“Despite numerous wounds, he is cheerful and youthful. Due to the severity of life, diseases are unknown to him. He never takes internal medications. She sleeps in the hay, hiding behind a sheet, and when it's cold, with a raincoat … She gets up before dawn. … After getting up, he dips himself from head to toe with cold water and runs through the rooms or the garden in his underwear and boots, learning Turkish from a notebook."
This is how the Austrian artist and military historian Anting wrote about the great Russian commander Alexander Vasilyevich Suvorov, who was the secretary and adjutant of our great field marshal, his first biographer during his lifetime. He
“… Does not look in the mirror, does not carry watches and money with him. By character, he is known as an honest, affectionate, courteous, firm in enterprises, keeping his promises even against the enemy himself. This hero cannot be bribed with anything. He tries in every possible way to moderate his temper. His ardor and speed are so great that his subordinates cannot do anything as quickly as he would like. Love for the Fatherland and jealousy to fight for his glory are the strongest motives for his tireless activity, and he sacrifices all other feelings to it, sparing neither his health nor his life."
Suvorov was a supporter of a healthy lifestyle. In Science to Win, he gave the soldiers the basic principles of spiritual and physical health: cleanliness, neatness, good spirits and piety. He knew about the great power of hunger (as taught by the wise teachers from ancient times and Jesus).
"Hunger is the best medicine."
He noted the importance of cleansing the stomach in case of obstruction (enema), fasting in case of illness, as well as the danger of "rotten" and "harmful" German medicines.
Pugachev and Suvorov
After the end of the war with Turkey, Alexander Suvorov was appointed to command a division in Moscow. At this time, he has a powerful patron - Grigory Potemkin. An important appointment awaited Suvorov. The uprising of the Yaik Cossacks grew into a peasant war and quickly engulfed the Orenburg region, the Urals, the Kama region, Bashkiria and the Volga region. Pugachev was beaten in all battles, he was pursued, but he quickly gained new strength. In St. Petersburg they were afraid that the uprising would cover the central provinces. Taking advantage of the end of the war with Porte, Catherine II sent additional forces led by General-in-Chief P. Panin to suppress the uprising. The count asked Suvorov to be his assistant, who had already become famous for his quick and decisive actions in battles with the Poles and Turks.
Suvorov quickly rushed to the Volga. But Pugachev was already defeated by Mikhelson at Tsaritsyn, and fled across the Volga. With a small detachment, Alexander Vasilyevich set off in pursuit. Meanwhile, Pugachev was arrested and extradited by his associates. For two weeks (late September - October 1774) Alexander Vasilyevich escorted Pugachev from Uralsk to Simbirsk. On the way, they talked a lot. Unfortunately, information about the conversations of two great people of this era has not reached us. So, Alexander Pushkin (who was not only a great poet, but also a historian who described the course of the Pugachev uprising and was admitted to the imperial archives on the personal instructions of Nicholas I) did not find them.
Alexander Pushkin in his "History" noted:
“Pugachev was sitting in a wooden cage on a two-wheeled cart. A strong detachment, with two cannons, surrounded him. Suvorov did not leave him. In the village of Mostakh (one hundred and forty versts from Samara), a fire broke out near the hut where Pugachev spent the night. They let him out of the cage, tied him to a cart with his son, a playful and courageous boy, and all night Suvorov himself watched them."
Then Alexander Suvorov was entrusted with the command over the troops located on the Volga. It can be noted that Panin and Suvorov were able to identify and solve many of the problems that caused a large-scale uprising. The rationalist Suvorov did not approve of the mass executions of the rebels, this led to the ruin of the state, the strength and wealth of which were people (peasants). Terror only embittered people, led to new riots.
In areas affected by the uprising, famine soon began, as the fields were not sown. Therefore, Panin and Suvorov paid great attention to the restoration of the ruined provinces, put things in order in the management system. Provision shops were organized for the population. The speculators were declared marauders and fought against them according to the laws of war. Thus, Alexander Vasilyevich showed himself as a capable manager-administrator. Later, already on the southern borders of the empire, he will again demonstrate the talents of a civil dignitary.
