frequently invited to the court of tsar Alexey Romanov, including invitations to his private dinners. He granted his four military ships built in Voronezh and Astrakhan to Peter the Great. Grigory's sons were rewarded with the baronial title by Peter the Great in 1722. During the Great Northern War of 1700–1721, the Stroganovs rendered sizable financial support to the government of Peter the Great, for which Alexander Grigoriyevich, Nikolay Grigoriyevich, and Sergei Grigoriyevich would be raised to the rank of baron in 1722 and later to that of count. From then on, the Stroganovs were members of the Russian aristocracy and held important government posts. played a significant role during the reign of Elizabeth Petrovna. His son Alexander Sergeyevich (1733–1811) was a member of the commission on elaborating the new code of laws during the reign of Catherine the Great. In the late 18th – early 19th century, he held different posts, such as president of the Russian Academy of Arts, art director of the Public Library, and member of the State Council. Pavel Alexandrovich Stroganov (1772–1817) was a member of the Private Committee (Негласный комитет) of Alexander I and assistant to the minister of the interior. Sergei Grigoryevich Stroganov (1794–1882) was the governor general of Moscow in 1859–1860. He founded Stroganov Moscow Arts and Industrial Institute in 1825. Alexander Grigoriyevich Stroganov was the minister of the interior in 1839–1841 and then a member of the State Council (since 1849). Most of the Stroganovs are known to have shown interest for art, literature, history, and archaeology. They used to own rich libraries, collections of paintings, coins, medals etc. Stroganov Palace (now one of the buildings of the State Russian Museum) is among the chief sights of Nevsky Prospekt in Saint Petersburg. In 1911, Count Pavel Sergeyevich Stroganov died without issue. His death stirred litigation for his fortune between his relations in female lines and the senior unnoble descendants of the Stroganov family. Modern times After the Russian Revolution of 1917 the Stroganov family emigrated with the White movement and all family property in Russia was nationalized. The Stroganov Foundation, created in 1992 in New York City as a not-for-profit corporation, is dedicated to the conservation and restoration of the Russian heritage of the Stroganov family. The establishment of the Stroganov Foundation was the inspiration of Baroness Hélène de Ludinghausen, who lives in Paris and whose mother, Princess Xenia Alexandrovna Shcherbatova-Stroganova,