Arakcheev Alexey Andreevich - short biography. Historical portrait of Alexey Arakcheev
Alexey Andreevich Arakcheev was born in September 1769 into the family of a retired guards lieutenant. Thanks to his diligence in the sciences during his studies at cadet corps he soon received the position of officer, and later joined the army created by Paul the 1st during the reign.
Arakcheev's biography and his career success are associated with the ascension to the throne of Paul 1st. Thanks to his efficiency and diligence, he was appointed commandant of Gatchina, and soon the head of all ground forces of Paul the 1st. While touring the troops, Arakcheev mercilessly punished the slightest violation of the rules. However, at the same time, he did not forget to take care of the soldier’s life. He checked whether the soldiers were taken to the bathhouse, whether they were fed well, and punished officers for stealing soldiers’ money. It is known that Arakcheev did not take bribes, despite rather tight financial circumstances.
By the beginning of the reign of Paul I, Arakcheev had the rank of colonel. And in 1796, on November 7, he became the St. Petersburg commandant. On November 8 of the same year he received the rank of major general, and on the 9th - major of the Preobrazhensky Guards Regiment. On November 12, Arakcheev became a Knight of the Order of St. Anna 1st degree. On April 5 of the following year, Arakcheev was elevated to baronial dignity and awarded the Order of St. . The emperor also granted him an estate, which Arakcheev personally chose.
After a short disgrace in 1798, Arakcheev was awarded the title of count for his diligence and zeal. But soon he again found himself in disgrace, which lasted until the end of the reign of Paul 1st. It must be said that in his village of Gruzine, Arakcheev took up farming with the same zeal with which he had previously carried out reforms in the army, arranging even the personal lives of the peasants at his own discretion. In 1806, Arakcheev married Natalya Khomutova, the general's daughter. But a year later, his young wife left his house, unable to bear the rudeness.
After the accession of the new emperor to the throne, the count returned to service (1803). On January 13, 1808, Arakcheev was appointed Minister of War. It should be noted that he simplified and shortened correspondence between battalions, gave a new organization to the artillery, and significantly improved the material part. The changes made by Count Arakcheev had a positive impact already in 1812.
The favor and trust of the emperor soon led to the fact that it was the count who was entrusted with the most responsible and important tasks. One of them was the creation of the notorious military settlements of Arakcheev. By the way, the initiative to create them came from the emperor, and Arakcheev turned out to be the ideal executor for bringing the project to life. The innovation caused riots, which were brutally suppressed by troops. But, assessing Arakcheev’s activities objectively, it is worth saying that many of the settlements flourished.
During the reign of Alexander Pavlovich, Arakcheev reached the pinnacle of power. One of Arakcheev’s most important affairs in that period was the investigation of denunciations and the arrest of the conspirators in 1825. But the emperor died that same year. His death greatly influenced the count, who, never appearing at the court of his successor, retired from business. Arakcheev died in 1834, on April 21.
Count (since 1799) Alexey Andreevich Arakcheev(September 23 [October 4], father’s estate in the Novgorod province - April 21 [May 3], the village of Gruzino, Novgorod province) - Russian statesman and military leader who enjoyed the enormous trust of Paul I and Alexander I, especially in the second half of Alexander’s reign I (“Arakcheevism”). Reformer of Russian artillery, artillery general (1807), Minister of War (1808-10), chief commander of the Imperial Chancellery (from 1812) and military settlements (from 1817). The first owner of the palace and park ensemble in Georgia (not preserved). A big fan of drill and frunt.
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Place of Birth
He came from the noble family of Arakcheevs. The exact place of birth is unknown, there are various assumptions. The Great Soviet Encyclopedia lists the Novgorod province as the place of birth without specifying it. The Encyclopedia “Domestic History” (Moscow, 1994) does not provide information about the birth. The collection “Famous Russians” (Lenizdat, 1996) also does not contain accurate information. Priest N.N. Postnikov (1913), based on legends collected in the Bezhetsk region, names the count’s birthplace in the village of Kurgany (Tver region), the ancestral village of the count’s mother. One of the early biographers of the count, S.N. Shubinsky (1908), names the village of Garusovo, Vyshnevolotsk district, Tver province, as the birthplace of Arakcheev, without providing any evidence. Local historian D.L. Podushkov argues in favor of the fact that Count Arakcheev was born and spent his childhood in the village of Garusovo on the shore of Lake Udomlya (today Udomelsky district of the Tver region). The modern biographer of Alexei Andreevich Arakcheev V. A. Tomsinov believes that it is impossible to give an exact answer to the question of where he was born, because no documents about Alexei’s birth have been preserved. His mother Elizaveta Andreevna on September 23, 1769 - the day he was born - could well have been in both Garusovo and Kurgany. And since the Arakcheev family lived alternately in both of these villages, and in the winter they often lived in their refugee house, Alexei’s childhood passed in Garusovo, Kurgany, and Bezhetsk.”
early years
Initial education under the guidance of a village sexton consisted of studying Russian literacy and arithmetic. The boy felt a great inclination towards the latter science and studied it diligently.
Wanting to place his son in the artillery cadet corps, Andrei Andreevich Arakcheev (1732-1797) took him to St. Petersburg. The poor landowner had to experience a lot. When enrolling in a military school, you had to pay up to two hundred rubles, but Andrei Andreevich had no money. Andrei Andreevich and his son, who were about to leave the capital, went on the first Sunday to see Metropolitan Gabriel of St. Petersburg, who distributed to the poor the money sent by Catherine II for this purpose. The landowner Arakcheev received three silver rubles from the Metropolitan. Having received some more benefits from Mrs. Guryeva, Andrei Andreevich, before leaving St. Petersburg, decided to try his luck: he came to Peter Ivanovich Melissino, on whom the fate of his son depended. Pyotr Ivanovich responded favorably to Andrei Andreevich’s request, and young Arakcheev was accepted into the corps. Rapid progress in the sciences, especially in mathematics, soon (in 1787) earned him the rank of officer.
IN free time gave lessons in artillery and fortification to the sons of Count Nikolai Ivanovich Saltykov, to whom he was recommended by his first benefactor, the same Peter Ivanovich Melissino.
After some time, the heir to the throne, Pavel Petrovich, turned to Count Saltykov with a demand to give him an efficient artillery officer. Count Saltykov pointed to Arakcheev and recommended him from the best side. Alexey Andreevich fully justified the recommendation by precise execution of the assignments entrusted to him, tireless activity, knowledge of military discipline, and strict subordination of himself to the established order. All this soon endeared the Grand Duke to Arakcheev. Alexey Andreevich was granted commandant of Gatchina and subsequently the head of all ground forces of the heir. Pavel needed him as “an unsurpassed master of drill in Russia.”
Reign of Paul
Upon his accession to the throne, Emperor Pavel Petrovich bestowed a lot of awards, especially to those close to him. Arakcheev was not forgotten: so, being a colonel, he was granted on November 7, 1796 (the year of Emperor Paul’s accession to the throne) by the St. Petersburg commandant; On November 8 he was promoted to major general; November 9 - promoted to major of the Preobrazhensky Guard Regiment; November 13 - Knight of the Order of St. Anne, 1st degree; the following year, 1797, on April 5, at the age of 27, he was awarded baronial dignity and the Order of St. Alexander Nevsky. In addition, the sovereign, knowing the insufficient condition of Baron Arakcheev, granted him two thousand peasants with a choice of province. Arakcheev found it difficult to choose an estate. Finally, he chose the village of Gruzino in the Novgorod province, which later became a historical place. The choice was approved by the sovereign.
But Arakcheev did not have to enjoy the emperor’s favor for long. On March 18, 1798, Alexey Andreevich was dismissed from service - with the rank, however, of lieutenant general. Within a few months, Arakcheev was accepted back into service. On December 22 of the same 1798 he was ordered to serve as quartermaster general, and on January 4 of the following year he was appointed commander of the guard artillery battalion and inspector of all artillery; On January 8, he was granted commander of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem; May 5 - Count of the Russian Empire for excellent zeal and work for the benefit of the service. On October 1 of the same year, Arakcheev was dismissed from service another time. This time the resignation continued until the new reign.
Reign of Alexander
In 1801, Emperor Alexander Pavlovich ascended the throne, with whom Alexei Andreevich became close friends through his service even as the heir to the throne.
In 1802, a commission was organized to transform the artillery under the chairmanship of Arakcheev, which included the famous Russian artillerymen I. G. Gogel, A. I. Kutaisov and X. L. Euler. This commission developed a system of guns, later called the Arakcheevsky or system of 1805: a 12-pound gun has a caliber of 121 mm, a barrel weight of 800 kg, a carriage weight of 670 kg; 6-pound gun caliber 95 mm, barrel weight 350 kg, carriage 395 kg; caliber 1/2-pound unicorn 152 mm, barrel weight 490 kg, carriage weight 670 kg; caliber 1/4-pound unicorn 123 mm, barrel weight 345 kg, carriage 395 kg. On May 14, 1803, Arakcheev was accepted into service with an appointment to his previous place, that is, inspector of all artillery and commander of the Life Guards Artillery Battalion. In 1805 he took part in the Battle of Austerlitz and commanded an infantry division. Attacked Murat's lancers, but this attack failed, and Arakcheev himself was wounded
From February 4, 1806, he was married to noblewoman Natalya Fedorovna Khomutova, but soon separated from her. In 1807 he was promoted to artillery general, and on January 13 (25) he was appointed Minister of War; On January 17 (29), he was appointed inspector general of all infantry and artillery, with the commissariat and provisions departments subordinate to him. During the leadership of the ministry, Arakcheev issued new rules and regulations on different parts military administration, correspondence was simplified and shortened, reserve recruiting depots and training battalions were established; The artillery was given a new organization, measures were taken to increase the level of special education of officers, and the material part was streamlined and improved. The positive consequences of these improvements were quickly revealed during the wars of 1812-1814.
On January 1, 1810, Arakcheev left the military ministry and was appointed chairman of the department of military affairs in the then newly established State Council, with the right to be present in the Committee of Ministers and the Senate.
On June 14, 1812, in view of the approach of Napoleon, he was again called upon to manage military affairs; “from this date,” according to Arakcheev, “all french war passed through my hands, all the secret commands, reports and handwritten commands of the sovereign.”
Having been awarded a portrait of the sovereign, decorated with diamonds, Alexey Andreevich returned the diamonds, but left the portrait itself. They say that Emperor Alexander Pavlovich granted Arakcheev’s mother a lady of state. Alexey Andreevich refused this favor. The Emperor said with displeasure: “You don’t want to accept anything from me!” “I am pleased with the favor of Your Imperial Majesty,” answered Arakcheev, “but I beg you not to grant my parent a lady of state; she spent her whole life in the village; if he comes here, he will attract the ridicule of the court ladies, but for a solitary life he has no need for this decoration.” Recounting this event to those close to him, Alexey Andreevich added: “Only once in my life, and precisely in this case, did I offend my mother by hiding from her that the sovereign favored her. She would be angry with me if she learned that I deprived her of this distinction” (Dictionary of Memorable People of the Russian Land, ed. 1847).
