Golitsyn D. A.: biographical information

(1632-1694). Grandson of Princess Anastasia Petrovna, “abbess of the most drunken cathedral.”

Golitsyn was also involved in the selection and acquisition of works of painting to be sent to St. Petersburg: with his help, the collections of Croz, Kobenzl, and Feitham were purchased for the Hermitage. Diderot spoke about the prince’s artistic passions in the following way:

I properly felt the current decline of painting only after the acquisitions made by Prince Golitsyn for Her Majesty and which attracted my attention to old paintings. You will get a great collection there! The prince, our mutual friend, was incredibly successful in his knowledge of art. You yourself will be surprised how he understands, feels, judges. And this, my friend, is because he has high thoughts and a beautiful soul. And a person with such a soul does not have bad taste.

In 1767, due to a diplomatic conflict: belittling the title of Catherine II in official correspondence with St. Petersburg by the Versailles court, Golitsyn was ordered to “leave Paris without an audience.” During his stay in Russia, he received the rank of full chamberlain and the rank of privy councilor. In 1769 he was appointed “plenipotentiary and extraordinary minister under States General United Provinces of the Low Countries". His diplomatic activity in The Hague for the most part was aimed at ensuring the safety of Russian merchant ships during the war for the independence of the British colonies in North America. The extent of Golitsyn’s participation in the creation of the “Declaration on Armed Neutrality” (1780) is not fully clear. However, according to the research of historians and, above all, N.N. Bolkhovitinov, Golitsyn was the initiator of the creation of the “Declaration...” and the compiler of its draft. Golitsyn convinced Stadtholder Wilhelm V, who had previously been a supporter of England, to join the countries that adopted the “Declaration...”.

Probably, the dissatisfaction of the Russian court with Golitsyn's contacts with Adams, the US representative in the Netherlands, explains his recall from The Hague and subsequent appointment as envoy to Turin (November 24, 1782). Having never left for Turin, at the end of 1783 Golitsyn resigned and remained to live in Holland.

Family

In 1767, forced to leave France, Golitsyn asked permission to stay abroad to continue his education. Neither his direct superiors nor the Empress, to whom Golitsyn addressed through Falcone, gave him this opportunity. Due to health reasons, he delayed his departure to Russia for several months. In the summer of 1768, while undergoing treatment in Aachen, the prince met the daughter of Prussian Field Marshal Samuel von Schmettau Amalia, who accompanied Frederick II's daughter-in-law Ferdinanda on a trip to the resort. The wedding took place in Aachen on August 14, 1768. The young people arrived in St. Petersburg in October of the same year. As soon as Golitsyn received a new appointment, the couple left for Holland. In Berlin, the Golitsyns had a daughter, Marianna (December 7, 1769), and a year later in The Hague, a son, Dmitry (December 22, 1770). From 1774, perhaps seeking a less formal lifestyle, Amalia Golitsyna lived near The Hague and raised her children. At first, she shared her husband’s atheistic way of thinking, but the princess later became very religious. In 1780, there was a break between the spouses, and Amalia Golitsyna moved to Münster with her children. In 1786, the princess converted to Catholicism and opened a religious-mystical salon (Kreise von Münster). Nevertheless, the couple corresponded and Golitsyn sometimes visited his family in Munster. At the age of 50, his daughter will become the wife of Prince Salma.

Golitsyn and the peasant question. Physiocrats

During his service in France, Golitsyn was a regular visitor to the salon of Victor Mirabeau, a kind of branch of the circle of the creator of physiocracy, F. Quesnay. He became one of the first Russians to join the ideas of the physiocrats. In his letters to Chancellor A. M. Golitsyn, understanding the need to increase agricultural productivity in Russia, D. Golitsyn spoke out for the liberation of the peasants and granting them ownership of property, the gradual formation of land ownership, through the purchase of land by farmers, the creation of a middle class, and the destruction of subsistence farming. In his correspondence with the Chancellor, Golitsyn referred to the example of Denmark; he closely followed the progress of socio-economic reforms in this country. In 1766, Golitsyn studied more than half of the works on legislation favorable to agriculture submitted to a competition announced by the Economic Society in Bern. In letters to A. M. Golitsyn, the envoy retells and extensively quotes some competition works. Believing that changes should be achieved gradually, through the power of persuasion, he believed that the most effective would be the example set by the empress herself. Golitsyn’s letters were read by Catherine II, judging by the notes left on them, who was very skeptical of his proposals, and, unlike the prince, did not idealize the noble landowners. A supporter of social reforms, Golitsyn was nevertheless an opponent of the revolutionary coup. Later, under the influence of the events of the French Revolution, he wrote:

In 1796, Golitsyn published the book “On the Spirit of Economists, or Economists Acquitted of the Charge that Their Principles and Ideas Formed the Foundation of the French Revolution” (“De l'esprit des economistes ou les economists justifies d'avoir pose par leurs principes les bases de la revolution francaise"), where he argued that the physiocrats of the older generation did not strive for revolution, but tried to support the collapsing existing system.

Scientific work

Even while working in Paris, Golitsyn was interested in scientific and technical innovations, followed natural science literature and maintained correspondence with scientists. Golitsyn's letters, sent to the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences through diplomatic channels, were valuable because in the last decade of the 18th century and the first years of the 19th century, almost no literature came to Russia from abroad.

Like many naturalists of the 18th century, Golitsyn was interested in various areas Sciences. Having become the Russian envoy to Holland, he established connections with Dutch scientists from different cities. Around 1776, Golitsyn created his home laboratory in The Hague, but also experimented in other people's laboratories, and also assisted other scientists. Judging by a letter dated February 28, 1778 to Swinden, Golitsyn had the largest electrostatic machine at that time (the diameter of two disks was 800 mm) of his own design. After retiring in 1783, the prince was able to seriously engage in scientific research.

