Alexei Grigoryevich Orlov
Encyclopedia
Count Alexei Grigoryevich Orlov ( – ) was a Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

n soldier and statesman, who rose to prominence during the reign of Catherine the Great.

Orlov served in the Imperial Russian Army
Imperial Russian Army
The Imperial Russian Army was the land armed force of the Russian Empire, active from around 1721 to the Russian Revolution of 1917. In the early 1850s, the Russian army consisted of around 938,731 regular soldiers and 245,850 irregulars . Until the time of military reform of Dmitry Milyutin in...

, and through his connections with his brother, became one of the key conspirators in the plot to overthrow Tsar Peter III
Peter III of Russia
Peter III was Emperor of Russia for six months in 1762. He was very pro-Prussian, which made him an unpopular leader. He was supposedly assassinated as a result of a conspiracy led by his wife, who succeeded him to the throne as Catherine II.-Early life and character:Peter was born in Kiel, in...

 and replace him on the Russian throne with his wife, Catherine. The plot, carried out in 1762, was successful, and Peter was imprisoned under Alexei Orlov's guard. He died shortly afterwards in mysterious circumstances, and it was popularly believed Orlov had either ordered, or personally carried out, his murder. Handsomely rewarded by Catherine after her accession, the Orlovs became powerful at court. Alexei was promoted and took part in the Russo-Turkish War of 1768–74, commanding a naval expedition
Imperial Russian Navy
The Imperial Russian Navy refers to the Tsarist fleets prior to the February Revolution.-First Romanovs:Under Tsar Mikhail Feodorovich, construction of the first three-masted ship, actually built within Russia, was completed in 1636. It was built in Balakhna by Danish shipbuilders from Holstein...

 to the Mediterranean in 1770, which destroyed the Ottoman fleet
Ottoman Navy
The Ottoman Navy was established in the early 14th century. During its long existence it was involved in many conflicts; refer to list of Ottoman sieges and landings and list of Admirals in the Ottoman Empire for a brief chronology.- Pre-Ottoman:...

 at the Battle of Chesma
Battle of Chesma
The naval Battle of Chesma took place on 5 -7 July 1770 near and in Çeşme Bay, in the area between the western tip of Anatolia and the island of Chios, which was the site of a number of past naval battles between the Ottoman Empire and the Republic of Venice...

. For his success he was granted the honorific
Victory title
A victory title is an honorific title adopted by a successful military commander to commemorate his defeat of an enemy nation. This practice was first used by Ancient Rome and is still most commonly associated with the Romans, but it has also been adopted as a practice by many modern empires,...

 Chesmensky. The Russian victory sparked off the Orlov Revolt
Orlov Revolt
The Orlov Revolt was a precursor to the Greek War of Independence , which saw a Greek uprising in the Peloponnese at the instigation of Count Orlov, commander of the Russian Naval Forces of the Russo-Turkish War...

 in the Greek territories of the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...

 soon afterwards.

Orlov remained in the Mediterranean, and received the unusual commission of seducing and then capturing 'Princess Tarakanoff', a pretender to the Russian throne. Orlov was successful in doing so, and tricked her into boarding a Russian ship at Livorno
Livorno
Livorno , traditionally Leghorn , is a port city on the Tyrrhenian Sea on the western edge of Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Livorno, having a population of approximately 160,000 residents in 2009.- History :...

, where she was arrested and transported to Russia. Alexei's brother, Grigory, Catherine's lover before and after the coup took place, fell from favour soon afterwards, and the Orlovs' power at court diminished. Alexei became a renowned breeder of livestock at his estates, developing the horse breed known as the Orlov Trotter
Orlov Trotter
The Orlov Trotter is a horse breed with a hereditary fast trot, noted for its outstanding speed and stamina. It is the most famous Russian horse. The breed was developed in Russia in the late 18th century by Count Alexei Orlov at his Khrenovskoy Stud farm near the town of Bobrov...

