Repnin Nikolai Petrovich. Repnin Nikolay Vasilievich
In 1749 he was promoted to ensign, and 2 years later he became a second lieutenant of the guard. Then Nikolai Vasilyevich lived for a long time in Germany, where he received a “sound German upbringing and education,” and in Paris, from where he was returned to Russia by Empress Elizabeth, who feared that “Nikolasha” would not die “from debauchery and debauchery in this Sodom.”
When the Seven Years' War against Prussia began, the young officer volunteered in the army of Field Marshal S. Apraksin. He showed courage in the battle of Groß-Jägersdorf, during the occupation of Königsberg, during the siege of Küstrin, and from 1758 - captain. The following year, Repnin was sent to the Allies in France, where he served in the troops of Marshal Contade. In 1760, Colonel Repnin, as part of the corps of Count Z. Chernyshev, participated in the occupation of Berlin. In 1762 he was promoted to major general.
Nikolai Vasilyevich successfully combined military and diplomatic activities. In 1762, he was sent by Peter III as minister plenipotentiary to Prussia, where he met the first commander of his time, Frederick II and his army. Since 1763, Repnin, on behalf of Catherine II, was the plenipotentiary minister in Poland, in fact he managed all affairs there under the weak-willed king S. Poniatovsky. His words in the Diet: “This is the will of the Empress” were of decisive importance. How much honor he enjoyed in Warsaw can be seen from the fact that the theater was expecting his arrival at a time when the king was already sitting in the box. Rumor attributed to Repnin a connection with the beautiful Countess Isabella Czartoryska and paternity of her son Adam Czartoryski (later one of the leaders of the Polish uprising of 1794). Under pressure from the Russian ambassador, the Polish Sejm in 1768 equalized the rights of “dissidents” (Orthodox and Protestants) with Catholics, but this soon caused an armed rebellion of the “Confederates,” suppressed by Russia. For his activities in Poland, Nikolai Vasilyevich was awarded the Order of St. Alexander Nevsky, the rank of lieutenant general and a monetary gift of 50 thousand rubles.
With the beginning of the Russian-Turkish war of 1768 - 1774. Repnin returned to Russia and achieved his assignment to the 1st Army of Prince A. Golitsyn. Commanding a separate corps, he prevented a 36,000-strong Turkish army from crossing the Prut, then, under the banner of P. Rumyantsev, he distinguished himself in the battle of Ryabaya Mogila (1770). In this battle, the Kiev, Arkhangelsk, Shirvan musketeer regiments and grenadier battalions operating under his command, forming two squares, with the support of cavalry, defeated the left flank of the Turks. In the battle of Larga, Repnin again distinguished himself and, according to Rumyantsev, was awarded the Order of St. George, 2nd degree - “for an example of courage, serving his subordinates in overcoming difficulties, in fearlessness and winning victory.” He also shared the glory of the victors of the Battle of Cahul, which brought the final turning point in the course of the war. Subsequently, Repnin's vanguard occupied Izmail without a fight and forced Kilia to capitulate. Acting decisively and harshly in battles, the prince showed generosity towards the vanquished, and especially towards the population.
In 1771, having received under his command all the troops located in Wallachia, Repnin defeated a 10,000-strong enemy army near Bucharest. After the Russian troops abandoned Zhurzhi, he aroused the sharp displeasure of Commander-in-Chief Rumyantsev, their relationship worsened, and, citing “poor health,” Repnin asked to leave the army. He spent almost three years on vacation abroad, but in 1774 he returned to the army. He took part in the capture of Silistria and the conclusion of the Kyuchuk-Kainardzhi Peace Treaty, the text of which, on behalf of Rumyantsev, he took to Catherine II in St. Petersburg. During the “triumph of peace,” Nikolai Vasilyevich was promoted to general-in-chief, lieutenant colonel of the Izmailovsky Life Guards Regiment, and was awarded a large sum of money.
In 1775 - 1776 Repnin headed the Russian embassy in Turkey, where he had to solve the difficult task of strengthening the fragile peace between recent enemies. Upon returning to Russia, he lived briefly in the capital. The Empress was wary of rumors about his participation in plans to enthronement her son, Paul, as well as about his connection with the Freemasons. Repnin was appointed governor-general of Smolensk. Russia's participation in resolving the conflict between European countries around the "Bavarian inheritance" required the use of Nikolai Vasilyevich's diplomatic and military abilities. At the head of a 30,000-strong corps, he entered Breslau and became a mediator in concluding the Peace of Teshen. Catherine II granted the prince the Order of St. Andrew the First-Called, and the Austrian and Prussian monarchs also did not leave him without awards.
In 1780, Repnin commanded the observation corps in Uman, the following year he became governor-general of Pskov, while also remaining in Smolensk. He received the following awards: the Order of St. Vladimir, 1st degree, on the day of its establishment (1782), diamond insignia for the Order of St. Andrew the First-Called (1784). Not feeling much satisfaction from administrative activities, Nikolai Vasilyevich asked permission to go abroad “for vacation.” A new war with Turkey returned Repnin to the fighting field. He took part in the siege and capture of Ochakov, commanding Russian troops in Moldova, won a victory at Salcha, locked the enemy in Izmail, but at the direction of the commander-in-chief G. Potemkin, he moved away from the fortress (Potemkin soon entrusted its capture to Suvorov). In the summer of 1791, during Potemkin’s departure to St. Petersburg, Repnin assumed the responsibilities of commander-in-chief and decided to act actively, contrary to the instructions of his Serene Highness. Having learned that the Turkish vizier was concentrating his troops near Machin, Repnin moved his army forward and defeated the enemy in a six-hour battle. On the left flank, M. Kutuzov made the greatest contribution to the victory. Russian losses in the battle amounted to 141 people killed and 300 wounded, despite the fact that Repnin was confronted by more than 80,000 enemy troops. Stunned by the defeat, the vizier the very next day sent envoys to Repnin in Galati, who signed the preliminary terms of peace.
For the victory at Machin, Nikolai Vasilyevich was awarded the Order of St. George, 1st degree. He did not receive a field marshal's baton, and the reason for this, as many believed, was his connection with the Freemasons, whom Catherine II did not favor.
