Burkhard Christoph Graf von Münnich (; – ) was a German-born army officer who became a

field marshal Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army (in countries without the rank of Generalissimo), and as such, few persons a ...

and political figure in the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

. He carried out major reforms in the Russian Army and founded several elite military formations during the reign of Empress Anna of Russia (). As a statesman, he is widely regarded as the founder of Russian philhellenism. Like his father, Münnich was an engineer and a specialist in hydrotechnology.

Early career

Münnich was born at Neuenhuntorf in the Grand Duchy of Oldenburg in the military family of Anton Günther Mönnich (since 1688 ''von Münnich'', an east-Frisian nobility). Besides the knowledge of the native Low German language he also learned the

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

and

French language French ( or ) is a Romance languages, Romance language of the Indo-European languages, Indo-European family. Like all other Romance languages, it descended from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire. French evolved from Northern Old Gallo-R ...

s. He entered the French service at 17. Thence he transferred successively to the armies of Hesse-Darmstadt and of

Saxony Saxony, officially the Free State of Saxony, is a landlocked state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, and Bavaria, as well as the countries of Poland and the Czech Republic. Its capital is Dresden, and ...

where he earned the rank of

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

and later major general. In 1721, he was invited by the Russian ambassador in

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

, Alexey Grigoryevich Dolgorukov, for engineering projects of the newly acquired northern territories. Around that time his father has died. Upon arrival to Russia he presented Peter I plans for the fortification of Kronstadt fortress, which pleasantly surprised the Russian emperor, and the Annenkrone fortification in Vyborg. He was promoted to

Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank 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 the battlefield, who was norma ...

in 1722. Among his first undertakings was the completion of the costly Ladoga Canal, which had been under construction for more than a decade. For his engineering and military-engineering achievements he was promoted to the rank of the General-in-Chief, in 1726 by

Catherine I Catherine I Alekseyevna Mikhailova (born Marta Samuilovna Skavronskaya; – ) was the second wife and Empress consort of Peter the Great, whom she succeeded as Emperor of all the Russias, Empress of Russia, ruling from 1725 until her death in 1 ...

, and awarded the Order of Saint Alexander Nevsky. In 1727, Münnich was appointed the Governor of

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

city while the Imperial court was temporarily transferred to Moscow by Peter II. From 1728 to 1734, he was a General-Governor of Ingria, Karelia, and Finland as well as was awarded the title of a

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: ...

. During his governorship, Münnich improved the local ports, reinforced the newly established Peter and Paul Fortress (1703), and was thinking of building a bridge towards

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Russian army reformer

Upon the coronation of Anna of Russia (1730), he was instructed to prepare the city for the return of Imperial court. After successfully accomplishing that Münnich was promoted to a General-Fieldmarshal, was appointed to the position of president of Russian War Collegiate in 1732 as well as given an order to re-organize the Russian army. Münnich became a founder of the Russian Imperial Guard, known as Leib-Guard Cavalry Regiment of the Izmaylovsky Regiment, and the Shlyakhetskiy Cadet Corps which was destined to supply the future generations of officers. Münnich also reformed numerous other military formations as well as the War Collegiate itself. He established a new formation for the Russian army at that time, the Corps which consisted of 12 regiments Cuirassier Cavalry as well as the first Hussar regiments. Münnich revised the table of ranks and evened the salary of the Russian officers with the invited foreign military specialists. He was the first to introduce the sapper regiments to the Russian army as well as founded the Engineer School for Officers. During his administration some 50 other fortresses were erected which substantially improved the well-being of the Russian Armed Forces at that time. Due to the Andrey Osterman affairs, he was released of his duties.

Ottoman campaign of 1734–1739

In 1734, by the reference of Ernst Johann von Biron he was sent to take the city of Danzig (

Gdańsk Gdańsk is a city on the Baltic Sea, Baltic coast of northern Poland, and the capital of the Pomeranian Voivodeship. With a population of 486,492, Data for territorial unit 2261000. it is Poland's sixth-largest city and principal seaport. Gdań ...

) and after a prolonged siege and evasion of Stanisław Leszczyński was heavily reproached. However, after that in 1733, the

was able to install Augustus III of Poland as the King of Poland (ratified in 1736). In 1736, as the commander of the Russian army, he headed the Turkish campaigns, besieging the important ports of Azak (modern Azov) and Özi. On 21 May 1735, he sacked Or Qapı fortress, then continued into the Crimean Peninsula. Münnich destroyed the important Tatar cities of Kezlev, Aqmescit, and Bakhchisaray. He was forced out of the peninsula due to poor logistics and battle fatigue of his formations, while another general, Count Peter von Lacy, took Azak, earning himself a rank of the general field marshal. Münnich refused to resume the campaign the very next year, but he returned to the lower Dnieper steppes in 1737, and on 2 July, took the fortress of Özi with the help of the Russian artillery. During the sack of Özi, he manually raised the regimental banner of the Izmailovsky Regiment on one of the towers of fortress after a successful attack. The siege of Özi was also later mentioned in the humorous stories about Baron Munchausen, based on the adventures of the page to Duke Anthony Ulrich of Brunswick, Hieronymus von Münchhausen. Due to the heavy losses, the campaign was paused again while conducting negotiations in Nemirov ( Podolie) without much result. In 1739, Münnich won the Battle of Stavuchany on , took Khotyn on , and entered Iași on , establishing himself firmly in the

Principality of Moldavia Moldavia (, or ; in Romanian Cyrillic: or ) is a historical region and former principality in Eastern Europe, corresponding to the territory between the Eastern Carpathians and the Dniester River. An initially independent and later auto ...

