The highest military rank in the ground forces of the German, Austrian and Russian armies. First introduced in Germany in the 16th century. Introduced in Russia in 1699 by Peter I. In France and some other states, it corresponded to a military rank ... ... Wikipedia

Field Marshal General, Privy Councilor, b. April 25, 1652, died on February 17, 1719. Boris Petrovich was the eldest of the sons of boyar Pyotr Vasilievich Sheremetev (Bolshoi) and until the age of 18 he lived with his father, mainly in Kiev, where he visited Staraya ...

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Position in the central (commissariat) military administration of the Russian army, literally the main military commissioner (meaning supply). General Kriegskommissar was in charge of supply issues, clothing and monetary allowances for personnel and ... Wikipedia

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Field epaulette Major General of the Russian Ground Forces since 2010 Major General is the primary military rank of the highest officer corps, located between a colonel or a brigadier general and ... Wikipedia

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Field Marshal; son of a room steward, Prince. Vladimir Mikhailovich Dolgorukov, born in 1667. At first he served as a steward, and then transferred to the Preobrazhensky regiment. With the rank of captain, in 1705, he was wounded during the capture of the Mitava Castle, in ... ... Big biographical encyclopedia

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Books

  • No wonder the whole of Russia remembers ... Gift edition (number of volumes: 3), Ivchenko L. For the 200th anniversary of the Patriotic War of 1812, "Young Guard" has prepared many new editions. Among them are the biographies of the generals who survived in battles with the previously invincible Napoleon and ...
  • Tsesarevna. Sovereigns of Great Russia, Krasnov Pyotr Nikolaevich. Lieutenant General, Ataman of the Don Troops P. N. Krasnov is also known as a writer. The novel "Tsesarevna" depicts Russia during the reign of Anna Ioannovna, then Anna Leopoldovna and Elizabeth ...

ENCYCLOPEDIA OF FELDMARSHALS

GENERAL-FELDMARSHALS OF THE RUSSIAN EMPIRE

The rank of Field Marshal General in the Russian army was introduced by Peter I in 1699. According to the military regulations of 1716, the highest of all military ranks was the rank of generalissimo, granted only to crowned persons, but the actual command over the army was entrusted to the general-field marshal or general-in-chief (en chef) - a full general who in practice stood below the field marshal. Of the generals who made up the council around the commander, the main was the field marshal-lieutenant (lieutenant - deputy) - the assistant to the commander-in-chief, who was always with him. This rank did not take root in the Russian army, it was not included in the Petrovsky Table of Ranks in 1722, and in the entire history of the Russian army, the rank of Field Marshal-Lieutenant was held by two commanders: G.B. Ogilvy and G. Golts.

The field marshal-general was followed by three generals in command of the branches of the armed forces: the general-field-marshal (chief of artillery), generals from cavalry and from infantry (infantry).

Already at the time of Peter I, there were two field marshals in the Russian army (F.A.Golovin and de Croix, then F.A.Golovin and Sheremetev, then Sheremetev and Menshikov, in 1724 a second general was appointed to the disgraced Menshikov) Field Marshal A.I. Repnin).

During the reign of his successor Catherine I, field marshals became four generals (Menshikov, Repnin, Golitsyn and Sapega; Bruce immediately took the place of the soon deceased Repnin), under Peter II - three (Dolgorukov and I. Yu. Trubetskoy were added to Golitsyn).

Anna Ioannovna returned to the practice of two field marshals in the Russian army: the first from 1732 was H.A. Minich, the second in 1736 was P.P. Lasi.

Under Elizabeth Petrovna, there were three field marshals again (not counting the elderly Prince Trubetskoy): Prince V.V. Dolgorukov (President of the Military Collegium) returned to service, General Field Marshal Prince of Hesse-Homburg and Livonian Governor General P.P. Lasi. By the beginning of the Seven Years War (1756), there were no field marshals in the Russian army, but after the launch of the campaign on September 5, 1756, Elizaveta Petrovna promoted four people to field marshals at once.

Peter III, who reigned after her death, added five more to the existing three field marshals (Saltykov, Buturlin and N. Yu. Trubetskoy): two Shuvalovs (one of them received a baton on his deathbed and soon died) and two Dukes of Holstein-Beksky (one of them stayed at home and did not enter the Russian service) and the Duke of Holstein-Gottorp, and in addition, returned to the court of Field Marshal Minich (with seniority dated February 25, 1732).

Under Catherine II, only Saltykov, Buturlin, Peter August Holstein-Beck and Minich retained their position, and the new two awards were a kind of compensation: Bestuzhev-Ryumin returned from exile in 1762 received the rank of Field Marshal instead of Chancellor, K. G. Razumovsky in 1764 - instead of the post of the Ukrainian hetman. Only in the outbreak of wars, first with Turkey, then with the division of the Commonwealth, new commanders (Golitsyn, Rumyantsev, Chernyshev, Potemkin and Suvorov) began to receive the rank of Field Marshal. In addition, in 1773, the father of the first wife of the heir to Pavel Petrovich, the Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt, received the rank of Field Marshal.

Paul I promoted 4 generals to field marshals in 1796 (one of them was promoted to field marshals from the fleet), in 1797 - 4 more military leaders.

In the 19th century, awards to general field marshals became much less common. Thus, the Patriotic War of 1812 and the expulsion of Napoleon gave Russia only two field marshals general (1812 - Kutuzov, 1814 - Barclay de Tolly). In the second half of the 19th century, the rank generally became exceptional - only 7 Russian generals received it.

After the 1917 revolution, the rank of Russian Field Marshal was abolished.

GOLOVIN Fedor Alekseevich (1650-1706)

from 1700.

Representative of a famous noble family. He began his service under Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, who, on his deathbed, bequeathed to him to protect young Peter (1676). During the Streltsy Uprising (1682), he saved Peter's life, advising him to take refuge in the Trinity Monastery, three years later he was promoted from stewards to the okolnichy, made the governor of Bryansk. In 1686, the ruler Sophia sent to the Amur in Daur to protect Albazin from the Chinese, in 1689 he concluded the Treaty of Nerchin with China, in 1691 he returned to Moscow and was appointed governor of Siberia.

He became the closest assistant to the young Tsar Peter in the transformation of Russia: he was named General-Kriegskommissar, took part in both Azov campaigns (1695–96), in the “Great Embassy” in 1697 he was the second (after F. Lefort) plenipotentiary ambassador. At first, his activities were limited to the fleet: he hired foreigners for the Russian service, procured everything necessary for the construction of ships; in 1699 he also headed the Armory. In recognition of his merits in 1699, Peter ordered to knock out in honor of Golovin a silver medal with the inscription “both advice and courage”, on March 8, 1699, Golovin became the first knight of the newly established Order of the Holy Apostle Andrew the First-Called. Upon his return to Russia, he was appointed head of the established Naval Order, and on April 21, after the death of F. Lefort, he was granted admiral-generals to the "military caravan (fleet)."

In 1700, while retaining the ranks and posts of the close boyar, admiral-general and governor of Siberia, he was named president of the Ambassadorial Affairs (February 23), that is, the chancellor, conducted secret negotiations on the eve of the Northern War with Saxony and Denmark on an alliance against Sweden. Made also by the head of orders: Little Russia, principality of Smolensk, Novgorod, Galitsky, Ustyuzh, Yamsk and Mint.

On August 19, 1700, he received the staff of the Field Marshal and was put at the head of the newly recruited 45-thousand Russian army, which in September-October began to attack Narva and began the siege. On November 18/29, 1700, together with the tsar, he left the army and went to Novgorod. The command over the Russian army was left to the Saxon field marshal Duke de Croa, who received the rank of Russian field marshal general, but already on November 19/30 suffered a heavy defeat from the Swedish king Charles XII who arrived near Narva.

In 1702 he took part in the siege of Noteburg (General-Field Marshal BP Sheremetev had the main command); in the same year he was the second in Russia (after A.D. Menshikov) to receive the title of Count of the Holy Roman Empire of the German nation from Emperor Leopold. In 1703 he was present at the siege of Nyenskans and after the capture of the fortress placed the insignia of the Order of St. Andrew the First-Called on Tsar Peter I and A. D. Menshikov. With the outbreak of turmoil in Astrakhan on May 28, 1705, for his extensive occupations, he received the management of Astrakhan and Terek.

There is evidence that he was a Knight of the Orders of the White Eagle (Poland) and the Prussian de la Générosité.

De Croix (de Croix, de Croix) Carl Eugene (1651-1702)

from 1700 (?).

Duke, descendant of the Hungarian kings. He entered the Danish army with the rank of colonel and the position of regiment commander, with whom he fought at Lund in December 1676. In 1677 the Danish king Christian V promoted him to major general and appointed him commandant in Helsingborg, from 1678 - lieutenant general. In 1682, he transferred to the imperial military service with the rank of Field-Wachtmeister (Major General), from March 5, 1683 - Field Marshal-Lieutenant, fought near Vienna (1683), on November 29, 1683 received the rank of Feldzheichmeister. Then he distinguished himself in the battle of Granet (1685), participated in the capture of Ofen (1686), on December 17, 1688 he received the rank of field marshal. In 1689 he fought with honors at Nissa, in 1690 he defended Belgrade, but was forced to surrender the fortress on October 8. In the campaign of 1691 he assisted Margrave Ludwig of Baden in the defeat of the Turks at Salankemen, in 1693 he replaced him as commander of the army in Hungary and laid siege to Belgrade, but was forced to retreat with heavy losses.

