Konstantin von Benckendorff (, ''Konstantin Khristoforovich Benkendorf''; 31 January 1785 – 6 August 1828) was a

Baltic German Baltic Germans ( or , later ) are Germans, ethnic German inhabitants of the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea, in what today are Estonia and Latvia. Since Flight and expulsion of Germans (1944–1950), their resettlement in 1945 after the end ...

general and diplomat.

Life and career

Konstantin von Benckendorff was born into Russia's distinctive

Baltic nobility The Baltic German nobility was a privileged social class in the territories of modern-day Estonia and Latvia. It existed continuously from the Northern Crusades and the medieval foundation of Terra Mariana. Most of the nobility consisted of Bal ...

to a

family in

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

, son of General Baron ( Fredrikshamn, 12 January 1749 -

Kolga Kolga () is a small borough () in Kuusalu Parish, Harju County, in northern Estonia, on the territory of Lahemaa National Park. It has a population of 490 (). Kolga is best known for its classicist Classics, also classical studies or Anci ...

, 10 June 1823), who served as the military governor of

Livonia Livonia, known in earlier records as Livland, is a historical region on the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea. It is named after the Livonians, who lived on the shores of present-day Latvia. By the end of the 13th century, the name was extende ...

, and wife Baroness Anna Juliane Charlotte Schilling von Canstatt ( Thalheim, 31 July 1744 –

Riga Riga ( ) is the capital, Primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Latvia, largest city of Latvia. Home to 591,882 inhabitants (as of 2025), the city accounts for a third of Latvia's total population. The population of Riga Planni ...

, 11 March 1797), who held a high position at the

Romanov The House of Romanov (also transliterated as Romanoff; , ) was the reigning dynasty, imperial house of Russia from 1613 to 1917. They achieved prominence after Anastasia Romanovna married Ivan the Terrible, the first crowned tsar of all Russi ...

Court as senior lady-in-waiting and best friend of Empress Maria Fyodorovna, and paternal grandson of Johann Michael von Benckendorff and wife Sophie von Löwenstern. His brother

Alexander von Benckendorff Konstantin Alexander Karl Wilhelm Christoph Graf von Benckendorff (, – ) was a Russian History of Russian military ranks, cavalry general and statesman of Baltic German descent. He was also the adjutant general of Alexander I of Russia, Alex ...

(1783–1844) was also a general and statesman, and his sister

Dorothea von Lieven Princess Katharina Alexandra Dorothea von Lieven (, tr. ), née Freiin von Benckendorff, 17 December 1785 – 27 January 1857), was a Baltic German noblewoman and the wife of Prince Christoph Heinrich von Lieven, who served as the Russi ...

was a political force famous at London, St. Petersburg, and Paris. His other sister Maria von Benckendorff (14 February 1784 - 16 November 1841) married Ivan Georgievich Sevitsch. Trained as a diplomat, he joined the army to take part in the concluding stages 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 ...

, specifically in the taking of

Kassel Kassel (; in Germany, spelled Cassel until 1926) is a city on the Fulda River in North Hesse, northern Hesse, in Central Germany (geography), central Germany. It is the administrative seat of the Regierungsbezirk Kassel (region), Kassel and the d ...

Fulda Fulda () (historically in English called Fuld) is a city in Hesse, Germany; it is located on the river Fulda and is the administrative seat of the Fulda district (''Kreis''). In 1990, the city hosted the 30th Hessentag state festival. Histor ...

Hanau Hanau () is a city in the Main-Kinzig-Kreis, in Hesse, Germany. It is 25 km east of Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main and part of the Frankfurt Rhine-Main, Frankfurt Rhine-Main Metropolitan Region. Its railway Hanau Hauptbahnhof, station is a ma ...

Reims Reims ( ; ; also spelled Rheims in English) is the most populous city in the French Departments of France, department of Marne (department), Marne, and the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, 12th most populous city in Fran ...

, and

Soissons Soissons () is a commune in the northern French department of Aisne, in the region of Hauts-de-France. Located on the river Aisne, about northeast of Paris, it is one of the most ancient towns of France, and is probably the ancient capital ...

. After the war, Benckendorff returned to diplomacy. Five years later, he was appointed Minister Plenipotentiary to

Baden Baden (; ) is a historical territory in southern Germany. In earlier times it was considered to be on both sides of the Upper Rhine, but since the Napoleonic Wars, it has been considered only East of the Rhine. History The margraves of Ba ...

and

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; ; Swabian German, Swabian: ; Alemannic German, Alemannic: ; Italian language, Italian: ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, largest city of the States of Germany, German state of ...