Later years
- Andrey Zubov. Reflections on the causes of the revolution in Russia The reign of Alexander the Blessed. " New world" 2006, No. 7
All his life, Arakcheev fiercely hated bribery, which was traditionally ingrained in Russian society. Those caught red-handed were immediately expelled from their positions, regardless of their faces. He pursued red tape and, as a consequence, extortion for the purpose of obtaining a bribe mercilessly. Arakcheev demanded immediate resolution of issues and strictly monitored deadlines. He considered any written request received by him on the same day and immediately gave an answer.
And finally, Arakcheev’s integrity is evidenced by the blank forms of decrees signed by Alexander I, which the Tsar left for Arakcheev, often leaving the capital. The temporary worker could use these blank forms for his own purposes to deal with those he disliked, for he had enough enemies. But not a single one of the forms entrusted by the tsar was used by Arakcheev for his own personal purposes.
Modern researchers characterize him “as one of the most effective administrators in Russian history” and believe that he was “an ideal executor capable of realizing grandiose plans.”
Pushkin about Arakcheev
Arakcheevshchina
The regime of reactionary police despotism and brutal militarism associated with the activities of Arakcheev. The term has been used in liberal circles since the end of the first quarter of the 19th century to designate any gross arbitrariness. Arakcheev’s activities were especially categorically negatively assessed by Soviet historians and publicists as an ugly manifestation of Russian autocracy. As a rule, no serious analysis of Arakcheev’s activities as a statesman and military figure has been carried out. Therefore, the term carried a negatively generalizing connotation of the reign of Paul I and Alexander I.
Film incarnations
- Karnovich-Valois, Sergei Sergeevich (“Youth of a Poet” USSR, 1937).
Russian statesman and military leader, baron (1797), count (1799), artillery general (1807).
Alexey Andreevich Arakcheev was born on September 23 (October 4), 1769 in the family of a poor landowner Andrei Andreevich Arakcheev, a retired lieutenant of the Life Guards Preobrazhensky Regiment. The exact place of his birth is unknown. Most likely, we can talk about one of the parents' estates - the village of Vyshnevolotsky district of the Tver province (now in) or the village of Bezhetsky district of the Tver province (now). His childhood passed in rural estates, as well as in the Arakcheevs’ house in the city.
In 1783-1787, A. A. Arakcheev studied at the Artillery and Engineering Gentry Corps, from where he was released with the rank of second lieutenant. He was left in the building by the teacher and head of the library.
Since 1790, A. A. Arakcheev was the senior adjutant of the inspector of all artillery. In 1792, he was sent as a practical artilleryman to serve in the troops of the Tsarevich. Convinced of A. A. Arakcheev’s experience in artillery, the heir to the throne appointed him commander of an artillery company and promoted him to artillery captain. IN short term A. A. Arakcheev brought all the Gatchina artillery and the economic part of the troops into exemplary order. In 1793 he was promoted to major of artillery. In 1796 he became a lieutenant colonel and commandant.
With his accession in 1796, A. A. Arakcheev was promoted to colonel, five months later to major general, awarded the Order of St. Anna, 1st degree, and appointed governor general. On the occasion of his coronation in 1797, he was awarded the title of baron and the Order of St. Alexander Nevsky. After a short disgrace, in 1798 he was returned to service with the rank of lieutenant general, became commander of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem and received the title of count. As inspector of all artillery, A. A. Arakcheev did a lot of work to strengthen discipline, improve supplies and modernize this type of troops. His style of activity was distinguished by strict demands, pedantry and extreme discipline, personal self-restraint, and incredible performance. Despite the enormous influence and awards, A.A. Arakcheev was again dismissed in October 1798.
In 1803, A. A. Arakcheev was reinstated by the emperor as inspector general of artillery. In this post, he made a significant contribution to the reorganization of the entire artillery business in the Russian army. Under his leadership, first-class artillery for that time was created, which showed itself excellently in the Napoleonic wars. In 1805, he was in the emperor's retinue on the day of the Battle of Austerlitz. In 1807 he was promoted to artillery general. In 1808-1810, A. A. Arakcheev served as Minister of War, and from 1810 he was chairman of the Department of Military Affairs of the State Council.
IN initial period During the Patriotic War of 1812, he was in the retinue and was the emperor’s personal rapporteur on militia affairs. He was a member of the Emergency Committee that elected Commander-in-Chief. In 1813-1814 he took part in the foreign campaigns of the Russian army. In the summer of 1814, he wanted to award A. A. Arakcheev with the title of Field Marshal General for his success in organizing the Russian army, but he categorically refused.
In 1815-1825, A. A. Arakcheev became the de facto leader of the state, concentrated in his hands the leadership of the State Council, the Committee of Ministers and His Imperial Majesty's Own Chancellery, and was the only rapporteur for most departments.
In 1817-1825, on behalf of A. A. Arakcheev, he was involved in organizing military settlements, being appointed their commander. Initially he was opposed to the creation of military settlements, but then he submitted to the will of the monarch. Military settlements, according to plan, were supposed to significantly reduce government spending on maintaining the army, eliminate recruitment in peacetime and thereby facilitate economic situation countries, create a prosperous military-agricultural class, ensure border coverage and reduce the redeployment of troops in the event of hostilities. In the management of military settlements there are purely military functions ( combat training troops) were combined with economic ones (organization of construction and reclamation work, transport, industry and agriculture). At the same time, during their creation, extreme forms of coercion were used (forcibly attaching villagers to the land, depriving them of the right to engage in trade, labor and crafts, regulation of many aspects of life, etc.), which led to the ruin of the settlement peasants, and sometimes to quite large-scale unrest and uprisings.
The accession to the throne of an emperor who did not favor A. A. Arakcheev meant the end of his state activities. In April 1826, Arakcheev resigned and went on indefinite leave abroad.
A. A. Arakcheev spent the last years of his life in the village of Novgorod district, Novgorod province. He died in his estate on April 21 (May 3), 1834, and was buried there.
Arakcheev
Alexey Andreevich
Battles and victories
Count (1799), Russian statesman and military leader, close to Alexander I. Reformer of Russian artillery, artillery general (1807), chief commander of military settlements (since 1817).
Alexey Andreevich Arakcheev called himself an “uneducated Novgorod nobleman,” although he collected one of the best libraries in Russia, subscribed to almost all the scientific journals of that time, and even opened an institute for training teachers in the military settlements he led. And the natural abilities and talents of the Minister of War, who had long been considered an odious figure, became the key to victory over Napoleon in the Patriotic War of 1812.
Arakcheev was born on September 23 (October 4), 1769 on his father’s estate in the Novgorod province. The exact place of birth is unknown. Some researchers called his mother's ancestral village Kurgany, while other biographers believed that he was born in the village of Garusovo on the shore of Lake Udomlya, Vyshnevolotsky district, Tver province (today Udomelsky district, Tver region) and even spent his childhood there. It is apparently impossible to give an exact answer to this question, because no documents about the count’s birth have survived. The Arakcheev family lived alternately in both of these villages, and in winter - in their house in Bezhetsk.
A.A. Arakcheev was one of the largest Russian statesmen and military figures, an artillery general, an associate of Alexander I. He was a prominent participant in the Patriotic War of 1812, Russia's Minister of War in 1808 - 1810, who enjoyed the enormous trust of Alexander I, especially in the second half of his reign . He actively reformed the Russian artillery, became the chief commander of military settlements (since 1817), and in 1823-24. - head of the so-called "Russian party".
However, the name of this major statesman and military figure in the mass consciousness is still associated with such a phenomenon as “Arakcheevism,” understood as a regime of reactionary police despotism and brutal militarism. Such associations with the name of the former favorite of two emperors as “drilling”, “military settlements”, “pacifying rebels”, “temporary worker” seemed to leave no hope of finding anything positive in the life and work of this wonderful man. The term “Arakcheevism” is used to designate any gross tyranny, and was invented by representatives of the progressive public, mainly of a liberal persuasion. Arakcheev's activities were assessed categorically negatively - as an ugly manifestation of Russian autocracy - by socialist and communist historians and publicists. As a rule, no serious analysis of Arakcheev’s activities as a statesman and military figure has been carried out. Therefore, the term carried an abusive general assessment of the reign of Paul I and Alexander I.
The liberal intelligentsia, of course, had a rather negative attitude towards Arakcheev and his memory. Everyone knows the epigram of young A.S. Pushkin on Arakcheev:
Oppressor of all Russia,
Governors tormentor
And he is the teacher of the Council,
And he is a friend and brother to the king.
Full of anger, full of revenge,
Without a mind, without feelings, without honor...
However, the more mature Pushkin liked the dismissed Arakcheev. Responding to the death of Count Arakcheev, Pushkin wrote to his wife: “I am the only one in all of Russia who regrets this - I was not able to meet with him and talk to him.”
Turning to the facts, we see that during the Russian-Swedish war of 1808 - 1809. Arakcheev perfectly organized the supply of troops, providing them with reinforcements and artillery. Through his personal participation and organization of military operations, he encouraged the Swedes to begin peace negotiations. Victories of the Russian army 1812 - 1813 They would not have been so brilliant if Arakcheev had not been in the leadership of the military department, logistics and support. Exactly good preparation army to hostilities even before 1812 contributed to the successful defeat of the enemy.
Contrary to the generally accepted point of view and his own statement, Arakcheev was a very educated man, as well as the owner of one of the largest libraries in Russia at that time. The library he collected, according to the catalog of 1824, numbered over 12 thousand books, mainly on Russian history (in 1827, a significant part of it burned down, the surviving books were transferred to the library of the Novgorod Cadet Corps).
Arakcheev received his initial education under the guidance of a village sexton, who taught him grammar and arithmetic (by the way, this sexton was the grandfather of the great Russian chemist D.I. Mendeleev). Later, Arakcheev even seemed to flaunt this circumstance. So, having become the Minister of War in 1808, Alexey Andreevich gathered his subordinates and addressed them with an extravagant statement: “Gentlemen, I recommend myself, I ask you to take care of me, I don’t know much about reading and writing, my father paid 4 rubles in copper for my upbringing.”
It was during his studies “with copper money” that Arakcheev became a big fan of mathematical sciences, which affected his entire future fate.