In 1698 he arrived in Amsterdam to the Russian Tsar Peter I with a letter of introduction from Emperor Leopold I (dated August 25, 1696), was invited to military service. However, he preferred to enter the service of the Elector of Saxon and the Polish king Augustus II with the rank of field marshal.

In August 1700 he was sent to Russia, came to Novgorod to Peter on a diplomatic mission (with a request to send a 20-thousandth auxiliary corps). Feeling the need for experienced commanders, Peter kept him and took him with him on a campaign against Narva. Leaving the military camp on November 18/29 and returning to Novgorod, Peter I persuaded him to become the head of the Russian army and granted the rank of Field Marshal (this fact has not been documented). Meanwhile, the Swedish army under the command of Charles XII approached Narva, attacked the Russian camp near Narva on November 19/30 and scattered poorly trained Russian regiments. The confusion was all the more complete since the Russians had a significant superiority in the numbers of the army and artillery. During the battle, the new commander-in-chief and other foreign officers in the Russian service found themselves caught between two fires: they were threatened not only by the enemy, but also by Russian soldiers angry at the failure. De Croa preferred Swedish captivity to death.

Sheremetev Boris Petrovich (1652-1719)

from 1701/1702.

A representative of a famous noble family, since 1669 he served at the court. In 1681 he was appointed governor and governor of Tambov, commanded troops in operations against the Crimean Tatars, since 1682 - a boyar. In 1685–87 he participated in the conclusion of the "Eternal Peace" with the Commonwealth and the union treaty with the Holy Roman Empire, made a close boyar and governor of Vyatsky.

From 1687 he commanded the Belgorod category troops that covered the southern border of Russia, participated in the Crimean campaigns of Prince V. V. Golitsyn (1687, 1689), during the Azov campaigns of Peter I (1695–96) he commanded a corps in the lower reaches of the Dnieper.

In 1697–99 he performed diplomatic assignments in Poland, Vienna, Rome, Naples and Malta, and became a Knight of the Order of Malta. With the beginning of the Northern War with Sweden, he commanded the noble cavalry and took part in the Narva battle, unfortunate for the Russians (November 19/30, 1700). Despite the defeat, Peter sent Sheremetev an encouraging letter, promoted him to general-in-chief and sent him to new operations on December 5, 1700.

In the campaign of 1701, the main forces of the Swedish army with Charles XII left for Poland, so Peter I had the opportunity to bring the troops in order and replenish them. In June 1701, Sheremetev was appointed commander-in-chief of the army, assembled in Pskov and Novgorod (which according to the old orders was called the Big Regiment), and at the beginning of September he opened a "small war" with a skirmish at Ryapina manor (where a detachment operated under the command of his son Mikhail B. Sheremetev ) and Rauge; in August 1701, the auxiliary corps of General A.I. Repnin returned to Russia from near Riga. On October 2, 1701, Peter I, visiting Pskov, gave an order about “ general campaign". On December 23, 1701, Sheremetev, at the head of the army, entered Swedish Livonia (Livonia), in the battle at Erestfer near Dorpat on December 29, 1701 (January 9, 1702), defeated the Swedish Major General Schlippenbach. For the first victory over the Swedes, he received the rank of Field Marshal and the Order of the Holy Apostle Andrew the First-Called (December 30, old style).

In July 1702 he undertook a new campaign in Livonia, on July 19/30 he inflicted a new defeat on Schlippenbach at Gummelshof, in August 1702 he occupied Marienburg, where, among other things, he captured Martha Skavronskaya, who soon found herself in the service of Menshikov, then Tsar Peter I and in the future became empress under the name of Catherine I.

In the fall of 1702, he commanded troops during the siege and capture of Noteburg (Shlisselburg). On May 1, 1703, in the presence of the tsar, after a week's siege, he forced Nyenskans to surrender, after which he occupied Yamburg and Koporye, completing the conquest of Ingria, and made a ruinous campaign in Estonia and Livonia.

In the summer of 1704, the Russian army was divided: the main forces were entrusted to Lieutenant General G.B. Ogilvi, who was accepted into the Russian service with the rank of Field Marshal-Lieutenant G.B. When the siege dragged on, Tsar Peter arrived under the walls of the fortress, reprimanded the field marshal and himself led a new assault (July 13/24, 1704), which ended in success.

Sheremetev's actions in the 1705 campaign at the head of the "flying" corps in Courland also provoked criticism: he was defeated by the Swedish general Levengaupt at Gemauerthof (July 15/26, 1705), was wounded and lost all artillery. However, having received reinforcements, he soon returned to Courland and rehabilitated himself by capturing Mitava (September 3/14) and Bauska (September 14/25).

At the beginning of 1706, Sheremetev left the active army and was sent to Astrakhan to suppress the uprising, where he staged a heavy reprisal against the instigators. He was generously gifted: he was elevated to the rank of count, becoming the first count of the Russian kingdom, and his son received the rank of colonel.

The failure at Grodno in the winter and spring of 1706, when the defeat of the Russian army was barely avoided, contributed to the removal of GB Ogilvi from the Russian service and the return of Sheremetev to the army. In August 1706, Sheremetev arrived in Kiev and headed the entire Russian Infantry (the cavalry was entrusted to A.D. Menshikov). He operated in Lithuania and Ukraine, in 1708 he was defeated at Golovchin (July 3). On June 27, 1709, near Poltava, he commanded the center of battle formations and, nominally, the entire Russian army, so we can say that he "in the presence of the sovereign inflicted a decisive defeat on the Swedish army of Charles XII." In the autumn of the same year he was sent to Livonia and besieged Riga, which he occupied after 232 days of siege (from November 14/25, 1709 to July 4/15, 1710).

In 1711 he led the Russian army in the unsuccessful Prut campaign, was blocked by the superior forces of the Turks and escaped captivity with great efforts. On July 12, 1711, he signed an unfavorable peace, the son of Shafirov, the vice-chancellor who negotiated with Turkey, and Mikhail Borisovich Sheremetev, the son of the field marshal, on whose behalf the negotiations were conducted, were left as a pledge with the Turks. The hostages were released only in 1714, and Sheremetev's son fell seriously ill on the way and died before reaching Kiev.

In 1712-13, Sheremetev commanded the Southern Observation Army, in 1715-17 - the Russian corps in Pomerania and Mecklenburg. He was a Knight of the Order of the White Eagle (Poland) and the Black Eagle (Prussia).

He was one of the people closest to Peter, had the right to enter him without a report. Nevertheless, he did not support some of the tsar's undertakings, in 1718 he managed to avoid participation in the trial of Tsarevich Alexei, stating that "he cannot judge the royal blood."

Menshikov Alexander Danilovich (1673-1729)

from 1709.

The origin of Menshikov is not known for certain. At the age of 13 he fell into the service of F. Lefort, then - to Tsar Peter I, was made his orderly, and soon he was accepted into the "amusing army", in which only nobles had served until then. He quickly won the favor of the king, performed the duties of a valet with him and became his constant companion on all trips and enterprises. Participated in the Azov campaigns (1695–96) and in the “Great Embassy” to Europe (1697–98). Upon returning to his homeland, together with the tsar, he participated in the massacre of the archers after their revolt, made a sergeant of the Preobrazhensky regiment, since 1700 - a lieutenant of the bombardier company of this regiment (the sovereign himself was the captain of the bombardier company).

Participated in the battles of the Northern War, accompanying the king. After the capture of the fortress Noteburg in the fall of 1702, he was appointed its governor (renamed Shlisselburg). In the same year, he became the tutor of Tsarevich Alexei Petrovich, but since he accompanied the Tsar everywhere, he held this post purely nominally, at the same time he received from the Emperor the title of Count of the Holy Roman Empire (the first of the Russians).

In 1703 he took part in the capture of the Nyenskans fortress (May 1) and the capture of two Swedish ships at the mouth of the Neva a week later, awarded the Order of the Holy Apostle Andrew the First-Called (May 10, simultaneously with the tsar). On May 16, 1703, St. Petersburg was laid at the mouth of the Neva. Menshikov, as governor-general of the entire region reclaimed from the Swedes, was appointed to oversee its construction and the construction of the Kronshlot fortress (since 1723 - Kronshtadt). In the same year, he formed several regiments (in particular, the Ingermanlad infantry and dragoon regiments), which then participated in the events of the Northern War.

In the summer of 1704, he distinguished himself during the siege of Narva, was made lieutenant-general and governor of the captured fortress, soon managed to repel the attack of General Maydel on St. Petersburg.

In February-March 1705, Tsar Peter I instructed Menshikov to inspect the Russian corps under the command of Field Marshal B.P.Sheremetev, who was stationed in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and visited Vitebsk, Polotsk, Vilno and Kovno. He enjoyed the full confidence of Peter I, belonged to the most influential persons at court, was among the first knights of the Polish Order of the White Eagle established by the Saxon Elector August II.

On November 30, 1705, he received the rank of general from the cavalry (the first in the Russian army), clashed with the new commander-in-chief of the Russian army, Field Marshal Lieutenant General G.B. Ogilvy, in January 1706 he failed to prevent the blockade of the Russian army in Grodno under the command of Ogilvy. In the summer of 1706, he achieved the dismissal of Ogilvy from the army, received command over the entire Russian regular cavalry, in the fall of 1706 with his corvolant ("flying" corps) he united in Lublin with the troops of August II and on October 18/29 he defeated the Polish-Swedish corps near Kalisz ... He received the rank of lieutenant colonel of the Preobrazhensky Life Guards Regiment and was elevated to the dignity of Prince of the Holy Roman Empire, but due to the fact that August II concluded a separate peace with Sweden, he was forced to leave Poland.

