Pavel Tsitsianov

Prince Pavel Tsitsianov
Pavle Dimitris dze Tsitsishvili
Portrait of Tsitsianov
Commander-in-chief in Georgia
In office 1802–1806
Preceded by	Karl Knorring
Succeeded by	Ivan Gudovich
Military governor of the Astrakhan Governorate
In office 1802–1806
Preceded by	Karl Knorring
Succeeded by	Ivan Gudovich
Personal details
Born	19 September 1754 Moscow, Russian Empire (now Russia)
Died	20 February 1806(1806-02-20) (aged 51) near Baku, Baku Khanate (present-day Azerbaijan)
Resting place	Sioni Cathedral, Tbilisi, Georgia
Awards	Order of St. George (3rd class) Order of St. Vladimir (twice, 1st and 3rd class) Order of Saint Alexander Nevsky Gold Sword for Bravery[1]
Military service
Rank	General of the Infantry (1804)
Unit	Preobrazhensky Life Guards Regiment
Commands	Saint Petersburg Grenadier Regiment Commandant of Baku Suzdal Musketeer Regiment Tobolsk Musketeer Regiment Commander in chief of Russian troops in Georgia Inspector of the Caucasian Line[1]
Battles/wars	Russo-Turkish War (1787–92) Kościuszko Uprising Persian Expedition of 1796 Russo-Persian War (1804–13) †

Prince Pavel Dmitriyevich Tsitsianov (Russian: Па́вел Дми́триевич Цициа́нов),^[a] also known as Pavle Dimitris dze Tsitsishvili (Georgian: პავლე ციციშვილი; 19 September [O.S. 8 September] 1754—20 February [O.S. 8 February] 1806^[1]), was an Imperial Russian general of Georgian noble origin who played a prominent role in the Russian conquest of the South Caucasus. He served as the Russian Commander-in-chief in the Caucasus from 1802 to 1806 and commanded Russian forces in the Russo-Persian War of 1804–1813 until his assassination near Baku in 1806.

Born in Moscow to a Georgian noble family that had lived in Russia for two generations, he entered military service at a young age and fought in the Russo-Turkish War of 1768–1774, the 1794 Polish uprising and the Persian expedition of 1796. Tsar Alexander I appointed him commander of Russian forces in the Caucasus in 1802. He solidified Russian rule in the region, compelling local rulers and communities to submit to the Tsar and often campaigning against them. He expanded Russian possessions south of the Caucasus westward to the Black Sea and continued Russia's southward expansion. He successfully captured the city of Ganja (in modern-day Azerbaijan), triggering a conflict with Qajar Iran. He then continued south into the Erivan Khanate (in modern-day Armenia), where his outnumbered forces fought a number of battles with the Iranian army but were forced to retreat. He secured the submission of a number of the khanates of the Caucasus to Russian rule. In February 1806, he attempted to negotiate the surrender of the Khanate of Baku but was lured into a trap by the local khan and killed.

Tsitsianov has been credited with playing a foundational role in establishing Russian rule in the South Caucasus; he was universally lauded in Russian sources and often admired by Europeans as well. He has been described as a brave and energetic leader but also as cruel and overbearing. He was despised and feared by many Caucasian Muslims and Iranians for his brutal actions and regarded as a traitor by many Georgians for his role in strengthening Russian rule over the country. He held all "Asiatics" in contempt and believed that force and assimilation were the only reliable means to secure Russian control over local populations. Many of his methods were followed by later Russian leaders in the Caucasus. According to Walter Richmond, Tsitsianov "set in motion the brutality that was the hallmark of subsequent Russian efforts to conquer the North Caucasus."^[2]

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