Count Kleinmichel - a high official under Nicholas I, a Meme, and a notorious corrupt figure of the mid-nineteenth century. By profession a general of infantry, by occupation a builder.
Useful Activities
Count Pyotr Andreyevich Kleinmichel (1793–1869) was not popular among his contemporaries — he was particularly disliked at court — but nothing could be done about it, since Emperor Nicholas Pavlovich favored him. It must be acknowledged that Pyotr Andreyevich was often sharp and downright rude to his subordinates, yet he was an outstanding specialist, and it was not without reason that in 1842 the Emperor appointed him Chief Director of Roads and Public Buildings. He held this post until the very death of Nicholas I, and over the course of his career he accomplished much that was of genuine benefit to Russia. The most significant works he oversaw include: the restoration of the Winter Palace after the fire of 1837, the construction of the New Hermitage building, the erection of the first permanent bridge across the Neva (the Nikolayevsky Bridge), and the construction of the St. Petersburg–Moscow railway. And these are only the most important of his undertakings.
Alexander II, however, did not set great store by Pyotr Andreyevich's talents, and very quickly removed Kleinmichel from his post on account of the numerous abuses committed by his subordinates. Following that logic, one would have had to remove from their posts nearly all the senior officials of the Empire, including the Emperor himself.
In the Nikolayevan era, the Count's enemies spread numerous anecdotes and gossip about him, attempting to discredit a talented builder — and they largely succeeded. Here is one example of such creative efforts.
It is known that during the construction of the first permanent bridge across the Neva (the Blagoveshchensky, now the Nikolayevsky), several thousand men were employed in pile-driving, yet the work proceeded very slowly, as the piles were driven by hand, and such labor was extremely costly. The project's chief engineer, General Stanislav Valeriyanovich Kerbets (Kerbedz) (1810–1899), invented a special pile-driving machine that significantly accelerated — and therefore reduced the cost of — this cumbersome work. After trials, a description of the machine and its drawings were submitted to Count Kleinmichel. Instead of receiving thanks, Kerbets allegedly received from the Count a most severe reprimand: why had he not invented such a machine sooner, thereby causing the treasury enormous and needless expense.
Criticism
The Moscow postmaster-general A.Ya. Bulgakov (1781–1863), a close friend of V.A. Zhukovsky, P.A. Vyazemsky, and A.I. Turgenev, was an ardent admirer of Emperor Nicholas Pavlovich. This is hardly surprising: Nicholas, "a man of robust masculine qualities," bestowed his monarchical attention upon Bulgakov's daughter — Princess O.A. Dolgorukova — and was even godfather to the Princess's daughter. Society gossips naturally enrolled Olga Alexandrovna among the Emperor's favorites; her father was boundlessly pleased by the sovereign's favor; her husband — Prince A.S. Dolgorukov, a special-assignments official under the Moscow military governor-general — kept quiet and pursued his career.
Bulgakov left behind a most fascinating work, "Contemporary Events and My Recollections," of whose seventeen volumes only a small portion has so far been published. Below are several episodes concerning one of Nicholas I's closest associates, Count Pyotr Andreyevich Kleinmichel (1793–1869) — adjutant-general, director of the Department of Military Settlements from 1835, Minister of War in 1842, and subsequently Chief Director of Roads and Public Buildings. The author's original spelling has been preserved; words omitted in the original but required by the sense have been inserted in angle brackets.
1837: A Loyal Peasant
In December 1837, the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg was almost entirely destroyed by fire due to a defective heating stove. Adjutant-General Kleinmichel, a former associate of Arakcheyev, was ordered to restore it. The necessary funds were allocated from the treasury; Nicholas refused to accept the considerable sums that merchants and industrialists wished to donate toward the restoration. Bulgakov wrote in his diary: "…In connection with this, one cannot fail to mention the deed of a certain peasant, who threw a sealed packet into the Emperor's sleigh and disappeared. The Emperor supposed it to be some kind of denunciation or petition, but upon opening the packet at home, His Majesty found within it 1,500 rubles accompanied by the following words: 'You have suffered a fire, our father; my entire fortune consists of these 1,500 rubles, and I give them to you with joy — accept the gift of a loyal subject.' If the wealthy who publicly offered the sovereign millions are to be praised, what is to be said of this poor man, who gave all he had and concealed his name? Honor, praise, and glory to you, loyal subject! You hid your name from the sovereign, but God knows it."
