Mikhail Andreyevich Miloradovich
Encyclopedia
Mikhail Andreyevich Miloradovich , spelled Miloradovitch in contemporary English sources ( – ) was a Russian
general prominent during the Napoleonic Wars
. He entered military service on the eve of the Russo-Swedish War of 1788–1790 and his career advanced rapidly during the reign of Paul I
. He served under Alexander Suvorov
during Italian and Swiss campaigns of 1799
.
Miloradovich served in wars against France and Turkey, earning distinction in the Battle of Amstetten
, the capture of Bucharest
, the Battle of Borodino
, the Battle of Tarutino
and the Battle of Vyazma
. He led the reserves into the Battle of Kulm
, the Battle of Leipzig
and the Battle of Paris (1814)
. Miloradovich attained the rank of General of the Infantry in 1809 and the title of count
in 1813. His reputation as a daring battlefield commander (referred to as "the Russian Murat
" and "the Russian Bayard") rivalled that of his bitter personal enemy Pyotr Bagration
, but Miloradovich also had a reputation for being lucky. He boasted that he had fought fifty battles but had never been wounded nor even scratched by the enemy.
By 1818, when Miloradovich was appointed Governor General of Saint Petersburg
, the retirement or death of other senior generals made him the most highly decorated active officer of the Russian Army, holding the Order of St. George
2nd class, the Order of St. Andrew
, the Order of St. Vladimir
1st class, the Order of St. Anna
1st class, the Order of St. John of Jerusalem
and the Order of St. Alexander Nevsky
with diamonds. A chivalrous man of boastful and flamboyant character, Miloradovich was a poor fit for the governorship. Vladimir Nabokov
called him "a gallant soldier, bon vivant
and a somewhat bizarre administrator"; Alexander Herzen
wrote that he was "one of those military men who occupied the most senior positions in civilian life with not the slightest idea about public affairs".
When news of the death of Alexander I
reached Saint Petersburg, Miloradovich prevented the heir, future tsar Nicholas I
, from acceding to the throne. From to , Miloradovich exercised de facto dictatorial authority, but he ultimately recognised Nicholas as his sovereign after the Romanovs sorted out the succession crisis. Miloradovich had sufficient evidence of the mounting Decembrist revolt
, but did not take any action until the rebels took over the Senate Square
on . He rode into the rows of rebel troops and tried to talk them into obedience, but was fatally shot by Pyotr Kakhovsky and stabbed by Yevgeny Obolensky.
Miloradovich family was established in 1715, when Mikhail Miloradovich (the first), one of three brothers recruited by Peter I
to incite rebellion against the Turks four years earlier, fled from Herzegovina
to Russia and joined Peter's service as a colonel. He was a commander of the Hadiach Regiment
. Towards the end of Peter's reign he was imprisoned in connection with Pavlo Polubotok
's treason case, but was spared from further misfortune by Peter's death. His grandson Andrey served thirty years in the Russian Army and later moved into civil administration as the Governor of Little Russia
and the Chernigov governorate
. The family owned lands in the Poltava Governorate
; Mikhail inherited up to fifteen hundred serf
s.
Mikhail's father "enrolled" him in the military in his infancy, and later sent teenage Mikhail to study military sciences in the universities of Königsberg
and Göttingen, and in Strasbourg
and Metz
. According to Nikolai Leskov
, the education was superficial: Leskov described Mikhail as a boy of "charming ignorance" who did not even master the French language properly, and said that his French was littered with the "most grave and curious mistakes" (an anecdote credited him with blending pittoresque and synagogue into "pittagogue"). Sixteen-year-old Mikhail returned to Russia in 1787, joined the army as a praporshchik
(a junior commissioned officer rank) in the Izmaylovsky Regiment
and was soon sent into action in the Russo-Swedish War of 1788–1790.
's troops in Italy. He won Suvorov's unconditional trust for taking Lecco
on the eve of the Battle of Cassano
and for commanding the rearguard in the crossing of the Gotthard Pass. At Bassignana
he changed three horses killed by the enemy but was not even scratched; at Altdorf
he led assault infantry over a burning bridge. These and similar episodes, true or anecdotal, forged public opinion of Miloradovich as a daring and lucky field commander, an opinion that he himself cultivated for the rest of his life. Miloradovich was adored at home, but the French held a different opinion: Adolphe Thiers
described Miloradovich as "a Servian , of brilliant valour, but absolutely destitute of military knowledge, dissolute in manners, uniting all the vices of civilization with all the vices of barbarism".
Paul rewarded Miloradovich with the Order of St. Anne
1st class, the Order of St. John of Jerusalem
and the Order of St. Alexander Nevsky
. Suvorov, in violation of military codes, transferred Miloradovich from field troops to his staff as a "general in waiting"; Paul later cited this fact as a pretext to dismiss Suvorov. Friendship between Miloradovich and Paul's second son Constantine
also dated back to the Swiss campaign. Constantine awarded Miloradovich a gilded sword with an inscription To my friend Miloradovich, which Miloradovich had with him on the day of his death.
, where Mikhail Kutuzov ordered his three regiments to take a stand and provide relief for Pyotr Bagration
's troops. "Above all, skillful maneuvering of the Russian force, including timely arrival of Miloradovich and his intelligent application of the reserve forces at his disposal, prevented the collapse of the rear guard". The action at Amstetten allowed Kutuzov to break contact with the French and prevented an all-out battle that would have been disastrous for the Russians. Reports of the battle by Miloradovich himself contradict the French accounts and are not corroborated by Bagration's laconic report: each side presented their own perspective, and Miloradovich had a particular penchant for glorifying his own actions. His action at Amstetten was rewarded with the Order of St. George
3rd class and promotion to lieutenant general. On November 11, 1805 Miloradovich attacked the French in the Battle of Dürenstein
(referred to as the Battle of Krems in Russian sources), but the French withdrew before his corps could inflict significant damage.
The Battle of Austerlitz
saw Miloradovich in charge of the Russian part of a Russian-Austrian infantry column (2,875 out of 11,795 men), one of the four columns placed on Pratzen Heights, which had been abandoned by the French. Another, larger part of the column was under Austrian command; the close presence of Kutuzov somewhat mitigated the perils of divided command. Tsar Alexander ordered this column to move before others were deployed; Kutuzov, unable to oppose the tsar, ordered Miloradovich to advance across the Goldbach Stream to Kobylnice, disregarding enemy action and difficult terrain. Hills and fog obstructed the view, and the column marched straight into the bulk of the French armies. Soult's troops mauled the mixed column and Miloradovich retreated. Alexander summoned his brother Constantine for help (although an alternative account by Bowden and Duffy
asserts that Miloradovich contacted Constantine himself). Contrary to the popular view that "he was almost the only Russian general who obtained any advantage over the French" at Austerlitz, General Karl Wilhelm von Toll contested Miloradovich's actions, asserting that his column was the first to fall back and that it was Bagration, not Miloradovich, who saved the allied troops from annihilation.
and Wallachia
. After the Turks responded by taking Bucharest
, Russian commander-in-chief Johann von Michelsohn dispatched Miloradovich to intervene. Miloradovich captured Bucharest on December 13 without significant resistance from the Turks and was rewarded with a golden sword with diamonds "For the taking of Bucharest". The Turks, manipulated by the French envoy Sébastiani, did not declare war until five days later. No large-scale action followed. In May 1807 Miloradovich tried to capture Giurgiu
, but failed and fell back to Bucharest. On June 2, 1807 he redeemed himself by checking the Turkish advance at Obilesti.
The years 1808 and 1809 did not see any remarkable action either, but were marked by a dual intrigue among top Russian generals; at the top level, Mikhail Kutuzov was in conflict with Alexander Prozorovsky
, while below them burned a feud between Miloradovich and Pyotr Bagration. Bagration temporarily succeeded Prozorovsky as commander-in-chief, but later both Miloradovich and Bagration lost their commands. At the beginning of 1810 Alexander
recalled Miloradovich from front-line duty and tasked him with assembling a new army in Belarus
. In April 1810 Miloradovich was appointed Governor of Kiev
but soon tended his resignation. He was officially discharged in September 1810 but was called back into service in November, again as Governor of Kiev.
At the beginning of the 1812 campaign, Miloradovich was tasked with assembling and training volunteer militia
troops in the hinterland; he returned to action on the eve of the Battle of Borodino
with 14,600 militiamen. Kutuzov appointed Miloradovich commander of front-line forces of the right (northern) flank, comprising Baggovut
's Second Infantry Corps and Ostermann-Tolstoy
's Fourth Infantry Corps. The battle plan required Miloradovich to protect the old Smolensk
-Moscow road. On the day of the battle, , Kutuzov realised that enemy action was concentrated against his center and left flank and, at about 9 a.m., he ordered Miloradovich to march to the south and attack the French left flank. Riding in advance of his troops, Miloradovich was caught up in the heat of the battle for Semyonovskoe and, together with Barclay de Tolly
, Yermolov
and Rayevsky
, sought refuge in the defences of the Fourth Division. Between 10 a.m. and 12 noon his troops took a stand in the center of the Russian line and held off French attacks, with Baggovut's corps seeing critical action around noon, and Ostermann's corps around 4 p.m. By the end of the battle, the French succeeded in forcing the Russians from their defences, and Miloradovich's troops fell back to the same Smolensk road from where they had started. Baggovut took a stand there and held the road until nightfall against ferocious attacks by Polish cavalry.
After the battle, Miloradovich took command of the rearguard, sheltering Kutuzov's army from the advancing French. Enemy pressure prevented him from attending the Council in Fili
that decided to surrender Moscow. Miloradovich, acting on behalf of Kutuzov, made a deal with Murat
: if the French wanted Moscow intact, they had to allow Miloradovich free passage to the east, or face stubborn urban warfare
. Hereford George wrote that "Murat apparently deemed it beneath his dignity to confer with a mere general" and that he left the talks to Sébastiani. According to Fyodor Glinka
, however, Murat and Miloradovich negotiated directly with each other prior to the surrender of Moscow; Miloradovich contacted Sébastiani only after the French took Moscow and their cavalry engaged the Russian rear. Sébastiani honoured the accord, called back the cavalry and allowed the safe retreat of two Russian regiments trapped between advancing French columns. Temporary loss of contact between Murat and the Russian rearguard allowed Kutuzov to make a westward turn: Murat kept on advancing south-east towards Bronnitsy
while Kutuzov marched in the opposite direction.
