Ivan Goremykin was born in Russia in 1839. A Russian lawyer with extreme conservative political views, Goremykin was a loyal supporter of Nicholas II and the autocracy. He served as interior minister (1895-99) before succeeding Sergi Witte as premier in 1906. However, as a strong opponent of political reform, he was in conflict with the First Duma and was soon forced to resign in July, 1906, and was replaced by Peter Stolypin. He again served as Prime Minister from 1914 to 1916, when he was generally a cipher.