Imperial Minister Sergei Slapavich
On February 8th, 1657, Sergei Slapavich was born to the influential House of Slapavich, a noble family of boyars from the Principality of Palischia. A dull and dim-witted boy, he was however notable for finding a ruble coin every time he opened a door or container. Eventually, his father would die and Sergei would become the Imperial Minister of Trade. For years, he would serve in the court of the Grand Prince Ivan "the Terrific" Romanovsky in this position. Although he was terrible at his position as imperial minister, he made a habit of funneling 95% of his income into his duties, significantly aiding the Palischian economy.
In 1698, Sergei would resign from his position as imperial minister and would go on a trip across the Old Continent as a homeless person, giving ludicrous amounts of coin to other homeless people. He was infamous for a particular instance in the Garçognian town of Mont-Poulet, where he would give millions of coins to the town's homeless population, making them the richest townsmen in the entire region, wealthier than even the local lord. The citizenry and lord's retinue would chase Sergei out of town, angry with him crashing the economy.
Upon hearing of the 1703 war between Principality of Palischia and Kingdom of Albion, he would volunteer to join Grand Prince Piotr's Army, being made the colonel-polkovnik leading a streltsy battalion guarding the southern approach from Albion toward the Albine city of Port Charlotte. During a small skirmish between the sentries and a redcoat scouting party, Colonel-Polkovnik Slapavich would flee and hide in a barn for 9 hours, having to be forcefully taken out by his knights. This would result in the Grand Prince withdrawing Sergei from command and placing him as the Imperial Minister of War, where he would utilize his extensive wealth to modernize the army. His funding was welcomed, but Tsar Piotr ensured that Imperial Minister Slapavich was neither in command of troops, in charge of policy, or held any authority whatsoever. When the Northern Empire was founded in 1703, he would continue his position as Imperial Minister of War, being an extensive financial donor to the Northern Fleet.
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