Dmitry Guryev

Count (from 1819)Dmitry Alexandrovich Guryev(January 18, 1758– October 12, 1825,Saint Petersburg)was a Russian statesman,Court Masterof the Court (from January 1, 1797),Senator(from October 20, 1799), Manager of theImperial Cabinet(August 26, 1801 – September 30, 1825), Minister of Appanages (July 9, 1806 – September 30, 1825), member of theState Council(January 1, 1810 – April 22, 1823), thirdMinister of Financeof Russia (January 1, 1810 – September 30, 1823). Father of Alexander Guryev and Nikolai Guryev, father-in-law ofCount Karl von Nesselrode-Ehreshoven.Actual Privy Councillor.
Born into an impoverishedRussian nobility, the Guryev family, he was the son offoremanAlexander Guryev (died in 1788) and his wife, Anna Eropkina. He wasbaptizedon January 13, 1758, in the Simenov Church, godson ofCount Sergei Yaguzhinsky.He was educated at home and began serving on November 17, 1772, as a soldier in theIzmailovsky Life Guards Regiment, a week later he was promoted to corporal. In 1773, he received the rank of sergeant, in 1779, he was made an ensign, in 1782, a second lieutenant, a year later (1783) a lieutenant and on November 1, 1785, a lieutenant captain.
The quick start of Guryev's career was greatly facilitated by his personal connections, in particular – the patronage of Count Pavel Skavronsky, grateful to Guryev for deftly arranging a profitable marriage for him withYekaterina von Engelhardt, the niece ofPotemkin:
Following this, his marriage in 1785 to Countess Praskovyya NikolaevnaSaltykova(1764-1830) introduced him into the circle of the Petersburgaristocracyand brought him closer to theImperial House.
As a result, in 1786, Dmitry Guryev received the rank ofChamber Junker, in 1794 – Master of Ceremonies, and in 1795 – the rank of ActualChamberlain. In January 1797, appointed as theHofmeisterof the Court of the Grand DukeAlexander Pavlovich, Guryev joined thecircle of his friends, which was formed at that time and consisted of young aristocrats: CountPavel Stroganov, CountViktor Kochubey,Nikolay Novosiltsevand PrinceAdam Chartoryisky.
After the accession ofAlexander Iand primarily thanks to the assistance of his "young friends" on August 26, 1801, Guryev was appointed manager of the Cabinet of HisImperialMajesty, and on September 8, 1802, he became a comrade (or, in other words, deputy)Minister of Finance, of already old and permanent ailing Count Alexei Vasiliev. This state of affairs led to the fact that Dmitry Guryev practically independently conducted the affairs of the financial department – under Vasiliev.
In February 1804, Dmitry Guryev was granted the position ofActual Privy Councillor, and on July 9, 1806, he was appointed to the post of Minister of Appanages, which he held until the very end of his life. This position in particular gave him strength of position, independence and influence on the entirecourtdepartment. But, it is possible that already being the Minister of Appanages, Dmitry Guryev, after the death of Count Alexei Vasiliev, was not immediately appointed to his place. In 1807–1808, the duties of the minister were performed by the manager of the ministry, Fyodor Golubtsov, who eventually (in 1809) received the post of minister. Dmitry Guryev, as he was an assistant minister under Vasiliev, remained in the same place – under Golubtsov.
During this rather turbulent period, when the former "young friends" of the Grand Duke one after another left from the political life of Russia,Mikhail Speransky, the future State Secretary, occupied an increasingly strong position at the throne. In view of the difficult economic situation in the country, in November 1809, EmperorAlexander Iinstructed Speransky to prepare an urgent program for overcoming thefinancial crisis. Temporary and fragmented measures could no longer solve the accumulated problems of the statebudget. To prepare the project, a special committee was formed, in the discussion of which Guryev also took an active part, in recent years having become very close to Mikhail Speransky. Apragmatistand subtle courtier, Dmitry Guryev used all his intellect and Speransky's growing influence on the emperor in the struggle for the coveted chair of finance minister and by 1810, he finally managed to "overthrow" his predecessor, Fyodor Golubtsov. Outwardly demonstrating his full support for the newministerialsystem of Mikhail Speransky, aimed primarily at strengthening the vertical of power, on January 1, 1810, Dmitry Guryev, under his patronage, was appointed Minister of Finance and at the same time 
a member of the new reformedState Council.
