Count Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...

Anton Bogdanovich de Balmen () was a

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

general of

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

origin, Governor-General of

Kursk Kursk ( rus, Курск, p=ˈkursk) is a city and the administrative center of Kursk Oblast, Russia, located at the confluence of the Kur, Tuskar, and Seym rivers. The area around Kursk was the site of a turning point in the Soviet–German stru ...

and

Oryol Oryol ( rus, Орёл, p=ɐˈrʲɵl, lit. ''eagle''), also transliterated as Orel or Oriol, is a city and the administrative center of Oryol Oblast situated on the Oka River, approximately south-southwest of Moscow. It is part of the Central Fed ...

, commander of the Russian Caucasian corps.

Biography

A member of the de Balmens, his father came to Russia during the reign of Empress

Anna Anna may refer to: People Surname and given name * Anna (name) Mononym * Anna the Prophetess, in the Gospel of Luke * Anna (wife of Artabasdos) (fl. 715–773) * Anna (daughter of Boris I) (9th–10th century) * Anna (Anisia) (fl. 1218 to 1221) ...

and entered the Russian service as a major. Since childhood, Anton de Balmen was enlisted in the

Preobrazhensky Life Guards 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 P ...

. In 1758 he was an ensign, three years later a lieutenant colonel. He participated in the

Russian-Turkish war The Russo-Turkish wars (or Ottoman–Russian wars) were a series of twelve wars fought between the Russian Empire and the Ottoman Empire between the 16th and 20th centuries. It was one of the longest series of military conflicts in European histor ...

in 1770, as commander of the Rostov Carabinieri Regiment, where he distinguished himself during the assault on Bendery and the capture of the Perekop fortifications and the city of Kaffa by storm. Rose to the rank of Major-General in 1774. He served in the army in Ukraine, participated in the liquidation of the

Zaporozhian Sich The Zaporozhian Sich ( ua, Запорозька Січ, ; also uk, Вольностi Вiйська Запорозького Низового, ; Free lands of the Zaporozhian Host the Lower) was a semi-autonomous polity and proto-state of Cos ...

. He was promoted to Lieutenant-general in 1780. In 1784, de Balmain was appointed director of

First Cadet Corps The First Cadet Corps was a military school in Saint Petersburg. History of creation The initiative to create cadet corps for noblemen in Russia belonged to Count Pavel Yaguzhinsky. By the decree of Empress Anna Ioannovna of July 29, 1731, the Se ...

. From 1786 to 1789 he was the Governor-General of

and

. On November 20, 1786, he was awarded the

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 ...

of the 4th degree. He was appointed commander of Russian Caucasian corps from May to October 1790, during the war with Ottoman Empire, where, after the unsuccessful expedition of General Yuri Bibikov to

Anapa Anapa (russian: Ана́па, ) is a town in Krasnodar Krai, Russia, located on the northern coast of the Black Sea near the Sea of Azov. Population: History The area around Anapa was settled in antiquity. It was originally a major seaport (Sin ...

, matters were in extremely poor condition. De Balmen arrived in the Caucasus completely ill with consumption and died on October 4, 1790 in

Georgievsk Georgiyevsk (russian: Гео́ргиевск) ( os, Гуым) is a historical town in Stavropol Krai, Russia, located in the North Caucasus on submontane tableland on the right bank of the Podkumok River (a tributary of the Kuma River), sou ...

. Among other awards, Balmen had the

Order of St. Alexander Nevsky The Imperial Order of Saint Alexander Nevsky was an order of chivalry of the Russian Empire first awarded on by Empress Catherine I of Russia. History The introduction of the Imperial Order of Saint Alexander Nevsky was envisioned by Empero ...

Family

He was married to Countess Elena Antonovna de Vieira, granddaughter of

Peter I Peter I may refer to: Religious hierarchs * Saint Peter (c. 1 AD – c. 64–88 AD), a.k.a. Simon Peter, Simeon, or Simon, apostle of Jesus * Pope Peter I of Alexandria (died 311), revered as a saint * Peter I of Armenia (died 1058), Catholico ...

's associate

Anton de Vieira António Manuel de Vieira, known in Russia as Count Anton Manuilovich Devier (also spelled Divier, Антон Мануилович Девиер (1682? – ), was one of Peter I's foreign associates, who proved to be an efficient administrator ...

(1682-1745). For the merits of Count de Balmen, Empress

Catherine II , en, Catherine Alexeievna Romanova, link=yes , house = , father = Christian August, Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst , mother = Joanna Elisabeth of Holstein-Gottorp , birth_date = , birth_name = Princess Sophie of Anha ...

granted his widow 500 serfs and several thousand acres of land, and placed the children in educational institutions at public expense. They had several children: * Alexander Antonovich (1781-1848), was brought up in the

. He was a Russian commissar under

Napoleon I Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

during his stay on the island of

St. Helena Saint Helena () is a British overseas territory located in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is a remote volcanic tropical island west of the coast of south-western Africa, and east of Rio de Janeiro in South America. It is one of three constitu ...

in 1815-1821. His notes were placed in the "Russian Archive" for 1868. He was married to Glafira Nikolaevna Svistunova (1801-18?). Grandfather of Elizabeth Augustovna Shar (1858-1888), wife of the artist

Vasily Surikov Vasily Ivanovich Surikov (Russian: Василий Иванович Суриков; 24 January 1848 – 19 March 1916) was a Russian Realist history painter. Many of his works have become familiar to the general public through their use as illus ...

(1848-1916). * Sofya Antonovna (d. 1822), graduate of the Smolny Institute, married to M. S. Kozlovsky (1774-1853). * Elena Antonovna, a graduate of the Smolny Institute. * Karl Antonovich (1786-1812), major general, died of wounds in Vilna. * Pyotr Antonovich, graduate of the Corps of Pages. ** Yakov (1813-1845), was an adjutant of General

Alexander von Lüders Count Alexander Nikolayevich Liders (russian: Алекса́ндр Никола́евич Ли́дерс, tr. ; 14 January 1790 – 2 February 1874), better known as Alexander von Lüders, was a Russian general and Namestnik of the Kingdom of Pol ...

and died in the Caucasus in the Dargin expedition of 1845 ** Sergei (1816–?), a close friend of

Taras Shevchenko Taras Hryhorovych Shevchenko ( uk, Тарас Григорович Шевченко , pronounced without the middle name; – ), also known as Kobzar Taras, or simply Kobzar (a kobzar is a bard in Ukrainian culture), was a Ukraine, Ukrainian p ...

, was arrested in 1848 and was under police surveillance. ** Alexander (1819-1879), commanded the 3rd Brigade of the 2nd Guards Cavalry Division in the Russian-Turkish war of 1877-78

Sources

* * {{authority control 1741 births 1790 deaths Russian people of Scottish descent Russian generals Recipients of the Order of St. Anna, 1st class Recipients of the Order of St. George of the Fourth Degree People of the Caucasian War People of the Russo-Turkish War (1768–1774)