Irakly Ivanovich Morkov

I think the initial game designers conflated Морков with the opolchenie at Borodino, and Марков at Eylau.

Irakly (Irinarh) Ivanovich Morkov (2 November 1753 – 26 March 1828) was an Imperial Russian general who rose to general-leytenant (1798) and was created graf (1796). A veteran of the late-Catherine wars against the Ottoman Empire and of the 1792 campaign in Poland, he later held senior responsibilities during the 1812 Patriotic War as chief of the Moscow opolchenie (people’s militia).

Born into the Moscow provincial nobility, Morkov was educated at the Imperial Land Cadet Corps (Sukhoputny Shlyakhetsky Korpus). He was enrolled in the Leyb-gvardii Preobrazhensky Polk (22 September 1769) and volunteered for active service during the Russo–Turkish fighting of 1771–1773. In September 1773 he received accelerated promotion for field service and was transferred into line infantry.

In the Russo–Turkish War of 1787–1791, Morkov served in the principal operations of the Danube theatre. He is recorded leading a forward detachment in the assault on Ochakov (December 1788), an action after which he received promotion to Colonel and the Order of St George (4th class). In 1789 he fought in the actions at Focșani and Rymnik. In 1790 he commanded a storming column during the assault on Izmail, where he was severely wounded; he was subsequently promoted to brigadir and received the Order of St George (3rd class).

In 1792 Morkov was employed in the campaign against the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, serving with Russian forces in the decisive operations of that summer. He received the Order of St George (2nd class) for distinction in action (notably at Gorodishche, June 1792, in the principal Russian biographical summaries). During the later 1790s he advanced in senior rank and was promoted to general-leytenant (1798).

During the Napoleonic period, Morkov’s most frequently cited wartime duty was in 1812, when he was placed in charge of the Moscow opolchenie. In contemporary orders of battle and later compilations, formations of the Moscow militia are listed under his authority during the Borodino campaign period.

Morkov died in Moscow on 26 March 1828.

Sources

• State Tretyakov Gallery (catalogue): “Портрет графа Ираклия Ивановича Моркова” (V. A. Tropinin, not earlier than 1815)
• Wikipedia (Russian): “Морков, Ираклий Иванович”
• BRDN (biographical entry): “Морков Ираклий Иванович”
• The Napoleon Series (Borodino OOB): “Moscow Opolchenye — LG Irakly Morkov”
• Wikimedia Commons: “Portrait of Count Hercule Ivanowitch Morkoff” (Tropinin)