Pyotr Stepanovich Kotlyarevsky (23 June 1782 – 2 November 1852) was a Russian military officer of Ukrainian origin. He was known for his service in the

Russo-Persian War (1804–1813) The Russo-Persian War of 1804–1813 was one of the many wars between the Persian Empire and Imperial Russia, and, like many of their other conflicts, began as a territorial dispute. The new Persian king, Fath Ali Shah Qajar, wanted to co ...

, where he won many battles against

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

Biography

Pyotr Kotlyarevsky was born in 1782 in the village of , near the city of

Kupiansk Kupiansk or Kupyansk (, ; , ) is a city in Kharkiv Oblast, Ukraine. It serves as the administrative center of Kupiansk Raion. It is also an important railroad junction for the oblast. Kupiansk hosts the administration of Kupiansk urban hromada, ...

. The Kotlyarevskys were a Ukrainian family who had immigrated east to the Sloboda region of the Russian Empire. Kotlyarevsky's father was a priest, and his family had originally intended for him to join the

Orthodox Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to: Religion * Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pag ...

clergy. However, his family later decided to send him to join the

Imperial Russian Army The Imperial Russian Army () was the army of the Russian Empire, active from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was organized into a standing army and a state militia. The standing army consisted of Regular army, regular troops and ...

after being convinced to do so by Russian military officer . Kotlyarevsky was brought to

Mozdok Mozdok (; , ''Mæzdæg'') is a town and the administrative center of Mozdoksky District in North Ossetia–Alania, Russia, located on the left shore of the Terek River, north of the republic's capital Vladikavkaz. As of the 2010 Census, its p ...

in 1793, where he was enlisted in the Kuban Jaeger Corps. He first saw combat at the Siege of Derbent, during the

Persian Expedition of 1796 The Persian expedition of Catherine the Great of 1796 , like the Persian expedition of Peter the Great (1722–1723), was one of the Russo-Persian Wars of the 18th century which did not entail any lasting consequences for either belligerent. ...

. He was promoted to Second Lieutenant in 1799. He then fought against the Avars at the Battle of Niakhura in 1800, and afterwards he was promoted to Captain. Kotlyarevsky then fought in the

Russo-Persian War (1804–13) The Russo-Persian Wars ( ), or the Russo-Iranian Wars ( ), began in 1651 and continued intermittently until 1828. They consisted of five conflicts in total, each rooted in both sides' disputed governance of territories and countries in the Cauc ...

, where he would become famous for his military service. As a company commander, he participated in

Karyagin's Raid Colonel Karyagin's campaign (), also known as Qarabagh-Ganjeh campaign in Iranian sources, were the actions of a small Russian detachment in order to gain time against the Persian army. Russian colonel Karyagin completed his task, although most o ...

in 1805, where he was wounded twice. He was then promoted to Colonel in 1807. In June 1810, Kotlyarevsky led a Russian detachment that defeated the Iranians at the fortified town of

Meghri Meghri ( ; ) is a town and the centre of the Meghri Municipality of the Syunik Province in southern Armenia, near the border with Iran. As of the 2011 census, the population of the town was 4,580. According to the 2020 official estimate, Meghri's ...

. Afterwards he was appointed as the commander of the Caucasus Infantry Regiment, and was also awarded the

Gold Sword for Bravery The Gold Sword for Bravery () was a Russian award for bravery. It was set up with two grades on 27 July 1720 by Peter the Great, reclassified as a public order in 1807 and abolished in 1917. From 1913 to 1917 it was renamed the Saint George ...

. In 1811, Kotlyarevsky led a force of Russian soldiers and

Cossacks The Cossacks are a predominantly East Slavic languages, East Slavic Eastern Christian people originating in the Pontic–Caspian steppe of eastern Ukraine and southern Russia. Cossacks played an important role in defending the southern borde ...

which took the town of

Akhalkalaki Akhalkalaki ( ka, ახალქალაქი, tr ; ) is a town in Georgia (country), Georgia's southern region of Samtskhe–Javakheti and the administrative centre of the Akhalkalaki Municipality. Akhalkalaki lies on the edge of the Javakheti ...

in order to prevent an Iranian offensive in the area. By 1812, Kotlyarevsky had been promoted to General. During this time, the majority of the Russian Army was sent to fight against the French invasion, so the Russian soldiers facing Iran had a shortage of manpower. A large Iranian army led by Crown Prince

Abbas Mirza Abbas Mirza (; 26 August 1789 – 25 October 1833) was the Qajar dynasty, Qajar crown prince of Qajar Iran, Iran during the reign of his father Fath-Ali Shah Qajar (). As governor of the vulnerable Azerbaijan (Iran), Azerbaijan province, he played ...

was forming south of the

Aras River The Aras is a transboundary river in the Caucasus. It rises in eastern Turkey and flows along the borders between Turkey and Armenia, between Turkey and the Nakhchivan exclave of Azerbaijan, between Iran and both Azerbaijan and Armenia, and, fin ...

, and it was preparing for an offensive to expel the Russians from the

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region spanning Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is situated between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, comprising parts of Southern Russia, Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan. The Caucasus Mountains, i ...

