Shuvalov, Petr Ivanovich

Born 1710; died Jan. 4 (15), 1762, in St. Petersburg. Russian state and military figure. General field marshal (1761). Count (1746). First cousin of I. I. Shuvalov.

P. I. Shuvalov took part in the palace coup of Nov. 25, 1741, which resulted in the accession of Empress Elizaveta Petrovna. He directed the domestic policy of Russia in the 1750’s and worked out a program of government action that was in the spirit of enlightened absolutism. He was the author of plans for such economic and financial reforms as the abolition of internal customs, the creation of a protectionist foreign-trade policy, the establishment of banks for merchants and for the nobility, the implementation of a general land survey, and the modification of the system of money circulation. Shuvalov was one of the initiators of the sixth legislative commission (1754–66).

Shuvalov took an active part in the reorganization of the army and its administrative system on the eve of the Seven Years’ War of 1756–63. After becoming head of an armaments office in 1757, he did a great deal to modernize artillery. He developed the “secret” howitzer and the “unicorn” howitzer, which was used by the Russian Army for more than 100 years. Several artillery plants were built on Shuvalov’s initiative.

Shuvalov engaged in trade and manufacturing and in liquor and tobacco tax farming. He held monopolies on fishing and seal hunting in the White and Caspian seas and on foreign trade in timber. Shuvalov was also the owner of several ironworks.