Even under Emperor Paul I, Arakcheev was appointed inspector of all artillery. He received the same position under Alexander. And here Arakcheev showed himself to the fullest. Thanks to Arakcheev, a reform of Russian artillery was carried out - the number of calibers was reduced, artillery pieces were improved, i.e. lightened without reducing combat power, a constant composition of horses was introduced in all batteries, guns of the same type and caliber were supplied to all batteries. Thanks to Arakcheev's reform, the power of Russian artillery has increased and mobility has increased, and this without switching to any new technologies. And it was precisely thanks to Arakcheev’s reform that Russian artillery in the war of 1812 was not only not inferior to the French, but even superior to it. At the same time, Arakcheev managed to instill an extremely serious attitude towards artillery in the entire command of the Russian army. Thanks to the work of the so-called The Arakcheevsky Commission found that the effectiveness of fire on the battlefield is 6-8 times greater than the effectiveness of rifle fire.
Being involved in the military department, he ensured excellent supplies for the Russian army during the war with Sweden in 1809; It was Arakcheev who was entrusted with providing the Russian army with food and ammunition, training reserves, and he coped with this task perfectly, i.e. the Russian army had essentially everything it needed during the war, which greatly contributed to the victory of Russian weapons; Finally, he managed to transform the military settlements invented by Alexander I into something acceptable.
Arakcheev was an honest, conscientious officer, always, with all his might, with full dedication, he carried out the orders given to him by the command. One of the richest nobles of his time, Alexei Andreevich was not distinguished by either greed or money-grubbing, refusing most of the awards of Alexander I. When Alexander presented Arakcheev with his portrait, decorated with diamonds, the count left the portrait (he was usually depicted with it in all portraits of the last period his life), and sent the diamonds back. Also in his portraits we will not see the signs of the Order of St. Andrew the First-Called, granted by Emperor Alexander - the highest of the awards received by Arakcheev from Paul I was the Order of Alexander Nevsky.
So, initial education under the guidance of a village sexton consisted of studying Russian literacy and arithmetic. The boy felt a great inclination towards the latter science and studied it diligently.
Wanting to place his son in a military school, Andrei Andreevich Arakcheev (1732 - 1797) took him to St. Petersburg. In 1783, due to his early age, Arakcheev Jr. could count on being admitted first to the “preparatory” classes of the Artillery and Engineering Corps. Just at this time (November 25, 1782) the previous director of the corps died, and a new one was appointed only on February 22. Andrei Andreevich and his son, who were already preparing to leave the capital, went on the first Sunday to see Metropolitan Gabriel of St. Petersburg, who distributed to the poor the money sent by Catherine II for this purpose. The landowner Arakcheev received three silver rubles from the Metropolitan. Having received some more benefits from Mrs. Guryeva, Andrei Andreevich, before leaving St. Petersburg, decided to try his luck again: together father and son came to the newly appointed director of the corps, Pyotr Ivanovich Melissino. For several months, having submitted a petition and practically starving, they came to the reception every day, silently greeted Mellisino and humbly waited for an answer to their petition to enroll the boy in the corps. One day, on July 19, the child could not stand it, rushed to the general, told about his misfortune and begged Pyotr Ivanovich to accept him into the corps. He was one of those poor nobles for whom only elementary classes opened the way to further study and officer service in the Russian army.
Rapid progress in the sciences, especially in mathematics, soon (in 1787) earned him the rank of officer. Subsequently, P.I. Mellisino, who especially loved Alexei Andreevich for his “properness” in his studies and service, recommended him to the heir to the throne. book Pavel Petrovich to manage the Gatchina artillery. Until the end of his life, Arakcheev appreciated and remembered that it was Mellisino who recommended him, then an unknown officer, to the future emperor.
In his free time, Arakcheev gave lessons in artillery and fortification to the sons of Count Nikolai Ivanovich Saltykov, to whom he was also recommended by Melissino. After some time, the heir to the throne, Pavel Petrovich, turned to Count Saltykov with a demand to give him an efficient artillery officer. Count Saltykov pointed to Arakcheev and recommended him from the best side. In September 1792, at the request of the future Emperor Paul I, Arakcheev was sent to Gatchina, and soon, for his diligence and success in artillery service, he was appointed commander of the Gatchina artillery team. Alexey Andreevich fully justified the recommendation by accurately fulfilling the orders assigned to him, tireless activity, knowledge of military discipline, and strict submission to the established order, which soon endeared him to the Grand Duke.
Since 1794, Arakcheev has been an inspector of the Gatchina artillery, and since 1796, he has also been an inspector of infantry. The new inspector reorganized the Tsarevich's artillery, dividing the artillery command into 3 foot and 1 horse sections (corporals), with a fifth of their staff in auxiliary positions; compiled special instructions for each official in the artillery. Arakcheev developed a plan for deploying artillery squads into companies and creating a four-company artillery regiment, introduced a methodology for practical training of artillerymen and created “classes for teaching military science,” and took an active part in drawing up new regulations. The innovations he proposed were subsequently introduced throughout the Russian army.
Alexey Andreevich was granted commandant of Gatchina and subsequently the head of all ground forces of the heir. Arakcheev loved and respected Emperor Paul and revered his memory.
Three Emperors of Arakcheev -
Pavel I Petrovich
Upon his accession to the throne, Emperor Pavel Petrovich granted Arakcheev many awards: being a colonel, he was granted on November 7, 1796 (on the day of Emperor Paul’s accession to the throne) by the St. Petersburg commandant; November 8 promoted to major general; November 9 - promoted to major of the Preobrazhensky Guards Regiment; November 13 - Knight of the Order of St. Anne, 1st degree; the following year, 1797, on April 5, he was awarded baronial dignity and the Order of St. Alexander Nevsky. In addition, the sovereign, knowing the insufficient condition of Baron Arakcheev, granted him two thousand peasants with a choice of province. Arakcheev chose the village of Gruzino in the Novgorod province.
Strictness and impartiality, adherence to the rule of law and the desire to strictly carry out the decisions of the monarch distinguished Arakcheev when establishing order in the troops. But Arakcheev did not have long to enjoy the favor of the emperor, who was fickle in his passions. On March 18, 1798, Alexey Andreevich was dismissed from service with the rank of lieutenant general.
And then there was a new takeoff. Arakcheev was again accepted into service in the same 1798 and enlisted in the retinue of Emperor Paul I. On December 22, 1798, he was ordered to serve as quartermaster general, and on January 4, 1799, he was appointed commander of the Life Guards Artillery Battalion and artillery inspector. On January 8, 1799, he was awarded Commander of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem, and on May 5, 1799, a Count of the Russian Empire for excellent zeal and work for the benefit of the service. He was ordered to be present at the Military Collegium and restore order in the Artillery Expedition.
On October 1, 1799, he was dismissed from service by the emperor for the second time and sent to Gruzino. The removal of Arakcheev from St. Petersburg was beneficial to those representatives of the aristocracy who at that time began preparing a conspiracy against Paul I. This time the resignation continued until the new reign.
Three Emperors of Arakcheev -
Alexander I Pavlovich
In 1801, Emperor Alexander Pavlovich ascended the throne, with whom Alexei Andreevich became close friends through his service. In 1802, Alexander again called him to serve, appointing him a member of the Commission for drawing up approximate staff of artillery, and on May 14, 1803 - again inspector of all artillery and commander of the Life Guards Artillery Battalion.
Arakcheev’s experience in the “Gatchina troops” of Tsarevich Pavel came in handy when it was necessary to create the first horse artillery company in the Guards brigade. Horse artillery early XIX century - a type of field artillery in which not only the guns and ammunition, but also each number of the gun crew were transported by horses, due to which the servants were trained not only to operate the guns, but also to conduct combat on horseback. Horse artillery was intended to provide fire support for cavalry and create a mobile artillery reserve, so it was armed with lightweight unicorns and six-pound cannons. In 1803 - 1811 Arakcheev prepared and carried out the reform of the Russian artillery, as a result of which it turned into an independent branch of the military, its organization was improved (regiments and battalions were replaced by artillery brigades), the first complex system artillery weapons (field artillery is limited to guns of four calibers of lightweight construction, the ammunition load of each gun has been determined, staffing has been revised, unified design documentation has been introduced, exemplary reference parts have been developed for manufacturers, etc.). Army infantry divisions were given 3-company foot artillery brigades (battery and 2 light), and cavalry divisions were given horse artillery companies, and mobile artillery arsenals were created.
Arakcheev established exams for artillery officers and wrote a number of instructions for them. Even upon his arrival in Gatchina to the artillery units of Tsarevich Pavel Petrovich, Arakcheev discovered that there were no instructions: what each number did with the gun. The artilleryman did what the two-gun officer ordered. Arakcheev determined the composition of the teams at the guns, wrote to each number what he was doing, what he was holding in his hands, what bag was hanging on him, etc. The guard officers, naturally, did not like such detailed regulations, the observance of which was entrusted to them.
The converted artillery showed itself successfully during the Napoleonic wars. Strict towards the careless, he did not skimp on rewards for those who performed their service regularly: about 11 thousand rubles were spent on awards in the Artillery Expedition. in year. In December 1807, Arakcheev was appointed to serve under Alexander I “in the artillery unit,” and two days later the emperor ordered that his orders, announced by Arakcheev, be considered personal imperial instructions. In 1804, on his initiative, a Provisional Artillery Committee was formed to consider scientific and technical issues, renamed in 1808 the Scientific Committee for Artillery; The Artillery Magazine began publishing.
In 1805 A.A. Arakcheev was with the sovereign at the Battle of Austerlitz.
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In 1807, Arakcheev was promoted to artillery general. To restore order in the military department, on January 13, 1808, Alexander I appointed Arakcheev as Minister of the Military Ground Forces (until 1810), in addition, on January 17 - inspector general of all infantry and artillery (until 1819), subordinate to him commissariat and provisions departments. On January 26, 1808, Arakcheev became the head of the imperial Military Campaign Office and the Correspondent Corps. Under his leadership, the introduction of the divisional organization of the army was completed, its recruitment, supply and training of troops was improved. During the management of the ministry by Arakcheev, new rules and regulations were issued for various parts of the military administration, correspondence was simplified and shortened, recruiting depots and training grenadier battalions were created to prepare reinforcements for the line units. The artillery was given a new organization, measures were taken to increase the level of special education of officers, and the material part was streamlined and improved. The positive consequences of these improvements were quickly revealed during the wars of 1812 - 1814.
Gr. A.A. Arakcheev took an active part in the war with Sweden. Alexander ordered to immediately and decisively transfer the theater of war to the Swedish coast, taking advantage of the opportunity (rare in the history of the usually ice-free bay) to cross there over the ice. Since a number of generals, in view of the sovereign’s order to transfer the theater of war to the Swedish coast, presented various difficulties, Alexander I, extremely dissatisfied with the inaction of the Russian command, sent his Minister of War to Finland. Arriving on February 20, 1809 in Abo, Arakcheev insisted on the speedy implementation of the highest will. Arakcheev literally “pushed” the generals onto the ice of the Gulf of Bothnia. In response to Barclay de Tolly’s objection that food and ammunition might fall behind, Arakcheev, together with Barclay himself, built full diagram not only troops, but also mobile warehouses, so that they, without falling behind, move synchronously with the troops.
