Karl Nesselrode

For representatives of the family, seeNesselrode.

Karl von Nesselrode
Portrait by Georg von Bothmann, 1850s
Foreign Minister of the Russian Empire
In office August 1816 – 15 April 1856 Serving withIoannis Kapodistrias (1816–1822)
Preceded by	Nikolay Rumyantsev
Succeeded by	Alexander Gorchakov
Personal details
Born	(1780-12-14)14 December 1780 Lisbon,Kingdom of Portugal
Died	23 March 1862(1862-03-23)(aged 81) Saint Petersburg,Russian Empire
Spouse	Maria Guryeva
Children	Elena von Nesselrode Dimitri von Nesselrode Marie von Nesselrode
Parent(s)	Count Wilhelm Karl von Nesselrode (father) Louise Gontard (mother)

Karl Robert Reichsgrafvon Nesselrode-Ehreshoven,also known asCharles de Nesselrode(Russian:Карл Васильевич Нессельроде,romanized:Karl Vasilyevich Nesselrode;14 December 1780 – 23 March 1862), was a Russian diplomat of German descent. For 40 years (1816–1856), Nesselrode guided Russian policy asforeign minister.He was also a leading European conservative statesman of theHoly Alliance.

Coat of arms of the comitalNesselrode familyof 1710, in theBaltic Coat of arms bookbyCarl Arvid von Klingsporin 1882.

Early life

Karl von Nesselrode was born at sea nearLisbon,Portugalinto theUradelHouse ofNesselrodewhich originated in theBergisches Landnear theRhine.His father Count Wilhelm Karl von Nesselrode (1724 - 1810), a count of theHoly Roman Empire,served at the time as the ambassador to Portugal for the German-bornRussian empress.His mother was LouiseGontard(1746-1785), whose family belonged toHuguenotnoble families fromDauphinéthat fled from France to Germany in 1700. In deference to his mother's Protestantism he was baptized in the chapel of the British Embassy, thus becoming a member of theChurch of England.

Biography

After his father became the Russian ambassador to thePrussiancourt about 1787, Nesselrode's education in aBerlingymnasiumre-inforced his Germanic roots. Even though Nesselrode would work for the Russians for the next few decades of his life, he could neither read nor writeRussianand spoke it only brokenly.

In 1788, at the age of 8, he officially entered theImperial Russian Navy.With his father's influence, he secured the position of navalaide-de-campto EmperorPaul(r. 1796–1801).

He then transferred to theImperial Russian Army,and entered diplomatic service under Paul I's son and successor, EmperorAlexander I.He was attached to the Russian embassy at Berlin, and transferred thence toThe 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 GeneralMikhail Kamensky,and then to (ethnic German) generalsFriedrich Wilhelm von BuxhoevedenandLevin August von Bennigsenin succession.

He was present at the inconclusiveBattle of Eylauin January 1807, fought by Count von Bennigsen, and assisted at the negotiations of thePeace of Tilsit(July 1807), for which he was commended bySpanish BonapartistDiego Fernandez de Velasco,13th Duke of Frías (who in 1811 would die in exile in Paris). During negotiations he was seated at the table withNapoleon I.

Following theCongress of Erfurtin 1808, Nesselrode was secretly accredited by Alexander to serve as his unofficial channel of information between himself andTalleyrand.

Nesselrode's tomb in theSmolensky Lutheran Cemetery

Nesselrode became State Secretary in 1814 and was the head of Russia's official delegation to theCongress of Vienna,but for the most part Alexander I acted as his own foreign minister. In 1816, Nesselrode became Russianforeign minister,sharing the position with CountIoannis Kapodistriasuntil the latter's retirement in 1822.

For forty years, Nesselrode guided Russian policy and was a leading European conservative statesman of theHoly Alliance.He was a key contributor in the construction of the peaceable congress system after theNapoleonic Wars.Between 1845 and 1856, he served asChancellor of the Russian Empire.As Minister of Foreign Affairs in 1824, he was aplenipotentiaryduring negotiations with theUnited Statesin defining the boundary betweenRussian Americaand the American claims known as theOregon Country,which were resolved with theRusso-American Treaty of 1824,and aparallel treaty with Britainconcerning British claims which overlapped with those of the U.S. A century later in 1924,Mount Nesselrodein theBoundary Rangesof theAlaska-British Columbiaboundary was named for him.