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After the end of the war, Repnin lived for a short time on his Vorontsov estate near Moscow, from where the Empress summoned him to send him as governor to Riga, then he served as governor in Revel and Lithuania. During the Polish uprising of 1794, the prince was appointed to lead the troops in Poland and Lithuania. But the main forces of the troops moving towards Warsaw were commanded by Suvorov. “I no longer know whether I am in command or under command,” Repnin complained to the empress. Referring to the direct instructions of Catherine and Field Marshal Rumyantsev, Suvorov brought the matter to victory, bypassing the commander-in-chief.
In 1796, Paul I, who ascended the throne, promoted 62-year-old Repnin to the coveted rank of field marshal general. In 1798, Nikolai Vasilyevich headed a diplomatic mission to Berlin and Vienna with the aim of creating an alliance against France. His relationship with the emperor was uneven, and at the end of 1798 Repnin was dismissed from service.
He settled in Moscow, his health deteriorated, and three years later the prince died on his estate at the age of 67. His body was buried in the Donskoy Monastery. Since Repnin had no sons, Alexander I allowed the field marshal’s grandson, through his daughter, to take the surname Repnin-Volkonsky - “so that the line of princes Repnin, who served so gloriously for the Fatherland, would not fade away with the death of the latter, but, having been renewed, would remain forever with the name and his example."
History has preserved the fact of unfriendly relations between Repnin and Suvorov. Repnin considered the hero Ishmael to be just a successful “warrior”; he called his tactics “naturalism” and his victories random. In turn, Suvorov was sarcastic about Repnin’s pedantry and indecision as a military leader and spoke of him like this: “Low and high in his time, but disgustingly commanding and without the slightest pleasantness.”
Repnin had many opponents, at the same time, many considered him a true statesman, a service man. Simplicity reigned in his Moscow house, but with noble decorum; not an evening passed without guests and conversations. He surprised everyone with his erudition and memory.
Book materials used: Kovalevsky N.F. History of Russian Goverment. Biographies of famous military figures of the 18th - early 20th centuries. M. 1997
!All dates are given according to the old style!
Prince Nikolai Vasilyevich Repnin, son of Field Marshal General Prince Vasily Anikitich and grandson of Field Marshal Prince Anikita Ivanovich, was born on March 11, 1734; received his initial education in his parents' home under the special supervision and care of his mother; He was enlisted in the service as a soldier in 1745, in the Life Guards in the Preobrazhensky Regiment, and at the age of fifteen he already took part in his father’s glorious campaign on the Rhine, being a sergeant. Then he suffered a sensitive loss, being left an orphan, far from his homeland; but Empress Elisaveta Petrovna instructed Chancellor Count Bestuzhev-Ryumin to reassure him of her patronage and, in commemoration of this, promoted Prince Repnin to ensign on July 11, 1749.
From that time on, the young warrior, who showed great promise, devoted himself again to the sciences, without which natural talents and intelligence could not produce anything great. Military craft served him as a reward, as a respite from work: in 1751 he was a second lieutenant of the guard, in 1753 a regimental adjutant. Soon Russia declared war on Prussia and Prince Repnin received permission from the Empress to volunteer in the army of Field Marshal Apraksin. He demonstrated his courage in the battle of Gross-Egersdorf (1757); during the occupation of Königsberg, Marienwerder, during the siege of Küstrin by General-in-Chief Fermor (1758); awarded the rank of captain of the guard. The following year, 1759, he was sent to the French army and was at the Battle of Minden, under the command of Marshal Contade; returning to St. Petersburg (1760), he transferred from the guard to an army regiment as a colonel: he participated in the occupation of Berlin; served with his regiment in the corps of Count Chernyshev, annexed to the Austrian army (1761); awarded the rank of major general on April 2, 1762, being twenty-eight years old.
Empress Catherine II, having ascended the throne, placed the Order of St. Anne on Prince Nikolai Vasilyevich and sent him as minister plenipotentiary to Frederick the Great (1762). This flattering appointment brought Repnin closer to the first commander of that time, giving him the opportunity to observe his military orders at Reichenbach and Schweidnitz. Thus, for three years, he surveyed the three armies of the main European courts, learned their perfections, shortcomings, and adapted his observations to the benefits of his dear fatherland. Hitherto, his service was, as it were, a continuation of science: in 1763, he was assigned to the post of director of the Land Cadet Corps; On November 11, he was appointed minister plenipotentiary to Poland, with an annual salary of twenty thousand rubles.
Then Augustus III died, at the age of 67, after a thirty-year reign. The main goal of Prince Repnin's embassy was the election of the steward of the Lithuanian Count Stanislav Poniatovsky as king: in this important assignment, Catherine II relied more on him than on her ambassador in Warsaw, Count Keyserling, and was not deceived. The efforts of France to revolt the then heated minds of the Poles against Russia remained in vain: to reinforce the dissidents, Prince Repnin arrested nobles who clearly resisted the intentions of the Empress: Bishop of Krakow Kayetan Soltyk, Count Rzhevutsky, Bishop of Kiev, and sent them to Russia. Prince Radziwill and Marshal Branicki fled. On September 7, 1764, Poniatowski was unanimously elevated to the Polish throne, and on November 25, he was crowned in Warsaw. At this time, Count Keyserling died, and the title of ambassador plenipotentiary was transferred to Prince Repnin, who received from the new king the Order of the White Eagle and St. Stanislaus, established by him (1765). During his six-year stay in Warsaw, Prince Nikolai Vasilyevich ruled the helm of the Polish state with a firm hand, acting in the name of Catherine, who was worthily represented by him. Poniatowski, weak, cowardly, bore only the title of king: Prince Repnin, enterprising and far-sighted, defending dissidents, united (1767) two confederations, Polish and Lithuanian, into one general one, and forced it to send extraordinary envoys of the Counts of Potsey to St. Petersburg, Velgorsky, Pototsky and Ossolinsky, expressing to the Empress the gratitude of the Polish and Lithuanian people for their patronage. Meanwhile, he set about ending the civil strife that had arisen in the kingdom and from the confederated Polish Republic insisted that seventy Poles be elected to a special commission, with whom he consulted about bringing peace to the dissidents. The consequence of this was the agreement he established in Warsaw, February 13, 1768, between the Russian and Polish courts, in Article IX, with two separate acts: I) the treaty concluded in Moscow in 1686 was confirmed. II) Both powers agreed to mutually guarantee the integrity and safety of their then possessions in Europe. III) The King and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth undertook to ensure for eternity, by a special separate act, the free confession of the ununited Eastern Greek faith and dissidents of the evangelical confession. IV) It was decided to permanently designate in the second separate act the objects and parts of the government. V) The Empress solemnly guaranteed the constitution of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, the form of government, liberty and laws. VI) The Treaties of Karlovitsky, Oliva and others, concluded with other powers, remain in full force. VII) The responsibility of the border plenipotentiary courts is entrusted with the duty to quickly and impartially resolve the arising dispute between the subjects of both contracting parties, thereby maintaining order and silence. VIII) Free trade was approved, without being burdened by unnecessary taxes. IX) Ratify the treaty in Warsaw in two months. First separate act The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, respecting the acceptable participation of the Russian, English, Prussian, Swedish and Danish courts, decreed five articles that returned and ensured all church and civil rights of non-Uniates and dissidents. Second included cardinal rights and limited the power of the first officials of the republic. By the way, it has been legalized that a nobleman for the deliberate murder of a peasant will henceforth be subject to execution, and not to a monetary penalty.