, and popularising the Orloff
Orloff (chicken)
The Orloff is a breed of chicken who is named after Alexey Grigoryevich Orlov, a Russian Count. Reflecting this moniker, it is sometimes called the Russian Orloff or simply Russian....

 breed of chicken. He left Russia after the death of Catherine and the accession of her son, Tsar Paul I
Paul I of Russia
Paul I was the Emperor of Russia between 1796 and 1801. He also was the 72nd Prince and Grand Master of the Order of Malta .-Childhood:...

, but returned after Paul's death and lived in Russia until his death in 1808.

Family and early life

Alexei was born into the noble Orlov
Orlov
Orlov is the name of a Russian noble family which produced several distinguished statesmen, diplomatists and soldiers. The family first gained distinction in the person of four Orlov brothers, of whom the senior was Catherine the Great's paramour, and the two junior were notable military...

 family in Lyubini in Tver Oblast
Tver Oblast
Tver Oblast is a federal subject of Russia . Its administrative center is the city of Tver. From 1935 to 1990, it was named Kalinin Oblast after Mikhail Kalinin. Population: Tver Oblast is an area of lakes, such as Seliger and Brosno...

 on ' onMouseout='HidePop("42649")' href="/topics/Grigory_Grigoryevich_Orlov">Grigory Grigoryevich Orlov
Grigory Grigoryevich Orlov
Count Grigory Grigoryevich Orlov was the lover of Empress Catherine the Great of Russia who fathered two of her children.He was the son of Gregory Orlov, governor of Great Novgorod. He was educated in the corps of cadets at St Petersburg, began his military career in the Seven Years' War, and was...

. He entered the Preobrazhensky Regiment
Preobrazhensky regiment
The Preobrazhensky Regiment was one of the oldest and elite regiments of the Russian army. Along with the Semenovsky regiment also served as a gendarmie unit for the state Secret Chancellery in the 18th century, headed by the Prince Fyodor Romodanovsky.It was formed by Peter the Great in the late...

 and by 1762 had reached the rank of sergeant. He distinguished himself in the Seven Years' War
Seven Years' War
The Seven Years' War was a global military war between 1756 and 1763, involving most of the great powers of the time and affecting Europe, North America, Central America, the West African coast, India, and the Philippines...

 and was wounded at the Battle of Zorndorf
Battle of Zorndorf
The Battle of Zorndorf was a battle fought on August 25, 1758 during the Seven Years' War, fought between the forces of the Russians troops under the command of Count William Fermor – and a Prussian army under King Frederick the Great...

. He was described as a giant of a man, over two meters tall, and a celebrated duellist, with a scar across his cheek. The scar earned him the nickname 'scarface'.

Involvement in the 1762 coup

Together with his brother Grigory, Alexei Orlov became involved in the palace coup to overthrow Tsar Peter III
Peter III of Russia
Peter III was Emperor of Russia for six months in 1762. He was very pro-Prussian, which made him an unpopular leader. He was supposedly assassinated as a result of a conspiracy led by his wife, who succeeded him to the throne as Catherine II.-Early life and character:Peter was born in Kiel, in...

 and place his wife, Catherine, on the Russian throne. In the coup, carried out in July 1762, Alexei went to meet Catherine at the Peterhof Palace
Peterhof Palace
The Peterhof Palace in Russian, so German is transliterated as "Петергoф" Petergof into Russian) for "Peter's Court") is actually a series of palaces and gardens located in Saint Petersburg, Russia, laid out on the orders of Peter the Great. These Palaces and gardens are sometimes referred as the...

, and finding her in bed, announced 'the time has come for you to reign, Madame.' He then drove her to St Petersburg, where the guards regiments there proclaimed their loyalty to her. The Tsar was arrested and imprisoned at Ropsha
Ropsha
Ropsha is a settlement in Leningrad Oblast, Russia, situated about 20 km south of Peterhof and 49 km south-west of central Saint Petersburg, at an elevation of 80 metres to 130 metres above sea level.-History:...