On , Kutuzov took defensive positions at Podolsk
and dispatched Miloradovich to take position in front of the advancing French, 12 kilometers to the east. Four days later, Murat engaged Miloradovich and forced him to fall back to Krasnaya Pakhra (deliberately setting a trap, according to Glinka). Miloradovich barely escaped death or captivity when his headquarters were raided by French cavalry scouts on . On , Miloradovich successfully counterattacked Murat's corps at Chirikovo, taking one general de brigade prisoner. At this point, Kutuzov preferred to retreat further south; the main army marched to Tarutino
, while Miloradovich, now having Ostermann-Tolstoy's corps under his command, retreated to a fallback position on the Chernishnya River, 8 kilometers north of Tarutino. Glinka wrote that from to Miloradovich was continuously fighting the French, including four significant battles, and lamented that few of his deeds reached the public eye: "He is not a hero of the Vedomosti
, but a hero of history and of the future." During the standoff on the Chernishnya, Miloradovich had another person-to-person negotiation with Murat, while his own camp was filled with masses of French stragglers taken prisoner. Modern Russian historians criticised as indecisive his actions in the Battle of Tarutino
, when poor coordination of Russian columns met its match in poor discipline of the French camp, but to contemporaries like Glinka and William Cathcart
the battle was a clear success.
After the Battle of Maloyaroslavets
, Russian troops split into three pursuit columns, led by Miloradovich, Matvey Platov and Kutuzov himself. Miloradovich marched directly on Vyazma
, occupied by four French corps (Beauharnais
, Davout
, Ney
, Poniatowski
), while Platov closed in on it from the north. On Miloradovich and Platov agreed to storm Vyazma. The Battle of Vyazma
began at dawn of . Miloradovich quickly deployed front-line artillery that withstood Beauharnais's counterstrike and forced Davout's troops to take cover in the forest. Davout lost two hours taking a detour to reunite with Ney in Vyazma; at 2 p.m., when Miloradovich ordered a general assault, the French were already unable to resist. By 5 p.m. Miloradovich took control of the city, capturing French supply trains (but only three cannons).
On Miloradovich's three corps, marching ahead of the retreating French, took position to the French rear near Krasny. Miloradovich began the three-day Battle of Krasnoi
by capturing a large supply train and cutting Ney and Beauharnais off from Napoleon's army. The next day, Beauharnais exhausted his troops in a breakthrough and refused Miloradovich's invitation to surrender; at night the decimated remains of his corps escaped through the woods. On Ney made his own unsuccessful attempt to break through Miloradovich's defences. Miloradovich again offered honorable surrender, but Ney arrested the messenger and expended his 10th and 11th divisions in a frontal assault. At night his forces of 3,000 men escaped over the frozen Dnieper
, but only 800 made it to Orsha
. Miloradovich missed the opportunity to intercept the French crossing of Berezina
by two days.
In December 1812, Alexander awarded Miloradovich the Order of St. George, 2nd class. In line with Kutuzov's December Plan, Miloradovich led a Russian vanguard due west and took Warsaw
on .
as commander-in-chief of the united Russian and Prussian armies provoked open hostility from his new subordinates and, at the same time, from his seniors: Miloradovich, Barclay de Tolly, Langeron
, Platov and Tormasov
. Tormasov refused to obey Wittgenstein altogether and left the army, while Miloradovich stayed and became the "official speaker" for the opposition. The conflict burned until the failures at Lutzen
and Bautzen
compelled Wittgenstein to resign his command.
Miloradovich's own record in May 1813 was mixed: at Lutzen his corps of 12,000 men arrived too late to influence the outcome. In the following week he covered the retreat to the Elbe
. Thiers wrote that the French "made him pay dearly for his useless boast" (his resolve to defend a certain position). Cathcart praised his skillful rearguard action but noted that by May 12 his corps had shrunk to about 10,000. At Bautzen, Miloradovich managed to push Oudinot
out of Tronberg, but the battle as a whole remained a French victory.
Miloradovich and Constantine spent the remainder of the war, almost a year, in close cooperation and proximity as chiefs of infantry and cavalry reserves. In August 1813, after expiry of the Truce of Pläswitz
, Miloradovich led the reserve force of 24,000 Guards and Grenadiers into Bohemia
and Constantine followed him with 11,000 "splendid cavalry" and artillery. Together with Barclay's headquarters, they formed one of four allied columns that converged on Dresden
but had not been brought into the action of the Battle of Dresden
. Three days later they were employed against Vandamme
in the Battle of Kulm
, a "fortunate victory that conferred advantages beyond all calculations". On the eve of the Battle of Leipzig
the forces of Miloradovich and Constantine, stationed near Margeborn, formed the reserve of the coalition army. In December 1813 they crossed the Rhine and headed into France.
Miloradovich's actions in 1813 were rewarded with the Order of St. Andrew
, the title of count and the right to wear Alexander's insignia on his shoulder, the first such honor ever granted in Russia. Miloradovich concluded the campaign of 1814, his last one, in Paris. After General Gorchakov
's infantry overran the French defensive artillery, Miloradovich was the one to bring in twenty howitzer
s and open fire at the city.
Alexander appointed Miloradovich commander of the Russian Imperial Guard; in 1818 Miloradovich became Governor of Saint Petersburg, assuming command of all the troops, police and civil administration of the imperial capital. He had the unconditional trust of Alexander, who could hardly have found a worse candidate for the job. As chief of police, Miloradovich controlled political surveillance and investigation in Saint Petersburg, but the events of 1825 demonstrated that he ultimately failed to respond to the real threat: he dismissed the evidence against the Decembrists
, saying "It's all stuff; leave these young blockheads alone to read to each other their trash of miserable verses."
His affection for the arts and his ex officio duty as a censor at the peak of the Golden Age of Russian Poetry
resulted in frequent contacts with authors and actors, and, apart from his death and his actions during the disastrous flood of 1824, his administration was remembered largely through anecdotes and artists' memoirs of varying reliability. This was not uncommon for Russian commanders; Nikolay Raevsky
said "They [the writers of his time] turned me into a Roman, Miloradovich into a great man, Wittgenstein into the saviour of the fatherland, and Kutuzov into Fabius
. I am not a Roman, and neither are these gentlemen."
Alexander Herzen
who met Miloradovich in early childhood and fondly remembered him as a storyteller "with the greatest vivacity, with lively mimicry, with roars of laughter" ridiculed Miloradovich as an administrator yet called him "a warrior poet who understood poetry ... grand things are done by great means." Herzen's memoirs provide a number of anecdotes about Miloradovich the administrator (none of which could have been witnessed by the narrator).
In 1820 Miloradovich interrogated Alexander Pushkin on suspicion of political propaganda. Pushkin's name had already become a blanket cover for all kinds of incendiary pamphlets and he was desperate to clear himself of dangerous misattributions. Pushkin said that he burned his "contraband poems" and recited some from memory. Miloradovich said "Ah, c'est chevalresque", dismissed the charges and sent Pushkin on a well-paid tour of the south. Vladimir Nabokov
noted that all of Pushkin's influential friends could not have saved him had it not been for Miloradovich's "amiable conduct of the whole affair". There was a rumor that Pushkin was flogged on orders of Miloradovich, who fought a duel with at least one person who repeated it.
Author and publisher Nikolai Grech recounted another, less inspiring episode: in 1824 Miloradovich vigorously investigated an alleged breach of censorship rules at a printshop owned by Grech and Bezacque. Fifteen years earlier, when Miloradovich and Pyotr Bagration had a feud, Bezacque was Bagration's secretary and apparently became a lifelong enemy of Miloradovich. Grech easily refuted "factual evidence" and could have escaped unharmed, but Miloradovich brought his belated revenge down on Grech, inflicting on him a full police and court inquiry that dragged on until 1828. Miloradovich probably did not realise that the whole case was set up by Aleksey Arakcheyev
and Mikhail Magnitsky to unseat Alexander Golitsyn.
The lifestyle of the "bizarre administrator" was just as bizarre. Miloradovich lived alone in a luxurious apartment "in complete disarray coupled with the most exquisite taste", without a single bedroom; "I spend the night where I feel like", he used to say. Family fortune and rewards from the tsar could not match his spending, and he sold off most of his lands and serfs. Posthumous sale of his remaining estate barely covered his debts.
ended Shakhovskoy's career.
The private life of Miloradovich, who never married and had no offspring, has been a controversial subject. Contemporaries condemned him for a desire "to create his own harem
in the theatre school" that allegedly became a reality with the aid of Shakhovskoy and Maikov. According to these sources, Miloradovich "had a weakness for women" and regularly spent evenings in the company of Shakhovskoy and female trainees of his theatre school; the chosen favorites then enjoyed the general's benevolence after graduation. Catherine Shuler noted that the appetites of Miloradovich and other dignitaries could be the cause of high "traffic in women" on stage and that "the resemblance between serf actresses and imperial actresses is surely not coincidental". Alexandra Kolosova, in 1822, was the first actress to break the ring and flee to Paris; upon return to Saint Petersburg she sought protection from Alexander, but Miloradovich had her arrested for twenty-four hours for turning down "the most insignificant role" offered to her. Miloradovich had lead actor Vasily Karatygin
arrested for similar insubordination; when the prisoner's mother pleaded for mercy, Miloradovich responded: "I only like comedy onstage. I've seen blood, madam, tears don't move me".
Vladimir Bryukhanov suggested that Miloradovich was homosexual, disregarding or dismissing evidence to the contrary, such as the memoirs of Nadezhda Durova
. (Durova, disguised as a young man, was aide to Miloradovich in 1810 and later wrote about his affairs with women and their influence on the general's demeanor and on his relationships with subordinate officers.) The standard version of events holds that his last passion was ballerina Yekaterina Teleshova, who earlier had an affair with Alexander Griboyedov, a diplomat "too short of money to be a long-term rival to the general" (In 1825, Griboyedov wrote "... Miloradovich, that boastful idiot whom Shakhovskoy grovels to and idolises. They are both cattle."). Allegedly, the news of the Decembrist revolt
caught the general unawares in Teleshova's bedroom and he hurried into the action with his pants undone.
to the throne. Historians argue as to whether or not Miloradovich had been formally made aware of Alexander's decision. Only three men – Aleksey Arakcheyev, Alexander Golitsyn, and Archbishop Filaret
– definitely knew the contents and whereabouts of the manifest; neither Constantine nor Nicholas knew the whole story.
