Count Ivan Fyodorovich Paskevich-Erevansky, Serene Prince of Warsaw (russian: Ива́н Фёдорович Паске́вич-Эриванский, светлейший князь Варшавский, tr. ; – ) was an

Imperial Russian 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. Th ...

military leader of

Cossack The Cossacks , es, cosaco , et, Kasakad, cazacii , fi, Kasakat, cazacii , french: cosaques , hu, kozákok, cazacii , it, cosacchi , orv, коза́ки, pl, Kozacy , pt, cossacos , ro, cazaci , russian: казаки́ or ...

origin who was the Namiestnik of Poland. Paskevich is known for leading Russian forces in Poland during the

November uprising The November Uprising (1830–31), also known as the Polish–Russian War 1830–31 or the Cadet Revolution, was an armed rebellion in the heartland of partitioned Poland against the Russian Empire. The uprising began on 29 November 1830 in W ...

and for a series of leadership roles throughout the early and mid-19th century, such as the Russo-Persian War (1826–28) and the beginning phase of the

Crimean War The Crimean War, , was fought from October 1853 to February 1856 between Russia and an ultimately victorious alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom and Piedmont-Sardinia. Geopolitical causes of the war included the ...

. Paskevich started as an officer during the Napoleonic wars serving in the battles of Austerlitz and Borodino. After the war, he was a leader in the Russo-Persian War (1826–28). He was made

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 ...

Yerevan Yerevan ( , , hy, Երևան , sometimes spelled Erevan) is the capital and largest city of Armenia and one of the world's oldest continuously inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Yerevan is the administrative, cultural, and i ...

in 1828. Afterward, he became Namiestnik of Poland in 1831 after he crushed the Polish rebels in the November uprising. He then helped crush the Hungarian Revolution of 1848. His last engagement was the Crimean War. Paskevich died in Warsaw in 1856. He attained the rank of

field marshal Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, ordinarily senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army and as such few persons are appointed to it. It is considered as ...

in the Russian army, and later in the Prussian and

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

n armies.

Early life

Ivan Paskevich was born in

Poltava Poltava (, ; uk, Полтава ) is a city located on the Vorskla River in central Ukraine. It is the capital city of the Poltava Oblast (province) and of the surrounding Poltava Raion (district) of the oblast. Poltava is administrativel ...

on 19 May 1782, to the Paskevich family of Zaporozhian Cossack

gentry Gentry (from Old French ''genterie'', from ''gentil'', "high-born, noble") are "well-born, genteel and well-bred people" of high social class, especially in the past. Word similar to gentle imple and decentfamilies ''Gentry'', in its widest c ...

He was educated at the Page Corps, where his progress was rapid, and in 1800 received his commission in the Guards and was named aide-de-camp to the

tsar Tsar ( or ), also spelled ''czar'', ''tzar'', or ''csar'', is a title used by East and South Slavic monarchs. The term is derived from the Latin word ''caesar'', which was intended to mean "emperor" in the European medieval sense of the ter ...

Early Military Career

Napoleonic Wars

His first active service was in 1805, in the auxiliary army sent to the assistance of Austria against

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, when he took part in the

Battle of Austerlitz The Battle of Austerlitz (2 December 1805/11 Frimaire An XIV FRC), also known as the Battle of the Three Emperors, was one of the most important and decisive engagements of the Napoleonic Wars. The battle occurred near the town of Austerlitz ...

, 2 December 1805, where Austrian – Russian troops were defeated by the French under

Napoleon 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 wh ...

. From 1807 to 1812, Ivan Paskevich was engaged in the campaigns against the

Ottomans The Ottoman Turks ( tr, Osmanlı Türkleri), were the Turkic founding and sociopolitically the most dominant ethnic group of the Ottoman Empire ( 1299/1302–1922). Reliable information about the early history of Ottoman Turks remains scarce, ...

, and distinguished himself by many brilliant and daring exploits, being made a general officer in his thirtieth year. During the war with France in 1812–1814 he was in command of the 26th division of

infantry Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and mar ...

, and he won promotion to the rank of

lieutenant general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on th ...

. During and after Napoleon's invasion of Russia Paskevich was engaged in the battles of Borodino,

Dresden Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label= Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth ...

Leipzig Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as ...

, and Paris (1814). Ivan Paskevich wrote a memoir of some of his experiences during the Napoleonic wars.

The 1820s and the Russo-Persian War

Before the Russo-Persian War (1826–28) then Lieutenant General Paskevich was made commander of the 1st Guard Infantry. In the unit the brother of Tsar Alexander and future

Tsar Nicholas I , house = Romanov-Holstein-Gottorp , father = Paul I of Russia , mother = Maria Feodorovna (Sophie Dorothea of Württemberg) , birth_date = , birth_place = Gatchina Palace, Gatchina, Russian Empire , death_date = ...

