Count Pyotr Alexandrovich Rumyantsev-Zadunaisky (russian: Пётр Алекса́ндрович Румя́нцев-Задунайский; – ) was one of the foremost
Russian generals of the 18th century. He governed
Little Russia
Little Russia (russian: Малороссия/Малая Россия, Malaya Rossiya/Malorossiya; uk, Малоросія/Мала Росія, Malorosiia/Mala Rosiia), also known in English as Malorussia, Little Rus' (russian: Малая Ру� ...
in the name of Empress
Catherine the Great
, en, Catherine Alexeievna Romanova, link=yes
, house =
, father = Christian August, Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst
, mother = Joanna Elisabeth of Holstein-Gottorp
, birth_date =
, birth_name = Princess Sophie of Anha ...
from the abolition of the
Cossack Hetmanate
The Cossack Hetmanate ( uk, Гетьманщина, Hetmanshchyna; or ''Cossack state''), officially the Zaporizhian Host or Army of Zaporizhia ( uk, Військо Запорозьке, Viisko Zaporozke, links=no; la, Exercitus Zaporoviensis) ...
in 1764 until Catherine's death 32 years later. Monuments to his victories include the
Kagul Obelisk
The Kagul Obelisk in Tsarskoye Selo is one of several such structures erected on behest of Catherine II of Russia in 1772 to commemorate Pyotr Rumyantsev's victory in the Battle of Kagul. Designed by Antonio Rinaldi, the dark grey-and-red mar ...
in
Tsarskoye Selo
Tsarskoye Selo ( rus, Ца́рское Село́, p=ˈtsarskəɪ sʲɪˈlo, a=Ru_Tsarskoye_Selo.ogg, "Tsar's Village") was the town containing a former residence of the Russian imperial family and visiting nobility, located south from the c ...
(1772), the
Rumyantsev Obelisk on
Vasilievsky Island
Vasilyevsky Island (russian: Васи́льевский о́стров, Vasilyevsky Ostrov, V.O.) is an island in St. Petersburg, Russia, bordered by the Bolshaya Neva and Malaya Neva Rivers (in the delta of the Neva River) in the south ...
(1798–1801), and a galaxy of
Derzhavin's odes.
Early life
Peter was the only son of Count
Alexander Rumyantsev, of
Moldovan origins, by
Maria, the daughter and heiress of Count
Andrey Matveyev
Count Andrey Artamonovich Matveev (russian: Андрей Артамонович Матвеев) (1666–1728) was a Russian statesman of the Petrine epoch best remembered as one of the first Russian ambassadors and Peter the Great's agent in Lond ...
. As his mother spent much time in the company of
Peter the Great
Peter I ( – ), most commonly known as Peter the Great,) or Pyotr Alekséyevich ( rus, Пётр Алексе́евич, p=ˈpʲɵtr ɐlʲɪˈksʲejɪvʲɪtɕ, , group=pron was a Russian monarch who ruled the Tsardom of Russia from t ...
, rumours suggested that the young Rumyantsev was the monarch's illegitimate son. He was named after the ruling Emperor who was his godfather. He was the brother of
Praskovya Bruce
Countess Praskovya Aleksandrovna Bruce (Прасковья Александровна Брюс; née Rumyantseva; 1729–1785) was a Russian
lady-in-waiting and noble, confidant of Catherine the Great.
Life
{{unsourced, section, date=October 2022 ...
, confidant of
Catherine the Great
, en, Catherine Alexeievna Romanova, link=yes
, house =
, father = Christian August, Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst
, mother = Joanna Elisabeth of Holstein-Gottorp
, birth_date =
, birth_name = Princess Sophie of Anha ...
.
Pyotr Alexandrovich first saw military service under his nominal father in the
war with Sweden (1741–1743). He personally carried to the Empress the peace
treaty of Åbo
The Treaty of Åbo or the Treaty of Turku was a peace treaty signed between the Russian Empire and Sweden in Åbo ( fi, Turku) on in the end of the Russo-Swedish War of 1741–1743.
