Povalo-Shveikovsky Line

The Shveikovsky family descends from ancient Polish noble families, whose ancestors were granted privileges by Polish kings. After the capture of Smolensk by the Russian state, Vladimir Ivanovich Shveikovsky, who had served in the Smolensk nobility regiment with the rank of General-Major, moved from the Polish border into the city of Smolensk under Tsar and Grand Duke Alexei Mikhailovich. For his service, he was granted estates by charters of the Russian sovereigns in 1655 and subsequent years. His descendants adopted the surname Povalo-Shveikovsky and also served the Russian throne as stolniks and in other notable ranks. All this is confirmed by copies of the granted charters and the decisions of the Smolensk Nobility Deputies’ Assembly, which entered the Povalo-Shveikovsky family into the 6th part of the genealogical book, among the ancient nobility. 

The family is registered in the nobility (rodovoi kniga) of several Russian provinces—Smolensk, Tver, and Pskov—in parts VI and II of the noble genealogical books. 

Their coat of arms : In the shield, in a red field, is depicted a silver arrow pointing upwards, beneath it a golden crescent moon with its horns turned down. The shield is crowned with a noble helmet and a crown, above which are two arms raised upwards. The mantling on the shield is red, lined with silver. 

Biography

Born 9 October 1750 - Died 27 September 1807, St Petersburg

Povalo-Shveikovsky, who belonged to a family from the Grand Duchy of Poland (the family came into Russian allegiance after the conquest of Smolensk in 1654), began his service in the Semyonovsky Life Guards Regiment as a corporal (1768) and in 1771 was promoted to officer in the Novgorod Infantry Regiment.

In 1778 he was transferred to the Preobrazhensky Life Guards Regiment as a captain, in 1784 he was appointed colonel in the Ukrainian Light Horse Regiment, commanding which he was at the siege of Ochakov.

In 1789 Povalo was a brigadier, in 1791 — major-general and chief of the Smolensk Musketeer Regiment, in 1798 — lieutenant-general, in 1799 — General of the Infantry Povalo participated with distinction in Suvorov's Italian campaign: in the affair at the river Oglio, commanding a detachment, he forced to retreat the French who prevented the passage of his troops across this river (22 April 1799); at Lecco and on the river Adda defeated a French detachment (26 April); on the march to Milan forced another French detachment to surrender (28 April); occupied Valenza (20 May); commanded a division in the affairs at the rivers Tidone and Trebia, at which he was wounded (17–20 June); with a 10,000-strong corps of Russo-Austrian troops covered the siege of the Serravalle fortress (July–August); at Novi he commanded a regiment and withstood the attacks of his enemy for a whole day, repelling them with success (15 August).

Since the Russian troops' entry into Switzerland Povalo was a duty general in the army. Awards for the Italian campaign were: the rank of General of the Infantry, the Order of St. Alexander Nevsky and St. John of Jerusalem. In April 1800, Povalo was appointed military governor of Kiev, but in the same year "for a false report" dismissed by Emperor Paul I from service. Accepted by him (5 February 1801) again in the service, Povalo was renamed an acting Privy Councillor and appointed Senator, in which position he died.

Service

On March 25, 1768, he entered service as a corporal in the Life Guards Semenovsky Regiment.
On February 5, 1769, he became a quartermaster.
On January 1, 1770, he was promoted to sergeant.
On January 1, 1771, he was commissioned as second lieutenant in the Novgorod Infantry Regiment. He took part in the Turkish War as part of the corps under Essen and Veisman.
On May 7, 1772, he was promoted to captain.
On July 10, 1773, to major.
On June 29, 1778, he was transferred to the Life Guards Preobrazhensky Regiment as captain.
On April 21, 1784, he became colonel of the Ukrainian Light Cavalry Regiment.
From May 25, 1788, leading the regiment, he took part in the second siege of Ochakov.
On April 21, 1789, he was promoted to brigadier. He commanded a brigade in Poland.
On March 25, 1791, he became major general and was appointed chef of the Smolensk Musketeer Regiment.
On December 17, 1797, he was awarded the Order of St. Anna, 1st class.
On February 6, 1798, he became lieutenant general, retaining his position as regiment chef.
From October 20, 1798, he was with part of the auxiliary corps in Austria.

From April to August 1799, he distinguished himself in Suvorov’s Italian campaign.
— On April 11, at Pazzolo, he forced a French detachment to retreat, clearing the way for a river crossing over the Oglio.
— On April 13, he defeated a French detachment at Lecco and on the Adda River.
— On April 14, he forced the surrender of a French detachment marching toward Milan.
— On May 9, commanding a detachment of four infantry battalions, 40 Cossacks, and five cannons, he occupied Valenza.
— On May 12, he led a Russo-Austrian corps to capture Alessandria.
— On May 14, he was awarded the Order of St. Alexander Nevsky.
— From June 6 to 9, he commanded the 1st Division in battles at the Tidone and Trebbia Rivers. On June 8, he was wounded by a bullet in the side.
— From July 23 to August, he commanded a 10,000-strong Russo-Austrian corps covering the siege of Serravalle fortress.
— On August 4, at Novi, he led his division through a full day of enemy attacks.
After the army entered Switzerland, he was appointed duty general of the army.

On September 23, 1799, he became a commander of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem.
On September 27, 1799, he was promoted to General of Infantry.
On October 29, 1799, he received the diamond cross of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem “for exceptional fearlessness in defeating the French army at Mutten Valley.”

On April 13, 1800, he was appointed military governor of Kiev.
On September 10, 1800, he was dismissed by Paul I for “a false report.”
On January 23, 1801, he was reinstated in service, given the title of Active Privy Councillor, and appointed to sit in the Temporary Department of State and Fiscal Affairs of the Senate.
On April 7, 1803, he was granted the Emperor’s favor for successfully reviewing Senate cases.
In 1804, he was assigned to the Temporary Appellate Department.
In 1805, he was appointed to the 4th Appellate Department.

On September 27, 1807, he died in Saint Petersburg. He was buried in the Lazarev Cemetery of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra.

Born 1750 – Died 1842. He was a captain of the Second Grenadier Regiment and a participant in the suppression of the Pugachev Rebellion. Pushkin made use of Povalo-Shveikovsky’s recollections and mentioned him in The History of Pugachev.

