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 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 ...

, then joined the retinue of Emperor

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 ...

in 1811. As he retreated toward

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 ...

after the 1812

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. ...

, the French took him prisoner and he remained in captivity until the

fall of Paris The Battle of France (; 10 May – 25 June 1940), also known as the Western Campaign (), the French Campaign (, ) and the Fall of France, during the Second World War was the Nazi Germany, German invasion of the Low Countries (Belgium, Luxembour ...

in 1814.

Perovsky was involved in the

Russo-Turkish War (1828–1829) The Russo-Turkish War of 1828–1829 resulted from the Greek War of Independence of 1821–1829; war broke out after the Ottoman Sultan Mahmud II closed the Dardanelles to Russian Empire , Russian ships and in November 1827 revoked the 18 ...

and ended up being seriously wounded then. In 1833, Perovsky was appointed the military governor of

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 ...

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

Khanate of Khiva The Khanate of Khiva (, , uz-Latn-Cyrl, Xiva xonligi, Хива хонлиги, , ) was a Central Asian polity that existed in the historical region of Khwarazm, Khorezm from 1511 to 1920, except for a period of Afsharid Iran, Afsharid occupat ...

– in part to free Russian slaves captured from the Russian frontiers on the

Caspian Sea The Caspian Sea is the world's largest inland body of water, described as the List of lakes by area, world's largest lake and usually referred to as a full-fledged sea. An endorheic basin, it lies between Europe and Asia: east of the Caucasus, ...

and sold by Turkmen raiders; but also as an attempt to extend Russia's borders in the direction of

Central Asia Central Asia is a region of Asia consisting of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The countries as a group are also colloquially referred to as the "-stans" as all have names ending with the Persian language, Pers ...

while the

British Empire The British Empire comprised the dominions, Crown colony, colonies, protectorates, League of Nations mandate, mandates, and other Dependent territory, territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It bega ...

was entangled in the

First Anglo-Afghan War The First Anglo-Afghan War () was fought between the British Empire and the Emirate of Kabul from 1838 to 1842. The British initially successfully invaded the country taking sides in a succession dispute between emir Dost Mohammad Khan ( Bara ...

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 in 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 Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a landlocked country primarily in Central Asia, with a European Kazakhstan, small portion in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the Kazakhstan–Russia border, north and west, China to th ...

) against the Khanates of Khiva and

Kokand Kokand ( ) is a city in Fergana Region in eastern Uzbekistan, at the southwestern edge of the Fergana Valley. Administratively, Kokand is a district-level city, that includes the urban-type settlement Muqimiy. The population of Kokand was ap ...

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 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: ...

in 1855.

Notes

References

Perovsky, Vasily Alekseevich
in

Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary The ''Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopaedic Dictionary'' (35 volumes, small; 86 volumes, large) is a comprehensive multi-volume encyclopaedia in Russian. It contains 121,240 articles, 7,800 images, and 235 maps. It was published in the Russian Em ...

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