Nesselrode is credited as the person who first coined the name "Tournament of Shadows",which was the Russian name for the long rivalry that existed between theRussian Empireand theBritish Empirebeginning in the late 18th and lasting well into the 19th centuries, caused primarily by border tension in Central Asia and India.

In 1849 Nesselrode sent Russian troops to aidAustriain putting down theHungarian Revolutionled byLajos Kossuth.

One frequently-overlooked facet of Nesselrode's activity involved his attempts to penetrateJapan'sself-isolation.In 1853 he dispatchedYevfimiy Putyatinwith a letter to theshōgun;Putyatin returned toSaint Petersburgwith the favorableTreaty of Shimoda(signed 1855).

Nesselrode's efforts to expand Russia's influence in theBalkansandMediterraneanled to conflicts with theOttoman Empire,Britain,France,and theKingdom of Sardinia,which all became allies opposing Russia in theCrimean War(1853–1856). Britain and France, unhappy with Russia's growing influence, determined to support Turkey and so restrict Russia.

Nesselrode's autobiography was published posthumously in 1866.

Marriage and issue

He was married toRussian noblewomanMariaGuryeva(1786–1849) and had issue:

• Countess Elena von Nesselrode (1815–1875) married Count MichailChreptowicz(1809–1892); didn't have issue
• Count Dimitri von Nesselrode (1816–1891) married Countess LydiaZakrevskaya(1826–1884); had issue
• Countess Marie von Nesselrode (1820–1888) married Count Albin Leo vonSeebach(1811–1884); had issue

Honours

• Knight of theOrder of Saint Alexander Nevsky.
• Knight grand Cross of theOrder of Saint Vladimir.
• Knight of theOrder of the Elephant.
• Knight grand Cross of theOrder of the Polar Star.
• Knight grand Cross of theOrder of the Crown.
• Knight grand Cross of theRoyal Guelphic Order.
• Knight grand Cross of theHouse Order of Fidelity.
• Knight of theOrder of the White Eagle.
• Knight grand Cross of theOrder of Saint Stephen of Hungary.
• Knight grand Cross of theOrder of the Holy Ghost.
• Knight grand Cross of theOrder of Saint Michael.
• Knight grand Cross of theOrder of the Black Eagle.
• Knight grand Cross of theOrder of the Red Eagle.
• Knight grand Cross of theSupreme Order of the Most Holy Annunciation.
• Knight grand Cross of theOrder of Charles III.
• Knight grand Cross of theOrder of Saint Ferdinand and of Merit.
• Grand Cross in theLegion of Honour.

Cuisine legacy

Foods named in his honour but devised by his chef M. Jean Mouyusingchestnutpureeare-

• Nesselrode Pudding(Pouding à la Nesselrode), a thick custard cream with sweet puree of chestnut, raisins, candied fruit, currants, cherry liquor and whipped cream molded and served chilled as a bombe with maraschino custard sauce.
• Nesselrode Pie, a chestnut custardcream pie

References

• This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain:Chisholm, Hugh,ed. (1911). "Nesselrode, Karl Robert, Count".Encyclopædia Britannica.Vol. 19 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 405–406.

Further reading

• Cowles, Loyal. "The Failure to Restrain Russia: Canning, Nesselrode, and the Greek Question, 1825–1827."International History Review12.4 (1990): 688-720.
• Grimsted, Patricia Kennedy.The foreign ministers of Alexander I: political attitudes and the conduct of Russian diplomacy, 1801–1825(University of California Press, 1969)
• Ingle, Harold N.Nesselrode and the Russian rapprochement with Britain, 1836–1844(University of California Press, 1976)
• Jelavich, Barbara.St. Petersburg and Moscow: Tsarist and Soviet Foreign Policy, 1814–1974(1974)
• Schroeder, Paul W.The transformation of European politics, 1763–1848(Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1994)