A landowner from Dukhovshchina, retired as a second major, he was remembered as a hero of the suppression of the Pugachev uprising. He served in the Smolensk Dragoon Regiment, with which he, holding the rank of captain, was sent to the Volga region under Michelson to help put down the rebellion. He was dispatched into Pugachev’s camp “to scout its position and find a way to seize Pugachev by surprise.” Disguised as a stablehand and accompanied by a serf named Savelii, he infiltrated the rebel camp. Within a few days the “stablehand” aroused suspicion among the rebels, and he was forced to flee. Escaping pursuit, he hid beneath a riverside bush in a lake, where he remained for three days, while his serf secretly brought him food. After the suppression of the uprising, he escorted Pugachev to Moscow as part of the Smolensk Regiment.

The feat of the captain was reported to Catherine II, and he was summoned to St. Petersburg, where he was promoted to second major, granted an estate of 7,000 desyatinas with 450 serfs in Nevelsky Uyezd, and presented “five gold pieces for nuts” directly from the hands of the Empress. Retiring due to illness, he married a neighbor from his estate and lived out his life in the ancestral manor of Morevo in Dukhovshchina Uyezd, where he managed his lands and wrote his memoirs. He died at an advanced age and was buried in the family mausoleum-chapel in the village of Ratchina on the banks of the Dnieper, beside the stone Church of the Hodegetria which he himself had built on the site of an old wooden church.

Ivan Semyonovich Povalo-Shveikovsky was born on September 23 (October 4), 1787, into a noble family in the village of Bulovitsy, Lobkovskaya Volost, Smolensk Uyezd, Smolensk Governorate. Today the village of Bulovitsa is part of the Peresnyanskoye rural settlement of the Pochinkovsky district of Smolensk Oblast. His father was the Smolensk landowner and premier-major Semyon Ivanovich Povalo-Shveikovsky (1749–1825), and his mother was Pelageya Bogdanovna, born Verhovskaya.

He was educated first at the Moscow University boarding school, and later at home under tutors Novikov, Gotard, and Abgral.

On January 16 (28), 1801, he entered military service. From December 6 (18), 1804, he served as a battalion adjutant. As part of the Moscow Grenadier Regiment, he took part in wars against the Turks and French from 1805 to 1814, including the War of the Fourth Coalition, the Patriotic War of 1812, and the War of the Sixth Coalition (the foreign campaign of the Russian army in 1813–1814).

From September 16 (28), 1805, he took part in the War of the Fourth Coalition against France, fighting at Preussisch-Eylau, Zeharn, and Guttstadt. On June 8 (20), 1807, he returned to Russia.

On March 29 (April 10), 1808, he was appointed adjutant to the regiment chief, Major General Prince Karl of Mecklenburg-Schwerin.

From June 14 (26), 1808, he participated in the Russo-Turkish War. He fought in the siege of Brailov, reconnaissance of the fortress of Giurgiu, the battle of Frasin, the siege of Silistra, the battle of Tatarchuk, and the capture of Brailov and Bazardzhik, where he was among the first to mount the wall. In the battle and siege of Shumla he distinguished himself for bravery and was promoted to staff captain. On August 5 (17), 1809, he was sent by the army’s commander-in-chief, General of Infantry Count N. M. Kamensky, to Emperor Alexander I with a report of victory. On December 21, 1810 (January 2, 1811), he was appointed brigade adjutant to Major General Prince Karl of Mecklenburg. On January 31 (February 12), 1811, during the storming and capture of the town of Lovcha, he was wounded in the chest above the right breast and promoted to captain. From February 14 (26) to March 2 (14), 1811, with two companies, he monitored the movements of Pasha Ali-oglu’s 3,000-man corps on the road to Adrianople. On September 1 (13), 1811, the army returned to Russia, and he was appointed divisional adjutant of the 2nd Grenadier Division.

After the outbreak of the Patriotic War of 1812, he participated in the retreat from the Neman, the Battle of Smolensk, and the Battle of Borodino, where, commanding the 1st Battalion, he was shot through the left thigh near the groin. He served as acting commander of the Moscow Grenadier Regiment and commander of the 7th Fusilier Company.

He also fought in the War of the Sixth Coalition during the foreign campaign of 1813–1814. On April 21 (May 3), 1813, he assumed command of the regiment when its former commander, Ivan Yakovlevich Shatilov, was transferred to head the newly formed Borodino Infantry Regiment. On April 23 (May 5), 1813, at the battle near the village of Geisdorf, he and his regiment held off an enemy column that attempted to cut the road. He fought at Königswartha, Bautzen, and Dennewitz. On August 29 (September 10), 1813, in Bohemia, near Teplice, he led two companies as skirmishers. In September 1813, command of the Moscow Grenadier Regiment passed to Alexander Ivanovich Kipriyanov, and later to Boris Vladimirovich Poluektov. Povalo-Shveikovsky fought at the Battle of Leipzig, at Weissenfels, Brienne, and Arcis-sur-Aube. During the capture of Paris, commanding all the skirmishers of the Grenadier Corps, he was twice concussed (right leg and left thigh) and wounded by a bullet in the shoulder, but, having been ordered to take the town of Belleville, he remained in the ranks and captured the town. On May 2 (14), 1814, the army set out home, returning to Russia on September 2 (14), 1814.

He was twice awarded the rare distinction of the Golden Sword “For Bravery”: for the battle of Heilsberg and for the Battle of Leipzig. In 1814, he was among the first to enter Paris. For his valor at Bazardzhik in 1810, he was awarded the Order of St. Vladimir, 4th class with bow; for Borodino, where he was wounded, he received the Order of St. Anna, 2nd class; and for the capture of Belleville, he was awarded the Order of St. George, 4th class.

On April 16 (28), 1815, he was sent to France. From January 19 (31), 1816, he commanded the Alexopol Infantry Regiment, with which he traveled abroad from November 10 (22), 1818, returning February 6 (18), 1819.

In 1823, while in Bobruisk, he was recruited by Colonel S. I. Muravyov-Apostol and Sub-Lieutenant M. P. Bestuzhev-Rumin into the Southern Society of Decembrists. There they discussed the possibility of arresting Alexander I and General I. I. Dibich, then marching on Moscow with sympathetic troops. Povalo-Shveikovsky opposed the plan. In 1824, during a personal trip to St. Petersburg, he carried letters for the Southern Society and met with representatives of the Northern Society, urging Prince S. P. Trubetskoy to unite the two. In 1824 he again discussed plans to arrest Alexander I at Belaya Tserkov or Kiev. Together with another conspirator, he dissuaded A. Z. Muravyov from traveling to Taganrog to assassinate Alexander I. He admitted into the society Colonel V. I. Vranitsky and Colonel V. K. Tiesenhausen. He also negotiated with the Polish Patriotic Society, meeting in Zhytomyr in 1824 or 1825 with Count P. Moshinsky.

