Alexander Sergeyevich Stroganov (1733–1811) was a Russian baron and a member of the Stroganov family. He was an assistant to the Minister of the Interior, a longtime President of the Imperial Academy of Arts, director of the Russian Imperial Library and a member of the Russian Academy. Life Stroganov was born on 3 January 1733 in Saint Petersburg, a son of baron Sergey Grigoryevich Stroganow. During 1752–1757 he studied at the universities of Geneva, Bologna (art treasures), and Paris (chemistry, physics, and metallurgy). In Paris he was a Freemason and visited Voltaire. After the death of his father in 1756, he completed the decoration of the Stroganov Palace in 1760. In 1780 he became a senator. In 1783 he became a member of the Russian Academy, and one of the editors of the Academic Dictionary. Stroganov was a member of the commission on elaborating the new code of laws during the reign of Catherine the Great (1762–1796). From 1800 until his death he was a president of the Imperial Academy of Arts and director of the Imperial Public Library (1800–1811). He was the second director of the library (after Choiseul-Gouffier). He was also a member of the State Council. From 1801 as chairman of a board of trustees, he was a supervisor of the Kazan Cathedral, St. Petersburg. In 1805 he proposed to Alexander I the establishment of a special Manuscript Depository ("депо манускриптов") at the Imperial Library. Manuscripts taken from the collection of Peter P. Dubrovsky formed the basis of this depository. Stroganov was also a collector of pictures of famous artists. He died on 27 September 1811 in Saint Petersburg. References Further reading Кузнецов С. О. Пусть Франция поучит нас "танцовать". Создание Строгоновского дворца в Петербурге и соеобразие придворной культуры России в первой половине XVIII века. СПб., 2003. — 512 c. — Кузнецов С. О. Не хуже Томона. Государственная, меценатская, собирательская деятельность рода Строгоновых в 1771—1817 гг. и формирование имперского облика С.-Петербурга. СПБ.: Нестор, 2006—447 с — Кузнецов С. О. Дворцы и дома Строгоновых. Три века истории.. — М-СПб: Центрполиграф, МиМ-Дельта, 2008. — 319 с. — Susanne Jaeger, Alexander S. Stroganov (1733-1811): Sammler und Mäzen im Russland der Aufklärung, Böhlau Verlag Köln Weimar, 2007 Кузнецов С. О. Строгоновы. 500 лет рода. Выше только цари. - М-СПб: Центрполиграф, 2012. - 558 с - External links Строганов Александр Сергеевич Кузнецов С. О. Статья «А. С. Строгонов» для журнала «Адреса Петербурга»