Electricity

Golitsyn summarized the results of his experiments on electricity in the works: “Letter about some objects of electricity...” and “Observations of natural electricity through a kite”. In the first work, the question of the nature of electricity was considered (Golitsyn’s concept is one of the variations of the fluid theory), a guess was made about “rays emanating from a positively charged body”, the topic of lightning protection devices was discussed, as well as the influence of electricity on biological processes (using the example of the electrification of chicken eggs brooded by a hen). In his second work, Golitsyn drew an analogy between a cloud carrying electric charge and a Leyden jar and described attempts to charge the latter using a kite in different weather conditions, noting the lack of a stable result. Golitsyn also conducted a series of experiments to prove that a pointed spark gap is more effective than rounded or flat spark gaps. In the article “Letter on the Form of Lightning Rods” (July 6, 1778, published in 1780), he covered this issue in detail. Golitsyn developed the design of a single-rod lightning rod to ensure the insulation of its metal parts from the building structures of the protected structure to prevent their damage when the rod is heated from a lightning strike. A similar lightning rod was installed at Rosendal Castle (Geldern). Golitsyn in this installation anticipated modern standards lightning protection of explosive and fire hazardous objects. Together with Swinden, Golitsyn carried out experiments to discover the influence of electricity on magnetism. Scientists were one step away from success: placing a magnetic needle in the plane of a spark discharge, they did not detect its movement under the influence of electricity. Positive result could be achieved if the arrow were above or below the discharge. Based on unsuccessful experiments, Swinden denied the connection between electricity and magnetism.

Mineralogy

Having become interested in mineralogy in the 80s, Golitsyn, like many others, began collecting specimens - mostly in the mountains of Germany. His collection of minerals was replenished with receipts from Russia; P. S. Pallas provided great assistance to the prince in this. Forster, who visited Golitsyn in 1790, spoke about it this way: “The prince’s mineralogical cabinet is the collection of an expert who himself collected and preserved it, which happens rarely and is instructive in its own way. We were amazed at the one and a half pound block of flexible Peiresque sandstone brought from Brazil; The prince’s experiments convinced us that the decomposed types of Siebengebirg granites near Bonn are even more strongly attracted by a magnet than basalts.”

The last and most major work Golitsyn was “Collection of titles in alphabetical order accepted in mineralogy for earths and stones, metals and semimetals and rock resins..." (Gallitzin D. Recuel de noms par ordre aiphabetique apropries en Mineralogie aux terres et pierres, aux metaux et demi metaux et au bitume... Brunsvik, 1801, p. 320; Nouvelle edition. Brunsvik, 1801, p. 316). The second, revised, edition of the “Collection...” was published just before the author’s death. The book was not translated into Russian, but domestic mineralogists were familiar with it, in particular, V. M. Severgin, when compiling the “Detailed Mineralogical Dictionary,” used material from Golitsyn’s “Collection...”.

While exploring the Spessart plateau on one of his last trips, the prince discovered an unknown mineral. Golitsyn sent a sample of the mineral to Klaproth in Berlin: chemical research showed that it was titanium oxide with iron. The prince sent a sample of the mineral with the results of the analysis to the Jena Mineralogical Society. Its founder and director, Lenz, named the mineral “gallicinite” (the name lasted until the mid-19th century; the name rutile is currently used).

In the summer of 1799, Golitsyn was elected president of the Jena Mineralogical Society. Despite serious illness, the prince took an active part in its work.

Before his death, Golitsyn donated his collection to the Mineralogical Museum of Jena (the 1850 kg load arrived in December 1802), asking that the specimens be placed according to the Haüy system.

Volcanology

Golitsyn was one of the first to study the extinct volcanoes of Germany, noting the surprising silence of local naturalists, when “their [volcanoes] number is amazingly large, their products are very diverse and they are constantly in sight; the materials that these volcanoes emitted have been used for centuries...” The prince saw the reason for this in the relative youth of mineralogy and volcanology and in the absence of a unified classification of minerals. "Memoir about some extinct volcanoes Germany" was provided by Golitsyn in February 1785 to the Brussels academicians (Gallitzin D. Memoire sur guelgues vilcans etenits de l'Allemaqne. - Mem. Acad. Bruxelles, 1788, 5, p. 95-114). In his work, the prince summarized the results of research on volcanoes in the Rhine region below Andernach, in Hesse and near Göttingen (in the Fulda River basin) and noted the successes of French scientists in studying the volcanoes of Auvergne, Languedoc and Dauphine. While working on the “Memoir...” Golitsin used the works of Buffon, Dolomier, Hamilton and criticized a number of provisions of Neptunism.

Economy

In his economic writings, Golitsyn paid considerable attention to the issues of population development in Russia. Being a supporter of the physiocrats, he believed that agricultural labor ensured the existence and development of the state. He advocated the easing of serfdom, proposing to release peasants for high redemption payments, without allocating land. Golitsyn condemned the prohibition of the transition of peasants to urban classes and believed that the reason for the weak development of industry in Russia was the small number of people employed in industry and trade. Golitsyn's economic ideas were actually directed against serfdom and contributed to the development, albeit limited, of bourgeois relations.

Confession

Member-Director of the Dutch Society of Sciences (1777)
Honorary Member St. Petersburg Academy Sciences (1778)
Foreign member of the Brussels Academy of Sciences (1778)
Foreign Member of the Swedish Academy of Sciences (1788)
Foreign member of the Berlin Academy of Sciences (1793)
Member of the German Academy of Naturalists (Leopoldina, Halle) under the name Maecenas III (1795)
Foreign Fellow of the Royal Society of London (1798)
Member of the St. Petersburg Free Economic Society (1798)
President of the Jena Mineralogical Society (1799-1803)

Last years

In 1795, before the lesson French troops Holland, Golitsyn moved to Braunschweig. In recent years he was seriously ill and experienced financial difficulties. He died of tuberculosis in Brunswick on March 16, 1803, and was buried in the cemetery of the Church of St. Nicholas (the grave has not survived). Personal archive The prince was kept in Brunswick and died during the Second World War.

Awards

In 1785, Golitsyn translated the first description into French physical geography and the economy of Crimea K. I. Gablitsa. “A physical description of the Tauride region according to its location and all three kingdoms of nature” was published in 1788 in The Hague with a preface and comments by Golitsyn, who noted that the author continued the work begun by descriptions of travel “through the vast expanses of the empire” of Pallas, Johann and Samuel Gmelin , Lepekhina.

