thumb|Portrait of Bezborodko by [[Johann Baptist von Lampi the Elder ()]]

Prince Alexander Andreyevich Bezborodko (, ; 6 April 1799) was the chancellor of the Russian Empire from 1797 to 1799, and the chief architect of Catherine the Great's foreign policy after the death of Nikita Panin.

Early life

Аleksander Bezborodko was born in Glukhov, Cossack Hetmanate, Russian Empire (now Hlukhiv, Ukraine) on into a family of Zaporozhian Cossack noble descent. His father, Andrey Bezborodko, was a general scribe (chancellor), while his mother, Eudokia, was a daughter of the general judge Mikhail Zabila.

He was educated at home and at Kiev-Mohyla Academy. Upon finishing his education, he entered the public service as a clerk in the office of Peter Rumyantsev, then the governor-general of Little Russia, whom he accompanied to the Turkish War in 1768. He was present at the engagements of Larga and Kagul, and at the storming of Silistria.

Residences

thumb|Bezborodko Palace, southern façade (Pochtamskaya ulitsa), four granite columns that remained from the original Quarenghi design.

thumb|Bezborodko Dacha, central building

Bezborodko Palace in Saint Petersburg

The Bezborodko Palace is located at Pochtamtsky Pereulok in Saint Petersburg.

The palace was built in 1783–1795 to a design by Giacomo Quarenghi. There emerged a palace designed according to the principles of Russian Classicism. While the façade of the mansion looked fairly modest, its interiors were notable for their resplendence. The interior decoration has partly survived till today. The façade however has changed much since its erection. Only a portico of four granite columns survived from the original façade. After the count's death his heirs sold the palace to the Post-Office Department that adapted the building to its needs. In 1924 the building was given into the possession of the Museum of communications. During the siege it suffered badly from artillery bombardments and was closed for repair. The museum partly resumed its display only in 1950. In 1974 owing to a drastic state of the entire structure its major repair was started and the museum has returned to the building only thirty years later, in 2003.

Bezborodko Dacha in Saint Petersburg

The dacha is located at Sverdlovskaya Naberezhnaya in Saint Petersburg.

References

  • Bezborodko's dacha in St Petersburg