En
Ru
Birthday anniversary of Vasily M. Dolgorukov-Krymsky
1 (12) July 1722, in the family of Prince Mikhail Vladimirovich Dolgorukov, was born Russian soldier and statesman Vasily M. Dolgorukov-Krymsky.
In the reign of Anna Ivanovna (1730-1740) the family of Dolgorukov fell out of favor, many of its members were executed, deprived of rank and property, sentenced to imprisonment. Vasily’s father was removed from the post of the Governor of Astrakhan and sent to his village. His son, Vasily, was forbidden to study, and ordered to serve without the right to be promoted to officer. However, the valor that showed the young dragoon of the Troitsky regiment in the capture of Perekop on the night of 19 (30) - 20 (31), 1736 made the commander of the army, Field Marshal B. Minich, who had promised the rank of officer to the soldier who would be the first to ascend the ramparts of 20 meters high under the enemy fire, to violate the ban and promote Dolgorukov to the warrant.
In this rank Vasily participated in the siege of Ochakov, in the Battle of Stavuchany and the capture of Khotyn. When Elizabeth of Russia ascended the throne November 25 (December 6), 1741 he was made lieutenant and obtained quick promotion.
During the Seven Years’ War (1756-1763) Dolgorukov distinguished himself in action under Custine (1758), in Tsorndorf Battle (1758) and the siege of Kolberg (1762); was wounded twice and was promoted to lieutenant-general, and in 1762, the day of coronation of the Empress Catherine II, became general-in-chief. In 1759, the prince was awarded the Order of St. Alexander Nevsky, and in 1767 - the highest award of the Russian Empire, the Order of St. Andrew the First Called.
At the beginning of the Russian-Turkish War of 1768-1774, Dolgorukov commanded the troops guarding the border between Russia and the Crimean Khanate. On the night of 13 (24) to 14 (25) June 1771, the 2nd Army of General Dolgorukov began storming the entire Perekop line, took it a day later and defeated the army of the Crimean Khan Selim Giray in a bloody battle.
The result of the Russian-Turkish war was the Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca, which established the independence of the Crimean Khanate from the Ottoman Empire. It was Prince Dolgorukov to whom Catherine II entrusted to sign the treaty with the Crimean Khanate on behalf of the Russian Empire. As a result, the Crimea was in fact conquered by Russia, and the Khan was the Russian henchman, Shahin Giray (the final annexation of the Crimean Khanate took place in 1783).
10 (21) July 1775, the day of the solemn celebration of the anniversary of the Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca, Catherine II awarded Prince Dolgorukov with diamond decorations to with the Order of St. Andrew and a sword with diamonds, as well as the Order of Saint George, 1st class and the prefix “Krymsky” (Russian: of Crimea) to the family name .
In the summer of 1775, Prince Dolgorukov-Krymsky resigned and began furnishing his suburban estates, Znamenskoye-Gubaylovo and Volynschina. In 1780, upon a decree of the Empress Catherine II, he was made return to service as a senator and commander in chief in Moscow, where he earned the love and respect of Muscovites for his kindness, availability, and selflessness.
January 30 (February 10) 1782, Mikhail Dolgorukov-Krymsky died in Moscow and was buried in the village of Poluektovo, in the church of the Three Hierarchs that he had made built. In 1842, at the expense of the prince’s grandson, Vasily, in Simferopol, in the place of the tent of the commander in chief, was erected Dolgorukov obelisk.
Lit.: Андреев А. Р. История Крыма. Князь Долгоруков-Крымский. М., 2001; Он же. Князь Василий Михайлович Долгоруков-Крымский: Документальное жизнеописание: Историческая хроника. М., 1997; Бантыш-Каменский Д. Н. Долгоруков Василий Михайлович // Словарь достопамятных людей земли русской... Ч. 2. М., 1836. С. 272—281; Шишов А. В. Долгоруков Василий Михайлович // Георгиевские кавалеры. Т. 1. 1769-1850. М., 1993. С. 89—93; Долгоруков Василий Михайлович // Отечественная история: энциклопедия. Т. 2. М., 1996. С. 60; Долгоруков П. В. Сказания о роде князей Долгоруковых. СПб., 1842; Тыртов Е. История о князе Я. Ф. Долгорукове с прибавлением сведений о других знаменитых мужах славной фамилии князей Долгоруких. М., 1807.
Based on the Presidential Library’s materials:
Бокк А. Воспоминания о князе Василии Михайловиче Долгорукове-Крымском. М., 1855;