The Russian troops had to endure many obstacles, but Arakcheev acted energetically, as a result of which the Russian troops that marched to the Åland Islands on March 2 quickly captured them, and on March 7, a small Russian cavalry detachment had already occupied the village of Grisselgam on the Swedish coast (now part of the Norrtälje commune).
During the movement of Russian troops to the Åland Islands in Sweden, a change in government followed: instead of Gustav Adolf, who was overthrown from the throne, his uncle, the Duke of Südermanland, became king of Sweden. The defense of the Åland Islands was entrusted to General Debeln, who, having learned about the Stockholm coup, entered into negotiations with the commander of the Russian detachment, Knorring, to conclude a truce, which was done. But Arakcheev did not approve of Knorring’s action and, during a meeting with General Debeln, told the latter that he was sent by the sovereign “not to make a truce, but to make peace.”
The subsequent actions of the Russian troops were brilliant: Barclay de Tolly made a glorious transition through Kvarken, and Shuvalov occupied Torneo. On September 5, the Russian and Swedish commissioners signed the Treaty of Friedrichsham, according to which Finland, part of Västerbotten up to the Torneo River and the Åland Islands were transferred to Russia. We can safely say that it was Arakcheev’s arrival in the active army as the emperor’s personal representative that accelerated the end of the Russian-Swedish war.
On January 1, 1810, Arakcheev left the War Ministry and was appointed a member of the then newly established State Council (in 1810 - 1812 and 1816 - 1826 he was the chairman of the department of military affairs), with the right to be present in the Committee of Ministers and the Senate. When leaving this position, Arakcheev recommended Barclay de Tolly for the post of Minister of War.
On March 31, Arakcheev was relieved of his post as chairman of the military department of the State Council, and on June 17 he was appointed to the post of head of the office of Alexander I. Now he was aware of all affairs in the country. On December 7, 1812, it was transformed into His Imperial Majesty's Own Chancellery - a body that, as we know, played a huge role in the history of the country. Arakcheev actually stood at its origins, leading it until 1825. Largely through his efforts, the Russian army was well prepared for the Patriotic War of 1812.
On June 14, 1812, in view of the approach of Napoleon, Count Arakcheev was again called upon to manage military affairs.
From that date on, the entire French war went through my hands, all the secret commands, reports and handwritten commands of the sovereign.
A.A. Arakcheev
Count A.A. Arakcheev.
Artist I.B. Lumpy the Elder
During the Patriotic War, Arakcheev's main concern was the formation of reserves and the supply of food to the army. During the war, he was also in charge of recruiting troops and replenishing artillery parks, organizing militias, etc. After the establishment of peace, the emperor’s trust in Arakcheev increased to the point that he was entrusted with the fulfillment of the highest plans not only on military issues, but also in matters of civil administration. In 1815, Alexey Andreevich was appointed the only rapporteur to the emperor on the affairs of the Committee of Ministers and the State Council. From that time on, Alexander I led the empire through Arakcheev, who regularly reported to him and actually led the country. Arakcheev carried out the development of the necessary regulatory legal acts, transforming all military legislation and thereby completing the reform of the army.
It was Arakcheev who managed to persuade the emperor to renounce his claims to the supreme command of the Russian armies in the Patriotic War. He greatly favored Kutuzov, and it is possible that it was thanks to Arakcheev that Kutuzov was appointed commander of all Russian armies in August 1812.
Arakcheev’s severity and inflexibility in implementing the emperor’s plan became one of the reasons for the formation of a negative attitude towards him personally and the spread of rumors defaming the count. For Alexander I, Arakcheev was a kind of “screen” that shielded the tsar from the indignation of his subjects over his mistakes, blunders, and negative consequences of his reign.
Alexander I spoke about the importance of Arakcheev to P.A. To Kleinmichel, who was then Arakcheev’s adjutant: “You don’t understand what Arakcheev means to me. He takes upon himself everything that is bad, and attributes everything good to me.”
We will do everything: we Russians need to demand the impossible in order to achieve the possible.
A.A. Arakcheev
He was just as demanding, first of all, of himself. This principle allowed Arakcheev to accomplish the impossible, but it also made him extremely unpopular in society.
He himself was well aware of this. D.V. Davydov cites in his “Notes” the words of A.A. Arakcheev, what he said to General A.P. Ermolov: “Many undeserved curses will fall on me.” The phrase turned out to be prophetic.
All his life, Arakcheev fiercely hated bribery, which was traditionally ingrained in Russian society. Those caught red-handed were immediately expelled from their positions, regardless of their faces. Red tape and extortion for the purpose of obtaining a bribe were pursued by him mercilessly. Arakcheev demanded immediate resolution of issues and strictly monitored the fulfillment of deadlines, so the clerical community hated him. Why be surprised that the cross-section of this society determined the mood of the writers and publicists who came up with “Arakcheevism.”
But the main phenomenon in the military life of Russia, with which the name of Arakcheev is associated, is the organization of military settlements. Count Alexei Andreevich is usually considered the creator of this system. However, military settlements were proposed by Alexander I himself, and Arakcheev was against this project. M. M. Speransky formalized the idea into decrees and instructions. Arakcheev became only a performer.
In the War of 1812, Alexander I was faced with a shortage of trained reserves, the difficulty of carrying out more and more new recruitments, and the high cost of maintaining an army. The Emperor put forward the idea that every soldier should be a peasant, and every peasant should be a soldier. Initially this was done through the introduction of soldiers to billet in the village.
Alexander I was interested in the idea of establishing military settlements on a large scale. According to some reports, we repeat, Arakcheev at first showed obvious insympathy with this idea. But in view of the adamant desire of the sovereign - in 1817, Alexander I entrusted him with the development of a plan for creating settlements - he conducted the matter abruptly, with merciless consistency, not embarrassed by the murmur of the people, forcibly torn away from age-old, historically established customs and the usual way of life.
Perhaps the military settlements were an attempt by Alexander I to create a class in Russia, based on which the tsar could carry out liberal reforms.
Arakcheev, a believer and pious Orthodox Christian from a young age, gifted with brilliant organizational skills and administrative talent and, perhaps most importantly, who worked not for the sake of self-interest and glory, but also, like the Emperor, following his moral duty... such an employee Alexander needed him endlessly.
A. Zubov
“The emperor knew very well the weaknesses and shortcomings of his Gatchina friend - lack of culture, touchiness, envy, jealousy of the royal favor, but all this was outweighed in the eyes of the king by his merits. Alexander, Arakcheev and Prince A.N. The three of Golitsyn constituted that powerful lever that almost turned Russia away from the path to national catastrophe outlined by the actions of the “great” monarchs of the 18th century - Peter and Catherine.” ( Zubov A. Reflections on the causes of the revolution in Russia. Reign of Alexander the Blessed. New world. 2006, No. 7).
A number of riots among military villagers were suppressed with inexorable severity. The outer side of the settlements has been brought to exemplary order. Only the most exaggerated rumors about their well-being reached the sovereign. Many of the high-ranking officials, either not understanding the matter, or out of fear of a powerful temporary worker, extolled the new institution with exorbitant praise.
Arakcheev and Speransky -
through the eyes of Pushkin
The idea was the emperor's, the design of this idea into a more or less coherent picture was the work of Speransky, and Arakcheev alone was to blame for everything. He always faithfully carried out all the orders of his emperor, even if he considered them wrong. In those situations where other generals objected to the emperor (Kutuzov), Arakcheev accepted the order for execution and carried it out, making every effort. The honest soldier strictly fulfilled his duty.
The problem was aggravated by the general bribery of superiors, starting with officers: Arakcheev, who demanded from superiors first of all external order and improvement, could not eradicate general robbery, and only in rare cases were the perpetrators subjected to deserved punishment. It is not surprising that the muted discontent among the military villagers increased every year. During the reign of Emperor Alexander I, it was expressed only in single outbreaks. At the same time, indignation among soldiers and peasants was suppressed by force. In those military settlements that Arakcheev personally occupied, the soldiers and peasants lived more or less tolerably.
With the accession of Nicholas I to the throne, Count Arakcheev soon retired from business, and Count Kleinmichel was placed at the head of the management of military settlements with the rank of chief of staff of military settlements.
Arakcheev and Speransky -
through the eyes of a contemporary artist
What is less known about Arakcheev is that in 1818, on behalf of Alexander I, he developed one of the projects for the liberation of the peasants, which provided for the purchase by the treasury of landowners' estates together with the peasants "at voluntarily established prices with the landowners" and providing the peasants with personal freedom. Of course, this project, like many similar plans of Alexander’s reign, remained unrealized.
And finally, Arakcheev’s integrity is evidenced by the clean, signed forms of Alexander I’s decrees, which the tsar left with Arakcheev when leaving the capital. The temporary worker could use these blank forms for his own purposes to deal with those he disliked, for he had enough enemies. But not a single one of the forms entrusted by the tsar was used by Arakcheev for personal purposes.
Modern researchers often characterize him as one of the most effective administrators in Russian history, and believe that he was an ideal executor capable of realizing grandiose plans.
Arakcheev's influence on affairs and his power continued throughout the reign of Emperor Alexander Pavlovich. Being an influential nobleman, close to the sovereign, Arakcheev, having the Order of Alexander Nevsky, refused other orders granted to him: in 1807 - the Order of St. Vladimir, and in 1808 - from the Order of St. Apostle Andrew the First-Called, and only left a rescript of the award as a souvenir. He also did not accept the rank of field marshal general (1814), although his merits in the anti-Napoleonic wars were great. Alexey Andreevich was also awarded the Prussian Order of the Black and Red Eagle, 1st class, the Austrian Order of St. Stephen, 1st class, as well as the above-mentioned portrait, from which he returned the diamonds.
They say that Emperor Alexander Pavlovich granted Arakcheev’s mother a lady of state. Alexey Andreevich refused this favor too. The Emperor said with displeasure: “You don’t want to accept anything from me!” “I am pleased with the favor of Your Imperial Majesty,” answered Arakcheev, “but I beg you not to grant my parent a lady of state; she spent her whole life in the village; if he comes here, he will attract the ridicule of the court ladies, but for a solitary life he has no need for this decoration.” Recounting this event to those close to him, Alexei Andreevich added: “Only once in my life, and precisely in this case, did I offend my mother by hiding from her that the sovereign favored her. She would be angry with me if she knew that I had deprived her of this distinction.”
The Arakcheevsky regiment sponsored by him was named after Arakcheev, and later the Rostov Grenadier Regiment of Prince Friedrich of the Netherlands.
