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Count Sergei Semeyenovich Uvarov
(September 5, 1786 - September 16, 1855) Russia

Sergei Uvarov

Politician

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Born at St Petersburg, of Tatar roots, he studied at Göttingen, where he met Goethe, Madame de Staël and Humboldt. He was at first a diplomat, then Minister of Education (1833-49), under czar Nicholas I. As such, in harmony with the autocratic regime of the czar, he based his work on the concepts of "orthodoxy, autocracy, nationality", strictly controlling press, education, literary and artistic activities, trying to oppose to liberal tendencies.

He was elected Honorable Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences in 1811 and was the President of that institution from 1818 until his death.

He published a number of works on Ancient Greek literature and archaeology, which brought him European renown. A confirmed conservative, he was on friendly terms with Alexander Humboldt, Madame de Stael, Goethe, Prince de Ligne, Nikolay Karamzin, and Vasily Zhukovsky. From 1811 to 1822, he curated the Saint Petersburg educational district.

In 1832, Uvarov was appointed Deputy Minister of National Education, succeeding his father-in-law Count Aleksey Kirillovich Razumovsky. Despite the reactionary measures, Uvarov is also responsible for laying the foundations of high-quality education in Russia and reinstating the practice of sending the Russian scientists abroad. Uvarovite, the rarest of garnets, is named after him.

Uvarov's known relationship was with Prince Mikhail Alexandrovich Dondukov-Korsakov, who, according to Pushkin's scurrilous epigram, was owed his appointment in the Academy of Sciences to his homosexual relationship with Uvarov.

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Sources: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia - et alii

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