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A descendant of the Chernigov Princes and son of the famous military commander EYu. Baryatinsky, Ivan Baryatinsky was married to N.G. Golovkina, daughter of the chancellor.
During the Northern War and the Persian campaign of 1722, Baryatinsky was in command of an infantry regiment which, in the tradition of the day, bore his name. His rapid promotion began with the accession of Anna loannovna, and was the result of his involvement in opposition by the Polish gentry to the Supreme Privy Council. He supported a project by V.N. Tatishchev defending the concept of unrestricted supreme power against encroachments by several aristocratic families, and also signed a petition dated 25 February 1730, addressed to the new empress and entitled "On Acceptance of Autocracy". That same year, following the dissolution of the Supreme Privy Council and the restoration of the Senate, Baryatinsky was appointed a senator, and on the day of the coronation was given the rank of lieutenant-general.
In 1735, Moscow was threatened with famine following a crop failure in the central gubernias. The governor-general took extraordinary measures: it was forbidden to take bread out of the city, and the poor were assigned to monasteries and the houses of landed gentlemen, who were responsible for supplying them with food. Baryatinsky also continued the battle against fires, and in 1736 wells were dug on major roads.
On 19 June 1736, Baryatinsky was appointed commander in Little Russia (the Ukraine).
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