Three Emperors of Arakcheev -
Nicholas I Pavlovich
Alexander I died on November 19, 1825. Arakcheev did not take part in the suppression of the Decembrist uprising, for which he was dismissed by Nicholas I. According to other sources, Arakcheev himself refused the urgent requests of the new emperor to continue serving.
Be that as it may, on December 20, 1825, he was released by Nicholas I, who did not favor him, from the affairs of the Committee of Ministers and expelled from the State Council, and in 1826 he was removed from command over military settlements. He was dismissed on indefinite leave for treatment, and remained in service until 1832. Arakcheev went abroad and voluntarily published there the publication of confidential letters to him from Alexander I, which caused a scandal in Russian society and government circles.
A devoted friend of the monarchs Paul and Alexander, who reached unprecedented heights during their reign, Arakcheev last years dedicated his life to his estate Gruzino. Returning to the estate in 1827, Alexander Andreevich began to arrange it, opened a hospital, worked on the peasant loan bank he had previously created, and tried to regulate the life of the serfs in accordance with his ideas. His desire to create an exemplary farm in all respects led to the most favorable results. The beginning of the construction of Gruzin marked the brightest and most brilliant period of the heyday of the Russian estate. This estate was the best for its time. Now from the paradise on the banks of the river. There are not even ruins left of Volkhov - all buildings were destroyed during the fighting of 1941-1944.
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Having retained the title of member of the State Council, Arakcheev went to travel abroad; his health was already broken. In 1833, Arakcheev deposited 50,000 rubles into the state loan bank. banknotes so that this amount remains in the bank for ninety-three years untouched with all interest. Three quarters of this capital should be a reward for the one who will write by 1925 (in Russian) the best history of the reign of Alexander I. The remaining quarter is intended for the costs of publishing this work, as well as for the second prize, and for two translators in equal shares, who will translate from Russian into German and into French the first prize-winning history of Alexander I. Arakcheev built a magnificent bronze monument to Alexander in front of the cathedral church of his village, on which the following inscription was made: “To the Sovereign-Benefactor, after His death.”
Arakcheev’s last deed for the common good was his donation of 300 thousand rubles for the education of poor nobles of the Novgorod and Tver provinces from the interest of this capital in the Novgorod Cadet Corps, as well as 50 thousand rubles. Pavlovsk Institute for the education of the daughters of nobles of the Novgorod province. After the death of Arakcheev, the Novgorod Cadet Corps received the name Arakcheevsky in connection with the transfer of Arakcheev’s estate and capital in the amount of 1.5 million rubles. Back in 1816, Alexander I approved Arakcheev’s spiritual will, entrusting the storage of the will to the Governing Senate. The testator was given the opportunity to choose an heir, but Arakcheev did not fulfill this. Nicholas I recognized for the best remedy to give forever the Georgian volost and all movable property belonging to it to the full and undivided possession of the Novgorod cadet corps, so that it would use the income received from the estate for the education of noble youth and take the name and coat of arms of the testator.
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Meanwhile, Arakcheev’s health was weakening, his strength was changing. Nicholas I, having learned about his painful condition, sent his physician Villiers to him in Gruzino, but the latter could no longer help, and on the eve of the Resurrection of Christ, April 21 (May 3), 1834, Arakcheev died, “without taking his eyes off the portrait Alexandra, in his room, on the very sofa that served as the bed of the All-Russian Autocrat.” He kept screaming for his life to be extended for at least a month, and finally, sighing, said: “Damned death,” and died.
Before the funeral, they put on him the canvas shirt in which Emperor Alexander died, and put him in a ceremonial general's uniform. The ashes of the outstanding military and statesman, count and cavalier Alexei Andreevich Arakcheev, were buried in the village of Gruzino. Count Alexei Andreevich took care of his death and burial long before his death. The tomb with the epitaph was prepared inside the capital-looking St. Andrew's Cathedral next to the monument to Emperor Paul. The Arakcheevsky regiment and an artillery battery were called to the funeral.
Arakcheev’s remains were found as a result of excavations in 2009. Proposals were discussed to rebury them in the Alexander Nevsky Lavra in St. Petersburg, where many of Arakcheev’s associates are buried, as well as in the ancient St. George’s Monastery of the 12th century. near Veliky Novgorod. At the end of 2008, the administration and public of the Chudovsky district, on whose territory Gruzino is located, turned to the regional leadership with a request to transfer the remains for re-burial on the former count's estate.
Gloomy and uncommunicative from childhood, Arakcheev remained this way throughout his life. With his remarkable intelligence and selflessness, he knew how to remember the kindness that anyone had ever done to him. Apart from satisfying the will of the monarch and fulfilling the requirements of the service, he was not embarrassed by anything. His severity often degenerated into cruelty, and the time of his almost limitless rule (the last years, the first quarter of the 19th century) was characterized by a kind of terror, since everyone was in awe of him. In general, he left behind a bad memory.
The kings appreciated his rigidity, which reached the point of inexorability, experience and knowledge, especially in the field of artillery, using his services when it was necessary to “restore order.” In Soviet times, Arakcheev was constantly defined as “a reactionary, a persecutor of the Suvorov school, a tsar’s servant and a saint.” But already in 1961, in an article about Arakcheev in the Historical Encyclopedia, several lines appeared about his services in the development of Russian artillery. Modern domestic historians, assessing his activities, they recognize that Arakcheev was one of the most worthy military and administrative figures in the history of the Russian Empire.
KURKOV K.N., Doctor of Historical Sciences, Professor of Moscow State Humanitarian University named after. M.A. Sholokhov
Literature
Anderson V.M. Correspondence of Emperor Alexander I with Napoleon and Count Arakcheev. St. Petersburg, 1912
Autobiographical notes of Count Arakcheev. Russian archive. 1866. Issue. 9
From the stories of gr. A.A. Arakcheeva. Historical bulletin. 1894 / T. 58, No. 10
Letters 1796. 1797 Message A.I. Maksheev. Russian antiquity. 1891 / T. 71, No. 8
Letter from Count Arakcheev to Countess Kankrina. Note P.A. Vyazemsky. Russian archive. 1868. Ed. 2nd. M., 1869
Arakcheev A.A., Karamzin N.M. Letters to the Grand Duke Tsarevich Konstantin Pavlovich. Message G. Alexandrov. Russian archive. 1868. Ed. 2nd. M., 1869
Arakcheev and military settlements: Memoirs of contemporaries: 1. Memoirs of M.F. Borozdina. 2. From von Bradke’s notes. Russian reality. Series 1. Vol. 10. M., 1908
Bogdanovich P.N. Arakcheev Count and Baron of the Russian Empire: (1769–1834). P.N. Bogdanovich Gen. Headquarters Col. Buenos Aires, 1956
Bogoslovsky N.G. Arakcheevshchina: Stories. Op. N. Bogoslovsky. St. Petersburg, 1882
Bogoslovsky N.G. Stories about the past: War times. Settlements. Op. Slovsky [pseud.]. Novgorod, 1865
Bulgarin F.G. Trip to Gruzino. St. Petersburg, 1861
Wrangel N., Makovsky S., Trubnikov A. Arakcheev and art. Old years. 1908. No. 7
Count A.A. Arakcheev. (Materials). Russian antiquity, 1900. T. 101. No. 1
Gribbe A.K. Count Alexey Andreevich Arakcheev. (From memories of Novgorod military settlements). 1822–1826. Russian antiquity. 1875. T. 12, No. 1
Davydova, E.E., comp. Arakcheev: evidence from contemporaries. Comp. HER. Davydova et al. M., 2000
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Europeus I.I. Memoirs of Evropeus about service in a military settlement and about relations with Count Arakcheev. Russian antiquity. 1872. T. 6, No. 9
Ivanov G. Famous and famous refugees. Vol. 1: From Alexey Arakcheev to Alexey Smirnov. B.M., 2003
Kaygorodov V. Arakcheevshchina. Op. V. Kaygorodova. M., 1912
Kizevetter A.A. Historical silhouettes. Essays. A.A. Kiesewetter; Entry Art. O.V. Budnitsky. Rostov n/d, 1997
Kovalenko A.Yu. The era of Alexander I in the context of state activities by A. A. Arakcheev: Textbook. allowance. Komsomolsk-on-Amur, 1999
Nikolsky V.P. The state of the Russian army at the end of the reign of Alexander I. In the book: History of the Russian army, 1812–1864. St. Petersburg, 2003
Otto N.K. Traits from the life of Count Arakcheev. Ancient and New Russia. 1875. T. 1, No. 1
Panchenko A.M. Library of Count A.A. Arakcheeva in Gruzino. A.M. Panchenko. Berk's readings. Book culture in the context of international contacts. Central Scientific Library of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus; Moscow: Science. Mn., 2011
Podushkov D.L.“He was a real Russian...” (About Count Arakcheev A.A.) Udomel antiquity: Local history almanac. 2000, January. No. 16
Podushkov D.L. The role of Count A.A. Arakcheev in the Patriotic War of 1812. Local history almanac “Udomelskaya antiquity”, No. 29, September 2002
Podushkov D.L.(compiler), Vorobiev V.M. (scientific editor). Famous Russians in the history of the Udomelsky region. Tver, 2009
Ratch V.F. Information about Count Alexei Andreevich Arakcheev. St. Petersburg, 1864
Romanovich E.M. The dying days and death of Count Arakcheev. (From the story of retired staff captain Evgeniy Mikhailovich Romanovich). Message P.A. Musatovsky. Russian archive. 1868. Ed. 2nd. M., 1869
Russian conservatives. M., 1997
Sigunov N.G. Traits from the life of Count Arakcheev. Stories of Major General Nick. Grigor. Sigunova. Message M.I. Bogdanovich. Russian antiquity. 1870. T. 1. Ed. 3rd. St. Petersburg, 1875
Dictionary of Russian generals who took part in the fighting against the army of Napoleon Bonaparte in 1812–1815. Russian archive: Sat. M., 1996. T. VII
Tomsinov V.A. Arakcheev (series “Life of Remarkable People”). M., 2003, 2010
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Troitsky N. Russia at the head of the Holy Alliance: Arakcheevshchina
Ulybin V.V. Betrayed without flattery: the experience of the biography of Count Arakcheev. Vyacheslav Ulybin. St. Petersburg, 2006
Fedorov V.A. MM. Speransky and A.A. Arakcheev. M., 1997
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Shubinsky S.N. Historical essays and stories. St. Petersburg, 1896; 1913
Yakushkin V. Speransky and Arakcheev. St. Petersburg, 1905; M., 1916
Extensive material for characterizing Count Arakcheev and his time is included in the publications: “Russian Antiquity” (1870 - 1890), “Russian Archive” (1866 No. 6 and 7, 1868 No. 2 and 6, 1872 No. 10, 1876 No. 4); “Ancient and New Russia” (1875, Nos. 1 - 6 and 10); Glebov, “The Tale of Arakcheev” (military collection, 1861).
