Count Sergei Stroganov

Statesman, collector, archaeologist. Born in St Petersburg (1794) in the family of Baron Grigory Stroganov (1770–1857) and Princess Anna Troubetzkaya (1765–1824). Played a pivotal role in the development of Russian culture and education in the nineteenth century, raising higher education and the arts to a par with the rest of Europe. Besides fighting in the Patriotic War (1812) and the Crimean War (1853–56), he was a member of the State Council and tutor to the sons of Tsar Alexander II. Devoted most of his life to history, education and the arts. Chairman of the Society of Russian History and Antiquities (1837–74) and founder of the Archaeological Commission, which excavated old Russian towns. Following the traditions of his ancestors, he was an avid collector who put together unique collections of coins and Russian icons, many of which he kept at the Stroganov Palace on Nevsky Prospekt. Died in St Petersburg and buried in St Theodore’s Church at the St Alexander Nevsky Monastery (1882).