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Friedrich Wilhelm Rembert von Berg

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Baltic German aristocrat, Russian statesman, general, and final Viceroy of Congress Poland
GrafFriedrich Wilhelm Rembert von Berg
Fyodor Fyodorovich Berg
Portrait by Jan Michał Strzałecki, 1867
Governor-General of Finland
In office
19 December [O.S. 7] 1854 – 20 November [O.S. 8] 1861
MonarchsNicholas I
Alexander II
Preceded byAlexander Menshikov
Succeeded byPlaton Rokassovsky [ru]
Viceroy of the Kingdom of Poland
In office
31 October [O.S. 19] 1863 – 18 January [O.S. 6] 1874
MonarchAlexander II
Preceded byGrand Duke Konstantin Nikolaevich
Succeeded byPosition abolished (Paul Demetrius von Kotzebue as the Governor-General of Warsaw)
Personal details
Born15 May [O.S. 26] 1794
Sagnitz Manor, Sagnitz, Kreis Dorpat, Riga Governorate, Russian Empire
(in present-day Sangaste, Otepää Parish, Valga County, Estonia)
Died6 January [O.S. 18] 1874 (aged 79)
St. Petersburg, Russian Empire
Signature
Military service
Allegiance Russian Empire
Branch/service Imperial Russian Army
Years of service1812 – 1874
Rank General-Field Marshal
Battles/warsSee battles

Friedrich Wilhelm Rembert Graf von Berg (German: Friedrich Wilhelm Rembert von Berg, Russian: Фёдор Фёдорович Берг, tr. Fëdor Fëdorovič Berg; 15 May [O.S. 26] 1794 – 6 January [O.S. 18] 1874) was an Imperial Russian nobleman, statesman, diplomat and general of Baltic German descent. Berg was a count of the Austrian Empire and Grand Duchy of Finland and the 5th last man to be promoted General-Field Marshal in the history of the Russian Empire. He served as the Governor-General of Finland from 1854 to 1861 and the last Viceroy of the Kingdom of Poland from 1863 to 1874.

Berg was most notable for his role as the viceroy of Finland and Poland. He led Russian military efforts during the Åland War, a minor theater of the Crimean War, and also played a crucial role in suppressing the 1863 January Uprising by Congress Poland; during the uprising, the Poles carried out numerous unsuccessful assassination attempts on him, which led martial law to be consequently declared in Poland. Berg also held responsible for improving the economy and industry of Finland and Poland during his time as viceroy. As a German, Berg was never keen of the Russification policies introduced in Poland, being opposed to the Pan-Slavism ideology of the Russians and keen towards the foreign policies of Germany. Outside of his military career, Berg was also a topographer and geodesist, being one of the founding members of the Russian Geographical Society. He died in St. Petersburg in 1874 and was buried in his family estate in Korten, Livonia (in now Pilskalns, Latvia).

Biography

Origin

The Sangaste manor, where Count von Berg and his siblings spent their childhood. The current Neo-Gothic building was built after Count von Berg's death by his nephew Friedrich Berg.

Friedrich Wilhelm Rembert von Berg was born on 15 May 1794 (26 May according to the Julian calendar in use in Russia at the time), in the family estate in the small village of Sagnitz, in the Kreis Dorpat of the Governorate of Livonia. His father Friedrich Georg von Berg (1763–1811) was a state councillor and his mother Gertruda Wilhelmine von Ermes (1774–1844) was a young noblewoman, the younger Friedrich was the first cousin once removed of generals Gregor (1765–1838) and Burchard Magnus von Berg (1764–1838), both of whom served in the Russian Imperial Army during the course of the Napoleonic Wars. Genealogists still debate where the Livonian noble Berg family originated in, many speculated they originated in Westphalia. The first known ancestor of the family to appear in Livonia was Otto von Berg. His son, who was also named Otto, was a vassal of the Livonian Knighthood.

Friedrich belonged to the Sagnitz branch of the Luist line of the family. The Luist line was formed by Captain Gustav von Berg (1656–1715), and the further divided Sagnitz branch was formed by Friedrich's grandfather Major Gotthard Ernst von Berg (1714–1766).

