CACrown ArchivesThe cinema collection
Menu
Research dossier · General Reference

Rumyantsev

Russian noble family

Cross-disciplinary reference desk with index cards, atlas, dictionary and catalogue
General referenceInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionFeb 4, 2026
Entity authorityQ739642 ↗
Source-derived summary

The Rumyantsev family (Russian: Румянцевы, romanized: Rumyantsevy) was an old and prominent Russian noble family, whose members were involved in imperial politics in the 18th and early 19th century. They were granted the title of Count in Russia.

History

The family claimed descent from the boyar Rumyanets who broke his oath of allegiance and surrendered Nizhny Novgorod to Vasily I of Moscow in 1391.

The first Rumyantsev to gain prominence, Alexander Ivanovich (1680–1749), served as orderly of Peter the Great in the Preobrazhensky regiment. In 1720, he married Countess Maria Matveyeva, daughter and heiress of Count Andrey Matveyev. Peter's daughter Elizabeth recalled Rumyantsev to active service and made him a hereditary count as well as Governor of Kiev.

Alexander and Maria's son, Pyotr Alexandrovich (1725–1796), took his name ("Peter" in Russian) from that of the ruling Emperor, whose biological son he was rumored to be. In 1761, Pyotr besieged and took the Prussian fortress of Kolberg, thus clearing the path to Berlin for the Russian armies. During Catherine II's reign, he served as Governor General of Little Russia, which was Ukraine. After crossing the Danube River into Bulgaria and signing the advantageous Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca with the Turks in 1774, Rumyantsev was promoted to Field Marshal and given the victory title of Zadunaisky (literally, "Transdanubian").

Editorial summary

Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Rumyantsev” is russian noble family. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Rumyantsev, Russian and noble, not as a finished interpretation.

Editorial reviewA dependable orientation record for establishing vocabulary, names and a first evidence trail. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1391, 1680, 1749, 1720—that can be checked directly. The selected authority fields contribute no independent date. For this dossier, Rumyantsev, Russian and noble is the immediate research focus.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

The phrase “russian noble family” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.

Evidence profile

Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Feb 4, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q739642. VIAF identifies the subject as 161606804. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1391, 1680, 1749 and 1720.

Critical limits

Overview language is designed for orientation and should not be treated as a substitute for the evidence cited beneath it. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.

Best used for
  • Subject orientation
  • Search vocabulary
  • Locating named sources
Verify next

The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Rumyantsev”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Rumyantsev primary sources, Rumyantsev archive and Rumyantsev research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Rumyantsev”?
  2. Which institution is responsible for the underlying evidence?
  3. Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
Subject index

Search terms from this dossier

Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “Rumyantsev” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.