Peter Paul Alexander von Baranoff (Russian: Пётр Петро́вич Бара́нов, romanized: Pyotr Petrovich Baranov; 9 May [O.S. 27 April] 1843 – 22 December 1924) was a Baltic German military officer and statesman. During the First World War, Baranoff was known for his investigations, most notably his investigation of fellow general Paul von Rennenkampf's actions during the Battle of Łódź.
Contents
Biography
Origin
Peter was born in 9 May [O.S. 27 April] 1843 in Reval in the Governorate of Estonia (present-day Tallinn, Estonia), to Peter Hermann von Baranoff and Marie Louise Simplicie Pauline von Nicolay (ru).
Peter was from the Baltic German and Swedish noble Baranoff family of Swedish and Russian descent. The Baranoffs was originally Russian boyar who entered Swedish service after Estonia was ceased to Sweden under the conclusion of the Treaty of Teusina at the end of the Russo-Swedish War From 1590 to 1595. And many of them, quickly adapted to the Germanic traditions, converted to Lutheranism, and quickly became Baltic German subjects, including the Baranoffs, which was headed by four brothers: Voin, Fyodor, Kasyan and Menshik Baranov, who all changed their surname from Baranov to Baranoff to be better suited into Germanic names. The descendants of Voin and Fyodor quickly died out in the late-17th Century, while the descendants of Kasyan survived until the late-19th Century. The descendants of Menshik, who Peter was directly descended from, are still alive. The family was enrolled into Swedish nobility in 1666. In 1745, the Estonian high count gave an appeal the "Attestatum nobilitaris", that under the conclusion "that from 1592 the Baranoff family was to be brought under local nobility". So the family was enrolled into the Estonian Knighthood in that same year and the family was also enrolled into the Livonian and Oesel Knighthoods (de) following the years 1830 and 1843 simultaneously.