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Ivan F. Paskevich, Field Marshal General, was born
8 (19) May 1782 in Poltava, into a noble family was born Ivan F. Paskevich, Russian military leader and statesman, Count of Erivan (1828), Field-Marshal General (1829), Prince of Warsaw and the governor-general of the Kingdom of Poland (1831).
In 1793-1800 Paskevich was studying at St. Petersburg Corps of Pages, shortly before the end of which he was assigned a page of the Life of Paul I. He began his military service as a lieutenant of the Preobrazhensky Life Guards Regiment, having soon been awarded the rank of adjutant. He gained his first combat experience during the Russian-Turkish war of 1806-1812 as adjutant to the commander in chief of the Moldavian (Danube) Army, I. I. Michelson, A. A. Prozorovskiy and N. M. Kamensky. During the fighting at the assault of Braila on April 20 (May 2) 1809, he was wounded; in June of the same year Paskevich was promoted to colonel and became commander of the Vitebsk musketeer regiment. Paskevich soon distinguished himself in the battle of Batynom on August 26 (September 7) 1810, and was promoted to major general, and appointed commander of the 26th Infantry Division. For his gallantry in battle, Ivan was awarded a golden sword "For courage" and five orderds, including the Order of St. George, 3rd and 4th degrees.
In the early days of the Patriotic War II of 1812 Paskevich’s division fought as part of the Second Army led by General Bagration, having played an important role in the battle of Saltanovka 11 (23) July 1812. In the Battle of Smolensk, 4-6 (16-18) August Major-General headed the defense of the Royal bastion. In the battle of Borodino he managed to fight off several attacks of the French against the battery of Lieutenant General, N. Rajewski. After the retreat of Napoleon from Moscow, Paskevich participated in the persecution of the French army, showed courage in the battle of Maloyaroslavets 12 (24) October, of Vyazma 22 October (3 November) and of Krasny 3-6 (15-18) November, and was soon awarded the Order of St. Vladimir 2nd degree. During the foreign campaign of the Russian army in 1813-1814, General Paskevich distinguished himself at the battle of Leipzig 4-7 (16-19) October 1813, and was promoted to lieutenant general and awarded the Order of St. Anne, 1st degree. In January of 1814, he was appointed commander of the 2nd Grenadier Division. Also general took part in the capture of Paris in March of 1814.
In 1817-1819 Paskevich accompanied Grand Duke Mikhail Pavlovich in his journey abroad. In May 1821, General headed the 1st Guards Infantry Division, whose brigades were under the command of the Grand Dukes Nicholas and Michael Pavlovich. Three years later, Paskevich was appointed adjutant-general, and soon - the commander of the 1st Infantry Corps. After the accession of Nicholas I, Ivan was one of the most trusted of the emperor. In the summer of 1826, after the outbreak of the war with the Persians, Paskevich was sent to the Caucasus as assistant to General A. P. Ermolov. Leading the troops of the Separate Caucasus Corps, Paskevich succeeded to stop the Persian attack on Tbilisi. 13 (25) September 1826, near Yelizavetpol, his corps defeated the forces of the Persian prince Abbas Mirza that several times exceeded his own troops, and repulsed him behind the River Aras. For a successful outcome for the Russian forces of the battle, Paskevich was promoted to General of Infantry.
In the summer of 1827 the troops under General Paskevich invaded the Erivan khanate and defeated Abbas Mirza near the stream of Dzhevan-Bulak, forcing the surrender of the strategically important fortress of Sardar Abad on 7 (19) July; and in October seized the capital of the Khanate – the city of Erivan . After the victory, the advanced Russian detachment of General G. E. Eristov, having crossed the River Arax, reached southern Azerbaijan and occupied its capital - Tabriz (Tabriz). Later Paskevich arrived there with major forces. This turn of events forced the Persians in February 1828 to conclude the Treaty of Turkmenchay, according to which Eastern Armenia (Yerevan and Nakhchivan khanates) was annexed to Russia. For the victory in the Russian-Persian war Adjutant General Paskevich was awarded the Order of St. George, 2nd degree, and also granted the title of Count of Erivan.
In connection with the beginning of the Russian-Turkish war in 1828, General Paskevich was assigned commander of the Russian troops in the Caucasus theater of war. During the battles, he adhered to offensive tactics. June 23 (July 5) his troops took Kars, July 23 (August 4) - Akhalkalaki, and in early August defeated the superior forces of the Turks near the fortress Akhaltsikhe, and three weeks later captured it. The following year, Paskevich’s soldiers repelled two Turkish counterattacks.