On , when news of Alexander's death in Taganrog
reached Saint Petersburg, Miloradovich bullied Nicholas into pledging allegiance to Constantine, who was then living in Warsaw
as viceroy of Poland. Golitsyn arrived at the palace later and announced the terms of Alexander's manifest, but Miloradovich persuaded the State Council
that Nicholas was aware of it and that his pledge of allegiance to Constantine was effectively an act of abdication
. Miloradovich then sent a messenger to Moscow with two instructions: to pledge allegiance to Constantin and to keep the original of Alexander's manifest secret and locked away. Faced with the question, "What if Constantine holds to his resignation?", Miloradovich allegedly responded, "When one has one hundred thousand bayonets in one's pocket, it is easy to speak with boldness".
Correspondence between Saint Petersburg and Warsaw took two weeks, during which Miloradovich acted as de facto interrex
and regularly assured Nicholas that "everything is quiet". Constantine firmly refused to reign and blessed his brother's accession to the throne, but for a while the hesitant Nicholas took no action. On the morning of , Nicholas received detailed reports of the brewing Decembrist revolt from Diebitsch
and Chernyshov
, and discussed the matter with Miloradovich and Golitsyn. According to Nicholas himself, the evidence was overwhelming. Miloradovich promised to mobilise all police resources but did nothing or, according to Korf, his "investigations remained completely fruitless. His researches had not discovered one person on whom suspicion could reasonably fall".
The actions of Miloradovich during the interregnum were highly controversial and provoked fringe conspiracy theories placing him at the top of the Decembrist rebel ring. Mainstream historians provide different explanations of his motives, none of which supports the theory of "Decembrist Miloradovich":
At 8 p.m. on , Nicholas declared himself emperor; at 7 a.m. the next morning, along with all senior statesmen present in Saint Petersburg, Miloradovich pledged his loyalty to Nicholas (Korf suggested that Miloradovich recognised Nicholas as early as ). Once again Miloradovich assured Nicholas that the city was "perfectly tranquil"; Alexander von Benckendorff
other witnesses wrote that he was in his usual boastful, optimistic mood. Three hours later, when Miloradovich enjoyed a breakfast with Teleshova, general Neidhardt reported to Nicholas that the troops were marching towards the palace "in absolute mutiny".
At about noon on Miloradovich, whom nobody had seen since the morning, reported to Nicholas on Palace Square
. Witnesses disagree on whether he was mounted or on foot, but all accounts point to his extraordinary excitement and loss of self-control. According to Nicholas, Miloradovich told him: "Сеlа vа mаl; ils marchent au Senat, mais jе vаis leur раrlеr" (French: "That is bad; they are marching toward the Senate, but I will talk to them"). Nicholas coldly responded that Miloradovich must do his duty as the military governor and calm his troops down. Miloradovich saluted, turned around, and headed to the barracks of the Mounted Guards. General Orlov of the Mounted Guards pleaded with Miloradovich to stay with the loyal troops but Miloradovich refused to take cover, mounted a horse and rode out to the rows of rebel troops, accompanied either by two aides or only by Bashutsky on foot. Miloradovich harangued the soldiers for obedience, showing Constantine's sword "to prove that he would have been incapable of betraying him". Safonov pointed out that, instead of executing the tsar's order to lead the Mounted Guards against the rebels, Miloradovich "disobeyed it in a most incredible way ... by going into the action alone."
Between 12:20 and 12:30 Pyotr Kakhovsky shot Miloradovich point-blank in the back; "the bullet travelling up from below, from the back to the chest, tore the diaphragm, broke through all the parts and stopped beneath the right nipple". When Miloradovich slumped from his horse to the ground, Yevgeny Obolensky stabbed him with a bayonet
. Miloradovich was taken to a nearby house, but by the time the surgeons arrived on the scene the marauders had stripped Miloradovich of his clothes, medals and jewellery. Medics removed the bullet (it was later delivered to Nicholas); Miloradovich remained conscious and dictated his last will in a letter to the tsar. There were three requests: to send His Majesty's regards to his relatives, to grant liberty to his serfs, and to "not forget the old Maikov
". Miloradovich died around 3 a.m. on . After six days of lying in state, he was buried with honours at the Alexander Nevsky Lavra
.
The investigation of the Decembrist revolt led to the hanging of Kakhovsky and four of his ringleaders; it did not reveal any illicit connection between the Decembrists and Miloradovich. The second killer, Obolensky, was stripped of his princely title and exiled to Siberia for thirty years.
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
general prominent during the Napoleonic Wars
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...
. He entered military service on the eve of the Russo-Swedish War of 1788–1790 and his career advanced rapidly during the reign of Paul I
Paul I of Russia
Paul I was the Emperor of Russia between 1796 and 1801. He also was the 72nd Prince and Grand Master of the Order of Malta .-Childhood:...
. He served under Alexander Suvorov
Alexander Suvorov
Alexander Vasilyevich Suvorov , Count Suvorov of Rymnik, Prince in Italy, Count of the Holy Roman Empire , was the fourth and last generalissimo of the Russian Empire.One of the few great generals in history who never lost a battle along with the likes of Alexander...
during Italian and Swiss campaigns of 1799
French Revolutionary Wars: Campaigns of 1799
By 1799, the French Revolutionary Wars had resumed after a period of relative peace in 1798. The Second Coalition had organized against France, with Great Britain allying with Russia, Austria, the Ottoman Empire, and several of the minor German and Italian states...
.
Miloradovich served in wars against France and Turkey, earning distinction in the Battle of Amstetten
Battle of Amstetten
The Battle of Amstetten was a minor engagement during the War of the Third Coalition between the First French Empire and the alliance of the Austria and Russia. It occurred on 5 November 1805, when the Austrians retreating from Vienna fought a rear-guard action against Marshal Joachim Murat's...
, the capture of Bucharest
Russo-Turkish War, 1806-1812
The Russo-Turkish War was one of many wars fought between Imperial Russia and the Ottoman Empire.- Background :The war broke out in 1805–1806 against the background of the Napoleonic Wars...
, the Battle of Borodino
Battle of Borodino
The Battle of Borodino , fought on September 7, 1812, was the largest and bloodiest single-day action of the French invasion of Russia and all Napoleonic Wars, involving more than 250,000 troops and resulting in at least 70,000 casualties...
, the Battle of Tarutino
Battle of Tarutino
The Battle of Tarutino was a part of Napoleon's invasion of Russia. The battle is sometimes called the Battle of Vinkovo or the Battle of Chernishnya after the local river. Many historians claim that the latter name is more fitting because the village of Tarutino was 8 km from the described events...
and the Battle of Vyazma
Battle of Vyazma
The Battle of Vyazma , occurred at the beginning of Napoleon's retreat from Moscow. In this encounter the rear guard of the Grande Armée was defeated by the Russians commanded by General Mikhail Andreyevich Miloradovich...
. He led the reserves into the Battle of Kulm
Battle of Kulm
The Battle of Kulm was a battle near the town Kulm and the village Přestanov in northern Bohemia. It was fought on 29–30 August 1813, during the War of the Sixth Coalition...
, the Battle of Leipzig
Battle of Leipzig
The Battle of Leipzig or Battle of the Nations, on 16–19 October 1813, was fought by the coalition armies of Russia, Prussia, Austria and Sweden against the French army of Napoleon. Napoleon's army also contained Polish and Italian troops as well as Germans from the Confederation of the Rhine...
and the Battle of Paris (1814)
Battle of Paris (1814)
The Battle of Paris was fought during the Napoleonic Wars in 1814. The French defeat led directly to the abdication of Napoleon I.-Background:...
. Miloradovich attained the rank of General of the Infantry in 1809 and the title of count
Count
A count or countess is an aristocratic nobleman in European countries. The word count came into English from the French comte, itself from Latin comes—in its accusative comitem—meaning "companion", and later "companion of the emperor, delegate of the emperor". The adjective form of the word is...
in 1813. His reputation as a daring battlefield commander (referred to as "the Russian Murat
Joachim Murat
Joachim-Napoléon Murat , Marshal of France and Grand Admiral or Admiral of France, 1st Prince Murat, was Grand Duke of Berg from 1806 to 1808 and then King of Naples from 1808 to 1815...
" and "the Russian Bayard") rivalled that of his bitter personal enemy Pyotr Bagration
Pyotr Bagration
Prince Pyotr Ivanovich Bagration was a general of the Russian army. He was a descendant of the Georgian royal family of the Bagrations.- Life :...
, but Miloradovich also had a reputation for being lucky. He boasted that he had fought fifty battles but had never been wounded nor even scratched by the enemy.
By 1818, when Miloradovich was appointed Governor General of Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg Governorate
Saint Petersburg Governorate , or Government of Saint Petersburg, was an administrative division of the Russian Empire, which existed in 1708–1927....
, the retirement or death of other senior generals made him the most highly decorated active officer of the Russian Army, holding the Order of St. George
Order of St. George
The Military Order of the Holy Great-Martyr and the Triumphant George The Military Order of the Holy Great-Martyr and the Triumphant George The Military Order of the Holy Great-Martyr and the Triumphant George (also known as Order of St. George the Triumphant, Russian: Военный орден Св...
2nd class, the Order of St. Andrew
Order of St. Andrew
The Order of St. Andrew the First-Called is the first and the highest order of chivalry of the Russian Empire.- Russian Empire :The Order was established in 1698 by Tsar Peter the Great, in honour of Saint Andrew, the first apostle of Jesus and patron saint of Russia...
, the Order of St. Vladimir
Order of St. Vladimir
The Cross of Saint Vladimir was an Imperial Russian Order established in 1782 by Empress Catherine II in memory of the deeds of Saint Vladimir, the Grand Prince and the Baptizer of the Kievan Rus....
1st class, the Order of St. Anna
Order of St. Anna
The Order of St. Anna ) is a Holstein and then Russian Imperial order of chivalry established by Karl Friedrich, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp on 14 February 1735, in honour of his wife Anna Petrovna, daughter of Peter the Great of Russia...
