Stepan Stepanovich Apraksin (russian: Степан Степанович Апраксин, 1757 – 1827) was a Russian military commander and aristocrat, the only son of Stepan Fedorovich Apraksin, likewise a famed military commander and a high-ranking military commander in the Russian army. Stepan Stepanovich Apraksin was born 1757. He started his military career at the age of ten, after being admitted to the

Semenovsky Regiment The Semyonovsky Lifeguard Regiment (, ) was one of the two oldest guard regiments of the Imperial Russian Army. The other one was the Preobrazhensky Regiment. In 2013, it was recreated for the Russian Armed Forces as a rifle regiment, its na ...

. Initially serving with the rank of ensign, he received military training there and in 1772 he started active service with the army in the rank of captain. Transferred to Kiev, he served as an officer in the local infantry regiment. With his unit he took part in the

Russo-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 histo ...

of 1768–1774. For his service in the Crimean campaign, in 1777 he was promoted to the rank of Colonel. Quickly rising through the ranks of the tsarist army, in 1783 Apraksin was promoted to the rank of

Brigadier Brigadier is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several thousand soldiers. I ...

and attached to the 20th

Astrakhan Astrakhan ( rus, Астрахань, p=ˈastrəxənʲ) is the largest city and administrative centre of Astrakhan Oblast in Southern Russia. The city lies on two banks of the Volga, in the upper part of the Volga Delta, on eleven islands of the ...

Regiment, with which he fought with distinction in the Caucasus. In 1786 he was again promoted, this time to the rank of Major General. Appointed the commander of Astrakhan Dragoon Regiment, he took part in the famous siege of

Ochakov Ochakiv, also known as Ochakov ( uk, Оча́ків, ; russian: Очаков; crh, Özü; ro, Oceacov and ''Vozia'', and Alektor ( in Greek), is a small city in Mykolaiv Raion, Mykolaiv Oblast (region) of southern Ukraine. It hosts the adminis ...

during the

of 1787–1792. After the end of hostilities Apraksin was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant General and in 1794 he took part in suppression of Kościuszko's Uprising in

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

. Following the

Third Partition of Poland The Third Partition of Poland (1795) was the last in a series of the Partitions of Poland–Lithuania and the land of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth among Prussia, the Habsburg monarchy, and the Russian Empire which effectively ended Polis ...

, he commanded the border troops at the new frontiers with Austria and Turkey. In 1798, at the age of 41, he retired from active service, supposedly due to serious illness. However, soon after the coronation of

Alexander I of Russia Alexander I (; – ) was Emperor of Russia from 1801, the first King of Congress Poland from 1815, and the Grand Duke of Finland from 1809 to his death. He was the eldest son of Emperor Paul I and Sophie Dorothea of Württemberg. The son o ...

he returned to the army and in 1803 was made the governor of

Smolensk Smolensk ( rus, Смоленск, p=smɐˈlʲensk, a=smolensk_ru.ogg) is a city and the administrative center of Smolensk Oblast, Russia, located on the Dnieper River, west-southwest of Moscow. First mentioned in 863, it is one of the oldest ...

. During the

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 ...

he again assumed the role of a front-line commander and took part in the fights as a commander of the 16th infantry division. After 1809 he finally retired and settled 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 millio ...

, where he ultimately died in 1827.

Family

Apraksin was married to Ekaterina née Golitsin, a daughter of a mighty Russian

aristocratic family Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. The characterist ...

. They had three children: two daughters and a son, Vladimir Apraksin (b. 1796), who later became the aide to tsar Alexander I.

External links

Apraksin's portrait
{{DEFAULTSORT:Apraksin, Stepan 1757 births 1827 deaths Russian nobility Imperial Russian Army generals Russian people of the Kościuszko Uprising