Bruce, Yakov Alexandrovich

The son of Major General Alexander Romanovich Bruce (1704-1760) from his marriage with Princess A. Dolgorukova (1700-1745), the grandson of Roman Vilimovich ^[1] . After receiving home education, he was recorded as a soldier in L.-G. Semenovsky regiment in 1744, was promoted to ensign in 1750, as second lieutenant in 1751, four years later, on September 20, 1755, in assignments . In 1751, he married Praskovye Alexandrovna Rumyantseva ("Bruce" of notes by Catherine II).

The volunteer participated in the war of France with Prussia in the army first, but after the battle of Rosbach, Empress Elizabeth ordered all Russians to be recalled, finding that it was indecent for Russian officers to be in the army, so shamefully defeated. After Russia entered the Seven Years War, Bruce participated in it with his regiment. He distinguished himself with courage in the battle of Gross-Jägersdorf and was promoted to colonel on January 25, 1758 , and then, for the blockade of the Küstrin fortress and the battle of Zorndorf , was promoted to foreman in 1759.

Upon accession to the throne of Peter III, Bruce was made on December 28, 1761, the second major of the Semenovsky regiment, two days later - major general , and a few weeks later (in February 1762) he was awarded the Order of St. Anna . With the accession to the throne of Catherine II, Bruce, thanks to the special arrangement used by his wife ( Praskovya Aleksandrovna Rumyantseva ) with the Empress, quickly promoted. November 24, 1764 he was promoted to lieutenant general and May 14, 1769 awarded the Order of Alexander Nevsky .

At the beginning of the first Turkish war, Bruce was in the army of Prince Golitsyn , commanded units of the first line troops and participated in the battles near Khotyn in 1769, especially on August 29 and September 6 , where Bruce could hardly withstand the onslaught of the Turks. After Golitsyn was recalled and Count P.A. Rumyantsev was appointed in his place, Bruce was given command of the 3rd division and took part in the battle of Larg , being on the left flank of the main square. In the ensuing battle at Cahul on June 21, 1770, Bruce was sent to attack the rear of the right flank of the Turkish retransmission. At the same time, the Turks surrounded on all sides the square of Bruce and Repnin , who bravely and steadfastly held on until the Turks were completely defeated by the actions of Rumyantsev.

Having received the order of Rumyantsev after the battle of Cahul to move with the detachment to Falchi in order to rush to storm Bender, in line with his movement with the detachment of General Glebov, Bruce reached September 1 to Falchi and stopped due to the strong spill of the Prut River from the rains, and the bridges were demolished. Rumyantsev ordered him to move immediately on. Although Bruce fulfilled this and reached Tecuci, but not having proper communication with the detachment of Glebov, he gave the Turks the opportunity to retreat to the Fokshans and, fearing alone to meet with the considerable forces of the Turks, did not dare to go further; through these actions, Bruce incurred the wrath of Rumyantsev.

Bruce was offended, said he was ill, handed over the command to Glebov, and soon went to Kiev, and then to Petersburg, where he was granted the post of adjutant general in the same 1770. Due to the fact that in 1771 a plague epidemic began in Moscow, he instructed to take preventive measures in St. Petersburg. Bruce set to work energetically, instituted quarantines between the two capitals, strictly monitored visitors, forbade any export of goods from points infected with the plague, ordered to inspect and fumigate all imported goods, etc. thanks to such measures, the plague did not enter St. Petersburg.

Produced in 1773 as an anshefa general , Bruce was appointed to command the Finnish division during the war with the Swedish king Gustav III . In the same year, Bruce was awarded the Order of St. Andrew the First-Called .

From July 15, 1781 to October 3, 1784 - Tver Governor-General ^[2] .

After the almost simultaneous death of governors-general in both capitals (Prince Alexander Golitsyn in St. Petersburg and Count Zakhar Chernyshev in Moscow), Bruce was appointed in their place the governor-general of both capitals and the commander-in-chief of troops in Moscow .

In 1786, the first bodies of city self-government were created: the City Assembly and the City Council. During the governorship of Bruce, the construction of the Old Hermitage, the Tauride Palace , the Academy of Arts , the General Post Office was completed. The Trinity Cathedral of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra is consecrated. The embankments of Fontanka , the Catherine Canal and the English Embankment on the Neva are dressed with granite. Staro-Kalinkin , Chernyshev , Simeonovsky and Obukhov bridges over the Fontanka were built. September 22, 1784 received the Order of Vladimir I degree.

Bruce was not loved in Moscow for his severity, and he himself was dissatisfied with his stay in a city where there were “old customs and a darkness of prejudice,” and thanked Bezborodko in 1786 for the permission empress requested from him to come to Petersburg. From his Moscow post, Catherine II, at his request, fired Bruce on June 26, 1786 , and he remained only the Governor General in St. Petersburg. During her travels to the Crimea in 1787, Catherine sent Bruce a journal of this trip to "turn away empty speeches in the capital."

A little later, during the war with Turkey , Bruce was appointed a member of the special council for planning the upcoming war ; then, in the event of a sudden war with Sweden , Bruce was appointed commander in chief in the capital and St. Petersburg province, however, he had to carry out business under Her Majesty's own authority. Count Bruce is buried in St. Petersburg, in the Annunciation Church of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra . The funeral ceremony is described in memoirs .

Since Y. A. Bruce did not have sons from his marriage with Praskovia Alexandrovna (sister of Field Marshal P. A. Rumyantsev ), with his death, the family of Count Bruce in Russia was stopped. His only daughter, Catherine (1776-1829), was married to Count Vasily Valentinovich Musin-Pushkin , whom Emperor Paul I allowed to accept the name of Count Musin-Pushkin-Bruce, but he died in 1836 without leaving his sons. The pupil of Count Bruce, Ivan Inzov , grew up in the Trubetskoy family.

• Rudakov V.E. Bruce, Yakov Aleksandrovich // Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary : in 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additional). - SPb. , 1890-1907.
• P.M. Maykov. Bruce, Yakov Alexandrovich // Russian Biographical Dictionary : in 25 volumes. - SPb. - M. , 1896-1918.

• The official portal of the Administration of St. Petersburg .