Prince Mikhail Semyonovich Vorontsov (russian: Князь Михаи́л Семёнович Воронцо́в, tr. ; ) was a Russian nobleman and field-marshal, renowned for his success in 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 ...

and most famous for his participation in the

Caucasian War The Caucasian War (russian: Кавказская война; ''Kavkazskaya vojna'') or Caucasus War was a 19th century military conflict between the Russian Empire and various peoples of the North Caucasus who resisted subjugation during the ...

from 1844 to 1853.

Life

The son of Count

Semyon Vorontsov Count Semyon Romanovich Vorontsov (or Woronzow, russian: Семён Романович Воронцо́в; 26 June 17449 July 1832) was a Russian diplomat from the aristocratic Russian Vorontsov family, whose siblings included Alexander Vorontsov ...

and nephew of the imperial chancellor

Alexander Vorontsov Count Alexander Romanovich Vorontsov (russian: Алекса́ндр Рома́нович Воронцо́в) (4 February 17412 December 1805) was the Chancellor of the Russian Empire during the early years of Alexander I's reign. He began his car ...

, he was born on 30 May 1782, 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 ...

. He spent his childhood and youth with his father in London, where his father was ambassador.'The Encyclopædia Britannica: A Dictionary of Arts, Sciences, Literature and General Information''
Vol. 28 At the University Press, 1911 (original from the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United S ...

) page 2013 During 1803–1804 he served in the Caucasus under

Pavel Tsitsianov Prince Pavel Dmitriyevich Tsitsianov (russian: Павел Дмитриевич Цицианов), also known as Pavle Dimitris dze Tsitsishvili ( ka, პავლე ციციშვილი; —) was a Georgian nobleman and a prominent genera ...

and Gulyakov. From 1805 to 1807, he served in the Napoleonic wars, and was present at the battles of

Pułtusk Pułtusk (pronounced ) is a town in northeast Poland, by the river Narew. Located north of Warsaw in the Masovian Voivodeship, it had a population of about 19,000 . Known for its historic architecture and Europe's longest paved marketplace ( in ...

and Friedland. From 1809 to 1811 he participated in 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 histo ...

. He commanded the composite grenadiers division in Prince

Petr Bagration Prince Pyotr Ivanovich Bagration (10 July 1765 – 24 September 1812) was a Georgian general and prince serving in the Russian Empire, prominent during the Napoleonic Wars. Bagration, a member of the Bagrationi dynasty, was born in Tbilisi. His ...

's Second Western Army during

Napoleon's invasion of Russia The French invasion of Russia, also known as the Russian campaign, the Second Polish War, the Army of Twenty nations, and the Patriotic War of 1812 was launched by Napoleon Bonaparte to force the Russian Empire back into the continental block ...

in 1812. At the battle of Borodino, his division was in the front line and was attacked by three French divisions under Marshal

Davout Louis-Nicolas d'Avout (10 May 1770 – 1 June 1823), better known as Davout, 1st Duke of Auerstaedt, 1st Prince of Eckmühl, was a French military commander and Marshal of the Empire who served during both the French Revolutionary Wars and th ...

. Of the 4,000 men in his division, only 300 survived the battle. Vorontsov was wounded but recovered to rejoin the army in 1813. He commanded a new grenadiers division and fought at the

battle of Dennewitz The Battle of Dennewitz (german: Schlacht von Dennewitz (Battle near Jüterbog) took place on 6September 1813 between French forces commanded by Marshal Michel Ney and the Sixth Coalition's Allied Army of the North commanded by Crown Prince ...

and the battle of Leipzig. He was the commander of the corps of occupation in France from 1815 to 1818. Elzbieta Branicka

On 7 May 1823 he was appointed

governor-general Governor-general (plural ''governors-general''), or governor general (plural ''governors general''), is the title of an office-holder. In the context of governors-general and former British colonies, governors-general are appointed as viceroy t ...

New Russia Novorossiya, literally "New Russia", is a historical name, used during the era of the Russian Empire for an administrative area that would later become the southern mainland of Ukraine: the region immediately north of the Black Sea and Crimea. ...

, as the southern provinces of the empire were then called, and ''

namestnik A viceroy () is an official who reigns over a polity in the name of and as the representative of the monarch of the territory. The term derives from the Latin prefix ''vice-'', meaning "in the place of" and the French word ''roy'', meaning "k ...