In 1707–08, he stood in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, continued to receive titles and awards from the tsar: he was granted a real privy councilor, on May 30 he received the title of His Serene Highness Prince of Izhora.

With the opening of a new anti-Swedish campaign in the summer of 1708, he distinguished himself at Lesnaya on September 28, where he defeated the detachment of General Levengaupt with a wagon train going to Charles XII. Karl XII was forced to invade Little Russia to join with Hetman Mazepa, who took his side. In response, on November 3, Menshikov overtook the Swedes and ruined Baturin, the hetman's headquarters, killing all living things there. In the Battle of Poltava on June 27, 1709, he commanded the vanguard, then the cavalry of the left flank, became one of the culprits of the victory. On June 30, at Perevolochnaya, he forced the remnants of the army to surrender, capturing General Levengaupt. For his merits on July 7, 1709 he was promoted to field marshal general.

In 1710 he contributed to the capture of Riga and the final conquest of the Swedish Baltic, received the Order of the Elephant from the Danish king. In 1711 he commanded troops in Courland, in 1712-14 - in Pomerania and Schleswig: in 1712 he laid siege to Stettin, but could not take it due to the lack of siege artillery and disagreements with the allies. In the summer of 1713 he managed to capture Toningen; Soon Stettin fell and received the Order of the Black Eagle from the Prussian king.

In February 1714 Menshikov returned to St. Petersburg, which ended his military career. He took up the management of the St. Petersburg province, the importance of which increased especially since 1713, when the court, the Senate and the diplomatic corps moved there. Participation in the arrangement of the Russian fleet earned Menshikov the rank of Rear Admiral (1716), then Vice Admiral (1721).

In January 1715, Menshikov's state abuses were exposed. The case dragged on for several years, a large penalty was imposed on Menshikov, but by active participation in the death condemnation of Tsarevich Alexei in 1718 (his signature was the first in the verdict) he regained his royal favor. With the creation of the State Military Collegium (1719), he was made its first president, with the retirement of the St. Petersburg governor.

In 1722, new abuses of Menshikov were exposed, but even now he managed to maintain his influence, thanks to Peter's wife Catherine. In March 1724, Menshikov was present at the coronation of her by Peter as empress, while walking on the right hand of the tsar, but upon returning to St. Petersburg again fell into disgrace, was deprived of the post of governor and president of the Military Collegium (in May 1724).

Before his death, Peter made peace with Menshikov, allowing him to his deathbed. After the death of the tsar on January 28, 1725, through the efforts of Menshikov, Catherine ascended the throne; Menshikov became the de facto ruler of Russia. He returned to the post of President of the Military Collegium, on August 30, 1725 he was made a Chevalier of the Order of St. Alexander Nevsky.

When, after the death of Catherine (May 6, 1727), Peter II, the son of Tsarevich Alexei, ascended the throne, Menshikov's influence persisted now: he became an admiral, on May 12, 1727 he was named Generalissimo , On May 17, he transported the young emperor to his palace on Vasilyevsky Island, and on the 25th he betrothed his daughter Maria to him. Menshikov's omnipotence lasted 4 months, when in September 1727, as a result of a complex intrigue, he was accused of high treason, embezzlement and, together with his family, was exiled to Berezov, Tobolsk province, where he died on November 22, 1729.

The orphaned children after Anna Ioannovna's accession to the throne (1730) were returned from exile and entered into the rights of the Russian nobility.

REPNIN Anikita Ivanovich (1668-1726)

from 1724.

A representative of an ancient princely family. From a young age he was under Peter, from 1685 - a lieutenant of the "amusing" company. He took part in the Azov campaigns: in 1695 he was adjutant general under Major General A. M. Golovin, in 1696 he was a frigate captain.

Since 1698 - Major General, June 25, 1699 received the rank of General from Infantry, recruited 11 new infantry regiments, equipped and trained them, 9 of them entered his division ("generals"). With the beginning of the Northern War, he did not manage to reach Narva and did not participate in the battle; after the defeat, he was appointed governor of Novgorod (instead of the captured I. Yu. Trubetskoy) and began to put the Russian army in order and recruit new regiments.

In 1701, at the head of a 20-thousandth corps, he was sent to Livonia (Livonia) to assist the Saxon Field Marshal Steinau, participated in the unsuccessful battle on the Dvina on July 8/19, 1701, after which he returned to Russia in mid-August 1701.

Steinau left the following review about the Russian corps:

« Russian troops arrived here, numbering about 20,000. People are generally good, no more than 50 people will have to be rejected; they have good Mastricht and Luttich guns, and some regiments have swords instead of bayonets. They are doing so well that there is not a single complaint about them, they work diligently and quickly, they follow all orders unquestioningly. It is especially commendable that with the whole army there is not a single woman and not a single dog; In the military council, the Moscow general complained strongly that the wives of the Saxon musketeers were forbidden to go to the Russian camp in the morning and in the evening and sell vodka, because through this his people were accustomed to drunkenness and all sorts of brawliness. General Repnin is a man of about forty; he doesn't know much about war, but he really loves to study and is very respectful: the colonels are all Germans, old, incapable people and other officers are inexperienced people ...»

Subsequently, he participated in the conquest of Ingria and the Baltic by the Russians, was the second commanding general in the capture of Noteburg (1702), Nyenskans (1703), Narva (1704) and Mitava (1705), became one of the first cavaliers of the Order of the White Eagle established by the Saxon Elector. In January 1706, together with Field Marshal-Lieutenant G.B. Ogilvy, he was blocked by the Swedish King Charles XII in Grodno, but he managed to escape and join up with the main forces. He continued to command a division in the 1707–08 campaigns. On July 3, 1708, in the battle of Golovchin, the regiments of his division fled from the battlefield, abandoning their guns, for which he was put on trial and stripped of his general's rank. In the battle of Lesnaya on September 28, 1708, he commanded a dragoon regiment, after the victory through the intercession of Prince M.M. Golitsyn, he was reinstated in the rank of general and was again given command of a division. For the Battle of Poltava (1709), where his division held out in the center against the Swedish pressure, he was awarded the Order of the Holy Apostle Andrew the First-Called. In 1709-10 he distinguished himself during the siege of Riga, made the governor of Riga.

In 1711 he commanded the vanguard in the unfortunate Prut campaign. In 1712-13, he was the second, after AD Menshikov, the chief of the troops in Pomerania, participated in the capture of Toningen and Stettin (1713), received the Order of the Elephant from the Danish king.

In May 1715 he moved to Courland and defended the coast from the enemy, in 1716 he was sent to Copenhagen in the alleged actions against the Swedes in Skane, then settled in Mecklenburg, in 1717 he occupied some Polish voivodeships.

In 1719 he was appointed governor-general of Livonia - he corrected this position until the end of his life. On May 7, 1724, on the day of Catherine's coronation by Peter I, made Field Marshal General, soon replaced A.D. Menshikov as President of the Military Collegium, remaining Riga Governor General.

After the death of Peter I in January 1725, he advocated the accession of Peter II. Despite this, upon accession to the throne of Catherine, he was made a knight of the Order of St. Alexander Nevsky, but soon he was removed to Riga, where he died on July 3, 1726.

GOLITSYN Mikhail Mikhailovich (1675-1730)

from 1725.

A representative of an ancient princely family, the son of the boyar and voivode Mikhail Andreevich Golitsyn (died in 1687). In 1687 (12 years old) he was accepted as a drummer in the Semyonovsky Guards regiment, since 1694 - an ensign, participated in the Azov campaigns, made a captain. Later he participated in the suppression of the Strelets riot near the Resurrection Monastery (1698). In the battle near Narva (1700) he was wounded.

In 1702 he distinguished himself during the occupation of Noteburg, made colonel of the Semenovsky Life Guards Regiment. In 1703 he took part in the capture of Nyenskans, in 1704 - of Narva, for the difference in the capture of Mitava (1705) he received the rank of brigadier. In 1706 he was promoted to major general and appointed commander of a division with which he operated on the territory of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. In the campaign of 1708, he defeated the Swedish vanguard at the village of Dobrom (near Molyatichi) on August 30, and was awarded the Order of the Holy Apostle Andrew the First-Called (the only one who received such a high award in such a small rank). Soon he distinguished himself again in the battle of Lesnaya on September 28, and received the rank of lieutenant general. In addition, as a reward for bravery, Golitsyn asked the sovereign for Prince Repnin (see), who was restored to the rank of general.

In the Battle of Poltava on July 26, 1709, he commanded guards regiments with honors, then he was sent in pursuit and overtook the Swedes at Perevolnaya, where, together with A. D. Menshikov, he forced them to lay down their arms on June 30.

In 1711 he acted in Ukraine against the Cossacks, reinforced by the Crimean Tatars, and then took part in the Prut campaign, which was unsuccessful for the Russians.

In 1714–21 he commanded troops in Finland, defeated the Swedes at Napo (Lappol) on February 19 / March 2, 1714 and was promoted to general-in-chief, soon participated in the naval battle of Gangut on July 27 / August 7, 1714. Exactly 6 years later, on July 27 / August 7, 1720, commanding the fleet, he won a victory at Grengam (at Hanko).

During the first Persian campaign, Peter (1722) was left as the chief in St. Petersburg, in 1723–1728 he commanded troops in Ukraine. After the death of Peter I (in January 1725) he was a supporter of the accession of his grandson, Peter Alekseevich. Despite this, the wife of Peter I, Catherine, who ascended the throne through the efforts of A.D. Menshikov, made Golitsyn a field marshal general (May 21, 1725) and made him a knight of the Order of St. Alexander Nevsky (August 30, 1725). Under Peter II (1727) he became a member of the Supreme Privy Council and a senator, from September 1728 - president of the Military Collegium.

