Karl Nesselrode

Karl Nesselrode
Count Nesselrode, as painted by Sir Thomas Lawrence in 1818.

Baltic-German Count Karl Robert Nesselrode, also known as Charles de Nesselrode, (Lisbon, Portugal, December 14, 1780 - Saint Petersburg, March 23, 1862; ru. Карл Васильевич Нессельроде, Karl Vasilyevich Nesselrode) was a Russian diplomat and a leading European conservative statesman of the Holy Alliance. His autobiography was published posthumously in 1866.

He was born in Lisbon, Portugal where his father (d. 1810), a count of the Holy Roman Empire, was the ambassador of the Russian tsar. In deference to his mother's Protestantism he was baptized in the chapel of the British Embassy, thus becoming a member of the Church of England. Nesselrode's Germanic roots were emphasized by his education in a Berlin gymnasium, his father having been appointed ambassador to the Prussian court about 1787.

At the age of 16 he entered the Russian Navy where, with his father's influence, he secured the position of naval aide-de-camp to Tsar Paul.

He then moved to the army, and entered diplomatic service under Paul I's son and successor, Tsar Alexander I. He was attached to the Russian embassy at Berlin, and transferred thence to the Hague.

In August 1806, Nesselrode received a commission to travel in southern Germany to report on the French troops there; he was then attached as diplomatic secretary to Generals Kamenski, Buxhoewden and Bennigsen in succession.

He was present at the inconclusive Battle of Eylau in January 1807, fought by Count Von Bennigsen and assisted at the negotiations of the Peace of Tilsit, (July 1807), whereby Spanish Bonapartist Diego Fernandez de Velasco, (deceased in Paris in the exile in 1811), 13th Duke of Frías, congratulated and seated at table with Napoleon I.

Nesselrode's tomb in the Smolensky Lutheran Cemetery

Nesselrode became State Secretary in 1814 and was the head of Russia's official delegation to Congress of Vienna, but for the most part Alexander I acted as his own foreign minister. In 1816, Nesselrode became Russian foreign minister, sharing influence with Count Ioannis Kapodistrias until the latter's retirement in 1822.

For forty years, Nesselrode guided Russian policy and was a leading European conservative statesman of the Holy Alliance. Between 1845 and 1856, he served as Chancellor. As Minister of Foreign Affairs in 1824, he was a plenipotentiary during negotiations with the United States in defining the boundary between Russian America and the American claims known as the Oregon Country, which was resolved with the Russo-American Treaty of 1824, and a parallel treaty with Britain concerning British claims which overlapped on those of the US. A century later in 1924, Mount Nesselrode in the Boundary Ranges of the Alaska-British Columbia boundary was named for him.[1]

In 1849 Nesselrode sent Russian troops to aid Austria in putting down the Hungarian revolution led by Lajos Kossuth.

One frequently overlooked facet of his activity involved Nesselrode's attempts to penetrate Japan's self-isolation. In 1853 he dispatched Yevfimy Putyatin with a letter to the Shogun; Putyatin returned to St. Petersburg with the favorable Treaty of Shimoda.

Nesselrode's efforts to expand Russia's influence in the Balkans and Mediterranean led to conflicts with Turkey, Britain, the then Kingdom of Sardinia, the then Duchy of Savoy and France, allied in the Crimean War (1853–1856). Britain and France were concerned by Russia's growing influence and were determined to support Turkey and so restrict Russia.

References

Preceded by
Nikolay Petrovich Rumyantsev
Foreign Minister of Russia
1814 – 1856
with Ioannis Kapodistrias (1816 – 1822)
Succeeded by
Aleksandr Mikhailovich Gorchakov

Further reading

  • Maria Kalergi, Listy do Adama Potockiego, ed. by Halina Kenarowa, translated from French by Halina Kenarowa and Róża Drojecka, Warszawa, 1986.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Karl Nesselrode — Karl Nesselrode. El Conde Karl Robert Nesselrode (Ruso: Карл Васильевич Нессельроде, Karl Vasilievich Nesselrode; Lisboa, 14 de diciembre de 1780 San Petersburgo, 23 de marzo de 1862) fue un noble, diplomático y político ruso, Ministro… …   Wikipedia Español

  • Karl Nesselrode — Charles Robert de Nesselrode Charles Robert de Nesselrode Charles Robert de Nesselrode ou Karl Robert (en russe : Карл Васильевич Нессельроде) né le 14 décembre 1780 à Lisbonne, mort le 23 mars 1862 à Saint Pétersbourg est un diplomate …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Karl Robert von Nesselrode — Karl Robert Graf von Nesselrode (russisch Карл Васильевич Нессельроде/ Karl Wassiljewitsch Nesselrode; * 14. Dezember 1780 in Lissabon; † 11. Märzjul./ …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Nesselrode — [nes′əl rōd΄] n. [after Count Karl Nesselrode (1780 1862), Russ statesman] a mixture of preserved fruits, chopped nuts, etc., used in ice cream, puddings, pies, or the like …   English World dictionary

  • Nesselrode — Family name File:Nesselrode Wappen.png Meaning ? Region of origin Bergisches Land and Berg Language(s) of origin German …   Wikipedia

  • Nesselrode-Reichenstein — ist der Name folgender Personen: Franz von Nesselrode Reichenstein (* 1635; † 1707), Diplomat und Kurkölnischer Statthalter Johann Franz Joseph von Nesselrode Reichenstein (* 1755; † 1824), Innen , Justiz und Kriegsminister des Großherzogtums… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • NESSELRODE (K. R. von) — NESSELRODE KARL ROBERT comte von (1780 1862) Originaire de Westphalie, Nesselrode est né à Lisbonne, où son père représente la tsarine Catherine II. Il commence une carrière dans l’armée puis dans la diplomatie russe, à Berlin en 1802, à La Haye… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Nesselrode [2] — Nesselrode, niederrhein. Adelsgeschlecht, das schon im 10. Jahrh. erwähnt wird, und dessen Stammhaus Nesselroth an der Wupper bei Solingen liegt. Die ältere Linie N. Landskron, die 1710 in den Reichsgrafenstand erhoben wurde, ist erloschen; die… …   Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon

  • Nesselrode — Nesselrode, ein der Katholischen Confession folgendes, altadeliges, schon im 10. Jahrh. (da ein Emmerich von N. 969 auf dem Turnier in Merseburg gewesen sein soll) bekanntes Geschlecht, welches vom Niederrhein stammt, wo das Stammhaus N.… …   Pierer's Universal-Lexikon

  • Nesselrode — Nesselrode, Karl Robert, Graf von, russ. Staatsmann, geb. 14. Dez. 1780 zu Lissabon, wo sein Vater Graf Max Jul. Wilh. Franz von N. (geb. 24. Okt. 1724, gest. 8. März 1810 zu Frankfurt) russ. Gesandter war, spielte bei Abschluß der Verträge der… …   Kleines Konversations-Lexikon

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