Supreme Privy Council
A male-line descendant of the 9th-century prince Rurik, Tatischev was born near Pskov on 19 April 1686. Having graduated from the Artillery and Engineering school in Moscow, he took part in the 1700-1721 Great Northern War with Sweden. In the service of Peter the Great he gained a prominent post in the Foreign Office, which he used to oppose the policies of the Supreme Privy Council and support Anna's ascension to the Russian throne in 1730.