Afanasy Ordin-Nashchokin

(c. 1605 - 1680), military officer, governor, diplomat, boyar.

Afanasy Lavrentievich Ordin-Nashchokin was born to a gentry family near Pskov in the first quarter of the seventeenth century, probably around 1605. He received an unusually good education for a Russian of the time, learning mathematics and several languages, and entered military service at fifteen. Exposed at a young age to foreign customs, he put his insights and ideas to good use throughout his life. In 1642 he helped settle a border dispute with Sweden, honing his talents for careful preparation, thorough investigation, and skillful negotiation. Next he led a mission to Moldavia, gaining experience and valuable information on the Poles, Turks, Cossacks, and Crimeans who populated the tsar's southern borders. For most of the 1650s he served as a military officer and governor of several regions in western Russia. While working to draw the local population to Moscow's side and achieving diplomatic agreements with Cour-land and Brandenburg, he also pondered ways to improve Russia's military, economic, and political standing. In 1658 he was able to achieve some of his greater goals in negotiating the three-year Valiesar truce with Sweden, gaining Russia peace, free trade, Baltic access, and all the territories it had conquered in the region. For this coup Ordin-Nashchokin received the rank of dumny dvoryanin (consiliar noble).

In 1660 his son Voin, likewise educated in foreign languages and customs, fled to Western Europe. A grieving and humiliated Ordin-Nashchokin requested retirement, but the tsar was reluctant to lose his able statesman and refused to hold the father accountable for his son's actions. Ordin-Nashchokin continued to negotiate for peace with Poland and to govern Pskov, becoming okolnichy (a high court rank) in 1665.

The peak of his career came in 1667 when he signed the Andrusovo treaty, ending a long war with Poland and establishing guidelines for a productive peace. For this achievement he was made boyar (the highest Muscovite court rank) and head of the Department of Foreign Affairs (Posolsky Prikaz). The same year he dispatched envoys to nearly a dozen countries to announce the peace and offer diplomatic and commercial ties with Russia. He also drew up the New Commercial Statute, aimed at stimulating and centralizing trade and industry and protecting Russian merchants. Over the next four years as head of Russia's government he enacted administrative reforms; supervised the construction of ships; established regular postal routes between Moscow, Vilna, and Riga; expanded Russia's diplomatic representation abroad; and began the compilation of translated foreign newspapers (kuranty). The number and character of his innovations have sometimes led to his description as a precursor of Peter the Great.

By 1671, however, his day was passing. Always outspoken and demanding, he began to irritate the tsar with his contentiousness. Worse, his views of international politics - he perceived Poland as Russia's natural ally, Sweden as its natural foe - no longer fit Moscow's immediate interests. Artamon Matveyev, the more flexible new favorite, was ready to step in. In 1672 Ordin-Nashchokin retired to a monastery near Pskov to be tonsured under the name Antony. In 1679 he briefly returned to service to negotiate with Poland, but soon retreated to his monastery and died the next year.

Bibliography

Kliuchevsky, V. O. (1968). "A Muscovite Statesman. Ordin-Nashchokin." In A Course in Russian History: The Seventeenth Century, tr. Natalie Duddington. Chicago: Quadrangle Books.

O'Brien, C. Bickford. (1974). "Makers of Foreign Policy: Ordin-Nashchokin." East European Quarterly 8: 155 - 165.

—MARTHA LUBY LAHANA

This article contains weasel words, vague phrasing that often accompanies biased or unverifiable information. Such statements should be clarified or removed. (October 2009)

Afanasy Lavrentievich Ordin-Naschokin (Russian: Афанасий Лаврентьевич Ордин-Нащокин) (1605-1680) was one of the greatest Russian statesmen of the 17th century. His career is quite unprecedented in Russian history, as he was the first petty noble to attain the boyar title and highest offices of state owing not to family connections but due to his personal ability and worth. In many things he anticipated Peter the Great. He was absolutely incorruptible, thus standing, morally as well as intellectually, far above the level of his age.

Early life and career

He was the son of a poor official at Pskov, who saw to it that his son was taught Latin, German and mathematics. Ordin began his public career in 1642 as one of the delineators of the new Russo-Swedish frontier after the peace of Stolbovo. Even then he had a great reputation in Russia as one who thoroughly understood "German ways and things". He was one of the first Russians who diligently collected foreign books, and we hear of as many as sixty-nine Latin works being sent to him at one time from abroad.

He attracted the attention of the young Tsar Alexis by his resourcefulness during the Pskov rebellion of 1650, which he succeeded in localizing by personal influence. At the beginning of the Russo-Swedish War (1656-1658), Ordin was appointed to a high command, in which he displayed striking ability.

Diplomatic missions

In 1657 he was appointed minister plenipotentiary to treat with the Swedes on the Narva River. He was the only Russian statesman of the day with sufficient foresight to grasp the fact that the Baltic seaboard, or even a part of it, was worth more to Russia than ten times the same amount of territory in Lithuania, and, despite ignorant jealousy of his colleagues, succeeded (Dec. 1658) in concluding a three-year Treaty of Valiesari whereby the Russians were left in possession of all their conquests in Livonia.

In 1660 he was sent as plenipotentiary to a second congress, to convert the truce of 1658 into a permanent peace. He advised that the truce with Sweden should be prolonged and Charles II of England invited to mediate a northern peace. Finally he laid stress upon the inimense importance of Livonia for the development of Russian trade. On being overruled he retired from the negotiations which led to the Treaty of Kardis.

He was the chief plenipotentiary at the abortive congress of Durovicha, which met in 1664, to terminate the Russo-Polish War (1654-1667); he negotiated the Truce of Niemieża and it was due in no small measure to his superior ability and great tenacity of purpose that Russia succeeded in concluding with Poland the advantageous Truce of Andrusovo (1667). On his return to Russia he was created a boyar of the first class and entrusted with the direction of the Foreign Office, with the title of Guardian of the great Tsarish Seal and Director of the great Imperial Offices. He was, in fact, the first Russian chancellor.

Later life and achievements

It was Ordin who first abolished the onerous system of tolls on exports and imports, and established a combination of native merchants for promoting direct commercial relations between Sweden and Russia. He also set on foot a postal system between Russia, Courland and Poland, and introduced gazettes and bills of exchange into Russia. With his name, too, is associated the building of the first Russian merchant-vessels on the Dvina and Volga.

But his whole official career was a constant struggle with narrow routine, and personal jealousy on the part of the boyars and clerks of the council. He was last employed in the negotiations for confirming the truce of Andrusovo (September 1669; March 1670). In January 1671 we hear of him as in attendance upon the tsar on the occasion of his second marriage; but in February the same year he was dismissed, and withdrew to the Krypetsky monastery near his native Pskov. There he took the tonsure under the name of Antony, and occupied himself with good works till his death in 1680.

This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica, Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.

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