparently, carried away by it, as a European, and faithfully stood guard over this matter even after the Tsar-reformer went to the grave, and his successors sometimes forgot, sometimes deliberately distorted his covenants. This did not prevent Osterman from being completely independent about Peter's state program. Having gone through a serious service school in the difficult years of the Great Northern War, Osterman got himself a clear idea of ​​the new conditions that were created for Russia by her new position in Europe, and of the tasks that followed from these conditions. A disciple, in many ways Peter, Osterman, thanks to the clarity and versatility of his mind, was often active assistant tsar, clearly formulating his thoughts and, perhaps, suggesting at times the conclusions arising from them. Peter's program - mainly in the field of foreign policy - perceived by Osterman and pursued by him from 1721, was in some parts his own program. This program in the last years of Peter's reign was distinguished in many of its features by an aggressive character. Having become more closely acquainted after Peter's death with the internal state of affairs in the state and with its available forces, Osterman deviated from Peter's principles in the sphere of internal politics, which was imbued with the beginning of strict mercantilism and consistent state tutelage under Peter; in the field of foreign policy, while remaining true to Peter's traditions, he gradually moved to a more conciliatory direction. At this time, he gradually became the true inspirer of Russian politics. It is not always easy to single out the degree of his personal involvement in each individual case. Maneuvering among various parties, he was often forced to wait for a convenient moment when, after a series of concessions and compromises, he could finally openly pursue his views. All the main points of Russian foreign policy from 1721 to 1741 - the demand for the release of Russian courts from the payment of the Sunda tax, the question of the Holstein claims and their later liquidation, the Russian-Swedish union of 1724, Persian affairs, the Russian-Austrian union of 1726, the restoration in 1732 and 33 after a twelve-year severance of diplomatic relations with England, the Polish question in 1733, Russian-Turkish relations in 1735 - 39, which ended with the Peace of Belgrade - are closely connected with the name of Osterman. Osterman's participation in domestic affairs under Peter influenced the organization of the collegia, mainly the collegium of foreign affairs. After Peter's death, Osterman's work on domestic policy expanded significantly and took on a more principled character. This activity was expressed most vividly in the measures taken, according to his instructions, the purpose of which was to raise the people's well-being, shattered by the long years of war, weaken the tax oppression and develop the country's payment forces. These include, for example, the relief in the collection of the poll tax (1726), the transition from the prohibitive tariff of 1724 to the more liberal tariff of 1733, the bill of exchange charter of 1729, the restoration of trade with Khiva and Bukhara, the implementation of "free bargaining" with China ... Much was also done by Osterman for the development of a network of postal routes and for the restoration of the fleet that had fallen into decay under Peter II. Already in the last years of Peter's reign, Osterman had to meet with envy and ill will. Shafirov and the Holstein minister Bassewitz, Menshikov and his opponents Dolgorukiy, later Minikh and Biron - all of them measured their strength with Osterman and in most cases were defeated. Tsesarevna Elizabeth, dissatisfied with Osterman, as the heiress of Peter the Great, bypassed in 1727, aroused in him later suspicions, mainly due to her sympathies for Holstein interests. This attitude of Osterman to Elizabeth explains, first of all, the harsh fate that befell him when she took over the Russian throne. Those dynastic aspirations that she sometimes discovered as an empress and with which Osterman's student and adversary, Bestuzhev-Ryumin, sometimes had to fight, showed that Osterman was not wrong, treating her with distrust during the reign of Peter II and Anna. It came down to us a large number of reviews and news about Osterman, not so much giving factual details about his activities, as highlighting individual traits of his character. For the most part, these reviews are fairly consistent. Osterman, apparently, was not truly loved by anyone outside his narrow family circle. Extreme isolation in private life and duplicity in business relations, which often turned directly into deceit, were, it seems, the main reasons for this. Along with many unsympathetic traits in the character of Osterman, however, there is also much that distinguishes him favorably from many of his contemporaries. Being stingy, he was extremely incorruptible. Two-faced and deceitful, he did not betray the one whom he served: his contemporaries found it difficult to name the power, to whose interests Osterman would have sacrificed the interests of Russia deliberately and for selfish reasons. Taking care of his personal career, Osterman successfully waged intrigues against his rivals; but his guiding motives, along with personal considerations, were sometimes a fundamental disagreement on foreign policy issues. - Wed: "Essay on the history of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs 1802 - 1902" (St. Petersburg, 1902); Hempel "Leven und trauriger Fall Gr. V. Ostermann"; S. Shubinsky "Count AI Osterman" ("Northern Lights" 1863, part II); Gelbig "Russian Chosen and Accidental People in the 18th Century" ("Russian Starina" 1886, No. 4); A. Kochubinsky "Count AI Osterman and the partition of Turkey" (O., 1899).

M. Polievktov.

Used materials from the site http://www.rulex.ru/

Read on:

Osterman Ivan Andreevich(1725-1811), brother of Andrei Ivanovich.

Osterman Ivan Ivanovich(? -1741), brother of Andrei Ivanovich.

Osterman Fedor Andreevich(1723-1804), son of Andrei Ivanovich.

Osterman-Tolstoy Alexander Ivanovich(1771-1857), count, adjutant general, grandson of Andrei Ivanovich.

Literature:

Shubinsky S. Count Andrei Ivanovich Osterman: Biographical sketch. SPb., 1863.

Shubinsky S., Gr. A. I. Osterman, "Northern Lights", 1863, part 2;

Nikiforov L.A., Russia's Foreign Policy in the Last Years of the Northern War. Nystadt world, M., 1959.

Kochubinsky A., Count A. I. Osterman and the section of Turkey, O., 1899;

Dolgorukov P., Gr. A. I. Osterman, "Russian Conversation", 1841, vol. 2;

Tyrtov E., Life of gr. A.I. Osterman, M., 1809;

Feigina S.A., Aland Congress. Ext. Russian policy at the end of the North. war, M., 1959;