Nikolay Pavlovich Ignatyev

Nikolay Pavlovich Ignatyev
N. P. Ignatyev, by Boris Kustodiev (State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow)
Born29 January 1832
St Petersburg
Died3 July 1908(1908-07-03) (aged 76)
Occupation(s)Diplomat, statesman, politician, legislator

Count Nikolay Pavlovich Ignatyev (historical spelling: Nicolai Ignatieff; Russian: Граф Никола́й Па́влович Игна́тьев; 29 January [O.S. 17 January] 1832 – 3 July [O.S. 20 June] 1908), a Russian statesman and diplomat, became best known for his aggressive expansionism in support of Russian imperialism. In dealing with China, he secured a large slice of Chinese territory by the multi-lateral Treaty of Peking in 1860.[1] As the Russian ambassador to the Ottoman Empire from 1864 to 1877, he worked to stir up pan-Slavic feeling and nationalism against the Ottomans, and had some responsibility for the Bulgarian rebellion of April 1876.[citation needed] He encouraged his government to declare war on Turkey in 1877, and after the decisive Russian victory he negotiated the Treaty of San Stefano in 1878. It heralded greatly strengthened Russian influence in the Balkans. However Britain and Austria-Hungary intervened and forced the retraction of the treaty. As Minister of the Interior (in office: 1881-1882), Count Ignatyev promoted ultraconservative and Slavic-nationalist policies.[2]

  1. ^ John L. Evans, Russian Expansion on the Amur, 1848-1860: the Push to the Pacific (Edwin Mellen Press, 1999).
  2. ^ George Ignatieff (1985). The Making of a Peacemonger: The Memoirs of George Ignatieff. University of Toronto Press. pp. 25–32. ISBN 9781442638594.