On August 31 (September 12), 1825, he was removed from command of his regiment and transferred as colonel to the Saratov Infantry Regiment. Though he claimed he could raise the Alexopol Regiment at any time, during the December 1825 uprising of the Chernigov Regiment he refused to participate.

The order for his arrest was issued on December 27, 1825 (January 8, 1826). Until January 7 (19), 1826, he was held under guard in St. Petersburg, then transferred to the Peter and Paul Fortress. Convicted in the first category, by confirmation of July 10 (22), 1826, he was sentenced to life at penal labor, later reduced on August 22 (September 3), 1826, to twenty years.

He was first sent to Sveaborg, then on June 17 (29), 1827, to Siberia, arriving at Chita prison on August 15 (27), 1827. From September 1830 he was held at the Petrovsky Works. On November 8 (20), 1832, his term was reduced to 15 years, and on December 14 (26), 1835, to 13 years.

After serving his term, by decree of July 10 (22), 1839, he was released and sent into settlement, at his own request, in the town of Kurgan, Tobolsk Governorate. On the way, he stopped at the Turkinsk mineral waters near Lake Baikal, then stayed in Irkutsk until early 1840. On February 9 (21), 1840, he arrived in Kurgan. Initially he rented lodgings for ten rubles a month without firewood. Soon he moved into the outbuilding of Peter Nikolaevich Svistunov’s estate, which Svistunov had purchased from Private Mikhail Nazimov. On January 15 (27), 1842, using money sent by his mother, Povalo-Shveikovsky bought a four-room house from Svistunov for 514 rubles and 28 kopecks in silver.

He was a man of remarkable kindness. When fellow Decembrist N. V. Basargin arrived in Kurgan with his family, Povalo-Shveikovsky gave up his own house to them and moved back into the outbuilding. He engaged in greenhouse gardening, pharmacy, and healing of townspeople.

Ivan Semyonovich Povalo-Shveikovsky died of tuberculosis in the arms of V. K. Küchelbecker on May 6 (18), 1845, in Kurgan, Tobolsk Governorate of Western Siberia. He had confessed on May 1 (13), 1845, to priest Ioann Toropov. Küchelbecker noted in his diary that he passed away on the night of May 9–10. He left all his possessions to the widow Anna Danilovna Rozenkova, who had been in his service. On July 8 (20), 1846, Rozenkova sold the house for 510 silver rubles to Serafima Iosifovna Tveritina, the wife of a solicitor and daughter of Archpriest Iosif Popov.

He was buried on May 8 (20), 1845, in the city cemetery, with the funeral conducted by Archpriest Iosif Popov of the Church of the Nativity of the Virgin. The burial place was later lost; today the site is occupied by Lenin City Garden in Kurgan.

Memory

In 2008, in Kurgan, a Decembrists’ Square was opened on the site of the presumed burial ground in the City Garden, near the Cathedral of St. Alexander Nevsky. A mosaic panel was installed, at the center of which a white marble slab bears the names of thirteen Decembrists who lived in Kurgan between 1830 and 1857. On either side of the monument are two cast-iron memorial plaques with the names of Ivan Fyodorovich Voigt and Ivan Semyonovich Povalo-Shveikovsky, who were buried in the city cemetery of Kurgan. The composition was created by monumental artist Boris Nikolaevich Orekhov, while the concept of the panel with Decembrist attributes — an officer’s hat, sword, candle, quill, and book — was proposed by Tatyana Anatolyevna Ivanova, head of the Kurgan regional branch of the Union of Artists.

In 2016, a commemorative sign was erected on the site of the former village of Bulovitsy, where Ivan Povalo-Shveikovsky was born.

Awards

Order of St. George, 4th class, for the capture of Belleville (a suburb of Paris) in 1814.
Order of St. Vladimir, 4th class with bow, for distinction during the storming of Bazardzhik fortress in 1810.
Order of St. Anna, 2nd class, for the Battle of Borodino in 1812.
Cross “For Victory at Preussisch-Eylau,” for the battle of Preussisch-Eylau in 1807.
Medal “In Commemoration of the Patriotic War of 1812.”
Gold weapon “For Bravery” for the battle of Heilsberg in 1807.
Gold weapon “For Bravery” for the Battle of Leipzig in 1813.
Imperial favor, for the battle of Frasin on October 20 (November 1), 1809.
Imperial favor, for the battle of Geisdorf on December 5 (17), 1813.
Imperial favor, for maneuvers at M. Vertu in August 1815.
Imperial favor, for diligent work and perfect execution of duties assigned to him in 1819.
Imperial favor, for the organization of his regiment, noted by the Emperor during an inspection near the fortress of Bobruisk on September 13 (25), 1823.

All awards were revoked by court decision in 1826.

Military Ranks

Non-commissioned officer, January 11 (23), 1801.
Portupei-Ensign, February 28 (March 12), 1803.
Ensign, June 4 (16), 1804.
Portupei-Ensign, November 4 (16), 1804.
Second Lieutenant, April 5 (17), 1806.
Lieutenant, May 20 (June 1), 1808.
Staff Captain, October 6 (18), 1810, for distinction at Shumla.
Captain, April 14 (26), 1811, for distinction at the storming of Lovcha.
Major, June 5 (17), 1812.
Lieutenant Colonel, October 4 (16), 1813.
Colonel, August 30 (September 11), 1816.

Born 1789 – Died 1848. He was a statesman, civil governor of Tobolsk and Olonets, Privy Councillor (Actual State Councillor).

Biography

He was the son of Khristofor Semyonovich Povalo-Shveikovsky, vice-governor of Smolensk (1803–1804) and Kherson (1807–1808).

In 1797, he was enrolled in the Moscow Cadet Corps, and from 1805 served as a midshipman.

Naval Service

He took part in naval expeditions from 1805 to 1809, sailing from Kronstadt to Copenhagen, Portsmouth, Gibraltar, Corfu, and Ragusa, and on the ship Selafail to the Dardanelles. He fought in the battles of June 10 and 19, 1807, against the Turkish fleet near the Dardanelles Strait and the island of Lemnos.

For distinction in the battle against the French during the capture of the island of Karciolo, he was promoted to midshipman (1807).

Between 1810 and 1811, Povalo-Shveikovsky took part in campaigns on gunboats sailing from Arkhangelsk to the Baltic Sea. From 1811 he served as duty officer under the Minister of the Navy, and in 1812 was promoted to lieutenant.

In 1816–1817, he sailed on the frigate Merkury from Kronstadt to Copenhagen, Dover, and Woolwich. In 1820–1821, he commanded the schooner Opyt and sailed with the Minister of the Navy from St. Petersburg to Reval. From 1821 he held the rank of lieutenant captain.

