Sergei Dmitrievich Sheremetev - a public figure, the leader of the provincial nobility in Moscow, a writer and historian, lived in Russia in the XIX-XX centuries. He was a representative of the first Russian kind of counts. About Sergey Dmitrievich Sheremetev, his biography and family will be described in this essay.
Youth and the beginning of service
Sergei Dmitrievich Sheremetev was born in 1844 in the family of Count D. M. Sheremetev and Countess A. S. Sheremetev. He studied at home and received an excellent education. After passing the exams, he was enrolled in the Page Corps. In 1863 he joined the cavalry guard regiment with the rank of cornet. In 1865 he received the rank of lieutenant, a year later became a regimental adjutant, and in 1867 - headquarters captain. In 1868, Sergei was appointed adjutant of the future Tsar Alexander III, with whom they later became friends.
In 1872, Sergey Dmitrievich became a deputy of the nobility in the Shlisselburg district (St. Petersburg province). In the period from 1873 to 1875 he was a justice of the peace in this county, and in 1874 he was awarded the rank of colonel.
Continuation of Service
Sergey Dmitrievich Sheremetev took part in the war between Russia and Turkey in 1877-1878. In 1881 he received the rank of the adjutant wing, and three years later he was appointed full state adviser.
In the period from 1885-1890. Sergey Dmitrievich holds the post of leader of the Moscow provincial nobility. In 1892, he became the Jägermeister, and two years later, Ober Jägermeister of the Court of His Majesty. In 1897, by decree of the emperor, he was appointed a participant in the Special Conference, which dealt with the affairs of the nobility. In 1900, Sergey Dmitrievich became a member of the State Council.
Scientific and industrial activity
Count Sheremetev was worried about the life of the Russian hinterland, he very often traveled around the country. In addition, he was engaged in industrial production in the Ivanovo province. He was the founder of a large number of scientific societies, and in some it was and was an active member of them.
For 45 years he was a member of the Russian Imperial Historical Society. He also wrote scientific articles, for example, in 1879, in one of the volumes of the Russian Historical Society, materials were published concerning the Sheremetevs, written by Sergey Dmitrievich.
He was a member of the Society of lovers of ancient writing, which was located in the Fountain House (St. Petersburg). In one of the halls of this house there was a specially equipped place for the museum - an ancient storage.
Publishing and Genealogy
Sheremetev was also one of the initiators of the creation of a genealogical society in Russia. Later, he created and published many genealogy works on his family. So, for example, 20 works are devoted to research of only five generations of the Sheremetevs, as well as their many relatives. In addition, he studied and published collections that tell about the history of his family, these works have survived to the present.
Sergei Dmitrievich Sheremetev, in addition to history, genealogy, was engaged in publishing. He spent a long and painstaking work on collecting, studying, and then publishing at his own expense a large number of letters, ancient chronicles, historical acts, and scribe books. Among his publications is The History of Russia at the Beginning of the 17th Century, published thanks to documents that he collected for a long time.
Kuskovo estate in Moscow
This estate of the Sheremetev family was first mentioned at the beginning of the XVII century. At that time there was a boyar’s yard, a wooden church and serf yards. In the period from 1750 to 1770, according to the plan of Sergey Dmitrievich, a large estate was created in Kuskovo, in which there was a palace, a large park, ponds and the so-called amusement ventures. The estate was designed by serf architects F. Argunov and A. Mironov in the style of early classicism.
Upon completion of all construction and finishing works, the estate began to be visited by numerous guests who were amazed by its beauty. Quite often, large and magnificent receptions were held here.
Description of the estate
The palace in the estate is dominant in the architectural composition. The layout is designed in such a way that all the doors are located on one axis and open one after another in each room. All the premises of the palace were successively combined into three special compositional groups.
As mentioned earlier, the estate complex met a huge number of guests. In addition to the magnificent interiors of the palace and the beauty of the manor itself, Sergey Dmitrievich Sheremetev conceived and implemented the amusement ventures. They included: park gazebos and pavilions, a greenhouse, menagerie, Kunstkamera and a hunting lodge.
A small flotilla consisting of rowing vessels was created at Kuskovsky pond. To imagine the size of the estate, which was 230 hectares, it should be said that in the days of special celebrations, it took about 30 thousand people. Entire legends about the estate of Kuskovo circulated in St. Petersburg and Moscow. The guests who visited it for a long time were enthusiastically impressed.
Museum
Currently, the museum is located on the estate Kuskovo. Visitors can visit the palace itself, the Grotto and Hermitage pavilions. And:
- Dutch house;
- a large stone greenhouse;
- American greenhouse;
- Swiss house
- air theater;
- church and bell tower.
You can also visit the French park. The Kuskovo Museum regularly hosts various exhibitions, such as ceramics and portraits of the Sheremetev family. An exhibition has been created in the portrait gallery, in memory of Sergey Dmitriyevich and his family. You can also see the interiors of the palace, which are striking in their sophistication.
Manor of Vyazemsky and Sheremetev
Ostafyevo is a city estate owned by the Vyazemsky-Sheremetev located in Moscow. It was created at the end of the 18th century, as it is supposed, according to the project of the architect I. Starov. At that time, when Sergey Dmitrievich Sheremetev lived in the estate, it became the Moscow literary center. Famous poets and writers of the Golden Age gathered here. In 1899, the Pushkin Museum was created and opened here.
On the estate there is a two-story palace. The building was built in the style of classicism and had a colonnade gallery. During the construction of the estate, a pond was created, a linden alley was planted and a park was erected.
Currently, the estate is a museum, which houses the palace itself with two wings and a park with a total area of 21 hectares, a linden alley and a pond. The park has monuments to the founders: Princes Vyazemsky, V. A. Zhukovsky and A. S. Pushkin.
A palace is available for visiting, in which the interiors of the 19th century are preserved, with furniture and decoration. The main highlight of the palace are three libraries that have been assembled for 200 years. A great contribution to their creation was made by Sergei Dmitrievich Sheremetev. The number of books he collected is estimated at about 80 to 100 thousand volumes.
Conclusion
Count Sheremetev was a member of the Russian Geographical Society, the Academy of Arts, the acclimatization of animals and plants and the English club in St. Petersburg. In addition to membership, he was also the trustee of these societies. For his military service and scientific activity, Sheremetev was awarded more than 30 orders and medals.
Sergey Dmitrievich published more than 40 scientific works and books, and also became the publisher of a huge amount of scientific literature. It should be noted that the count was a very rich man. He owned land in 11 provinces, the total area of which was more than 240 thousand acres (about 262 000 ha). He had three large houses in St. Petersburg, and two in Moscow. Sheremetev loved to collect not only books, but also historical documents and weapons.
He leased the premises that were in his property, for which he made a big profit, and he also owned three distilleries. It should be noted that the graph not only earned a lot, but also spent a lot. However, he did not spend money on festivities and gambling, but on charity and science. As mentioned earlier, some scientific communities, of which he was a co-founder, contained at the expense of his own funds.
At the age of 74, in 1918 Sergei Dmitrievich Sheremetev died and was buried in the churchyard of Novospassky Monastery. Concluding the story, it should be said that the count made a huge contribution to the science of Russia. He not only financially supported scientific societies, but also created historical and genealogical works and works, which he himself published. He devoted himself to the study of various sciences and social activities. This, of course, is the most worthy representative of the Sheremetev family, who created and preserved scientific knowledge for future generations.