History
By the end of the war, the Imperial Russian Army had ...
, concluded by his father in 1743. Thereupon he gained promotion to the rank of colonel.
His first military glory dates from the great battles of the
Seven Years' War
The Seven Years' War (1756–1763) was a global conflict that involved most of the European Great Powers, and was fought primarily in Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific. Other concurrent conflicts include the French and Indian War (1754 ...
(1756–1763), those of
Gross-Jägersdorf (1757) and
Kunersdorf (1759). In 1761 he
besieged and took the Pomeranian fortress of Kolberg,
thus clearing for Russian armies the path to
Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitu ...
.
First Russo-Turkish War
Throughout the reign of
Catherine the Great
, en, Catherine Alexeievna Romanova, link=yes
, house =
, father = Christian August, Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst
, mother = Joanna Elisabeth of Holstein-Gottorp
, birth_date =
, birth_name = Princess Sophie of Anha ...
, Rumyantsev served as supreme governor of
Little Russia
Little Russia (russian: Малороссия/Малая Россия, Malaya Rossiya/Malorossiya; uk, Малоросія/Мала Росія, Malorosiia/Mala Rosiia), also known in English as Malorussia, Little Rus' (russian: Малая Ру� ...
. In this post, which his father had held with so much honesty, Rumyantsev made it his priority to eliminate any autonomy of the
hetman
( uk, гетьман, translit=het'man) is a political title from Central and Eastern Europe, historically assigned to military commanders.
Used by the Czechs in Bohemia since the 15th century. It was the title of the second-highest military ...
s and to fully incorporate the newly conquered territories into the
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War ...
. Some accuse him of having promoted
serfdom
Serfdom was the status of many peasants under feudalism, specifically relating to manorialism, and similar systems. It was a condition of debt bondage and indentured servitude with similarities to and differences from slavery, which develop ...
in
New Russia
Novorossiya, literally "New Russia", is a historical name, used during the era of the Russian Empire for an administrative area that would later become the southern mainland of Ukraine: the region immediately north of the Black Sea and Crime ...
, but the choice of such a policy remained out of his control.
With the outbreak of the
Russo-Turkish war
The Russo-Turkish wars (or Ottoman–Russian wars) were a series of twelve wars fought between the Russian Empire and the Ottoman Empire between the 16th and 20th centuries. It was one of the longest series of military conflicts in European histo ...
in 1768, Rumyantsev took command of the army sent to capture
Azov
Azov (russian: Азов), previously known as Azak,
is a town in Rostov Oblast, Russia, situated on the Don River just from the Sea of Azov, which derives its name from the town. Population:
History
Early settlements in the vicinity
The mout ...
. He thoroughly defeated the Turks in the Battles of
Larga and
Kagula, crossed the
Danube
The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , pa ...
and advanced to
Romania
Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...
. For these dazzling victories he became
Field-Marshal and gained the
victory title
A victory title is an honorific title adopted by a successful military commander to commemorate his defeat of an enemy nation. The practice is first known in Ancient Rome and is still most commonly associated with the Romans, but it was also adop ...
''Zadunaisky'' (meaning "Trans-Danubian"). When his forces approached
Shumla in 1774, the new Sultan
Abdul Hamid I started to panic and sued for peace, which Rumyanstev signed upon a military tambourine at the village of
Küçük Kaynarca.
Second Russo-Turkish War
By that point, Rumyantsev had undoubtedly become the most famous Russian commander. Other Catharinian generals, notably
Potemkin
Prince Grigory Aleksandrovich Potemkin-Tauricheski (, also , ;, rus, Князь Григо́рий Алекса́ндрович Потёмкин-Таври́ческий, Knjaz' Grigórij Aleksándrovich Potjómkin-Tavrícheskij, ɡrʲɪˈɡ ...