. This started a relationship that had the future Tsar calling Ivan Paskevich "father-Commander" On the outbreak of Russo-Persian War (1826–28) in 1826 he was appointed second in command, and, in the spring of the following year he replaced Aleksey Petrovich Yermolov as chief command. Under his leadership, Echmiadzin and the Nakhichevan Khanate were conquered from the Persians. After the Persians unsuccessfully tried to recapture Echmiadzin, the tsar granted Paskevich the title of "Erivanskii" (''Count of

),'' a million

rubles The ruble (American English) or rouble (Commonwealth English) (; rus, рубль, p=rublʲ) is the currency unit of Belarus and Russia. Historically, it was the currency of the Russian Empire and of the Soviet Union. , currencies named ''rub ...

and a

diamond Diamond is a solid form of the element carbon with its atoms arranged in a crystal structure called diamond cubic. Another solid form of carbon known as graphite is the chemically stable form of carbon at room temperature and pressure, b ...

-mounted sword for his services. The Russo-Turkish War, 1828–1829 immediately followed and he successfully led the eastern or Caucasus front. For this he was made a

Field Marshal Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, ordinarily senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army and as such few persons are appointed to it. It is considered as ...

at the age of forty-seven. In 1830, he was engaged in the Caucasian War on the territory of present-day

Dagestan Dagestan ( ; rus, Дагеста́н, , dəɡʲɪˈstan, links=yes), officially the Republic of Dagestan (russian: Респу́блика Дагеста́н, Respúblika Dagestán, links=no), is a republic of Russia situated in the North Ca ...

. At the same time he appointed the high-ranking Muslim cleric Mir-Fatah-Agha from

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

as head of the recently established Caucasus Committee. Paskevich hoped that by the help of Mir-Fatah's high stature in the Muslim community, he could make a very valuable contribution to the Russian consolidation of power in the Caucasus. Together with Mir-Fatah's high esteem among Muslims and his devised plans for the Caucasus, they managed to keep the entire

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, mainly comprising Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and parts of Southern Russia. The Caucasus Mountains, including the Greater Caucasus range, have historica ...

stable from rebellious Muslim insurrections for many years to come.

Polish Uprising and the Hungarian Revolution

In June 1831, after the death of Field Marshal von Diebitsch, commander of Russian troops in

Congress Poland Congress Poland, Congress Kingdom of Poland, or Russian Poland, formally known as the Kingdom of Poland, was a polity created in 1815 by the Congress of Vienna as a semi-autonomous Polish state, a successor to Napoleon's Duchy of Warsaw. I ...

, Paskevich was appointed his successor in crushing the Polish uprising. His armies, following the Battle of Ostrołęka in May, advanced slowly, but Paskevich redeemed his reputation at the Battle of Warsaw, giving a death blow to Polish hopes of restoring independence. He was created ''Prince of Warsaw'' and awarded the office of

Namestnik of the Kingdom of Poland The Namiestnik (or Viceroy) of the Kingdom of Poland ( pl, namiestnik Królestwa Polskiego, russian: наместник Царства Польского) was the deputy of the Emperor of Russia who, under Congress Poland (1815–1874), styled himse ...

. With the kingdom's autonomy limited by the Organic Statute of the Kingdom of Poland, the period under Namestnik Paskevich – known in Poland as the "Paskevich Night" – became infamous for political and economic repressions, as well as for

Russification Russification (russian: русификация, rusifikatsiya), or Russianization, is a form of cultural assimilation in which non-Russians, whether involuntarily or voluntarily, give up their culture and language in favor of the Russian cult ...

. On the outbreak of the Hungarian Revolution of 1848 he was appointed to command the Russian troops sent to aid Austria, and finally compelled the Hungarians' surrender at Világos. Ivan Paskevich1

Late Carrer

In 1854 Paskevich took command of the Army of the

Danube The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , pa ...

, which was then engaging the Turks in the initial stage of the conflict which evolved into the

. Though he laid siege to Silistria, Paskevich advocated aborting the campaign due to Austria's threat to intervene in the war. On 9 June he suffered a combat injury and was compelled to return to Russia, handing command of the army to General Mikhail Dmitrievich Gorchakov. Paskevich died in Warsaw, where in 1870 a

memorial A memorial is an object or place which serves as a focus for the memory or the commemoration of something, usually an influential, deceased person or a historical, tragic event. Popular forms of memorials include landmark objects or works of ...

was erected to him before the Koniecpolski Palace. It was demolished in October 1917 by the Poles. His remains were reburied by his son in the family mausoleum on the grounds of the Homel Palace. Both Paskevich's titles, Prince of Warsaw and Count of Erevan, went extinct with the death of his only son Lt. Gen. Fedor Paskevich in 1903.

References

General references

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Paskevich, Ivan 1782 births 1856 deaths People from Poltava Russian people of Ukrainian descent Field marshals of Russia Russian nobility Russian commanders of the Napoleonic Wars People of the Russo-Persian Wars Russo-Turkish War (1828–29) Russian people of the November Uprising People of the Revolutions of 1848 Members of the State Council (Russian Empire) Namestniks of the Kingdom of Poland Caucasus Viceroyalty (1801–1917) 1820s in Georgia (country) Recipients of the Order of St. George of the First Degree Recipients of the Order of St. George of the Second Degree Recipients of the Order of St. George of the Third Degree Recipients of the Order of the White Eagle (Russia) Knights Grand Cross of the Military Order of William Russian military personnel of the Caucasian War Grand Crosses of the Military Order of Max Joseph Grand Crosses of the Military Order of Maria Theresa People of the Caucasian War