Civil Service

In 1822, he retired from military service and entered the civil service in the Ministry of Finance with the rank of Collegiate Councillor, serving as chairman of the commission investigating the capital of the prominent citizen Zlobin.

That same year, he was appointed vice-governor of Astrakhan. From 1824 he worked again in the Ministry of Finance, carrying out a secret assignment in 1825 and a special mission in Western Siberia in 1835.

In 1836, he was appointed governor of Tobolsk. In 1837–1838, he served as acting chairman of the Council of the Main Administration of Western Siberia. From January 20, 1840, he was governor of Olonets and promoted to Privy Councillor.

He died on June 16, 1848, and was buried in the Exaltation of the Cross Cathedral in Petrozavodsk.

Family

His first wife was Elizaveta Petrovna, born Engelhardt (1780–1833, Smolensk). His second wife was Anastasia Alexandrovna, born Gerngross (1815–1877). From his second marriage, he had a son, Alexander, who died in infancy (1837–1839, St. Petersburg).

Awards

He was awarded the Order of St. Vladimir, 4th Class (1816) and 3rd Class (1837), the badge for 20 years of impeccable service (1842), and the badge of distinction for 25 years of impeccable service (1844). In 1844 he was awarded the Order of St. Stanislaus, 1st Class, and in 1846 the Order of St. Anna, 1st Class.

In 1840, for his “excellent, diligent, and useful service,” Povalo-Shveikovsky was granted a personal allowance of 4,000 silver rubles per year in place of his existing 2,000.

Born 6 марта 1822 — Died 1876 

He came from the Orthodox noble family of the Povalo-Shveikovskys. He received his education at the Naval Cadet Corps in St. Petersburg. In 1840, as a midshipman, he sailed on a warship in the Baltic Sea. In 1841, he was promoted to midshipman and sent to serve in the Black Sea Fleet. Between 1842 and 1843, on the schooner Vestovoy, he sailed through the archipelago of the Aegean Islands (which pre-revolutionary sources simply called the Archipelago), and afterwards he sailed annually across the Black Sea.

In 1850, Povalo-Shveikovsky was appointed adjutant to Vice Admiral S. P. Khrushchov, commander of the port of Sevastopol. From 1850 to 1852, he commanded the yacht Strela and sailed along the Crimean coast. In 1852, he was made senior adjutant of the staff of the Black Sea Fleet and ports. In 1853, aboard the steamer Prut, he was sent to join a detachment of the Danube Flotilla under Captain Second Rank A. F. Varpakhovsky.

At the very beginning of the Crimean War, on October 11, 1853, by order of General of Infantry and Adjutant General A. N. Liders, a detachment of the Danube Flotilla consisting of eight gunboats, towed by the steamers Prut and Ordinaryets, departed from the island of Chetal near Izmail to Galatz to guard the borders along the upper Danube. To minimize losses, they were ordered to sail at night, but the detachment commander and others requested permission to pass the Turkish fortress of Isaccea in daylight, to show contempt for danger. “Yielding to such an elevated sentiment,” General Liders gave his consent. At 8:30 in the morning, as the steamers with boats approached Isaccea, the Turks opened artillery fire. The detachment under Varpakhovsky responded with cannon fire from the steamers and gunboats. At the very beginning of the battle, the detachment commander Varpakhovsky was killed by a direct hit to the chest from a cannonball on the deck of the Ordinaryets. Thirteen others were also killed; five officers and fifty-five sailors were wounded. The ships suffered only minor damage and safely reached their destination, from which the Prut was sent to Girsovo, further up the Danube.

For his distinction in this action, Povalo-Shveikovsky was promoted to lieutenant captain.

Afterwards, he returned to Sevastopol, where he served under Vice Admiral and Adjutant General V. A. Kornilov, managing his campaign office.

In 1854, Povalo-Shveikovsky was at the Sevastopol roadstead aboard the ship Grand Duke Konstantin as part of Admiral Kornilov’s staff. From 1855 to 1858, he served in Nikolaev as duty staff officer under Rear Admiral G. I. Butakov.

In 1866, he was promoted to captain of the 1st rank, and in 1868, for 25 years of service, he was awarded the Order of St. Vladimir, 4th Class with bow. In March 1876, Povalo-Shveikovsky was promoted to major general of the fleet upon his retirement, and in May of the same year, at his own request, he was reclassified as a rear admiral while remaining in retirement.

Alexander Nikolaevich Povalo-Shveikovsky (1834–1903) was a participant in the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–1878, military governor of the Fergana Region, and lieutenant general.

Biography

He was born on April 6, 1834, into the old noble family of Polish origin, the Povalo-Shveykovskys. Having received his education in the Noble Regiment, on August 13, 1853, he entered military service with the rank of cornet. Serving in the 1st Hussar Sumy Regiment, he was promoted to lieutenant on May 18, 1858, staff captain on March 11, 1860, and captain on May 6, 1862. He then entered the Nicholas General Staff Academy, graduating successfully in 1864.

The following year, promoted to major on November 6, 1864, Povalo-Shveikovsky was transferred to the General Staff with the rank of captain and appointed senior adjutant of the staff of the 1st Guards Infantry Division (April 6, 1865). Later he served in the same position in the 3rd Guards Infantry Division from September 29, 1865, until November 2, 1867.

Promoted to lieutenant colonel on March 31, 1868, and then colonel on March 28, 1871, Povalo-Shveikovsky served for about a year as chief of staff of the troops of Akmolinsk Region (August 21, 1872 – November 5, 1873). He later returned to European Russia, serving as chief of staff of the 17th Infantry Division (November 5, 1873 – March 25, 1875) and then of the 2nd Cavalry Division (December 3, 1876 – July 19, 1877).

Taking part in the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–1878, Povalo-Shveikovsky was awarded a gold weapon inscribed “For Bravery” for his combat distinction. After the war, he successively commanded the 90th Onega Infantry Regiment (from March 9, 1878), the 67th Tarutino Infantry Regiment (from April 28, 1878), and the 110th Kama Infantry Regiment (from March 10, 1882).

On February 28, 1886, he was promoted to major general and appointed commander of the 1st Brigade of the 13th Infantry Division. A year later, on March 20, 1887, he was transferred to command the 2nd Brigade of the 28th Infantry Division. On November 25, 1891, he was appointed chief of staff of the Grenadier Corps, but served there only a year. On December 31, 1892, he was transferred back to Central Asia, becoming chief of staff of the Turkestan Military District. Half a year later, on June 30, 1893, he was appointed military governor of the Fergana Region and commander of the reserve and local troops of that region.

