Avtonom Golovin

General A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". O ...

Avtonom Mikhailovich Golovin () (October 7, 1667 – July 3, 1720) was a Russian military leader and one of the associates 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 ...

. When tsar Peter I of Russia was a young boy, Avtonom Golovin served him as a room

stolnik Pantler (, , russian: сто́льник, ) was a court office in Lithuania, Poland, and Russia, responsible for serving the royal table, then an honorary court title and a district office. Stolnik in Crown of Poland In the Crown of Poland un ...

. Later in his life, Peter the Great made Golovin one of his military commanders for his loyalty, despite the fact that the latter had had almost no military experience. The tsar "promoted" Avtonom to the rank of

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge ...

of the

Leib Guard The Russian Imperial Guard, officially known as the Leib Guard (russian: Лейб-гвардия ''Leyb-gvardiya'', from German ''Leib'' "body"; cf. Life Guards / Bodyguard) were military units serving as personal guards of the Emperor of Rus ...

Preobrazhensky regiment The Preobrazhensky Life-Guards Regiment (russian: Преображенский лейб-гвардии полк, ''Preobrazhensky leyb-gvardii polk'') was a regiment of the Imperial Guard of the Imperial Russian Army from 1683 to 1917. The P ...

and asked him to participate in his

Azov campaigns 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 m ...

. Upon his return from abroad in 1698, Peter the Great began preparations for the war with Sweden. The first Russian regular regiments consisted of the so-called datochniye lyudi (lifelong

conscript Conscription (also called the draft in the United States) is the state-mandated enlistment of people in a national service, mainly a military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it continues in some countries to the present day u ...

s), later combined with the okhochiye lyudi (volunteers). Peter managed to muster 27 regiments formed into three divisions (9 regiments each). Generals

Adam Veyde Adam Adamovich Veyde (russian: link=no, Адам Адамович Вейде) (1667 – January 26, 1720) was a Russian infantry general and a close associate of Peter the Great. Adam Veyde began his military career in the so-called poteshnye vo ...

, Avtonom Golovin and

Anikita Repnin Prince Anikita Ivanovich Repnin (russian: Аники́та Ива́нович Репни́н, tr. ; 1668 – 3 July 1726, in Riga) was a prominent Russian general during the Great Northern War who superintended the taking of Riga in 1710 and se ...

were appointed commanders of these divisions. Soldiers had to learn how to use weapons and master military formations in accordance with Veyde's ''Military Charter'' (1698). Foreign officers were in charge of this training, which caused Golovin's anger. He used to say that they couldn't hold a

musket A musket is a muzzle-loaded long gun that appeared as a smoothbore weapon in the early 16th century, at first as a heavier variant of the arquebus, capable of penetrating plate armour. By the mid-16th century, this type of musket graduall ...

in their hands, didn't know their business, had to be taught themselves, and that it was all a waste of time. Soon, Peter the Great had to decline their services and put inexperienced

Muscovite Muscovite (also known as common mica, isinglass, or potash mica) is a hydrated phyllosilicate mineral of aluminium and potassium with formula K Al2(Al Si3 O10)( F,O H)2, or ( KF)2( Al2O3)3( SiO2)6( H2O). It has a highly perfect basal cleavage ...

sluzhiliye lyudi in charge of the training. In 1700, Golovin formed 8

infantry Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and m ...

regiments and one dragoon regiment (one division). During the Battle of Narva, the Russian army was defeated by

Charles XII Charles XII, sometimes Carl XII ( sv, Karl XII) or Carolus Rex (17 June 1682 – 30 November 1718 O.S.), was King of Sweden (including current Finland) from 1697 to 1718. He belonged to the House of Palatinate-Zweibrücken, a branch line o ...

. Golovin's division (which consisted of recruits only) was one of the first ones to flee the battlefield.

Field Marshal Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, ordinarily senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army and as such few persons are appointed to it. It is considered a ...

Charles Eugène de Croÿ Charles Eugène de Croÿ (; ; russian: Карл Евгений де Круа, tr. ; 1651) was a German and Russian Field Marshal and nobleman from the French noble House of Croÿ. Biography His father was Jacques Philippe de Croÿ-Roeulx (16 ...

and all of the foreign officers in the Russian army surrendered to the Swedes. They were soon followed by Generals

Yakov Dolgoruky Yakov (alternative spellings: Jakov or Iakov, cyrl, Яков) is a Russian or Hebrew variant of the given names Jacob and James. People also give the nickname Yasha ( cyrl, Яша) or Yashka ( cyrl, Яшка) used for Yakov. Notable people Peopl ...

tsarevich Tsarevich (russian: Царевич, ) is a Slavic title given to tsars' sons. Under the 1797 Pauline house law, the title was discontinued and replaced with ''Tsesarevich'' for the heir apparent alone. His younger brothers were called '' Veliki ...

Alexander Imeretinsky Alexander Konstantinovich Bagration-Imeretinsky ( ka, ალექსანდრე კონსტანტინეს ძე ბაგრატიონ-იმერეტინსკი (''Aleksandre Konstantines dze Bagration-Imeretinski' ...

, Avtonom Golovin and Ivan Buturlin, who had decided to capitulate, as well. As a result, almost all of the commanding officers were taken prisoners and the Swedes captured all of the Russian

artillery Artillery is a class of heavy military ranged weapons that launch munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during sieg ...

, which Peter the Great had been assembling piece by piece from all over Russia. Golovin was taken to Stockholm and remained there for the next 18 years. The tsar was only able to exchange him in 1718. In 1719 and 1720, Golovin took part in the structuralization of the Russian army. Avtonom Golovin died in 1720. {{DEFAULTSORT:Golovin, Avtonom 1667 births 1720 deaths Russian military leaders Russian generals Burials at Lazarevskoe Cemetery (Saint Petersburg)