Jacob von Sievers

Jacob Johann Graf^[1] von Sievers (Russian: Я́ков Ефи́мович Си́верс, romanized: Yakov Yefimovich Sivers; 30 August 1731 – 23 July 1808) was a Russian statesman of Baltic German origin.^[2] He was from the Sievers family, originating in Livonia.^[2] From 1764 to 1781, he served as the governor of Novgorod.^[2]

Jacob von Sievers
Portrait by Josef Grassi, 1790–1795
Personal details
Born	30 August 1731 Wesenberg, Governorate of Estonia, Russian Empire
Died	23 July 1808(1808-07-23) (aged 76) Bauenhof, Governorate of Livonia, Russian Empire
Military service
Allegiance	Russia
Battles/wars	Seven Years' War Battle of Gross-Jägersdorf Battle of Zorndorf

Biography

He was born into the family of a Livonian nobleman.^[2] At the age of 12, he was moved to St. Petersburg by his uncle, whose daughter he later married.^[2] Sievers worked as a scribe in the Collegium of Foreign Affairs and later served in the Russian embassies in Denmark and Britain.^[2]

During the Seven Years' War, he served in the Russian army as quartermaster general and participated in the battles of Gross-Jägersdorf and Zorndorf.^[2] He was then appointed governor of Novgorod in 1764 by Catherine II and he held that position until 1781.^[2] Catherine accepted many of his proposals after he wrote a report and insisted on the demarcation of lands and the creation of an agricultural society.^[2] As a result, he was one of the founders of the Free Economic Society.^[2] He also introduced the cultivation of potatoes to Russia, regulated the postal services, and was instrumental in the abolition of torture in 1767.^[2]

Based on Sievers' initiative, the provincial government reform was instituted; he was himself appointed general governor of Novgorod, Tver and Pskov. He was Russian ambassador to Poland and led the second and third partition of the kingdom. Emperor Paul I of Russia appointed him senator in 1796; in 1797 he became head of the new department for water communications. He was knighted in 1798.

In Sievers' honor, Alexander I named the channel that connects the outlet of the Msta River with the Volkhov river the Sievers Canal.