Mikhail Nikitich Volkonsky

Prince Mikhail Nikitich Volkonsky (October 20, 1713 – December 19, 1788) was a Russian statesman and military figure from the House of Volkonsky, General-in-Chief (1762), in 1771–1780 he was Commander-in-Chief in Moscow. The brother of General Alexei Volkonsky, uncle of Nastasya Ofrosimova. Biography Born in the family of Prince Nikita Fedorovich Volkonsky and Agrafena Petrovna, née Bestuzheva, "in the old courtyard outside the Tver Gate near the Strastnov Monastery in the parish of the Church of the Nativity of the Virgin". In childhood, he lived with grandmother Catherine Ilyinichna, née Miloslavskaya. Since 1724 he was brought up by his grandfather Peter Bestuzhev-Ryumin in Courland. In 1732 he was enrolled in the Land Gentry Corps founded by the empress, where he studied for 4 years. In 1738–1739 he fought with the Turks, in 1740 he accompanied Alexander Rumyantsev to negotiations in Constantinople. He met the Duke of Holstein (Peter III) when he first entered Russia within 1742. Details of Volkonsky's service until 1756 are contained in a journal compiled by him, which was kept by his descendants, the princes Golitsyn–Prozorovsky. This valuable historical source was introduced into scientific circulation only in 2004.