, allegedly regarded his fame with such jealousy that they wouldn't permit him to take the command again. In times of peace, Rumyantsev expressed his innovative views on the martial art in the ''Instructions'' (1761), ''Customs of Military Service'' (1770), and the ''Thoughts'' (1777). These works provided a theoretical base for the re-organisation of the Russian army undertaken by Potemkin.
During the
Second Russo-Turkish War, Rumyantsev suspected Potemkin of deliberately curtailing supplies of his army and presently resigned his command. In the
Polish campaign of 1794 he once again won appointment as
commander-in-chief, but his rival
Suvorov actually led the armies into battle. On this occasion Rumyantsev didn't bother even to leave his Ukrainian manor at
Tashan which he had rebuilt into a fortress. He died there on 19 December 1796, just over a month after Catherine's death, and was interred in the
Kiev
Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the seventh-most populous city in Europe.
Ky ...
Pechersk Lavra.
As the story goes, old Rumyantsev-Zadunaisky grew enormously fat and avaricious, so that he pretended not to recognize his own sons when they came from the capital to ask for money. Under his son Sergey's administration, Tashan fell into ruins, although he erected a
mausoleum
A mausoleum is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument enclosing the interment space or burial chamber of a deceased person or people. A mausoleum without the person's remains is called a cenotaph. A mausoleum may be cons ...
near
Balashikha
Balashikha ( rus, Балашиха, p=bəlɐˈʂɨxə) is a city in Moscow Oblast, Russia, located on the Pekhorka River east of the Moscow Ring Road. Population:
Etymology
In Finno-Ugric languages, ''Bala-shika'' means ''land of celebrations, ...
for his father's reburial (which never took place). Neither Sergey nor his brother
Nikolay Petrovich Rumyantsev
Count Nikolai Petrovich Rumyantsev (; 3 April 1754 – 3 January 1826), born in Saint Petersburg, was Russia's Foreign Minister and Chancellor of the Russian Empire in the run-up to Napoleon's invasion of Russia (1808–12). He was the son of ...
married, and the comital branch of the
Rumyantsev family became extinct upon their death.
Gallery
File:Rumyantsev Zadunaysky Mansion.jpg, Rumyantsev Zadunaysky Mansion, built in 1782. A number of researchers called the famous architect of the project Vasily Bazhenov, others attribute the construction to M.F. Kazakov. There is no consensus on the issue; it is possible that both the architects were involved in the project
File:Kachanovka palace.JPG, Kachanivka Palace, Ukraine
File:Maryinsky Palace, residence of the Ukrainian President.JPG, Governors' Palace in Kyiv
Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the seventh-most populous city in Europe.
Ky ...
File:Belarus-Homel-Palace of Pashkevichs-13.jpg, Rumyantsev Residence in Gomel
Gomel (russian: Гомель, ) or Homiel ( be, Гомель, ) is the administrative centre of Gomel Region and the second-largest city in Belarus with 526,872 inhabitants (2015 census).
Etymology
There are at least six narratives of the o ...
, Belarus
Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by ...
File:Spb 06-2012 English Embankment 03.jpg, Nikolai Rumyantsev's mansion on English Quay, St. Petersburg
See also
*
Operation Polkovodets Rumyantsev
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rumyantsev, Pyotr
1725 births
1796 deaths
Military personnel from Moscow
People from Moskovsky Uyezd
Counts of the Russian Empire
Russian people of Romanian descent
Russian people of Moldovan descent
Field marshals of Russia
Little Russia Governorate
Recipients of the Order of St. George of the First Degree
18th-century military personnel from the Russian Empire
Russian military personnel of the Seven Years' War
Governors-General of Kiev
Governors-General of Little Russia
People of the Russo-Turkish War (1768–1774)
People of the Silesian Wars
Collegium of Little Russia (1722–1727)
Recipients of the Order of the White Eagle (Poland)