Prince Vasily Mikhailovich Dolgorukov-Krymsky (

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 ...

: Князь Васи́лий Миха́йлович Долгору́ков-Кры́мский; 1 July 1722 – 30 January 1782) was a general of the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

and

Governor-General of Moscow Tsardom of Russia and Russian Empire Governorates of the Russian Empire was created by the edict (ukase) of Peter the Great on 18 December 1708 "On the establishment of the gubernias and cities assigned to them", which divided Russia into eig ...

from 1780 to 1782. Already a seasoned veteran of several wars, he was a senior military commander of the Russo-Turkish War of 1768–1774, where his forces occupied the

Crimean Khanate The Crimean Khanate ( crh, , or ), officially the Great Horde and Desht-i Kipchak () and in old European historiography and geography known as Little Tartary ( la, Tartaria Minor), was a Crimean Tatars, Crimean Tatar state existing from 1441 to ...

, from which he derived his honorary title of "Krymsky". He was the original builder and owner of the

House of the Unions The House of the Unions (russian: Дом Союзов) (also called ''Palace of the Unions'') is a historic building in the Tverskoy District in central Moscow, Russia. It is situated on the corner of Bolshaya Dmitrovka and Okhotny Ryad streets. ...

and numerous other historic mansions that dot the city of

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 ...

Biography

Vasily Mikhailovich was the son of senator and governor of

Siberia Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a part of ...

Prince Mikhail Vladimirovich Dolgorukov from his marriage to Princess Yevdokiya Yurievna Odoyevskaya. His childhood was marked by the disgrace and imprisonment of his uncle

Vasily Vladimirovich Dolgorukov Prince Vasily Vladimirovich Dolgorukov (russian: Князь Василий Владимирович Долгоруков; c. January 1667 – 11 February 1746, Saint Petersburg) was a Russian commander and politician, promoted to Field Marshal ( ...

under the reign of Empress

Anna Ioannovna Anna Ioannovna (russian: Анна Иоанновна; ), also russified as Anna Ivanovna and sometimes anglicized as Anne, served as regent of the duchy of Courland from 1711 until 1730 and then ruled as Empress of Russia from 1730 to 1740. Much ...

, which affected the entire family. Vasily Mikhailovich was inducted into the military as a private in 1735 at the age of 13, where he gained his first combat experience fighting under Field Marshal

Burkhard Christoph von Münnich Burkhard Christoph Graf von Münnich (, tr. ; – ) was a German-born army officer who became a field marshal and political figure in the Russian Empire. He carried out major reforms in the Russian Army and founded several elite militar ...

in the Crimea. He would distinguish himself at the Siege of Perekop. Before the storming of the fortress, Münnich promised that the first soldier to ascend the fortifications alive would be promoted to officer. Young Dolgorukov would prove to be that soldier, and was given the rank of

poruchik The rank of lieutenant in Eastern Europe ( hr, poručnik, cs, poručík, pl, porucznik, russian: script=latn, poruchik, sr, script=latn, poručnik, sk, poručík) is one used in Slavophone armed forces. Depending on the country, it is either ...

. When Anna had ascended the throne, she had ordered that no one from the Dolgorukov family be granted officer rank in the military, that they could only be allowed in the enlisted ranks. According to research by

Valentin Pikul Valentin Savvich Pikul (russian: Валенти́н Са́ввич Пи́куль) (July 13, 1928 – July 16, 1990) was a popular and prolific Soviet historical novelist of Ukrainian-Russian heritage. He lived and worked in Riga. Pikul's novels w ...

, Münnich reported the events of the siege to the Empress in person, including his act of promoting Vasily. Anna simply replied to her general, "Do not take away my sword from this suckling", and so Vasily Mikhailovich became the only member of his entire noble clan to be exempted from the ban during her ten-year reign. Under the rule of

Elizabeth Petrovna Elizabeth Petrovna (russian: Елизаве́та (Елисаве́та) Петро́вна) (), also known as Yelisaveta or Elizaveta, reigned as Empress of Russia from 1741 until her death in 1762. She remains one of the most popular Russian ...

, Dolgorukov would find himself promoted rapidly through the ranks. In 1741 he would be made a captain, and by 1745 would be a lieutenant-colonel and adjutant to his now rehabilitated uncle Vasily Vladamirovich, who had been appointed president of the Collegium of War, the body that oversaw the entire Imperial Army. In 1747 he was made a full colonel and given command over his own regiment, the Tobolsk Infantry. According to the recollections of Prince

Yakov Shakhovskoy Prince Yakov Petrovich Shakhovskoy (russian: Яков Петрович Шаховской) (8 October 1705 – 23 July 1777) was a Russian statesman. Prince Yakov Shakhovskoy was born in the family of Prince Pyotr Ivanovich Shakhovskoy, who d ...

, which he cited from his personal notes,http://imwerden.de/pdf/zapiski_kn_yakova_petrovicha_shahovskogo_1821.pdf Dolgorukov conspicuously studied from his fellow commanders to improve his knowledge of military affairs.

Seven Years' War

Dolgorukov, now a major-general, served in the

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War (1756–1763) was a global conflict that involved most of the European Great Powers, and was fought primarily in Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific. Other concurrent conflicts include the French and Indian War (1754� ...

, distinguishing himself at both the Siege of Küstrin and the subsequent

Battle of Zorndorf The Battle of Zorndorf, during the Seven Years' War, was fought on 25 August 1758 between Russian troops commanded by Count William Fermor and a Prussian army commanded by King Frederick the Great. The battle was tactically inconclusive, with b ...

in August 1758. For the valor he demonstrated at Küstrin, he would later be promoted to lieutenant-general and awarded the

Order of Alexander Nevsky The Order of Alexander Nevsky ( ''orden Alexandra Nevskogo'') is an order of merit of the Russian Federation named in honour of saint Alexander Nevsky (1220–1263) and bestowed to civil servants for twenty years or more of highly meritorious se ...

. Towards the end of this campaign Dolgorukov was wounded in the leg by

canister shot Canister shot is a kind of anti-personnel artillery ammunition. Canister shot has been used since the advent of gunpowder-firing artillery in Western armies. However, canister shot saw particularly frequent use on land and at sea in the various ...

, and had to seek treatment for his injury, but the General recovered in time to lead an infantry brigade at the Kunersdorf. He was also present at the Third Siege of Kolberg as one of Rumyanstev's subordinates. When

Catherine the Great , 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 Anhal ...

took power towards the end of the war, she made a point of favoring Dolgorukov for his service, having him promoted to general-in-chief on the day of her formal coronation. In 1767 she would award him the

Order of St. Andrew The Order of St. Andrew the Apostle the First-Called (russian: Орден Святого апостола Андрея Первозванного, translit=Orden Svyatogo apostola Andreya Pervozvannogo) is the highest order conferred by both the ...

, the highest order of knighthood in the Russian Empire.

Russo-Turkish War of 1768–1774

In 1769 Prince Dolgorukov was assigned the mission to cordon off the border between the Russia and the

with his detachment of troops. The next year he succeeded

Petr Ivanovich Panin General Count Pyotr Ivanovich Panin () (1721 – April 15, 1789), younger brother of Nikita Ivanovich Panin, fought with distinction in the Seven Years' War and in the Russo-Turkish War of 1768–1774, capturing Bender on September 26, 17 ...

as commander of the 2nd Field Army.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dolgorukov-Krymsky, Vasily Mikhailovich 1722 births 1782 deaths Vasily Mikhailovich Recipients of the Order of St. George of the First Degree Russian military personnel of the Seven Years' War Governors-General of Moscow