1st class, the Order of St. John of Jerusalem
Russian tradition of the Knights Hospitaller
The Russian Tradition of the The Hospitaller Knights emerged when the Mediterranean stronghold of Malta was captured by Napoleon in 1798 when he made his expedition to Egypt...
and the Order of St. Alexander Nevsky
Order of St. Alexander Nevsky
The Imperial Order of St. Alexander Nevsky was an order of chivalry of the Russian Empire.-History:The introduction of the Imperial Order of St. Alexander Nevsky was planned by Emperor Peter I of Russia...
with diamonds. A chivalrous man of boastful and flamboyant character, Miloradovich was a poor fit for the governorship. Vladimir Nabokov
Vladimir Nabokov
Vladimir Vladimirovich Nabokov was a multilingual Russian novelist and short story writer. Nabokov wrote his first nine novels in Russian, then rose to international prominence as a master English prose stylist...
called him "a gallant soldier, bon vivant
Bon viveur
A bon viveur is a person who enjoys the good things of life, especially food. The phrase is derived from the French bon vivant, meaning good living, a bon viveur being a "good liver", or one who lives well. The phrase is not derogatory but conveys a sense of overindulgence...
and a somewhat bizarre administrator"; Alexander Herzen
Alexander Herzen
Aleksandr Ivanovich Herzen was a Russian pro-Western writer and thinker known as the "father of Russian socialism", and one of the main fathers of agrarian populism...
wrote that he was "one of those military men who occupied the most senior positions in civilian life with not the slightest idea about public affairs".
When news of the death of Alexander I
Alexander I of Russia
Alexander I of Russia , served as Emperor of Russia from 23 March 1801 to 1 December 1825 and the first Russian King of Poland from 1815 to 1825. He was also the first Russian Grand Duke of Finland and Lithuania....
reached Saint Petersburg, Miloradovich prevented the heir, future tsar Nicholas I
Nicholas I of Russia
Nicholas I , was the Emperor of Russia from 1825 until 1855, known as one of the most reactionary of the Russian monarchs. On the eve of his death, the Russian Empire reached its historical zenith spanning over 20 million square kilometers...
, from acceding to the throne. From to , Miloradovich exercised de facto dictatorial authority, but he ultimately recognised Nicholas as his sovereign after the Romanovs sorted out the succession crisis. Miloradovich had sufficient evidence of the mounting Decembrist revolt
Decembrist revolt
The Decembrist revolt or the Decembrist uprising took place in Imperial Russia on 14 December , 1825. Russian army officers led about 3,000 soldiers in a protest against Nicholas I's assumption of the throne after his elder brother Constantine removed himself from the line of succession...
, but did not take any action until the rebels took over the Senate Square
Senate Square
The Senate Square can refer to several squares depending on the city:* Helsinki Senate Square, a square in Helsinki, Finland* The Saint Petersburg Senate Square, a square in Saint Petersburg, Russia, formerly known as Decembrists Square...
on . He rode into the rows of rebel troops and tried to talk them into obedience, but was fatally shot by Pyotr Kakhovsky and stabbed by Yevgeny Obolensky.
Early years
Mikhail Miloradovich was the son of Major General Andrey Miloradovich (1726–1798). The Russian branch of the SerbianSerbs
The Serbs are a South Slavic ethnic group of the Balkans and southern Central Europe. Serbs are located mainly in Serbia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and form a sizable minority in Croatia, the Republic of Macedonia and Slovenia. Likewise, Serbs are an officially recognized minority in...
Miloradovich family was established in 1715, when Mikhail Miloradovich (the first), one of three brothers recruited by Peter I
Peter I of Russia
Peter the Great, Peter I or Pyotr Alexeyevich Romanov Dates indicated by the letters "O.S." are Old Style. All other dates in this article are New Style. ruled the Tsardom of Russia and later the Russian Empire from until his death, jointly ruling before 1696 with his half-brother, Ivan V...
to incite rebellion against the Turks four years earlier, fled from Herzegovina
Herzegovina
Herzegovina is the southern region of Bosnia and Herzegovina. While there is no official border distinguishing it from the Bosnian region, it is generally accepted that the borders of the region are Croatia to the west, Montenegro to the south, the canton boundaries of the Herzegovina-Neretva...
to Russia and joined Peter's service as a colonel. He was a commander of the Hadiach Regiment
Hadiach Regiment
The Hadiach Regiment was one of then territorial-administrative subdivisions of the Cossack Hetmanate. The regiment's capital was the city of Hadiach, now in Poltava Oblast of central Ukraine.The Hadiach Regiment was founded in 1648...
. Towards the end of Peter's reign he was imprisoned in connection with Pavlo Polubotok
Pavlo Polubotok
Pavlo Polubotok , was a Cossack political and military leader and Acting Hetman of the Left-bank Ukraine between 1722 and 1724.- Biography :...
's treason case, but was spared from further misfortune by Peter's death. His grandson Andrey served thirty years in the Russian Army and later moved into civil administration as the Governor of Little Russia
Little Russia
Little Russia , sometimes Little or Lesser Rus’ , is a historical political and geographical term in the Russian language referring to most of the territory of modern-day Ukraine before the 20th century. It is similar to the Polish term Małopolska of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth...
and the Chernigov governorate
Chernigov Governorate
The Chernigov Governorate , also known as the Government of Chernigov, was a guberniya in the historical Left-bank Ukraine region of the Russian Empire, which was officially created in 1802 from the disbanded Malorossiya Governorate with an administrative centre of Chernigov...
. The family owned lands in the Poltava Governorate
Poltava Governorate
The Poltava Governorate or Government of Poltava was a guberniya in the historical Left-bank Ukraine region of the Russian Empire, which was officially created in 1802 from the disbanded Malorossiya Governorate which was split between the Chernigov Governorate and Poltava Governorate with an...
; Mikhail inherited up to fifteen hundred serf
SERF
A spin exchange relaxation-free magnetometer is a type of magnetometer developed at Princeton University in the early 2000s. SERF magnetometers measure magnetic fields by using lasers to detect the interaction between alkali metal atoms in a vapor and the magnetic field.The name for the technique...
s.
Mikhail's father "enrolled" him in the military in his infancy, and later sent teenage Mikhail to study military sciences in the universities of Königsberg
University of Königsberg
The University of Königsberg was the university of Königsberg in East Prussia. It was founded in 1544 as second Protestant academy by Duke Albert of Prussia, and was commonly known as the Albertina....
and Göttingen, and in Strasbourg
Strasbourg
Strasbourg is the capital and principal city of the Alsace region in eastern France and is the official seat of the European Parliament. Located close to the border with Germany, it is the capital of the Bas-Rhin département. The city and the region of Alsace are historically German-speaking,...
and Metz
Metz
Metz is a city in the northeast of France located at the confluence of the Moselle and the Seille rivers.Metz is the capital of the Lorraine region and prefecture of the Moselle department. Located near the tripoint along the junction of France, Germany, and Luxembourg, Metz forms a central place...
. According to Nikolai Leskov
Nikolai Leskov
Nikolai Semyonovich Leskov was a Russian journalist, novelist and short story writer, who also wrote under the pseudonym M. Stebnitsky. Praised for his unique writing style and innovative experiments in form, held in high esteem by Leo Tolstoy, Anton Chekhov and Maxim Gorky among others, Leskov is...
, the education was superficial: Leskov described Mikhail as a boy of "charming ignorance" who did not even master the French language properly, and said that his French was littered with the "most grave and curious mistakes" (an anecdote credited him with blending pittoresque and synagogue into "pittagogue"). Sixteen-year-old Mikhail returned to Russia in 1787, joined the army as a praporshchik
Praporshchik
Praporshchik is a rank in the Russian military.-Imperial Russia:Praporshchik was originally a name of a junior commissioned officer rank in the military of the Russian Empire equivalent to ensign...
(a junior commissioned officer rank) in the Izmaylovsky Regiment
Izmaylovsky Regiment
Izmaylovsky Regiment was one of the oldest regiments of the Russian army, a subdivision of the 1st Guards Infantry Division of the Imperial Russian Guard. It was formed in Moscow on 22 September 1730. The first colonel of the regiment was appointed Adjutant general Count Karl Gustav von Löwenwolde...
and was soon sent into action in the Russo-Swedish War of 1788–1790.
Italian and Swiss campaigns
Miloradovich did not earn any distinction in the war of 1788–1790, but he advanced rapidly in peacetime. A captain of the Guards in 1796, Paul I regarded him favourably and he was promoted to the rank of colonel in 1797 and major general and chief of the Apsheron Regiment in 1798. In the same year, he departed to join Alexander SuvorovAlexander Suvorov
Alexander Vasilyevich Suvorov , Count Suvorov of Rymnik, Prince in Italy, Count of the Holy Roman Empire , was the fourth and last generalissimo of the Russian Empire.One of the few great generals in history who never lost a battle along with the likes of Alexander...
's troops in Italy. He won Suvorov's unconditional trust for taking Lecco
Lecco
Lecco is a town of c. 47,760 inhabitants in Lombardy, northern Italy, north of Milan, the capital of the province of Lecco. It lies at the end of the south-eastern branch of Lake Como...
on the eve of the Battle of Cassano
Battle of Cassano (1799)
The Battle of Cassano d'Adda was fought on 27 April 1799 near Cassano d'Adda, about 28 km ENE of Milan. It resulted in a victory for the Austrians and Russians under Alexander Suvorov over Jean Moreau's French army...
and for commanding the rearguard in the crossing of the Gotthard Pass. At Bassignana
Bassignana
Bassignana is a municipality in the Province of Alessandria, Piedmont, Italy. The village is situated near the confluence of the Po River and the Tanaro river....
he changed three horses killed by the enemy but was not even scratched; at Altdorf
Altdorf, Switzerland
Altdorf is the capital of the Swiss canton of Uri. The municipality covers an area of and is located at a height of above sea-level, to the right of the river Reuss.-Location:...
he led assault infantry over a burning bridge. These and similar episodes, true or anecdotal, forged public opinion of Miloradovich as a daring and lucky field commander, an opinion that he himself cultivated for the rest of his life. Miloradovich was adored at home, but the French held a different opinion: Adolphe Thiers
Adolphe Thiers
Marie Joseph Louis Adolphe Thiers was a French politician and historian. was a prime minister under King Louis-Philippe of France. Following the overthrow of the Second Empire he again came to prominence as the French leader who suppressed the revolutionary Paris Commune of 1871...
described Miloradovich as "a Servian , of brilliant valour, but absolutely destitute of military knowledge, dissolute in manners, uniting all the vices of civilization with all the vices of barbarism".
Paul rewarded Miloradovich with the Order of St. Anne
Order of St. Anna
The Order of St. Anna ) is a Holstein and then Russian Imperial order of chivalry established by Karl Friedrich, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp on 14 February 1735, in honour of his wife Anna Petrovna, daughter of Peter the Great of Russia...
1st class, the Order of St. John of Jerusalem
Russian tradition of the Knights Hospitaller
The Russian Tradition of the The Hospitaller Knights emerged when the Mediterranean stronghold of Malta was captured by Napoleon in 1798 when he made his expedition to Egypt...
and the Order of St. Alexander Nevsky
Order of St. Alexander Nevsky
The Imperial Order of St. Alexander Nevsky was an order of chivalry of the Russian Empire.-History:The introduction of the Imperial Order of St. Alexander Nevsky was planned by Emperor Peter I of Russia...