At the beginning of 1730, he participated in the drafting of "conditions" (conditions for accession), limiting the power of the new Empress Anna Ioannovna. After her coronation and breaking of "condition" he was stripped of all posts, fell into disgrace and died soon after (December 10, 1730).

From two spouses had 17 children, of whom Alexander Mikhailovich was a Russian Field Marshal (see), one daughter is married to Field Marshal Buturlin, the other to Rumyantsev-Zadunaisky.

SAPEGA Jan Kazimierz (died 1730)

from 1726.

A representative of an influential Great Lithuanian family, a count, his godfather was King Jan III Sobieski. Since 1682, he served as headman of Bobruisk, did not take part in the war between the Sapieha and the "republicans", therefore, after the Battle of Alkenitsa (1700), he avoided reprisals, but was forced to take an oath not to support his relatives. Nevertheless, in 1703 he became one of the initiators of the pro-Swedish confederation in Greater Poland, then the Warsaw confederation (1704), created to overthrow Augustus and elect Stanislaw Leszczynski as the new king. He took part in the battle at Pultusk against the troops of August II (1703), in 1704 he was defeated by the Russians at Shkudami. In 1705, he accompanied the Archbishop of Lviv from Torun to Warsaw, where he crowned Stanislav Leshchinsky to the Polish throne. In 1706 he was made the general headman of Wielkopolsky, took part in the unsuccessful battle at Kalisz against the Russian army. In 1708–09, the Great Lithuanian Hetman, recognized by the King of Sweden Karl XII, defeated the supporter of August II, Hetman Oginsky at Lyakhovichi (April 12, 1709), but was defeated by the Russian corps of Lieutenant General G. Golts at Lyadukhov in Ukraine ( may 13). After the defeat of the Swedish army near Poltava, he went over to the side of the Russian-Saxon-Polish coalition, asked for a pardon, but was deprived of the hetman's mace, and his 15,000-strong army laid down arms near Brest on November 11, 1709.

In 1711 he again opposed August II, in 1713 he again received an amnesty. In 1716, he again joined the anti-August Vilna confederation in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, remained an enemy of August II until the end of his life.

After the death of Peter I, he became close to the de facto ruler of Russia, His Serene Highness Prince A. D. Menshikov. With a promise to help him in achieving the Ducal throne of Courland, in 1726 he arrived in St. Petersburg, where from the hands of the Empress on March 10, 1726 he received the rod of the Russian Field Marshal General, on March 22 he became a knight of two Russian orders at once: St. Andrew the First-Called and St. Alexander Nevsky , and his son was granted a chamberlain and soon also became a knight of the Order of St. Alexander Nevsky. On March 12, the betrothal of Sapega's son Peter Ivanovich and Menshikov's daughter Maria took place.

The frustration of Menshikov's plans for the duchy led to a cooling of relations. The death of the empress and the betrothal of Maria Menshikova to the new emperor Peter II soon followed, and then the fall of Menshikov. Sapega joined the Dolgoruky party, in November 1727 he was appointed Governor-General of St. Petersburg, but in the spring of 1728 he left the service and departed for the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, where he unsuccessfully tried to restore the position of the Sapieha. He died on February 22, 1730.

BRUCE Yakov Vilimovich (Yakov Daniel) (1670-1735)

from 1726.

The son of Wilim Bruce, a descendant of Scottish kings, who entered the Russian service in 1647 and commanded a regiment in Pskov. Yakov Bruce took part in the Crimean campaigns (1687, 1689), later entered the "amusing army" of Peter I, accompanied him on the Azov campaigns (1695–96). For the difference during the assault on Azov in 1696, he was promoted to colonel. In the same year he made a map of the lands from Moscow to Asia Minor. In 1698 he accompanied Peter on trips to England and Holland, with the beginning of the Northern War (1700) - Major General of Artillery. After the capture of the first Russian General Feldzheikhmeister (commander of artillery), Tsarevich of Imeretinsky, he performed his duties. In 1701, he was appointed to head the Novgorod order (governor of Novgorod), supervised the formation of Russian artillery, commanded it during the capture of Noteburg (1702), Nyenskans (1703) and Narva (1704).

In 1706 he was promoted to lieutenant general, took part in the battle of Kalisz, in 1708 he led the left wing of the Russian troops in the battle of Lesnaya. In the Battle of Poltava (1709), he again commanded artillery, for the success of Russian weapons he was awarded the Order of the Holy Apostle Andrew the First-Called, entered into the full rights of General Feldzheikhmeister.

In 1710 he conquered Karelia at the head of the Russian troops, in 1711 he took part in the unsuccessful Prut campaign, in 1712 - in the Pomeranian and Holstein campaigns, commanding not only Russian, but also allied (Danish and Saxon) artillery. Received the Order of the White Eagle from the Saxon Elector.

Since 1717 - Senator, President of the Berg and Manufacturing Collegiums. In 1721, together with A. I. Osterman, he participated in the signing of the Nishtad peace with Sweden, which ended the Northern War, and was elevated to the count of the proclaimed Russian Empire.

After the death of Peter I and the accession of Catherine, he tried to play a political role at the court, was made a knight of the Order of St. Alexander Nevsky (August 30, 1725), but the next year he asked for resignation, while he was awarded with the staff of the Field Marshal (July 6, 1726).

After the defeat at Golovchin, Repnin's division was accepted by Samuil Renzel, who received the rank of lieutenant-general. After the victory at Lesnaya, Repnin was given the division of von Verden (deprived of the command for being late to the battlefield at Lesnaya). "In compensation" von Verden for the Poltava victory was awarded the rank of lieutenant general.

Already at the time of Peter I, the Russian army had two field marshals (F.A.Golovin and de Croix, then F.A.Golovin and B.P.Sheremetev, then B.P.Sheremetev and A.D. Menshikov, in In 1724, the second Field Marshal A.I. Repnin was appointed to A.D. Menshikov, who fell into disgrace).

Under Peter I, there was also the rank of Field Marshal-Lieutenant (that is, Deputy Field Marshal, above the General-in-Chief), it was assigned only to two foreigners who were recruited into the Russian service: Georg Benedict Ogilvy (, with the Saxon service) and Heinrich Goltz ( , dismissed from service), was not subsequently assigned.

Often, the rank was awarded in the form of an honorary award to foreign military leaders who did not serve in the Russian army. Among them are such famous military leaders as the Duke of Wellington, Austrian Field Marshal Johann Josef Radetzky and Prussian Field Marshal Helmut von Moltke the Elder, as well as several monarchs and members of their families (in Alexander II, he granted field marshal rods to four Hohenzollerns).

Of all the Russian emperors, only under John Antonovich and under Alexander III (Peacemaker), field marshal ranks were not assigned. According to some reports, Alexander II himself unofficially wore field marshal insignia (without a formal order to confer such a rank on himself).

By the time of the abolition of the Table of Ranks in 1917, only one Russian Field Marshal, Nikola Petrovich Njegosh (Nicholas I, King of Montenegro), was alive. The last general-field marshal of the Russian service Dmitry Alekseevich Milyutin died in 1912.

List of Russian field marshals general

List of Russian general-field marshals, perhaps not all who had this rank are represented:

Curiosities

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Notes

Literature

  • Bantysh-Kamensky, D.N. ... - M .: Culture, 1991.
  • Egorshin V.A. Field Marshals and Marshals. - M .: "Patriot", 2000.

An excerpt characterizing the Field Marshal (Russia)