"Defense of M. de Buffon"

In 1790-1793 in the Paris Journal de physique, published by Jean Metairie, several articles by J. A. Deluc were published attacking his scientific opponents, including Buffon. In response to Deluc and the chemist Balthazar de Sage, who also published materials in the journal directed against progressive French naturalists, an anonymous Defense de M. de Buffon(1793, The Hague). In Russia, this work was published in the magazine “New Monthly Works” translated by D. Velichkovsky, N. Fedorov, P. Kedrin and I. Sidorovsky. Based on the surviving copy with Golitsyn’s dedicatory inscription, it was established that he was the author of the pamphlet. This is the only work of the prince that has been translated into Russian. Recognizing some of Buffon’s theories as erroneous, the author of “Defense...” consistently rejected Deluc and Sazh’s accusations against him:

…scientists of all countries, working to improve the sciences, continue to always show respect to them [Buffon’s works], despite the errors that have crept into them. I spent a deliberate part of my life getting to know Camper, Allaman and others; I know quite a few scientists in Germany. They are not exactly the opinions of Messrs. Deluc and Sazh: they think and speak frankly, they even write that the work of M. de Buffon, with all its errors, is and will remain forever the creation of a man with talents, and not a dry, so to speak, journal, like that ancient one

Dmitry Alekseevich Golitsyn

Golitsyn Dmitry Alekseevich (1734-1803) - prince, diplomat. From 1754 in the service of the College of Foreign Affairs, from 1760 - in the Russian embassy in Paris, where he established friendly relations with outstanding educators - Voltaire, Diderot, Montesquieu , D "Alember and others. He was a translator of a number of their works into Russian. In his reports to St. Petersburg he proposed to free the peasants from serfdom, sell them part of the state lands, etc. In 1769 - 1782 - envoy to The Hague. One of the authors of the adopted Catherine II Declaration of Armed Neutrality (1780). Advocated for recognition by Russia United States of America, met with the future US President D. Adams. After resigning, he lived abroad and studied science (mineralogy, physics, chemistry, biology, etc.).

Danilov A.A. History of Russia IX - XIX centuries. Reference materials., M, 1997.

Golitsyn Dmitry Alekseevich (1734-1803), Russian philosopher, economist and diplomat, member of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences (1790), a number foreign academies and scientific societies. In his economic writings he paid considerable attention to the issues of population development in Russia. Being a supporter of the physiocrats, Golitsyn believed that agricultural labor ensures the existence and development of the state. He advocated the easing of serfdom, proposing to release peasants for high redemption payments, without allocating land. Golitsyn condemned the prohibition of the transition of peasants to the urban estate and believed that the reason for the weak development of industry in Russia was the small number of people employed in industry and trade. Golitsyn's economic ideas were actually directed against serfdom and promoted development, albeit limited, by bourgeois relations.

S. D. Valentey.

Demographic encyclopedic dictionary. - M.: Soviet Encyclopedia. Editor-in-Chief D.I. Valentey. 1985.

Golitsyn Dmitry Alekseevich (15 (26). 05.1734 - 23.02 (7.03. 1803, Brunswick) - diplomat, scientist, publicist. In 1762-1768 - ambassador to France, in 1768-1798 - in the Netherlands; member of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences and a number of foreign academies, member of Volny economic society. Golitsyn's socio-political views developed within the framework of the noble-aristocratic worldview, influenced by Western European ideology, mainly the ideas of the physiocrats and French enlighteners. While abroad, Golitsyn maintained contacts with such thinkers as O. Mirabeau, Voltaire , D. Diderot; in 1773 he published a posthumous work in The Hague K. A. Helvetia « About a human" Calling for the “planting” of science and art in Russia in order to overcome “ignorance,” Golitsyn considered the most important and useful knowledge in this regard to be philosophy, which teaches how to be highly moral, how to soften passions and control oneself, and instills humanity and kindness in a person. “Jacobins, revolutionaries, propagandists and democrats,” from his point of view, “illegally” “usurped” the honorary title of philosophers. He considered the French “economists” to be real philosophers, in whose defense he wrote in French great job"On the Spirit of the Economists, or Economists Exonerated from the Charge that Their Principles Are the Foundation of the French Revolution" (1796). According to Golitsyn's natural philosophical ideas, the basic natural laws are a matter of divine wisdom; they form the primary order of nature; but nature does not remain in a state of unchanging peace. Golitsyn shared his thoughts J. Buffon about the emergence of a new order of things in nature through connections, decompositions, new combinations of its elements, thereby paying tribute to deism and mechanism of the 18th century. In his ideas about man, Golitsyn significantly diverged from orthodox Christian views and was guided by the achievements of natural science anthropology of the 18th century. In his opinion, man is a two-legged animal, distinguished from other animals by the ability to speak, to communicate his ideas to his peers using language, the desire to see everything and know everything out of curiosity; The unique quality of a person is to have property. Social order, according to Golitsyn, is a branch of general physical order; its laws should not be arbitrary; property, security, freedom - principles of social order consistent with the physical order of nature. A state contrary to freedom - slavery - is the last, according to Golitsyn, degree of degradation of the human being, humiliation of the mind, corruption of morals. On this basis, he advocated the liberation of the peasant from serfdom, without land, but with the right to movable and immovable property. Golitsyn makes the state of society as a whole, its morals, the character of the nation, the development of science and the arts dependent on “good” laws (or lawlessness), on “good” (or “bad”) political institutions. He shared the thought D. Yuma about the consequences arising from “good” laws: laws ensure property, property gives rise to confidence and peace of mind, from which curiosity develops, and from curiosity knowledge is born. Sharing the principle “Freedom in a monarchy, slavery in a republic,” he preached the ideal of a monarchy based on “fair” laws.

Based on the principles of the physiocrats, of all classes of society, Golitsyn considered the class of landowners to be the main producing and “making up everything in the nation”, which should be the most privileged class. He believed that the existence of a third estate, although not productive in nature, was useful for Russia. Free thinking, speeches in defense of philosophy as an independent science, naturalistic ideas with elements of deism and mechanism, anthropology objectively put Golitsyn in opposition to the dominant Orthodox religious worldview, strengthened the Renaissance and Enlightenment tendencies in Russian philosophical thought of the 2nd half of the 18th century.

V. F. Pustarnakov

Russian philosophy. Encyclopedia. Ed. second, modified and expanded. Under general edition M.A. Olive. Comp. P.P. Apryshko, A.P. Polyakov. – M., 2014, p. 137.

Works: Letters // Favorites. prod. Russian thought of the second half of the 18th century. M„ 1952. T. 2. P. 33-45.

Literature: Bak I. S. Dmitry Alekseevich Golitsyn (Philosophical, socio-political and economic views) // Historical notes. 1948. T. 26.

