Friedrich Wilhelm Rembert von Berg


Friedrich Wilhelm Rembert Graf von Berg was a Russian nobleman, statesman, diplomat and general of Baltic German descent. Berg was a count of the Austrian Empire and Grand Duchy of Finland. He was also the fifth last person to be promoted to the rank of general-field marshal in the history of the Russian Empire. He served as the governor-general of Finland from 1854 to 1861 and as the last viceroy of the Kingdom of Poland from 1863 to 1874.
Berg was most notable for his role as the viceroy of Finland and Poland. He led Russian military efforts during the Åland War, a minor theater of the Crimean War, and also played a crucial role in suppressing the 1863 January Uprising by Congress Poland; during the uprising, the Poles carried out numerous unsuccessful assassination attempts on him, which led martial law to be consequently declared in Poland. Berg also held responsible for improving the economy and industry of Finland and Poland during his time as viceroy. As a German, Berg was never keen of the Russification policies introduced in Poland, being opposed to the Pan-Slavism ideology of the Russians and keen towards the foreign policies of Germany. Outside of his military career, Berg was also a topographer and geodesist, being one of the founding members of the Russian Geographical Society. He died in St. Petersburg in 1874 and was buried in his family estate in Korten, Livonia.

Biography

Origin

Friedrich Wilhelm Rembert von Berg was born on, in the family estate in the small village of Sagnitz, in the Kreis Dorpat of the Governorate of Livonia. His father Friedrich Georg von Berg was a state councillor and his mother Gertruda Wilhelmine von Ermes was a young noblewoman, the younger Friedrich was the first cousin once removed of generals Gregor and Burchard Magnus von Berg, both of whom served in the Russian Imperial Army during the course of the Napoleonic Wars. Genealogists still debate where the Livonian noble Berg family originated in, many speculated they originated in Westphalia. The first known ancestor of the family to appear in Livonia was Otto von Berg. His son, who was also named Otto, was a vassal of the Livonian Knighthood.
Friedrich belonged to the Sagnitz branch of the Luist line of the family. The Luist line was formed by Captain Gustav von Berg, and the further divided Sagnitz branch was formed by Friedrich's grandfather Major Gotthard Ernst von Berg.

Early life

Berg along with his siblings spent their childhood in the Sagnitz castle and were home educated by the young Friedrich Georg Wilhelm Struve. He was brought up as a Lutheran. After he finished his home education he studied in the Tartu Gymnasium in Dorpat. Originally not seeking a military career as a family tradition, Berg enrolled into the Philosophy faculty of Imperial University of Dorpat in 1810. But after Napoleon invaded of Russia in 1812, Berg dropped out from university and voluntarily entered the Russian Imperial Army. He entered the army as a Fahnenjunker and was enlisted into the 6th Libau Infantry Regiment which was stationed at the north-western part of Russia to defend against Napoleon. Berg's bravery during the war of 1812 rewarded him the rank of lieutenant from Alexander I personally. He was also appointed second to the quartermaster due to his high education and being multilingual among Russian soldiers at the time.
After Napoleon was pushed out of Russia, Berg was transferred to a partisan unit under the commands of Baron von Tettenborn and Pavel Kutuzov and took part in actions in Germany including the Battle of Leipzig.

Family

Berg was born the eldest son of a family with three siblings, including his younger brother Gustav "Astaf" Gotthard Karl von Berg, owner of the Alt-Ottenhof Manor. His other brother Alexander was a diplomat and consul in Naples and London. Count von Berg married late in his life. In 1839, after a long relationship with the Baroness de Sassè, he married a rich Milanese aristocrat Leopoldina Cicogna-Mozzoni, the widow of the Italian politician Alessandro Annoni, with whom he had no children. However, after his brother Gustav's death in 1861, Friedrich adopted his orphaned nephews and brought them under his care:
  • Friedrich Georg Magnus Graf von Berg
  • Alexander Rembert Joachim Graf von Berg
  • Georg Erich Rembert Graf von Berg
  • Emilie Wilhelmine "Minni" Anna Marie Ulrike Pauline Gräfin von Berg
Since his marriage was childless, his Austrian and Finnish comital titles were inherited by his nephews/adoptive children.

Honours and awards

Russian

Category:1794 births
Category:1874 deaths
Category:People from Otepää Parish
Category:People from Kreis Dorpat
Category:Baltic-German people from the Russian Empire
Category:Counts of the Russian Empire
Finnish nobility">Grand Duchy of Finland">Finnish nobility
Category:19th-century Finnish nobility
Category:Governors of the Grand Duchy of Finland
Category:Russian people of German descent
Category:Namestniks of the Kingdom of Poland
Category:Members of the State Council (Russian Empire)
Category:Founding members of the Russian Geographical Society
Category:Russian military personnel of the Napoleonic Wars
Category:Russian people of the November Uprising
Category:Russian people of the January Uprising
Order of the White Eagle (Russia)">Order of the White Eagle (Russian Empire)">Order of the White Eagle (Russia)
Category:Recipients of the Order of St. George of the Third Degree
Category:Recipients of the Order of St. Vladimir, 1st class
Category:Recipients of the Order of St. Anna, 1st class
Category:Recipients of the [Gold Sword for Bravery]
Category:Recipients of the [Pour le Mérite (military class)]
Category:Grand Crosses of the [Order of Saint Stephen of Hungary]