- Really? Anna Mikhailovna exclaimed. - Oh, this is awful! It's terrible to think ... This is my son, ”she added, pointing to Boris. “He himself wanted to thank you.
Boris bowed again courteously.
“Believe, prince, that your mother’s heart will never forget what you did for us.
`` I am glad that I could do something pleasant for you, my dear Anna Mikhailovna, '' said Prince Vasily, straightening a frill and in a gesture and voice showing here in Moscow, before the patronized Anna Mikhailovna, even more importance than in Petersburg, at the evening at Annette Scherer.
“Try to serve well and be worthy,” he added, addressing Boris severely. - I'm glad ... Are you here on vacation? He dictated in his impassive tone.
“I’m waiting for the order, Your Excellency, to set off on a new assignment,” Boris answered, showing neither annoyance at the prince's harsh tone, nor a desire to enter into a conversation, but so calmly and respectfully that the prince looked at him intently.
- Do you live with your mother?
“I live with Countess Rostova,” said Boris, adding again: “Your Excellency.
“This is the Ilya Rostov who married Nathalie Shinshina,” said Anna Mikhailovna.
“I know, I know,” said Prince Vasily in his monotonous voice. - Je n "ai jamais pu concevoir, comment Nathalieie s" est decidee a epouser cet ours mal - leche l Un personnage completement stupide et ridicule.Et joueur a ce qu "on dit. [I could never understand how Natalie decided to go out Marrying that filthy bear. She's a stupid and funny person. Plus a player, they say.]
- Mais tres brave homme, mon prince, [But a kind man, prince,] - Anna Mikhailovna remarked, smiling touchingly, as if she knew that Count Rostov deserved such an opinion, but asked to pity the poor old man. - What do the doctors say? - asked the princess, after a pause for a while and again expressing great sadness on her tear-stained face.
“Little hope,” said the prince.
- And I so wanted to thank my uncle again for all his good deeds to me and Bora. C "est son filleuil, [This is his godson,] - she added in such a tone, as if this news should have made Prince Vasily extremely happy.
Prince Vasily became thoughtful and winced. Anna Mikhailovna realized that he was afraid to find in her a rival in the will of Count Bezukhoi. She hastened to calm him down.
“If it weren't for my true love and devotion to my uncle,” she said, pronouncing the word with particular confidence and carelessness: “I know his character, noble, straightforward, but only princesses are with him ... They are still young ...” She bowed her head and added in a whisper: "Has he fulfilled his last duty, prince?" How precious these last moments are! It couldn't be worse; it must be prepared if it is so bad. We women, prince, ”she smiled tenderly,“ always know how to say these things. You must see him. No matter how hard it was for me, I was used to suffering.
The prince, apparently, understood, and understood, as at the party at Annette Scherer's, that it was difficult to get rid of Anna Mikhailovna.
“This meeting wouldn’t be hard for him, chere Anna Mikhailovna,” he said. - Let's wait until evening, the doctors promised a crisis.
- But you can't wait, prince, at these moments. Pensez, il y va du salut de son ame ... Ah! c "est terrible, les devoirs d" un chretien ... [Think, it's about saving his soul! Oh! this is terrible, the duty of a Christian ...]
A door opened from the inner rooms, and one of the princesses of the count's nieces entered, with a sullen and cold face and a long waist that was strikingly disproportionate to the legs.
Prince Vasily turned to her.
- Well, what is he?
- All the same. And how do you want, this noise ... - said the princess, looking around Anna Mikhailovna as if she were unfamiliar.
- Ah, chere, je ne vous reconnaissais pas, [Ah, dear, I did not recognize you,] - Anna Mikhailovna said with a happy smile, walking lightly to the count's niece. - Je viens d "arriver et je suis a vous pour vous aider a soigner mon oncle. J`imagine, combien vous avez souffert, [I came to help you follow your uncle. I can imagine how you suffered,]" she added, with participation rolling my eyes.
The princess did not answer, did not even smile, and immediately left. Anna Mikhailovna took off her gloves and, in the conquered position, settled down on an armchair, inviting Prince Vasily to sit beside her.
- Boris! - she said to her son and smiled, - I will go to the count, to my uncle, and you go to Pierre, mon ami, for the time being, but do not forget to convey to him the invitation from the Rostovs. They call him to dinner. I think he won't go? - she turned to the prince.
- On the contrary, - said the prince, apparently out of sorts. - Je serais tres content si vous me debarrassez de ce jeune homme ... [I would be very glad if you could save me from this young man ...] Sits here. The count never asked about him.
He shrugged. The waiter took the young man down and up another staircase to Pyotr Kirillovich.

Pierre did not have time to choose a career for himself in St. Petersburg and, in fact, was exiled to Moscow for riot. The story told by Count Rostov was true. Pierre participated in the connection of the quarter with the bear. He arrived a few days ago and stayed, as always, at his father's house. Although he assumed that his story was already known in Moscow, and that the ladies around his father, who were always unfriendly to him, would take advantage of this opportunity to irritate the count, he still went to half his father on the day of his arrival. Entering the drawing-room, the usual place of princesses, he greeted the ladies who were sitting at the embroidery frame and at the book, which one of them was reading aloud. There were three of them. The eldest, clean, long-waisted, stern girl, the one who went out to see Anna Mikhailovna, read; the younger ones, both ruddy and pretty, differed from each other only in that one had a mole above her lip, which was very beautiful, and sewed in a hoop. Pierre was greeted as either dead or plague. The eldest princess interrupted her reading and silently looked at him with frightened eyes; the youngest, without a mole, took exactly the same expression; the smallest one, with a mole, of a cheerful and funny character, bent down to the embroidery frame to hide a smile, caused, probably, by the forthcoming scene, the amusement of which she foresaw. She pulled the wool down and bent down, as if disassembling patterns and barely refraining from laughing.
“Bonjour, ma cousine,” said Pierre. - Vous ne me gesonnaissez pas? [Hello cousin. Don't you recognize me?]
“I know you too well, too well.
- How is the count's health? Can I see him? - asked Pierre awkwardly, as always, but not embarrassed.
“The count is suffering both physically and morally, and it seems that you took care to inflict more moral suffering on him.
- May I see the Count? - Pierre repeated.
- Hm! .. If you want to kill him, completely kill him, you can see. Olga, go and see if the broth is ready for your uncle, the time is soon, ”she added, showing Pierre that they were busy and busy calming his father down, while he was obviously only busy with upsetting.
Olga left. Pierre stood for a while, looked at the sisters and, bowing, said:
- So I'll go to my place. When it will be possible, you tell me.
He went out, and the ringing, but quiet laugh of his sister with a mole was heard behind him.
The next day, Prince Vasily arrived and settled in the count's house. He called Pierre to him and said to him:
- Mon cher, si vous vous conduisez ici, comme a Petersbourg, vous finirez tres mal; c "est tout ce que je vous dis. [My dear, if you behave here as in Petersburg, you will end very badly; I have nothing more to say to you.] The count is very, very sick: you do not need to see him at all.
Since then, Pierre was not disturbed, and he spent the whole day alone upstairs in his room.
While Boris entered him, Pierre walked about his room, occasionally stopping in corners, making threatening gestures to the wall, as if piercing an invisible enemy with a sword, and sternly looking over his glasses and then starting his walk again, pronouncing vague words, shaking shoulders and spreading his arms.
- L "Angleterre a vecu, [England's end,] - he said, frowning and pointing at someone with his finger. - M. Pitt comme traitre a la nation et au droit des gens est condamiene a ... [Pitt, as a traitor to the nation and the people right, is sentenced to ...] - He did not have time to finish the sentence to Pitt, imagining himself at that moment Napoleon himself and, together with his hero, had already made a dangerous crossing over the Pas de Calais and conquered London, - as he saw a young, slender and handsome officer coming to him He stopped. Pierre left Boris as a fourteen-year-old boy and decidedly did not remember him, but in spite of that, with his characteristic swift and cordial manner, he took his hand and smiled amiably.
- Do you remember me? - Boris said calmly, with a pleasant smile. “My mother and I have come to the count, but it seems he is not quite well.
- Yes, it seems unwell. Everything worries him, - answered Pierre, trying to remember who this young man is.
Boris felt that Pierre did not recognize him, but did not consider it necessary to identify himself and, without feeling the slightest embarrassment, looked him straight in the eyes.
“Count Rostov asked you to come and dine with him today,” he said after a rather long and awkward silence for Pierre.
- AND! Count Rostov! - said Pierre happily. - So you are his son, Ilya. I, you can imagine, did not recognize you at first. Remember how we went to Vorobyovy Gory with m me Jacquot ... [Madame Jaco ...] a long time ago.
“You are mistaken,” Boris said slowly, with a bold and somewhat mocking smile. - I am Boris, the son of Princess Anna Mikhailovna Drubetskaya. Rostov's father's name is Ilya, and his son's is Nikolai. And I didn't know any Jacquot.
Pierre waved his hands and head as if mosquitoes or bees had attacked him.
- Oh, what is it! I have confused everything. There are so many relatives in Moscow! You are Boris ... yes. Well, here we are with you and agreed. Well, what do you think of the Boulogne expedition? After all, the British will have a bad time if only Napoleon crossed the canal? I think the expedition is very possible. Villeneuve would not fail!
Boris did not know anything about the Boulogne expedition, he did not read the newspapers and for the first time he heard about Villeneuve.
“Here in Moscow we are more occupied with dinners and gossip than with politics,” he said in his calm, mocking tone. - I don’t know anything about it and I don’t think. Moscow is busy with gossip most of all, - he continued. “Now they are talking about you and the count.
Pierre smiled his kind smile, as if afraid for his interlocutor, lest he say something that he would regret. But Boris spoke distinctly, clearly and dryly, looking directly into Pierre's eyes.
“Moscow has nothing else to do but gossip,” he continued. - Everyone is busy with those to whom the count will leave his fortune, although maybe he will outlive us all, which I sincerely wish ...
- Yes, it's all very difficult, - Pierre took in, - it's very difficult. - Pierre was still afraid that this officer would inadvertently fall into an awkward conversation for himself.
“And you must think,” said Boris, blushing slightly, but without changing his voice or posture, “you must think that everyone is busy only with getting something from the rich man.
"It is," thought Pierre.
- And I just want to tell you, in order to avoid misunderstandings, that you would be very mistaken if you count me and my mother among these people. We are very poor, but at least I speak for myself: precisely because your father is rich, I do not consider myself to be his relative, and neither I nor my mother will ever ask for anything or accept anything from him.
For a long time Pierre could not understand, but when he did, he jumped up from the sofa, grabbed Boris by the hand from below with his characteristic swiftness and awkwardness, and, flushing much more than Boris, began to speak with a mixed feeling of shame and annoyance.
- This is strange! I really ... and who else could think ... I very much know ...
But Boris again interrupted him:
- I'm glad I said everything. Maybe it’s unpleasant for you, excuse me, ”he said, calming Pierre, instead of being calmed by him,“ but I hope I did not offend you. I have a rule to say everything directly ... How can I convey? Will you come to dine with the Rostovs?

Brought up in battles

amid bad weather

The epigraph to this book, containing the biography of all Russian field marshals without exception, gave a line from the well-known poem by A.S. Pushkin "Memories in Tsarskoe Selo": "You are immortal forever, O Russian giants, // In battles you were brought up among the bad weather!" And although the poet turned to the commanders-associates of Catherine II, his pathos, according to the author, is appropriate in relation to, if not all, then very many carriers of the highest military rank of the Russian Empire.

