Volkonsky, Grigory Semenovich

Father - General-General Semen Fedorovich Volkonsky (1703-1768), a participant in the Seven Years War . He spent his childhood in a house between Tversky Boulevard and Bolshaya Bronnaya Street . ^[1] At the age of fourteen years (1756), Grigory Volkonsky entered the military service with the rank of lieutenant , and at twenty-one years (1763) he was already a colonel in the Ryazhsky carabinier regiment .

In 1768, Volkonsky was appointed commander of the St. Petersburg Carabinieri Regiment and, together with him, fought against the Turks in the Russo-Turkish War of 1768-1774 and participated in military operations against the Polish Confederates in 1770-1772. ^[2]

For the victory at Cahul on July 21, 1770, "We were granted," wrote Catherine II to the commander of the 1st Army, General P. A. Rumyantsev , - Colonels Engepard (meaning Colonel Wilhelm Karlovich von Engelhardt), Panin, Prince. Prozorovsky and Prince Volkonsky - Knights 4 classes of the Order of St. George. "

In 1774-1776, already in the rank of major general , he took part in the pacification of the Crimean Tatars , in 1787-1791, during the second Russo-Turkish war he commanded the 1st division in the Ukrainian army, Field Marshal Count P. A. Rumyantsev, then was under the reign of Prince G. A. Potemkin , who united the command, was later enrolled in the corps of Prince N. V. Repnin . On August 18, 1789, he participated in the Battle of Malaya Salchi, where he personally led the Kiev Carabinieri Regiment in an attack and overthrew the 5,000th Turkish unit.

The main battle in the military fate of Volkonsky was the battle at the Danube city of Machin on June 28, 1791. Grigory Semenovich commanded the corps in Repnin's army, which accounted for the main burden of the battle. During the six-hour battle, Volkonsky was in the front line of the troops and was wounded in the head by a saber. Turks here lost four thousand people, Russians - six times less. “In respect of the diligent service and courageous feats with which he distinguished himself in the battle of Machin,” Lieutenant General Prince Volkonsky was awarded the Order of St. George, II degree.

In 1795-1796, G. S. Volkonsky (promoted to general-anshefa in 1794) commanded the 2nd division in the army of A. V. Suvorov . The commander was pleased with his student - “indefatigable Volkonsky,” as he called Grigory Semenovich for his energy. In 1797 he received the rank of full privy councilor and was appointed senator (dismissed from service in 1800). July 14, 1805 promoted to general from the cavalry .

On July 14, 1803, Alexander I appointed Prince Volkonsky as the Orenburg military governor. At the same time, Volkonsky became an inspector of the Orenburg Inspection, in addition, he was also charged with the management of the civilian part of the Orenburg province.

During his administration, Volkonsky worked mainly to alleviate the fate of the factory and mining population. He often rode on horseback, getting to know the far corners of the vast land entrusted to him. In 1813 he embarked on a scientific expedition to the Kyrgyz steppes , which discovered silver lead ore.

November 18, 1806 "for the condition in order" of the Orenburg province was awarded the highest order of Russia - St. Andrew the First-Called . The location of Alexander I is evidenced not only by this award, but also by the fact that during his two-month stay in the capital, the prince was invited to dinner at the Winter Palace for fifteen times.

December 26, 1817 G. S. Volkonsky was summoned to St. Petersburg and appointed a member of the Council of State . In this post, he died, having served for 66 years.

In 1937, his ashes were transferred from the Spiritual Church of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra to the Annunciation .

Due to a concussion in his head, Grigory Semenovich was distinguished by some oddities in behavior. The prince signed the papers without reading, and only asked the ruler of the chancellery: "Have you read what is written here?" - "I read, Your Excellency." “Take a good look.” The ruler swore that he was reading, and then His Excellency deigned to sign everything that was not given to him.

