Editing Nikolai Vasilyevich Repnin

{{Short description|Russian statesman and general (1734–1801)}}
{{family name hatnote|Vasilyevich|Repnin|lang=Eastern Slavic}}
{{Infobox military person
| honorific_prefix = Prince
| name          = Nikolai Vasilyevich Repnin
| image         = Nikolai Vasilyevich Repnin.jpg
| image_size    = 
| caption       = 
| nickname      = 
| birth_date    = {{Birth date|1734|03|22|df=yes}}
| birth_place   = St.&nbsp;Petersburg, Russian Empire
| death_date    = {{Death date and age|1801|05|24|1734|03|22|df=yes}}
| death_place   = [[Riga]], [[Governorate of Livonia]], Russian Empire
| placeofburial = 
| allegiance    = {{flagcountry|Russian Empire}}
| branch        = [[Imperial Russian Army]]
| serviceyears  = 1749–1798
| rank          = [[Field Marshal]]
| unit          = 
| commands      = 
| battles       = {{tree list}}
*[[War of the Austrian Succession]]
*[[Seven Years' War]]
*[[Russo-Turkish War (1768–1774)]]
*[[War of the Bavarian Succession]]
*[[Russo-Turkish War (1787–1792)]]
**[[Battle of Măcin]]
{{tree list/end}}
| awards        = [[Order of St. Andrew]]<br />[[Order of St. George]]<br />[[Order of St. Vladimir]]<br/>[[Order of the White Eagle (Poland)|Order of the White Eagle]]
| relations     = [[Repnin|House of Repnin]]
| laterwork     = 
}}
Prince '''Nikolai''' or '''Nicholas{{efn|[[Anglicized]] form of the name}} Vasilyevich Repnin''' ({{langx|ru|Николай Васильевич Репнин}}; {{OldStyleDate|22 March|1734|11 March}} – {{OldStyleDate|24 May|1801|12 May}}) was a Russian statesman and general from the [[Repnin]] princely family who played a key role in the dissolution of the [[Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth]]; the leading figure in the [[Repnin Sejm]], the victor [[Battle of Măcin|at Maçin]].

== Rule of Poland ==
Born in [[Saint Petersburg]], Prince Repnin served in the [[Military history of Imperial Russia|Imperial Army]] under his father, Prince [[Vasily Anikitovich Repnin]], during the [[Rhine Campaign of 1748]], and subsequently resided for some time abroad, where he acquired "a thoroughly sound [[German language|German]] education." He also participated, in a subordinate capacity, in the [[Seven Years' War]].

In 1763, [[List of Russian rulers|Emperor]] [[Peter III of Russia|Peter III]] sent him to [[Prussia]] as ambassador. The same year, [[Catherine II of Russia|Catherine]] transferred him to [[Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth|Poland]] as [[minister plenipotentiary]]; in [[Warsaw]] he was rumored to have had an affair with [[Izabela Fleming]] (and to have fathered [[Adam Jerzy Czartoryski]]).<ref name="LeDonne, p.210">LeDonne, p.210</ref>

Due to the level of Russian control of the Polish government, Repnin was the effective ruler of the country,<ref>Harcourt Brace, note to Casanova, p.356; Ritter, p.189</ref> with special instructions to form a pro-Russian faction from among the various [[Protestantism|Protestants]], who were to receive equal rights with the [[Roman Catholicism in Poland|Catholics]]. Repnin believed that the Protestants were not significant enough to benefit Russia; at the same time, the Protestant community itself [[petition]]ed Empress Catherine, requesting not to be involved.

In order to further Russian interests, he encouraged the creation of two Protestant ''[[konfederacja|confederation]]s'' (of [[Sluck]] and [[Toruń]]) and later, a Catholic one (the [[Radom Confederation]], led by [[Karol Stanisław "Panie Kochanku" Radziwiłł]]).<ref name="Butterwick, p.169">Butterwick, p.169</ref> According to the ''[[Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition]]'', Repnin's correspondence reveals that he disliked the type of politics he was required to engage in. Nevertheless, he obeyed his instructions, and used various means to force the 1767–68 [[Sejm]] (the "[[Repnin Sejm]]") to concede all points in dispute.<ref name="Butterwick, p.169"/> Before the Sejm, he ordered the capture and exile to [[Kaluga]] of some vocal opponents of his policies<ref>de Madariaga {{full citation needed|date=April 2014}}</ref> — [[Józef Andrzej Załuski]]<ref>Harcourt Brace, note to Casanova, p.528</ref> and [[Wacław Rzewuski]]. The immediate result was the formation of the [[Bar Confederation]], which practically demolished the ambassador's strategy.<ref>Butterwick, p.170</ref>

== Military career ==
Repnin resigned his post to lead troops against the [[Ottoman Empire]] in the [[Russo-Turkish War, 1768-1774|Russo-Turkish War]]. At the head of an independent command in [[Moldavia]] and [[Wallachia]], he prevented a large Ottoman army from crossing the [[Pruth]] (1770), distinguished himself at the actions of [[Battle of Larga|Larga]] and [[Battle of Kagul|Kagul]], and captured [[Izmail]] and [[Kiliya|Kilia]]. In 1771 he received the supreme command in Wallachia and occupied [[Bucharest]]. A quarrel with the [[commander-in-chief]], [[Pyotr Rumyantsev|Rumyantsev]], then induced him to send in his resignation, but in 1774 he participated in the capture of [[Silistra|Silistria]] and in the negotiations which led to the [[Treaty of Kuchuk-Kainarji|peace of Kuchuk-Kainarji]]. In 1775-76 Repnin and his factotum, [[Yakov Bulgakov]], represented Russian interests at the [[Sublime Porte|Porte]].