Golitsyn Dmitry Alekseevich (15.V.1734 - 23.II.1803), prince, - Russian scientist and diplomat. Author of books and articles on natural science, philosophy and political economy. Honorary member of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences and a number of foreign academies and scientific societies; member of the Free Economic Society in St. Petersburg. In 1762-1768 - ambassador to France, in 1768-1798 - in the Netherlands. Friend of Voltaire, Diderot and other French educators. According to their own philosophical views joined the materialists of the 18th century. In political economy, he declared himself a supporter of the school of physiocrats that emerged in France in the mid-18th century, which had a bourgeois essence in its feudal form. Not understanding this, Golitsyn, after the French bourgeois revolution of the late 18th century, justified physiocratism from the accusation that it formed the basis economic policy French Revolution. Main work: “On the spirit of economists, or Economists acquitted of the accusation that their principles formed the basis of the French Revolution...” (“De l"esprit des économistes ou les économistes justifiés d"avoir posé par leurs principes les bases de la Révolution Française. Par le prince D... de G...", Brunsvick, 1796). Believing that the land should be the inviolable property of the noble landowners, Golitsyn proposed releasing the peasants for high redemption payments, without allocating land. At the same time, the tenants of the landowners' land would be rich peasants exploiting their landless fellow villagers. Such a proposal objectively opened up some scope for the development of bourgeois relations under the conditions of the serf system. Some of Golitsyn's numerous letters ( stored in the Central State Archive of Civil Aviation, Golitsyn Fund, files 1111-1125) published in the book: Selected works Russian thinkers of the second half of the 18th century (vol. 2, 1952, pp. 33-45).

I. S. Bak. Moscow.

Soviet historical encyclopedia. In 16 volumes. - M.: Soviet Encyclopedia. 1973-1982. Volume 4. THE HAGUE - DVIN. 1963.

Literature: Bak I. S., Dmitry Alekseevich Golitsyn. (Philosophical, socio-political and economic views), in the collection: IZ, vol. 26, (M.), 1948; Russian history economic thought, vol. 1, part 1, M., 1955; Essays on the history of philosophical and socio-political thought of the peoples of the USSR, vol. 1, M., 1955.

Read further:

Philosophers, lovers of wisdom (biographical index).

Essays:

Letters // Favorites prod. Russian thought of the second half of the 18th century. M„ 1952. T. 2. P. 33-45.

Literature:

Favorite Russian works thinkers of the second half of the 18th century, vol. 2, M. 1952.

Bak I. S., D. A Golitsyn (philosophical, socio-political and economic views), in the collection: Historical. notes, vol. 26, [M.], 1948.

History of Russian economic thought, vol. 1, part 1, M., 1955;

Essays on the history of philosophical and socio-political thought of the peoples of the USSR, vol. 1, M., 1955.

Early childhood Dmitry may have passed in an estate near Moscow or in Moscow, where his father’s regiment was stationed. He received his education, like his brothers, in the Cadet Corps. For some time he served as a captain in the army.

Diplomatic Service

In 1767, due to a diplomatic conflict: belittling the title of Catherine II in official correspondence with St. Petersburg by the Versailles court, Golitsyn was ordered to “leave Paris without an audience.” During his stay in Russia, he received the rank of full chamberlain and the rank of privy councilor. In 1769 he was appointed "Minister Plenipotentiary and Extraordinary to the States General of the United Provinces of the Lower Netherlands." His diplomatic activities in The Hague were largely aimed at ensuring the safety of Russian merchant ships during the war for the independence of the British colonies in North America. The extent of Golitsyn’s participation in the creation of the “Declaration of Armed Neutrality” (1780) is not fully clear. However, according to the research of historians and, above all, N.N. Bolkhovitinov, Golitsyn was the initiator of the creation of the “Declaration...” and the compiler of its draft. Golitsyn convinced Stadtholder Wilhelm V, who had previously been a supporter of England, to join the countries that adopted the “Declaration...”.

Family

Portrait of Princess Amalia Golitsyna

Golitsyn and the peasant question. Physiocrats

Golitsyn D. A. Bust by M. Collot

During his service in France, Golitsyn was a regular visitor to the salon of Victor Mirabeau, a kind of branch of the circle of the creator of physiocracy, F. Quesnay. He became one of the first Russians to join the ideas of the physiocrats. In his letters to Chancellor A. M. Golitsyn, understanding the need to increase agricultural productivity in Russia, D. Golitsyn spoke out for the liberation of the peasants and granting them ownership of property, the gradual formation of land ownership, through the purchase of land by farmers, the creation of a middle class, and the destruction of subsistence farming. In his correspondence with the Chancellor, Golitsyn referred to the example of Denmark; he closely followed the progress of socio-economic reforms in this country. In 1766, Golitsyn studied more than half of the works on legislation favorable to agriculture submitted to a competition announced by the Economic Society in Bern. In letters to A. M. Golitsyn, the envoy retells and extensively quotes some of the competition works. Believing that changes should be achieved gradually, through the power of persuasion, he believed that the most effective would be the example set by the empress herself. Golitsyn’s letters were read by Catherine II, judging by the notes left on them, who was very skeptical of his proposals, and, unlike the prince, did not idealize the noble landowners. A supporter of social reforms, Golitsyn was nevertheless an opponent of the revolutionary coup. Later, influenced by the events of the French Revolution, he wrote:

In 1796, Golitsyn published the book “On the Spirit of Economists, or Economists Acquitted of the Accusation that Their Principles and Ideas Formed the Basis of the French Revolution” (“De l"esprit des economistes ou les economists justifies d"avoir pose par leurs principes les bases de la revolution francaise"), where he argued that the physiocrats of the older generation did not strive for revolution, but tried to support the collapsing existing system.

Scientific work

Like many naturalists of the 18th century, Golitsyn was interested in various fields of science. Having become the Russian envoy to Holland, he established connections with Dutch scientists from different cities. Around 1776, Golitsyn created his home laboratory in The Hague, but also experimented in other people's laboratories, and also assisted other scientists. Judging by a letter dated February 28, 1778 to Swinden, Golitsyn had the largest electrostatic machine at that time (the diameter of two disks was 800 mm) of his own design. After retiring in 1783, the prince was able to seriously engage in scientific research.

