The exhibition features a reproduction of the ‘Portrait of Pyotr Ivanovich Shuvalov’ originally painted by an unknown 18th-century artist. The reproduction was painted in by artist E. Belova in the 1960s. Pyotr Shuvalov was an outstanding statesman, count, and Field Marshal of Empress Elizaveta Petrovna era. He enacted financial and military reforms.
Pyotr Shuvalov was born into a family of the commandant of the city of Vyborg in 1711. At the age of 12, he was assigned to court service as a page to Empress Catherine the First. In 1731, he was appointed chamberlain of the court of Tsesarevna Elizaveta Petrovna. Having married Mavra Shepeleva, Tsarevna’s personal favorite, he became the part of her inner circle.
His career skyrocketed. In 1746, he was granted the title of count. In the next few years, Shuvalov was granted almost every single title and distinction that existed in the Russian Empire at the time. He simply could not carry on without the projects addressing various government needs, finance and military needs first and foremost. He paid close personal attention to the development of the artillery, often personally taking charge of the process. Count Shuvalov was one of the richest people of his time.
In 1755, he got the government to transfer the Goroblagodatsky factories to him on favorable terms for a long time, along with the peasants and artisans bound to them. By the decree of the Senate, Pyotr Shuvalov was allowed to build new ironworks.
In 1759, a plant was founded on the Votka River, construction of another plant began on the Izh River, a tributary of the Kama River. At the Izhevsk plant, strip iron and ship anchors were made from imported cast iron. The construction of the dam and plant structures was supervised by Prime Major Alexei Moskvin, who was transferred from the Goroblagodatsky factories.
The 1761 Decree made Shuvalov the owner of these factories. After the death of Count Shuvalov in 1763, the factories were transferred to the state treasury. Pyotr Shuvalov was awarded the following orders: the Order of the Holy Apostle Andrew the First-Called, the Order of St. Alexander Nevsky, the Order of St. Anna, the Order of the White Eagle (Rzeczpospolita). In this portrait, the Order of the Holy Apostle Andrew the First-Called is depicted on the right side of Shuvalov’s chest.
In 2015, a monument to Pyotr Shuvalov, the founder of the Izhevsk Iron Works, was erected in Izhevsk.
Pyotr Shuvalov was born into a family of the commandant of the city of Vyborg in 1711. At the age of 12, he was assigned to court service as a page to Empress Catherine the First. In 1731, he was appointed chamberlain of the court of Tsesarevna Elizaveta Petrovna. Having married Mavra Shepeleva, Tsarevna’s personal favorite, he became the part of her inner circle.
His career skyrocketed. In 1746, he was granted the title of count. In the next few years, Shuvalov was granted almost every single title and distinction that existed in the Russian Empire at the time. He simply could not carry on without the projects addressing various government needs, finance and military needs first and foremost. He paid close personal attention to the development of the artillery, often personally taking charge of the process. Count Shuvalov was one of the richest people of his time.
In 1755, he got the government to transfer the Goroblagodatsky factories to him on favorable terms for a long time, along with the peasants and artisans bound to them. By the decree of the Senate, Pyotr Shuvalov was allowed to build new ironworks.
In 1759, a plant was founded on the Votka River, construction of another plant began on the Izh River, a tributary of the Kama River. At the Izhevsk plant, strip iron and ship anchors were made from imported cast iron. The construction of the dam and plant structures was supervised by Prime Major Alexei Moskvin, who was transferred from the Goroblagodatsky factories.
The 1761 Decree made Shuvalov the owner of these factories. After the death of Count Shuvalov in 1763, the factories were transferred to the state treasury. Pyotr Shuvalov was awarded the following orders: the Order of the Holy Apostle Andrew the First-Called, the Order of St. Alexander Nevsky, the Order of St. Anna, the Order of the White Eagle (Rzeczpospolita). In this portrait, the Order of the Holy Apostle Andrew the First-Called is depicted on the right side of Shuvalov’s chest.
In 2015, a monument to Pyotr Shuvalov, the founder of the Izhevsk Iron Works, was erected in Izhevsk.