1841: "Transvaal Park" in St. George's Hall
P.A. Kleinmichel managed to complete an enormous volume of work in record time. At Easter 1839, the Winter Palace, restored after the fire, was consecrated. But as the proverb says, haste makes waste. A technological disaster occurred — one that only by good fortune claimed no lives. Here is what Bulgakov wrote in 1841: "On the 9th of this August, the ceiling of St. George's Hall in the newly rebuilt Winter Palace, restored after the fire, collapsed. The fall was so swift and the impact so violent that a door secured by a lock was hurled clean off its hinges. The Emperor ordered a commission to investigate the cause of this calamity. It is known that when work on restoring the Palace was about to begin, His Majesty was pleased to declare that money was not to be spared, but that it was his will that the new building should contain nothing combustible except the window frames. In accordance with this supreme will, some kind of iron trusses, connected by a special construction, were devised in place of wooden beams and joists. So the work was completed — but what could not burn, collapsed. It seems that nothing can justify the architects: there was either great ignorance on their part, or negligence and lax supervision of the works. Two splendid and very valuable chandeliers also came down, and this terrible mass — some twenty sazhens in length (sic! — S.Sh.) — in its fall shattered the magnificent mosaic floor of the hall. The damage is estimated at 2 million, but money is nothing; one must shudder when one thinks that this calamity might have occurred during a ball attended by the entire Imperial family. This makes the architects' guilt unforgivable and calls down upon their heads a terrible reckoning. One must suppose that all the ceilings were built on the same principle. Can one now feel safe in the Palace, and how can one guarantee that a similar calamity will not befall the Emperor's study, the Empress's dressing room, or Their Majesties' bedchamber? When will we stop such haste in the construction of all buildings in general? The Winter Palace was fitted out, restored, and furnished in a little over two years. Prince P.M. Volkonsky, Prince V.V. Dolgorukov, Kleinmichel, and the other members were richly rewarded and received medals set with diamonds to be worn in the buttonhole in the manner of an order, while Kleinmichel, who had shown the greatest zeal, was elevated to the rank of Count."
1853: The Fifteen-Ruble Bonus
The Chief Director of Roads was no less unpopular in society than his late patron Arakcheyev. This is understandable, if one recalls Russia's second great misfortune, in the sharp phrase of Prince Pyotr Andreyevich Vyazemsky. As for Nicholas I, the Tsar trusted Kleinmichel unreservedly, as if copying his elder brother, who had been under the powerful and inexplicable influence of "the demon devoted to flattery." Here is a telling detail in the portrait of Count Kleinmichel, recorded by Bulgakov in his diary:
"…Kleinmichel, while walking on foot, dropped from his pocket a packet containing 9,000 rubles in banknotes.
Fate destined this great find for some poor retired officer. Arriving home with such a treasure in his hands, he deliberated at length over what to do and how to find the man who had lost the money. He resolved to wait for some kind of public announcement to be made, and when word spread through the city that the money had been lost by Adjutant-General Count Kleinmichel, he presented himself to declare his find to the St. Petersburg chief of police, who advised him to go to Count Kleinmichel and hand the money to him in person. This he duly did, but since he had not stated the reason for his visit, he had considerable difficulty gaining admittance. "What do you want of me?" the Count asked rather sternly. "Your Excellency lost a packet of money?" — "I did! Do you know who found it?" — "I do!" — "Then in whose hands is it?" — "In mine, Your Excellency — here it is," answered the poor man, drawing the packet from his pocket. The Count received it with visible satisfaction and, retiring to his study, returned with a token of gratitude which consisted of… who can guess what it consisted of? Surely no one! It consisted of 15 rubles in silver. The poor man did not know that by law he was entitled to one-third of the money he had found. Even 15 rubles was a significant sum to him; he bowed low to the Count and went home.
This incident could not fail to reach the attention of our magnanimous sovereign, who, at his first meeting with Count Kleinmichel, began questioning him about the loss he had suffered, and then asked what reward had been given to the man who found the money. There was no concealing the truth: Count Kleinmichel replied that the money had been found by a very poor man, and that he had been quite satisfied with the 15 rubles given to him. To this the wise Nicholas I, in observance of a law which was evidently as unknown to Kleinmichel — minister though he was — as to the poor man who found the money, pronounced the following memorable words: 'Give 1,000 rubles to this man because he found the money, another 1,000 in consideration of his poverty, and yet another 1,000 because he is an honest man — but let him keep the 15 rubles all the same!' How can one fail to call such a verdict worthy of Solomon?!"
