Boris Alekseyevich Golitsyn (July 20, 1654 – October 18, 1714) was a Russian statesman, a prince, and the tutor ("dyadka") of Peter I. He died in Frolishchev Monastery in Vladimir Governorate, on the territory of the present-day Volodarsky District of Nizhny Novgorod Region, having taken monastic vows shortly before his death.[1]
Government career
At the age of twenty, Golitsyn became a stolnik — a courtier close to Tsar Fyodor Alekseyevich. During the regency of Tsarevna Sofia Alekseyevna, his cousin Vasily Golitsyn headed the Ambassadorial Prikaz, while Boris Alekseyevich directed the Kazan Prikaz.[2] Throughout these years he remained loyal to Peter I's mother, Natalya Kirillovna Naryshkina, who honored him with the title of "dyadka" — mentor to the young tsar.[2] An educated man with pro-Western views, closely connected with the residents of the German Quarter, Golitsyn had a notable influence on the formation of the young Peter's worldview.[2]
During the Azov campaign of 1695 he commanded the entire "lowland cavalry," took part in building ships by "kumpanstvos" (shipbuilding partnerships), and during the tsar's trip abroad was appointed one of the governors of the state.[1] After Peter came to power, Golitsyn petitioned on behalf of his cousin Vasily, who faced execution for having taken Sofia's side in the struggle for the throne. The death sentence was commuted to exile, but Boris Alekseyevich himself lost his place at court for his intercession and was sent to his country estate.[2] In 1690 the tsar's anger passed: Golitsyn was brought back to Moscow and granted the rank of boyar.[2]
Later appointed voivode and viceroy of the Kazan and Astrakhan Tsardoms, Golitsyn failed to prevent the Astrakhan revolt of 1705 and was removed from office.[1]
The Dubrovitsy estate and the Church of the Sign
As a gesture of reconciliation with Peter I, Golitsyn decided to build a new church on his estate near Moscow in Dubrovitsy. The Church of the Sign, whose construction began with a foundation-laying on July 22, 1690, in the presence of Peter, was completed in 1699. Foreign architects were brought in to design it; the church's architecture, in the spirit of Western European Baroque, differed sharply from the church canons of the time. Patriarch Adrian refused to consecrate it for many years, and only on February 11, 1704, did Metropolitan Stefan (Yavorsky) of Ryazan and Murom consecrate the church in the presence of Peter I and Tsarevich Alexei.[2]
Final years and the Nizhny Novgorod connection
Boris Alekseyevich Golitsyn died on October 18, 1714, at the Frolishchev Monastery in Vladimir Governorate — a cloister located on the right bank of the Oka near its confluence with the Volga, now part of Volodarsky District in Nizhny Novgorod Region. A few months before his death he took monastic vows.[1]
Sources
- ru.wikisource.org — Wikisource
- drive2.ru — Magical beauty nearby, or the story of Golitsyn Baroque — "Architecture" on DRIVE2