Paskevitch

Paskevitch, IVAN FEODOROVITCH, Count of Erivan and Prince of Warsaw, a Russian field-marshal, was born at Poltava, May 19, 1782. He was educated in the school of pages, entered the army, served against the French in the campaign in 1805, which was ended by the defeat of Austerlitz, and afterwards against the Turks. Then he took a prominent part in the campaign of 1812, especially in the battles of Smolensk, Borodino, Leipzig, and in the capture of Paris. In 1826 he was appointed commander-in-chief against the Persians, whom he completely defeated, conquering Persian Armenia, taking Erivan, and ending the war by a peace (1828) exceedingly favourable to Russia. In recompense for these services he was created Count of Erivan, and received a grant of £100,000. In 1828 and 1829 he made two campaigns against the Turks in Asia, took Kars, Erzerum, and other fortresses, and terminated the war by the treaty of Adrianople in 1829. In 1831 he suppressed the rising in Poland by capturing Warsaw, and was made governor of the reconquered country. Under his rule Poland was (1832) definitively incorporated as Russian territory. When the Hungarians took up arms in 1848 Paskevitch was sent to the assistance of Austria, and, after defeating the Hungarians in several battles, compelled Görgéi to surrender at Vilagos (1849). In 1854 he took command of the Russian army on the Danube; but fortune, which had hitherto invariably smiled upon him, deserted him at Silistria, where he was wounded. Thereupon he resigned the command, retired to Warsaw, and died 1st February 1856. See Life by Tolstoi (Paris, 1835), and Stcherbatoff (St Petersburg, 1888), both in French.