'' of Bessarabia. In the year of the start of the Russo-Turkish War of 1828–1829, Vorontsov succeeded the wounded Menshikov as commander of the forces besieging

Varna Varna may refer to: Places Europe *Varna, Bulgaria, a city in Bulgaria **Varna Province **Varna Municipality ** Gulf of Varna **Lake Varna **Varna Necropolis *Vahrn, or Varna, a municipality in Italy *Varniai, a city in Lithuania * Varna (Šaba ...

, which he captured on 28 September 1828. It was through his energetic efforts that the

plague Plague or The Plague may refer to: Agriculture, fauna, and medicine *Plague (disease), a disease caused by ''Yersinia pestis'' * An epidemic of infectious disease (medical or agricultural) * A pandemic caused by such a disease * A swarm of pe ...

, which had broken out in

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

, did not penetrate into Russia. His Polish wife, née Countess Branicka, had a liaison with

Alexander Pushkin Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin (; rus, links=no, Александр Сергеевич ПушкинIn pre-Revolutionary script, his name was written ., r=Aleksandr Sergeyevich Pushkin, p=ɐlʲɪkˈsandr sʲɪrˈɡʲe(j)ɪvʲɪtɕ ˈpuʂkʲɪn, ...

during her stay in

Odessa Odesa (also spelled Odessa) is the third most populous city and municipality in Ukraine and a major seaport and transport hub located in the south-west of the country, on the northwestern shore of the Black Sea. The city is also the administrativ ...

, which resulted in some of the finest poems in the Russian language. In 1844, Vorontsov was appointed commander-in-chief and viceroy of the Caucasus. For military details see

Murid War In Sufism, a ''murīd'' (Arabic مُرِيد 'one who seeks') is a novice committed to spiritual enlightenment by ''sulūk'' (traversing a path) under a spiritual guide, who may take the title murshid, '' pir'' or ''shaykh''. A '' sālik'' or Su ...

. At the

battle of Dargo (1845) The Dargo Campaign of 1845 was a series of battles during the Murid War, the eastern phase of the Caucasus War of 1817–1864. During the campaign, Vorontsov penetrated too deeply into enemy country, was surrounded, fought his way part-way o ...

, he was nearly defeated and barely fought his way out of the Chechen forest. By 1848 he had captured two-thirds of Dagestan, and the situation of the Russians in the Caucasus, so long almost desperate, was steadily improving. For his campaign against

Shamil Shamil (Arabic: شَامِل ''shāmil'') is a lesser common masculine Arabic name. The name is usually from the adjective which have several correlated meanings from the Arabic "complete, comprehensive, universal" but could also mean "embodying, pr ...

, and for his difficult march through the dangerous forests of Ichkeria, he was raised to the dignity of prince, with the title of Serene Highness. In the beginning of 1853, Vorontsov was allowed to retire because of his increasing infirmities. He was made a field-marshal in 1856, and died the same year at Odessa. His archives were published, in 40 volumes, by

Pyotr Bartenev Pyotr Ivanovich Bartenev (Пётр Ива́нович Барте́нев; 13 October 1829 – 4 November 1912) was a Russian historian and collector of unpublished memoirs. Of noble birth, Bartenev attended the Moscow University. In 1856, he under ...

between 1870 and 1897. Alupka

A statue of Prince Vorontsov was unveiled in Odessa in 1863. In front of the monument stands the Transfiguration Cathedral with the marble tombs of Prince Vorontsov and his wife. After the Soviets demolished the cathedral in 1936, Vorontsov's remains were secretly reburied in a local cemetery. The cathedral was rebuilt in the early 2000s. The remains of Vorontsov and his wife were solemnly transferred to the church in 2005.

Notes

References

* *Gammer, Moshe. ''Muslim Resistance to the Tsar: Shamil and the Conquest of Chechnia and Daghestan''. Frank Cass & Co., London, 1994. . * * *

External links

Online museum of the Vorontsov FamilyMikeshin, Mikhail. "Mikhail Vorontsov: A Metaphysical Portrait in the Landscape".
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vorontsov, Mikhail Field marshals of Russia Governors-General of Novorossiya Viceroys in Moldova 1782 births 1856 deaths Russian military personnel of the Caucasian War Caucasus Viceroyalty (1801–1917) 1840s in Georgia (country) Russian commanders of the Napoleonic Wars Members of the State Council (Russian Empire) Military personnel from Saint Petersburg Honorary Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath Recipients of the Order of St. George of the Second Degree Recipients of the Order of St. George of the Third Degree Mikhail Semyonovich People of the Caucasian War