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 York: ...

Ivan Vasilyevich Gudovich (, tr. ; 1741–1820) was a

Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

noble A noble is a member of the nobility. Noble may also refer to: Places Antarctica * Noble Glacier, King George Island * Noble Nunatak, Marie Byrd Land * Noble Peak, Wiencke Island * Noble Rocks, Graham Land Australia * Noble Island, Gr ...

and military leader of Ukrainian descent. His exploits included the capture of Khadjibey (1789) and the conquest of maritime

Dagestan Dagestan ( ; ; ), officially the Republic of Dagestan, is a republic of Russia situated in the North Caucasus of Eastern Europe, along the Caspian Sea. It is located north of the Greater Caucasus, and is a part of the North Caucasian Fede ...

(1807). Ivan's father was an influential member of the Ukrainian Cossack starshina. He sent his sons to be educated abroad, at the Königsberg Albertina University and the

University of Leipzig Leipzig University (), in Leipzig in Saxony, Germany, is one of the world's oldest universities and the second-oldest university (by consecutive years of existence) in Germany. The university was founded on 2 December 1409 by Frederick I, Electo ...

. Upon coming to St Petersburg in 1759, Gudovich joined the

Russian Army The Russian Ground Forces (), also known as the Russian Army in English, are the Army, land forces of the Russian Armed Forces. The primary responsibilities of the Russian Ground Forces are the protection of the state borders, combat on land, ...

, hoping to benefit from the favors enjoyed by his elder brother, Andrey, an aide-de-camp to Peter III. Upon the latter's dethronement in 1762, the Gudovich brothers were apprehended and briefly imprisoned. It was during the Russo-Turkish War (1768–74) that Ivan Gudovich rose to prominence and greatly distinguished himself at

Khotyn Khotyn (, ; , ; see #Name, other names) is a List of cities in Ukraine, city in Dnistrovskyi Raion, Chernivtsi Oblast of western Ukraine, located south-west of Kamianets-Podilskyi. It hosts the administration of Khotyn urban hromada, one of th ...

, Larga, and Kagul. The next ten years were spent in half-military, half-administrative work in

Ryazan Ryazan (, ; also Riazan) is the largest types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and administrative center of Ryazan Oblast, Russia. The city is located on the banks of the Oka River in Central Russia, southeast of Moscow. As of the 2010 C ...

Tambov Tambov ( , ; rus, Тамбов, p=tɐmˈbof) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative center of Tambov Oblast, Central Federal District, central Russia, at the confluence of the Tsna River (Moksha basin), Tsna ...

, and

Podolia Podolia or Podillia is a historic region in Eastern Europe located in the west-central and southwestern parts of Ukraine and northeastern Moldova (i.e. northern Transnistria). Podolia is bordered by the Dniester River and Boh River. It features ...

. Gudovich won a European reputation for a series of brilliantly conducted sieges during the Russo-Turkish War (1787–92). In 1789 he succeeded in taking the citadel of Khadjibey, which would be renamed

Odessa ODESSA is an American codename (from the German language, German: ''Organisation der ehemaligen SS-Angehörigen'', meaning: Organization of Former SS Members) coined in 1946 to cover Ratlines (World War II aftermath), Nazi underground escape-pl ...

by the imperial administration. He proceeded to capture Kilia, a strong fortress commanding the

Danube Delta The Danube Delta (, ; , ) is the second largest river delta in Europe, after the Volga Delta, and is the best preserved on the continent. Occurring where the Danube, Danube River empties into the Black Sea, most of the Danube Delta lies in Romania ...

. When he prepared to lay siege to

Izmail Izmail (, ; ; , or ; ) is a List of cities in Ukraine, city and List of hromadas of Ukraine, municipality on the Danube river in Odesa Oblast in south-western Ukraine. It serves as the administrative center of Izmail Raion, one of seven distr ...

Prince Potemkin Prince Grigory Aleksandrovich Potemkin-Tauricheski (A number of dates as late as 1742 have been found on record; the veracity of any one is unlikely to be proved. This is his "official" birth-date as given on his tombstone.) was a Russian mi ...

had him replaced with Suvorov. Thereupon Gudovich moved to the Caucasian front, where he stormed the most important Ottoman stronghold,

Anapa Anapa (, , ) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, town in Krasnodar Krai, Russia, located on the northern coast of the Black Sea near the Sea of Azov. As of the 2021 Russian census, it had a population of 81,863. It is one of the largest ...

, and took prisoner its garrison of 13,000 soldiers. In the wake of such a glorious success, Gudovich's capacity for supreme command could hardly be doubted. He aspired to lead the projected Russian invasion of Persia to redeem himself due to his lack of decisive decision making during the political fallout with khan Agha Mohammad Khan with Georgia in 1795. but the supreme command was given to a young and inexperienced courtier, Valerian Zubov. Embittered, Gudovich entertained plans of retiring from active service. While he was on his furlough, the Empress died and her successor

Paul Paul may refer to: People * Paul (given name), a given name, including a list of people * Paul (surname), a list of people * Paul the Apostle, an apostle who wrote many of the books of the New Testament * Ray Hildebrand, half of the singing duo ...

, recalling Ivan's allegiance to his father, had Zubov replaced with Gudovich, who was also made

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 York: ...

. By that time, the Persian expedition was over and Gudovich prepared to lead the Russian armies to combat Revolutionary France on the

Rhine The Rhine ( ) is one of the List of rivers of Europe, major rivers in Europe. The river begins in the Swiss canton of Graubünden in the southeastern Swiss Alps. It forms part of the Swiss-Liechtenstein border, then part of the Austria–Swit ...

. The project was abandoned within months, and Gudovich had to languish in retirement until the outbreak of the new war with Persia. Named commander-in-chief in the Caucasus in 1806, Gudovich led the Russian armies to the

Caspian Sea The Caspian Sea is the world's largest inland body of water, described as the List of lakes by area, world's largest lake and usually referred to as a full-fledged sea. An endorheic basin, it lies between Europe and Asia: east of the Caucasus, ...

during the Russo-Persian War (1804–13), overrunning the khanates of

Derbent Derbent, also historically known as Darband, or Derbend, is the southernmost city in Russia. It is situated along the southeastern coast of the Dagestan, Republic of Dagestan, occupying the narrow gateway between the Caspian Sea and the Caucas ...

, Sheka, and

Baku Baku (, ; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Azerbaijan, largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and in the Caucasus region. Baku is below sea level, which makes it the List of capital ci ...

on his way. After the 24,000-strong army of Yusuf Pasha was routed in the Battle of Arpachai, Gudovich was promoted

Field Marshal Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army (in countries without the rank of Generalissimo), and as such, few persons a ...

. However, the battle cost him an eye and left him incapacitated for effective command. In 1808, the ailing general failed to take Erivan and retreated with his soldiers to

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

. Frustrated with the latest failure, Gudovich laid down all his offices and retired from the army to

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

, which he governed for three more years, until advanced age forced him to retire to his enormous estates in

, mostly inherited from a father-in-law, Count

Kirill Razumovsky Count Kirill Grigoryevich Razumovsky or Razumovski (also known as ''Cyril Razumovski''; ; ; Oleksander Ohloblyn. Rozumovsky, Kyrylo'. Encyclopedia of Ukraine – ) was a Russian statesman of Ukrainian Cossack origin who served as the last ...

. Gudovich died aged 80 and was buried, according to his own wishes, at the Saint Sophia Cathedral in Kiev.

Notes

References

GRAF IVAN VASIL’EVICH GUDOVICH

Gudovich, Ivan Vasilyevich

Notes

References

Further reading