Orloff

Orloff, a Russian family that first rose to eminence during the reign of Paul III., when one of its members, Gregory (1734-83), attracted the notice of the Grand-duchess Catharine, afterwards the Empress Catharine II., and succeeded Poniatowski as her favourite. It was this man who planned the murder of Peter III., and his brother Alexis (1737-1809) who committed the deed (1762). Both brothers were men of gigantic stature and herculean strength. The family of the Counts Bobrinski resulted from Gregory's intercourse with the empress. The legitimate line of Orloff soon became extinct; but Feodor, a brother of Gregory and Alexis, left four illegitimate sons, one of whom, Alexis (1787-1861), signalised himself during the French wars and in Turkey, negotiated the treaties of Adrianople (1829) and Unkiar-Skelessi (1833), and represented Russia at the London conference of 1832 on the affairs of Belgium and Holland. In 1844 he was placed at the head of the secret police, and stood high in favour with the Emperor Nicholas, who employed him in the negotiations with Austria previous to the Crimean war. In 1856 he sat in the congress of Paris as the representative of Russia, and on his return was made president of the grand council of the empire and president of the committee for the enfranchisement of the serfs.—For the Orloff diamond, see DIAMOND.