. General Kotlyarevsky planned to defeat the Iranians with a surprise attack, and he led about 2,000 Russian soldiers south across the Aras River in October 1812. Despite being heavily outnumbered, Kotlyarevsky's soldiers defeated the 30,000 strong Iranian army led by Abbas Mirza at the

Battle of Aslanduz The Battle of Aslanduz took place on 31 October and 1 November 1812 between the Russian Empire and Qajar Iran during the Russo-Persian War (1804-1813). Russian Imperial army, smaller in number, defeated the Persian troops and captured the spoils ...

. The Russians had destroyed Abbas Mirza's army, and this ended any chance of Iran winning the war. Kotlyarevsky then decided to consolidate Russia's victory by taking the Iranian fortress at Lankaran in January 1813. The fortress was too durable to be defeated with artillery, and the Iranian garrison refused to surrender, so Kotlyarevsky ordered his soldiers to do a direct assault. At the

Storming of Lankaran The siege of Lankaran (; ) took place from 7 January to 13 January 1813 during the Russo-Iranian War of 1804–1813. Lankaran, a city in the Talish region, was previously held by Mir-Mostafa Khan of the Talysh Khanate, a subject of Iran. Howe ...

, the Russians took heavy casualties but managed to take the fortress and defeat the Iranians. During the assault, Kotlyarevsky was shot in the face, causing him to lose an eye and breaking his jaw. The Russian victory at Lankaran led to the end to the war and the signing of the

Treaty of Gulistan The Treaty of Gulistan (also spelled Golestan: ; ) was a peace treaty concluded between the Russian Empire and Qajar Iran on 24 October 1813 in the village of Gülüstan, Goranboy, Gulistan (now in Goranboy District, the Goranboy District of Azerb ...

, which made Iran cede territory to Russia. After the war ended, Kotlyarevsky retired from the army. As a reward for his service, he was given a large amount of money by Tsar

Alexander I Alexander I may refer to: * Alexander I of Macedon, king of Macedon from 495 to 454 BC * Alexander I of Epirus (370–331 BC), king of Epirus * Alexander I Theopator Euergetes, surnamed Balas, ruler of the Seleucid Empire 150-145 BC * Pope Alex ...

, which he used to buy an estate in

Feodosia Feodosia (, ''Feodosiia, Teodosiia''; , ''Feodosiya''), also called in English Theodosia (from ), is a city on the Crimean coast of the Black Sea. Feodosia serves as the administrative center of Feodosia Municipality, one of the regions into ...

. He then lived in Feodosia for the rest of his life, where he died in 1852. After his death, local artist

Ivan Aivazovsky Ivan Konstantinovich Aivazovsky (; ) was a Russian Romantic painter who is considered one of the greatest masters of marine art. Baptized as Hovhannes Aivazian, he was born into an Armenian family in the Black Sea port of Feodosia in Crime ...

designed a

mausoleum A mausoleum is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument enclosing the burial chamber of a deceased person or people. A mausoleum without the person's remains is called a cenotaph. A mausoleum may be considered a type o ...

that was built for Kotlyarevsky in Feodosia. Aivazovsky also painted a posthumous portrait of Kotlyarevsky in 1871.

Prince Vorontsov Prince Mikhail Semyonovich Vorontsov (; ) was a Russian nobleman and field-marshal, renowned for his success in the Napoleonic Wars and most famous for his participation in the Caucasian War from 1844 to 1853. Early life Vorontsov was born on ...

ordered a statue of Kotlyarevsky to be built in

Ganja ''Ganja'' (, ; ) is one of the oldest and most commonly used synonyms for cannabis flower, specifically marijuana or hashish. Its usage in English dates to before 1689. Etymology ''Ganja'' is borrowed from Hindi (, IPA: �aːɲd͡ʒa� ...

. Russian poet

Alexander Pushkin Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin () was a Russian poet, playwright, and novelist of the Romantic era.Basker, Michael. Pushkin and Romanticism. In Ferber, Michael, ed., ''A Companion to European Romanticism''. Oxford: Blackwell, 2005. He is consid ...

dedicated the epilogue of his poem The Prisoner of the Caucasus to Pyotr Kotlyarevsky. In November 2020, a statue of Pyotr Kotlyarevsky made by Russian sculptor

Andrei Korobtsov Andrei Sergeyevich Korobtsov (; born 27 April 1986 in Jezkazgan) is a Russian sculptor, member of the Moscow Union of Artists. He is the author of more than 200 works, including 40 monuments. Biography Born in 1987 in Jezkazgan, Kazakh SSR. His mo ...

was unveiled in

Crimea Crimea ( ) is a peninsula in Eastern Europe, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, almost entirely surrounded by the Black Sea and the smaller Sea of Azov. The Isthmus of Perekop connects the peninsula to Kherson Oblast in mainland Ukrain ...

. The statue depicts Kotlyarevsky riding on a horse that tramples on a

Persian carpet A Persian carpet ( ), Persian rug ( ),Savory, R., ''Carpets'',(Encyclopaedia Iranica); accessed 30 January 2007. or Iranian carpet is a heavy textile made for a wide variety of utilitarian and symbolic purposes and produced in Iran (histo ...

, symbolizing the defeat of Iran.

External links

Biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kotlyarevsky, Pyotr 1782 births 1852 deaths Imperial Russian Army generals People of the Russo-Persian Wars Recipients of the Order of St. George of the Second Degree Recipients of the Order of St. George of the Third Degree Russian people of Ukrainian descent Recipients of the Gold Sword for Bravery People from Kharkiv Oblast People from Feodosia