Stepan Fyodorovich Apraksin (; – ), a relative of Fyodor M. Apraksin, commanded the Russian armies during the

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War, 1756 to 1763, was a Great Power conflict fought primarily in Europe, with significant subsidiary campaigns in North America and South Asia. The protagonists were Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of Prus ...

. He should not be confused with his son Stepan Stepanovich Apraksin, who had a notable military career in the service of

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 ...

Early life

Apraksin the Elder fought under Münnich against the Turks and rose rapidly to the rank of General. He was present at the taking of Ochakov in 1737 and brought to the Russian capital news about the capture of Khotin in 1739. Several years later, he led the Russian embassy to

Persia 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 ...

Politics

At the Russian

court A court is an institution, often a government entity, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between Party (law), parties and Administration of justice, administer justice in Civil law (common law), civil, Criminal law, criminal, an ...

Apraksin became one of the keenest opponents of both the pro-Prussian party and of Count Lestocq. He was one of the few devoted supporters of Chancellor Aleksey Bestuzhev, who ensured Apraksin's promotion to

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 ...

and appointment to command the Russian army on the outbreak of the Seven Years' War in 1756.

Seven Years' War

The next year Apraksin took up the overall command of the army invading

Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...

and won the Battle of Gross-Jägersdorf on 30 August 1757, albeit with heavy losses. The Russian court, upon receiving news of the victory, expected Apraksin to overrun all of Prussia. Instead, on hearing that Empress Elizabeth had suffered a severe relapse in health, Apraksin crossed the

Neman River Neman, Nemunas or Niemen is a river in Europe that rises in central Belarus and flows through Lithuania then forms Lithuania–Russia border, the northern border of Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia's western exclave, which specifically follows its s ...

and returned to Russia, intending to support the heir to the throne (the future

Peter III of Russia Peter III Fyodorovich (; ) was Emperor of Russia from 5 January 1762 until 9 July of the same year, when he was overthrown by his wife, Catherine II (the Great). He was born in the German city of Kiel as Charles Peter Ulrich of Schleswig-Holst ...

, who represented the interests of

Frederick II of Prussia Frederick II (; 24 January 171217 August 1786) was the monarch of Prussia from 1740 until his death in 1786. He was the last Hohenzollern monarch titled ''King in Prussia'', declaring himself '' King of Prussia'' after annexing Royal Prus ...

) in the event of the Empress's death. According to another interpretation, he was recalled by Bestuzhev whose enemies plotted his downfall.

Downfall

As Elizabeth recovered, Bestuzhev fell from power and suffered banishment, and Apraksin came under the suspicion of having received bribes from the Prussian king. Put on trial, he died in prison under mysterious circumstances in August 1758 before the military tribunal had reached a decision as to the reasons for his scandalous retreat. He was replaced as commander in Prussia, by

William Fermor Count William Fermor (/''Villim Villimovich Fermor'') was an Imperial Russian Army officer best known for leading his country’s army at the Battle of Zorndorf during the Seven Years’ War. His name is sometimes styled Wilhelm Graf von Fermo ...

who went on to fight the inconclusive

Battle of Zorndorf The Battle of Zorndorf, during the Seven Years' War, was fought on 25 August 1758 between Russian troops commanded by Count William Fermor and a Prussian army commanded by King Frederick the Great. The battle was tactically inconclusive, with b ...

against

Frederick the Great Frederick II (; 24 January 171217 August 1786) was the monarch of Prussia from 1740 until his death in 1786. He was the last Hohenzollern monarch titled ''King in Prussia'', declaring himself ''King of Prussia'' after annexing Royal Prussia ...

Footnotes

References

*''

Meyers Konversations-Lexikon or was a major encyclopedia in the German language that existed in various editions, and by several titles, from 1839 to 1984, when it merged with the . Joseph Meyer (publisher), Joseph Meyer (1796–1856), who had founded the publishing hous ...

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''Biographies of the Russian Field Marshals'' (4 volumes), Saint Petersburg, 1840–1841
{{DEFAULTSORT:Apraksin, Stepan Fedorovich 1702 births 1758 deaths Nobility from the Russian Empire Field marshals of the Russian Empire Russian military personnel of the Seven Years' War Russian people who died in prison custody Prisoners who died in Russian detention Diplomats of the Russian Empire People of the Silesian Wars Burials at Lazarevskoe Cemetery (Saint Petersburg) Recipients of the Order of the White Eagle (Poland)