. Threatening to burn down the capital of that Principality, the city of Iași, he forced Moldavian boyars to accept the annexation of Moldavia on . Due to military losses of the

Habsburg monarchy The Habsburg monarchy, also known as Habsburg Empire, or Habsburg Realm (), was the collection of empires, kingdoms, duchies, counties and other polities (composite monarchy) that were ruled by the House of Habsburg. From the 18th century it is ...

and worsening of political relationships with

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, the Russian court accepted French mediation and signed the Treaty of Niš (October 3) by which Russia had to return almost all captured territories, including those gained by Münnich in Moldavia. He was ordered to evacuate those regions, and return to Russia. Münnich's victories in the Moldavian campaign was later mentioned in one of the Lomonosov's odes, considered to be the first poem of that kind in Russian literature. After the Ottoman war he was awarded the Order of St. Andrew and the Golden Weapon for Courage.

Downfall

Marshal Münnich now began to take an active part in political affairs, the particular tone of which was given by his rivalry with Biron,

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of Courland, whom Münnich had arrested in 1740. Münnich's activity was brought to a close in 1741 by the Elizabeth of Russia; he was arrested on his way to the border, and condemned to death. Brought out for execution, and withdrawn from the scaffold, he was later sent to Pelym,

Siberia Siberia ( ; , ) is an extensive geographical region comprising all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has formed a part of the sovereign territory of Russia and its predecessor states ...

, where he remained for several years, until the accession of Peter III brought about his release in 1762.

Catherine II Catherine II. (born Princess Sophie of Anhalt-Zerbst; 2 May 172917 November 1796), most commonly known as Catherine the Great, was the reigning empress of Russia from 1762 to 1796. She came to power after overthrowing her husband, Peter III ...

, who soon displaced Peter, employed the old field marshal as director-general of the Baltic ports. Münnich died four years later in

Tartu Tartu is the second largest city in Estonia after Tallinn. Tartu has a population of 97,759 (as of 2024). It is southeast of Tallinn and 245 kilometres (152 miles) northeast of Riga, Latvia. Tartu lies on the Emajõgi river, which connects the ...

and was buried at his estate nearby.

Legacy

Catherine the Great will say of him "If Münnich is not one of the children of Russia, he is one of the fathers". Frederick the Great professes great admiration for his exploits and calls him "Prince Eugene of the Muscovites".

Voltaire François-Marie Arouet (; 21 November 169430 May 1778), known by his ''Pen name, nom de plume'' Voltaire (, ; ), was a French Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment writer, philosopher (''philosophe''), satirist, and historian. Famous for his wit ...

wrote for his part: "It was Prince Eugene of the Muscovites; he had the virtues and vices of the great generals: skilful, enterprising, happy; but proud, superb, ambitious, and sometimes too despotic, and sacrificing the lives of his soldiers for his reputation. Franz Lacy, Keith, Löwendal, and other skilful generals, were training in his school". According to , his aide-de-camp: "The Count of Münnich is a real contrast of good and bad qualities. Polite, rude, human, carried away, in turn, nothing is easier for him than winning the hearts of those who deal with him. But suddenly, an instant later, he treats them so harshly that they are forced to hate him, so to speak. In certain conditions, we saw him generous, in others of a sordid greed. He is the man of the world who has the highest soul and yet we have seen him do mean things. Pride is a dominant vice. Constantly devoured by an excessive ambition, he sacrificed everything to the world to satisfy it. One of the best engineers in Europe, he was also one of the greatest captains of his century. Often reckless in his businesses, he has always ignored what the impossible is. With a tall and imposing stature, and a robust and vigorous temperament, he seems to have been born general." Ernst Gideon von Laudon and Franz Lacy did their apprenticeship under his orders in front of Otchakov and Khotin. Burckhardt de Münnich is buried in his land of Lunia in

Livonia Livonia, known in earlier records as Livland, is a historical region on the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea. It is named after the Livonians, who lived on the shores of present-day Latvia. By the end of the 13th century, the name was extende ...

.''Literary archives of Europe, or, Mixtures of literature, history and philosophy'', Despite his role as builder of modern Russia, his tomb was desecrated and partly destroyed by the Soviets. The Imperial Russia 37th Dragoons Regiment used to bear his name.

Family

* Christine Lucretia von Witzleben (1685–1727), his wife. * Barbara Juliana, Baroness von Krüdener was his great-granddaughter. * Count Johann Ernst Munnich (Sergei Khristoforovich Minikh) (1707–1788), his son, Russian statesman, diplomat, writer, studied jurisprudence, languages, and philosophy.

Notes

References

;Attribution *

Sources

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Muennich, Burkhard Christoph Von 1683 births 1767 deaths 17th-century German people German emigrants to the Russian Empire 18th-century German military personnel Field marshals of the Russian Empire Russian military personnel of the War of the Polish Succession German military personnel of the War of the Polish Succession Governors-general of Saint Petersburg Philhellenes Lower Saxon nobility Nobility from the Russian Empire People from Oldenburg (state) People from Wesermarsch Commissioners of the Saint Petersburg Police Cabinet ministers of the Russian Empire Internal exiles from the Russian Empire Recipients of the Order of the White Eagle (Poland) Counts of the Holy Roman Empire Military personnel from Lower Saxony Ethnic German people from the Russian Empire