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Nikolay de Girs or Giers (Russian: Никола́й Ка́рлович Гирс; 21 May [O.S. 9 May] 1820 – 26 January [O.S. 14 January] 1895) was a Russian statesman and diplomat who served as the foreign minister from 1882 to 1895, during the reign of Alexander III. He was one of the architects of the Franco-Russian Alliance, which was later transformed into the Triple Entente, He promoted an image of Russia as a peaceful partner in dealing with complex and dangerous diplomatic situations, but most of the public credit went to Tsar Alexander.