Despite the lack of numbers of Russian troops, the disorders of the Caucasian mountaineers and the military threat from Persia, the general continued the offensive. In a field battle the Russians routed the sultan’s army commanded by Gakki Pasha. The result of this two days’ fighting near the village of Kainly was the loss of the Asian army by the Ottoman Porte. After this victory the Russian army rushed inland the Turkish Anatolia. Paskevich’s troops, having bridged 80 miles in three days, occupied the fortress of Kale Hassan, only 40 miles away from Erzurum. June 27 (July 9) 1829, the main city of Asiatic Turkey, Erzurum, was captured by the Russian army.
For the capture of Erzerum, Infantry General Paskevich was awarded the highest commander’s award of the Russian Empire - the Order of St. George, 1st class. He was the fourth and the last owner of all four classes of the Order (after the generals M. I. Kutuzov, M. B. Barclay de Tolly and I. I. Dibich) in the military history of Russia. For the victorious completion of the war with Turkey in the Caucasus, he was also awarded the title of Field Marshal General.
After the death of Field Marshal I. I. Dibich who led the suppression of the Polish uprising of 1830-1831, Paskevich was appointed commander of the punitive troops. Two months after the arrival of his army, the capital of Poland was taken. For the victorious storming of Warsaw, Paskevich, Count of Erivan, was raised to "hereditary prince and given the name of Warsaw and the title of His Highness." In March 1832, he became governor of the Kingdom of Poland with special powers. During his governorship, Paskevich had done a lot for the development of the western region of the Russian Empire.
In 1848-1849, when an uprising against the Austrian government broke out in Hungary, Russian emperor sent Paskevich to the rebellious region. Skillfully maneuvering the forces, 1 (13) August 1849, near Vilagosh, Field Marshal General forced the Hungarian revolutionary army to surrender.
The Crimean War of 1853-1856 was the last campaign for the general. In its initial period, he was appointed commander of the Russian troops on the western border, and in 1853-1854 - on the Danube. Taking six unsuccessful assaults of the fortress of Silistra, and being a contused, the Russian general raised the siege of the fortress. Leaving the Danubian lands without loss, his troops marched toward Sevastopol.
In late July 1854, due to the hostile position of Austria, on the orders of Emperor Nicholas I Paskevich withdrew Russian troops from Moldova and Wallachia, and returned to Poland.
January 20 (February 1) 1856 Ivan F. Paskevich, Count of Erivan died in Warsaw.
Lit.: Верже А. Князь Паскевич в Царстве Польском в 1846 г. // Русская Старина. 1885. Т. XLVIII; Гурьянов И. Г. Знаменитые черты из жизни и военные подвиги фельдмаршала графа Ивана Фёдоровича Паскевича-Эриванского и храбрых его сподвижников... Ч. 1-3. М., 1831; Достопамятные черты из жизни генерала фельдмаршала, князя Варшавского, графа Ивана Фёдоровича Паскевича Эриванского... Ч. 1-6. М., 1833; Из записок князя Паскевич до августа 1826 г. // Русский Архив. 1889. Т. I; Паскевич И. Ф. Всеподданнейший рапорт главнокомандующего действующей армией генерал-фельдмаршала князя Варшавского, графа Паскевича-Эриванского, от 15-го сентября 1831 года, содержащий подробности двухдневного штурма города Варшавы и покорения его победоносными войсками нашими. Варшава, 1833; То же [Электронный ресурс]. URL: http://dlib.rsl.ru/viewer/01003542083#?page=1; Его же. Очерки Польской кампании в 1831 году. М., 1859; Перцов В. Жизнеописание генерал-фельдмаршала, князя Варшавского, графа Ивана Фёдоровича Паскевича Эриванского. Варшава, 1870; Фельдмаршал Паскевич и дипломатия в 1827-1829 годах // Исторический вестник, 1892. Т. 48. № 5. С. 494—518; Шильдер Н. Фельдмаршал Паскевич в крымскую войну // Русская Старина. 1875. Т. XII; Шишов А. В. Русские генерал-фельдмаршалы Дибич-Забалканский, Паскевич-Эриванский. М., 2001; Щербатов А. П. Генерал-фельдмаршал князь Паскевич. Его жизнь и деятельность. Т. 1-7. СПб., 1888-94.
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