Miloradovich M.A. governor-general in 1818-25

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MILORADOVICH Mikhail Andreevich (1771-1825, St. Petersburg), count (1813), statesman and military figure, infantry general (1809). He attended Koningsberg and Gottingen universities, studied the science of warfare in Metz and Strasbourg. Since 1787 Miloradovich attended military service; he took part in the Russo-Swedish war of 1788-90, Italian and Swiss campaigns of A.V. Suvorov (1799), the war with France in 1805, the Russo-Turkish war of 1806-12. In 1810-12 he was the military governor in Kiev. In the beginning of the Patriotic War of 1812, he was engaged in the forming of the reserve forces, since August he was in the front-line forces, where he took part in the campaigns of 1813 and 1814. In 1814, he was appointed Guards Corps commander. Since 1818, Miloradovich performed the functions of St. Petersburg military governor-general, a member of the State Council and the Cabinet of Ministers. At the time of his working as such the construction of the General Staff and Mikhaylovsky palace (1819) buildings began in St. Petersburg, (1819), Central pedagogical institute was transformed into St. Petersburg university (1819), Mikhaylovskoe artillery school (1820), Women's patriotic institute (1822) and the Botanical garden (1823) were opened. Miloradovich personally contributed to the beginning of Ekateringof estate maintenance in 1823. He occupied a state governor-general house ( 72 Moika river embankment). In 1820 he conducted a personal questioning of A.S. Pushkin on the account of the "anti-governmental poems" of the latter (it was partially due to Miloradovich that poet's exile to Solovetsky monastery or to Siberia was substituted with Pushkin's "transfer" to the South). Being a passionate theatre-lover, Miloradovich patronized St. Petersburg theatres in every possible way; since 1821 he was the head of the Committee for the elaboration of a new theatre management project. During the flood of November of 1824 he showed a remarkable administrative ability and courage, rescued several tens of people personally, gave a shelter in the governor-general house to several hundreds of citizens, living alone his guidance of the dispensation of grants to the victims of the flood. On the day of Decembrist uprising (December 14, 1825) Miloradovich arrived at Senatskaya square and tried to persuade the soldiers to return to their quarters, but was mortally wounded by a shot fired by P.G. Kakhovskoy. Miloradovich was buried in the Holy Spirit Church in Alexander Nevsky Monastery (in 1937 his ashes were transferred to Blagoveshchenskaya burial-vault).

References: Милорадович Г. А. Анекдоты, черты из жизни графа Милорадовича. Киев, 1870; Мамышев В. Н. Генерал от инфантерии граф Михаил Андреевич Милорадович. СПб., 1904; Длуголенский Я. Н. Военно-гражданская и полицейская власть Санкт-Петербурга, 1703-1917. СПб., 2001. С. 104-108.

D. N. Shilov. Kakhovsky Peter Grigorievich
Miloradovich Mikhail Andreevich
Pushkin Alexander Sergeevich
Suvorov Alexander Arkadievich, Count
Dekabristov Square/Saint Petersburg, city
Moika River Embankment/Saint Petersburg, city, house 72
Милорадович Г. А. Анекдоты, черты из жизни графа Милорадовича. Киев, 1870
Мамышев В. Н. Генерал от инфантерии граф Михаил Андреевич Милорадович. СПб., 1904
Длуголенский Я. Н. Военно-гражданская власть Санкт-Петербурга, 1703-1917. СПб., 2001 State Assembly
General Staff Building
Mikhailovsky Palace
Pedagogical University
Mikhailovsky Artillery Academy
Decembrist Revolt of 1825