According to the reviews of people who knew him closely, Dmitry Guryev "... had a clumsy mind, and it was difficult for him to maintain a balance of judgments". However, despite such areputation, Alexander I entrusted him with the most important task at that time to stabilize the country's financial situation, which had been pretty shaken by the entire previous trade, industrial andcustoms policy. The program for overcoming the financialcrisiswas based on the famous "Finance Plan" for 1810, developed by Speransky and Balugiansky and considered in December 1809 at meetings of a special "Finance Committee" (or, as it was called, "Guryev's Circle").In addition to the three already named, this financial circle also included the state treasurerBaltazar Kampenhausen. It is clear that Minister Golubtsov, who had been sitting out his last days in his place, was not invited to the meetings.
The "Plan of Finance" developed by the circle included urgent monetary and economic measures, the implementation of which was necessary in 1810, as well as more long–term measures. According to the first point of the plan, in 1810, metal circulation was restored and part of thebank noteswas withdrawn to increase their value, a number of internalloanswere undertaken, which stabilized the state budget. However, the difficult foreign policy situation on the eve of thewar, requiring increased combat readiness and an increase in thearmy, forced the introduction of newtaxesone after another and the increase of old ones.
Most of the measures were openly aimed at increasing therevenueside of the state budget. So, already in 1810, the surplus interestrateon merchant capital was increased, taxes were introduced on trading peasants and foreignartisans, and thepoll taxwas extended to people of other faiths. In 1812, a 0.5% tax on houses in the capitals (property tax) was also introduced, and thesalt, copper,stamp,billand passport taxes were increased. In addition, new, higher drinkingdutieswere imposed and new taxes that were previously absent, for example, on tea and beer, were introduced. At the same time, they tried to promote the development of domesticindustryby raising customs duties. Dmitry Guryev continued the consistent implementation of the items of the "Plan of Finance" after the end of the War of 1812. So, the Ministry of Finance only in 1817 withdrew from circulation a part of papernotes(236 million out of 836 million rubles in circulation), for which internal loans were concluded for 113 million rubles and external loans for 83 million.
From the point of view of the general concept of state building, the authors of the "Plan of Finance", pointing out the need for a general reform of the financial system, insisted on the introduction of an open state budget and proposed a new system of central government, under which the Minister of Finance was to exercise legislative power.
However, these measures did not bring the expected results, but only caused growing discontent among thenobilityand merchants. This discontent increased especially after the statewine monopolywas introduced in twentyprovincesof Russia in 1819–1820.Nevertheless, the establishment in 1817 of the Council of State Credit Institutions and the State Credit Bank created real mechanisms to accelerate the development of the financial system of the Russian Empire.
The full implementation of the "Plan of Finance" was also prevented by theoppositionfrom the chairman and member of the Department of Economy of the State Council,Nikolay MordvinovandYegor Kankrin, who saw in the plans of Guryev himself and other developers of the "Plan" a hidden intention to limit the autocratic rights of the monarch.Gradually, they were able to convince of their suspicions and constantly hesitantAlexander I. In 1816, Dmitry Guryev's most resigned note, entitled "On the Organization of the Supreme Governmental Places in Russia", in which he directly proposed strengthening the power of theministersand giving themlegislative functions, also belongs to him. The careless grain fell on the prepared soil and the note provoked the emperor's displeasure.
On January 13, 1817, he was awarded theOrder of the Holy Apostle Andrew the First–Called.
