Mikhail Nikolayevich von Giers

Mikhail Nikolayevich von Giers, second from the right, with diplomats from the Ottoman Empire (Huseyin Hilmi Pasha) and the Austro-Hungarian Empire (Consul Kirchknopf) in 1912

Mikhail Nikolayevich von Giers^[a] (1856–1924) was a Russian diplomat who served as the ambassador to Italy and the Ottoman Empire. He was the son of foreign minister Nikolay Girs.

Career

Giers served as the Imperial Russian ambassador to Romania from 1902 to 1912 before transferring to perform the role in the Ottoman Empire.^[1] His conservative approach to diplomacy and abidance to protocol meant he could do little to stem increasing German influence on the Ottoman Porte.^[2] In the lead up to the Black Sea Raid, Giers maintained a network of informants in the Ottoman government.^[3] Giers was withdrawn from Constantinople on 31 October 1914, shortly before the Russian declaration of war on the Empire.^[4] From 1915 to 1917 he was the Russian ambassador to Italy.^[1]

He is buried in Batignolles Cemetery in Paris.

Notes

1. Alternatively spelled Mikhail Nikolaevich von Giers or Mikhail Nikolayevich de Giers

References

1. Miller, Geoffrey (1997). Straits: British policy towards the Ottoman Empire and the origins of the Dardanelles campaign (illustrated ed.). University of Hull Press. p. 585. ISBN 9780859586634.
2. Kent, Marian, ed. (27 July 2005). The Great Powers and the End of the Ottoman Empire. Routledge. ISBN 9781135777999.
3. McMeekin, Sean (2011). The Russian Origins of the First World War. Harvard University Press. pp. 111–113. ISBN 9780674063204.
4. Miller, Geoffrey (1999). Turkey Enters the War and British Actions