On June 7, 1895, Povalo-Shveikovsky was appointed Imperial Commissioner to the joint Russian-British-Afghan commission on the demarcation of the border between the Russian Empire and Afghanistan. During the boundary survey, the commission named several mountain peaks in the Pamirs after Russian and British diplomats and officers connected with the work. Among them were peaks named after General Montagu Gerard, head of the British side of the commission, and Povalo-Shveikovsky himself.

On May 14, 1896, at the coronation of Nicholas II, Povalo-Shveikovsky was promoted to lieutenant general. The following year, he received the distinction badge for forty years of impeccable service.

The Andijan Uprising of 1898

On the evening of May 17, 1898, the local religious leader Madali-Ishan, who enjoyed significant popularity, led an attack on the barracks of the 20th Turkestan Line Battalion in Andijan, under the slogans of jihad and the restoration of the Kokand Khanate. In the assault, more than 20 soldiers were killed and about the same number wounded, but return fire dispersed the attackers. In the following days, mass arrests of participants, including Madali-Ishan, took place. On May 20, Povalo-Shveikovsky arrived in Andijan, where the funerals of the fallen were held in his presence.

This event marked the end of Povalo-Shveikovsky’s career. To investigate the circumstances of the uprising, General N. I. Korolkov, who had previously served as military governor of the Fergana Region, was sent to Andijan as acting Turkestan Governor-General. On May 28, General A. P. Chaikovsky assumed office as military governor of Fergana in place of Povalo-Shveikovsky, who had been immediately dismissed following news of the incident reaching St. Petersburg. Command of the troops charged with suppressing the uprising and restoring order was given to General M. E. Ionov.

Assessment of Activity

An anonymous author, who published the article “The Andijan Uprising and Its Causes” in 1907, considered Povalo-Shveikovsky’s responsibility for allowing the uprising to be relative:

The highest administrative authority in the region, reviewing the governor’s actions in this event, specifically blamed him for not noticing and preventing in time the preparations for the uprising, which, apparently, had taken a long period beforehand. It seems that if this reproach is justified, then not only in relation to General Povalo-Shveikovsky alone. In the report, General Povalo-Shveikovsky was characterized as completely unfamiliar with Islam, unsuited for the difficult role of governor due to his unrestrained temperament, and so on. It turned out that Povalo-Shveikovsky’s five years of service, with his tactless relations toward his main associates, especially district chiefs whom he deliberately and publicly discredited before the population, gradually opened the doors to the movement of the Muslim peoples. … At the same time, it was reliably established that the administration had received no warnings about the impending uprising because of the strict secrecy in which all preparations were conducted; such warnings came only on the eve of May 17. If not for certain unfortunate circumstances, which I shall not mention here, it would have been possible, even despite such a late warning, to prevent the catastrophe. … One cannot blame our administration too harshly, given the mass of duties it bore, its negligible resources, and its limited knowledge of the life and inner world of the native population.

By contrast, the military lawyer and historian General M. A. Terentyev, who as military judge of the Turkestan Military District Court had tried the participants of the uprising, gave Povalo-Shveikovsky a completely negative evaluation in his work “History of the Conquest of Central Asia.” Emphasizing the governor’s inactivity in preventing the uprising, he wrote:

That evening in the governor’s palace there was a rehearsal of a children’s operetta, Cinderella: some of the couplets were composed by Shveikovsky himself … “They exaggerate everything, always making an elephant out of a fly,” he said, and gave no orders, took no measures to prevent or suppress the revolt! He did not even take the simplest and cheapest measure: he did not send a telegram to Andijan…

According to Terentyev, after the uprising was suppressed, Povalo-Shveikovsky displayed unwarranted cruelty:

With a small escort Shveikovsky marched into Andijan and in all the villages through which the Ishan’s band had passed he brutally whipped with nagaikas the “dear peasants” who happened to fall into his hands, for failing to report the passage of the band… In Andijan, reprisals began against the captured wounded… During barbaric, unjustifiable, and unnecessary torture, the governor kicked the tortured in the head with his heels… he flogged two men to death.

Resignation

On July 4, 1898, Povalo-Shveikovsky was dismissed from service for family reasons, with the right to wear his uniform and with a pension, and A. P. Chaikovsky was appointed military governor and commander of the troops of the Fergana Region. On November 3, “by the most submissive report on the circumstances of the armed attack by natives of the Fergana Region on the camp near the city of Andijan,” Nicholas II issued a reprimand to Povalo-Shveikovsky “for the inaction of authority.”

Povalo-Shveikovsky spent his last years in Moscow, where he died on January 28, 1903, at the age of 68, and was buried in the Novodevichy Monastery.

Awards

Order of St. Anna, 3rd Class (1867)
Order of St. Stanislaus, 2nd Class (1869)
Order of St. Anna, 2nd Class (1875)
Golden Weapon “For Bravery” (1879)
Order of St. Vladimir, 4th Class with bow for 25 years of service (1879)
Order of St. Vladimir, 3rd Class (1880)
Order of St. Stanislaus, 1st Class (1890)
Order of St. Anna, 1st Class (1894)
Distinction Badge for XL Years of Impeccable Service (1897)
Oldenburg Order of Merit of Duke Peter Friedrich Ludwig, Commander’s Cross with diamond insignia (1880)

The father of Nadezhda Timofeevna, Timofei Nikolaevich Povalo-Shveikovsky (1847–1891), was preparing for a military career, graduated from the St. Petersburg School for Guard Ensigns, and served in the Preobrazhensky Regiment. In 1863, during the Polish uprising, his regiment was sent to Poland to suppress the insurgents, but unwilling to take part in this, he resigned and went back to his estate.

Nadezhda Timofeevna belonged to the third generation of the Bakunin–Povalo-Shveikovsky family, the generation of the 1890s, which was uncertainly groping toward revolutionary paths.

During her father’s lifetime, the Povalo-Shveikovskys were wealthy people, but after his death their guardian, Alexander Alexandrovich Bakunin (1821–1908), placed his trust in a close acquaintance, V. N. Lind, who forged Povalo-Shveikovsky promissory notes, leaving their estate mortgaged. From then on, the owners of Shcherbovo, one of the finest estates in the district, endured constant financial difficulties (as recorded in the memoirs of I. I. Petrunkevich, Archive of the Russian Revolution, Moscow, 1993, vol. 21–22, pp. 179–180).

Born 1847 - Died 1917. The mother of Nadezhda Timofevna, was his daughter from a first marriage and bore a strong resemblance to her father: she was also broad-shouldered, tall, and very stout, with irregular facial features and somewhat pronounced cheekbones.

