Count Mikhail Tarielovich Loris-Melikov (, hy, Միքայել Լորիս-Մելիքյան; – 24 December 1888) was a

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...

statesman,

General of the Cavalry General of the Cavalry (german: General der Kavallerie) was a General officer rank in the cavalry in various states of which the modern states of German and Austria are successors or in other armies which used the German model. Artillery officers ...

, and

Adjutant General An adjutant general is a military chief administrative officer. France In Revolutionary France, the was a senior staff officer, effectively an assistant to a general officer. It was a special position for lieutenant-colonels and colonels in staf ...

of H. I. M. Retinue. The Princes of

Lori Lori may refer to: *Lori (given name) *Lori Province, Armenia *Lori Fortress, a fortress in Armenia *Lori Berd, a village in Armenia *Kingdom of Tashir-Dzoraget, a historical Armenian kingdom from c. 980 to 1240, sometimes known as the Kingdom of L ...

- Loris-Melikovs are the representatives of an old noble family whose ancestors in the 14th century owned the town of Lori and the province of the same name. They belonged to the top aristocratic society of Georgia. In Russian nobility the princely family of the Loris-Melikovs (is translated from Georgian as “The Princes of Lori”) was approved in 1832.

Biography

Early life

He was born in

Tiflis Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), is the capital and the largest city of Georgia, lying on the banks of the Kura River with a population of approximately 1.5 million p ...

, Caucasus Viceroyalty,

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the List of Russian monarchs, 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 th ...

in 1826, to Prince Tariel Zurabovich Loris-Melikov and his wife, Princess Ekaterina Ahverdova, and was educated in St Petersburg, first at the

Lazarev Institute of Oriental Languages The Lazarev Institute of Oriental Languages, ( hy, Լազարևի արևելյան լեզուների ինստիտուտ) established in 1815, was a school specializing in orientalism, with a particular focus on that of Armenia, and was the princi ...

, and afterwards at the Guards' Cadet Institute. He joined a hussar regiment, and four years afterwards (1847) he was sent to the

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, mainly comprising Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia (country), Georgia, and parts of Southern Russia. The Caucasus Mountains, including the Greater Caucasus range ...

, where he remained for more than twenty years, and made for himself during troubled times the reputation of a distinguished cavalry officer and an able administrator. In the latter capacity, though a keen soldier, he aimed always at preparing the warlike and turbulent population committed to his charge for the transition from military to normal civil

administration Administration may refer to: Management of organizations * Management, the act of directing people towards accomplishing a goal ** Administrative Assistant, traditionally known as a Secretary, or also known as an administrative officer, administ ...

, and in this work his favorite instrument was the schoolmaster.

Military career

In the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-78, he commanded a separate ''corps d'armée'' on the Turkish frontier in

Asia Minor Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The ...

. After taking the fortress of

Ardahan Ardahan (, ka, არტაანი, tr, hy, Արդահան, translit=Ardahan Russian: Ардаган) is a city in northeastern Turkey, near the Georgian border. It is the capital of Ardahan Province. History Ancient and medieval Ardahan ...

, he was repulsed by

Ahmed Muhtar Pasha Ahmed Muhtar Pasha ( ota, احمد مختار پاشا;‎ 1 November 1839 – 21 January 1919) was a prominent Ottoman field marshal and Grand Vizier, who served in the Crimean and Russo-Turkish wars. Ahmed Muhtar Pasha was appointed as ...

Zevin Zevin (also, Zovin, Zëvin, and Zovik) is a village and municipality in the Yardymli Rayon of Azerbaijan. It has a population of 1,322. Notes References * Populated places in Yardimli District {{Yardymli-geo-stub ...

, but subsequently defeated his opponent at

Ajaria Adjara ( ka, აჭარა ''Ach’ara'' ) or Achara, officially known as the Autonomous Republic of Adjara ( ka, აჭარის ავტონომიური რესპუბლიკა ''Ach’aris Avt’onomiuri Resp’ublik’a'' ...

, took

Kars Kars (; ku, Qers; ) is a city in northeast Turkey and the capital of Kars Province. Its population is 73,836 in 2011. Kars was in the ancient region known as ''Chorzene'', (in Greek Χορζηνή) in classical historiography ( Strabo), part of ...

by storm, and laid siege to

Erzerum Erzurum (; ) is a city in eastern Anatolia, Turkey. It is the largest city and capital of Erzurum Province and is 1,900 meters (6,233 feet) above sea level. Erzurum had a population of 367,250 in 2010. The city uses the double-headed eagle as ...

. For these services he received the title of

Count Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New Yor ...

