The fate of this man is amazing. Handsome, heartthrob and mot, but at the same time the bravest officer, a brilliant intelligence officer, the commander of a partisan detachment, and by the end of his life - the Most Serene Prince and the highest dignitary of Russia.
Alexander Ivanovich Chernyshev was born on January 10, 1786 (1785-30-12 O. S. style) into a well-known but not wealthy noble family. His father, who distinguished himself in many wars, at that time was already a lieutenant general and a senator. From childhood, Alexander was distinguished by his liveliness of character, a sharp mind and ingenuity. Following the example of his father, he saw no other fate for himself, except for military service, since childhood he was registered as a sergeant in the Life Guards Horse Regiment.
In 1801, the younger Chernyshev was introduced to Alexander I during the coronation celebrations in Moscow. Apparently, the emperor liked the handsome and precocious young man. Alexander was summoned to Petersburg and assigned to the chamber-page. But Chernyshev did not want to make a court career and achieved a transfer by a cornet to the Cavalry Regiment. In 1804, he received the rank of lieutenant and was appointed adjutant to Lieutenant General F. P. Uvarov.
Peaceful life in the capital, despite the successes with the ladies, weighed down Alexander. He longed for military glory and awards. And the opportunity soon presented itself, another war with Napoleon began. Chernyshev received his baptism of fire on November 16, 1805 in a battle near Vishau. Then there was Austerlitz, in which the lieutenant first participated in three cavalry attacks, having managed to get out of them without a single scratch, although the notches on his saber testified that he was not hiding behind the backs of his comrades. By the end of the battle, he was already carrying out the instructions of the emperor, delivering his orders under fire to the troops continuing to fight.
For Austerlitz, Chernyshev received his first military award - the Order of St. Vladimir, 4th degree with a bow. By the end of his life, he had so many awards that they did not fit on his uniform, and then he was truly happy. In addition, the next rank of headquarters captain soon followed.
Glory loves the brave, and he was brave. But his courage was combined with a clear military talent and the ability to make the right decisions in the most difficult situations. And new battles confirmed this, as evidenced by the gold sword received by the officer with the inscription "For Bravery" and the most honorable military award - the Order of St. George of the 4th degree.
The war ended with the Peace of Tilsit, which led to serious changes in the fate of Chernyshev. The emperor, who clearly favored the brave and successful officer in battles, began to send him on important errands to Napoleon. The very first audience of Chernyshev with the French emperor showed that the choice of Alexander I was correct. The young Russian officer surprised and interested Napoleon with thorough and beyond his years deep reflections on the past military campaigns.
With the next letter from Alexander I, Chernyshev had to go to Napoleon in Spain, where the French were then fighting heavy battles. He managed to organize the way back so that he drove through the main rear of the French army, collecting important intelligence information. Moreover, it was Chernyshev's initiative, because he was not given such a task. Chernyshev's detailed report made a good impression on Alexander I, he even promised to make the officer an adjutant wing. And on his next trip to Napoleon he sent him not only with a letter, but also with an order to be at the headquarters of the French army.
And this time Napoleon kindly received the Russian officer and left him not with the headquarters, but with the emperor. The mission of Chernyshev was announced in the next bulletin on the French army. It is curious that in the bulletin Chernyshev was named a count and a colonel. The bewilderment of the officer, conveyed to Napoleon through Count Duroc, was answered that the emperor was sure that the rank and title for Chernyshev was not far off. With the rank of Bonaparte, he turned out to be right, unwittingly contributing to this himself, giving the Russian intelligence officer the opportunity to develop violent activities surrounded by the emperor.
Accompanying Napoleon during the Austrian campaign, Chernyshev got the opportunity to study the French army well, witness its victories and defeats, and establish contacts among generals and officers. Napoleon's confidence in him was also strengthened. This was facilitated, oddly enough, by the Battle of Aspern, unsuccessful for the French. After the battle, Napoleon told Chernyshev, who was accompanying him, that he was sending a courier to the Russian emperor, who could also take his letter to Alexander I with a description of everything he had seen.
Chernyshev understood that his letter would be read carefully by Napoleon, who was sensitive to his failures, but found an original way out. Describing in enthusiastic tones the actions of the emperor of France and the mercy with which he showered the Russian representative, Chernyshev ended the description of the unsuccessful battle with a brilliant phrase: "If at that time the Austrians were commanded by Napoleon, then the complete death of the French was inevitable." An invitation to Napoleon for breakfast the following morning showed that the emperor appreciated the diplomatic tact of Chernyshev, who was then only 23 years old.
After this incident, Napoleon even began to give Chernyshev confidential instructions, which significantly strengthened the position of the latter in the eyes of the imperial entourage. And after the battle of Wagram, which victoriously completed the campaign, he awarded Chernyshev the Order of the Legion of Honor and sent him to St. Petersburg with a report to Alexander I about the successful completion of the war.
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In 1809, relations between France and Russia remained extremely difficult, but Chernyshev continued to ply between their capitals, invariably receiving a warm welcome from Napoleon, regardless of the content of the messages that he brought him. The scope of his activities expanded significantly, being just a captain, and since November 1810 a colonel, on behalf of Alexander I, he met with the Emperor of Austria, the King of Sweden and the Crown Prince of Sweden (former Napoleonic Marshal Bernadotte). Surprisingly, he was truly a favorite of Fortune, in all the most difficult diplomatic matters he was successful.