, under the guard of Alexei Orlov. There Peter died in mysterious circumstances on . Orlov is popularly supposed to have murdered him, either on his own initiative or on Catherine's orders. One account has Orlov giving him poisoned wine to drink which caused
... flames [to course] through his veins. This aroused suspicion in the overthrown emperor and he refused the next glass. But they used force, and he defended himself. In that horrible struggle, in order to stifle his cries, they threw him on the ground and grabbed his throat. But he defended himself with the strength that comes from final desperation, and they tried to avoid wounding him. They placed a rifle strap on the emperor's neck. Alexei Orlov kneeled with both legs on his chest and blocked his breathing. He passed away in their hands.
Orlov apparently wrote a letter to Catherine after Peter's death, confessing that Peter had been killed in a drunken brawl with one of his jailers, Feodor Bariatynsky, and taking the blame. The authenticity of this letter has been questioned. It was announced that the Tsar had died from an attack of haemorrhoidal colic.

Royal favourite

The Orlovs were rewarded after Catherine's accession, and Alexei was promoted to the rank of major-general, and given the title of count. He and his brother received 50,000 roubles and 800 serf
SERF
A spin exchange relaxation-free magnetometer is a type of magnetometer developed at Princeton University in the early 2000s. SERF magnetometers measure magnetic fields by using lasers to detect the interaction between alkali metal atoms in a vapor and the magnetic field.The name for the technique...

s. Despite a lack of formal education and his ignorance of foreign languages, he maintained an interest in science, patronizing Mikhail Lomonosov
Mikhail Lomonosov
Mikhail Vasilyevich Lomonosov was a Russian polymath, scientist and writer, who made important contributions to literature, education, and science. Among his discoveries was the atmosphere of Venus. His spheres of science were natural science, chemistry, physics, mineralogy, history, art,...

 and Denis Fonvizin
Denis Fonvizin
Denis Ivanovich Fonvizin was a playwright of the Russian Enlightenment, whose plays are still staged today. His main works are two satirical comedies which mock contemporary Russian gentry.-Life:...

, and corresponding with Jean Jacques Rousseau. He was one of the founders of the Free Economic Society
Free Economic Society
Free Economic Society for the Encouragement of Agriculture and Husbandry was Russia's first learned society which formally did not depend on the government and as such came to be regarded as a bulwark of Russian liberalism.-18th century:...

 and its first elected chairman. Rewarded with large estates, he took an interest in horse breeding
Horse breeding
Horse breeding is reproduction in horses, and particularly the human-directed process of selective breeding of animals, particularly purebred horses of a given breed. Planned matings can be used to produce specifically desired characteristics in domesticated horses...

, developing the Orlov Trotter
Orlov Trotter
The Orlov Trotter is a horse breed with a hereditary fast trot, noted for its outstanding speed and stamina. It is the most famous Russian horse. The breed was developed in Russia in the late 18th century by Count Alexei Orlov at his Khrenovskoy Stud farm near the town of Bobrov...

, and popularising the breed of chicken now know as the Orloff
Orloff (chicken)
The Orloff is a breed of chicken who is named after Alexey Grigoryevich Orlov, a Russian Count. Reflecting this moniker, it is sometimes called the Russian Orloff or simply Russian....

.

He became involved in military operations during the Russo-Turkish War of 1768-74, organising the First Archipelago Expedition, and commanding of a squadron of the Imperial Russian Navy
Imperial Russian Navy
The Imperial Russian Navy refers to the Tsarist fleets prior to the February Revolution.-First Romanovs:Under Tsar Mikhail Feodorovich, construction of the first three-masted ship, actually built within Russia, was completed in 1636. It was built in Balakhna by Danish shipbuilders from Holstein...

. He fought and won the Battle of Chesma
Battle of Chesma
The naval Battle of Chesma took place on 5 -7 July 1770 near and in Çeşme Bay, in the area between the western tip of Anatolia and the island of Chios, which was the site of a number of past naval battles between the Ottoman Empire and the Republic of Venice...

 against an Ottoman fleet on 5 July 1770, with the help of British naval expertise, and received the right to add the honorific
Victory title
A victory title is an honorific title adopted by a successful military commander to commemorate his defeat of an enemy nation. This practice was first used by Ancient Rome and is still most commonly associated with the Romans, but it has also been adopted as a practice by many modern empires,...

