The Diplomat, Strategist, Intelligence Officer, Historian — in the Service of Russia. Prince Alexey Borisovich Lobanov-Rostovsky

The article is devoted to the life and various aspects of the activities of the outstanding diplomat Prince Alexey B. Lobanov-Rostovsky (1824–1896). The name of Lobanov-Rostovsky was not mentioned in literature until the first decade of the 21st century. Then Lobanov began to be remembered thanks to the efforts of his descendant Prince Nikita D. Lobanov-Rostovsky who initiated a number of studies about the prominent diplomat. A fundamental monograph on Prince Lobanov-Rostovsky has now been prepared. His international activity as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary took place at the most difficult political points at that time — twice in Constantinople (1859–1863; 1878–1879), as well as in London (1879–1882) and Vienna (1882–1895). He always managed to solve the most pressing problems of his time using skillful diplomatic tools. He received the post of Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Internal Affairs during the challenging period of restructuring of social and public institutions in Russia. It was the era of the so called Great Reforms of Emperor Alexander II. By offering him this position, the emperor took into account Prince’s intellectual scale, strategic foresight and tactical flexibility. During 11 years of activity in this field (1867–1878), Prince Lobanov-Rostovsky often performed the duties of a minister. During this time, the legal norms of the state and its relations with society significantly improved. In 1870, Alexey B. Lobanov-Rostovsky received the honorary position of State-Secretary of His Imperial Majesty, that is, the emperor's personal speaker, the position he held until the end of his life. Both Emperor Alexander II and Nicholas II treated Lobanov-Rostovsky with special warmth. Lobanov-Rostovsky managed to conclude the Russian-Turkish final Peace Treaty of 1879, which put an end to the war between Russia and Turkey. This agreement gave Russia significant moral and material results and marked the beginning of the autonomous Principality of Bulgaria, that led to Bulgarian statehood. Lobanov-Rostovsky’s work as Foreign Minister for 18 months (1895–1896) brought Russia fruitful results on the world stage and was highly appreciated both in Russia and in the world. The article talks about the different sides of the prince’s extraordinary personality. A true polymath, proficient in the Russian antiquity, he became a bibliophile, collector, genealogist and historian. He carefully commented on the historical documents he discovered and for 14 years (1871–1885) systematically published in special historical journals. The article examines the memoirs of contemporaries about the diplomat, as well as the latest research about him.

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