Internet
Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich
Kornilov Lavr Georgievich
KORNILOV Lavr Georgievich (08/18/1870-04/31/1918) Colonel (02/1905). Major General (12/1912). Lieutenant General (08/26/1914). Infantry General (06/30/1917). Graduated from the Mikhailovsky Artillery School (1892) and with a gold medal from the Nikolaev Academy of the General Staff (1898). Officer at the headquarters of the Turkestan Military District, 1889-1904. Participant in the Russian-Japanese War 1904 - 1905: staff officer of the 1st Infantry Brigade (at its headquarters). During the retreat from Mukden, the brigade got surrounded. Having led the rearguard, he broke through the encirclement with a bayonet attack, ensuring freedom of defensive combat operations for the brigade. Military attaché in China, 04/01/1907 - 02/24/1911. Participant in the First World War: commander of the 48th Infantry Division of the 8th Army (General Brusilov). During the general retreat, the 48th Division was surrounded and General Kornilov, who was wounded, was captured on 04.1915 at the Duklinsky Pass (Carpathians); 08.1914-04.1915. Captured by the Austrians, 04.1915-06.1916. Dressed in the uniform of an Austrian soldier, he escaped from captivity on 06/1915. Commander of the 25th Rifle Corps, 06/1916-04/1917. Commander of the Petrograd Military District, 03-04/1917. Commander of the 8th Army, 04/24-07/8/1917. On 05/19/1917, by his order, he introduced the formation of the first volunteer “1st Strike force 8th Army" under the command of Captain Nezhentsev. Commander of the Southwestern Front...
Dragomirov Mikhail Ivanovich
Brilliant crossing of the Danube in 1877
- Creation of a tactics textbook
- Creation of an original concept of military education
- Leadership of the NASH in 1878-1889
- Enormous influence in military matters for a full 25 years
Kolchak Alexander Vasilievich
A prominent military figure, scientist, traveler and discoverer. Admiral of the Russian Fleet, whose talent was highly appreciated by Emperor Nicholas II. The Supreme Ruler of Russia during the Civil War, a true Patriot of his Fatherland, a man of a tragic, interesting fate. One of those military men who tried to save Russia during the years of turmoil, in the most difficult conditions, being in very difficult international diplomatic conditions.
Kovpak Sidor Artemyevich
Participant of the First World War (served in the 186th Aslanduz Infantry Regiment) and the Civil War. During the First World War, he fought on the Southwestern Front and took part in the Brusilov breakthrough. In April 1915, as part of the guard of honor, he was personally awarded the St. George Cross by Nicholas II. In total, he was awarded the St. George Crosses of III and IV degrees and medals “For Bravery” (“St. George” medals) of III and IV degrees.
During the Civil War, he led a local partisan detachment that fought in Ukraine against the German occupiers together with the detachments of A. Ya. Parkhomenko, then he was a fighter in the 25th Chapaev Division on the Eastern Front, where he was engaged in the disarmament of the Cossacks, and participated in battles with the armies of generals A. I. . Denikin and Wrangel on the Southern Front.
In 1941-1942, Kovpak's unit carried out raids behind enemy lines in the Sumy, Kursk, Oryol and Bryansk regions, in 1942-1943 - a raid from the Bryansk forests to Right Bank Ukraine in the Gomel, Pinsk, Volyn, Rivne, Zhitomir and Kyiv regions; in 1943 - Carpathian raid. The Sumy partisan unit under the command of Kovpak fought in the rear Nazi troops more than 10 thousand kilometers, defeated enemy garrisons in 39 populated areas. Kovpak's raids played a big role in the development of the partisan movement against the German occupiers.
Twice Hero of the Soviet Union:
By a decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR dated May 18, 1942, for the exemplary performance of combat missions behind enemy lines, the courage and heroism shown during their implementation, Kovpak Sidor Artemyevich was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union with the Order of Lenin and the Gold Star medal (No. 708)
The second Gold Star medal (No.) was awarded to Major General Sidor Artemyevich Kovpak by the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR dated January 4, 1944 for the successful conduct of the Carpathian raid
four Orders of Lenin (18.5.1942, 4.1.1944, 23.1.1948, 25.5.1967)
Order of the Red Banner (12/24/1942)
Order of Bohdan Khmelnitsky, 1st degree. (7.8.1944)
Order of Suvorov, 1st degree (2.5.1945)
medals
foreign orders and medals (Poland, Hungary, Czechoslovakia)
Kotlyarevsky Petr Stepanovich
General Kotlyarevsky, son of a priest in the village of Olkhovatki, Kharkov province. He worked his way up from a private to a general in the tsarist army. He can be called the great-grandfather of Russian special forces. He carried out truly unique operations... His name is worthy of being included in the list of the greatest commanders of Russia
Spiridov Grigory Andreevich
He became a sailor under Peter I, participated as an officer in the Russian-Turkish War (1735-1739), and ended the Seven Years' War (1756-1763) as a rear admiral. His naval and diplomatic talent reached its peak during the Russian-Turkish War of 1768-1774. In 1769 he led the first passage of the Russian fleet from the Baltic to the Mediterranean Sea. Despite the difficulties of the transition (the admiral's son was among those who died from illness - his grave was recently found on the island of Menorca), he quickly established control over the Greek archipelago. The Battle of Chesme in June 1770 remained unsurpassed in terms of loss ratio: 11 Russians - 11 thousand Turks! On the island of Paros, the naval base of Auza was equipped with coastal batteries and its own Admiralty.
The Russian fleet left Mediterranean Sea after the conclusion of the Kuchuk-Kainardzhi peace in July 1774, the Greek islands and lands of the Levant, including Beirut, were returned to Turkey in exchange for territories in the Black Sea region. However, the activities of the Russian fleet in the Archipelago were not in vain and played a significant role in the world naval history. Russia, having carried out a strategic maneuver with its naval forces from one theater to another and achieved a number of high-profile victories over the enemy, for the first time made people talk about itself as a strong maritime power and an important player in European politics.
Peter I the Great
Emperor of All Russia (1721-1725), before that the Tsar of All Rus'. He won the Northern War (1700-1721). This victory finally opened up free access to the Baltic Sea. Under his rule, Russia (Russian Empire) became a Great Power.
Rurikovich Svyatoslav Igorevich
Great commander of the Old Russian period. The first known to us Kyiv prince, having a Slavic name. The last pagan ruler of the Old Russian state. He glorified Rus' as a great military power in the campaigns of 965-971. Karamzin called him “Alexander (Macedonian) of our ancient history.” The prince freed the Slavic tribes from vassal dependence on the Khazars, defeating the Khazar Khaganate in 965. According to the Tale of Bygone Years in 970 during Russian-Byzantine war Svyatoslav managed to win the battle of Arkadiopolis, having 10,000 soldiers under his command, against 100,000 Greeks. But at the same time, Svyatoslav led the life of a simple warrior: “On campaigns he did not carry carts or cauldrons with him, did not cook meat, but, thinly slicing horse meat, or animal meat, or beef and roasting it on coals, he ate it like that; he did not have a tent , but he slept, spreading a sweatshirt with a saddle in his head - the same were all the rest of his warriors. And he sent envoys to other lands [usually before declaring war] with the words: “I’m coming to you!” (According to PVL)
Peter the First
Because he not only conquered the lands of his fathers, but also established the status of Russia as a power!
Minich Burchard-Christopher
One of the best Russian commanders and military engineers. The first commander to enter Crimea. Winner at Stavuchany.
Gorbaty-Shuisky Alexander Borisovich
Hero of the Kazan War, first governor of Kazan
Voronov Nikolay Nikolaevich
N.N. Voronov is the commander of artillery of the USSR Armed Forces. For outstanding services to the Motherland, N.N. Voronov. the first in the Soviet Union to be awarded the military ranks of “Marshal of Artillery” (1943) and “Chief Marshal of Artillery” (1944).
...carried out general management of the liquidation of the Nazi group surrounded at Stalingrad.
Kotlyarevsky Petr Stepanovich
Hero of the Russian-Persian War of 1804-1813. At one time they called Suvorov of the Caucasus. On October 19, 1812, at the Aslanduz ford across the Araks, at the head of a detachment of 2,221 people with 6 guns, Pyotr Stepanovich defeated the Persian army of 30,000 people with 12 guns. In other battles, he also acted not with numbers, but with skill.
Chernyakhovsky Ivan Danilovich
The only commander who carried out the order of Headquarters on June 22, 1941, counterattacked the Germans, drove them back in his sector and went on the offensive.
Barclay de Tolly Mikhail Bogdanovich
Participated in the Russian-Turkish War of 1787-91 and the Russian-Swedish War of 1788-90. He distinguished himself during the war with France in 1806-07 at Preussisch-Eylau, and from 1807 he commanded a division. During the Russian-Swedish war of 1808-09 he commanded a corps; led the successful crossing of the Kvarken Strait in the winter of 1809. In 1809-10, Governor-General of Finland. From January 1810 to September 1812, the Minister of War did a lot of work to strengthen the Russian army, and separated the intelligence and counterintelligence service into a separate production. In the Patriotic War of 1812 he commanded the 1st Western Army, and, as Minister of War, the 2nd Western Army was subordinate to him. In conditions of significant superiority of the enemy, he showed his talent as a commander and successfully carried out the withdrawal and unification of the two armies, which earned M.I. Kutuzov such words as THANK YOU DEAR FATHER!!! SAVED THE ARMY!!! SAVED RUSSIA!!!. However, the retreat caused discontent in noble circles and the army, and on August 17 Barclay surrendered command of the armies to M.I. Kutuzov. In the Battle of Borodino he commanded the right wing of the Russian army, showing steadfastness and skill in defense. He recognized the position chosen by L. L. Bennigsen near Moscow as unsuccessful and supported M. I. Kutuzov’s proposal to leave Moscow at the military council in Fili. In September 1812, due to illness, he left the army. In February 1813 he was appointed commander of the 3rd and then the Russian-Prussian army, which he successfully commanded during the foreign campaigns of the Russian army of 1813-14 (Kulm, Leipzig, Paris). Buried in the Beklor estate in Livonia (now Jõgeveste Estonia)
Suvorov Mikhail Vasilievich
The only one who can be called GENERALLISIMO... Bagration, Kutuzov are his students...
Yudenich Nikolai Nikolaevich
The best Russian commander during the First World War. An ardent patriot of his Motherland.
Bobrok-Volynsky Dmitry Mikhailovich
Boyar and governor of Grand Duke Dmitry Ivanovich Donskoy. "Developer" of the tactics of the Battle of Kulikovo.