 'Chesmensky' to his name. He was also awarded the Order of St. George
Order of St. George
The Military Order of the Holy Great-Martyr and the Triumphant George The Military Order of the Holy Great-Martyr and the Triumphant George The Military Order of the Holy Great-Martyr and the Triumphant George (also known as Order of St. George the Triumphant, Russian: Военный орден Св...

 First Class. His expedition sparked off the Orlov Revolt
Orlov Revolt
The Orlov Revolt was a precursor to the Greek War of Independence , which saw a Greek uprising in the Peloponnese at the instigation of Count Orlov, commander of the Russian Naval Forces of the Russo-Turkish War...

 in Greece, which despite initial successes, lacked continued Russian support, and was eventually put down by the Ottomans. Orlov was sent as plenipotentiary to the talks at Focşani
Focsani
Focşani is the capital city of Vrancea County in Romania on the shores the Milcov river, in the historical region of Moldavia. It has a population of 101,854.-Geography:...

 in 1772, but his impatience caused the breaking off of negotiations, which led to dissatisfaction from the Empress.

Catherine then commissioned Orlov to make contact with Yelizaveta Alekseyevna, a pretender to the throne claiming to be the daughter of Empress Elizabeth of Russia, and deliver her to Russia. Orlov did so by pretending to be a supporter of hers, and successfully seduced her. He then lured her aboard a Russian ship at Livorno
Livorno
Livorno , traditionally Leghorn , is a port city on the Tyrrhenian Sea on the western edge of Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Livorno, having a population of approximately 160,000 residents in 2009.- History :...

 in May 1775, where she was arrested by Admiral Samuel Greig
Samuel Greig
Samuel Greig, or Samuil Karlovich Greig , as he was known in Russia - Scottish-born Russian admiral who distinguished himself in the Battle of Chesma and the Battle of Hogland...

 and taken to Russia, where she was imprisoned and later died. Shortly after this service, the Orlovs fell from favour at court, and Alexei and Grigory were dismissed from their positions. Orlov retired to the Neskuchni Palace near Moscow, and gave luxurious balls and dinners, making himself 'the most popular man in Moscow.'

After Catherine's death in 1796 the new ruler, Tsar Paul I
Paul I of Russia
Paul I was the Emperor of Russia between 1796 and 1801. He also was the 72nd Prince and Grand Master of the Order of Malta .-Childhood:...

 ordered that his father, Peter III, be reburied in a grand ceremony. Alexei Orlov was ordered to carry the Imperial Crown
Imperial Crown of Russia
The Imperial Crown of Russia, also known as the Great Imperial Crown, is the crown that was used by the Emperors of Russia until the abolition of the monarchy in 1917. The Great Imperial Crown was first used in a coronation by Catherine II, and was last used at the coronation of Nicholas II...

 in front of the coffin. Orlov left Russia during the reign of Paul I, but returned to Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...

 after his death and the accession of Tsar Alexander I
Alexander I of Russia
Alexander I of Russia , served as Emperor of Russia from 23 March 1801 to 1 December 1825 and the first Russian King of Poland from 1815 to 1825. He was also the first Russian Grand Duke of Finland and Lithuania....

. Orlov commanded the militia of the fifth district during the War of the Fourth Coalition
War of the Fourth Coalition
The Fourth Coalition against Napoleon's French Empire was defeated in a war spanning 1806–1807. Coalition partners included Prussia, Russia, Saxony, Sweden, and the United Kingdom....

in 1806-7, which was placed on a war footing almost entirely at his own expense.

He died in Moscow on . He left an estate worth five million roubles and 30,000 serfs.

Family and issue

Orlov married Eudokia Nikolaevna Lopukhina on 6 May 1782. The marriage produced a daughter, Anna (1785–1848), and a son, Ivan (1786–1787). Eudokia died while giving birth to Ivan, in 1786. Orlov is also believed to have had an illegitimate son, named Alexander (1763–1820).
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