The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2001-07.
Loris-Melikov, Mikhail Tarielovich
(mkhyl´ tryl´vch lô´rs-m´lykf) (KEY) , 1826–88, Russian general and statesman, of Armenian descent. He was created count for his services in the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–78 and in 1880 was made minister of the interior by Alexander II. He promoted some liberal reforms, specifically in the educational system, and drafted a program to allow members of the zemstvos to play a minor advisory role in legislation. Alexander II approved this reform on the day he was assassinated (1884), but Alexander III voided the reform and dismissed its author. Loris-Melikov in his youth is portrayed in Leo Tolstoy’s Hadjii Murad.
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