Decisive measures restored the magnates and Polish clergy against Prince Repnin. The Versailles cabinet, jealous of our power, convinced the Ottoman Porte to declare war on Russia, and Prince Nikolai Vasilyevich, awarded the Order of St. Alexander Nevsky by the Empress and the rank of lieutenant general (1768), as an experienced commander, was recalled to St. Petersburg. He entered the first army led by Prince Golitsyn (1769); participated in the blockade and occupation of the Khotyn fortress; commanded (1770) a separate corps in Moldavia and Wallachia: in June he prevented twelve thousand Turks and twenty thousand Tatars from crossing the Prut, pursued them for six miles; fought under the banners of Rumyantsev at the battles of Larga and Kagul; captured, on July 26, Ishmael, who surrendered to him on terms with twenty guns; pursued the twenty-thousand-strong Turkish army, which abandoned this fortress when he approached; laid down seven hundred people in place; moved to the fortress of Kilia, providing Ishmael with a sufficient garrison.
August 9, the Turks, noticing our army, set fire to the suburb in four places; despite the strong fire, Prince Repnin entered it and, among the fire and ashes, surveyed the position of the fortress, appointed the location of the first battery from the glacis eighty fathoms; from there, opening a trench, he ordered it to be led to the left side, and the brigadier Baron Igelstrom to lay the main battery opposite the gate. Meanwhile, the enemy tried to prevent the work being carried out with three sorties; but was forced to leave. Then Prince Repnin sent the following appeal to the fortress with one prisoner: “Her Imperial Majesty, my Most Gracious Sovereign, by her natural generosity and love for mankind, commands us to preserve, as far as possible, from the needless shedding of human blood. Submit to the victorious weapon of my wise Monarch. I promise to leave you life, give you freedom and let your property go with you Life remains for you so that the victors disdain to defeat the vanquished; freedom, so that you bring to the places you inhabit the glory of the bounty and generosity of the Russian Empress; and property, so that you understand that Russian heroes despise self-interest. Know that Russia knows how to win; but wherever humanity inclines to pity, it spares and forgives. However, if you continue to resist, then tomorrow morning I will open the beginning of that execution, which will show you how difficult it is to irritate the victors from whom you should seek mercy." This appeal did not produce the desired effect: cannon fire began from the fortress. The Russians, under canister shots, finished the main battery and the next morning opened strong fire from all guns, which lasted for four hours. A cry was heard among the besieged.
Prince Repnin, always generous, sent another appeal to them; urged them to seek mercy, freedom and everything offered, if they did not want to be subjected to the wrath of the heroes who had already defeated them many times. Osman Pasha, who commanded the fortress, demanded three days to think; but Prince Repnin agreed only for six hours. The deadline arrived in the evening; the enemy begged to extend it until dawn; Repnin respected this request and, on August 18, Kilia submitted to the Empress. On the 21st, the keys were presented to the Russian commander; five thousand inhabitants came out to meet him: Greeks and Armenians with the cross and the Gospel, Jews with bread. Found in the fortress: four mortars, sixty-four cannons, eight thousand cannonballs, up to four hundred barrels of gunpowder and a lot of food supplies. Having learned that the Turks were experiencing a shortage of livestock, Prince Repnin sent one hundred sheep to them; ordered two doctors to bandage the wounds of the Muslims who were in the fortress; transported a garrison of four thousand across the Danube, laying down their weapons and allowing them to take property. Many Ottomans, amazed by such amazing philanthropy, fell on their knees before him, shedding tears of gratitude, and vowed not to fight the Russians anymore. The Empress awarded Prince Nikolai Vasilyevich the military Order of St. George, second class.
In 1771, Prince Repnin was entrusted with command over all troops in Wallachia. He arrived in Bucharest, from there he went to Zhurzha, examined this fortress, occupied by a sufficient Russian garrison; reconnaissance of Turna, built on a steep mountain under the Nikopol cannons, and at that time received a report that the enemy, having crossed the Danube, attacked Zhurzha. Prince Repnin then left Major General Potemkin near Turna, and he himself hurried with forced marches to the besieged. Seven miles away from Zhurzhi, he learned that the commandant, Major Hansel, who had provisions for three months and a significant number of shells, had surrendered this fortress. The detachment accompanying Prince Repnin consisted of only three hundred people: he was forced to retire to Bucharest from the three thousand strong Turkish cavalry that rode out to meet him; located under the Vakaresti Monastery. Encouraged by the success obtained, the enemy appeared on June 10, in sight of our troops, numbering ten thousand people, under the leadership of the three-bunchu Pasha Akhmet, who had previously commanded in Arabia: Prince Repnin warned him with an attack, put him to flight, twenty miles away, to the Argis River, killed five hundred men on the spot, recaptured one cannon and five banners. Meanwhile, Rumyantsev blamed him for the loss of Zhurzhi: the commander, offended by injustice, asked for dismissal to foreign lands, where he stayed until 1774. He was then at the disposal of Silistria, when the victories of Transdanubia forced Turkey to ask for peace from Russia, and did not refuse to be the producer of this important matter, forgetting the past for the benefit of the Empire: July 10 (1774) signed by him and the Turkish plenipotentiaries Resmi Ahmet Efendi and Ibrahim Munib Reis-Efendi, the glorious treaty of eternal peace between both empires in the camp of Kuchuk-Kainardzhi, near Silistria, in Article XXVIII. Upon approval of this treatise by the vizier, Count Rumyantsev sent Prince Repnin with it, having - according to him in a report to the Empress - full participation in the conclusion of peace. Catherine II promoted Prince Nikolai Vasilyevich to General-in-Chief and Lieutenant Colonel of the Life Guards Izmailovsky Regiment, and the following 1775 appointed him Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Turkey.