. Suvorov, in violation of military codes, transferred Miloradovich from field troops to his staff as a "general in waiting"; Paul later cited this fact as a pretext to dismiss Suvorov. Friendship between Miloradovich and Paul's second son Constantine
Grand Duke Constantine Pavlovich of Russia
Constantine Pavlovich was a grand duke of Russia and the second son of Emperor Paul I. He was the Tsesarevich of Russia throughout the reign of his elder brother Alexander I, but had secretly renounced his claim to the throne in 1823...
also dated back to the Swiss campaign. Constantine awarded Miloradovich a gilded sword with an inscription To my friend Miloradovich, which Miloradovich had with him on the day of his death.
Amstetten and Austerlitz
Miloradovich played a key role in the Battle of AmstettenBattle of Amstetten
The Battle of Amstetten was a minor engagement during the War of the Third Coalition between the First French Empire and the alliance of the Austria and Russia. It occurred on 5 November 1805, when the Austrians retreating from Vienna fought a rear-guard action against Marshal Joachim Murat's...
, where Mikhail Kutuzov ordered his three regiments to take a stand and provide relief for Pyotr Bagration
Pyotr Bagration
Prince Pyotr Ivanovich Bagration was a general of the Russian army. He was a descendant of the Georgian royal family of the Bagrations.- Life :...
's troops. "Above all, skillful maneuvering of the Russian force, including timely arrival of Miloradovich and his intelligent application of the reserve forces at his disposal, prevented the collapse of the rear guard". The action at Amstetten allowed Kutuzov to break contact with the French and prevented an all-out battle that would have been disastrous for the Russians. Reports of the battle by Miloradovich himself contradict the French accounts and are not corroborated by Bagration's laconic report: each side presented their own perspective, and Miloradovich had a particular penchant for glorifying his own actions. His action at Amstetten was rewarded with the Order of St. George
Order of St. George
The Military Order of the Holy Great-Martyr and the Triumphant George The Military Order of the Holy Great-Martyr and the Triumphant George The Military Order of the Holy Great-Martyr and the Triumphant George (also known as Order of St. George the Triumphant, Russian: Военный орден Св...
3rd class and promotion to lieutenant general. On November 11, 1805 Miloradovich attacked the French in the Battle of Dürenstein
Battle of Dürenstein
The Battle of Dürenstein , on 11 November 1805, was an engagement in the Napoleonic Wars during the War of the Third Coalition...
(referred to as the Battle of Krems in Russian sources), but the French withdrew before his corps could inflict significant damage.
The Battle of Austerlitz
Battle of Austerlitz
The Battle of Austerlitz, also known as the Battle of the Three Emperors, was one of Napoleon's greatest victories, where the French Empire effectively crushed the Third Coalition...
saw Miloradovich in charge of the Russian part of a Russian-Austrian infantry column (2,875 out of 11,795 men), one of the four columns placed on Pratzen Heights, which had been abandoned by the French. Another, larger part of the column was under Austrian command; the close presence of Kutuzov somewhat mitigated the perils of divided command. Tsar Alexander ordered this column to move before others were deployed; Kutuzov, unable to oppose the tsar, ordered Miloradovich to advance across the Goldbach Stream to Kobylnice, disregarding enemy action and difficult terrain. Hills and fog obstructed the view, and the column marched straight into the bulk of the French armies. Soult's troops mauled the mixed column and Miloradovich retreated. Alexander summoned his brother Constantine for help (although an alternative account by Bowden and Duffy
Christopher Duffy
Christopher Duffy is a British military historian. Duffy read history at Balliol College, Oxford, where he graduated in 1961 with the PhD. Afterwards, he taught military history at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst and the college of the British General Staff...
asserts that Miloradovich contacted Constantine himself). Contrary to the popular view that "he was almost the only Russian general who obtained any advantage over the French" at Austerlitz, General Karl Wilhelm von Toll contested Miloradovich's actions, asserting that his column was the first to fall back and that it was Bagration, not Miloradovich, who saved the allied troops from annihilation.
Russian-Turkish War
The war of 1806–1812 began with Russian occupation of MoldaviaMoldavia
Moldavia is a geographic and historical region and former principality in Eastern Europe, corresponding to the territory between the Eastern Carpathians and the Dniester river...
and Wallachia
Wallachia
Wallachia or Walachia is a historical and geographical region of Romania. It is situated north of the Danube and south of the Southern Carpathians...
. After the Turks responded by taking Bucharest
Bucharest
Bucharest is the capital municipality, cultural, industrial, and financial centre of Romania. It is the largest city in Romania, located in the southeast of the country, at , and lies on the banks of the Dâmbovița River....
, Russian commander-in-chief Johann von Michelsohn dispatched Miloradovich to intervene. Miloradovich captured Bucharest on December 13 without significant resistance from the Turks and was rewarded with a golden sword with diamonds "For the taking of Bucharest". The Turks, manipulated by the French envoy Sébastiani, did not declare war until five days later. No large-scale action followed. In May 1807 Miloradovich tried to capture Giurgiu
Giurgiu
Giurgiu is the capital city of Giurgiu County, Romania, in the Greater Wallachia. It is situated amid mud-flats and marshes on the left bank of the Danube facing the Bulgarian city of Rousse on the opposite bank. Three small islands face the city, and a larger one shelters its port, Smarda...
, but failed and fell back to Bucharest. On June 2, 1807 he redeemed himself by checking the Turkish advance at Obilesti.
The years 1808 and 1809 did not see any remarkable action either, but were marked by a dual intrigue among top Russian generals; at the top level, Mikhail Kutuzov was in conflict with Alexander Prozorovsky
Alexander Prozorovsky
Prince Alexander Alexandrovich Prozorovsky was the only Field Marshal from the Prozorovsky family.He gained distinction in the Seven Years' War and the conquest of Crimea. Prozorovsky's career was furthered by his maternal Galitzine relatives, who helped him to get appointed to the office of...
, while below them burned a feud between Miloradovich and Pyotr Bagration. Bagration temporarily succeeded Prozorovsky as commander-in-chief, but later both Miloradovich and Bagration lost their commands. At the beginning of 1810 Alexander
Alexander I of Russia
Alexander I of Russia , served as Emperor of Russia from 23 March 1801 to 1 December 1825 and the first Russian King of Poland from 1815 to 1825. He was also the first Russian Grand Duke of Finland and Lithuania....
recalled Miloradovich from front-line duty and tasked him with assembling a new army in Belarus
Belarus
Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...
. In April 1810 Miloradovich was appointed Governor of Kiev
Kiev
Kiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....
but soon tended his resignation. He was officially discharged in September 1810 but was called back into service in November, again as Governor of Kiev.
Napoleon's invasion of Russia
Militia
The term militia is commonly used today to refer to a military force composed of ordinary citizens to provide defense, emergency law enforcement, or paramilitary service, in times of emergency without being paid a regular salary or committed to a fixed term of service. It is a polyseme with...
troops in the hinterland; he returned to action on the eve of the Battle of Borodino
Battle of Borodino
The Battle of Borodino , fought on September 7, 1812, was the largest and bloodiest single-day action of the French invasion of Russia and all Napoleonic Wars, involving more than 250,000 troops and resulting in at least 70,000 casualties...
with 14,600 militiamen. Kutuzov appointed Miloradovich commander of front-line forces of the right (northern) flank, comprising Baggovut
Karl Gustav von Baggovut
Karl Gustav von Baggehufwudt September 1761 Perila, Estonia 18 October 1812 battle of Winkowo, Russian Empire was a Lieutenant General in Russian Empire taking part both in Napoleonic Wars and Finnish War...
's Second Infantry Corps and Ostermann-Tolstoy
Alexander Ivanovich Ostermann-Tolstoy
Alexander Ivanovich Count Osterman-Tolstoy was a Russian nobleman and soldier in the era of the French Revolutionary Wars...
's Fourth Infantry Corps. The battle plan required Miloradovich to protect the old Smolensk
Smolensk
Smolensk is a city and the administrative center of Smolensk Oblast, Russia, located on the Dnieper River. Situated west-southwest of Moscow, this walled city was destroyed several times throughout its long history since it was on the invasion routes of both Napoleon and Hitler. Today, Smolensk...
-Moscow road. On the day of the battle, , Kutuzov realised that enemy action was concentrated against his center and left flank and, at about 9 a.m., he ordered Miloradovich to march to the south and attack the French left flank. Riding in advance of his troops, Miloradovich was caught up in the heat of the battle for Semyonovskoe and, together with Barclay de Tolly
Michael Andreas Barclay de Tolly
Prince Michael Andreas Barclay de Tolly , was a Russian Field Marshal and Minister of War during Napoleon's invasion in 1812 and War of the Sixth Coalition.-Early life:...
, Yermolov
Aleksey Petrovich Yermolov
Aleksey Petrovich Yermolov , or Ermolov , was a Russian Imperial general of the 19th century who commanded Russian troops in the Caucasus War.-Early life:...
and Rayevsky
Nikolay Raevsky
Nikolay Nikolayevich Raevsky was a Russian general and statesman who achieved fame for his feats of arms during the Napoleonic wars. His family left a lasting legacy in Russian society and culture.-Early life:Nikolay Raevsky was born in Saint Petersburg...
, sought refuge in the defences of the Fourth Division. Between 10 a.m. and 12 noon his troops took a stand in the center of the Russian line and held off French attacks, with Baggovut's corps seeing critical action around noon, and Ostermann's corps around 4 p.m. By the end of the battle, the French succeeded in forcing the Russians from their defences, and Miloradovich's troops fell back to the same Smolensk road from where they had started. Baggovut took a stand there and held the road until nightfall against ferocious attacks by Polish cavalry.
After the battle, Miloradovich took command of the rearguard, sheltering Kutuzov's army from the advancing French. Enemy pressure prevented him from attending the Council in Fili
Fili (Moscow)
Fili is a former suburban village, now a neighborhood in the western section of Moscow, Russia, notable for the events of September 1812, following the Battle of Borodino. The village was located between the Moskva River and Poklonnaya Hill, near the present-day Fili station of Moscow Metro and...
that decided to surrender Moscow. Miloradovich, acting on behalf of Kutuzov, made a deal with Murat
Joachim Murat
Joachim-Napoléon Murat , Marshal of France and Grand Admiral or Admiral of France, 1st Prince Murat, was Grand Duke of Berg from 1806 to 1808 and then King of Naples from 1808 to 1815...
