Alexander Alexandrovich Bashilov (russian: Александр Александрович Башилов) (August 31, 1777 in

Hlukhiv Hlukhiv ( uk, Глу́хів, ) or Glukhov (russian: Глухов, translit=Glukhov) is a small historic town on the Esman River. It is a City of regional significance (Ukraine), city of regional significance in the Sumy Oblast, Sumy region of U ...

- December 31, 1847 in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

) was a Russian general officer of

Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...

period, later engaged in

urban planning Urban planning, also known as town planning, city planning, regional planning, or rural planning, is a technical and political process that is focused on the development and design of land use and the built environment, including air, water, ...

of Moscow and its suburbs.

Military career

Alexander Bashilov, commissioned on graduation from the

Page Corps The Page Corps (russian: Пажеский корпус; french: Corps des Pages) was a military academy in Imperial Russia, which prepared sons of the nobility and of senior officers for military service. Similarly, the Imperial School of Jurisprud ...

, joined the elite

Preobrazhensky regiment The Preobrazhensky Life-Guards Regiment (russian: Преображенский лейб-гвардии полк, ''Preobrazhensky leyb-gvardii polk'') was a regiment of the Imperial Guard of the Imperial Russian Army from 1683 to 1917. The Pr ...

in January 1798. An aide to

Paul I of Russia Paul I (russian: Па́вел I Петро́вич ; – ) was Emperor of Russia from 1796 until his assassination. Officially, he was the only son of Peter III of Russia, Peter III and Catherine the Great, although Catherine hinted that he w ...

, he quickly rose to the rank of

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

in October 1800. In February 1802 he was stripped of his court titles for "indecent behaviour in a theatre" and transferred to a second-rate infantry regiment. He retired in November 1803 but returned to active service as a commanding officer of

Tambov Tambov (, ; rus, Тамбов, p=tɐmˈbof) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative center of Tambov Oblast, Central Federal District, central Russia, at the confluence of the Tsna River (Moksha basin), Tsna and ...

regiment in 1806. Bashilov was involved in four campaigns: * 1807 - Regimental commander against the French during

War of the Fourth Coalition The Fourth Coalition fought against Napoleon's French Empire and were defeated in a war spanning 1806–1807. The main coalition partners were Prussia and Russia with Saxony, Sweden, and Great Britain also contributing. Excluding Prussia, s ...

* 1809 - Brigade commander in Galician and

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...

n campaign against the Turks during

Russo-Turkish War (1806–1812) The Russo-Turkish War (1806–1812) between the Russian Empire and the Ottoman Empire was one of the Russo-Ottoman Wars. Russia prevailed, but both sides wanted peace as they feared Napoleon's moves to the east. Background The war broke ou ...

, notably the siege of

Pazardzhik Pazardzhik ( bg, Пазарджик ) is a city situated along the banks of the Maritsa river, southern Bulgaria. It is the capital of Pazardzhik Province and centre for the homonymous Pazardzhik Municipality. The Tatars founded Pazardzhik in t ...

. Promoted to General Major in June 1810 * 1812 - Brigade commander against the French during

French invasion of Russia The French invasion of Russia, also known as the Russian campaign, the Second Polish War, the Army of Twenty nations, and the Patriotic War of 1812 was launched by Napoleon Bonaparte to force the Russian Empire back into the continental block ...

. Assigned to Alexander Tormasov's Observation Army, was engaged in defensive action at

Kobryn Kobryn ( be, Кобрын; russian: Кобрин; pl, Kobryń; lt, Kobrynas; uk, Кобринь, Kobryn'; yi, קאָברין) is a city in the Brest Region of Belarus and the center of the Kobryn District. The city is located in the southwest ...

and Gorodechna (July 31, 1812), earning

Order of St. George The Order of Saint George (russian: Орден Святого Георгия, Orden Svyatogo Georgiya) is the highest military decoration of the Russian Federation. Originally established on 26 November 1769 Julian (7 December 1769 Gregorian) a ...

, fourth class for the latter. * 1813 - Siege of

Toruń )'' , image_skyline = , image_caption = , image_flag = POL Toruń flag.svg , image_shield = POL Toruń COA.svg , nickname = City of Angels, Gingerbread city, Copernicus Town , pushpin_map = Kuyavian-Pom ...

. Bashilov, wounded, retired from the Army in May, 1813 for health reasons.

Urban planner

In 1825, Bashilov returned to state service in the office of Governor of Moscow; during

Russo-Turkish War (1828–1829) The Russo-Turkish War of 1828–1829 was sparked by the Greek War of Independence of 1821–1829. War broke out after the Ottoman Sultan Mahmud II closed the Dardanelles to Russian ships and revoked the 1826 Akkerman Convention in retalia ...

he also had a temporary assignment in Army logistics. In 1830–1832, Bashilov headed the Building Commission of Moscow (Комиссия строений в Москве). Bashilov joined the city administration at the time when Moscow was still recovering from the destruction of Fire of 1812. He is remembered for planting the park around

Petrovsky Palace Petrovsky Palace or Petroff Palace, is a palace located in Moscow on Leningradsky Prospect. It was founded in 1780 under the orders of Catherine the Great. History Construction of the palace In the 1770s Catherine the Great decided to bu ...

(then a distant north-western suburb) and planning the regular city grid along Petersburg Highway (present-day

Leningradsky Prospekt Leningradsky Prospekt (russian: Ленингра́дский проспе́кт), or Leningrad Avenue, is a major arterial avenue in Moscow, Russia. It continues the path of Tverskaya Street and 1st Tverskaya-Yamskaya Street north-west from Be ...

) and north from the Palace (present-day

Savyolovsky District Savyolovsky District (russian: Савёловский райо́н) is an administrative district (raion) of Northern Administrative Okrug, and one of the 125 raions of Moscow, Russia. The area of the district is . See also *Administrative divisi ...

). This grid mostly survives to day, including ''Bashilovskaya'' and ''Novaya Bashilovka'' streets. Bashilov owned a house on Petersburg Highway and rented it to the operators of the famous ''Yar'' restaurant; the highway soon became an upper-class recreation area, while the Bashilovka outskirts remained a working-class area. Bashilov and his son Alexander (1807–1854) were buried at lot 14 of

Vagankovo Cemetery Vagankovo Cemetery (russian: Ваганьковское кладбище, Vagan'kovskoye kladbishche), established in 1771, is located in the Presnya district of Moscow. It started in the aftermath of the Moscow plague riot of 1771 outside the cit ...

. Bashilov wrote a book of memoirs about reign of Paul I, printed in posthumously in 1871.

References

* Russian: "Отечественная война 1812 года. Энциклопедия", М, Роспэн, 2004, с.53 * Russian: П.В.Сытин, "Из истории московских улиц", М, 1948, p. 283 (Sytin, History of Moscow Streets) * Russian: online biograph

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bashilov, Alexander Russian commanders of the Napoleonic Wars Imperial Russian Army generals Russian urban planners 1777 births 1847 deaths Burials at Vagankovo Cemetery Privy Councillor (Russian Empire) Russian nobility