Prince Repnin's retinue was as brilliant as it was numerous, consisting of five hundred people. He entered Constantinople (October 5) through the Andrianople Gate on a Turkish horse, richly decorated, sent to him by the Sultan, with banners flying, music and drums beating; arrived in Peru at seven o'clock in the afternoon with lighted torches and only entered the courtyard alone; The Turks accompanying him entered it on foot. On October 7, Prince Repnin notified the foreign ambassadors who were in Constantinople about his arrival through the embassy gentlemen, and the ministers through the officers.
They immediately sent the secretaries of the embassy to him with congratulatory greetings and, after them, visited him themselves; and after lunch that same day, the spouses of the French and Venetian ambassadors, as well as the Prussian envoy, came to Princess Repnina and spent the evening with her. On October 8, the ambassador, accompanied by his retinue, paid visits before noon to the ambassadors, and after lunch to the envoys.
By preliminary agreement with Porto, Prince Repnin visited the vizier on November 28. He drove up to the very porch, where he was met by Porta’s interpreter, who, together with Chaushlyar Eminiy and Chaushlyar Kiatibiy, preceded him to the reception hall. They were joined on the porch by the tesrifaji, or first master of ceremonies. Entering the hall, the ambassador paused a little, not seeing the vizier, who, however, immediately entered it. When they approached each other, they bowed to each other and went to their assigned places. Prince Repnin presented the vizier with the Empress’s letter; he accepted it while standing and placed it on the pillow next to him. Then the ambassador and the vizier sat down at the same time, the latter on the sofa, the former on the armchairs opposite him. The vizier greeted the ambassador, inquiring about his state of health. Having performed the usual courtesies on both sides, Prince Repnin, in a speech he delivered, announced to the vizier the reason for his embassy; certified that “the Empress wishes to firmly and inviolably maintain the blissful peace concluded between both empires and renewed friendship; she does not doubt his laudable and peaceful feelings,” and in conclusion asked him to quickly request an audience with the Sultan. The Dragoman of Porta translated this speech. The vizier replied that “he, for his part, wishing to establish and preserve a blessed peace, will apply perfect care and work to achieve this goal; he feels true pleasure in the fact that the choice of the embassy fell on a person in whom the ability and diligence to the common interests of both resides.” sides." After this, the vizier and the ambassador were presented with candy, coffee, sherbet, rose water and smoking, which they also treated the officials of the embassy retinue, excluding washing and smoking; They gave the ambassador a sable fur coat with a brocade top, which he put on without getting up from his chair; they put fur coats on the chargé d'affaires, Mr. Peterson, on the marshal of the embassy, Mr. Bulgakov, and on two secretaries - palmate sables, covered with cloth and trimmed with lamellar sable fur, on ten gentlemen of the embassy - ermine, covered with camelot; One hundred caftans were distributed to the embassy's retinue.
On November 29, Prince Repnin sent gifts to the vizier with the marshal of the embassy, to the effendi and to the reis-effendi with his secretaries. On the 30th, gifts were taken to the seraglio to the Sultan. The ambassador had an audience with him on December 1: having reached the second gate of the seraglio, he dismounted at the right locker and was met here by Porta's interpreter. Instead of waiting on a bench at this gate until he was invited to the sofa, as ambassadors usually did, Prince Repnin was led into a room, specially decorated with sofas for this occasion. Here Chaush-bashi and Porta's translator treated him and were with him constantly. Having entered the divan through different doors, but at the same time as the vizier, the ambassador sat down on a stool placed opposite the vizier’s place, and since the latter hesitated in inviting him to the Nisanjin shop, Prince Repnin, through Porta’s interpreter, announced to the vizier that “ he will go there himself if he is not immediately invited." The will of the Russian ambassador was immediately carried out: he sat down in the middle of the bench, on the right side of Nisandzhia. The trial began and lasted half an hour; At the end of it, the vizier sent a flight effendi with a written report to the Sultan about the admission of the ambassador. Only Prince Repnin dined with the vizier that day; with the captain-pasha: a marshal, two secretaries and the Duke de Braganza, who was among the embassy’s gentlemen. During lunch, the Highest Charter is held alternately by the nobles. Halfway along the road from the divan to the last gate of the Seraglio, the ambassador is wearing a sable fur coat covered with brocade; ermine on the marshal and secretaries; One hundred caftans were distributed to the retinue. Having stayed in this place, in the shop, for a quarter of an hour, while the vizier was with the Sultan, the ambassador was then led into the throne room by two capiji-bashiyas, accompanied by sixteen officials who had arrived with him, and preceded by an interpreter. Having made three bows, he made a speech and presented a letter, which was accepted by the captain-pasha, who handed it to the vizier, and the latter placed it near the Sultan. The Dragoman of Porta translated the speech and Sultan Abdul Hamid said in a loud voice a few words to the vizier, who answered the ambassador: “His Imperial Majesty, the Most Gracious Sovereign Emperor, Refuge of Light, ordered me to inform you that it is His Imperial will that a peace treaty concluded between his empire and was forever preserved and fulfilled by the Russian Empire." Porta's Dragoman translated these words, and the ambassador, bowing to the Sultan, left the audience chamber with his entire retinue. At the second gate he again waited in the guardhouse for the Kapidzhi-Bashis, while the minor ranks, the Janissaries-aga, the Kapidzhi-Bashis and others were leaving the seraglio.