Electricity

Golitsyn summarized the results of his experiments on electricity in the works: “Letter about some objects of electricity...” and “Observations of natural electricity through a kite”. In the first work, the question of the nature of electricity was considered (Golitsyn’s concept is one of the variations of the fluid theory), a guess was made about “rays emanating from a positively charged body”, the topic of lightning protection devices was discussed, as well as the influence of electricity on biological processes (using the example of the electrification of chicken eggs brooded by a hen). In the second work, Golitsyn drew an analogy between a cloud carrying an electric charge and a Leyden jar and described attempts to charge the latter using a kite in different weather conditions, noting the lack of a stable result. Golitsyn also conducted a series of experiments to prove that a pointed spark gap is more effective than rounded or flat spark gaps. In the article “Letter on the Form of Lightning Rods” (July 6, 1778, published in 1780), he covered this issue in detail. Golitsyn developed the design of a single-rod lightning rod to ensure the insulation of its metal parts from the building structures of the protected structure to prevent their damage when the rod is heated from a lightning strike. A similar lightning rod was installed at Rosendal Castle (Geldern). In this installation, Golitsyn anticipated modern lightning protection standards for explosive and fire-hazardous objects. Together with Swinden, Golitsyn carried out experiments to discover the influence of electricity on magnetism. Scientists were one step away from success: placing a magnetic needle in the plane of a spark discharge, they did not detect its movement under the influence of electricity. A positive result could be achieved if the arrow were above or below the discharge. Based on unsuccessful experiments, Swinden denied the connection between electricity and magnetism.

Mineralogy

Golitsyn’s last and largest work was “A collection of names in alphabetical order adopted in mineralogy for earths and stones, metals and semimetals and rock resins...” (Gallitzin D. Recuel de noms par ordre aiphabetique apropries en Mineralogie aux terres et pierres, aux metaux et demi metaux et au bitume... Brunsvik, 1801, p. 320; Nouvelle edition. Brunsvik, 1801, p. 316). The second, revised, edition of the “Collection...” was published just before the author’s death. The book was not translated into Russian, but domestic mineralogists were familiar with it, in particular, V. M. Severgin, when compiling the “Detailed Mineralogical Dictionary,” used material from Golitsyn’s “Collection...”.

In the summer of 1799, Golitsyn was elected president of the Jena Mineralogical Society. Despite his serious illness, the prince took an active part in his work.

Before his death, Golitsyn donated his collection to the Mineralogical Museum of Jena (a load weighing 1850 kg arrived in December 1802), asking that the specimens be placed according to the Haüy system.

Volcanology

Golitsyn was one of the first to study the extinct volcanoes of Germany, noting the surprising silence of local naturalists, when “their [volcanoes] number is amazingly large, their products are very diverse and they are constantly in sight; the materials that these volcanoes emitted have been used for centuries...” The prince saw the reason for this in the relative youth of mineralogy and volcanology and in the absence of a unified classification of minerals. “A Memoir on Some Extinct Volcanoes of Germany” was provided by Golitsyn in February 1785 to the Brussels academicians (Gallitzin D. Memoire sur guelgues vilcans etenits de l "Allemaqne. - Mem. Acad. Bruxelles, 1788, 5, p. 95-114). In In his work, the prince summarized the results of research on volcanoes in the Rhine region below Andernach, in Hesse and near Göttingen (in the Fulda River basin) and noted the successes of French scientists in studying the volcanoes of Auvergne, Languedoc and Dauphine. While working on the “Memoir...” Golitsin used the works of Buffon, Dolomier, Hamilton and criticized a number of provisions of Neptunism.

Confession

Member-Director of the Dutch Society of Sciences (1777)
Honorary member of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences (1778)
Foreign member of the Brussels Academy of Sciences (1778)
Foreign Member of the Swedish Academy of Sciences (1788)
Foreign member of the Berlin Academy of Sciences (1793)
Member of the German Academy of Naturalists (Leopoldina, Halle) under the name Maecenas III (1795)
Foreign Fellow of the Royal Society of London (1798)
Member of the St. Petersburg Free Economic Society (1798)
President of the Jena Mineralogical Society (1799-1803)

Last years

In 1795, before the occupation of Holland by French troops, Golitsyn moved to Brunswick. In recent years he was seriously ill and experienced financial difficulties. He died of consumption in Brunswick on March 16, 1803, and was buried in the cemetery of the Church of St. Nicholas (the grave has not survived). The prince's personal archive was kept in Brunswick and was lost during World War II.

Awards

Order of St. Anne, 1st class.

Translations of Golitsyn and books published by him

In 1771, having learned from Helvetius’s relatives about the unpublished work he had left behind, “On Man, His mental abilities and his upbringing" (De l "homme, de ses facultes intellectuelles et de son education), Golitsyn, who was personally acquainted with the philosopher and shared his views, decided to publish the book. Through the vice-chancellor, the prince informed the empress of his intention. Catherine II requested a copy Helvetius's work. In December 1772, the first part of the book was rewritten, but, without waiting for Catherine's decision, Golitsyn published the book in The Hague (June 1773) with a dedication to the empress. Helvetius' work, with some provisions of which not everyone agreed in France, received approval in Russia.

In 1773, Golitsyn edited a book by a professor of the Parisian Military school Keralio "History of the war between Russia and Turkey, in particular the campaign of 1769" Keralio’s work was published in St. Petersburg in French without indicating the author’s name in the same volume with “Genealogy of the Golitsyn princes” and “Notes on the article by an anonymous person from the Military Encyclopedia on the Russian-Turkish War and the Campaign of 1769.” According to historians, the second and third parts of the publication were written by D. A. Golitsyn. "Remarks" are a critical analysis of an article that appeared in January-April 1770 in the journal "L" Encyclopedie Militaire, where the course of the military campaign was presented in a distorted light, and also contained attacks on the commander of the 1st Russian Army A. M. Golitsyn.

In 1785, Golitsyn translated into French the first description of the physical geography and economy of Crimea by K. I. Gablitz. “A physical description of the Tauride region according to its location and all three kingdoms of nature” was published in 1788 in The Hague with a preface and comments by Golitsyn, who noted that the author continued the work begun by descriptions of travel “through the vast expanses of the empire” of Pallas, Johann and Samuel Gmelin , Lepekhina.

"Defense of M. de Buffon"

…scientists of all countries, working to improve the sciences, continue to always show respect to them [Buffon’s works], despite the errors that have crept into them. I spent a deliberate part of my life getting to know Camper, Allaman and others; I know quite a few scientists in Germany. They are not exactly the opinions of Messrs. Deluc and Sazh: they think and speak frankly, they even write that the work of M. de Buffon, with all its errors, is and will remain forever the creation of a man with talents, and not a dry, so to speak, journal, like that of ancient Pliny; this is a collection of events that led him to reasoning and conclusions, whether they were fair or false, but always proving that he had to reflect and delve deeply into everything that his florid pen had written for us.