On May 22, 1868, in the Trinity Church of the estate of Pryamukhino (located nearby), the wedding took place of Timofei Nikolaevich Povalo-Shveikovsky and Olga Nikolaevna Bakunina, daughter of Nikolai Alexandrovich Bakunin, a Russian public figure and participant in the preparation and enactment of the Emancipation Reform of 1861, and the brother of the revolutionary and anarchist theorist Mikhail Alexandrovich Bakunin. In general, the Shcherbovo estate was closely associated with freethinkers. Not only did Olga Nikolaevna and her husband Timofei belong to the “Bakunin circle,” but their daughter Nadezhda later married Mikhail Alexandrovich Kropotkin, nephew of Peter Alexeyevich Kropotkin, the revolutionary and theorist of anarchism.

Born 1879 - Died 1950

The Tver land is the birthplace of many remarkable women who left a vivid mark on the history of the Tver region. Among them, a prominent but still insufficiently appreciated place belongs to Nadezhda Timofeevna Kropotkina, born Povalo-Shveikovskaya (1879–1950), a grandniece of the world-famous theorist of European and Russian anarchism Mikhail Alexandrovich Bakunin. In Tver, there took place a unique union of the family of M. A. Bakunin with that of another no less renowned scholar and theorist of anarchism, Peter Aleksejevich Kropotkin. The grandniece of Bakunin, Nadezhda Timofeevna Povalo-Shveikovskaya, became the wife of Kropotkin’s nephew, Prince Mikhail Alexandrovich Kropotkin (1881–1935), and lived with him for thirty-six years in a mutually happy marriage.

In the 1920s–1940s, Nadezhda Timofeevna worked in Moscow as a teacher of English. She buried her husband, Mikhail Alexandrovich, outlived her son, Alexander Mikhailovich, and died in 1950 at the age of seventy-one. She was buried in Moscow at the Novodevichy Cemetery beside her husband. Her daughter, Natalya Mikhailovna, an art historian, lived and worked in Moscow until her death in 1986.

In the photograph from left to right: Olga Nikolaevna Povalo-Shveikovskaya (born Bakunina), Nikolai Nikolaevich Ge, Varvara Nikolaevna Bakunina (O. N. and V. N. are nieces of Mikhail Alexandrovich Bakunin), Anna Petrovna Ge, Timofei Nikolaevich Povalo-Shveikovsky (husband of O. N.). Florence. Late 1860s. 

In 1871, Nikolai Ge travelled to estates belonging to both the Povalo-Shveikovsky family and the Bakunin family. He visited Shcherbovo, the estate of the Povalo-Shveikovskys, and Premukhino, the residence of the Bakunins, where he painted portraits of family members, including one of Nikolai Bakunin. The shows Olga Nikolaevna Povalo-Shveikovskaya (born Bakunina), Varvara Nikolaevna Bakunina, Anna Petrovna Ge, and Timofei Nikolaevich Povalo-Shveikovsky, reflecting the intermarriage between the Bakunins and the Povalo-Shveikovskys, while Ge himself was connected through marriage. Members of these families were among Ge`s portrait subjects. Ge moved in artistic and intellectual circles that overlapped with the landowning nobility, and the Bakunins and Povalo-Shveikovskys were part of his social environment. They acted as patrons and hosts, while he painted their portraits and participated in their cultural world. Through these relationships, the Bakunin family, particularly Mikhail Alexandrovich Bakunin, is directly connected to Olga Nikolaevna Povalo-Shveikovskaya, who was Bakunin by birth and Povalo-Shveikovsky by marriage, with Timofei Nikolaevich Povalo-Shveikovsky named as her husband. Ge’s visits to Premukhino and Shcherbovo in 1871 reveal how close these ties were, suggesting not only artistic commissions but also shared cultural and social bonds. 

Konstantin Evgrafovich Povalo-Schveikovski (Born May 21 1881) was married to Anna Nikolajevna Lavrinovskaja (1877-1955,Pskov) and they had a daughter Nina 1911-1975. Nina Povalo-Shveikovskaja had a step sister Tatiana Vulih (from Anna Nikolajevna first marriage).

She was born on 6 january 1877 in Pskov, Russia. Died november 11, 1955 in Tartu, Estonian CCP. Born Lavrinovskaja, she was the daughter of Nikolai Pavlovich Lavrinovski. From her first marriage with Aleksander Zakharovich Vulih she a daughter, Tatiana Vulih (Bogovskaja) 1986-1984, who later married to Aleksander Bogovski, their daughter is Irina Bogovskaja (1924). From Anna Nikolajevna second marriage with Konstantin Evgrafovich Povalo-Schveikovski she had a daughter Nina 1911-1975. 

The Shcherbovo Estate is located in the Torzhok district of Tver Oblast, in the village of Shcherbovo, on the Osuga River. Its origins date back to the late 18th century, when it was owned by Avdotya Nikitina, born Shishkova. Over time the estate passed through several proprietors: first the Butenevs, and during the first half of the 19th century it became owned by the Povalo-Shveikovsky family. Around the 1830s, the main two-story manor house was built there. From then until the early 20th century the estate expanded, solidified, and all its key outbuildings and accompanying structures were added. 

After the Povalo-Shveikovskys, the estate was inherited by their relatives, the Bakunins. The estate had political importance: it was a hub for revolutionary activity and for distribution of illegal literature before the 1917 Revolution. In 1903, after the Kropotkin family (related by marriage to the Povalo-Shveikovskys) returned from studies abroad, the estate was again central to their life. 

In 1919, after the Revolution, the Shcherbovo estate was nationalized and converted into a sovkhoz (a state farm). During Soviet times, many of the buildings fell into disuse; the manor house, outbuildings, park, cellar, and other parts survived to various degrees, though much damage and neglect set in. The main building still stands, but many parts are now ruined or empty, the gardens partly lost, and several structures in decay. 

Relation to the Povalo-Shveikovsky family:

The Povalo-Shveikovskys owned Shcherbovo in the first half of the 19th century, building the main manor in the 1830s. This estate was part of their landholdings and a seat of family influence. Several members of the family had personal or familial connections with other noble families that later owned or were associated with the estate (e.g. the Bakunins, and via marriage, the Kropotkins). Also, later in the pre-Revolutionary period, the estate’s use by family members such as Nadezhda Timofeevna Kropotkina (born Povalo-Shveikovskaya) shows its continuing role in the family’s cultural and social life.

