Count Matvei or Matvey Ivanovich Platov (; 8 N.S.">Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html" ;"title="9 Old Style and New Style dates">N.S.August 1753 – 3 [15 N.S.] January 1818) was a Russian general who commanded the

Don Cossacks Don Cossacks (, ) or Donians (, ), are Cossacks who settled along the middle and lower Don River (Russia), Don. Historically, they lived within the former Don Cossack Host (, ), which was either an independent or an autonomous democratic rep ...

in the Napoleonic wars and founded

Novocherkassk Novocherkassk () is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city in Rostov Oblast, Russia, located near the confluence of the Tuzlov and Aksay Rivers, the latter a distributary of the Don (river), Don River. Novocherkassk is best known as the ...

as the new capital of the Don Host Province.

Biography

Platov was born in Pribilyanskoe (

stanitsa A stanitsa or stanitza ( ; ), also spelled stanycia ( ) or stanica ( ), was a historical administrative unit of a Cossack host, a type of Cossack polity that existed in the Russian Empire. Etymology The Russian word is the diminutive of the word ...

in former Starocherkasskaya), into a family of

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

descent. He began his service in the Don Cossacks in 1766 becoming an

yesaul Yesaul, osaul or osavul (, ) (from Turkic yasaul - ''chief''), is a post and a rank in the Russian and Ukrainian Cossack units. The first records of the rank imply that it was introduced by Stefan Batory, King of Poland in 1576. Cossacks in R ...

in 1769. He distinguished himself in the 1771 Crimean campaign and was promoted to the command of a Cossack regiment in 1772. Between 1774 and 1784 he fought against the

Crimean Tatars Crimean Tatars (), or simply Crimeans (), are an Eastern European Turkic peoples, Turkic ethnic group and nation indigenous to Crimea. Their ethnogenesis lasted thousands of years in Crimea and the northern regions along the coast of the Blac ...

, in 1774 and again in 1782 serving under

Alexander Suvorov Count Alexander Vasilyevich Suvorov-Rymniksky, Prince of Italy () was a Russian general and military theorist in the service of the Russian Empire. Born in Moscow, he studied military history as a young boy and joined the Imperial Russian ...

in the Kuban Valley, Chechnya and Dagestan.pp.303-304, Mikaberidze In 1790 he was awarded the

Order of St George Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * A socio-political or established or existing order, e.g. World order, Ancien Regime, Pax Britannica * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood * ...

(4th Class) for his participation in the capture of Ochakov, and after actions in Akkerman, Bender, and Kaushani for which he was promoted to brigadier general, he was awarded the

(3rd Class) for the storming of Izmail. For his bravery during the assault he was promoted to

ataman Ataman (variants: ''otaman'', ''wataman'', ''vataman''; ; ) was a title of Cossack and haidamak leaders of various kinds. In the Russian Empire, the term was the official title of the supreme military commanders of the Cossack armies. The Ukra ...

of the Ekaterinoslav and Chuguev Cossacks, and on 12 January 1793 he was promoted to major-general. During 1796 he was awarded the Order of St. Vladimir (3rd class) and a golden sword for courage in the Persian Campaign. Disgraced by the Emperor

Paul I of Russia Paul I (; – ) was Emperor of Russia from 1796 until his assassination in 1801. Paul remained overshadowed by his mother, Catherine the Great, for most of his life. He adopted the Pauline Laws, laws of succession to the Russian throne—rules ...

as a result of rumours spread by the emperor's courtiers, he was exiled to

Kostroma Kostroma (, ) is a historic city and the administrative center of Kostroma Oblast, Russia. A part of the Golden Ring of Russian cities, it is located at the confluence of the rivers Volga and Kostroma. In the 2021 census, the population is 267, ...

, but later confined to the

Peter and Paul Fortress The Peter and Paul Fortress () is the original citadel of Saint Petersburg, Russia, founded by Peter the Great in 1703 and built to Domenico Trezzini's designs from 1706 to 1740 as a star fortress. Between the first half of the 1700s and early ...

. However, after verifying his innocence, the Emperor awarded him the Commander's Cross of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem. Unfortunately, this also led to his appointment to the ill-fated and ill-conceived Russian expedition to India in 1800. Although the expedition only reached

Orenburg Orenburg (, ), formerly known as Chkalov (1938–1957), is the administrative center of Orenburg Oblast, Russia. It lies in Eastern Europe, along the banks of the Ural River, being approximately southeast of Moscow. Orenburg is close to the ...

, Platov was promoted to

Lieutenant-General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the battlefield, who was normall ...

and ''pokhodny/pokhidnii ataman'' ("marching ataman"; campaign Cossack leader) of the

with a transfer to their HQ at

. Upon

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 ...

