Diplomat, Poet and Censor: marking the 220th anniversary of the birth of Fyodor Ivanovich Tyutchev

The exhibition will acquaint visitors with the main milestones in the life and service of the great Russian poet. The career of Fyodor Ivanovich Tyutchev (1803–1873) as a state official of the Russian Empire can be traced through reproductions of historical materials. The stands carry portraits of Tyutchev himself and members of his family as well as outstanding statemen of the period, along with passages from his poetry and letters.

In 1822, Fyodor Ivanovich Tyutchev, a very recent graduate of Moscow University was accepted to serve in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Empire and assigned to the Russian embassy in Munich as a supernumerary. That marked the start of his career as a diplomat. Many years of service abroad followed, enabling Tyutchev to make the acquaintance of numerous prominent figures of his day and influencing his creative output.

In 1844, after a long period spent in various diplomatic posts in Europe that ended with his dismissal, Tyutchev returned to Saint Petersburg. He was soon reinstated in government service, not as a diplomat, however, but as an ad hoc official 6th class attached to the Chancellor of the Russian Empire and head of the Foreign Ministry Karl von Nesselrode. His duties came to include a variety of tasks: travelling as a courier to missions abroad and working with official papers. As fate would have it, Tyutchev was required to regularly present himself in the Chancellery of the head of the Foreign Ministry in the eastern wing of the General Staff building.

In 1848 Tyutchev was given another appointment that would determine the course of his further career as a state official. The poet became senior censor attached to the Foreign Ministry. Ober the next ten years, Tyutchev’s duties included overseeing the press within the ministry. Besides that, as a censor he monitored various articles on foreign policy matters in Saint Petersburg newspapers and periodicals.

As an official of the Foreign Ministry, Tyutchev also regularly formal events in the state rooms of the Chancellor’s apartment, which were also located in the eastern wing of the General Staff building. Today in those same rooms, museum visitors can view the permanent display “Realms of the Eagle, The Art of Empire”.

After Nesselrode’s dismissal in 1856, Prince Alexander Mikhailovich Gorchakov became the new occupant of the ministerial apartment. The minister and the poet quickly became close on the basis of shared political views and an earnest concern for the fate of their country.

In 1858 Tyutchev was appointed to chair the Foreign Censorship Committee while retaining his post at the Foreign Ministry. The memorandum presented to Emperor Alexander II naming three possible candidates for the position, including Fyodor Ivanovich, carries the following annotation: “His Majesty the Emperor has been pleased to appoint Actual State Councillor Tyutchev as Chairman of the Foreign Censorship Committee.” Tyutchev held that position right up to his death in 1873. During Fyodor Ivanovich’s time as head of this body, the amount of foreign literature and periodicals allowed into the country increased several times over. Furthermore, Tyutchev fought actively for changes in the structure of the committee itself, achieving, for example, an increase in staffing numbers and salaries.

The display board exhibition in the Public Forum on the ground floor of the General Staff building can be visited without charge and without a ticket during the museum’s opening hours.

The exhibition curator is Yekaterina Sergeyevna Savishchenko, deputy head of the museum’s “General Staff” Department.