Povalo-Shveikovsky, Jakov Ivanovich (1750—1807). General of Infantry, participant in A. V. Suvorov’s Italian campaign of 1799. A slab with a poetic epitaph. Transferred from the monument in the Lazarev Cemetery.

"He loved and glorified his Fatherland,
He shared Suvorov’s labors and his glory.
Armed with the sword — his enemies feared him,
Yet with native honesty of heart and soul
O Themis! he interpreted your sacred law.
And though the days of Shveikovsky have ended,
The sons of the Fatherland cannot forget him,
And no Russian can pass here without a sigh."

The Semyonovsky Life Guards Regiment (Семёновский лейб-гвардии полк) was one of the two oldest and most prestigious regiments of the Russian Imperial Guard, alongside the Preobrazhensky Regiment. Founded in 1683 as part of Peter the Great’s “toy army,” it was originally stationed in the village of Semyonovskoye near Moscow, from which it took its name. In 1700 it was formally designated the Semyonovsky Life Guards Regiment, and by 1723 it was permanently based in St. Petersburg.

The regiment gained its first fame during the Great Northern War. At the Battle of Narva in 1700, though heavily outnumbered, the Semyonovsky and Preobrazhensky Guards stood firm against the Swedes, and their bravery was recognized even by King Charles XII of Sweden, who allowed them to march away fully armed. To commemorate their sacrifice, all soldiers of the regiment wore red stockings for the next forty years, symbolizing that they had “stood knee-deep in blood.” The regiment continued to distinguish itself in campaigns at Noteburg, the Neva, Lesnaya, and especially Poltava in 1709. It later fought in the Russo-Turkish wars and the Russo-Swedish conflicts of the 18th century.

During the Napoleonic Wars the Semyonovsky Regiment took part in every major campaign from 1805 through 1814. In 1812, during Napoleon’s invasion of Russia, the regiment fought bravely at Borodino, where it suffered heavy losses, and later participated in the battles of Lützen, Bautzen, Kulm, and Leipzig. In 1814 the regiment marched into Paris and took part in the allied victory parade after Napoleon’s abdication. Among its officers at the time was the remarkable Georgian noble Sergei Nepeitsyn, who had lost a leg at Ochakov but continued to serve with a prosthetic engineered by the famed Russian inventor Kulibin.

The Semyonovsky Regiment remained a cornerstone of the Imperial Guard throughout the 19th century. It was briefly dissolved after the 1820 Semyonovsky uprising but soon restored. Its reputation endured as one of discipline, valor, and elite status within the Russian military. In modern times, in 2013, the regiment was re-established in Russia as the 1st Separate Semyonovsky Rifle Regiment, preserving the legacy of one of the empire’s oldest guard formations.

The Preobrazhensky Life Guards Regiment (Преображенский лейб-гвардии полк) was one of the oldest and most elite infantry regiments of the Russian Imperial Guard, existing from 1683 to 1917. It originated from Peter the Great’s so-called “toy army” in 1683, when the young tsar organized military games with sons of nobles in the villages of Preobrazhenskoye and Semyonovskoye near Moscow. In 1690, the regiment was officially formed and named after Preobrazhenskoye. From its inception, it was trained and structured according to Western military models, with foreign officers providing instruction and soldiers wearing distinctive dark green uniforms.

The regiment quickly became a cornerstone of Russia’s new army. It fought in the Azov campaigns of 1695–1696 against the Ottoman Empire, where some of its men served as marines on Peter’s newly built galley fleet. During the Great Northern War (1700–1721) it distinguished itself in major battles, gaining a reputation for discipline and valor. It later played key roles in other conflicts, including the Patriotic War of 1812 against Napoleon and the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–1878.

The Preobrazhensky Regiment was not only a military unit but also a powerful political force. It guarded the imperial family and served as a decisive instrument in palace coups. Most notably, it supported Catherine the Great in her 1762 overthrow of her husband, Emperor Peter III, securing her accession to the throne. In recognition, Catherine declared the regiment the senior unit of the Russian army.

Throughout the 19th century the regiment retained its elite status, fighting in the Napoleonic Wars and marching into Paris in 1814. Yet it was not immune to unrest. In June 1906, amid revolutionary turmoil in the Russian Empire, part of one battalion mutinied; the uprising was quickly suppressed and nearly two hundred soldiers were punished with service in disciplinary battalions.

The regiment continued serving through World War I, as part of the 1st Guards Infantry Division, but was dissolved following the October Revolution. Officially it ceased to exist in May 1918. In modern Russia its legacy was revived in 2013 with the formation of the 154th Separate Commandant Preobrazhensky Regiment, which today serves as the official honor guard of the Russian Armed Forces in Moscow.

The Smolensky 25th Infantry Regiment was a veteran line regiment of the Russian Imperial Army, with tradition (“seniority”) dating from June 25, 1700. It belonged to the 7th Infantry Division from about 1829 onward. Its regimental day was October 1. Over its long history it fought in many of Russia’s major wars: the Northern War, various Russo-Turkish Wars, the Napoleonic campaigns, and the Crimean War, as well as later conflicts. It earned distinguished honors, including a George’s regimental banner, awarded for its actions in the Italian campaign of 1799 and for crossing the Danube in 1854. The regiment also received silver trumpets in recognition of its role in the siege of Varna (1828-29).

In World War I it served with the 7th Infantry Division in the V Army Corps of the 5th Army on the Northwestern Front, later (from mid-1916) with the 11th Army on the Southwestern Front. During the revolutionary turmoil of 1917, its soldiers’ committee sided with the Bolsheviks. The regiment was disbanded in Voronezh in June 1918. However, in 1919 it was re-formed from volunteers in Voronezh as part of the White-controlled Armed Forces of South Russia, under Colonel V. M. Novikov, becoming part of the 2nd Brigade, 6th Infantry Division.

The Noble Boarding School at Moscow University was a private/honorary school established for boys from noble families, typically aged 9-14, designed to prepare them for service — in the military, civil service, diplomacy or court posts. It was founded in 1779 by the university curator M. M. Kheraskov, and initially funded by student fees and some university support. From 1806 it became financially independent of the university.

Students paid tuition, and additional fees for special subjects like music and horseback riding. Over time the number of students grew—while initially it had only a dozen pupils, by the start of the 19th century there were about 300, plus semi-boarders (half-boarders) and some students sponsored by the pension when funds allowed. 

The school was managed by a director and inspector, overseen by the University Council, with honorary parents among the students’ families taking part in oversight. Its pedagogy was elite: students were taught by the professors of Moscow University, followed a broad liberal curriculum including literature, foreign languages, mathematics, arts, natural sciences, rhetoric, history, and had regular public exams. Outstanding students could matriculate into the University without entrance exam, before 1812. 