: if the French wanted Moscow intact, they had to allow Miloradovich free passage to the east, or face stubborn urban warfare
Urban warfare
Urban warfare is combat conducted in urban areas such as towns and cities. Urban combat is very different from combat in the open at both the operational and tactical level...
. Hereford George wrote that "Murat apparently deemed it beneath his dignity to confer with a mere general" and that he left the talks to Sébastiani. According to Fyodor Glinka
Fyodor Glinka
Fyodor Nikolaevich Glinka was a Russian poet and author.-Biography:Glinka was born at Smolensk in 1786, and was specially educated for the army. In 1803 he obtained a commission as an officer, and two years later took part in the Austrian campaign...
, however, Murat and Miloradovich negotiated directly with each other prior to the surrender of Moscow; Miloradovich contacted Sébastiani only after the French took Moscow and their cavalry engaged the Russian rear. Sébastiani honoured the accord, called back the cavalry and allowed the safe retreat of two Russian regiments trapped between advancing French columns. Temporary loss of contact between Murat and the Russian rearguard allowed Kutuzov to make a westward turn: Murat kept on advancing south-east towards Bronnitsy
Bronnitsy
Bronnitsy is a town in Moscow Oblast, Russia, located southeast of downtown Moscow and west of Bronnitsy station of the Moscow-Ryazan railroad. The town lies geographically within Ramensky District but is administratively incorporated as a town under oblast jurisdiction...
while Kutuzov marched in the opposite direction.
On , Kutuzov took defensive positions at Podolsk
Podolsk
Podolsk is an industrial city and the administrative center of Podolsky District of Moscow Oblast, Russia. It is located on the Pakhra River...
and dispatched Miloradovich to take position in front of the advancing French, 12 kilometers to the east. Four days later, Murat engaged Miloradovich and forced him to fall back to Krasnaya Pakhra (deliberately setting a trap, according to Glinka). Miloradovich barely escaped death or captivity when his headquarters were raided by French cavalry scouts on . On , Miloradovich successfully counterattacked Murat's corps at Chirikovo, taking one general de brigade prisoner. At this point, Kutuzov preferred to retreat further south; the main army marched to Tarutino
Tarutino, Russia
Tarutino is a rural locality in Zhukovsky District of Kaluga Oblast, Russia, located on the Nara River from Maloyaroslavets. It has an altitude of . It has a population of 733....
, while Miloradovich, now having Ostermann-Tolstoy's corps under his command, retreated to a fallback position on the Chernishnya River, 8 kilometers north of Tarutino. Glinka wrote that from to Miloradovich was continuously fighting the French, including four significant battles, and lamented that few of his deeds reached the public eye: "He is not a hero of the Vedomosti
Sankt-Peterburgskie Vedomosti
The Vedomosti was the first newspaper printed in Russia. It was established by Peter the Great's ukase dated 16 December 1702. The first issue appeared on 2 January 1703.- Petrine Vedomosti :...
, but a hero of history and of the future." During the standoff on the Chernishnya, Miloradovich had another person-to-person negotiation with Murat, while his own camp was filled with masses of French stragglers taken prisoner. Modern Russian historians criticised as indecisive his actions in the Battle of Tarutino
Battle of Tarutino
The Battle of Tarutino was a part of Napoleon's invasion of Russia. The battle is sometimes called the Battle of Vinkovo or the Battle of Chernishnya after the local river. Many historians claim that the latter name is more fitting because the village of Tarutino was 8 km from the described events...
, when poor coordination of Russian columns met its match in poor discipline of the French camp, but to contemporaries like Glinka and William Cathcart
William Cathcart, 1st Earl Cathcart
General William Schaw Cathcart, 1st Earl Cathcart KT, PC, PC , Scottish soldier and diplomatist, was born at Petersham, and educated at Eton.-Military career:...
the battle was a clear success.
After the Battle of Maloyaroslavets
Battle of Maloyaroslavets
The Battle of Maloyaroslavets took place on 24 October 1812, between the Russians, under Marshal Mikhail Illarionovich Kutuzov, and part of the corps of Eugène de Beauharnais, Napoleon's stepson, under General Alexis Joseph Delzons which numbered about 20,000 strong.-Prelude:On 19 October, Napoleon...
, Russian troops split into three pursuit columns, led by Miloradovich, Matvey Platov and Kutuzov himself. Miloradovich marched directly on Vyazma
Vyazma
Vyazma is a town and the administrative center of Vyazemsky District of Smolensk Oblast, Russia, located on the Vyazma River, about halfway between Smolensk and Mozhaysk. Throughout its turbulent history, the city defended western approaches to the city of Moscow...
, occupied by four French corps (Beauharnais
Eugène de Beauharnais
Eugène Rose de Beauharnais, Prince Français, Prince of Venice, Viceroy of the Kingdom of Italy, Hereditary Grand Duke of Frankfurt, 1st Duke of Leuchtenberg and 1st Prince of Eichstätt ad personam was the first child and only son of Alexandre, Vicomte de Beauharnais and Joséphine Tascher de la...
, Davout
Louis Nicolas Davout
Louis-Nicolas d'Avout , better known as Davout, 1st Duke of Auerstaedt, 1st Prince of Eckmühl, was a Marshal of France during the Napoleonic Era. His prodigious talent for war along with his reputation as a stern disciplinarian, earned him the title "The Iron Marshal"...
, Ney
Michel Ney
Michel Ney , 1st Duc d'Elchingen, 1st Prince de la Moskowa was a French soldier and military commander during the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. He was one of the original 18 Marshals of France created by Napoleon I...
, Poniatowski
Józef Antoni Poniatowski
Prince Józef Antoni Poniatowski was a Polish leader, general, minister of war and army chief, who became a Marshal of France.-Early Austrian years and war with Turkey:...
), while Platov closed in on it from the north. On Miloradovich and Platov agreed to storm Vyazma. The Battle of Vyazma
Battle of Vyazma
The Battle of Vyazma , occurred at the beginning of Napoleon's retreat from Moscow. In this encounter the rear guard of the Grande Armée was defeated by the Russians commanded by General Mikhail Andreyevich Miloradovich...
began at dawn of . Miloradovich quickly deployed front-line artillery that withstood Beauharnais's counterstrike and forced Davout's troops to take cover in the forest. Davout lost two hours taking a detour to reunite with Ney in Vyazma; at 2 p.m., when Miloradovich ordered a general assault, the French were already unable to resist. By 5 p.m. Miloradovich took control of the city, capturing French supply trains (but only three cannons).
On Miloradovich's three corps, marching ahead of the retreating French, took position to the French rear near Krasny. Miloradovich began the three-day Battle of Krasnoi
Battle of Krasnoi
The Battle of Krasnoi was a series of skirmishes fought in the final stage of Napoleon's retreat from Moscow. This encounter was noteworthy because of the heavy losses inflicted on the remnants of the Grande Armée by the Russians under General Mikhail Illarionovich Kutuzov...
by capturing a large supply train and cutting Ney and Beauharnais off from Napoleon's army. The next day, Beauharnais exhausted his troops in a breakthrough and refused Miloradovich's invitation to surrender; at night the decimated remains of his corps escaped through the woods. On Ney made his own unsuccessful attempt to break through Miloradovich's defences. Miloradovich again offered honorable surrender, but Ney arrested the messenger and expended his 10th and 11th divisions in a frontal assault. At night his forces of 3,000 men escaped over the frozen Dnieper
Dnieper River
The Dnieper River is one of the major rivers of Europe that flows from Russia, through Belarus and Ukraine, to the Black Sea.The total length is and has a drainage basin of .The river is noted for its dams and hydroelectric stations...
, but only 800 made it to Orsha
Orsha
Orsha is a city in Belarus in Vitebsk voblast on the fork of the Dnieper and Arshytsa rivers.-Facts:*Location: *Population: 125,000 *Phone code: +375 216*Postal codes: 211030, 211381–211394, 211396–211398-History:...
. Miloradovich missed the opportunity to intercept the French crossing of Berezina
Battle of Berezina
The Battle of Berezina took place November 26–29, 1812 between the French army of Napoleon, retreating after his invasion of Russia and crossing the Berezina , and the Russian armies under Mikhail Kutuzov, Peter Wittgenstein and Admiral Pavel Chichagov. The battle ended with a mixed outcome...
by two days.
In December 1812, Alexander awarded Miloradovich the Order of St. George, 2nd class. In line with Kutuzov's December Plan, Miloradovich led a Russian vanguard due west and took Warsaw
Warsaw
Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
on .
Campaign of 1813-1814
The appointment of Peter WittgensteinPeter Wittgenstein
Ludwig Adolph Peter, Prince Wittgenstein was a Russian Field Marshal distinguished for his services in the Napoleonic wars.-Life:...
as commander-in-chief of the united Russian and Prussian armies provoked open hostility from his new subordinates and, at the same time, from his seniors: Miloradovich, Barclay de Tolly, Langeron
Louis Alexandre Andrault de Langeron
Count Louis Alexandre Andrault de Langéron , born in Paris, was a French general in the service of the Imperial Russian Army during the Napoleonic Wars.-Early life:...
, Platov and Tormasov
Alexander Tormasov
Count Alexander Petrovich Tormasov was a Russian cavalry general prominent during the Napoleonic Wars....
. Tormasov refused to obey Wittgenstein altogether and left the army, while Miloradovich stayed and became the "official speaker" for the opposition. The conflict burned until the failures at Lutzen
Battle of Lützen (1813)
In the Battle of Lützen , Napoleon I of France lured a combined Prussian and Russian force into a trap, halting the advances of the Sixth Coalition after his devastating losses in Russia. The Russian commander, Prince Peter Wittgenstein, attempting to undo Napoleon's capture of Leipzig, attacked...
and Bautzen
Battle of Bautzen
In the Battle of Bautzen a combined Russian/Prussian army was pushed back by Napoleon, but escaped destruction, some sources claim, because Michel Ney failed to block their retreat...
compelled Wittgenstein to resign his command.
Miloradovich's own record in May 1813 was mixed: at Lutzen his corps of 12,000 men arrived too late to influence the outcome. In the following week he covered the retreat to the Elbe
Elbe
The Elbe is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It rises in the Krkonoše Mountains of the northwestern Czech Republic before traversing much of Bohemia , then Germany and flowing into the North Sea at Cuxhaven, 110 km northwest of Hamburg...
