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Alexey Mikhailovich Cherkassky | |
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 Portrait byIvan Argunov, 1760s | |
| Chancellor of the Russian Empire | |
| In office 1740–1742 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1680-10-08)8 October 1680 Moscow, Russia |
| Died | 15 November 1742(1742-11-15) (aged 62) Moscow, Russia |
PrinceAlexey Mikhailovich Cherkassky orTcherkassky (Russian:Алексей Михайлович Черкасский, 8 October [O.S. 28 September] 1680 – 15 November [O.S. 4 November] 1742) was a Russian statesman who served as thechancellor from 1740 to 1742,[1] at the beginning of EmpressElizabeth's reign.[2][3]
Prince Cherkassky stemmed from one of Russia's richest families which descended from the sovereign rulers ofCircassia, a relation to PrinceAlexander Bekovich-Cherkassky. His surname translates as "Circassian".
In 1702, Prince Cherkassky held a post of seniorstolnik (tsar's personal assistant) and was soon assigned to assist his father, Prince Mikhail Yakovlevich Cherkassky, who had been avoivode inTobolsk at that time. Tcherkassky served under his father for 10 years and in 1714 was summoned toSaint Petersburg. There, he was appointed member of the Urban Construction Commission.
In 1719,Peter the Great sent Aleksey toSiberia as governor. In 1726, he became a senator. During the election ofAnna Ivanovna for the Russian throne in 1730, Cherkassky, the richest man in Russia in terms of the amount ofserfs he owned at that time, was in charge of thegentry party, which had been in opposition to theverkhovniki (members of theSupreme Privy Council).
For his services to the Crown he was appointed one of the threecabinet ministers and was promoted to the rank of grand chancellor in 1740. As a cabinet minister, Tcherkassky signed a trade agreement withGreat Britain in 1734. In his post as chancellor, he signed a treaty withPrussia in 1740 and Great Britain in 1741.
A Baroque palace built for Prince Cherkassky onPalace Quay toYeropkin's designs has been rebuilt into theNovo-Mikhailovsky Palace.
Media related toAleksey Cherkassky at Wikimedia Commons