Alexander Shuvalov

The Shuvalov brothers were two sons of a general who commanded the castle of Vyborg and governed Arkhangelsk during the reign of Empress Anna.

[3] For many years Shuvalov presided over the Secret Chancellory,[4] a sort of political police whose victims included his personal enemies, Field-Marshals Aleksey Bestuzhev and Stepan Fyodorovich Apraksin.

By the end of Elizabeth's reign, the Shuvalovs successfully eliminated all their political rivals and virtually monopolized state power.

They also flirted with the future Peter III of Russia, hoping to retain their positions after his eventual accession to the throne.

Their intrigues succeeded in 1761 when Peter III assumed the throne and promoted both Shuvalovs to Field Marshals, although they had never taken part in any war.