Sergey Vasilyevich Saltykov is the envoy of the Russian Empire in Hamburg, Paris and Dresden. The first favorite of the Russian Empress Catherine II, according to one version, was the biological father of Paul the first.
Biography
Sergei Vasilievich belonged to the older generation of the noble family of the Saltykovs. His father, General and St. Petersburg Chief of Police Vasily Fedorovich, was the husband of Princess Marya Alekseevna Golitsyna, who greatly increased the empress's authority in the guards regiments, thanks to her connections and popularity. In turn, Elizaveta Petrovna, as a token of gratitude, became the patroness of Princess Golitsyna.
Thanks to such connections, as well as personal qualities, Sergei Saltykov quickly gains weight in the upper strata of society. In 1750 he married one of the Empress's maids of honor - Matryona Pavlovna Balk. And already two years later, he firmly established himself in court circles, becoming the chamberlain of Prince Peter Fedorovich. At the end of 1752, Saltykov faced intrigues and a conspiracy against himself, but an influential patron in the person of the prince saved him from an unenviable fate. Despite this, Sergei Vasilievich was forced to leave the imperial court for some time and leave.
Career
In February 1753 he returned to the service and did not leave the court for two years. In September 1754, the long-awaited son, Prince Paul I, was born to the empress.
Two weeks after the birth of the royal baby, it was decided to send Saltykov to the Swedish court in order to convey this good news. From a long trip, he was supposed to return in the spring of 1755. By that time, it was decided at court that Saltykov should become the official representative in Hamburg.
In July 1755, he arrived in Hamburg, and from that moment his new life began, completely far from his native Russia. After spending almost seven years in Germany, in 1762, after Princess Catherine ascended the throne, he was sent to Paris, where he took the post of plenipotentiary minister. Service in Paris did not work out from the very beginning, a year later in St. Petersburg rumors began to circulate about his early removal from office. And the rumors were not accidental. Saltykov, while in Paris, did not cope with his duties, his actions led to debts and a large number of complaints.
In 1763, he was appointed representative to Regensburg, where he ended his service. The further fate of Saltykov is shrouded in mystery, there are no official documents and facts about how he lived after leaving his post. Some historians believe that Sergei Vasilievich left for France, where he disappeared without a trace. There is also a version that he returned to Russia and lived until the reign of Paul the First.
Personal life
The famous nobleman Saltykov was married to Matryona Pavlovna Balk.
Some historians also claim that Sergei Vasilyevich had intimate relations with his brother's wife, Daria Saltykova, the notorious "Saltychikha", notorious for her atrocities against peasants and serfs.