On January 28 (1776) the ambassador dined with the vizier in the Sultan's reception rooms. The vizier allowed him to choose any place; sofa or armchairs. The ambassador sat down on the sofa, saying, that he prefers it, wanting to be closer to him. They both sat down at the same time. The vizier asked the ambassador to have him at his place, as if in his own home, and to order anything; wanted to know if he wanted to admire the games and amusements prepared for his amusement? Around the eleventh hour, the vizier asked when the ambassador usually dined, so that he would order the table to be made by then; for, having designated this day for treating such a pleasant guest, he does not want to burden him with any change in daily customs. The ambassador replied, that, feeling the extreme pleasure of being treated to such a respectable and friendly host, he puts aside all his habits and asks him not to force himself into anything; but determine the time of lunch at your own discretion. At half past one o'clock a table was brought to the sofa, at which, in addition to the two of them, another Reis Efendi was dining. A gold device sprinkled with diamonds was placed in front of the ambassador; the plates served to him were also gold. After dinner, he washed his hands at the same time as the vizier; various games and amusements resumed. Not wanting to disturb the owner with a long stay and knowing that the hour devoted to prayer had come, that the vizier was suffering from gout, the ambassador explained to him the reasons prompting him to return to his home and thanked him for the honors he had received. The vizier answered, that the presence of the ambassador could never be a burden to him and that, on the contrary, it cured him of gout; but at the same time, for fear of causing him anxiety, he does not want to keep his guest any longer. Then they brought sherbet and fumigation to the vizier and the ambassador; They put on the ambassador a sable fur coat covered with cloth, and put three handkerchiefs in his pocket, in which a gold watch with diamonds was wrapped. Following this, the ambassador was treated to dinner by the captain pasha, the vizier kegay, the janissary aga, the tefterdar and, on March 3, the reis effendi. At this last one, the vizier was incognito in the tent set up for him, from which he admired the games, and expressed his regret to the ambassador, that the ceremony prevented him from seeing him and having a friendly conversation. On March 29, the ambassador had an audience with the Sultan, on the 31st he said goodbye to the vizier, and on April 13 he left Pera.
Returning to his fatherland, Prince Repnin did not remain idle: he was appointed governor-general to Smolensk (1777) and, the following year, also to Oryol, the governorship that was then open to him. His civil studies were interrupted by the subjugation of a thirty-thousandth corps, with which he entered Breslavl on December 9th.
At the Teschen Congress (1779), the diplomatic abilities and firmness of Prince Repnin inclined the Austrian court to peace; Most of the lands seized from it were returned to Bavaria; the losses incurred by Saxony, the Duchy of Zweibrik and other German princes were satisfied. The restorer of silence in half of Europe did not go without a reward: the Empress granted him the Order of St. Apostle Andrew the First-Called and three thousand peasants in Belarus; Joseph II sent a cane set with diamonds and a silver table service; Frederick the Great: Order of the Black Eagle, his sword and portrait, sprinkled with diamonds, a Saxon dinner service, twenty thousand efimki for travel expenses and ten thousand for the office. The monarch of Prussia was in frank correspondence with Prince Repnin and confessed to him that he had once been deceived by the Austrian ministry; but next time he will not allow himself to be deceived.
In 1780, stone buildings for judicial places were laid in Smolensk and, when Catherine II passed through this governorship, she expressed her special pleasure and favor to Prince Repnin “for the good arrangement She saw everywhere and the traces of the exact fulfillment of Her institution” . In the same year he commanded an observation corps in Uman, and the next year he was granted adjutant general, governor general of Pskov, while remaining in Smolensk; led the reserve corps in Poland (1782 and 1783); received the Order of St. Vladimir, first degree, on the day of its establishment (1782); diamond insignia of the Order of St. Andrew the Apostle, in 1784. Then for the second time he took a trip to foreign lands, as if to take a break from his labors; The Empress left her titles with him.
The war with Turkey distracted Prince Repnin from the provinces he controlled: he participated in the siege and capture of Ochakov (1788), showing his subordinates, in dangerous places, an example of fearlessness; commanded the Ukrainian army in Moldavia (1789), before the arrival of Potemkin; defeated Seraskir Hassan Pasha, the former captain-pasha, on the Salche River on September 7; captured his camp, three cannons, nine banners and part of the baggage train; drove into Ishmael, locked him in this fortress. Unfortunately, envy prevented the brave commander from completing the victory over the Ottomans: fearing that Repnin would not receive a field marshal's baton for the capture of Izmail, Potemkin ordered him to retreat twenty miles. In 1790, Prince Repnin continued to command the troops stationed in Moldavia, under the leadership of Tauride, sacrificing his offended pride and his own glory in order to serve the fatherland. His patience was rewarded. The commander-in-chief went to St. Petersburg (1791), entrusting him with command of the united army. Taking advantage of his absence, the Supreme Vizier Yusuf Pasha gathered troops at Machin and intended to inflict a sensitive blow on the Russians, but Prince Repnin decided to destroy the enemy’s attempt by attacking them. He ordered the district troops to gather towards Galati; ordered Lieutenant General Golenishchev-Kutuzov to arrive there from Izmail with the Bug Jaeger Corps and five hundred Don Cossacks; instructed Major General Ribas to prepare transport ships.