's accession to the throne, he was appointed

of the Don Cossacks. In 1805, he ordered the Cossack capital to be moved from Starocherkassk to a new location, known as Novocherkassk. During the Polish campaign of 1806-1807, Platov commanded a Cossack corps and fought against the French at the battles of Eylau, Guttstadt and Friedland, receiving the orders of St.George (2nd class), of St. Alexander Nevsky, and the Prussian orders of the

Black Eagle The black eagle (''Ictinaetus malaiensis'') is a bird of prey. Like all eagles, it is in the family Accipitridae, and is the only member of the genus ''Ictinaetus''. They soar over forests in the hilly regions of tropical and subtropical South a ...

and of the Red Eagle. In 1808-1809, he was active against the Turks in the

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valley, including at the Battle of Silistra, receiving for it the Order of St.Vladimir (1st class). On 11 October 1809 Platov was promoted to General of Cavalry. Soon after the end of the campaign he returned to the Don Host and continued the reorganisation of the local Cossack administration. Platov by Beechy

In 1812, Platov supported General Bagration's 2nd Western Army with a Cossack corps at the Korelichi engagement, at

Mir ''Mir'' (, ; ) was a space station operated in low Earth orbit from 1986 to 2001, first by the Soviet Union and later by the Russia, Russian Federation. ''Mir'' was the first modular space station and was assembled in orbit from 1986 to ...

and at Romanovo, providing the rear guard during their retreat towards

Mogilyov Mogilev (; , ), also transliterated as Mahilyow (, ), is a city in eastern Belarus. It is located on the Dnieper River, about from the border with Russia's Smolensk Oblast and from Bryansk Oblast. As of 2024, it has a population of 353,110. In ...

. During the Russian counter-attack at

Smolensk Smolensk is a city and the administrative center of Smolensk Oblast, Russia, located on the Dnieper River, west-southwest of Moscow. First mentioned in 863, it is one of the oldest cities in Russia. It has been a regional capital for most of ...

Platov fought at Molevo Boloto. At 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. ...

he, together with General of Cavalry Fyodor Uvarov, conducted a manoeuver against the French left (northern) flank, but failed to effectively threaten the French, resulting in Platov not receiving a decoration for the battle although ironically it was later disclosed that this

raid RAID (; redundant array of inexpensive disks or redundant array of independent disks) is a data storage virtualization technology that combines multiple physical Computer data storage, data storage components into one or more logical units for th ...

had a dramatic effect on Napoleon, causing him to hold back the French Imperial Guard. He hounded the French during their retreat from

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 ...

in 1812, (for which 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 York: ...

of the Russian Empire), and again after their defeat at the

Battle of Leipzig The Battle of Leipzig, also known as the Battle of the Nations, was fought from 16 to 19 October 1813 at Leipzig, Saxony. The Coalition armies of Austria, Prussia, Sweden, and Russia, led by Tsar Alexander I, Karl von Schwarzenberg, and G ...

1813 in Saxony (see

Battle of Altenburg The raid at Altenburg on 28 September 1813 took place during the War of the Sixth Coalition's German Campaign of 1813. The raid was carried out by the ''Streifkorp'' under the command of Saxon General Johann von Thielmann commanding seven ...

, 28 September 1813). Platov later accompanied

emperor Alexander Emperor Alexander may refer to: * Alexander the Great (326-323 BCE), a Macedonian king who conquered the known world * Alexander Severus (208–235), a Roman emperor (222-235) of the Severan dynasty * Domitius Alexander, Roman usurper who declared ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

where he was awarded a golden sword and an honorary degree by the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

. A full-length portrait was painted by

Sir Thomas Lawrence Sir Thomas Lawrence (13 April 1769 – 7 January 1830) was an English people, English portrait painter and the fourth president of the Royal Academy. A child prodigy, he was born in Bristol and began drawing in Devizes, where his father was a ...

for the

Waterloo Chamber The Waterloo Chamber, dating from 1830 to 1831, is a large room in Windsor Castle dedicated to the military defeat of the French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte by United Kingdom, British, Kingdom of Prussia, Prussian, Russian, and Austrian forces und ...

created at

Windsor Castle Windsor Castle is a List of British royal residences, royal residence at Windsor, Berkshire, Windsor in the English county of Berkshire, about west of central London. It is strongly associated with the Kingdom of England, English and succee ...

George IV George IV (George Augustus Frederick; 12 August 1762 – 26 June 1830) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from 29 January 1820 until his death in 1830. At the time of his accession to the throne, h ...

, then

prince regent A prince regent or princess regent is a prince or princess who, due to their position in the line of succession, rules a monarchy as regent in the stead of a monarch, e.g., as a result of the sovereign's incapacity (minority or illness) or ab ...

. Platov then settled in the Cossack capital of

where he established a school and was head of the local administration. He died, aged 67, in Epanchitskoe (near

Taganrog Taganrog (, ) is a port city in Rostov Oblast, Russia, on the north shore of Taganrog Bay in the Sea of Azov, several kilometers west of the mouth of the Don (river), Don River. It is in the Black Sea region. Population: Located at the site of a ...