At the same time, he found time for an active social life, making extensive acquaintances in French society and conquering loving French women. It was rumored that the emperor's sister, the Neapolitan queen Pauline Borghese, could not resist his spell. Perhaps these are just rumors, but even their presence testifies to a lot.
Very few knew about the secret affairs of Chernyshev in France, but in a short time he managed to create an extensive intelligence network, receiving secret information from the highest echelons of French power. His informant was the Minister of Foreign Affairs Charles Maurice de Talleyrand, who supplied Chernyshev not only with secret information about the foreign policy of France, but also with the most important military information, including mobilization plans and the course of preparations for war.
Chernyshev's undoubted success was also the recruitment of an official of the War Ministry, who, for a substantial reward, supplied him with copies of secret military documents. Moreover, often the Russian intelligence officer got acquainted with the documents before they got to Napoleon's table. Naturally, the entire course of France's preparation for war, including the deployment of troops to specific regiments, was well known to Alexander I and the Russian Minister of War Barclay de Tolly.
After 1810, Napoleon's attitude towards Chernyshev began to change. To emphasize his dissatisfaction with the position of Russia, the emperor even sometimes ignored Chernyshev at official receptions, without greeting or honoring a conversation. The clouds finally thickened by the beginning of 1812. Chernyshev was already looking for a plausible excuse to leave Paris when on February 13, 1812, he was invited to an audience with Napoleon.
The French emperor greeted Chernyshev coldly, expressed further reproaches regarding the position of Russia and handed a letter to Alexander I, noting that "sovereigns should not write extensive letters under such circumstances when they cannot say anything pleasant to one another." In fact, this was a harbinger of a complete break.
In St. Petersburg, Chernyshev did not stay long, soon leaving with the retinue of Alexander I to Vilna, where the headquarters of the 1st Russian army was located. Having studied the state and deployment of the Russian troops, before the war, he presented to the emperor "A note on the means to prevent an enemy invasion in 1812". In the Note, he made a number of practical proposals, including the need for an urgent connection of the 1st and 2nd armies. The outbreak of hostilities confirmed the correctness of Chernyshev.
In the initial period of the war, Chernyshev carried out various assignments of the emperor, including accompanying him to Abo for negotiations with the crown prince of Sweden Bernadotte. The Russian army continued to retreat, and in these conditions it was extremely important to secure the neutrality of Sweden, especially since only a few years ago Russia conquered Finland from it. The negotiations ended with the signing of a treaty beneficial to Russia, which was also facilitated by personal meetings between Chernyshev and Bernadotte, who sympathized with him.
At the last stage of the war, Alexander Chernyshev managed to remember his combat youth. Sent on an assignment to Kutuzov and Chichagov, who commanded the Danube army, he, having completed the mission entrusted to him, received a cavalry flying detachment in command and went on a raid along the rear of the Schwarzenberg corps. And here Chernyshev was successful, his detachment acted boldly and decisively. During the defeat of one of the French columns, he managed to free General F. F. Wintzengerode, who was captured when he went as a parliamentarian to Marshal Mortier, who intended to blow up the Kremlin during his retreat from Moscow.
Having received the rank of major general in November 1812, Chernyshev continued to fight successfully, having distinguished himself in a number of battles. So, it was his detachment that made a decisive contribution to the defeat of the French at Marienwerder and Berlin, for which the young general was awarded the Order of St. George, 3rd degree. New successful battles followed, already in France. Chernyshev ended the war in defeated Paris, having become by this time Lieutenant General and Knight Commander of many Orders of Russia and the Allied Powers.
After the war, Chernyshev's diplomatic experience was again in demand, he accompanied the emperor on a trip to England, and then was with him during the Vienna and Verona congresses. New important appointments followed, Chernyshev became a member of the Committee for the Wounded and the Committee for the Arrangement of the Don Army, the commander of the Guards Cavalry Division, and was also periodically involved in confidential assignments and duties of the Emperor's Adjutant General.
In 1825, Chernyshev accompanied the emperor on a trip to Taganrog, where Alexander I literally fled from the capital, having learned about the maturing conspiracy. By the will of fate, he witnessed the death of the emperor. I had to do the sorrowful things necessary in this case as part of a specially created committee.
As a confidant of Alexander I, Chernyshev knew about the existence of the conspiracy and was familiar with the latest denunciations from the 2nd Army, in which many members of the Southern Society were listed. Even before the uprising of the Decembrists in the capital, he was entrusted with conducting an investigation among the troops in the south of the country. He also brought the 2nd Army to the oath of allegiance to Nicholas I.
Apparently, the new emperor, like his older brother, had complete confidence in Chernyshev, since he included him in the Investigative Commission on the Decembrists' case, in honor of his coronation awarded him the title of count (albeit with a delay, but Napoleon's prediction came true), and a year later he appointed Alexander Ivanovich senator and minister of war. This was followed by elevation to princely dignity, appointment as chairman of the State Council and the Committee of Ministers.
In his new posts, Chernyshev served in good faith, and he headed the War Ministry for 25 years, but did not win any special laurels. Constrained by a rigid bureaucratic framework, he quickly lost the improvisation and audacity inherent in his activities in his youth. Unfortunately, such a fate befell not only him, Nicholas I needed not talented associates, but conscientious performers.
The peak of the glory of Alexander Ivanovich Chernyshev fell on the period of the Napoleonic wars, therefore he remained in history as a brave military officer and general, a talented diplomat and a brilliant intelligence officer who managed to outplay Napoleon himself.
