as well as his own ambassadors. Under his leadership, Russia fought no foreign wars. Orders and decorations Austria-Hungary: Grand Cross of the Royal Hungarian Order of Saint Stephen, 1884 : Knight of the Order of the Elephant, 25 October 1888 : Grand Cross of the Order of Saint-Charles, 21 August 1883 Kingdom of Prussia: Grand Cross of the Order of the Red Eagle, 4 September 1879; in Diamonds, 1881 Knight of the Order of the Black Eagle, 22 March 1884 Sweden-Norway: Knight of the Royal Order of Seraphim, 15 February 1892 Notes Further reading Florinsky, Michael T. Russia - A History and An Interpretation - Volume II (1958), passim. online Maxwell, Margaret. "A Re-examination of the Rôle of N.K. Giers as Russian Foreign Minister under Alexander III." European Studies Review 1.4 (1971): 351-376. excerpt Kennan, George F. "The Decline of Bismarck's European Order" Princeton U.P., 1979. This magisterial volume offers, among other things, a fine description of N.K. Giers and his wise diplomacy. External links 1820 births 1895 deaths People from Rivne Oblast People from Volhynian Governorate Foreign ministers of the Russian Empire Members of the State Council (Russian Empire) Russian nobility People from the Russian Empire of Swedish descent Tsarskoye Selo Lyceum alumni Ambassadors of the Russian Empire to Iran Grand Crosses of the Order of Saint Stephen of Hungary Grand Crosses of the Order of Saint-Charles