"In their gigantic thousand-year work, the builders of Russia relied on three great foundations - the spiritual power of the Orthodox Church, the creative genius of the Russian People and the valor of the Russian Army."

The truth cast by the military historian of the Russian diaspora Anton Antonovich Kersnovsky into an enviable coined formula is impossible not to accept! And if you remember that it was expressed just a few years before Hitler's attack on the Soviet Union, on the eve of one of the most cruel clashes in the history of our people between two civilizations - Slavic-Orthodox and Teutonic-Western European, then one involuntarily thinks about the indisputable symbolism of the accomplished by the patriotic historian ... Over the ideologies and political regimes, he passed on to his compatriots in the USSR from long-gone generations of warriors for the Russian Land, like a baton, ideas about the eternal foundations and sources of strength of our Motherland.

The presence of an army and armed forces in their ranks is more than natural. The need to repel the aggression of numerous neighbors who wanted to profit from the country's untold riches, the interest in expanding the borders, and the protection of geopolitical interests in various regions of the world forced Russia to constantly keep its powder dry. During 304 years of the Romanov dynasty alone, the country experienced about 30 major wars, including with Turkey - 11, France - 5, Sweden - 5, as well as Austria-Hungary, Great Britain, Prussia (Germany), Iran, Poland, Japan and others countries.

S. Gerasimov. Kutuzov at the Borodino field.

The soldier wins in battle and battle, but it is known that the mass of even perfectly trained fighters is worth little if it does not have a worthy commander. Russia, having revealed to the world an amazing type of ordinary soldier, whose fighting and moral qualities have become a legend, gave birth to many first-class military leaders. The battles fought by Alexander Menshikov and Peter Lassi, Peter Saltykov and Peter Rumyantsev, Alexander Suvorov and Mikhail Kutuzov, Ivan Paskevich and Joseph Gurko were included in the annals of military art, they were studied and studied in military academies around the world.

Before the formation of a regular army by Peter I in the Muscovite kingdom, to designate the post of commander-in-chief, there was officially the position of a courtyard governor, to whom all troops were entrusted. He took precedence over the chief commander of the Big Regiment, that is, the army. In the Petrine era, these archaic titles were replaced by European ranks: the first - Generalissimo, the second - Field Marshal General. The names of both ranks are derived from the Latin "generalis", that is, "general". The generals in all European (and later not only) armies meant the highest degree of military ranks, for its owner was entrusted with the command of all branches of the army.

About the Generalissimo in the Military Regulations of Peter I of 1716 it was said: “This rank is only proper for the crowned heads and great possessing princes, and especially for the one whose army is. In his non-existence, the aforementioned command surrenders over the entire army to his field marshal general. " This rank in the Russian imperial army was awarded to only three people: His Serene Highness Prince A.D. Menshikov in 1727, Prince Anton-Ulrich of Braunschweig-Lüneburg (father of the young emperor Ivan Antonovich) in 1740 and Prince A.V. Suvorov in 1799

The Generalissimo was outside the officer ranks. Therefore, the highest military rank was actually the Field Marshal General. According to Peter's "Table of Ranks", he corresponded to the civil rank of the chancellor and belonged to the 1st class. In the Military Regulations of Peter I, it was legally enshrined in the following way: “A Field Marshal or an enchef is the commanding chief general in the army. His order and command must be respected by all, the whole army and the real intention from his sovereign has been handed to him. "

"Military encyclopedia" I.D. Sytina explains the origin of the term "field marshal" this way: it is based on the combination of the German words "feld" (field) with "march" (horse) and "schalk" (servant). The term "marshal" gradually migrated to France. At first, that was the name of ordinary grooms. But since they were inseparable from their masters during numerous campaigns and hunts, their social status increased dramatically over time. Under Charlemagne (VIII century), marshals, or marshals, were already called persons who commanded the train. Gradually, they seized more and more power. In the XII century. marshals are the closest assistants of the commanders-in-chief, in the XIV - inspectors of the troops and the highest military judges, and in the first third of the XVII century. - top commanders. In the 16th century, first in Prussia, and then in other states, the rank of field marshal (field marshal general) appears.

The military regulations of Peter I also provided for the deputy field marshal-general-field marshal-lieutenant (there were only two of them in the Russian army, these are Baron G.-B. Ogilvy and G. Goltz invited by Peter I from abroad). Under the successors of the first Russian emperor, this rank completely lost its meaning and was abolished.

Since the introduction in the Russian army in 1699, the rank of Field Marshal and until 1917, 63 people were awarded:

during the reign of Peter I:

count F.A. GOLOVIN (1700)

duke K.-E. CROA de CROY (1700)

count B.P. SHEREMETEV (1701)

his Serene Highness Prince A.D. MENSHIKOV (1709)

prince A.I. REPNIN (1724)

during the reign of Catherine I:

prince M.M. GOLITSYN (1725)

count J.-K. BOOTS (1726)

count Ya.V. BRUCE (1726)

in the reign of Peter II:

prince V.V. LONG-ARMED (1728)

prince I.Yu. TRUBETSKOY (1728)

during the reign of Anna Ioannovna:

count B.-H. MINI (1732)

count P.P. LASSY (1736)

during the reign of Elizabeth Petrovna:

prince L.-I.-V. HESSEN-HOMBURG (1742)

S.F. APRAKSIN (1756)

count A.B. BUTURLIN (1756)

count A.G. RAZUMOVSKY (1756)

prince N.Yu. TRUBETSKOY (1756)

count P.S. SALTYKOV (1759)

in the reign of Peter III:

count A.I. SHUVALOV (1761)

count P.I. SHUVALOV (1761)

duke K.-L. GOLSHTEIN-BEKSKY (1761)

prince P.-A.-F. GOLSHTEIN-BEKSKY (1762)

prince G.-L. SCHLEZWIG-GOLSHTINSKY (1762)

during the reign of Catherine II:

count A.P. BESTUZHEV-RUMIN (1762)

count K.G. RAZUMOVSKY (1764)

prince A.M. GOLITSYN (1769)

count P.A. RUMYANTSEV-ZADANAYSKY (1770)

count Z.G. CHERNYSHEV (1773)

landgrave Ludwig IX of GESSEN-DARMSTAD (1774)

his Serene Highness Prince G.A. POTEMKIN-TAVRICHESKY (1784)

prince ITALIAN, Count A.V. SUVOROV-RYMNIKSKY (1794)

in the reign of Paul I:

his Serene Highness Prince N.I. SALTYKOV (1796)

prince N.V. REPNIN (1796)

count I.G. CHERNYSHEV (1796)

count I.P. SALTYKOV (1796)

count M.F. KAMENSKY (1797)

count V.P. MUSIN-PUSHKIN (1797)

count I.K. ELMPT (1797)

duke W.-F. de BROGLIE (1797)

in the reign of Alexander I:

count I.V. GUDOVICH (1807)

prince A.A. PROZOROVSKY (1807)

his Serene Highness Prince M.I. GOLENISHCHEV-KUTUZOV-SMOLENSKY (1812)

prince M.B. BARCLAY de TOLLY (1814)

duke A.-K.-W. WELLINGTON (1818)

during the reign of Nicholas I:

his Serene Highness Prince P.Kh. WITGENSTEIN (1826)

prince F.V. AUSTEN SAKEN (1826)

count I.I. DIBICH-ZABALKAN (1829)

his Serene Highness Prince WARSAW,

count I.F. PASKEVICH-ERIVAN (1829)

archduke JOHANNE of Austria (1837)

his Serene Highness Prince P.M. VOLKONSKY (1843)

count R.-J. von RADETSKY (1849)

in the reign of Alexander II:

his Serene Highness Prince M.S. VORONTSOV (1856)

prince A.I. BARYATINSKY (1859)

count F.F. BERG (1865)

archduke ALBRECHT-Friedrich-Rudolph of Austria (1872)

crown Prince of Prussia FRIEDRICH-WILHELM (1872)

count H.-K.-B. von MOLTKE the Elder (1871)

grand Duke MIKHAIL NIKOLAEVICH (1878)

grand Duke NIKOLAI NIKOLAEVICH the Elder (1878)

during the reign of Nicholas II:

I.V. GURKO (1894)

count D.A. MILUTIN (1898)

king of Montenegro NICHOLAS I NEGOS (1910)

king of Romania CAROL I (1912)

200 years ago, the last Field Marshal of the Russian Empire, Dmitry Milyutin, was born - the largest reformer of the Russian army.

Dmitry Alekseevich Milyutin (1816-1912)

It is to him that Russia owes the introduction of universal military service. For its time, it was a real revolution in the principles of manning the army. Before Milyutin, the Russian army was a class one, its basis was made up of recruits - soldiers recruited from the townspeople and peasants by lot. Now everyone was called to it - regardless of origin, nobility and wealth: the defense of the Fatherland became a truly sacred duty of everyone. However, the Field Marshal became famous not only for this ...

FRACK OR MUNDIR?

Dmitry Milyutin was born on June 28 (July 10) 1816 in Moscow. On the paternal side, he belonged to the middle class nobles, whose surname originated from the popular Serbian name Milutin. The father of the future field marshal, Alexei Mikhailovich, inherited the factory and estates, burdened with huge debts, with which he unsuccessfully tried to pay off all his life. His mother, Elizaveta Dmitrievna, nee Kiseleva, came from an old eminent noble family, Dmitry Milyutin's uncle was infantry general Pavel Dmitrievich Kiselyov - a member of the State Council, Minister of State Property, and later the Russian ambassador to France.