Ermolov Alexey Petrovich
Hero of the Napoleonic Wars and the Patriotic War of 1812. Conqueror of the Caucasus. A smart strategist and tactician, a strong-willed and courageous warrior.
Ermak Timofeevich
Russian. Cossack. Ataman. Defeated Kuchum and his satellites. Approved Siberia as part of the Russian state. He dedicated his entire life to military work.
Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich
Chairman of the State Defense Committee, Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the USSR Armed Forces during the Great Patriotic War.
What other questions might there be?
Miloradovich
Bagration, Miloradovich, Davydov are some very special breed of people. They don't do things like that now. The heroes of 1812 were distinguished by complete recklessness and complete contempt for death. And it was General Miloradovich, who went through all the wars for Russia without a single scratch, who became the first victim of individual terror. After Kakhovsky's shot on Senate Square, the Russian Revolution continued along this path - right up to the basement of the Ipatiev House. Taking away the best.
Denikin Anton Ivanovich
Russian military leader, political and public figure, writer, memoirist, publicist and military documentarian.
Participant in the Russo-Japanese War. One of the most effective generals of the Russian Imperial Army during the First World War. Commander of the 4th Infantry "Iron" Brigade (1914-1916, from 1915 - deployed under his command to a division), 8th Army Corps (1916-1917). Lieutenant General of the General Staff (1916), commander of the Western and Southwestern fronts(1917). An active participant in the military congresses of 1917, an opponent of the democratization of the army. He expressed support for the Kornilov speech, for which he was arrested by the Provisional Government, a participant in the Berdichev and Bykhov sittings of generals (1917).
One of the main leaders of the White movement during the Civil War, its leader in the South of Russia (1918-1920). He achieved the greatest military and political results among all the leaders of the White movement. Pioneer, one of the main organizers, and then commander of the Volunteer Army (1918-1919). Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the South of Russia (1919-1920), Deputy Supreme Ruler and Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Army Admiral Kolchak (1919-1920).
Since April 1920 - an emigrant, one of the main political figures of the Russian emigration. Author of the memoirs “Essays on the Russian Time of Troubles” (1921-1926) - a fundamental historical and biographical work about the Civil War in Russia, the memoirs “The Old Army” (1929-1931), the autobiographical story “The Path of the Russian Officer” (published in 1953) and a number of other works.
Suvorov Alexander Vasilievich
The greatest Russian commander! He has more than 60 victories and not a single defeat. Thanks to his talent for victory, the whole world learned the power of Russian weapons
Barclay de Tolly Mikhail Bogdanovich
Finnish War.
Strategic retreat in the first half of 1812
European expedition of 1812
Nevsky, Suvorov
Of course, the holy blessed prince Alexander Nevsky and Generalissimo A.V. Suvorov
Kornilov Vladimir Alekseevich
During the outbreak of the war with England and France, he actually commanded the Black Sea Fleet, and until his heroic death he was the immediate superior of P.S. Nakhimov and V.I. Istomina. After the landing of the Anglo-French troops in Yevpatoria and the defeat of the Russian troops on Alma, Kornilov received an order from the commander-in-chief in the Crimea, Prince Menshikov, to sink the ships of the fleet in the roadstead in order to use sailors for the defense of Sevastopol from land.
Grand Duke Russian Mikhail Nikolaevich
Feldzeichmeister-General (commander-in-chief of the artillery of the Russian Army), youngest son of Emperor Nicholas I, Viceroy in the Caucasus since 1864. Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Army in the Caucasus in the Russian-Turkish War of 1877-1878. Under his command the fortresses of Kars, Ardahan, and Bayazet were taken.
Svyatoslav Igorevich
Grand Duke of Novgorod, from 945 of Kyiv. Son of Grand Duke Igor Rurikovich and Princess Olga. Svyatoslav became famous as a great commander, whom N.M. Karamzin called “Alexander (Macedonian) of our ancient history.”
After the military campaigns of Svyatoslav Igorevich (965-972), the territory of the Russian land increased from the Volga region to the Caspian Sea, from the North Caucasus to the Black Sea region, from the Balkan Mountains to Byzantium. Defeated Khazaria and Volga Bulgaria, weakened and frightened Byzantine Empire, opened the way for trade between Rus' and eastern countries
Romanov Pyotr Alekseevich
During the endless discussions about Peter I as a politician and reformer, it is unfairly forgotten that he was the greatest commander of his time. He was not only an excellent organizer of the rear. In the two most important battles of the Northern War (the battles of Lesnaya and Poltava), he not only developed battle plans himself, but also personally led the troops, being in the most important, responsible directions.
The only commander I know of who was equally talented in both land and sea battles.
The main thing is that Peter I created a national military school. If all the great commanders of Russia are the heirs of Suvorov, then Suvorov himself is the heir of Peter.
The Battle of Poltava was one of the greatest (if not the greatest) victory in Russian history. In all the other great aggressive invasions of Russia, the general battle did not have a decisive outcome, and the struggle dragged on and went to exhaustion. It was only in the Northern War that the general battle radically changed the state of affairs, and from the attacking side the Swedes became the defending side, decisively losing the initiative.
I believe that Peter I deserves to be in the top three on the list of the best commanders of Russia. Vyacheslav Koptev
Karyagin Pavel Mikhailovich
Colonel, chief of the 17th Jaeger Regiment. He showed himself most clearly in the Persian Company of 1805; when, with a detachment of 500 people, surrounded by a 20,000-strong Persian army, he resisted it for three weeks, not only repelling the attacks of the Persians with honor, but taking fortresses himself, and finally, with a detachment of 100 people, he made his way to Tsitsianov, who was coming to his aid.
Shein Alexey Semyonovich
The first Russian generalissimo. Leader of the Azov campaigns of Peter I.
Golenishchev-Kutuzov Mikhail Illarionovich
(1745-1813).
1. A GREAT Russian commander, he was an example for his soldiers. Appreciated every soldier. “M.I. Golenishchev-Kutuzov is not only the liberator of the Fatherland, he is the only one who outplayed the hitherto invincible French emperor, turning the “great army” into a crowd of ragamuffins, saving, thanks to his military genius, the lives of many Russian soldiers.”
2. Mikhail Illarionovich, being a highly educated man who knew several foreign languages, dexterous, sophisticated, who knew how to animate society with the gift of words and an entertaining story, also served Russia as an excellent diplomat - ambassador to Turkey.
3. M.I. Kutuzov is the first to become a full holder of the highest military order of St. St. George the Victorious four degrees.
The life of Mikhail Illarionovich is an example of service to the fatherland, attitude towards soldiers, spiritual strength for Russian military leaders of our time and, of course, for younger generation- future military.
Alekseev Mikhail Vasilievich
Outstanding employee of the Russian Academy of the General Staff. Developer and implementer of the Galician operation - the first brilliant victory of the Russian army in the Great War.
Saved the troops of the North-Western Front from encirclement during the “Great Retreat” of 1915.
Chief of Staff of the Russian Armed Forces in 1916-1917.
Supreme Commander Russian army in 1917
Developed and implemented strategic plans for offensive operations in 1916 - 1917.
He continued to defend the need to preserve the Eastern Front after 1917 (the Volunteer Army is the basis of the new Eastern Front in the ongoing Great War).
Slandered and slandered in relation to various so-called. “Masonic military lodges”, “conspiracy of generals against the Sovereign”, etc., etc. - in terms of emigrant and modern historical journalism.
Tsarevich and Grand Duke Konstantin Pavlovich
Grand Duke Konstantin Pavlovich, the second son of Emperor Paul I, received the title of Tsesarevich in 1799 for his participation in the Swiss campaign of A.V. Suvorov, and retained it until 1831. In the Battle of Austrlitz he commanded the Guards Reserve of the Russian Army, took part in the Patriotic War of 1812, and distinguished himself in the foreign campaigns of the Russian Army. For the “Battle of the Nations” at Leipzig in 1813 he received the “golden weapon” “For bravery!” Inspector General of the Russian Cavalry, since 1826 Viceroy of the Kingdom of Poland.
Field Marshal General (1828-1901) Hero of Shipka and Plevna, Liberator of Bulgaria (a street in Sofia is named after him, a monument was erected). In 1877 he commanded the 2nd Guards Cavalry Division. To quickly capture some passes through the Balkans, Gurko led an advance detachment consisting of four cavalry regiments, a rifle brigade and the newly formed Bulgarian militia, with two batteries of horse artillery. Gurko completed his task quickly and boldly, won a series of victories over the Turks, ending with the capture of Kazanlak and Shipka. During the struggle for Plevna, Gurko, at the head of the troops of the guard and cavalry of the western detachment, defeated the Turks near Gorny Dubnyak and Telish, then again went to the Balkans, occupied Entropol and Orhanye, and after the fall of Plevna, reinforced by the IX Corps and the 3rd Guards Infantry Division , despite the terrible cold, crossed the Balkan ridge, took Philippopolis and occupied Adrianople, opening the way to Constantinople. At the end of the war, he commanded military districts, was governor-general, and a member of the state council. Buried in Tver (Sakharovo village)
Chichagov Vasily Yakovlevich
Superbly commanded the Baltic Fleet in the campaigns of 1789 and 1790. He won victories in the battle of Öland (7/15/1789), in the Revel (5/2/1790) and Vyborg (06/22/1790) battles. After the last two defeats, which were of strategic importance, the dominance of the Baltic Fleet became unconditional, and this forced the Swedes to make peace. There are few such examples in the history of Russia when victories at sea led to victory in the war. And by the way, the Battle of Vyborg was one of the largest in world history in terms of the number of ships and people.
Baklanov Yakov Petrovich
An outstanding strategist and a mighty warrior, he achieved the respect and fear of his name among the uncovered mountaineers, who had forgotten the iron grip of the “Thunderstorm of the Caucasus.” At the moment - Yakov Petrovich, an example of the spiritual strength of a Russian soldier in front of the proud Caucasus. His talent crushed the enemy and minimized the time frame of the Caucasian War, for which he received the nickname “Boklu”, akin to the devil for his fearlessness.
Saltykov Petr Semenovich
One of those commanders who managed to inflict exemplary defeats on one of the best commanders in Europe in the 18th century - Frederick II of Prussia
Vasilevsky Alexander Mikhailovich
The greatest commander of the Second World War. Two people in history were awarded the Order of Victory twice: Vasilevsky and Zhukov, but after the Second World War it was Vasilevsky who became the Minister of Defense of the USSR. His military genius is unsurpassed by ANY military leader in the world.
Kotlyarevsky Petr Stepanovich
Hero of the Russian-Persian War of 1804-1813.
"Meteor General" and "Caucasian Suvorov".