). He is buried in

Novocherkassk Cathedral The Ascension Cathedral () is a Russian Orthodox Church, Russian Orthodox church in Novocherkassk, Rostov Oblast, Russia. It used to be one of the largest churches of the Russian Empire and the main church of the Don Host Province. The five-dome ...

Legacy

The first monument to Platov, which existed from 1853 to 1923 in Novocherkassk, was replicated there in 1993. There are also equestrian monuments to him in Novocherkassk, Rostov-on-Don and Moscow.

Gavrila Derzhavin Gavriil (Gavrila) Romanovich Derzhavin (, ; 14 July 1743 – 20 July 1816) was one of the most highly esteemed Russian poets before Alexander Pushkin, as well as a statesman. Although his works are traditionally considered literary classicis ...

dedicated the last of his

ode An ode (from ) is a type of lyric poetry, with its origins in Ancient Greece. Odes are elaborately structured poems praising or glorifying an event or individual, describing nature intellectually as well as emotionally. A classic ode is structu ...

s to Platov's exploits. In Leskov's '' Levsha'' (1881), ''Don Cossack Platov'' is a prominent figure, even though his portrayal in that folk-styled tale is full of

anachronism An anachronism (from the Greek , 'against' and , 'time') is a chronological inconsistency in some arrangement, especially a juxtaposition of people, events, objects, language terms and customs from different time periods. The most common type ...

s. An international airport that serves

Rostov-on-Don Rostov-on-Don is a port city and the administrative centre of Rostov Oblast and the Southern Federal District of Russia. It lies in the southeastern part of the East European Plain on the Don River, from the Sea of Azov, directly north of t ...

and opened in 2017 was named after Platov. A street in the historic old town of

Niagara-on-the-Lake Niagara-on-the-Lake is a town in Ontario, Canada. It is located on the Niagara Peninsula at the point where the Niagara River meets Lake Ontario, across the river from New York (state), New York, United States. Niagara-on-the-Lake is in the R ...

, Ontario, Canada is also named after Platov. It is spelled Platoff Street. From May 1813 to the present, at least 18 ships have been named after ataman of the Don Army M.I. Platov (see list of ships named ''Platov'' or ''Platoff'').^Ru File:Graf Platov Matvey Ivanovich (by Sir Thomas Lawrence).jpg, By

Thomas Lawrence Sir Thomas Lawrence (13 April 1769 – 7 January 1830) was an English people, English portrait painter and the fourth president of the Royal Academy. A child prodigy, he was born in Bristol and began drawing in Devizes, where his father was a ...

–

Royal Collection The Royal Collection of the British royal family is the largest private art collection in the world. Spread among 13 occupied and historic List of British royal residences, royal residences in the United Kingdom, the collection is owned by King ...

File:Portrait of Matvey Platov by Aleksander Orłowski, 1812-13.jpg, By Aleksander Orłowski –

State Historical Museum The State Historical Museum () of Russia is a museum of History of Russia, Russian history located between Red Square and Manezhnaya Square, Moscow, Manege Square in Moscow. The museum's exhibitions range from relics of prehistoric tribes that li ...

File:Graf Platov Matvey Ivanovich (by Peter Edward Stroehling).jpg, By Peter Edward Stroehling File:General Matvei Ivanovich Platov on horseback, Russian school.jpg, Unknown author File:Russian Cossacks in Paris by Opiz 10.jpg, The

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 ...

in the

Louvre The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is a national art museum in Paris, France, and one of the most famous museums in the world. It is located on the Rive Droite, Right Bank of the Seine in the city's 1st arrondissement of Paris, 1st arron ...

at the statue of ''

Apollo Belvedere The ''Apollo Belvedere'' (also called the ''Belvedere Apollo'', ''Apollo of the Belvedere'', or ''Pythian Apollo'') is a celebrated marble sculpture from classical antiquity. The work has been dated to mid-way through the 2nd century A.D. and is ...

'' shortly after the capture of Paris (1814). By Georg Emanuel Opiz

Notes

Sources

* Mikaberidze, Alexander, ''The Russian Officer Corps of the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars'', Savas Beatie, New York, 2005

References

The Dictionary of Russian Generals in Napoleonic Wars

{{DEFAULTSORT:Platov, Matvei Ivanovich 1753 births 1818 deaths People from Aksaysky District Russian commanders of the Napoleonic Wars Nobility from the Russian Empire Don Cossacks People of the Russo-Persian Wars Cavalry commanders City founders from the Russian Empire Recipients of the Order of St. George of the Second Degree Recipients of the Order of St. George of the Third Degree Atamans Russian people of Greek descent People from the Russian Empire of Greek descent