Knyaz (Prince) Georgy Yevgenyevich L'vov (Russian: Георгий Евгеньевич Львов; November 2, 1861 – March 7, 1925) was a Russian statesman and the first post-imperial prime minister of Russia, from March 23 to July 7, 1917.
Pre-Revolution
Prince
L'vov was born in
Dresden into a
Rurikid family, descending from sovereign princes of
Yaroslavl. His family moved home to
Popovka in the
Aleksin region near
Tula from Germany soon after his birth. He graduated from the
University of Moscow with a degree in law, then worked in the civil service until 1893. During the
Russo-Japanese War he organised relief work in the East and in 1905, he joined the liberal
Constitutional Democratic Party. A year later he won election to the first
Duma and was nominated for a ministerial position. He became chairman of the All-Russian Union of
Zemstvos in 1914 and in 1915 he became a leader of the Union of Zemstvos and Towns (Zemgor) which helped supply the military and tend to the wounded from the
Great War.
1917
After the 1917
February Revolution, L'vov became the first head of the
Russian Provisional Government, holding the title, Minister-President and Minister of the Interior, but resigned 7 July that year amid mounting disorder and following a
major demonstration. Despite being initialy popular, the continued war had drained his support. His justice minister,
Alexander Kerensky, replaced him. When the
Bolsheviks took power following the
October Revolution, L'vov was placed under arrest, but he escaped to
Paris, where he spent the rest of his life.
Memorials
There is a memorial to Prince L'vov in
Aleksin as well as a small exhibition on him in the town museum. In Popovka there is another memorial opposite his local church and a plaque on the wall of the local school he founded. He is buried in
Sainte-Geneviève-des-Bois cemetry in France.
Further Reading
L'vov wrote an autobiography, 'Воспоминания' while in exile and a biography was also written in 1932 by Tikhon Polner entitled 'Жизненный путь князя Георгія Евгеніевича Львова. Личность. Взгляды. Условія дѣятельности'. Neither have been translated but both have been reprinted and are still available in Russian.
Notes
Note on
transliteration: Although L'vov is the standard form, Lvov is also frequently used. A rarer French form, Lvoff, is used on his tombstone. Georgy can be written as Georgi and is sometimes seen in its translated form, George.
External links
1861 births | 1925 deaths | Imperial Russian politicians | People of the Russian Revolution | Prime Ministers of Russia | Rurikids
Georgi Jewgenjewitsch Lwow | Georgi Lvov | Georgy Lvov | גיאורגי לבוב | Georgi Lvov | ゲオルギー・リヴォフ | Gieorgij Lwow | Gheorghi Evghenievici Lvov | Львов, Георгий Евгеньевич | Georgi Lvov