Alexey Mikhailovich Milyutin was interested in the exact sciences, was a member of the Moscow Society of Nature Experts at the University, was the author of a number of books and articles, and Elizaveta Dmitrievna knew foreign and Russian literature perfectly, loved painting and music. Since 1829, Dmitry studied at the Moscow University Noble Boarding School, which was not much inferior to the Tsarskoye Selo Lyceum, and Pavel Dmitrievich Kiselev paid for his tuition. The first scientific works of the future reformer of the Russian army belong to this time. He compiled the "Literary Dictionary Experience" and synchronous tables according to, and at the age of 14-15 he wrote "A Guide to Shooting Plans with the Use of Mathematics", which received positive reviews in two reputable journals.

In 1832, Dmitry Milyutin graduated from the boarding school, receiving the right to the tenth grade of the Table of Ranks and a silver medal for academic success. Before him arose a symbolic question for a young nobleman: a tailcoat or a uniform, a civil or military path? In 1833 he went to Petersburg and, on the advice of his uncle, entered the 1st Guards Artillery Brigade as a non-commissioned officer. 50 years of military service awaited him. Six months later, Milyutin became an ensign, but the daily shagistika under the supervision of the great dukes was exhausting and dull enough that he even began to think about changing his profession. Fortunately, in 1835 he managed to enter the Imperial Military Academy, which trained officers of the General Staff and teachers for military schools.

At the end of 1836, Dmitry Milyutin was released from the academy with a silver medal (at the final exams he received 552 points out of 560 possible), promoted to lieutenant and assigned to the Guards General Staff. But one salary for the guardsman was clearly not enough for a decent living in the capital, even if, as Dmitry Alekseevich did, he avoided the entertainment of the golden officer's youth. So I had to constantly earn money with translations and articles in various periodicals.

PROFESSOR OF THE MILITARY ACADEMY

In 1839, at his request, Milyutin was sent to the Caucasus. Service in the Separate Caucasian Corps was at that time not only a necessary military practice, but also a significant step for a successful career. Milyutin developed a number of operations against the mountaineers, he himself took part in a campaign against the aul of Akhulgo - the then capital of Shamil. On this expedition, he was wounded, but remained in the ranks.

The following year, Milyutin was appointed quartermaster of the 3rd Guards Infantry Division, and in 1843 - Chief Quartermaster of the Caucasian line and the Black Sea region. In 1845, on the recommendation of Prince Alexander Baryatinsky, close to the heir to the throne, he was recalled to the disposal of the Minister of War, and at the same time Milyutin was elected professor of the Military Academy. In the description given to him by Baryatinsky, it was noted that he was diligent, of excellent abilities and intelligence, exemplary morality, and thrifty in the economy.

Milyutin did not give up scientific studies either. In 1847-1848, his two-volume work "First Experiments of Military Statistics" was published, and in 1852-1853, the professionally executed "History of the War of Russia with France during the reign of Emperor Paul I in 1799" in five volumes.

The last work was prepared by two informative articles written by him back in the 1840s: “A.V. Suvorov as a commander ”and“ Russian generals of the 18th century ”. "The History of the War of Russia with France", immediately after its publication, translated into German and French, brought the author the Demidov Prize of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences. Shortly thereafter, he was elected a Corresponding Member of the Academy.

In 1854, Milyutin, already a major general, became a clerk of the Special Committee on measures to protect the shores of the Baltic Sea, which was formed under the chairmanship of the heir to the throne, Grand Duke Alexander Nikolaevich. So the service brought together the future Tsar-reformer Alexander II and one of his most effective associates in the development of reforms ...

NOTE MILUTIN

In December 1855, when the Crimean War, so difficult for Russia, was going on, Minister of War Vasily Dolgorukov asked Milyutin to draw up a note on the state of affairs in the army. He fulfilled the order, especially noting that the number of the armed forces of the Russian Empire is large, but the bulk of the troops are untrained recruits and militias, that there are not enough competent officers, which makes new kits meaningless.


Seeing off the recruit. Hood. I.E. Repin. 1879

Milyutin wrote that a further increase in the army is also impossible for economic reasons, since industry is unable to provide it with everything it needs, and import from abroad is difficult due to the boycott declared to Russia by European countries. The problems associated with the lack of gunpowder, food, rifles and artillery pieces were obvious, not to mention the disastrous state of transport routes. The bitter conclusions of the note largely influenced the decision of the members of the meeting and the youngest Tsar Alexander II to begin negotiations on the conclusion of peace (the Paris Peace Treaty was signed in March 1856).

In 1856, Milyutin was again sent to the Caucasus, where he took up the post of chief of staff of the Separate Caucasian Corps (soon reformed into the Caucasian Army), but already in 1860 the emperor appointed him as a comrade (deputy) minister of war. The new head of the military department, Nikolai Sukhozanet, seeing Milyutin as a real competitor, tried to remove his deputy from significant affairs, and then Dmitry Alekseevich even had thoughts of retiring to engage exclusively in teaching and scientific activities. Everything changed suddenly. Sukhozanet was sent to Poland, and the administration of the ministry was entrusted to Milyutin.


Count Pavel Dmitrievich Kiselyov (1788-1872) - General of Infantry, Minister of State Property in 1837-1856, uncle D.A. Milyutin

His very first steps in the new post were met with universal approval: the number of ministry officials was reduced by a thousand, and the number of outgoing papers - by 45%.

ON THE WAY TO A NEW ARMY

On January 15, 1862 (less than two months after assuming a high position) Milyutin presented to Alexander II a most submissive report, which, in fact, was a program of broad transformations in the Russian army. The report contained 10 points: the number of troops, their recruitment, staffing and management, drill training, personnel of the troops, the military-judicial unit, provisions supplies, the military-medical unit, artillery, engineering units.

The preparation of the military reform plan required from Milyutin not only exertion of forces (he worked on the report 16 hours a day), but also a fair amount of courage. The minister encroached on even an archaic and much compromised in the Crimean War, but still a legendary patriarchal estate steeped in heroic legends, who remembered both the “Ochakov times” and Borodino and the surrender of Paris. However, Milyutin decided to take this risky step. Or rather, a whole series of steps, since a large-scale reform of the Russian armed forces under his leadership lasted for almost 14 years.


Training of recruits in Nikolaev time. Drawing by A. Vasiliev from N. Schilder's book "Emperor Nicholas I. His Life and Reign"

First of all, he proceeded from the principle of the greatest reduction in the size of the army in peacetime with the possibility of its maximum increase in the event of war. Milyutin was well aware that no one would allow him to immediately change the recruitment system, and therefore proposed increasing the number of recruits annually recruited to 125 thousand, provided that soldiers were fired "on leave" in the seventh or eighth year of service. As a result, in seven years, the size of the army decreased by 450-500 thousand people, but a trained reserve of 750 thousand people was formed. It is easy to see that formally, this was not a reduction in service terms, but only the provision of temporary "leave" to soldiers - a deception, so to speak, for the good of the cause.

JUNKER AND MILITARY DISTRICTS

The issue of officer training was no less acute. Back in 1840, Milyutin wrote:

“Our officers are formed just like parrots. Before they are produced, they are kept in a cage, and they constantly interpret to them: "Butt, to the left around!", And the ass repeats: "To the left, around." When the ass reaches the point that he will firmly memorize all these words and, moreover, will be able to keep on one leg ... they put on epaulettes, open the cage, and he flies out of it with joy, with hatred for his cage and his former mentors. "

In the mid-1860s, at the request of Milyutin, military educational institutions were transferred to the subordination of the War Ministry. Cadet corps, renamed military gymnasiums, became specialized secondary educational institutions. Their graduates entered military schools, which trained about 600 officers annually. This turned out to be clearly not enough to replenish the command staff of the army, and it was decided to create cadet schools, upon admission to which knowledge was required in the amount of about four classes of an ordinary gymnasium. Such schools graduated another 1,500 officers a year. Higher military education was represented by the Artillery, Engineering and Military Law Academies, as well as the Academy of the General Staff (formerly the Imperial Military Academy).

The training of soldiers changed on the basis of the new regulations on the combat infantry service, published in the mid-1860s. Milyutin revived the Suvorov principle - to pay attention only to what the privates really need to carry out their service: physical and drill training, shooting and tactical tricks. In order to spread literacy among the rank and file, soldiers' schools were organized, regimental and company libraries were created, and special periodicals appeared - "Soldier's Conversation" and "Reading for Soldiers".

Talks about the need to re-equip the infantry have been going on since the late 1850s. At first, it was about remaking old guns in a new way, and only 10 years later, in the late 1860s, it was decided to give preference to the Berdan No. 2 rifle.

A little earlier, according to the "Regulations" of 1864, Russia was divided into 15 military districts. Directorates of the districts (artillery, engineering, quartermaster and medical) were subordinate, on the one hand, to the chief of the district, and on the other, to the corresponding main directorates of the War Ministry. This system eliminated the excessive centralization of command and control, provided operational leadership on the ground and the ability to quickly mobilize the armed forces.

The next urgent step in the reorganization of the army was to be the introduction of universal conscription, as well as enhanced training of officers and an increase in expenditures for material support of the army.

However, after Dmitry Karakozov was shot at the monarch on April 4, 1866, the position of the Conservatives significantly strengthened. However, it was not only the attempt on the king's life. It must be borne in mind that every decision to reorganize the armed forces required a number of innovations. So, the creation of military districts entailed "Regulations on the establishment of quartermaster warehouses", "Regulations on the management of local troops", "Regulations on the organization of fortress artillery", "Regulations on the management of the inspector general of cavalry", "Regulations on the organization of artillery parks" and etc. And each such change inevitably exacerbated the struggle of the reformer minister with his opponents.

