James Daniel Bruce [Iakov Vilimovich Bruce] - 1669, Moscow 1735, Glinki.

General, statesman, diplomat and scholar, one of the closest advisors of Peter the Great . 1686 cavalry cornet. Took part in Crimean and Azov expeditions. 1698 studied in Britain, became Russia’s earliest Newtonian, on return established first observatory in the country. 1700 major-gen.; commanded and reformed artillery in Great Northern War as Master of the Ordnance. 1709 got Order of St. Andrew for his decisive role at Poltava. 1712-13 headed allied artillery of Russia, Denmark and Poland-Saxony in Pomerania and Holstein. 1717 senator and President of Colleges of Mines and Manufacture; also in charge of Moscow print and St. Petersburg mint. First Minister plenipotentiary at Aland and Nystad congresses, negotiated and signed peace treaty Sweden in 1721 when he became Count of Russian Empire. 1726 retired with rank of field marshal. Known as the most enlightened man in Russia, he possessed a rich library in 14 languages, and collection of “curiosities”. J.D. Bruce took pride in Scottish ancestry and corresponded with Jacobite kinsmen. {D. Fedosov, “The First Russian Bruces” in The Scottish Soldier Abroad, Edin. & Maryland, 1992, pp. 55-66}