Early life

Berg along with his siblings spent their childhood in the Sagnitz castle and were home educated by the young Friedrich Georg Wilhelm Struve. He was brought up as a Lutheran. After he finished his home education he studied in the Tartu Gymnasium in Dorpat. Originally not seeking a military career as a family tradition, Berg enrolled into the Philosophy faculty of Imperial University of Dorpat in 1810. But after Napoleon invaded of Russia in 1812, Berg dropped out from university and voluntarily entered the Russian Imperial Army. He entered the army as a Fahnenjunker and was enlisted into the 6th Libau Infantry Regiment which was stationed at the north-western part of Russia to defend against Napoleon. Berg's bravery during the war of 1812 rewarded him the rank of lieutenant from Alexander I personally. He was also appointed second to the quartermaster due to his high education and being multilingual among Russian soldiers at the time.

After Napoleon was pushed out of Russia, Berg was transferred to a partisan unit under the commands of Baron von Tettenborn and Pavel Kutuzov and took part in actions in Germany including the Battle of Leipzig.

Family

Berg was born the eldest son of a family with three siblings, including his younger brother Gustav "Astaf" Gotthard Karl von Berg, owner of the Alt-Ottenhof Manor. His other brother Alexander was a diplomat and consul in Naples and London. Count von Berg married late in his life. In 1839, after a long relationship with the Baroness de Sassè, he married a rich Milanese aristocrat Leopoldina Cicogna-Mozzoni (1786–1874), the widow of the Italian politician Alessandro Annoni, with whom he had no children. However, after his brother Gustav's death in 1861, Friedrich adopted his orphaned nephews and brought them under his care:

  • Friedrich Georg Magnus Graf von Berg (1845–1938)
  • Alexander Rembert Joachim Graf von Berg (1847–1893)
  • Georg Erich Rembert Graf von Berg (1849–1920)
  • Emilie Wilhelmine "Minni" Anna Marie Ulrike Pauline Gräfin von Berg (1852–1945)

Since his marriage was childless, his Austrian and Finnish comital titles were inherited by his nephews/adoptive children.

Honours and awards

Coat of arms of the Berg family [de], which belonged to the Uradel, in the Baltic Coat of arms book by Carl Arvid von Klingspor in 1882.
Coat of arms of the counts of the family of 1856, in the Baltic Coat of arms book by Carl Arvid Klingspor in 1882.

Russian

Foreign

Publications

  • Le feldmaréchal-comte Berg, namiestnik dans le royaume de Pologne. Notice biographique. Warsaw 1872 – Autobiography

Notes

  1. Regarding personal names: Until 1919, Graf was a title, translated as 'Count', not a first or middle name. The female form is Gräfin. In Germany, it has formed part of family names since 1919.
  2. Gregor and Burchard Magnus von Berg were the children of Magnus Johann von Berg, while Magnus Johann was the brother of Gotthard Ernst who was the grandfather of Friedrich Wilhelm Rembert

Citations

  1. Grevliga ätten nr 11 BERG Archived 2007-10-22 at the Wayback Machine – Finnish House of Nobility
  2. Governors-general of Finland
  3. ^ Haltzel, Michael H.; Lundin, C. Leonard; Plakans, Andrejs; Raun, Toivo U. (1981). Russification in the Baltic Provinces and Finland, 1855-1914. Princeton University Press. JSTOR j.ctt7zv75v.
  4. Stackelberg 1930, pp. 660.
  5. ^ Stackelberg 1930, pp. 659.
  6. ^ Stackelberg 1930, pp. 661.
  7. Stackelberg 1930, pp. 654–655.
  8. Fr. G. W. Struve Dorpat period
  9. Stolberg-Wernigerode 1955, pp. 73.
  10. ^ Stackelberg 1930, pp. 662.
  11. ^ Klingspor 1882, p. 10.

Works cited

General sources

Political offices
Preceded byAlexander Menshikov Governor-General of Finland
1855–1861 		Succeeded byPlaton Rokassovsky [ru]
Preceded byGrand Duke Konstantin Nikolaevich Viceroy of Poland
1863–1874 		Succeeded byPaul Demetrius von Kotzebueas Governor-General of Warsaw
Governor-Generals of Grand Duchy of Finland
Namiestniks of Poland
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