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| Jacob von Sievers | |
|---|---|
 Portrait by Josef Grassi | |
| Born | 30 August 1731 Wesenberg, Governorate of Estonia, Russian Empire (now Rakvere, Estonia) |
| Died | 23 July 1808(1808-07-23) (aged 76) Bauenhof, Governorate of Livonia, Russian Empire (near what is now Valmiera, Latvia) |
| Occupation | Statesman of the Russian Empire |
Jacob Johann Graf von Sievers (Russian: Я́ков Ефи́мович Си́верс; 30 August 1731 – 23 July 1808) was a Baltic German statesman of the Russian Empire from the Sievers family.
Biography
After serving the Russian army during the Seven Years' War as quartermaster general, he was appointed governor of Novgorod in 1764 by Catherine II. He introduced the cultivation of potatoes to Russia, regulated the postal services, and was instrumental in the abolition of torture in 1767.
Based on Sievers' initiative, the provincial government reform was instituted; he was himself appointed general governor of Novgorod, Tver and Pskov. He was Russian ambassador to Poland and led the second and third partition of the kingdom. Emperor Paul I of Russia appointed him senator in 1796; in 1797 he became head of the new department for water communications. He was knighted in 1798.
In Sievers' honor, Alexander I named the channel that connects the outlet of the Msta River with the Volkhov river the Sievers Canal.
Notes and references
- Regarding personal names: Until 1919, Graf was a title, translated as 'Count', not a first or middle name. The female form is Gräfin. In Germany, it has formed part of family names since 1919.
Sources
- Blum, Karl Ludwig: Ein russischer Staatsmann, Denkwürdigkeiten des Grafen von Sievers, Leipzig 1857–58, 4 vols.
- Blum, Karl Ludwig: Graf Jacob Johann von Sievers und Russland zu dessen Zeit. Leipzig; Heidelberg: Winter, 1864
- Jones, Robert E: Provincial Development in Russia. Catherine II and Jacob Sievers. Rutgers University Press, 1984
External links
| Preceded byZakhar Chernyshev | Governor General of Pskov 1777–1781 |
Succeeded byNikolai Repnin |
| Preceded byPosition established | Governor General of Novgorod and Tver 1776–1781 |
Succeeded byJames Bruce |
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  | This German biographical article is a stub. You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it. |
- 1731 births
- 1808 deaths
- People from Rakvere
- People from Kreis Wierland
- Baltic-German people from the Russian Empire
- Counts of the Russian Empire
- Active Privy Councillor (Russian Empire)
- Senators of the Russian Empire
- Ambassadors of the Russian Empire to Poland
- Recipients of the Order of St. Vladimir, 1st class
- Recipients of the Order of St. Anna, 1st class
- Recipients of the Order of the White Eagle (Poland)
- Estonian people stubs
- German people stubs