1855: The End of the "Iron Man's" Career
Immediately upon ascending the throne, Alexander II faced, in addition to concluding the ill-fated Crimean War, a number of pressing personnel matters. The first to be dismissed was the unpopular Minister of Internal Affairs D.G. Bibikov. Kleinmichel's turn came next.
In August 1855, Bulgakov recorded in his diary: "There is now no other topic of conversation but the dismissal of Count Kleinmichel from the directorship of the Department of Roads. This news is shared by everyone with a cheerful face, as though the enemy had been driven out of Crimea. Foreigners might think that the reign of terrorism in Russia had come to an end and that Robespierre had been overthrown. If one were to judge the guilt of a senior official by the number of his ill-wishers and enemies, Kleinmichel would have to be counted the greatest criminal.
The Fire in the Winter Palace
Alexander II, however, did not put Kleinmichel on trial but dismissed him with a gracious rescript. On this matter Bulgakov wrote in September 1855: "It <the rescript> produced an unfavorable impression on everyone, even though all understand that this rescript was written by the sovereign solely out of respect for the memory of the late Emperor, under whom Kleinmichel always found protection from all persecution. It is said that the sovereign could not resist the insistence of his august mother on Kleinmichel's behalf. It is a pity that the sovereign placed himself in complete disagreement with public opinion. This rescript should not have been made public.
<…> Out of hatred for the dismissed official (as is customary), his successor is being praised to the skies. However, according to general report, General Chevkin is very well acquainted with the department entrusted to him, whereas Kleinmichel had only a superficial knowledge of it.
<…> The magnificent railway, which cost such enormous sums and runs between our two capitals, could not render the substantial benefit that might have been obtained by investing that capital in rail links between Odessa, Kiev, Moscow, Rybinsk, Warsaw, and so on. They say that Chevkin, for instance, <is ready> to take this matter up in earnest.
Kleinmichel (so people say) refused to hand the construction of railways over to private companies because that would have exposed the extraordinary thefts by which the officials of the roads department enriched themselves from the construction of the railway between the two capitals. — But enough of that!"
Official Biography
Kleinmichel, Count Pyotr Andreyevich — adjutant-general, member of the State Council, born 30 November 1793, died 3 February 1869. His father, Andrey Ivanovich, was director of the 2nd Cadet Corps and a lieutenant-general. P. A. Kleinmichel was enrolled in the Noble Regiment but educated at home; on 7 February 1808 he entered active service as a second lieutenant in the Life-Grenadier Regiment and initially served under his father; on 23 March 1812 he was transferred to the Preobrazhensky Regiment and appointed aide-de-camp to Count Arakcheyev. From that point his advancement was extraordinarily rapid: on 16 May 1814 he was appointed Flügel-Adjutant to His Majesty, on 30 August of the same year he became St. Petersburg garrison major, on 1 January 1816 — at the age of only twenty-three — he was promoted to colonel, and on 24 March 1819 he was made Chief of Staff of the Administration of Military Settlements; on 8 June 1820 he was promoted to major-general. In this capacity Kleinmichel continuously enjoyed the favour of Count Arakcheyev and Emperor Alexander I, and subsequently of Emperor Nicholas I as well; he received expressions of Imperial gratitude for his management of the military settlers on very many occasions; Emperor Nicholas Pavlovich was particularly well-disposed toward him. On 22 August 1826 Kleinmichel was appointed adjutant-general. On 1 May 1832 he was appointed duty-general of the Main Staff of His Majesty; on 19 June 1835, upon the reorganisation of the Administration of Military Settlements into a department, he was appointed director of that department, and simultaneously supervised the Inspectorate Department of the War Ministry; on 16 April 1841 he was promoted to general of infantry. He took part in the work of many commissions appointed by Emperor Nicholas Pavlovich to study or reform various branches of the army and navy; in 1830 he was charged with compiling a historical description of the dress and armament of Russian troops; in 1837, upon his recommendation, a special committee was established for this purpose, of which Kleinmichel served as chairman until 21 October 1855; the description was compiled chiefly through the labours of A. V. Viskovatov and was published in 1841–1862 under the title "Historical Description