Count Vasily Alekseevich Perovsky (1794–1857) was an Imperial Russian general and statesman. The illegitimate son of Count , who became Russia's Minister of National Education, Perovsky studied at

Moscow University M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University (MSU; russian: Московский государственный университет имени М. В. Ломоносова) is a public research university in Moscow, Russia and the most prestigious ...

, then joined the retinue of Emperor Alexander I in 1811. As he retreated toward Moscow after the 1812

Battle of Borodino The Battle of Borodino (). took place near the village of Borodino on during Napoleon's invasion of Russia. The ' won the battle against the Imperial Russian Army but failed to gain a decisive victory and suffered tremendous losses. Napoleon ...

, the French took him prisoner and he remained in captivity until the fall of Paris in 1814. Michell-Russian-steam-barges-Kungrad

Perovsky was involved in the Russo-Turkish War (1828–1829) and ended up being seriously wounded then. In 1833, Perovsky was appointed the military governor of

Orenburg Orenburg (russian: Оренбу́рг, ), formerly known as Chkalov (1938–1957), is the administrative center of Orenburg Oblast, Russia. It lies on the Ural River, southeast of Moscow. Orenburg is also very close to the Kazakhstan-Russia bor ...

on the Russian Empire's southeastern frontier. In 1839 he led an invasion on the

Khanate of Khiva The Khanate of Khiva ( chg, ''Khivâ Khânligi'', fa, ''Khânât-e Khiveh'', uz, Xiva xonligi, tk, Hywa hanlygy) was a Central Asian polity that existed in the historical region of Khwarezm in Central Asia from 1511 to 1920, except fo ...

– in part to free Russian slaves captured from the Russian frontiers on the Caspian Sea and sold by

Turkmen Turkmen, Türkmen, Turkoman, or Turkman may refer to: Peoples Historical ethnonym * Turkoman (ethnonym), ethnonym used for the Oghuz Turks during the Middle Ages Ethnic groups * Turkmen in Anatolia and the Levant (Seljuk and Ottoman-Turkish desc ...

raiders; but also as an attempt to extend Russia's borders in the direction of Central Asia while the British Empire was entangled in the First Anglo-Afghan War of 1839–1842. Perovsky's expeditionary force consisted of 5,200 infantry and 10,000 camels. Due to poor planning and bad luck, they set off southwards in November 1839 into one of the worst winters in living memory, and had to turn back on February 1840. The expeditionary force returned to

, Russia in May, having suffered over 1,000 casualties, mostly from cold and disease. Vasily Perovsky

In 1842 Perovsky left the Orenburg governor's position, but he returned to that office in 1851–1857. This time, his campaigning in central Asia (today's central Kazakhstan) against the Khanates of Khiva and

Kokand Kokand ( uz, Qo‘qon/Қўқон/قوقان, ; russian: Кока́нд; fa, خوقند, Xuqand; Chagatai: خوقند, ''Xuqand''; ky, Кокон, Kokon; tg, Хӯқанд, Xöqand) is a city in Fergana Region in eastern Uzbekistan, at the sou ...

proved much more successful. After his troops successfully took the Kokand fortress of Ak-Mechet in 1853, the fort was renamed Fort-Perovsky after him. His military successes forced the Khanate of Khiva to make concessions in its 1854 treaty with the Russian Empire. For his achievements, Perovsky was made a count in 1855.

Notes

References

Perovsky, Vasily Alekseevich
in

Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary The ''Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopaedic Dictionary'' (Russian: Энциклопедический словарь Брокгауза и Ефрона, abbr. ЭСБЕ, tr. ; 35 volumes, small; 86 volumes, large) is a comprehensive multi-volume ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Perovsky, Vasily Alekseevich Imperial Russian Army generals Members of the State Council (Russian Empire) 1794 births 1857 deaths The Great Game Founding members of the Russian Geographical Society Russian military personnel of the Napoleonic Wars