. He was awarded the

Order of Saint George The Order of Saint George (russian: Орден Святого Георгия, Orden Svyatogo Georgiya) is the highest military decoration of the Russian Federation. Originally established on 26 November 1769 Julian (7 December 1769 Gregorian) a ...

of the second degree on October 27, 1877, for his service in Ajaria.

Civil administrator

In the following year, Loris-Melikov became the temporary governor-general of the region of the Lower

Volga The Volga (; russian: Во́лга, a=Ru-Волга.ogg, p=ˈvoɫɡə) is the longest river in Europe. Situated in Russia, it flows through Central Russia to Southern Russia and into the Caspian Sea. The Volga has a length of , and a catchm ...

to combat an outbreak of the

plague Plague or The Plague may refer to: Agriculture, fauna, and medicine *Plague (disease), a disease caused by ''Yersinia pestis'' * An epidemic of infectious disease (medical or agricultural) * A pandemic caused by such a disease * A swarm of pes ...

. The measures he adopted proved so effectual that he was transferred to the provinces of Central Russia to combat the

Nihilists Nihilism (; ) is a philosophy, or family of views within philosophy, that rejects generally accepted or fundamental aspects of human existence, such as objective truth, knowledge, morality, values, or meaning. The term was popularized by Iv ...

and

Anarchist Anarchism is a political philosophy and movement that is skeptical of all justifications for authority and seeks to abolish the institutions it claims maintain unnecessary coercion and hierarchy, typically including, though not necessari ...

s, who had adopted a policy of

terrorism Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of criminal violence to provoke a state of terror or fear, mostly with the intention to achieve political or religious aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violen ...

, and had succeeded in assassinating the governor of

Kharkiv Kharkiv ( uk, wikt:Харків, Ха́рків, ), also known as Kharkov (russian: Харькoв, ), is the second-largest List of cities in Ukraine, city and List of hromadas of Ukraine, municipality in Ukraine.St Petersburg after the February 1880 assassination attempt on the

Tsar Tsar ( or ), also spelled ''czar'', ''tzar'', or ''csar'', is a title used by East and South Slavic monarchs. The term is derived from the Latin word ''caesar'', which was intended to mean "emperor" in the European medieval sense of the te ...

to deal with the

terrorist Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of criminal violence to provoke a state of terror or fear, mostly with the intention to achieve political or religious aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violen ...

agitation in general. Here, as in the Caucasus, he showed a decided preference for the employment of ordinary legal methods rather than exceptional extralegal measures, even after an attempt on his own life soon afterwards. He believed that the best policy was to strike at the root of the evil by removing the causes of popular discontent and recommended to the emperor Alexander II a large scheme of administrative and economic reforms. Alexander, who was beginning to lose faith in the efficacy of the simple method of police repression hitherto employed, lent a willing ear to the suggestion. When the Supreme Commission was dissolved in August 1880, he appointed Count Loris-Melikov

Minister of the Interior An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and identification, emergency ...

with exceptional powers. The proposed scheme of reforms was at once taken in hand but was never carried out. The emperor signed a ''

ukase In Imperial Russia, a ukase () or ukaz (russian: указ ) was a proclamation of the tsar, government, or a religious leader (patriarch) that had the force of law. "Edict" and "decree" are adequate translations using the terminology and concepts ...

'' creating several commissions, composed of officials and eminent private individuals, to prepare reforms in various branches of the administration, and while popular peoples' representatives from the

Zemstvos A ''zemstvo'' ( rus, земство, p=ˈzʲɛmstvə, plural ''zemstva'' – rus, земства) was an institution of local government set up during the great emancipation reform of 1861 carried out in Imperial Russia by Emperor Alexander ...

were granted positions, they were not allowed to vote. The intellectuals of Russia derided these reforms as rubber-stamping and an unwillingness to put forward any substantial, constitutional reforms. This ukase was designed and advocated by Loris-Melikov, and on the very day (13 March 1881) of its acceptance by the emperor, the emperor was assassinated. But after the assassination, Loris-Melikov hesitated about publishing the order for a popular commission, and waited for the new tsar, who turned out to be very opposed to a constitution in Russia. Alexander III at once adopted a strongly anti-reformist policy. When the new Tsar started to undo some of the reforms that his father, Alexander II had promulgated, Count Loris-Melikov resigned several months later and lived in retirement until his death at

Nice Nice ( , ; Niçard: , classical norm, or , nonstandard, ; it, Nizza ; lij, Nissa; grc, Νίκαια; la, Nicaea) is the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative c ...

on 22 December 1888.Moss. ''History Of Russia'', p. 45.

Notes

References

External links

* Armenian Aristocracy and the Military Traditio

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Loris-Melikov, Mikhail Tarielovich, Count 1825 births 1888 deaths Military personnel from Tbilisi People from Georgia Governorate