MILITARY MINISTERS OF THE RUSSIAN EMPIRE


A.A. Arakcheev


M.B. Barclay de Tolly

Since the creation of the War Ministry of the Russian Empire in 1802 and until the overthrow of the autocracy in February 1917, this department was led by 19 people, including such notable figures as Alexei Arakcheev, Mikhail Barclay de Tolly and Dmitry Milyutin.

The latter held the post of minister the longest - as much as 20 years, from 1861 to 1881. Least of all - from January 3 to March 1, 1917 - the last military minister of tsarist Russia, Mikhail Belyaev, was in this position.


YES. Milyutin


M.A. Belyaev

BATTLE FOR UNIVERSAL MILITARY OBLIGATION

It is not surprising that since the end of 1866, the most popular and discussed rumor about Milyutin's resignation. He was accused of destroying the army, glorious for its victories, of democratizing its order, which led to a fall in the authority of the officers and to anarchy, and colossal spending on the military department. It should be noted that the budget of the ministry was actually exceeded only in 1863 by 35.5 million rubles. However, opponents of Milyutin proposed to cut the amounts allocated to the military department, so much that it would be necessary to reduce the armed forces by half, altogether stopping recruitment. In response, the minister presented calculations, from which it followed that France spends 183 rubles a year for each soldier, Prussia - 80, and Russia - 75 rubles. In other words, the Russian army turned out to be the cheapest of all the armies of the great powers.

The most important battles for Milyutin unfolded in late 1872 - early 1873, when the draft of the Charter on universal military service was discussed. At the head of the opponents of this crown of military reforms were Field Marshals Alexander Baryatinsky and Fyodor Berg, Minister of Public Education, and since 1882, Minister of Internal Affairs Dmitry Tolstoy, Grand Dukes Mikhail Nikolaevich and Nikolai Nikolaevich the Elder, Generals Rostislav Fadeev and Mikhail Chernyaev and chief of gendarmes Pyotr Shuvalov. And behind them loomed the figure of the ambassador in St. Petersburg of the newly created German Empire, Heinrich Reiss, who received instructions personally from Chancellor Otto von Bismarck. The antagonists of the reforms, having obtained permission to familiarize themselves with the papers of the Ministry of War, regularly wrote notes full of lies that immediately appeared in the newspapers.


All-class conscription. Jews in one of the military presences in the west of Russia. Engraving by A. Zubchaninov from the drawing by G. Broling

The emperor in these battles took a wait-and-see attitude, not daring to accept either side. He either established a commission to find ways to reduce military expenditures under the chairmanship of Baryatinsky and supported the idea of \u200b\u200breplacing military districts with 14 armies, then inclined in favor of Milyutin, who argued that it was necessary either to cancel everything that was done in the army in the 1860s, or to move firmly to end. Naval Minister Nikolai Krabbe told how the discussion of the issue of universal military service in the State Council took place:

“Today Dmitry Alekseevich was unrecognizable. He did not expect attacks, but he himself rushed at the enemy, so much so that it was terrible out there ... With his teeth in his throat and across the ridge. Quite a lion. Our old people left, frightened. "

IN THE DURING MILITARY REFORMS, IT WAS MANY TO CREATE A STRONG SYSTEM OF ARMY CONTROL AND TRAINING OF THE OFFICER CORPS, to establish a new principle of its manning, to re-equip the infantry and artillery

Finally, on January 1, 1874, the Charter on all-class military service was approved, and in the highest rescript addressed to the Minister of War it says:

"By your hard work in this matter and by your enlightened look upon it, you have rendered the state a service that I set myself a special pleasure to witness and for which I express my sincere gratitude to you."

Thus, in the course of military reforms, it was possible to create a harmonious system of army management and training of the officer corps, establish a new principle of its manning, in many respects revive Suvorov's methods of tactical training of soldiers and officers, raise their cultural level, and rearm the infantry and artillery.
TEST OF WAR

The Russian-Turkish war of 1877-1878 was greeted by Milyutin and his antagonists with completely opposite feelings. The minister was worried as army reform was just gaining momentum and there was still much to be done. And his opponents hoped that the war would reveal the failure of the reform and force the monarch to listen to their words.

On the whole, the events in the Balkans confirmed that Milyutin was right: the army withstood the test of war with honor. For the minister himself, the siege of Plevna, or rather, what happened after the third unsuccessful assault on the fortress on August 30, 1877, became a true test of strength. The commander-in-chief of the Danube army, Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich the Elder, shocked by the failure, decided to lift the siege from Plevna - a key point of Turkish defense in Northern Bulgaria - and withdraw troops across the Danube.


Presentation of the captive Osman Pasha to Alexander II in Plevna. Hood. N. Dmitriev-Orenburgsky. 1887. Among the highest military ranks of Russia, Minister D.А. Milyutin (far right)

Milyutin objected to such a step, explaining that reinforcements would soon approach the Russian army, and the position of the Turks in Plevna was far from brilliant. But to his objections, the Grand Duke answered irritably:

"If you think it is possible, then take command over yourself, and I ask to fire me."

It is difficult to say how events would have developed further if Alexander II had not been present at the theater of operations. He listened to the arguments of the minister, and after the siege organized by the hero of Sevastopol, General Eduard Totleben, on November 28, 1877, Plevna fell. Addressing the retinue, the emperor then announced:

"Know, gentlemen, that today and the fact that we are here, we owe Dmitry Alekseevich: he alone at the military council after August 30, insisted not to retreat from Plevna."

The Minister of War was awarded the Order of St. George, II degree, which was an exceptional case, since he did not have either the III or IV degree of this order. Milyutin was elevated to the rank of count, but the most important thing was that after the tragic for Russia Berlin Congress, he became not just one of the ministers closest to the tsar, but also the actual head of the foreign policy department. From now on, Comrade (Deputy) Minister of Foreign Affairs Nikolai Girs coordinated all fundamental issues with him. Bismarck, a longtime enemy of our hero, wrote to the German Emperor Wilhelm I:

"The minister who now has a decisive influence on Alexander II is Milyutin."

The German emperor even asked his Russian counterpart to remove Milyutin from the post of Minister of War. Alexander replied that he would be happy to fulfill the request, but at the same time he would appoint Dmitry Alekseevich to the post of Foreign Minister. Berlin hastened to decline its offer. At the end of 1879, Milyutin took an active part in negotiations on the conclusion of the "Union of Three Emperors" (Russia, Austria-Hungary, Germany). The Minister of War advocated an active policy of the Russian Empire in Central Asia, advised to switch from supporting Alexander Battenberg in Bulgaria, giving preference to the Montenegrin Bozhidar Petrovich.


L. G. ZAKHAROVA Dmitry Alekseevich Milyutin, his time and his memoirs // Milyutin D.A. Memories. 1816-1843. M., 1997.
***
V. V. Petelin The life of Count Dmitry Milyutin. M., 2011.

AFTER REFORM

At the same time, in 1879, Milyutin boldly asserted: "It is impossible not to admit that our entire state structure requires a radical reform from top to bottom." He strongly supported the actions of Mikhail Loris-Melikov (by the way, it was Milyutin who proposed the general's candidacy for the post of All-Russian dictator), which provided for a decrease in the redemption payments of peasants, the abolition of the Third Department, the expansion of the competence of zemstvos and city councils, the establishment of general representation in the highest authorities. However, the time for reforms was coming to an end. On March 8, 1881, a week after the assassination of the emperor by the People's Will, Milyutin gave the last battle to the conservatives who opposed the "constitutional" project of Loris-Melikov approved by Alexander II. And he lost this battle: according to Alexander III, the country needed not reforms, but calming ...

“IT IS IMPORTANT NOT TO ACCEPT that our entire state system requires a radical reform from top to bottom”

On May 21 of the same year, Milyutin resigned, rejecting the new monarch's offer to become governor in the Caucasus. Then the following entry appeared in his diary:

"With the present course of affairs, with the current leaders in the highest government, my position in St. Petersburg, even as a simple, unrequited witness, would be unbearable and humiliating."

Upon retirement, Dmitry Alekseevich received as a gift portraits of Alexander II and Alexander III, showered with diamonds, and in 1904 - the same portraits of Nicholas I and Nicholas II. Milyutin was awarded all Russian orders, including the diamond insignia of the Order of St. Andrew the First-Called, and in 1898, during the celebrations in honor of the opening of the monument to Alexander II in Moscow, he was promoted to field marshal general. Living in the Crimea, in the Simeiz estate, he remained faithful to the old motto:

“You don't need to rest doing nothing. You just need to change your job, and that's enough. "

In Simeiz, Dmitry Alekseevich organized the diary entries that he kept from 1873 to 1899, wrote wonderful multivolume memoirs. He closely followed the course of the Russo-Japanese War and the events of the First Russian Revolution.

He lived for a long time. Fate supposedly rewarded him for not giving him to his brothers, because Alexey Alekseevich Milyutin passed away 10 years old, Vladimir - at 29, Nikolai - at 53 years old, Boris - at 55 years old. Dmitry Alekseevich died in Crimea at the age of 96, three days after the death of his wife. He was buried at the Novodevichy cemetery in Moscow next to his brother Nikolai. In the Soviet years, the burial place of the last field marshal of the empire was lost ...

Dmitry Milyutin left almost all his fortune to the army, handed over a rich library to his native Military Academy, and bequeathed his estate in Crimea to the Russian Red Cross.

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