. With the outbreak of the

Russo-Persian War 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 Cauca ...

he returned to Russia, captured

Echmiadzin Vagharshapat ( ) is the 5th-largest city in Armenia and the most populous municipal community of Armavir Province, located about west of the capital Yerevan, and north of the closed Turkish-Armenian border. It is commonly known as Ejmiatsin ...

and routed the

Kurds Kurds (), or the Kurdish people, are an Iranian peoples, Iranic ethnic group from West Asia. They are indigenous to Kurdistan, which is a geographic region spanning southeastern Turkey, northwestern Iran, northern Iraq, and northeastern Syri ...

near

Erivan Yerevan ( , , ; ; sometimes spelled Erevan) is the capital and largest city of Armenia, as well as one of the world's List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Yerev ...

. He then crossed the

Araks 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 defeated the Persian cavalry. Benckendorff died of a fever that swept through the Russian army at the beginning of the Russo-Turkish War, 1828–1829.

Personal life

Konstantin married on 1 September 1814 Natalia von Alopaeus (Berlin, 4 February 1796 – Stuttgart, 29 January 1823), daughter 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 York: ...

Maximilian Magnus von Alopaeus and his wife, Friederike Wilhelmine Henriette Antoinette von Quast. They couple had two children: * Count Konstantin Alexander von Benckendorff (Berlin, 22 October 1816 – Paris, 29 January 1858); married in

Potsdam Potsdam () is the capital and largest city of the Germany, German States of Germany, state of Brandenburg. It is part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. Potsdam sits on the Havel, River Havel, a tributary of the Elbe, downstream of B ...

on 20 June 1848 to Princess Louise Constantine Nathalie Johanne von Croÿ-Dülmen (2 November 1825 – 8 January 1890) * Countess Marie von Benckendorff (1818 – St. Petersburg, 31 October 1844); married to Prince Pavel Matveyevich Golenischev-Kutuzov-Tolstoy (20 November 1800 – 27 February 1883).

Honours and awards

* Order of St. Anna **2nd class, with diamonds - 1812 **1st class - 17 April 1823 **Diamonds added to 1st class - 16 February 1824 *

Order of St. George The Order of Saint George () is the highest military decoration of the Russian Federation. It was originally established on 26 November 1769 Julian (7 December 1769 Gregorian) as the highest military decoration of the Russian Empire for commiss ...

**4th class - 8 February 1813 **3rd class - 10 September 1815 *

Order of St. Vladimir The Imperial Order of Saint Prince Vladimir () was an Imperial Russian order established on by Empress Catherine II in memory of the deeds of Saint Vladimir, the Grand Prince and the Baptizer of the Kievan Rus'. Grades The order had four ...

**4th class - 25 January 1812 **3rd class - 18 September 1813 **2nd class - 22 July 1827 *

Order of the Red Eagle The Order of the Red Eagle () was an order of chivalry of the Kingdom of Prussia. It was awarded to both military personnel and civilians, to recognize valor in combat, excellence in military leadership, long and faithful service to the kingdom, o ...

, 2nd class (Prussia) * Knight First Class of the

Order of the Sword The Royal Order of the Sword (officially: ''Royal Order of the Sword''; Swedish: ''Kungliga Svärdsorden'') is a Swedish order of chivalry and military decoration created by King Frederick I of Sweden on 23 February 1748, together with the Or ...

(Sweden) * Knight of the

Military Order of Max Joseph The Military Order of Max Joseph () was the highest military order (decoration), order of the Kingdom of Bavaria. It was founded on 1 January 1806 by Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria, the first king of Bavaria. The order came in three classes: ...

(Bavaria) *

Imperial Order of Leopold Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor/empress, or imperialism. Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to: Places United States * Imperial, California * Imperial, Missouri * Imperial, Nebraska * Imperial, Pennsylvania * Impe ...

(Austria) * Golden Sword with the inscription "For Bravery", with diamonds, twice (1814 and 1 January 1828) * Silver medal "In memory of the War of 1812"

External links

Biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Benckendorff, Konstantin von 1725 births 1828 deaths People from Saint Petersburg People from Sankt-Peterburgsky Uyezd Baltic-German nobility 19th-century nobility from the Russian Empire Imperial Russian Army generals Russian commanders of the Napoleonic Wars 19th-century Estonian people Recipients of the Order of St. Vladimir, 2nd class Recipients of the Order of St. Anna, 1st class Recipients of the Order of St. George of the Third Degree Knights First Class of the Order of the Sword Knights of the Military Order of Max Joseph Recipients of the Gold Sword for Bravery

Life and career

Personal life

Honours and awards

Further reading

External links