Golitsyn's works

"Lettre sur quelques objets d"Electricite" (The Hague 1778, in Russian, St. Petersburg, 1778);
"Defense de Buffon" (The Hague, 1793);
"De l" esprit des economists ou les economists justifies d "avoir pose par leurs principes les bases de la revolution francaise" (Braunschw., 1796), etc.;
published Helvetius's posthumous work: "De l"homme, de ses facultes intellectuelles et de son education" (The Hague, 1772), the manuscript of which was purchased by purchase,
as well as the work of Keralio, "Histore de la guerre entre la Russie et la Turquie, et particulierement de la campaqne de 1769" (Amsterdam, 1773), with its notes.

15 May 1734 - 01 March 1803

Biography

early years

Representative of the third branch of the Golitsyn princes - the Golitsyn-Alekseevichs, whose ancestor was A. A. Golitsyn (1632-1694).

The fifth son of lieutenant of the Butyrsky regiment Alexei Ivanovich Golitsyn (d. June 5, 1739) and Daria Vasilievna, née Princess Gagarina. Dmitry's early childhood may have been spent in an estate near Moscow or in Moscow, where his father's regiment was stationed. He received his education, like his brothers, in Cadet Corps. For some time he served as a captain in the army.

Diplomatic Service

Since 1754 he served in the College of Foreign Affairs. Diplomatic Service began in Paris in 1760 - with D. M. Golitsyn temporarily filling the place of envoy. Under the new envoy, P. G. Chernyshev, Golitsyn did not have a specific position; his only duty was to pay weekly visits to Choiseul. In 1762 he was appointed by Peter III as an adviser to the embassy. In the fall of 1763, Catherine II appointed Golitsyn minister plenipotentiary at the Versailles court with the rank of chamber cadet. Perhaps the purpose is due to the fact that brother Golitsyna Peter, captain of the Izmailovsky regiment, was an active participant in the coup of 1762.

While serving in Paris, Golitsyn mainly had to deal with the Polish issue, which complicated relations between France and Russia.

Another important aspect of his activities was the strengthening of cultural ties between the two countries. In connection with the French authorities prohibiting the printing of new volumes of the Encyclopedia, the Empress, through Golitsyn, negotiated to move the publication to one of the cities of Russia. Golitsyn recommended Grimm as the supplier of the Literary Correspondence magazine for Catherine II. Through the mediation of the envoy, the empress acquired a collection of books by Diderot, who was in need of money, and he himself was appointed her librarian for life. With the help of Golitsyn, a sculptor was found to work on the monument to Peter I - Etienne Falconet. While serving in Holland, he did not break ties with friends from France: Diderot, Montesquieu, D'Alembert and Voltaire and remained an adviser on cultural issues.

In 1767, due to a diplomatic conflict: belittling the title of Catherine II in official correspondence with St. Petersburg by the Versailles court, Golitsyn was ordered to “leave Paris without an audience.” During his stay in Russia, he received the rank of full chamberlain and the rank of privy councilor. In 1769 he was appointed "Minister Plenipotentiary and Extraordinary to the States General of the United Provinces of the Lower Netherlands." His diplomatic activities in The Hague were largely aimed at ensuring the safety of Russian merchant ships during the war for the independence of the British colonies in North America. The extent of Golitsyn’s participation in the creation of the “Declaration of Armed Neutrality” (1780) is not fully clear. However, according to the research of historians and, above all, N.N. Bolkhovitinov, Golitsyn was the initiator of the creation of the “Declaration...” and the compiler of its draft. Golitsyn convinced Stadtholder Wilhelm V, who had previously been a supporter of England, to join the countries that adopted the “Declaration...”.