He fought not with numbers, but with skill - first, 450 Russian soldiers attacked 1,200 Persian Sardars in the Migri fortress and took it, then 500 of our soldiers and Cossacks attacked 5,000 askers at the crossing of the Araks. They destroyed more than 700 enemies; only 2,500 Persian soldiers managed to escape from ours.
In both cases, our losses were less than 50 killed and up to 100 wounded.
Further, in the war against the Turks, with a swift attack, 1,000 Russian soldiers defeated the 2,000-strong garrison of the Akhalkalaki fortress.
Then again in the Persian direction he cleared Karabakh of the enemy, and then, with 2,200 soldiers, he defeated Abbas Mirza with a 30,000-strong army at Aslanduz, a village near the Araks River. In two battles, he destroyed more than 10,000 enemies, including English advisers and artillerymen.
As usual, Russian losses amounted to 30 killed and 100 wounded.
Kotlyarevsky won most of his victories in night assaults on fortresses and enemy camps, not allowing the enemies to come to their senses.
The last campaign - 2000 Russians against 7000 Persians to the Lenkoran fortress, where Kotlyarevsky almost died during the assault, lost consciousness at times from loss of blood and pain from wounds, but still commanded the troops until the final victory, as soon as he regained consciousness, and then was forced take a long time to heal and retire from military affairs.
His exploits for the glory of Russia are much greater than the “300 Spartans” - for our commanders and warriors more than once defeated an enemy 10 times superior, and suffered minimal losses, saving Russian lives.
Because he inspires many by personal example.
Drozdovsky Mikhail Gordeevich
Monomakh Vladimir Vsevolodovich
Rokossovsky Konstantin Konstantinovich
Kazarsky Alexander Ivanovich
Captain-lieutenant. Participant in the Russian-Turkish war of 1828-29. He distinguished himself during the capture of Anapa, then Varna, commanding the transport "Rival". After this, he was promoted to lieutenant commander and appointed captain of the brig Mercury. On May 14, 1829, the 18-gun brig Mercury was overtaken by two Turkish battleships Selimiye and Real Bey. Having accepted an unequal battle, the brig was able to immobilize both Turkish flagships, one of which contained the commander of the Ottoman fleet. Subsequently, an officer from the Real Bay wrote: “During the continuation of the battle, the commander of the Russian frigate (the notorious Raphael, which surrendered without a fight a few days earlier) told me that the captain of this brig would not surrender, and if he lost hope, then he would blow up the brig If in the great deeds of ancient and modern times there are feats of courage, then this act should overshadow all of them, and the name of this hero is worthy of being inscribed in gold letters on the Temple of Glory: he is called captain-lieutenant Kazarsky, and the brig is “Mercury”
Belov Pavel Alekseevich
He led the cavalry corps during the Second World War. He showed himself excellently during the Battle of Moscow, especially in defensive battles near Tula. He especially distinguished himself in the Rzhev-Vyazemsk operation, where he emerged from encirclement after 5 months of stubborn fighting.
Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich
The largest figure in world history, life and government activity which left the deepest mark not only on the fate of the Soviet people, but also all of humanity, will be the subject of careful study by historians for more than one century. The historical and biographical feature of this personality is that she will never be consigned to oblivion.
During Stalin's tenure as Supreme Commander-in-Chief and Chairman State Committee defense, our country is marked by victory in the Great Patriotic War, massive labor and front-line heroism, the transformation of the USSR into a superpower with significant scientific, military and industrial potential, and the strengthening of our country’s geopolitical influence in the world.
Ten Stalinist strikes - the general name for a number of the largest offensive strategic operations in the Great Patriotic War, carried out in 1944 by the armed forces of the USSR. Along with other offensive operations, they made a decisive contribution to the victory of the countries of the Anti-Hitler coalition over Nazi Germany and its allies in World War II.
Saltykov Pyotr Semyonovich
The largest successes of the Russian army in the Seven Years' War of 1756-1763 are associated with his name. Winner in the battles of Palzig,
In the Battle of Kunersdorf, defeating the Prussian king Frederick II the Great, Berlin was taken by the troops of Totleben and Chernyshev.
Eremenko Andrey Ivanovich
Commander of the Stalingrad and South-Eastern Fronts. The fronts under his command in the summer and autumn of 1942 stopped the advance of the German 6th field and 4th tank armies towards Stalingrad.
In December 1942, the Stalingrad Front of General Eremenko stopped the tank offensive of General G. Hoth's group on Stalingrad, for the relief of the 6th Army of Paulus.
Izylmetyev Ivan Nikolaevich
Commanded the frigate "Aurora". He made the transition from St. Petersburg to Kamchatka in a record time for those times in 66 days. In Callao Bay he eluded the Anglo-French squadron. Arriving in Petropavlovsk together with the governor of the Kamchatka Territory, Zavoiko V. organized the defense of the city, during which the sailors from the Aurora, together with local residents, threw the outnumbered Anglo-French landing force into the sea. Then he took the Aurora to the Amur Estuary, hiding it there After these events, the British public demanded a trial of the admirals who lost the Russian frigate.
Grachev Pavel Sergeevich
Hero of the Soviet Union. May 5, 1988 “for completing combat missions with minimal casualties and for the professional command of a controlled formation and the successful actions of the 103rd Airborne Division, in particular, in occupying the strategically important Satukandav pass (Khost province) during the military operation “Magistral” "Received the Gold Star medal No. 11573. Commander of the USSR Airborne Forces. In total, during his military service he made 647 parachute jumps, some of them while testing new equipment.
He was shell-shocked 8 times and received several wounds. Suppressed the armed coup in Moscow and thereby saved the system of democracy. As Minister of Defense, he made great efforts to preserve the remnants of the army - a similar task to few people in the history of Russia. Only because of the collapse of the army and the reduction in the number of military equipment in the Armed Forces was he unable to victoriously end the Chechen War. Matvey Ivanovich Platov
Military Ataman of the Don Cossack Army. Started active military service from the age of 13. A participant in several military campaigns, he is best known as the commander of Cossack troops during the Patriotic War of 1812 and during the subsequent Foreign Campaign of the Russian Army. Thanks to the successful actions of the Cossacks under his command, Napoleon’s saying went down in history:
- Happy is the commander who has Cossacks. If I had an army of only Cossacks, I would conquer all of Europe.
Dzhugashvili Joseph Vissarionovich
Assembled and coordinated the actions of a team of talented military leaders
Ridiger Fedor Vasilievich
Adjutant General, Cavalry General, Adjutant General... He had three Golden sabers with the inscription: “For bravery”... In 1849, Ridiger took part in a campaign in Hungary to suppress the unrest that arose there, being appointed head of the right column. On May 9, Russian troops entered the Austrian Empire. He pursued the rebel army until August 1, forcing them to lay down their arms in front of Russian troops near Vilyagosh. On August 5, the troops entrusted to him occupied the Arad fortress. During the trip of Field Marshal Ivan Fedorovich Paskevich to Warsaw, Count Ridiger commanded the troops located in Hungary and Transylvania... On February 21, 1854, during the absence of Field Marshal Prince Paskevich in the Kingdom of Poland, Count Ridiger commanded all troops located in the area of the active army - as a commander separate corps and at the same time served as head of the Kingdom of Poland. After the return of Field Marshal Prince Paskevich to Warsaw, from August 3, 1854, he served as Warsaw military governor.
Fedor Fedorovich Ushakov
A great naval commander who did not suffer a single defeat and did not lose a single ship during his combat activities. The talent of this military leader manifested itself during the Russian-Turkish wars, where, thanks to his victories (usually over superior naval forces Ottoman Empire) Russia has realized itself as a maritime power in the Mediterranean and Black Seas.
Generals of Ancient Rus'
Since ancient times. Vladimir Monomakh (fought the Polovtsians), his sons Mstislav the Great (campaigns against Chud and Lithuania) and Yaropolk (campaigns against the Don), Vsevood the Big Nest (campaigns against Volga Bulgaria), Mstislav Udatny (battle of Lipitsa), Yaroslav Vsevolodovich (defeated Knights of the Order of the Sword), Alexander Nevsky, Dmitry Donskoy, Vladimir the Brave (the second hero of the Mamaev Massacre)…
Count Arakcheev was born in September 1769. Thanks to his diligence while studying in the cadet corps, he received the rank of officer. Soon Alexey Andreevich Arakcheev joined the army, which, during the reign of Empress Catherine 2, Paul 1 began to create. It is with Pavel 1 that Arakcheev’s biography is closely connected.
Having shown himself to be an excellent performer, Arakcheev received the post of commandant of Gatchina. Later, Paul 1 entrusted him with command of all ground forces. Arakcheev was known as a strict adherent of order and punished soldiers for the slightest deviation from the rules. But, at the same time, it is worth noting that he showed considerable concern for the life of his charges. For stealing soldiers' money, officers were punished with all severity. It is also well known that Arakcheev never took bribes.
By the time of the accession of Paul 1, Arakcheev already had the rank of colonel. Soon he became the commandant of St. Petersburg (1796 November 7). The next day, November 8, he was awarded the rank of major general, and on November 9, 1796 he became a major of the Preobrazhensky Guards Regiment. But the series of awards did not end there. On November 12, Arakcheev became a Knight of the Order of St. Anne, 1st class. The following year, 1797, on April 5, he received the title of baron. Also, he was awarded the Order of St. Alexander Nevsky. The Emperor granted Arakcheev an estate, allowing him to personally make a choice.
Nevertheless, Arakcheev learned what disfavor of the sovereign was. But already in 1798, for his diligence in service, he received the title of count from the emperor. And soon he again fell out of favor with the sovereign, after which he retired to his village, Gruzino. There he began to organize the economy at his own discretion, not ignoring the personal life of the serfs. In 1806 the count married. However, his young wife, unable to bear his rudeness, left him a year later.
Arakcheev returned to service only in 1803, after the death of Paul 1. And under the new emperor, his career turned out to be no less successful. In 1803, Arakcheev received the post of Minister of War. He was able to significantly simplify correspondence between battalions and improve materiel. He also gave a new organization to the artillery. These innovations played a significant role in the War of 1812.
The Emperor trusted Arakcheev so much that he was entrusted with the most important tasks. Including the notorious military settlements of Arakcheev. But the initiative in this matter belonged not to the Minister of War, but to the Emperor. However, it was difficult to find a better candidate than Arakcheev to implement the will of the emperor. It should also be mentioned that many of the Arakcheevo settlements flourished.
Thanks to his official zeal during the reign of Alexander, the heir of Paul 1, Arakcheev was able to rise to the pinnacle of power. It is worth mentioning the case of Arakcheev, such as the arrest of participants in the conspiracy after the uprising of 1825.
The death of Emperor Alexander was a heavy blow for Arakcheev. He never appeared at the court of his heir and died, leaving no children, on his estate on April 21, 1834.