of the Dress and Armament of Russian Troops from Ancient Times" (30 issues). In addition, Kleinmichel took an active part in commissions for the construction of various buildings in St. Petersburg, continuously earning ever-greater Imperial favour: in 1828–1829 he supervised the construction of the workhouse and the Patriotic Institute building, in 1835 the buildings of the Chesme Almshouse; he earned particular favour through his participation in the commission for the restoration of the Winter Palace, which had burned in 1837 — upon completion of the works on 26 March 1839, with an especially gracious rescript, P. A. Kleinmichel was raised to the dignity of count; after this he supervised the construction of the military hospital buildings and the stone bridge across the Neva — opened on 21 November 1850 and originally named the Blagoveshchensky Bridge, now the Nikolayevsky — and was simultaneously appointed to the commission for the construction of the new Hermitage buildings. On 4 March 1834 he was appointed chairman of the committee established to arrange telegraph communication between St. Petersburg and Warsaw; on 1 February 1842 he was appointed a member of the committee and construction commission established for the building of the St. Petersburg–Moscow Railway, and on 10 February was entrusted with the chief management of the committee's chancellery; from 2 April to 11 August of that year he administered the War Ministry in the absence of the war minister, and on 11 August 1842 was appointed Chief Administrator of Ways of Communication and Public Buildings. The principal undertaking of Kleinmichel during this period was the construction of the Nikolayevskaya Railway. Steam locomotive service began in 1846, initially on the section from St. Petersburg to Kolpino; at the same time the Alexandrovsky Plant was established; in 1849 service was opened between St. Petersburg and Chudovo and between Tver and Vyshniy Volochok; the entire line was opened on 1 November 1851, precisely within the deadline set by the Emperor at the very start of construction. The Sovereign took a keen interest in the progress of the works and was well pleased with Kleinmichel's activity; yet one cannot but acknowledge that it came at an extraordinarily high cost both to the state and to the people; the construction of the Nikolayevskaya Railway cost upwards of 64,000,000 roubles, or 107,000 roubles per verst of track. Beyond this principal achievement, Kleinmichel also built several new highways. On 15 October 1855 he was, at his own request, relieved of his post as Minister of Ways of Communication while retaining his position as member of the State Council. — The wife of Count P. A. Kleinmichel, widow of Staff-Captain Kharvat, née Ilyinskaya, Countess Kleopatra Petrovna, born 17 October 1811, died 17 January 1865, was a lady-in-waiting, a chevalier dame of the Order of St. Catherine, and chairwoman of the Patriotic Society. "Detailed Service Record of Adjutant-General Count P. A. Kleinmichel" (printed); "Russkiy Invalid," 1869, No. 19. {Polovtsov} Kleinmichel, Count Pyotr Andreyevich — Russian statesman (1793–1869); educated at the 2nd St. Petersburg Cadet Corps. He rose to prominence chiefly through Arakcheyev, under whom he served as aide-de-camp and subsequently as Chief of Staff of the Military Settlements. In 1826 he was appointed adjutant-general and member of the commission for drafting the Infantry Service Regulations. He enjoyed the special trust and favour of Emperor Nicholas I. In 1838 he was entrusted with the reconstruction of the Winter Palace following the fire, which he accomplished with remarkable speed. On this occasion a gold medal was struck in K.'s honour bearing the inscription: "Zeal overcomes all." At the beginning of 1842 K. served as acting war minister, and at the end of the same year was appointed Chief Administrator of Ways of Communication and Public Buildings, a post he held until October 1855. During Kleinmichel's administration of this department, the permanent bridge across the Neva (the Nikolayevsky) was completed, the new Hermitage building was erected, the Nikolayevskaya Railway was built, and other works were carried out. Public construction under K. proceeded quickly but at enormous cost to the treasury and in human lives to the people. Upon the accession of Alexander II, K. was among the first officials of the preceding reign to be dismissed; he was appointed a member of the State Council, in whose affairs he took almost no part. N. V. {Brockhaus} Kleinmichel, Count Pyotr Andreyevich — adjutant-general, member of the State Council, son of Andrey Andreyevich Kleinmichel, born 30 November 1793, enrolled in the Noble Regiment then commanded by his father, but educated at home. In 1808 K. entered service