CONTENT

Instead of a preface

1874–1904

Chapter 1

Childhood and adolescence

Chapter 2

My hunting memories for the entire period before emigration

Chapter 3

University period

Chapter 4

My inauguration as the Chief of the Nobility of the Kharkov district

Chapter 5

First agrarian unrest

Chapter 6

All-Russian Livestock Exhibition

Chapter 7

Russo-Japanese War

Chapter 8

St. Petersburg at the end of 1904

1905–1916

Chapter 9

Revolution of 1905 and the Kharkov Provincial Zemstvo Assembly

Chapter 10

All-Zemstvo congresses

Chapter 11

Model farm

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

2nd State Duma. Creation of the Center Party

Chapter 14

New electoral law on the State Duma and elections to the 3rd State Duma

Chapter 15

Five years of activity in the 3rd State Duma

Chapter 16

The coming calm

Chapter 17

Decline of Stolypin's glory

Chapter 18

A break in my socio-political service to the Motherland

Chapter 19

My involvement in banking and industrial activity

Chapter 20

State Council. First World War

1917–1920

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Old Vodolagi

Chapter 23

First contact with Bolshevism

Chapter 24

Kharkiv. 1918

Chapter 25

Liberation of Kharkov

Chapter 26

Deputation from the Union of Grain Growers

Chapter 27

Preparations for the congress in the Kharkov province

Chapter 28

Congress of Grain Growers

Chapter 29

The first days of the hetmanate

Chapter 30

Kharkiv. Again in Kyiv

Chapter 31

Protofis

Chapter 32

Kyiv. 1918

Chapter 33

Chapter 34

Constantinople - Kharkov

Chapter 35

Beginning of the End

Chapter 36

1920 Novorossiysk evacuation

Conclusion

Index of names

ILLUSTRATIONS

EXTRACTS FROM THE PREFACE

Having finally emigrated with my family after the collapse of the Volunteer Army and the departure of Denikin, I four years wandering throughout almost all of Europe, ended up in Jombol in 1923, border town New Serbia with Romania. Near it was located the huge estate of an Austro-Hungarian magnate, which was transferred to the Serbian State, which was supposed to be parceled out among Serbian citizens who took part in the last war. Before that, it was ruled by a Serb chief commissar, and to help him, but rather for humanitarian reasons, the Serbian Government sent Russian refugees there, also as commissars, providing them with free housing and a small salary to cover food costs. Among the said commissioners, I, living in Belgrade in 1923, received an appointment there.
Arriving at the end of summer in Jombol, I found quite a number of Russian refugees there, settled in the huge hunting house of the former owner of this latifundia. Having settled down there in one of the rooms of this beautiful building, I found many acquaintances among the Russian refugees already living in it, mostly with entire families. Having looked around, to my great joy I found N.N. Lvov among the neighbors.
I knew Nikolai Nikolaevich well from the general zemstvo congresses of 1905 in Moscow, and then as a member of the 3rd State Duma, where we, although we were in different political parties, very much agreed in views and opinions on almost all issues.
Already at the zemstvo congresses, Lvov stood out as a brilliant speaker. He belonged to that generation of Russian politicians who instinctively sought to merge with the people. Some solved this problem by going to the people and preaching there their liberal, often revolutionary, ideas, others tried to merge with the people through their simplification, abandoning European clothes and dressing in a scroll or undercoat. Finally, still others realized their idea of merging with the people by marrying peasant women from their native villages. N.N. Lvov belonged to this category of people of this era. An idealist to the core, who passionately loved his Motherland, a major zemstvo figure, he experienced very hard the collapse of all the ideals of his life and his forced exile. Needless to say, we were both very happy with our unexpected meeting. Not a day passed without me going to see him to exchange at least a few words, but for the most part I sat with him whole evenings talking about what I had experienced, about our mistakes that brought us to our present state, about Russia, about its disappearance from the accounts of the European powers, plunged back into a medieval state precisely when, thanks to the work of the State Duma, it was ready to make a huge leap forward in the development of its economic forces and its intellectual development, starting from the grassroots.
On one of these visits, I found Nikolai Nikolaevich sitting behind some drawing. “What are you sketching so diligently?” - I turned to him with a question. “But you see, I’m trying to reproduce as accurately as possible the design of the home furniture that filled the house of my village estate and which local population under the influence of criminal anarchist propaganda, it was plundered, destroyed, and set on fire. And you ask: what is this for? To this I will answer you: the life of the landowners has passed into eternity, there is no way for it to be revived
possibilities, but preserving his appearance down to the smallest detail is the duty of everyone who knows him. It will be extremely important for posterity to resurrect this unique culture, which in the 19th century gave us such unsurpassed literary geniuses as Pushkin, Lermontov, Tyutchev, two Count Tolstoys, Turgenev. This way of life was a center of culture, enlightenment and progress among the sea of ignorance, rudeness and backwardness in which the rest of Russia, constituting ninety percent of the total population, was immersed. So, Prince, you found me sketching some details of this life. From memory I want to restore the design of the furniture that filled my estate. This furniture was created by the serf carpenters of my ancestors from home-harvested wood. She happens to be the best proof that enlightened taste that our ancestors possessed, for I know that serf carpenters carried out tasks according to the drawings given to them by their masters. In your estate, you probably had the same original home-made furniture, which is unlikely to be modern conditions and the order prevailing in our unfortunate Motherland will remain intact. Before her appearance is erased from your memory, sketch her, and attach these valuable drawings to those memories that you must certainly write. Are you writing your memoirs? - he finally turned to me after a long tirade. I was forced to answer him negatively. He looked at me in surprise and said: “Why, really, won’t you leave as a souvenir for posterity everything that you experienced and witnessed during this time?” last period Russian history? We are now standing at the threshold of a new existence for our Motherland. An impassable gulf separates the period we have lived through from the one that is now being forged. communist international who seized power over our unfortunate Motherland. And even if she manages to free herself from their clutches, then the way of life, lifestyle and living conditions in this liberated Russia will be completely different from those in which we lived before the Bolshevik revolution. Therefore, I implore you, prince, without wasting a single minute, sit down now to describe not only the events relating to the era of your mature age, when you joined the social, political and state
activities, but start your memories from the very early age. By doing this, you will give the future researcher rich and valuable material for establishing the life and living conditions of an era that has now passed into eternity and is more unique.”
The above conversation sank deeply into my soul and undoubtedly predetermined my subsequent decision to begin my memories not from adulthood, but from my early youth, thus fulfilling the covenant given to me by Nikolai Nikolaevich Lvov<...>.

