Nikolai Pavlovich Ignatyev (1832–1908) — Nizhny Novgorod Yarmarka Governor
Count Nikolai Pavlovich Ignatyev, who served as the Nizhny Novgorod Yarmarka Governor from 1879 to 1880, was undoubtedly a remarkable figure. His two years in Nizhny Novgorod stand as a vivid chapter in the biography of a man revered by the peoples of the Balkans.
He was born in Saint Petersburg into the family of Governor-General Count Pavel Nikolaevich Ignatyev, received an excellent military education, yet chose a career in diplomacy. Fate decreed that this graduate of the Imperial Military Academy would go on to put the final seal on several wars and border conflicts involving Russia. In 1856, Count Ignatyev was present at the conclusion of the Treaty of Paris, which ended the Crimean War. Thanks to Nikolai Pavlovich's involvement, territories with Russian and Bulgarian populations remained part of Russia. Two years later, the young diplomat signed a mutually beneficial treaty with Bukhara, and in 1860 secured China's recognition of the Treaty of Aigun, under which the Ussuri and Amur territories became universally acknowledged Russian possessions. The government held Ignatyev's achievements in high regard. At the age of 28 he became an aide-de-camp general and was awarded the Orders of St. Stanislaus and St. Vladimir. In July 1864, the diplomat was posted as envoy to Constantinople, where he acquired such influence and popularity that the Turks called him "the powerful Moscow pasha." The crowning achievement of Ignatyev's diplomatic career was his role during the Eastern Crisis of the 1870s. In the summer of 1875, popular uprisings broke out in Bosnia, Herzegovina, and Bulgaria, and Serbia and Montenegro soon declared war on Turkey. Russian public opinion was passionately sympathetic toward the Slavic peoples fighting for their liberation. Russia's involvement in the Balkan conflict became inevitable. During the Russo-Turkish War, Nikolai Pavlovich became a member of the State Council, and upon the conclusion of hostilities was appointed head of the Russian delegation at the peace negotiations in San Stefano. The Treaty of San Stefano was based on a draft drawn up by Ignatyev. This document substantially redrew the map of the Balkans: Romania, Serbia, and Montenegro gained independence, and a powerful Bulgarian Principality was established. Ignatyev's own fortunes also changed considerably. The strain of the preceding months had taken a toll on his health: in May 1878 Nikolai Pavlovich fell gravely ill, and when he returned to active duty there was no longer any question of his going back to his former post. The 46-year-old diplomat found himself without a role — though he did not have long to wait for a new appointment. In 1879, following an assassination attempt against Alexander II, temporary governors-general with extraordinary powers were appointed in several strategically important provinces. Ignatyev was named Governor-General of Nizhny Novgorod for the duration of the Nizhny Novgorod Fair, with "the entire province subordinated to him." Arriving in Nizhny Novgorod, he set about bringing order to Russia's principal trading fair and within a short time achieved remarkable results. Using his connections at court, he helped the Yarmarka committee obtain subsidies for reinforcing the bank of the Volga near the Siberian Wharf. The initiative to establish a Yarmarka port also originated with him. Furthermore, the persistent Count petitioned the government for a project to construct the first section of the Siberian Railway, which linked the Oka and Volga river basins and increased the flow of goods into Nizhny Novgorod from the empire's eastern regions. The Count wielded enormous power. On one occasion a memorable exchange took place between him and the presiding judge of the district court, A. K. Panov. In jest, Panov told his interlocutor: "You know, Your Excellency, I could have you put on trial." To which Ignatyev replied with equal dry wit: "And I could have you hanged." The emergency governor never had to repeat his orders. The provincial officials, the Nizhny Novgorod merchantry, and the Yarmarka's regular visitors may not have come to love him, but they came to genuinely respect him. On taking their leave of him at the close of the 1880 Yarmarka, the Nizhny Novgorod merchants bestowed upon their benefactor the title of Honorary Patron of the Nizhny Novgorod Yarmarka. The commemorative address presented to him on that occasion concluded with the words: "The Russian people love and honor you for your accessibility — that ornament of noble souls — and we thank you on behalf of our neighbors, the poor, whose many tears you wiped away here." The signatures beneath that address filled seven and a half sheets of paper. In the summer of 1881, Nikolai Pavlovich visited Nizhny Novgorod again, this time in his capacity as Minister of the Interior. Ignatyev was accompanying Alexander III, who had just ascended to the throne. The city gave an ovation both to the new Autocrat of All Russia and to the new minister.