. Thiers wrote that the French "made him pay dearly for his useless boast" (his resolve to defend a certain position). Cathcart praised his skillful rearguard action but noted that by May 12 his corps had shrunk to about 10,000. At Bautzen, Miloradovich managed to push Oudinot
Nicolas Oudinot
Nicolas Charles Oudinot, 1st Comte Oudinot, 1st Duc de Reggio , was a Marshal of France.-Early life:...
out of Tronberg, but the battle as a whole remained a French victory.
Miloradovich and Constantine spent the remainder of the war, almost a year, in close cooperation and proximity as chiefs of infantry and cavalry reserves. In August 1813, after expiry of the Truce of Pläswitz
Truce of Pläswitz
The Truce or Armistice of Pläswitz was a 7-week armistice during the Napoleonic Wars, agreed between Napoleon I of France and the Allies on June 4 1813...
, Miloradovich led the reserve force of 24,000 Guards and Grenadiers into Bohemia
Bohemia
Bohemia is a historical region in central Europe, occupying the western two-thirds of the traditional Czech Lands. It is located in the contemporary Czech Republic with its capital in Prague...
and Constantine followed him with 11,000 "splendid cavalry" and artillery. Together with Barclay's headquarters, they formed one of four allied columns that converged on Dresden
Dresden
Dresden is the capital city of the Free State of Saxony in Germany. It is situated in a valley on the River Elbe, near the Czech border. The Dresden conurbation is part of the Saxon Triangle metropolitan area....
but had not been brought into the action of the Battle of Dresden
Battle of Dresden
The Battle of Dresden was fought on 26–27 August 1813 around Dresden, Germany, resulting in a French victory under Napoleon I against forces of the Sixth Coalition of Austrians, Russians and Prussians under Field Marshal Schwartzenberg. However, Napoleon's victory was not as complete as it could...
. Three days later they were employed against Vandamme
Dominique Vandamme
General Dominique-Joseph René Vandamme, Count of Unseburg was a French military officer, who fought in the Napoleonic Wars....
in the Battle of Kulm
Battle of Kulm
The Battle of Kulm was a battle near the town Kulm and the village Přestanov in northern Bohemia. It was fought on 29–30 August 1813, during the War of the Sixth Coalition...
, a "fortunate victory that conferred advantages beyond all calculations". On the eve of the Battle of Leipzig
Battle of Leipzig
The Battle of Leipzig or Battle of the Nations, on 16–19 October 1813, was fought by the coalition armies of Russia, Prussia, Austria and Sweden against the French army of Napoleon. Napoleon's army also contained Polish and Italian troops as well as Germans from the Confederation of the Rhine...
the forces of Miloradovich and Constantine, stationed near Margeborn, formed the reserve of the coalition army. In December 1813 they crossed the Rhine and headed into France.
Miloradovich's actions in 1813 were rewarded with the Order of St. Andrew
Order of St. Andrew
The Order of St. Andrew the First-Called is the first and the highest order of chivalry of the Russian Empire.- Russian Empire :The Order was established in 1698 by Tsar Peter the Great, in honour of Saint Andrew, the first apostle of Jesus and patron saint of Russia...
, the title of count and the right to wear Alexander's insignia on his shoulder, the first such honor ever granted in Russia. Miloradovich concluded the campaign of 1814, his last one, in Paris. After General Gorchakov
Pyotr Gorchakov
Prince Pyotr Dmitrievich Gorchakov was an Imperial Russian Army general from the Gorchakov family of Russian nobility.He served under Mikhail Kamensky and Mikhail Kutuzov in the campaign against Turkey, and afterwards against France in 1813–1814. In 1820 he suppressed an insurrection in the...
's infantry overran the French defensive artillery, Miloradovich was the one to bring in twenty howitzer
Howitzer
A howitzer is a type of artillery piece characterized by a relatively short barrel and the use of comparatively small propellant charges to propel projectiles at relatively high trajectories, with a steep angle of descent...
s and open fire at the city.
Governor of Saint Petersburg
After the Treaty of FontainebleauTreaty of Fontainebleau (1814)
The Treaty of Fontainebleau was an agreement established in Fontainebleau on 11 April 1814 between Napoleon Bonaparte and representatives from Austria, Hungary and Bohemia , as well as Russia and Prussia. The treaty was signed at Paris on 11 April by the plenipotentiaries of both sides, and...
Alexander appointed Miloradovich commander of the Russian Imperial Guard; in 1818 Miloradovich became Governor of Saint Petersburg, assuming command of all the troops, police and civil administration of the imperial capital. He had the unconditional trust of Alexander, who could hardly have found a worse candidate for the job. As chief of police, Miloradovich controlled political surveillance and investigation in Saint Petersburg, but the events of 1825 demonstrated that he ultimately failed to respond to the real threat: he dismissed the evidence against the Decembrists
Decembrist revolt
The Decembrist revolt or the Decembrist uprising took place in Imperial Russia on 14 December , 1825. Russian army officers led about 3,000 soldiers in a protest against Nicholas I's assumption of the throne after his elder brother Constantine removed himself from the line of succession...
, saying "It's all stuff; leave these young blockheads alone to read to each other their trash of miserable verses."
His affection for the arts and his ex officio duty as a censor at the peak of the Golden Age of Russian Poetry
Golden Age of Russian Poetry
Golden Age of Russian Poetry is the name traditionally applied by Russian philologists to the first half of the 19th century. It is also called the Age of Pushkin, after its most significant poet...
resulted in frequent contacts with authors and actors, and, apart from his death and his actions during the disastrous flood of 1824, his administration was remembered largely through anecdotes and artists' memoirs of varying reliability. This was not uncommon for Russian commanders; Nikolay Raevsky
Nikolay Raevsky
Nikolay Nikolayevich Raevsky was a Russian general and statesman who achieved fame for his feats of arms during the Napoleonic wars. His family left a lasting legacy in Russian society and culture.-Early life:Nikolay Raevsky was born in Saint Petersburg...
said "They [the writers of his time] turned me into a Roman, Miloradovich into a great man, Wittgenstein into the saviour of the fatherland, and Kutuzov into Fabius
Fabius Maximus
Quintus Fabius Maximus Verrucosus Cunctator was a Roman politician and general, born in Rome around 280 BC and died in Rome in 203 BC. He was Roman Consul five times and was twice Dictator in 221 and again in 217 BC. He reached the office of Roman Censor in 230 BC...
. I am not a Roman, and neither are these gentlemen."
Alexander Herzen
Alexander Herzen
Aleksandr Ivanovich Herzen was a Russian pro-Western writer and thinker known as the "father of Russian socialism", and one of the main fathers of agrarian populism...
who met Miloradovich in early childhood and fondly remembered him as a storyteller "with the greatest vivacity, with lively mimicry, with roars of laughter" ridiculed Miloradovich as an administrator yet called him "a warrior poet who understood poetry ... grand things are done by great means." Herzen's memoirs provide a number of anecdotes about Miloradovich the administrator (none of which could have been witnessed by the narrator).
In 1820 Miloradovich interrogated Alexander Pushkin on suspicion of political propaganda. Pushkin's name had already become a blanket cover for all kinds of incendiary pamphlets and he was desperate to clear himself of dangerous misattributions. Pushkin said that he burned his "contraband poems" and recited some from memory. Miloradovich said "Ah, c'est chevalresque", dismissed the charges and sent Pushkin on a well-paid tour of the south. Vladimir Nabokov
Vladimir Nabokov
Vladimir Vladimirovich Nabokov was a multilingual Russian novelist and short story writer. Nabokov wrote his first nine novels in Russian, then rose to international prominence as a master English prose stylist...
noted that all of Pushkin's influential friends could not have saved him had it not been for Miloradovich's "amiable conduct of the whole affair". There was a rumor that Pushkin was flogged on orders of Miloradovich, who fought a duel with at least one person who repeated it.
Author and publisher Nikolai Grech recounted another, less inspiring episode: in 1824 Miloradovich vigorously investigated an alleged breach of censorship rules at a printshop owned by Grech and Bezacque. Fifteen years earlier, when Miloradovich and Pyotr Bagration had a feud, Bezacque was Bagration's secretary and apparently became a lifelong enemy of Miloradovich. Grech easily refuted "factual evidence" and could have escaped unharmed, but Miloradovich brought his belated revenge down on Grech, inflicting on him a full police and court inquiry that dragged on until 1828. Miloradovich probably did not realise that the whole case was set up by Aleksey Arakcheyev
Aleksey Arakcheyev
Count Alexey Andreyevich Arakcheyev or Arakcheev was a Russian general and statesman under the reign of Alexander I.He served under Paul I and Alexander I as army leader and artillery inspector respectively. He had a violent temper, but was otherwise a competent artillerist, and is known for his...
and Mikhail Magnitsky to unseat Alexander Golitsyn.
The lifestyle of the "bizarre administrator" was just as bizarre. Miloradovich lived alone in a luxurious apartment "in complete disarray coupled with the most exquisite taste", without a single bedroom; "I spend the night where I feel like", he used to say. Family fortune and rewards from the tsar could not match his spending, and he sold off most of his lands and serfs. Posthumous sale of his remaining estate barely covered his debts.
Theatre and sexuality
In 1821, theatre managers Apollon Maikov and count Alexander Shakhovskoy allegedly tried to manipulate Miloradovich to overthrow the stern and frugal director of imperial theatres, Prince Tyufyakin. Miloradovich lent them support and then himself "grabbed both the power and the purse strings"; Miloradovich, Maikov and Shakhovskoy became a "committee of three formidable officials" that governed the everyday life of the imperial theatres. The change coincided with rumours of Shakhovskoy's trafficking in actresses; the death of Miloradovich and the ascension of Nicholas INicholas I of Russia
Nicholas I , was the Emperor of Russia from 1825 until 1855, known as one of the most reactionary of the Russian monarchs. On the eve of his death, the Russian Empire reached its historical zenith spanning over 20 million square kilometers...
ended Shakhovskoy's career.