Battle of Machina . The Supreme Vizier had various Turkish troops up to one hundred thousand; under his command were five pashas, two Anatolian beys and two Tatar sultans. Prince Repnin's army was half as large; out of seventy-two guns, he left eight in reserve on the banks of the Danube to repel enemy ships. On June 25, the chief general inspected the Turkish camp. On the 28th, at six o'clock in the morning, Lieutenant General Prince Golitsyn was the first to arrive with the troops entrusted to him to the point of his attack and open a cannonade. At the same time, the cavalry of Lieutenant General Prince Volkonsky, led by Major General Ribas, struck the enemy, cleared the place occupied by him and connected communication with the troops of Prince Golitsyn, while Prince Volkonsky, who followed the cavalry with his infantry, lined up in battle order, also reached its point, and began a cannonade. Then Golenishchev-Kutuzov, going around the mountains in order to enter the enemy’s right region, had with great difficulty to make his way among the Turks surrounding him, who were trying to cut communication between him and the army. These attempts by the vizier were destroyed by Prince Repnin: he ordered Major General Ribas to attack the enemy repeatedly, and Prince Volkonsky to pull three grenadier regiments with artillery from two lines to the left and approach the mountains. In vain, the Turkish infantry, wanting to take advantage of the separation of troops, rushed quickly and in large numbers at the first square of the Ekaterinoslav Grenadier Regiment: the brave warriors overthrew and put to flight the enemy. At the same time, crowds of Turks attacked our right flank, led by Prince Golitsyn; but were repulsed with significant damage and pursued by cavalry to their first camp. Thus, Prince Repnin also destroyed the Turkish attempts on our reserve from the Danube, reinforcing it with expelled troops. Soon Kutuzov’s infantry appeared on the mountains on the enemy’s flank: Prince Volkonsky hastened to transport two grenadier regiments behind a steep ravine located under the mountain to open communications with Kutuzov. Then the troops moved from all sides towards the enemy: Prince Golitsyn went to his retrenchment, Prince Volkonsky to the camp, and Golenishchev-Kutuzov to the flank, which movement decided the victory of this stubborn battle, which lasted for six hours in intense heat. The enemy fled to Girsov; light troops pursued him. Thirty-five copper guns were taken, including two mortars; more than four thousand Turks fell on the battlefield, except for those killed on the ships, of which three were blown up and the same number were sunk. Among the prisoners was the two-bunchu Megmet Arnaut Pasha. Fifteen banners were taken.
Having given thanks to the Almighty with cannon fire for the victory, Prince Repnin crossed back across the Danube on July 2 and then ordered the bridges to be removed, placing the army in the previous camps. Meanwhile, he entered into relations with the vizier, who was the first to talk about peace, and wanting to take advantage of the favorable moment to grant it to the fatherland, he signed with the Turkish plenipotentiaries in Galati, on July 31, preliminary conditions: the Kaynardzhi Treaty and those that followed it were confirmed in full and exact their mind; the Dniester River is designated as the border of both empires; the lands lying between the Bug and the Dniester were ceded to Russia. On August 1, Potemkin, hoping to steal from Repnin the double glory of a winner and a peacemaker, arrived in Galati, when he had already accomplished his important feat: enraged by this failure, the field marshal showered the honored commander with terrible reproaches, adding threats to them: "I fulfilled my duty," Prince Repnin answered proudly, - and is ready to give an answer to the Empress and the Fatherland." Catherine II awarded him (July 15) the Order of St. George, first degree; ordered him to be the governor of Riga and Revel (1792) and, on September 2, 1793, on the occasion of a peaceful celebration, she awarded Prince Repnin a letter of commendation; for the second time, diamond insignia of the Order of St. Andrew the Apostle as a sign of the Royal favor and sixty thousand rubles to fix household chores.
In 1794, anarchy arose in Poland: Russian troops stationed in Livonia and the Minsk province were subordinated to Prince Repnin. He entered Lithuania and, with his zealous, tireless efforts, restored its silence. The Empress awarded him (January 1, 1795) villages, a house in St. Petersburg, a letter of commendation and entrusted him with the administration of that region with the appointment of Governor-General of Estland and Livonia. Prince Repnin held this rank after the death of Catherine II.
Emperor Paul I, upon accession to the throne, promoted Prince Nikolai Vasilyevich to Field Marshal General (November 8, 1796) and, after that, commander of the Lithuanian division, military governor in Riga, present on the Council of the Society of Noble Maidens; granted him six thousand souls on the day of his coronation (1797); later ordered to be the order's chancellor, inspector of infantry of the Lithuanian and Livonian divisions; sent (1798) to Berlin and Vienna to distract Prussia from an alliance with France, invite the Austrian court to joint action against the latter power and offer Grand Duchess Alexandra Pavlovna in marriage to Archduke Palatine. This embassy was not crowned with the desired success; for King Frederick William III resolutely refused to break the neutrality; Prince Repnin was dismissed from service with permission to wear a common army uniform. Then he retired to Moscow and, in the circle of his family and friends, ended the evening of a glorious life, delighting it with Christian reflections. In exile, no grumbling ever came from the lips of the pious elder: he honored the will of his King and reverently submitted to it; no one in his presence dared to condemn the orders of the then government.
Emperor Alexander I reigned, and Prince Nikolai Vasilyevich, beloved and respected by him, welcomed the grandson of Catherine the Great, who expressed a desire to follow in her footsteps; but could not serve him: an apoplectic stroke ended his life, dedicated to the four Monarchs, on May 12, 1801, at the age of 68 from birth. The Emperor gave the following decree to the Governing Senate: “In commemoration of Our excellent respect for the military and civil exploits of Field Marshal Prince Repnin, in memory of his virtues and love for the Fatherland, with which in peace and in war, and in service and in solitude, to the very at the end of his life he was filled, and as a testimony that true merits never die, but living in universal gratitude pass from generation to generation, according to the wishes of him, his close relatives and what We ourselves know, we deign that his own grandson, from his daughter his birth, Colonel Prince Nikolai Volkonsky took his surname, and from now on was called Prince Repnin. Yes, the family of the Repnin princes, who served so gloriously for the Fatherland, will not fade away with the death of the latter, but, renewed, will remain forever, with his name and example, in the unforgettable memory of the Russian nobility!
Prince Nikolai Vasilyevich Repnin - as Ivan Vladimirovich Lopukhin rightly describes him - was one of those great men, true heroes, lovers of the highest virtue, whose deeds are read in history with delight of surprise and whose greatness, those who do not understand the perfection of virtue, do not have the strength to believe. With a stately appearance, proud posture, lofty brow, eyes, and in venerable old age fiery, to which arched eyebrows gave even greater expressiveness, he had a cheerful disposition, was courteous, kind to the extreme; surprised everyone with his erudition and rare memory; spoke and wrote fluently in Russian, French, German, Italian and Polish; in his youth he had a fiery heart and was happy with the love of the fair sex; knew how to maintain the dignity of his Monarch; sometimes seemed proud out of necessity; he was quick-tempered, but did not know revenge, and only the love of service and order carried him away; undaunted on the battlefield; enterprising, far-sighted; dared in state councils; unchanging in friendship; a gentle father of the family and, at the same time, a faithful subject, an upright son of the church, a friend of humanity. Here is evidence of his extraordinary generosity and greatness of soul.
