Nesselrode, Karl Robert, Count

Nesselrode, Karl Robert, Count

(kärl rō`bĕrt nyĕsĕlrô`dyĭ), 1780–1862, Russian statesman of German descent, b. Lisbon. He entered diplomatic service under Czar Alexander IAlexander I,
1777–1825, czar of Russia (1801–25), son of Paul I (in whose murder he may have taken an indirect part). In the first years of his reign the liberalism of his Swiss tutor, Frédéric César de La Harpe, seemed to influence Alexander.
..... Click the link for more information. , became state secretary in 1814, and attended the Congress of Vienna (1814–15). In 1816, he became Russian foreign minister, sharing influence with Count Capo d'IstriaCapo d'Istria, Giovanni Antonio, Count
, Gr. Joannes Antonios Capodistrias or Kapodistrias, 1776–1831, Greek and Russian statesman, b. Corfu. After administrative work in the Ionian Islands he entered (1809) Russian service and was until 1822 a close adviser
..... Click the link for more information.  until the latter's retirement in 1822. Guiding Russian policy for 40 years, Nesselrode, a leading conservative statesman, favored the Holy AllianceHoly Alliance,
1815, agreement among the emperors of Russia and Austria and the king of Prussia, signed on Sept. 26. It was quite distinct from the Quadruple Alliance (Quintuple, after the admission of France) of Great Britain, Russia, Austria, and Prussia, arrived at first in
..... Click the link for more information.  and in 1849 dispatched Russian troops to help Austria crush the Hungarian revolt led by Louis KossuthKossuth, Louis
, Hung. Kossuth Lajos, 1802–94, Hungarian revolutionary hero. Born of a Protestant family and a lawyer by training, he entered politics as a member of the diet and soon won a large following.
..... Click the link for more information. . His efforts to expand Russian influence in the E Mediterranean at the expense of the Ottoman Empire and his miscalculations of British and French tolerance of this policy contributed decisively to the outbreak of the Crimean War. Nesselrode also served as chancellor from 1845 to 1856. His autobiography was published in 1866.