The private life of Miloradovich, who never married and had no offspring, has been a controversial subject. Contemporaries condemned him for a desire "to create his own harem
Harem
Harem refers to the sphere of women in what is usually a polygynous household and their enclosed quarters which are forbidden to men...
in the theatre school" that allegedly became a reality with the aid of Shakhovskoy and Maikov. According to these sources, Miloradovich "had a weakness for women" and regularly spent evenings in the company of Shakhovskoy and female trainees of his theatre school; the chosen favorites then enjoyed the general's benevolence after graduation. Catherine Shuler noted that the appetites of Miloradovich and other dignitaries could be the cause of high "traffic in women" on stage and that "the resemblance between serf actresses and imperial actresses is surely not coincidental". Alexandra Kolosova, in 1822, was the first actress to break the ring and flee to Paris; upon return to Saint Petersburg she sought protection from Alexander, but Miloradovich had her arrested for twenty-four hours for turning down "the most insignificant role" offered to her. Miloradovich had lead actor Vasily Karatygin
Vasily Karatygin
Vasily Andreevich Karatygin was a leading actor of Russian Romanticism, sometimes styled the Russian Kean.Karatygin joined the Bolshoi Theatre in St Petersburg in 1820 and moved to the Alexandrine Theatre in 1832...
arrested for similar insubordination; when the prisoner's mother pleaded for mercy, Miloradovich responded: "I only like comedy onstage. I've seen blood, madam, tears don't move me".
Vladimir Bryukhanov suggested that Miloradovich was homosexual, disregarding or dismissing evidence to the contrary, such as the memoirs of Nadezhda Durova
Nadezhda Durova
Nadezhda Andreyevna Durova , also known as Alexander Durov, Alexander Sokolov and Alexander Andreevich Alexandrov, was a woman who became a decorated soldier in the Russian cavalry during the Napoleonic wars. She was the first known female officer in the Russian military...
. (Durova, disguised as a young man, was aide to Miloradovich in 1810 and later wrote about his affairs with women and their influence on the general's demeanor and on his relationships with subordinate officers.) The standard version of events holds that his last passion was ballerina Yekaterina Teleshova, who earlier had an affair with Alexander Griboyedov, a diplomat "too short of money to be a long-term rival to the general" (In 1825, Griboyedov wrote "... Miloradovich, that boastful idiot whom Shakhovskoy grovels to and idolises. They are both cattle."). Allegedly, the news of the Decembrist revolt
Decembrist revolt
The Decembrist revolt or the Decembrist uprising took place in Imperial Russia on 14 December , 1825. Russian army officers led about 3,000 soldiers in a protest against Nicholas I's assumption of the throne after his elder brother Constantine removed himself from the line of succession...
caught the general unawares in Teleshova's bedroom and he hurried into the action with his pants undone.
Interregnum
In the summer of 1823, Alexander I issued a secret manifest excluding Constantine from the order of succession and making Nicholas heir presumptiveHeir Presumptive
An heir presumptive or heiress presumptive is the person provisionally scheduled to inherit a throne, peerage, or other hereditary honour, but whose position can be displaced by the birth of an heir or heiress apparent or of a new heir presumptive with a better claim to the position in question...
to the throne. Historians argue as to whether or not Miloradovich had been formally made aware of Alexander's decision. Only three men – Aleksey Arakcheyev, Alexander Golitsyn, and Archbishop Filaret
Filaret, Metropolitan of Moscow
Filaret , Metropolitan of Moscow was the most influential figure in the Russian Orthodox Church for more than 40 years, from 1821 to 1867. He was canonized on 13 October 1994 and his feast day is celebrated on November 19.-Life:He was born in Kolomna as Vasily Drozdov...
– definitely knew the contents and whereabouts of the manifest; neither Constantine nor Nicholas knew the whole story.
On , when news of Alexander's death in Taganrog
Taganrog
Taganrog is a seaport city in Rostov Oblast, Russia, located on the north shore of Taganrog Bay , several kilometers west of the mouth of the Don River. Population: -History of Taganrog:...
reached Saint Petersburg, Miloradovich bullied Nicholas into pledging allegiance to Constantine, who was then living in Warsaw
Warsaw
Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
as viceroy of Poland. Golitsyn arrived at the palace later and announced the terms of Alexander's manifest, but Miloradovich persuaded the State Council
State Council of Imperial Russia
The State Council was the supreme state advisory body to the Tsar in Imperial Russia.-18th century:Early Tsars' Councils were small and dealt primarily with the external politics....
that Nicholas was aware of it and that his pledge of allegiance to Constantine was effectively an act of abdication
Abdication
Abdication occurs when a monarch, such as a king or emperor, renounces his office.-Terminology:The word abdication comes derives from the Latin abdicatio. meaning to disown or renounce...
. Miloradovich then sent a messenger to Moscow with two instructions: to pledge allegiance to Constantin and to keep the original of Alexander's manifest secret and locked away. Faced with the question, "What if Constantine holds to his resignation?", Miloradovich allegedly responded, "When one has one hundred thousand bayonets in one's pocket, it is easy to speak with boldness".
Correspondence between Saint Petersburg and Warsaw took two weeks, during which Miloradovich acted as de facto interrex
Interrex
The Interrex was literally a ruler "between kings" during the Roman Kingdom and the Roman Republic. He was in effect a short-term regent....
and regularly assured Nicholas that "everything is quiet". Constantine firmly refused to reign and blessed his brother's accession to the throne, but for a while the hesitant Nicholas took no action. On the morning of , Nicholas received detailed reports of the brewing Decembrist revolt from Diebitsch
Hans Karl von Diebitsch
Count Hans Karl Friedrich Anton von Diebitsch und Narden was a German-born soldier serving as Russian Field Marshal....
and Chernyshov
Alexander Chernyshyov
Alexander Ivanovich Chernyshyov , General of Cavalry , was a Russian military leader, diplomat and statesman, whose career began in Napoleonic Wars. After Battle of Austerlitz, he performed successful diplomatic mission to France and Sweden and served with distinction in battles of 1812 and 1813...
, and discussed the matter with Miloradovich and Golitsyn. According to Nicholas himself, the evidence was overwhelming. Miloradovich promised to mobilise all police resources but did nothing or, according to Korf, his "investigations remained completely fruitless. His researches had not discovered one person on whom suspicion could reasonably fall".
The actions of Miloradovich during the interregnum were highly controversial and provoked fringe conspiracy theories placing him at the top of the Decembrist rebel ring. Mainstream historians provide different explanations of his motives, none of which supports the theory of "Decembrist Miloradovich":
- Mikhail Safonov suggested that there were three contenders for the throne: Constantin, Nicholas and their mother Maria Fyodorovna. Miloradovich supported Maria but in public he aligned with Constantine and later with Nicholas. A similar version has been fictionalised by Igor BunichIgor BunichIgor Bunich is a Russian historian known for offering a number of revisionist interpretations of Russian history. He is most famous for claiming that Joseph Stalin was actively preparing to invade western Europe in 1941 before any suggestion of the German eastward assault in Operation...
. - Yakov Gordin suggested that Miloradovich acted as an independent dictator, using Constantine merely as a front.
- Andreeva supports a toned-down variation of Gordin's suggestion: that, regardless of Alexander's manifest, Miloradovich acted in good faith, supporting what he though was the legitimate solution to a crisis.
Revolt and death
Alexander von Benckendorff
Count Alexander von Benckendorff, was a Russian Infantry General and statesman, Adjutant General of the H. I. M. Retinue and a commander in the Patriotic War of 1812 best remembered for having established the Gendarmes in Russia....
other witnesses wrote that he was in his usual boastful, optimistic mood. Three hours later, when Miloradovich enjoyed a breakfast with Teleshova, general Neidhardt reported to Nicholas that the troops were marching towards the palace "in absolute mutiny".
At about noon on Miloradovich, whom nobody had seen since the morning, reported to Nicholas on Palace Square
Palace Square
Palace Square , connecting Nevsky Prospekt with Palace Bridge leading to Vasilievsky Island, is the central city square of St Petersburg and of the former Russian Empire...
. Witnesses disagree on whether he was mounted or on foot, but all accounts point to his extraordinary excitement and loss of self-control. According to Nicholas, Miloradovich told him: "Сеlа vа mаl; ils marchent au Senat, mais jе vаis leur раrlеr" (French: "That is bad; they are marching toward the Senate, but I will talk to them"). Nicholas coldly responded that Miloradovich must do his duty as the military governor and calm his troops down. Miloradovich saluted, turned around, and headed to the barracks of the Mounted Guards. General Orlov of the Mounted Guards pleaded with Miloradovich to stay with the loyal troops but Miloradovich refused to take cover, mounted a horse and rode out to the rows of rebel troops, accompanied either by two aides or only by Bashutsky on foot. Miloradovich harangued the soldiers for obedience, showing Constantine's sword "to prove that he would have been incapable of betraying him". Safonov pointed out that, instead of executing the tsar's order to lead the Mounted Guards against the rebels, Miloradovich "disobeyed it in a most incredible way ... by going into the action alone."
Between 12:20 and 12:30 Pyotr Kakhovsky shot Miloradovich point-blank in the back; "the bullet travelling up from below, from the back to the chest, tore the diaphragm, broke through all the parts and stopped beneath the right nipple". When Miloradovich slumped from his horse to the ground, Yevgeny Obolensky stabbed him with a bayonet
Bayonet
A bayonet is a knife, dagger, sword, or spike-shaped weapon designed to fit in, on, over or underneath the muzzle of a rifle, musket or similar weapon, effectively turning the gun into a spear...
. Miloradovich was taken to a nearby house, but by the time the surgeons arrived on the scene the marauders had stripped Miloradovich of his clothes, medals and jewellery. Medics removed the bullet (it was later delivered to Nicholas); Miloradovich remained conscious and dictated his last will in a letter to the tsar. There were three requests: to send His Majesty's regards to his relatives, to grant liberty to his serfs, and to "not forget the old Maikov
Apollon Maykov
Apollon Nikolayevich Maykov was a Russian poet.He was born into the artistic family of Nikolay Apollonovich Maykov, a painter and an academic. In 1834 the family moved to Petersburg. In 1837-1841 Maykov studied law at Saint Petersburg University. At first he was attracted to painting, but he soon...
". Miloradovich died around 3 a.m. on . After six days of lying in state, he was buried with honours at the Alexander Nevsky Lavra
Alexander Nevsky Lavra
Saint Alexander Nevsky Lavra or Saint Alexander Nevsky Monastery was founded by Peter I of Russia in 1710 at the eastern end of the Nevsky Prospekt in St. Petersburg supposing that that was the site of the Neva Battle in 1240 when Alexander Nevsky, a prince, defeated the Swedes; however, the battle...
.
The investigation of the Decembrist revolt led to the hanging of Kakhovsky and four of his ringleaders; it did not reveal any illicit connection between the Decembrists and Miloradovich. The second killer, Obolensky, was stripped of his princely title and exiled to Siberia for thirty years.