Having won the case against one of his relatives, Prince. L.R., which extended to several thousand souls, he ceded these villages to him, respecting his large family and poor condition.
Empress Catherine II granted him six thousand peasants in the Polish regions annexed to Russia: Prince Repnin granted the income from this estate, consisting of twenty-two thousand silver rubles, to the former owner, Count Oginsky, upon his death.
One provision official, Prince. Koz., who was with him, fell into deep thought; Noticing this change, Prince Repnin asked him several times: "Why is he so gloomy?" - and could not find out the real reason; finally decided to use the last resort, invited him into his office and told him: “My friend! Speak to me frankly, not as if to a boss, but as if to a spiritual father: what is your sadness? I know that you are a hunter of cards: haven’t you lost?” Here the official, moved to tears by the field marshal’s favorable treatment, knelt down before him and announced that he had the misfortune of losing sixty thousand rubles of government money. "Get up," Prince Repnin told him, You are not the only one to blame: and I am no less guilty that, knowing your passion for games, I have until now left you in your real position; and so I am obliged to participate in this loss. To your happiness, the other day I sold one village: here’s sixty thousand rubles for you; but at the same time I propose conditions: immediately submit to me a request for dismissal from the provision department and so that this conversation remains forever between the two of us." Only at the burial of the magnanimous nobleman did the official who had benefited him reveal the secret that was weighing on him.
Under the leadership of Prince Repnin, many state dignitaries were formed: Count Nikita Petrovich Panin, Yakov Ivanovich Bulgakov, Prince Dmitry and Prince Yakov Ivanovich Lobanov-Rostovsky, Dmitry Prokofievich Troshchinsky and Yuri Alexandrovich Neledinsky-Meletsky. Suvorov, Potemkin-Tavrichesky, Kutuzov-Smolensky served under his banner.
Dm. Bantysh-Kamensky. "BIOGRAPHIES OF RUSSIAN GENERALISSIMOS AND FIELD MARSHALS GENERAL".
St. Petersburg 1840
A straight hero is not driven by passions,
He is strict with himself and kind to his neighbors;
To wealth, titles, power, fame
Inside he is not committed to his heart;
His treasure kindly -
Calm spirit and clear conscience.
In patience he is firm and wise in adversity,
Doesn't slave to the shiny part;
He considers himself satisfied with this
If there was a common good where there was an accomplice,
Blessed, blessed a hundred times more,
That he could moderate his passions!
Such a portrait of Nikolai Vasilyevich Repnin is given in an ode dedicated to him by G. R. Derzhavin (“Monument to the Hero,” 1791).
Prince Nikolai Vasilievich Repnin born on March 11, 1734 in the family of Feldzeichmeister General Vasily Anikitovich. He received his primary education in his parents' home.
In 1745, he was enlisted as a soldier in the Life Guards Preobrazhensky Regiment and at the age of fifteen, with the rank of sergeant, he participated in the campaign on the Rhine under the command of his father with the rank of sergeant. In 1751 he was a lieutenant of the guard, in 1753 - a regimental adjutant. Soon Russia declared war on Prussia, and Repnin received orders from Empress Elizabeth Petrovna to volunteer in the army of Field Marshal Apraksin. He showed courage in the battles of Gross-Jägersdorf (1757), during the capture of Königsberg, Marienwerder, during the siege of Küstrin (1758), for which he was awarded the rank of captain of the guard.
In 1759 he moved from the guard to an army regiment as a colonel, participated in the capture of Berlin, his regiment was in the corps of Count Chernyshev, annexed to the Austrian army (1761). At the age of twenty-eight, on April 2, 1762, he became a major general.
Empress Catherine II, having ascended the throne, sent him as minister plenipotentiary to Frederick the Great (1762). In 1763 he was appointed Director of the Land Cadet Corps, and on November 11 he was confirmed as Minister Plenipotentiary (Ambassador) to Poland. In 1768 he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant general.
During the first Russian-Turkish war (1768-1774) he took part in the capture of the Khotyn fortress and in the battles of Larga and Kagul. Prince Nikolai Vasilyevich signed the Kuchuk-Kainardzhi peace treaty with Turkey.
In 1775, he was promoted to general-in-chief and lieutenant colonel of the Life Guards Izmailovsky Regiment and appointed Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Turkey.
After returning to Russia in 1777, he became governor-general in Smolensk and the following year governor-general in Orel. He took part in the War of the Bavarian Succession (1778-1779), at the head of a thirty-thousandth corps, with which he entered Breslau.
In 1781 he was granted adjutant general, governor of Pskov, while also remaining in Smolensk. Commanded the reserve corps in Poland (1782-1783).
In the same year, Repnin received sad news - his daughter died (his son died in 1774). The Senate decree of November 1, 1784 reported that the Governor-General of Smolensk and Pskov N.V. Repnin, on the occasion of the death of his daughter, postponed his trip to “foreign lands,” and he was allowed to stay in Moscow “or wherever he pleases for as long as he pleases.” , how much he needs to improve his health and manage his household affairs,” while fulfilling the duties assigned to him.
The war with Turkey distracted him from governing the provinces. He took part in the siege and capture of Ochakov (1788). In 1790 he continued to command troops in Moldova. M.I. Golenishchev-Kutuzov served under his command. Repnin signed peace with Turkey in Galati.
In “Monument to the Hero” G. R. Derzhavin wrote:
"Build, Muse, monument to the Hero,
Who is courageous and generous in soul.
Who has more mind than strength,
He defeated Yusuf beyond the Danube,
Gave a lot of benefit with little expense."
In 1792, Catherine II appointed him governor of Riga and Revel.
In 1795, Repnin became governor-general of Estland and Livonia. He held this rank until the death of Catherine II.
Emperor Paul I, upon his accession to the throne, promoted the prince to field marshal general (November 8, 1796), after which he appointed him commander of the Lithuanian division and military governor in Riga. After an unsuccessful mission in Berlin to distract Prussia from an alliance with France, he was dismissed from service.
Repnin was a Freemason, a member of the “Shining Star” and “New Israel” lodges. He founded a military Masonic lodge in Kinburn, which worked according to the Swedish system.
