Bariatinskii, Aleksandr Ivanovich

Bariatinskii, Aleksandr Ivanovich

 

Born May 2 (14), 1815; died Feb. 25 (Mar. 9), 1879, in Geneva. Prince; Russian field marshal (1859).

Bariatinskii was an active participant in the Caucasus Wars (beginning in 1835). From 1836 to 1845 he was in the retinue of the heir to the throne (the future Alexander II). During the Crimean War (1853–54) he was chief of staff of the Caucasus Corps. Beginning in 1856 he was commander of troops and the tsar’s deputy in the Caucasus and directed the suppression of the national liberation struggle of the mountaineers of the Northern Caucasus. Carrying out his plan of methodical advance, he broke the resistance of the forces of Shamil’ and took Shamir prisoner in 1859. He retired in 1862 and became a member of the State Council. He protested against the military reforms carried out by D. A. Miliutin.