Friedrich_Wilhelm_Rembert_von_Berg
Friedrich Wilhelm Rembert von Berg
Baltic German aristocrat, Russian statesman, general, and final Viceroy of Congress Poland
Friedrich Wilhelm Rembert Graf[lower-alpha 1] von Berg (German: Friedrich Wilhelm Rembert von Berg, Russian: Фёдор Фёдорович Берг, tr. Fëdor Fëdorovič Berg; 15 May [O.S. 26] 1794 – 6 January [O.S. 18] 1874) was an Imperial Russian nobleman, statesman, diplomat and general of Baltic German descent. Berg was a count of the Austrian Empire and Grand Duchy of Finland[1] and the 5th last man to be promoted General-Field Marshal in the history of the Russian Empire. He served as the Governor-General of Finland[2] from 1854[citation needed] to 1861 and the last Viceroy of the Kingdom of Poland from 1863 to 1874.
Berg was most notable for his role as the viceroy of Finland and Poland. He led Russian military efforts during the Åland War, a minor theater of the Crimean War, and also played a crucial role in suppressing the 1863 January Uprising by Congress Poland; during the uprising, the Poles carried out numerous unsuccessful assassination attempts on him, which led martial law to be consequently declared in Poland. Berg also held responsible for improving the economy and industry of Finland and Poland during his time as viceroy.[3] As a German, Berg was never keen of the Russification policies introduced in Poland, being opposed to the Pan-Slavism ideology of the Russians and keen towards the foreign policies of Germany.[3] Outside of his military career, Berg was also a topographer and geodesist, being one of the founding members of the Russian Geographical Society. He died in St. Petersburg in 1874 and was buried in his family estate in Korten, Livonia (in now Pilskalns, Latvia).