One particularly important figure was A. A. Prokopovich-Anton-sky, who was inspector/director from 1791 to 1826. He shaped much of how the school worked — emphasizing character, individual development, cultivating honesty, mutual help, friendship, and giving pupils opportunities to develop talent. Under his leadership the school became very prestigious. 

After the Decembrist uprising (1825), several of the boarding school’s alumni were involved, and as a result the pension lost many of its special privileges. In 1830 the school was transformed into a gymnasium (secondary school) by imperial edict, losing its “noble boarding school” status and the exceptional rank-based rights formerly granted to its graduates. 

Some famous alumni of the boarding school included the poet V. A. Zhukovsky, playwright A. S. Griboedov, N. P. Ogarev, V. F. Odoevsky, F. I. Tyutchev, as well as several Decembrists like P. G. Kakhovsky, N. M. Muravyov, V. F. Raevsky.

The Moscow 8th Grenadier Regiment (8-й гренадерский Московский полк, later known as the 8th Grenadier Moscow Regiment of Grand Duke Friedrich of Mecklenburg-Schwerin) was a distinguished infantry grenadier unit in the Russian Imperial Army with roots extending to May 15 (old style), 1790. It became part of the 2nd Grenadier Division in 1811. Its regimental feast day was August 1.

The regiment was formed in Moscow from the 3rd battalion of the Tenga Musketry Regiment together with recruits and personnel from Moscow garrison battalions. Shortly thereafter it was renamed “Moscow Grenadier Regiment” in 1791. It saw action in many major campaigns — in the late 18th century it took part in war with Turkey, and in 1799 it distinguished itself in the Italian and Swiss campaigns, especially in battles along the Adige ("Adda") River, at Lecco, and elsewhere. For those actions the regiment earned honors, including its regimental St. George banner and other distinctions.

In 1812 during Napoleon’s invasion Russia, the Moscow 8th Grenadier Regiment fought under very difficult conditions. It took part in the Battle of Smolensk and especially at Borodino, suffering heavy losses defending critical positions. In the campaigns of 1813-1814, it was present in the major battles such as Bautzen, Leipzig, etc., and at the march into France.

Over the 19th century the regiment continued its service in Russian wars: actions in the Russo-Turkish wars, in campaigns against Poland, and others. By the early 20th century, it had accumulated a long record of service, carried by its tradition and reputation. During World War I it served on the Southwestern Front, and later the Romanian Front, taking part in defensive and offensive operations (for example around Lublin, and attacks towards Krakow).

After the chaos of 1917 and the Russian Revolutions, the regiment, like much of the old Imperial Army, was disbanded.

Of particular note is that Ivan Semyonovich Povalo-Shveikovsky served as colonel in this regiment. His involvement connects this regiment directly to the Povalo-Shveikovsky family’s military tradition.

The Konstantinovskoye Artillery School in Saint Petersburg was originally founded in 1859 on the basis of the earlier Konstantinovsky Cadet Corps, itself having evolved from the Volunteer Corps (created in 1807) and the Noble Regiment (from 1808). It kept the name “Konstantinovskoye” in memory of Grand Duke Konstantin Pavlovich. In its early phases it served as a military-school institution preparing youths, called “junkers,” for service—first for general arms, later more specifically for artillery.

Over time the institution expanded its academic and military curriculum. In 1894 it was formally made into an artillery school, comprising two training batteries with guns, with a requirement for two years of training. There was also an additional course for the most successful cadets to prepare for the Mikhailovsky Artillery Academy. Around 1914, with the outbreak of the First World War, the term of study was lengthened to three years.

The school was located at 17 Moskovsky Prospect in Saint Petersburg. Among its special honors, in 1907 for its centennial the Emperor awarded its two training batteries silver trumpets inscribed with the key dates in its history; also the institution received the two banners of the old Noble Regiment, which had been preserved since 1814.

After the Russian Revolutions of 1917, the school was disbanded as such, and its building and functions were transformed into Soviet military educational institutions, ultimately becoming part of the Red Army’s artillery training system. Under the Soviets its legacy continued through successor schools and institutions.

The Naval Cadet Corps started out as the School of Mathematical and Navigational Sciences founded by Peter the Great in Moscow in January 1701. It was initially housed in the Sukharev Tower and admitted boys aged roughly 12-17, from noble, church, civil, and various other backgrounds. The older classes of the school were transferred to Saint Petersburg while younger ones stayed in Moscow. Over time schools like the Naval Academy and the midshipmen’s company were consolidated to form one institution: the Naval Cadet Corps, created under Empress Elizabeth in 1752.

Students of the Corps were organized both militarily and academically. The highest class were called “gardemarines,” junior classes were “cadets.” They studied navigation, mathematics, languages and naval sciences. Entrance later required examinations and certain qualifications, especially for applicants from officer families or hereditary nobility.

In the 19th century the Corps became firmly established as the chief training ground for officers of the Russian Navy. It administered a more demanding curriculum, raised student numbers, improved facilities in St. Petersburg, and maintained standards of discipline, drill, and maritime practice. Graduates would go on to serve as midshipmen or naval officers.

After the 1917 Revolution it was closed, but for a time in exile it continued its traditions: many of its cadets and gardemarines emigrated, and the institution itself was reconstituted in some form outside Russia (e.g. in Bizerte). Its building and heritage later contributed to Soviet and then Russian naval training establishments.

Moscow 1st Cadet Corps — also known by its formal name “Moscow Cadet Corps of Empress Catherine II” — was a military-educational institution of the Russian Empire, training officers until the military reforms of 1863, and “junkers” of military schools from 1863 to 1918. It traced its seniority from the Shklovsky Noble School, founded by S. G. Zorich, a favorite of Catherine II. Over time that school was moved through several cities — Grodno, Smolensk, Kostroma (in 1812), and finally to Moscow, to Lefortovo (in 1824).

In the early 1860s, as part of the military reform under Count Dmitry A. Milyutin, the Corps was reorganized into a military gymnasium, and then about twenty years later was restored as a Cadet Corps. From 1903, by rescript of Nicholas II, it was officially named “Moscow Cadet Corps of Empress Catherine II.”

In October 1917, during the upheaval, the Cadet Corps in Lefortovo under Colonel V. F. Rar took part in the defense of Moscow, resisting the Bolsheviks for several days. It was disbanded in 1918.

The Corps was housed in the Catherine (Golovinsky) Palace in Lefortovo, Moscow. After its dissolution, the building housed the Military Academy of Armored Troops, which in 1998 became part of the Combined Arms Academy of the Russian Federation.