Kleinmichel P.A. (1793-1869), statesman

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KLEINMICHEL Petr Andreevich (Peter) (1793, St Petersburg 1869), Count (1839), statesman and military leader, Infantry General (1841), Adjutant General (1826). From 1808, he served with the Guards, took part in the Patriotic War of 1812, and the campaigns of 1813 and 1814. From 1814, he was the Petersburg Platz-Major; from 1819, Chief of Staff of settled troops; he was also Adjutant to Count A. A. Arakcheev, then his closest collaborator. From 1826, he headed the Department for Martial Settlement; from 1832, he was Acting General of the Main Staff of His Imperial Majesty; from 1834, he was Chairman of the Committee for Optic Telegraph Line Construction between St Petersburg and Warsaw; from 1842, he was a member of the State Assembly. In 1842-55, he was Chief Executive Officer for Communication Lines and Public Buildings. After the Winter Palace fire of 1837, he supervised its restoration, and was granted the title of Count with the motto "Diligence Overcomes All" (ill-wishers gave him the nickname Kleinmichel-butler). He guided construction of the Chesme Military Hospice, military hospitals in St Petersburg and Tsarskoe Selo, the St Petersburg - Moscow railroad, the Blagoveshchensky Bridge (first permanent bridge) across the Neva River, the building of the New Hermitage, and others. He enjoyed the confidence and favour of Emperor Nicholas I. In 1855, he was discharged on behalf of his subordinate officials' corruption. He was an Honorary Member of the Medical and Surgical Academy (1839) and the Academy of Arts (1842). Contemporaries acknowledged Kleinmichel as a talented organiser and administrator, but noted his rudeness, cruelty, and unscrupulousness in achieving his end. Buried in the basement of the St George Church at the Holy Trinity & St. Sergius Hermitage (grave not preserved).

References: Булгакова Л. А. Граф Петр Андреевич Клейнмихель: (Из истории генеал. связей) // Из глубины времен: Альм. СПб., 1995. Вып. 4. С. 61-70.

D. N. Shilov. Arakcheev Alexey Andreevich
Kleinmichel Peter Andreevich
Nicholas I, Emperor
Булгакова Л. А. Граф Петр Андреевич Клейнмихель: (Из истории генеал. связей) // Из глубины времен: Альм. СПб., 1995 State Assembly
Winter Palace
Academy of Arts
Academy of Arts
Holy Trinity & St. Sergius Hermitage