Prince Nikolai Vasilyevich Repnin, as the strict moralist nobleman Ivan Vladimirovich Lopukhin rightly describes, “... was one of those great men, true heroes, lovers of the highest virtues, whose deeds are read in history with delight of surprise and whose greatness those who do not understand the perfection of virtue do not have strength to believe.
With a stately appearance, a proud bearing, an elevated brow, eyes and fiery eyes in venerable passion, to which arched eyebrows gave even more expressiveness, he combined a cheerful disposition, was courteous, kind to the extreme, surprising everyone with his erudition and rare memory. He spoke and wrote fluently in Russian, French, German, Italian and Polish. In his young years he had a fiery heart and was happy with the love of the fair sex: he knew how to maintain the dignity of his monarchy. He sometimes seemed proud out of necessity, was quick-tempered, but did not know revenge. Only the love of service and order carried him away. He was fearless on the battlefield, enterprising and far-sighted."
Empress Catherine II granted Repnin six thousand peasants in the Polish regions annexed to Russia. Prince Repnin granted the right to use the income from this estate, amounting to about twenty-two thousand silver rubles, to the previous owner, Count Oginsky, until his death.
During the famine, Repnin supported the poor of two Belarusian provinces at his own expense.
Suvorov, Potemkin-Tavrichesky, and Kutuzov served under the command of Repnin.
He was awarded the orders of: White Eagle, St. Stanislav (1765), St. Alexander Nevsky (1768), St. George 2nd degree (July 27, 1770), St. Apostle Andrew the First-Called (1779), St. Vladimir 1 1st class (23 October 1782), St. George 1st class (15 July 1791).
N.V. Repnin was married to Princess Natalya Alexandrovna Kurakina.
In Moscow, Repnin lived out his life surrounded by family and friends. He never complained and respected the will of the king. No one in his presence dared to condemn the orders of the then government. He died on May 12, 1801 at the age of 68. He was buried in the church of the Moscow Donskoy Monastery.
BiographyREPNIN Nikolai Vasilievich, Russian statesman and military leader, diplomat. Field Marshal General (1796).
He came from an old princely family, dating back to Prince Mikhail Vsevolodovich of Chernigov. The son of Peter the Great's associate, Field Marshal Prince Vasily Anikitich Repnin. Received home education. In military service since 1748, sergeant of the Life Guards Regiment. In 1749 he was promoted to ensign, and in 1753 he was appointed regimental adjutant of the Preobrazhensky Regiment. During the Seven Years' War 1756 - 1763. participated in the capture of Pillau, the battle of Kunersdorf, the occupation of Marienwerder and Küstrin. For distinction he was promoted to captain. In 1760 - 1762 regiment commander. In 1762, Repnin was transferred to the diplomatic service and appointed envoy to Prussia. Since 1763, director of the Land Cadet Corps. In November of the same year, he was appointed ambassador and minister plenipotentiary to Poland, where he achieved a significant increase in Russian influence and the conclusion of the Warsaw Treaty of 1768, which was beneficial for Russia.
At the beginning of the Russian-Turkish War of 1768 - 1774. commanded the 3rd Infantry Division, which took part in the blockade and capture of Khotin. Then, as part of the troops of Lieutenant General I.K. Elmpta took part in the capture of Iasi. Since 1770, he led a separate corps in the Moldavian army, Lieutenant General Kh.M. Shtofelna. In the battle of Larga he commanded the left flank of the Russian army. Since 1771 - commander-in-chief of the troops in Wallachia. He showed himself during the preparation and signing of the Kuchuk-Kainardzhi Peace Treaty of 1774.
Since 1775, plenipotentiary ambassador of Russia to Turkey. Since 1777 in the civil service: Smolensk Governor-General, at the same time since 1778 - Governor of Oryol. In 1779, he successfully mediated negotiations between Prussia and Austria (participants in the War of the Bavarian Succession), which ended with the conclusion of the Peace of Teschen. Since 1780 again Smolensk, since 1781 at the same time Pskov governor-general. From 1782 he commanded the reserve corps in Poland. Participant in the Russian-Turkish War of 1787 - 1791. During the campaign of 1788, at the head of the division, he participated in the siege and capture of Ochakov. From 1789 he commanded troops in Moldova. During the departure of G.A. Potemkin to St. Petersburg acted as commander-in-chief of the army in the field. Commanding Russian troops in the Battle of Machinsky in 1791, he defeated the outnumbered Turkish army, which forced the Turkish government to sign preliminary peace conditions in Galati, which served as the basis for the Treaty of Jassy in 1791. Since 1792, the governor-general of Livonia and Estonia, and since 1794 .at the same time Lithuanian. From 1798, he headed a diplomatic mission to Prussia and Austria, where he negotiated the creation of a military-political alliance against France. Upon returning to Russia, he was disgraced by Paul I and in 1798 he was dismissed from service.
Awarded the following orders: Russian - St. Andrew the First-Called, St. Vladimir 1st class, St. Alexander Nevsky, St. Anna, St. George 1st and 2nd class; foreign: Polish - White Eagle and St. Stanislav, Prussian - Black Eagle.
(1796). As an ambassador to the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth (1764-1768), he made a significant contribution to the decomposition of the Polish-Lithuanian statehood. The last of the Repnins, owner of the Vorontsovo estate.
At the age of 11, which was the norm for those times, he was already assigned as a soldier in the Preobrazhensky Life Guards Regiment.
At the age of 14, with the rank of sergeant, he participated in his father's campaign on the Rhine.
He volunteered as an officer in the Seven Years' War, serving under Field Marshal General S. F. Apraksin. He distinguished himself in the battles of Groß-Jägersdorf, Königsberg, and the siege of Küstrin. In 1758 he was awarded the military rank of captain. From 1759 he served in allied France, in the troops of Marshal Contade, and from 1760, having received the rank of colonel, under the command of Count Zakhar Chernyshev, taking part, in particular, in the capture of Berlin in the same year. In 1762 he received the rank of major general, and on September 22, 1762 he was awarded the Holstein Order of St. Anne.
Stand for a figurine, inlaid with precious stones. From the personal collection of N.V. Repnin
