Richelieu, Armand-Emmanuel du Plessis, Duc de

Richelieu, Armand-Emmanuel du Plessis, Duc de 

Born Sept. 14, 1766, in Paris; died there May 17, 1822. French and Russian state figure.

In 1790, as a volunteer in the Russian Army, Richelieu took part in the assault on Izmail. A monarchist, he left France in 1791 and settled in Russia in 1795. In 1803 he became gradonachal’nik (official with the status of a governor) of Odessa and from 1805 to 1814 served concurrently as governor-general of Novorossiia. In this capacity he was instrumental in the transformation of Odessa into a major trade city and the rapid settlement and economic development of the northern Black Sea region. He devoted a great deal of attention to the development of Russo-French trade ties.

After the restoration of the Bourbons in 1814, Richelieu returned to France. He attended the Congress of Vienna and served as prime minister in the government of Louis XVIII from 1815 to 1818 and in 1820 and 1821. In Odessa a monument, the work of I. Martos, was erected to Richelieu in 1828.