as a second lieutenant in the Life-Grenadier Regiment; at the end of 1808 he was transferred to the Life-Guards Horse Regiment, where he remained until March 1812, when he was transferred to the Preobrazhensky Regiment and appointed aide-de-camp to Count Arakcheyev. During the Patriotic War K. served under the commander of the V Corps, Lieutenant-General Lavrov, and also participated in the campaigns of 1813–1814. In May 1814 K. was appointed Flügel-Adjutant to His Imperial Majesty, and upon returning to Russia, on 30 August, St. Petersburg garrison major. On 1 January 1816, at only twenty-three years of age, K. was promoted to colonel, and in March 1819 was made Chief of Staff of the Administration of Military Settlements. K. continuously enjoyed the favour of Count Arakcheyev and Emperor Alexander I, and subsequently of Emperor Nicholas I as well. In 1820 K. was promoted to major-general. Emperor Nicholas I was particularly well-disposed toward him, and on the day of his coronation, 22 August 1826, appointed K. adjutant-general. Promoted in 1829 to lieutenant-general, K. during the Polish uprising of 1831 served as acting duty-general of the Reserve Army in the north-western region, and in 1832 was appointed duty-general of the Main Staff of His Majesty. In 1835, upon the reorganisation of the Administration of Military Settlements into a department, K. was appointed director of that department and simultaneously supervised the Inspectorate Department of the War Ministry; in 1841 he was promoted to general of infantry. K. took part in the work of many commissions for reforming the army and navy, as well as in the activities of the committee for drafting the Infantry Service Regulations; in 1830 he was charged with compiling a historical description of the dress and armament of Russian troops, for which purpose, upon his recommendation, a committee was established, of which K. served as chairman until 1855. The description was compiled chiefly through the labours of A. V. Viskovatov and published in 1841–1862 under the title "Historical Description of the Dress and Armament of Russian Troops from Ancient Times" (30 issues). In addition, K. took an active part in commissions for the construction of various buildings in St. Petersburg: in 1828–1829 he supervised the construction of the workhouse and the Patriotic Institute building, in 1835 the Chesme Almshouse buildings, but he earned the Emperor's particular favour through his participation in the special commission for the restoration of the Winter Palace, which had burned in 1837; for the rapid completion of the works, on 25 March 1839, with an especially gracious rescript, K. was raised to the dignity of count, and in his honour a gold medal was struck bearing the inscription "Zeal overcomes all," and this motto was incorporated into his coat of arms. After this K. supervised the construction of the military hospital buildings, the first permanent stone bridge across the Neva (opened 21 November 1850, now the Nikolayevsky), and also served on the commission for the construction of the new Hermitage buildings. In 1834 K. was appointed chairman of the committee established to arrange telegraph communication between St. Petersburg and Warsaw, and in 1842 a member of the committee and construction commission for the St. Petersburg–Moscow Railway, with charge of the committee's chancellery. From 2 April to 11 August 1842, in the absence of the war minister, K. administered the War Ministry, and after the death of Count Toll (in August 1842) was appointed Chief Administrator of Ways of Communication and Public Buildings. The principal undertaking of K. during this period was the construction of the Nikolayevskaya Railway. Like all construction of K.'s era, the building of the Nikolayevskaya Railway came at an extraordinarily high cost both to the state and to the people, amounting to over 64 million roubles. M. I. Semevsky offers a harsh characterisation of K.: "K. is Arakcheyev in a later and somewhat revised edition." Upon the accession of Emperor Alexander II, K. was among the first to leave the arena of high state affairs: on 5 October 1855, at his own request, he was relieved of his post while retaining his position as member of the State Council, in whose affairs he took almost no part. He died on 3 February 1869. (Detailed service record of K., "Rus. Inv.," 1869, No. 18; M. I. Semevsky. The Noble Regiment in the scholarly, historical, and literary works of its former pupils. St. Petersburg, 1877, offprint from "Rus. Star."). {Military Encyclopedia} Kleinmichel, Count Pyotr Andreyevich (husband of K. P. Kleinmichel, q.v.), Chief Administrator of Ways of Communication and Public Buildings (until 1856); born 1793, died 3 February 1869 in the seventy-sixth year of his life.