One of Volkonsky's eccentricities is the imitation of A.V. Suvorov, the memory of which he reverently kept all his life. Like Suvorov, who considered the Prussian military uniform to be ugly, he did not want to wear braids and buccles, thereby incurring the wrath of Emperor Paul I. A. Ya. Bulgakov wrote to his brother on August 25, 1818 from Petersburg ^[3] :

Yesterday I came across a strange phenomenon in the future . An old man with a gray beard walks with a bounce. St. Andrew's and St. George's stars, military embroidered uniform, instead of a camisole, a satin blue vest, without a hat and a sword, hunched over. Suddenly he stopped, began to bow to the ground in front of Kazan . When he saw me, he began to baptize and kiss me. Who is it? Suvorov! No, who? Prince Grigory Semenovich Volkonsky, who was going home from the Nevsky monastery in this decoration, where the body of Prince Kurakin was taken out. Like a dead man. A crowd of people followed him, and he goes as if dancing Polish , but alone, even without a footman. What an eccentric!

Like Suvorov, the Orenburg governor loved the cold. So, A. I. Vtorov wrote that Volkonsky “drenched in cold water every day in winter and summer, often walked the streets without a top dress and said,“ Suvorov did not die. He is in me! "

Wife (from April 29, 1778) - Princess Alexandra Nikolaevna Repnina (1757-1834), daughter of Field Marshal N. V. Repnin from her marriage to Princess N. A. Kurakina . They were married in St. Isaac the Dalmatian Cathedral in St. Petersburg, guarantors were A. A. Naryshkin and the father of the bride, Prince Repnin ^[4] . She held high posts at the court, since 1797 the cavalry lady of the Order of St. Catherine of the Small Cross, since 1808 the state lady. At the coronation of Nicholas I in 1826 she received the Order of St. Catherine the Great Cross . Performed the post of Obergofmeisterina Empress Alexandra Fedorovna. She died on December 23, 1834 and was buried in the cemetery of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra . K. Ya. Bulgakov wrote to his brother ^[5] :

The old woman, State Lady Volkonskaya, died yesterday at 8 o’clock in the morning. On the eve, the empress was still with her, and the old woman, touched by this gracious visit, told the empress that as soon as she recovered, she would come to thank her. The kingdom of heaven is an old woman who has always been very kind and gentle to me. Last year, I remember, every minute they expected her demise, - she recovered; and now, when she was feeling much better, she set off in a few hours ... The Emperor, the Empress, the heir and Mikhail Pavlovich deigned to be at the funeral, the entire diplomatic corps, the whole court and many nobles also came to pay their last debt to the venerable old woman. Prince Peter Mikhailovich was very moved and touching. It is clear that he is sorry for her.

Children

• Nikolai Grigoryevich (01/28/1779 - 01/06/18845) - since 1801, at the Highest Command, hereditarily accepted the name of his grandfather N. V. Repnin , a diplomat, a prominent participant in the Napoleonic Wars, general from the cavalry.
• Alexander Grigorievich (c. 1778-7.02.1780)
• Nikita Grigorievich (07/09/1881 - 12/18/1841) - a participant in the war of 1812, major general, later - the ranger of the court.
• Grigory Grigorievich (10.10.1782 - 02.28.1783)
• Sofya Grigoryevna (08.19.1786-26.03.1868) - maid of honor, about 1802 she married a distant relative, minister and field marshal of Prince P.M. Volkonsky ; since 1839 - Stas-lady. A close acquaintance of Pushkin , who rented an apartment in her house on the Moika embankment .
• Sergey Grigoryevich (12/08/1788 - 11/28/1865) - Major General, one of the leaders of the Decembrist movement.

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  Nikolay Grigoryevich

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  Nikita Grigorievich

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  Sofya Grigoryevna

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  Sergey Grigoryevich

• Volkonsky, princes // Military Encyclopedia : [in 18 vol.] / Ed. V.F. Novitsky [et al.]. - SPb. ; [ M. ]: Type. t-va I. D. Sytin , 1911-1915.