Aleksei Shcherbatov

Prince Aleksei Grigorievich Shcherbatov (Russian: Алексей Григорьевич Щербатов) was a Russian Imperial Army officer who rose to генерал от инфантерии (general of infantry) and held senior command and high civil-military appointments in the late imperial period. He was born on 23 February 1776 in Moscow and died on 15 December 1848; he was buried at Donskoy Monastery in Moscow.

Shcherbatov entered service in the imperial guard milieu as a young man and began active service in the early 1790s. He is recorded as entering the army’s rolls in the 1790s and receiving rapid early advancement under Emperor Paul I, reaching field-grade rank by the end of the decade. During this early phase he became associated with guard and line-infantry postings and with court favor that accelerated his promotion path.

By 1800/1801 he had reached general rank, being promoted to генерал-майор and appointed as a regimental chief (Russian usage: шеф) of a line regiment; he is specifically associated with the Tenginsky Musketeer Regiment in that capacity. After this, he spent a short period out of active service, then returned to senior regimental leadership as шеф of the Kostroma Musketeer (later infantry) regiment from 1805, tying his name to that unit for a long span.

During the War of the Fourth Coalition and the 1806–1807 campaign period, Shcherbatov served in the Russian field army against Napoleonic France. In connection with this wartime service he received the Order of St Vladimir (3rd class) in 1807, indicating recognized performance during the operations of that period. His regimental and higher appointments in these years placed him among the general officers employed in the main western theater during Russia’s early coalition wars.

On 17 February 1811 Shcherbatov was appointed chief of the 18th Infantry Division, and in 1811 he also briefly held the chiefship of the 22nd Infantry Division before returning to the 18th Infantry Division later that year. These divisional appointments placed him in a senior field command on the eve of Napoleon’s 1812 invasion of Russia. In the War of 1812 and the subsequent campaigns culminating in the 1813–1814 struggle against Napoleonic forces, he continued in high command within the Russian army structure, and in 1813 he was promoted to генерал-лейтенант. In the same year he received the Order of St Alexander Nevsky (17 August 1813), and later in 1813 he was awarded the Order of St Vladimir (2nd class) on 29 October 1813.

Following the Napoleonic Wars, Shcherbatov continued to receive major commands. From 9 April 1816 he is recorded as commander of the 6th Infantry Corps. On 30 August 1816 he was appointed генерал-адъютант (adjutant general), a senior position closely associated with the imperial court and high command. His advancement continued with promotion to генерал от инфантерии on 12 December 1823.

In the mid-1820s Shcherbatov held major corps commands: he commanded the 4th Infantry Corps (from 25 November 1824 to 16 September 1826) and then the 2nd Infantry Corps (from 16 September 1826 to 19 February 1829). In 1827 he received diamond insignia to the Order of St Alexander Nevsky (17 May 1827), reflecting continued favor and distinction. His career also extended into the period of unrest in the Kingdom of Poland; he is associated with senior imperial service during the time of the November Uprising (1830–1831), consistent with his corps-level responsibilities and later honors and postings.

From 6 October 1831 he was шеф of the Kostroma Infantry Regiment, continuing the long association with the Kostroma regimental tradition. On 11 June 1832 he became chairman of the генерал-аудиториат (general auditoriate), and in 1835 he left active service for a time. He returned to appointments thereafter: from 24 April 1839 he was шеф of the Kostroma Jäger Regiment, and from 1 July 1839 he served as a member of the State Council. On 22 July 1840 he became chairman of the Committee for the Wounded.

From 6 June 1843 he served as acting Moscow military governor-general, and on 14 April 1844 he was confirmed as Moscow military governor-general, holding that post until 6 May 1848. In connection with high imperial honors, he received the Order of St Andrew (10 October 1843). In the last phase of his life he also appears in civic leadership connected with Moscow, being described in some summaries as holding the position of Moscow’s governor/general-governor authority and as a leading figure in Moscow’s official and society institutions. He retired from the Moscow post in May 1848 and died later that year.