Dmitry Petrovich Buturlin (; 11 May 1790 – 21 October 1849) was a Russian general and military historian from an old noble family of Ratshid stock. He was admitted into the

Governing Senate From 1711 to 1917, the Governing Senate was the highest legislative, judicial, and executive body subordinate to the Russian emperors. The senate was instituted by Peter the Great to replace the Boyar Duma and lasted until the very end of the R ...

in May 1833 and into the

State Council of Imperial Russia The State Council ( rus, Госуда́рственный сове́т, p=ɡəsʊˈdarstvʲɪn(ː)ɨj sɐˈvʲet) was the supreme state advisory body to the tsar in the Russian Empire. From 1906, it was the upper house of the parliament under t ...

in December 1840.

Biography

He took part in many campaigns of the

Napoleonic Wars {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Napoleonic Wars , partof = the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars , image = Napoleonic Wars (revision).jpg , caption = Left to right, top to bottom:Battl ...

as aide-de-camp to Prince

Pyotr Mikhailovich Volkonsky Prince Pyotr Mikhailovich Volkonsky (; ) was an Imperial Russian military commander, General-Field Marshal (1843), Adjutant General to Alexander I, member of the State Council (1821). Biography Pyotr Volkonsky was born in St. Petersburg in 1 ...

and

Alexander I of Russia Alexander I (, ; – ), nicknamed "the Blessed", was Emperor of Russia from 1801, the first king of Congress Poland from 1815, and the grand duke of Finland from 1809 to his death in 1825. He ruled Russian Empire, Russia during the chaotic perio ...

. In 1823 he went to

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

to help suppress the Spanish Revolution of 1820 and distinguished himself in the

Battle of Trocadero The Battle of Trocadero, fought on 31 August 1823, was a significant battle in France's expedition in support of the Spanish King Ferdinand VII. The French defeated the Spanish liberal forces and restored Ferdinand to absolute rule. Prelude Af ...

. He retired after the

Russo-Turkish War (1828–1829) The Russo-Turkish War of 1828–1829 resulted from the Greek War of Independence of 1821–1829; war broke out after the Ottoman Sultan Mahmud II closed the Dardanelles to Russian Empire , Russian ships and in November 1827 revoked the 18 ...

with the rank of Major General, but was recalled to active service on the occasion of the

Hungarian Revolt of 1848 The Hungarian Revolution of 1848, also known in Hungary as Hungarian Revolution and War of Independence of 1848–1849 () was one of many Revolutions of 1848, European Revolutions of 1848 and was closely linked to other revolutions of 1848 in ...

. After giving up his military career, Buturlin was appointed Director of the

Imperial Public Library The National Library of Russia (NLR, , ''РНБ''), located in Saint Petersburg, is the first, and one of three national public libraries in Russia. The NLR is currently ranked among the world's major libraries. It has the second biggest libr ...

in 1843. Buturlin's obscurantist views led him to demand from Czar

Nicholas I of Russia Nicholas I, group=pron (Russian language, Russian: Николай I Павлович; – ) was Emperor of Russia, List of rulers of Partitioned Poland#Kings of the Kingdom of Poland, King of Congress Poland, and Grand Duke of Finland from 18 ...

an all-pervasive system of

censorship Censorship is the suppression of speech, public communication, or other information. This may be done on the basis that such material is considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, or "inconvenient". Censorship can be conducted by governmen ...

. During the last year of his life he headed the , a secret super-censorship organ that supervised all regular censors. The Committee was disbanded early in the reign of

Alexander II of Russia Alexander II ( rus, Алекса́ндр II Никола́евич, Aleksándr II Nikoláyevich, p=ɐlʲɪˈksandr ftɐˈroj nʲɪkɐˈlajɪvʲɪtɕ; 29 April 181813 March 1881) was Emperor of Russia, Congress Poland, King of Poland and Grand Du ...

. As a historian Buturlin described in detail the major wars of

Catherine II Catherine II. (born Princess Sophie of Anhalt-Zerbst; 2 May 172917 November 1796), most commonly known as Catherine the Great, was the reigning empress of Russia from 1762 to 1796. She came to power after overthrowing her husband, Peter III ...

's reign and the

Patriotic War of 1812 The French invasion of Russia, also known as the Russian campaign (), the Second Polish War, and in Russia as the Patriotic War of 1812 (), was initiated by Napoleon with the aim of compelling the Russian Empire to comply with the continent ...

. Many of his works are in French. He viewed Alexander I as the true saviour of Russia and ranked the

Battle of Borodino The Battle of Borodino ( ) or Battle of Moscow (), in popular literature also known as the Battle of the Generals, took place on the outskirts of Moscow near the village of Borodino on 7 September 1812 during Napoleon's invasion of Russia. ...

among

Kutuzov Prince Mikhail Illarionovich Golenishchev-Kutuzov-Smolensky (; – ) was a List of Russian field marshals, Field Marshal of the Russian Empire. He served as a military officer and a diplomat under the reign of three House of Romanov, Romanov ...

's mistakes.

References

* Военный Энциклопедический Словарь 'The Military Encyclopaedic Dictionary'' Article "Buturlin, Dmitry Petrovich". Moscow, 1986.
Buturlin's biography
on the

Russian National Library The National Library of Russia (NLR, , ''РНБ''), located in Saint Petersburg, is the first, and one of three national public libraries in Russia. The NLR is currently ranked among the world's major libraries. It has the second biggest libr ...

website. {{DEFAULTSORT:Buturlin 1790 births 1849 deaths Imperial Russian Army generals Nobility from the Russian Empire Military historians from the Russian Empire Members of the State Council (Russian Empire) Writers from Saint Petersburg Burials at the Dukhovskaya Church Military personnel from Saint Petersburg