Pyotr Ivanovich Melissino (, , ); c. 1726 – c. 1797) was a General of the Artillery of the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

and was widely considered the best Russian artilleryman of the 18th century.

Early life

He was born as Petros Melissinos in 1726, into a

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 ...

family, in the island of

Cephalonia Kefalonia or Cephalonia (), formerly also known as Kefallinia or Kephallonia (), is the largest of the Ionian Islands in western Greece and the 6th-largest island in Greece after Crete, Euboea, Lesbos, Rhodes and Chios. It is also a separate regio ...

, which was then under Venetian rule. His father was a physician who descended from a branch of the noble Eastern Roman family of Melissenos that had left

Crete Crete ( ; , Modern Greek, Modern: , Ancient Greek, Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the List of islands by area, 88th largest island in the world and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fifth la ...

in the 15th century and settled on Cephalonia. Throughout his life, he prided himself on his origin. He received a thorough education in his youth and was fluent in many languages, including

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 ...

, German, Italian, French, and Turkish, as well as his native

; he also knew some

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

and English.

Career

Melissinos arrived in Russia during the reign of

Peter the Great Peter I (, ; – ), better known as Peter the Great, was the Sovereign, Tsar and Grand Prince of all Russia, Tsar of all Russia from 1682 and the first Emperor of Russia, Emperor of all Russia from 1721 until his death in 1725. He reigned j ...

and ended his career as Vice-President of the Commerce Collegium in 1740-45. During the Russo-Turkish War, 1768-1774, Pyotr Melissino was in charge of the Russian artillery. His efficient command helped Russian forces prevail against a fourfold numerical superiority of the Ottomans at

Khotin Khotyn (, ; , ; see other names) is a 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 the hromadas of Ukraine. According ...

, Larga, and Kagula. In 1783, he was appointed Director of the Artillery and Engineering Corps in

St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea. The city had a population of 5,601, ...

. He is remembered as an organizer of the artillery education in the

. After the ascension of

Emperor Paul 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 laws of succession to the Russian throne—rules that lasted ...

, Melissino was put in charge of the entire Russian artillery but died the following year. Melissino was instrumental in promoting the career of one of Paul's favourites,

Aleksey Arakcheyev Count Alexey Andreyevich Arakcheyev or Arakcheev (; b. in Garusovo – d. in Gruzino) was an Imperial Russian general and statesman during the reign of Tsar Alexander I. He served under Tsars Paul I and Alexander I as an army commander an ...

. His son Aleksey Melissino, a Major General, was killed in the

Battle of Dresden The Battle of Dresden (26–27 August 1813) was a major engagement of the Napoleonic Wars. The battle took place around the city of Dresden in modern-day Germany. With the recent addition of Austria, the Sixth Coalition felt emboldened in t ...

(1813). His brother, Ivan Melissino, was Dean of the

Moscow University Moscow State University (MSU), officially M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University,. is a public research university in Moscow, Russia. The university includes 15 research institutes, 43 faculties, more than 300 departments, and six branches. Al ...

under

Catherine the Great 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 I ...

. Jenkins (pp. 35–36) says:

References

Sources

*Michael Jenkins, ''Arakcheev: Grand Vizier of the Russian Empire'' (Dial Press, 1969) {{DEFAULTSORT:Melissino, Pyotr 1726 births 1797 deaths Emigrants from the Republic of Venice Immigrants to the Russian Empire 18th-century Greek people 18th-century military personnel from the Russian Empire Artillery of the Russian Empire Greek generals Imperial Russian Army generals Pyotr People from Cephalonia Recipients of the Order of St. George of the Third Degree Burials at Lazarevskoe Cemetery (Saint Petersburg)