Prince Alexander Sergeyevich Menshikov (russian: Князь Алекса́ндр Серге́евич Ме́ншиков; 26 August 17872 May 1869) was a Russian nobleman, military commander and statesman. He was made

adjutant general An adjutant general is a military chief administrative officer. France In Revolutionary France, the was a senior staff officer, effectively an assistant to a general officer. It was a special position for lieutenant-colonels and colonels in staf ...

in 1817 and admiral in 1833. A great-grandson of

Alexander Danilovich Menshikov Prince Aleksander Danilovich Menshikov (russian: Алекса́ндр Дани́лович Ме́ншиков, tr. ; – ) was a Russian statesman, whose official titles included Generalissimo, Prince of the Russian Empire and Duke of Izho ...

Duke of Ingria Ingria is a historical region in what is now northwestern European Russia. It lies along the southeastern shore of the Gulf of Finland, bordered by Lake Ladoga on the Karelian Isthmus in the north and by the River Narva on the border with ...

, and a

cognatic Cognatic kinship is a mode of descent calculated from an ancestor counted through any combination of male and female links, or a system of bilateral kinship where relations are traced through both a father and mother. Such relatives may be known ...

descendant of the Princely House of Golitsyn (another of his great-grandfathers was Prince

Mikhail Golitsyn Prince Mikhail Mikhailovich Golitsyn or Galitzin (russian: Михаи́л Миха́йлович Голи́цын, tr. ; 1 November 1675 in Moscow – 10 December 1730) was a Russian Imperial field marshal (1725) and a president of the Colleg ...

, the military governor of

Åbo Turku ( ; ; sv, Åbo, ) is a city and former capital on the southwest coast of Finland at the mouth of the Aura River, in the region of Finland Proper (''Varsinais-Suomi'') and the former Turku and Pori Province (''Turun ja Porin lääni''; ...

during the Russian occupation in the

Great Northern War The Great Northern War (1700–1721) was a conflict in which a coalition led by the Tsardom of Russia successfully contested the supremacy of the Swedish Empire in Northern, Central and Eastern Europe. The initial leaders of the anti-Swedi ...

). Menshikov entered the

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

n service as attaché to the embassy at

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

in 1809. He became close to

Tsar Alexander I 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 of G ...

and accompanied him throughout his campaigns 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 ...

. In 1817 Menshikov was appointed acting Quartermaster general of the

General Staff A military staff or general staff (also referred to as army staff, navy staff, or air staff within the individual services) is a group of officers, enlisted and civilian staff who serve the commander of a division or other large military un ...

. In 1823, he was transferred to the

ministry of foreign affairs In many countries, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the government department responsible for the state's diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral relations affairs as well as for providing support for a country's citizens who are abroad. The entit ...

. Menshikov retired from army service in 1824. During the initiation of the Russo-Persian War of 1826–28 and the success of

Abbas Mirza Abbas Mirza ( fa, عباس میرزا; August 26, 1789October 25, 1833) was a Qajar crown prince of Iran. He developed a reputation as a military commander during the Russo-Persian War of 1804–1813 and the Russo-Persian War of 1826–1828, as ...

's initiative in Tehran, Menshikov was placed under house arrest. He was appointed head of the

Naval Headquarters A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions. It includ ...

and cabinet minister by

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 = ...

. He distinguished himself at the

Siege of Varna The siege of Varna (July–September 29, 1828) was a battle during the Russo-Turkish War, 1828–1829. History Varna was held by the Ottoman army. An approach to Varna by Russian forces was first attempted on June 28, but the Russian ava ...

in 1828 when an exploding Turkish cannon shell emasculated him. In 1830 he became a member of the

State Council State Council may refer to: Government * State Council of the Republic of Korea, the national cabinet of South Korea, headed by the President * State Council of the People's Republic of China, the national cabinet and chief administrative auth ...

. In 1831 Menshikov held the post of

Governor-General of Finland The governor-general of Finland ( fi, Suomen kenraalikuvernööri; sv, generalguvernör över Finland; russian: генерал-губернатор Финляндии) was the military commander and the highest administrator of Finland sporadic ...

. He mainly devoted himself to naval matters. His bad influence on the development of the Russian Navy stalled its technical progress and combat training. In 1853, Menshikov was sent on a special mission to

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...

,Badem, Candan (2010) '' The Ottoman Crimean War (1853–1856)'', , pp. 72–79 and when 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 de ...

broke out he was appointed commander-in-chief on land and sea. He commanded the

Russian army The Russian Ground Forces (russian: Сухопутные войска �ВSukhoputnyye voyska V}), also known as the Russian Army (, ), are the land forces of the Russian Armed Forces. The primary responsibilities of the Russian Ground Force ...

Alma Alma or ALMA may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Alma'' (film), a 2009 Spanish short animated film * ''Alma'' (Oswald de Andrade novel), 1922 * ''Alma'' (Le Clézio novel), 2017 * ''Alma'' (play), a 1996 drama by Joshua Sobol about Alma ...

and

Inkerman Inkerman ( uk, Інкерман, russian: Инкерман, crh, İnkerman) is a city in the Crimean peninsula. It is '' de facto'' within the federal city of Sevastopol within the Russian Federation, but '' de jure'' within Ukraine. It li ...

and showed incompetence and lack of military talent. On 15 February 1855 Menshikov was removed from command and replaced by Prince

Mikhail Dmitrievich Gorchakov Prince Mikhail Dmitrievich Gorchakov (russian: Михаи́л Дми́триевич Горчако́в, pl, Michaił Dymitrowicz Gorczakow; – , Warsaw) was a Russian General of the Artillery from the Gorchakov family, who commanded the ...

. Between December 1855 and April 1856, he held the post of Governor General of

Kronstadt Kronstadt (russian: Кроншта́дт, Kronshtadt ), also spelled Kronshtadt, Cronstadt or Kronštádt (from german: link=no, Krone for "crown" and ''Stadt'' for "city") is a Russian port city in Kronshtadtsky District of the federal city of ...

and then retired. He died in

St. 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 ...

. He was created Prince (

Fürst ' (, female form ', plural '; from Old High German ', "the first", a translation of the Latin ') is a German word for a ruler and is also a princely title. ' were, since the Middle Ages, members of the highest nobility who ruled over states of ...

) in the

Finnish nobility The Finnish nobility ( fi, Aateli; sv, Adel) was historically a privileged class in Finland, deriving from its period as part of Sweden and the Russian Empire. Noble families and their descendants are still a part of Finnish republican society, bu ...

, being the only person of the rank of prince to be registered in the

Finnish House of Nobility The House of Nobility either refers to the institution of the Finnish nobility or the palace of the noble estate. The Finnish nobility was until 1906 the first of the four estates of the realm. The Estate The estate of nobility existed fully st ...

. The first Finnish

steamship A steamship, often referred to as a steamer, is a type of steam-powered vessel, typically ocean-faring and seaworthy, that is propelled by one or more steam engines that typically move (turn) propellers or paddlewheels. The first steamships ...

'' Furst Menschikoff'' was named after him.

References

Sources

* , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Menshikov, Alexander Sergeyevich 1787 births 1869 deaths Imperial Russian Navy admirals Russian military personnel of the Crimean War Russian nobility Governors of the Grand Duchy of Finland Members of the State Council (Russian Empire) Recipients of the Order of St. George of the Third Degree

See also

References

Sources