Pyotr Mikhailovich Volkonsky

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Portrait of George Dawe in the Military Gallery of the Winter Palace

Pjotr ​​Michailowitsch Wolkonski ( Russian Пётр Михайлович Волконский , scientific transliteration Pëtr Michajlovič Volkonskij ) (born May 6, 1776 in St. Petersburg ; † September 8, 1852 ) was a Russian Knjas . From 1814 to 1823 he was Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Army, from 1826 Minister of the Imperial Court and was appointed Field Marshal in 1850 .

Origin and family

Pyotr Michailowitsch Prince Wolkonski comes from the aristocratic Volkonsky family and is said to descend from Ryurik , the founder of the Russian Empire, from Swiatoslaw II , Grand Duke of Kiev in 1076 , and founder of the Chernigov branch of the Rurikids .

His father, Prince Mikhail Petrovich Volkonsky (1746-1796) was a lieutenant in the bodyguard of the cavalry regiment, his mother Elisaveta Petrovna (1753-1796) was the daughter of the architect Prince Pyotr Vasilyevich Makulov (1730-1778). Peter Michailowitsch married his cousin Sophia Grigoryevna Volkonsky (1787–1868). Their son, Grigori Petrovich Prince Volkonsky (* 1808 in Saint Petersburg , † 1882 in Nice ) founded the Baltic branch of the Volkonskis .

Life

Volkonsky chose the soldier profession , quickly made a career and rose to the emperor's general adjutant . During the campaign of 1805, Prince Volkonsky was a general in the army of General Prince Kutuzov and distinguished himself in the Battle of Austerlitz . He personally seized the flag of the Fanagori regiment and attacked with the Kamenskoi brigade, whereby two guns were taken from the enemy during the counterattack. For this commitment he was awarded the Order of St. George 3rd Class. After the Peace of Tilsit , he was sent to France in 1808 to study the structure of the French army and its general staff. Upon his return in 1810 he was appointed head of the imperial suite and received the title of Quartermaster General . Prince Volkonsky organized the army command on the French model and can be seen as the founder of the Russian general staff.

During the Patriotic War of 1812 , Prince Volkonsky was a member of the imperial court and a close advisor to Tsar Alexander I , to whom he proposed the withdrawal of Russian troops to the fortified camp of Drissa . In the campaigns of 1813 and 1814 , Volkonsky already served the full rank of Chief of the General Staff, and all military decisions between Moscow and the Tsars were made through his office. In August 1814 he accompanied the Tsar to the Congress in Vienna. After the news of Napoleon's flight from the island of Elba , he was given full command for the new deployment of the Russian army from the Vistula to the Rhine .

After the war and his return to Petersburg, he served from 1816 to 1823 as Chief of the General Staff and Director of the Main Military Topographic Office of the Russian Army. After a conflict with War Minister Count Alexei Araktschejew , he had to resign in April 1823. On August 22, 1826, he was appointed heir to the emperor's head of succession and cabinet. By the highest decree of August 30, 1834, he was appointed Minister of the Imperial Court, Adjutant General of the Tsar and General of the Infantry. On August 27, 1837 he became General Inspector of all reserve troops, at the same time he remained a member of the Imperial Council. For his services he was awarded on August 30/11. September 1834 the hereditary title of Highness (Svietlost) awarded. He was also made a knight of the Order of St. Andrew , the Order of Seraphines , and on May 18, 1813 of the Order of the Black Eagle . After finishing his career, he was raised to the rank of Russian field marshal on December 6, 1850. He died on September 6, 1852 in Peterhof .

literature

  • A. Gorkin: Wojenny enziklopeditscheski slowar: Tom 1 . Bolschaja rossijskaja enziklopedija, 2001, p. 352. ISBN 978-5-7905-0994-0 (Russian)

Web links

Commons : Pyotr Mikhailovich Volkonsky  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Genealogical handbook of the nobility, CA Starke-Verlag, Limburg, 1959, Volume V, p. 609.
  2. ^ A b Genealogical Handbook of the Nobility , CA Starke-Verlag, Limburg, 1959, Volume V, p. 610.
  3. ↑ List of Knights of the Royal Prussian High Order of the Black Eagle, Decker, p. 17
personal data
SURNAME Volkonsky, Pyotr Mikhailovich
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Волконский, Пётр Михайлович (Russian)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Russian prince
DATE OF BIRTH May 6, 1776
PLACE OF BIRTH St. Petersburg
DATE OF DEATH September 8, 1852