REVIEWS

Victor Leonidov
"Do not give up…"
Book of memories of Prince Golitsyn
This manuscript was handed over in Paris to one of the glorious representatives of the Golitsyn family - Muscovite Andrei Kirillovich Golitsyn. His father spent almost half his life in camps, but he managed to convey to his son what honor and true loyalty to duty are. Old emigrants gave Andrei Kirillovich the memories of another Golitsyn - Alexander Dmitrievich, district leader Kharkov nobility, member of the Council of the Russian - English bank, a member of the 3rd State Duma, a participant in the famous Kharkov congress of grain growers, which put Hetman Skoropadsky at the head of Ukraine, Alexander Golitsyn managed to stay alive during the civil war and died in the capital of France four years after Stalin’s death.
Andrei Kirillovich fulfilled this order, and with his preface, “Memoirs” of Prince Golitsyn have just been published in the Moscow publishing house “Russian Way”.
This book makes a very strong impression, even with all the current flood of memoir literature. However, here are just a few fragments:
“...Order of stay Royal family in Kharkov, the following was worked out: meeting with officials at the Kharkov station, departure for a thanksgiving prayer service at the University Church in the city center. Please note, not in cathedral, and in the University Church, at the urgent request of the students themselves of that University, which seven years ago was recruiting terrorists and regicides. After the prayer service, reception of the Nobility and other classes in the halls of the Assembly of the Nobility and departure again to the station for further travel to the capital.
I cannot help but note a characteristic moment of this meeting: when the question was being resolved in which and whose carriages to take the Emperor and his family from the station to the city and back, a deputation from reckless cab drivers appeared and tearfully begged for the honor of carrying their Emperor.”
“Peter Arkadyevich Stolypin impressed me at this first acquaintance with him. favorable impression. Tall, stately, with a courageous, even handsome face, with a thick Russian square beard and a high forehead, he was the type of Russian hero. Pleasant voice timbre and clear open look complemented the portrait.
While saying goodbye, he added that my note will be attached as materials for the meeting that he proposes to convene at the Ministry, at which the bill on the Volost Zemstvo submitted to the Duma will be discussed and to which representatives of the zemstvo self-governments will be invited.”
“The speaker had already begun his final topic about the need to elect a hetman, when the inner door of the empty box opened and Skoropadsky appeared in it, accompanied by his guard of Serdyuks and Zhupanniks in Ukrainian uniforms with Haidamak forelocks on their shaved heads. Slim, tall in a black Circassian coat, white-faced and without a single hair on his head, as if chiseled from Ivory, Skoropadsky separated from his retinue and came close to the barrier of the box.”
All these quotes, probably, if you remember Pushkin’s words, like a magic crystal, highlight the content of the book from which they are borrowed. The huge scale of the era and the people the author met.
A descendant of the famous Golitsyn family, which has been serving Russia for more than 600 years, since the time when the founder of the glorious family, great-grandson Lithuanian ruler Gedimina, Prince Patrikey Alexandrovich, arrived in Moscow, Alexander Golitsyn was one of the most prominent representatives Russian nobility of the twentieth century. Tourists from Russia are always shown his grave on Sainte-Genevieve des Bois, explaining that this man played a huge role among the Russian emigration.
Most of the Golitsyns died during the years of civil and revolution, and those who survived during the time of unrest were shot during the days of great terror. Alexander Dmitrievich himself, who believed that it was necessary to serve one’s country and one’s people in any circumstances, initiated the creation of the Union of Nobles in Paris in 1925. The names of those who arrived at the organizational meeting seemed to come from the pages of history textbooks - Shakhovskaya, Grabe, Gorchakov. The Union's goal was, above all, to continue serving its country. And the prince considered this the main, integral feature Russian nobility. “The Russian nobility has never been, unlike the Western one, a closed class; it did not have the character of feudalism and the Russian nobleman did not live on his estate, like feudal lords in castles, surrounded by guards,” he wrote.
Alexander Dmitrievich Golitsyn was very gifted by nature. An orator, a man who knew how to think systematically, an excellent stylist, he was distinguished by a remarkable memory, which tenaciously, down to the smallest detail, preserved his impressions great life. And this is precisely what made his “Memoirs” an excellent example of Russian memoirs of the 19th - 20th centuries.
A huge canvas of the history of the blessed pre-revolutionary Russian years and the tragedies of revolution and civil war. The Dolzhik estate in the Kharkov province, then the estate of his mother, nee Countess Sivers - Starye Vodolagi, where Golitsyn created one of the exemplary farms of the Russian Empire. A quiet, sort of Bunin-like, unhurried life. The hunt to which the inspired pages of memoirs are dedicated. A passionate hunter, Alexander Dmitrievich recalled in Paris how the huntsmen drove the wolves, how they reloaded the guns, quickly handing them to the shooters who were shooting at the rising flock of pheasants. St. Petersburg University, trip to Far East during Russo-Japanese War in the position of Representative of the Red Cross and work, tireless, painstaking work to revive the village and create normal, legal relations. Those who are at least a little interested in our history, I am sure, will find a lot of interesting and topical things in Golitsyn’s memoirs. In stories about fierce disputes in the State Duma, about the behavior of the leaders during the First World War, about how long they calmly and turned a blind eye to revolutionary propaganda, which ultimately destroyed the country.
And further. Today, when the history of relations between Russia and Ukraine is presented solely from the point of view of political expediency, it is worth carefully reading the pages of memoirs that vividly, powerfully recreate pictures of life in Ukraine during the civil war, the continuous change of authorities in Kyiv and the short reign of Hetman Skoropadsky.
“It was impossible to entrust to the dark and politically unprepared people in the second ten years after their liberation from serfdom those broad democratic reforms that were placed on their shoulders in all areas of their life. If all the advanced elements who encouraged these changes and were the first to rush headlong into working in the political and social field within the framework of the new reform had shown balance and moderation, then perhaps the people would have coped with these changes, allowing their advanced and intellectual elements, that is, the aristocracy of the people's mind. But the fact is that moderation and balance are not inherent in the Russian character,” wrote Golitsyn, reflecting on the root causes of the Russian catastrophe. And perhaps his words are worth listening to.

Vera Bokova

“At the Bookshelf”, No. 3, 2009

In 2008, the family of princes Golitsyn, which originated from the legendary Gediminas, turned 600 years old.
The author of the book is a worthy representative of one of the most famous branches of this amazingly numerous and branched family - the Golitsyn-Zubrilovskys, named after the Zubrilovka estate that belonged to the family, located in the Penza province. Among the most famous here is the founder of Russian winemaking, Prince Lev Sergeevich Golitsyn, who was our author’s uncle. On his mother’s side, Alexander Dmitrievich Golitsyn came from a glorious ancient family Counts Siversov. Manor childhood, home education- a complete set of cozy and sweet family memories in best traditions Russian memoirs (the poetic perception of the Easter celebration is especially remarkable). When starting to describe his young years, Golitsyn tried to capture on paper as many everyday details of a world that was dear to him and irretrievably gone.
From the middle of the book, the traditional plots for Russian memoir literature (“notes”) are replaced by slightly dry “memoirs” - in the sense that the creators of this genre, the French, understood it. If “notes” are a conversation about oneself and about time, then “memoirs” are a story about time and about oneself, and about time - more important and more. And here everyday stories are replaced by political ones.
A.D. Golitsyn participated in the socio-political life of the era quite actively, although he did not play the first roles in it. He held the post of Kharkov district marshal of the nobility, was a member of the board of directors of the Russian-English Bank, and a deputy of the Third State Duma. The narrative continues “until the end of normal life,” as the author puts it, that is, before leaving for emigration. Abroad, Prince Golitsyn was destined to live until 1953. Until the very last days he retained his uncompromising firmness of conviction and continued to consider himself a fighter of the counter-revolution, which left its mark on his book. He not only remembered, but did not analyze the past, he tried to understand the course and meaning of the fatal events. national history events.
The memoirist not only gives detailed and reasoned characteristics of the last two reigns ( Alexandra III and Nicholas II), but also comes to the conclusion about historical inevitability revolution of 1917 in both its acts - the February and the October (he even quotes Lenin) - lines about a revolutionary situation when the lower classes do not want, but the upper classes cannot), as well as the conclusion about the crisis and the imminent end of the Soviet regime.
Interested in this historical period the reader - even more so a professional historian and political scientist - will find a lot of interesting things in the book. It contains behind-the-scenes details of the Russo-Japanese and First World Wars, sketches of the events of the 1905 revolution, “agrarian unrest”, as the author calls them, the events of 1917 and Civil War; portraits and characteristics of P.A. Stolypin, S.I. Witte, A.I. Guchkov, N.N. Lvov and other famous contemporaries of the memoirist, a narrative about the activities of the then Duma, assessments of Russian foreign and domestic policy. In factual terms, “Memoirs” by A.D. Golitsyn is undoubtedly among the most foamy of those published in last years emigrant memories.