And yet, at the behest of Alexander I, Dmitry Guryev, who already had a reputation as a liberal, in 1818–1819, headed (as Minister of Appanages) the work of the Secret Committee to prepare a draftpeasant reform. In this position, he prepared a ratherradicalproject, the implementation of which could lead to the creation in Russia of an agrarian system of afarmingtype.However, this project of Guryev turned out to be untimely. On August 9, 1821, the Russian EmperorAlexander Iestablished the Siberian Committee and Count Guryev was included in its first composition.By the beginning of the 1820s, a turning point was clearly outlined in the political worldview of Alexander I, when, on the basis of the collapse of foreign policy liberalism, he became disillusioned with the program of internal reforms in Russia. This turning point could not but affect Dmitry Guryev, who on April 22,1823was forced to resign from the post of Minister of Finance – nevertheless retaining the post of Head of the Appanage Department.
Two years later, on September 30, 1825, Dmitry Guryev died in Saint Petersburg and was buried in the Transfiguration Church at the Cemetery of the Porcelain Factory. On this occasion,Konstantin Bulgakovwrote to CountZakrevsky:
In the summer of 1932, the Transfiguration Church, in which Dmitry Guryev was buried, was demolished and the grave destroyed.
State activities of Dmitry Guryev asMinister of Financecaused an avalanche of reproaches from contemporaries, and later – sharp criticism of historians. Nevertheless, he can be attributed to a small number of dignitaries of the first quarter of the 19th century who had a clear understanding of the needs of the country and came up with a real and detailed program of transformations.
Guryev entered big politics during the peak of liberalconstitutionalexperiments and the search for power in the first decade of the reign of Alexander I. His leadership of the financial department fell on the hardest time of thePatriotic War of 1812, and then during the elimination of its socio-economic consequences and the second renaissance of state liberalism, which found expression primarily in attempts to resolve thepeasant question. The breakdown and decline of Guryev's ministerial career, outwardly associated with his disagreements, and then a break with the all–powerfulAlexey Arakcheev, in fact, clearly demonstrated the strengthening of protective tendencies in the government's policy and an increasingly distrustful attitude towards the problem ofreforms.
Having started his career as a man ofSperanskyand his reformist ideas, he survived his political downfall for a long time, however, he could not withstand the final strengthening of the power of Arakcheev, who first supported Guryev against Mordvinov and Kankrin for apparatus reasons, and then deprived him of his support.
At the height of Guryev's power, at the end of the 1810s, in search of support from the treasury, representatives of all classes sought to get him to receive an appointment. "Aspirants, seekers, tapes, whoever was not here! To be called is already a great mercy", wroteAlexander Bulgakovabout his anteroom in 1818.The arrogant nobility, however, could not forgive Guryev of a comparatively low origin, for what he had in the world...
Theproper nameof the Minister of Finance and Appanages, Dmitry Guryev, outlived his political career for a long time, became ahouseholdname and firmly entered the everyday life of the Russian language. TheGuryev Taxes, theGuryev Dutiesand theGuryev Wine Monopolywere soon forgotten. But until now, the invention of the famous recipe –Guryev Porridgeis associated with the name of Guryev:
From 1785, he was married to Countess Praskovya Saltykova (1764 – 10 May 1830),daughter of the Life Guards Lieutenant Count NikolaiSaltykov(1743–1800) and his wife, Princess AnnaGagarina(1742 – 21 April 1820).According to Vigel, by the hand of Countess Saltykova, despite her great fortune, everyone ran for a long time.Having married her, Guryev took a decent dowry and was known at one time as a very rich man.Following her husband, Countess Guryeva made her court career. In November 1806, she received theOrder of Saint Catherine (Lesser Cross), and on August 22, 1826, she was granted a lady of state.
At one time, the house ofCountessGuryeva was in the evenings a favorite gathering place for the Saint Petersburg elite society and the entire diplomatic corps.According toCountess Dorothea de Ficquelmont, she was an amiable and social woman. Her death from fever was a great loss for many people who for twenty years constantly communicated with her and found her a kind person. She left a huge void not only in the hearts of her friends, but also in the whole society. "The Countess was often ill and in the last three months her face has changed beyond recognition. But, in fact, her death in May 1830was sudden and unexpected. She continued to meet people, went for walks every day, and only two days before her death it became obvious that she was really sick. Almost the entire city was present at the countess's funeral".She was buried next to her husband in the Transfiguration Church at the Cemetery of the Porcelain Factory. In marriage, she had children: