Pavel Vasilievich Chichagov or Tchichagov (russian: Па́вел Васи́льевич Чича́гов) (20 August 1849) was a Russian military and naval commander of 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 was born in 1767 in

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

, the son of Admiral

Vasili Chichagov Vasili Yakovlevich Chichagov (russian: Василий Яковлевич Чичагов; 28 February 1726 – 4 April 1809) was an admiral in the Russian Navy and an explorer. He was the father of Pavel Chichagov, a Russian admiral during the ...

and his English wife. At the age of 12 he was enlisted in the Guard. In 1782 he served in a campaign in the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the e ...

as an aide to his father. He served with distinction in the Russian-Swedish War of 1788–1790, where he commanded the ''Rostislav'' and 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 ...

, fourth degree, and a golden sword with the inscription "For Courage". After the war, he studied at the

Royal Naval Academy The Royal Naval Academy was a facility established in 1733 in Portsmouth Dockyard to train officers for the Royal Navy. The founders' intentions were to provide an alternative means to recruit officers and to provide standardised training, educa ...

. While there, he met Elizabeth Proby, the daughter of a commissioner at the

Chatham Chatham may refer to: Places and jurisdictions Canada * Chatham Islands (British Columbia) * Chatham Sound, British Columbia * Chatham, New Brunswick, a former town, now a neighbourhood of Miramichi * Chatham (electoral district), New Brunswic ...

dockyard, and became engaged to her. When he returned to Russia in 1796, he applied for permission to marry but was told by

Paul I Paul I may refer to: *Paul of Samosata (200–275), Bishop of Antioch *Paul I of Constantinople (died c. 350), Archbishop of Constantinople *Pope Paul I (700–767) *Paul I Šubić of Bribir (c. 1245–1312), Ban of Croatia and Lord of Bosnia *Paul ...

"there are sufficient brides in Russia; there is no need to look for one in England." Some violence followed and Chichagov was sent to prison. He was soon pardoned, given permission to marry Elizabeth, and promoted to rear admiral. In 1802,

Alexander I Alexander I may refer to: * Alexander I of Macedon, king of Macedon 495–454 BC * Alexander I of Epirus (370–331 BC), king of Epirus * Pope Alexander I (died 115), early bishop of Rome * Pope Alexander I of Alexandria (died 320s), patriarch of ...

, Paul's successor, promoted Chichagov to Vice Admiral and made him a member of the Committee on Navy Reorganization. In 1807, he was promoted to Admiral and appointed Minister of the Navy. Chichagov resigned and traveled in Europe in 1809–1811. Elizabeth died in 1811. In 1812, Alexander recalled him and appointed him Commander in Chief of the newly formed

Third Western Army Third or 3rd may refer to: Numbers * 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3 * , a fraction of one third * Second#Sexagesimal divisions of calendar time and day, 1⁄60 of a ''second'', or 1⁄3600 of a ''minute'' Places * 3rd Street (d ...

and Governor-General of

Moldavia Moldavia ( ro, Moldova, or , literally "The Country of Moldavia"; in Romanian Cyrillic: or ; chu, Землѧ Молдавскаѧ; el, Ἡγεμονία τῆς Μολδαβίας) is a historical region and former principality in Centr ...

and

Wallachia Wallachia or Walachia (; ro, Țara Românească, lit=The Romanian Land' or 'The Romanian Country, ; archaic: ', Romanian Cyrillic alphabet: ) is a historical and geographical region of Romania. It is situated north of the Lower Danube and so ...

. However, the 1812 Treaty of Bucharest ended 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 histor ...

by the time he took command of the army. During the 1812 campaign against

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 who ...

, he was blamed for letting Napoleon escape at the

Berezina River The Berezina or Biarezina ( be, Бярэ́зіна; ) is a river in Belarus and a right tributary of the Dnieper. The river starts in the Berezinsky Biosphere Reserve. The length of the Berezina is 613 km. The width of the river is 15-20 m, the ...

in November 1812. In 1813, he was dismissed and the following year went to France on a furlough, never to return to Russia. He remained a member of the State Council until 1834 but was then removed from that position, and his properties confiscated. He died in Paris in 1849 where, after his death, his memoirs were published.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chichagov, Pavel 1767 births 1849 deaths Imperial Russian Navy admirals Russian commanders of the Napoleonic Wars Military personnel from Saint Petersburg Russian people of the Napoleonic Wars Members of the State Council (Russian Empire) French invasion of Russia Emigrants from the Russian Empire to the United Kingdom Russian people of English descent