Prince Vasily Vasilyevich (1643–1714) was probably the greatest Russian statesman of the 17th century. He belonged to the Galitzine

Galitzine

For Orthodox clergyman and theologian, see Alexander Golitzin.The Galitzines are one of the largest and noblest princely houses of Russia. Since the extinction of the Korecki family in the 17th century, the Golitsyns have claimed dynastic seniority in the House of Gediminas...

 family and his main political opponent was his cousin Boris Alexeyevich Galitzine

Boris Alexeyevich Galitzine

Prince Boris Alexeevich was a Russian nobleman of the Galitzine family. His chief political opponent was his own cousin Vasily Vasilyevich Galitzine.-Life:Boris was a court Chamberlain since 1676...

.

Life

He spent his early days at the court of Tsar Alexius where he gradually rose to the rank of boyar

Boyar

A boyar, or bolyar , was a member of the highest rank of the feudal Moscovian, Kievan Rus'ian, Bulgarian, Wallachian, and Moldavian aristocracies, second only to the ruling princes , from the 10th century through the 17th century....

. In 1676 he was sent to Ukraine

Ukraine

Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...

 to keep in order the Crimean Tatars

Crimean Tatars

Crimean Tatars or Crimeans are a Turkic ethnic group that originally resided in Crimea. They speak the Crimean Tatar language...

 and took part in the Chigirin campaign. Personal experience of the inconveniences and dangers of the prevailing system of preferment; the so-called mestnichestvo

Mestnichestvo

In Russian history, Mestnichestvo was a feudal hierarchical system in Russia from the 15th to 17th centuries. Mestnichestvo revolved around a simple principle: the boyar who estimated that his origins were more ancient and his personal services to the tsar more valuable could claim a higher state...

, or rank priority, which had paralysed the Russian armies for centuries, induced him to propose its abolition, which was accomplished by Tsar Feodor III

Feodor III of Russia

Feodor III Alexeevich of Russia was the Tsar of all Russia between 1676 and 1682....

 in 1678.

The May revolution of 1682 placed Vasily at the head of the Posolsky Prikaz, or ministry of foreign affairs, and during the regency of Sophia

Sophia Alekseyevna

Sophia Alekseyevna was a regent of Russian Tsardom who allied herself with a singularly capable courtier and politician, Prince Vasily Galitzine, to install herself as a regent during the minority of her brothers, Peter the Great and Ivan V...

, sister of Peter the Great

Peter I of Russia

Peter the Great, Peter I or Pyotr Alexeyevich Romanov Dates indicated by the letters "O.S." are Old Style. All other dates in this article are New Style. ruled the Tsardom of Russia and later the Russian Empire from until his death, jointly ruling before 1696 with his half-brother, Ivan V...

, whose intimate friend he became, he was the principal minister of state (1682–1689) and keeper of the great seal, a title bestowed upon only two Russians before him, Afanasy Ordin-Nashchokin

Afanasy Ordin-Nashchokin

Afanasy Lavrentievich Ordin-Naschokin 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...

 and Artamon Matveev

Artamon Matveev

Artamon Sergeyevich Matveyev was a Russian statesman, diplomat and reformer.Because his father - Sergey Matveyev - was a notable diplomat, Artamon Matveyev was brought up at the royal court since the age of thirteen, where he would become close friends with Alexius I...

. In home affairs his influence was insignificant, but his foreign policy was distinguished by the Treaty of Nerchinsk

Treaty of Nerchinsk

The Treaty of Nerchinsk of 1689 was the first treaty between Russia and China. The Russians gave up the area north of the Amur River as far as the Stanovoy Mountains and kept the area between the Argun River and Lake Baikal. This border along the Argun River and Stanovoy Mountains lasted until...

 (1689), which set the Russo-Chinese border north of the Amur River, and by the peace with Poland (1683), whereby Russia at last recovered Kiev

Kiev

Kiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....

. By the terms of the same treaty, he acceded to the grand league against the Porte, but his two expeditions against the Crimea

Crimea

Crimea , or the Autonomous Republic of Crimea , is a sub-national unit, an autonomous republic, of Ukraine. It is located on the northern coast of the Black Sea, occupying a peninsula of the same name...

 (Crimean campaigns

Crimean campaigns

Crimean campaigns of 1687 and 1689 were two military campaigns of the Russian army against the Crimean Khanate. They were a part of the Russo-Turkish War and Russo-Crimean Wars. These were the first Russian forces to come close to Crimea since 1569...

 of 1687 and 1689) were unsuccessful and made him extremely unpopular.

Only with the utmost difficulty could Sophia get the young tsar Peter to decorate the defeated commander-in-chief

Commander-in-Chief

A commander-in-chief is the commander of a nation's military forces or significant element of those forces. In the latter case, the force element may be defined as those forces within a particular region or those forces which are associated by function. As a practical term it refers to the military...

 as if he had returned a victor. In the civil war between Sophia and Peter (August–September 1689), Galitzine half-heartedly supported his mistress and shared her ruin. His life was spared owing to the supplications of his cousin Boris, but he was deprived of his boyardom, his estates were confiscated and he was banished successively to Kargopol

Kargopol

-Culture and recreation:Today, Kargopol is a sleepy historical town adjoining the Kenozyorsky National Park. It is best known in Russia for Kargopol toys , which are small, simple clay figures painted in traditional style....

, Mezen

Mezen

-See also:*Administrative divisions of Arkhangelsk Oblast...

 and Kholmogory

Kholmogory

Kholmogory is a historic village and the administrative center of Kholmogorsky District of Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia. It lies on the left bank of the Northern Dvina, along the Kholmogory Highway, 75 km southeast of Arkhangelsk and 90 km north of the Antonievo-Siysky Monastery. The name...

, where he died on 21 April 1714.

Galitzine was unusually well educated. He was a great friend of foreigners, who generally alluded to him as the great Galitzine. He expounded to them some drastic reform measures, such as the abolition of serfdom, the promotion of religious toleration, and the development of industrial enterprises. As Galitzine was eager to avoid all forms of violence and repression, his program was more cautious and realistic than that of Peter the Great. Political upheavals prevented him from executing any of these plans.