On the outbreak of the [[War of the Bavarian Succession]] he led 30,000 men to [[Breslau]], and at the subsequent [[congress of Teschen]], where he was Russian plenipotentiary, compelled [[Austria]] to make peace with [[Prussia]].

During the [[Russo-Turkish War, 1787-1792|second Turkish war (1787-92)]] Repnin was, after [[Alexander Suvorov]], the most successful of the Russian commanders. He defeated the Ottomans at [[Umbrărești|Salcia]], captured the whole camp of the ''[[seraskier]]'', [[Cenaze Hasan Pasha]], shut him up in Izmail, and was preparing to reduce the place when he was forbidden to do so because of his indecisiveness at the siege (1789). After another unsuccessful siege by [[Pavel Potemkin]], [[Alexander Samoylov|Samoylov]], and [[José de Ribas|de Ribas]], Suvorov, appointed by [[Grigori Alexandrovich Potemkin]], [[siege of Izmail|stormed Izmail]]. On the retirement of Potemkin in 1791, Repnin succeeded him as commander-in-chief, and immediately routed the grand vizier [[Battle of Măcin|at Măcin]], a victory which compelled the Ottomans to accept the truce of [[Galaţi]] (31 July 1791).

== Declining years ==
[[File:Moscow_Gate_Vorontsovo1.jpg|thumb|right|The gates leading to Repnin's country residence near Moscow]]

After the [[Second Partition of Poland]], he was made [[Vilna Governorate-General|governor-general of the newly acquired Lithuanian provinces]], where he also commanded the Russian forces during the [[Kościuszko Uprising]].  Tsar [[Paul I of Russia|Paul I]] raised him to the rank of [[field marshal]] (1796), and in 1798 sent him on a diplomatic mission to [[Berlin]] and [[Vienna]] to detach Prussia from [[France]] and unite the [[Habsburg monarchy]] and Prussia against the [[First French Republic]]. Unsuccessful, upon his return he was dismissed from service and died in [[Riga]].

Repnin had an illegitimate son, [[Ivan Pnin]], and it was widely rumored that [[Adam Jerzy Czartoryski]] was the fruit of a liaison between Repnin and [[Izabela Fleming]].<ref name="LeDonne, p.210"/>  Repnin's legitimate children were three daughters. Upon his death, as the male Repnin line became extinct, [[Alexander I of Russia|Alexander I]] permitted Repnin's grandson prince [[Nikolai Repnin-Volkonsky]] to assume the Repnin name and his grandfather's [[coat-of-arms]].

==See also==
* [[Ambassadors and envoys from Russia to Poland (1763–1794)]]
* [[Ivan Pnin]]

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Sources==
*{{EB1911|wstitle=Repnin|author=[[Robert Nisbet Bain]]}}
*''[[Catholic Encyclopedia]]'' article [http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/12181a.htm "Poland"]
*Richard Butterwick, ''Poland's Last King and English Culture'', [[Oxford University Press]], 1998
*[[Giacomo Casanova]], ''[[Histoire de ma vie|History of My life]]'', [[Johns Hopkins University Press]], 1997
* Isabel de Madariaga, ''Russia in the Age of Catherine the Great'', [[Yale University Press]], 1981, {{ISBN|0300025157}}; [[Phoenix Books|Phoenix Press]], 2002, {{ISBN|1842125117}}
*John P. LeDonne, ''The Grand Strategy of the Russian Empire, 1650-1831'', Oxford University Press [[United States]], 2004
*[[Gerhard Ritter|Gerhard Albert Ritter]], ''Frederick the Great'', [[University of California Press]], 1975

{{Governors-General of Baltic Provinces}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Repnin, Nikolai}}
[[Category:1734 births]]
[[Category:1801 deaths]]
[[Category:Military personnel from Saint Petersburg]]
[[Category:People from Sankt-Peterburgsky Uyezd]]
[[Category:Politicians from the Russian Empire]]
[[Category:Diplomats of the Russian Empire]]
[[Category:Field marshals of the Russian Empire]]
[[Category:Governors-general of Lithuania]]
[[Category:Ambassadors of the Russian Empire to Poland]]
[[Category:Ambassadors of the Russian Empire to the Ottoman Empire]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Order of St. George of the First Degree]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Order of St. George of the Second Degree]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Order of the White Eagle (Poland)]]