Protection and arrangement of the southern borders
In the triumph of victory over Turkey, Alexander Vasilyevich was awarded a sword with diamonds. In 1775 he received a vacation associated with two news from Moscow: the first - joyful, he had a daughter named Natalya (his father adored Suvorochka); the second - sad, father died. He received a year's leave and arrived in Moscow. Empress Catherine was also in the old capital at that time. She affectionately greeted her "little general" and offered the command of the Petersburg division.
This required moving to the capital. The fast was very honorable and promoted a quick career (constantly in front of the queen's eyes). After the commander of the guards, the head of the St. Petersburg division was in the military environment of the empress the closest person to her. However, Alexander Suvorov refused the honorary post, which caused another conflict with his wife, who had already "soured" in Moscow and wanted to get into the capital's light. Suvorov, on the contrary, did not want to be a "parquet" general. He wanted to be where it is "hot" and military operations are possible.
In 1776, Potemkin was appointed governor-general, then governor-general of the Astrakhan, Azov and Novorossiysk provinces. He had to put things in order with the Cossack troops, pacify the nomads and ensure the safety of the entire southern border from attempts by the Ottoman Empire. For this, it was necessary, first of all, to solve the problem of the Crimean Khanate.
Crimea, having gained independence from the Port in 1774, was torn between Russia and Turkey. There was a struggle between pro-Russian and pro-Turkish parties. Suvorov entered the order of Potemkin. The regiments of the Moscow division of Suvorov were part of the corps of Prince Prozorovsky. In the Crimea, Suvorov, due to the illness of Alexander Prozorovsky, temporarily led the corps. In 1777, the general promoted the election of the pro-Russian Crimean Khan Shahin-Girey. The new khan, with the support of the Russians and the Nogais, occupied the Crimea. The pro-Turkish protege Devlet-Girey fled to Turkey.
After the normalization of the situation in Crimea, Suvorov received a vacation and went to his family in Poltava. At the end of 1777, he received a small Kuban corps under the command. In a short time, he improved the Kuban line: a combination of stationary garrisons with mobile reserves, ready at any time to provide assistance to any outpost on the line. He also organized reconnaissance and was aware of the mood among the Nogais and highlanders. Demonstrating the art of a diplomat and a decisive commander, he made local nomads and mountaineers respect Russia.
In the spring of 1778 he was again sent to the Crimea, where the threat of an uprising and Turkish invasion sharply increased. At the same time, he was left by the commander of the Kuban corps. Shahin-Girey tried to carry out reforms in the khanate and establish governance on the Russian model, which caused the discontent of the clergy and nobility. The Crimean Tatar elite wanted to return to the rule of the Port. Turkish agents were active on the peninsula.
In the summer and autumn of 1778, in order to avoid the massacre of the Christian population, Alexander Suvorov organized the resettlement of the Crimean Greeks and Armenians to the Azov province. The headquarters of the lieutenant general was located in Gozlev (Evpatoria). At this time, the threat of an epidemic arose. However, thanks to the strict and well-organized measures of Suvorov, the plague was avoided.
The military cleared all the toilets and stables, repaired the city's water sources, organized free bathing in the baths, established military order in the eastern markets, introduced a quarantine for imported goods, and forced residents to restore order in their homes and yards. The general even complained that he forced the locals to wash regularly, regardless of faith.
Suppression of the Nogai uprising
Turkey planned to land troops in the Crimea in 1778 to support a local uprising aimed at overthrowing Shahin-Giray. The landing was planned to be landed in the Akhtiarskaya Bay (future Sevastopol). However, Suvorov organized the defense of the coast. And the Ottoman fleet, which approached the Crimean shores, did not dare to land troops.
In 1779, due to the stabilization of the situation on the peninsula, some of the troops were withdrawn. Suvorov was appointed commander of the Little Russian division, then transferred to the Novorossiysk province, the head of the border forces. In 1780, Suvorov in Astrakhan, where in connection with the threat of war with Persia, was preparing a campaign against the Persians. In 1782, an uprising began in the Crimea and the Kuban. The Persian campaign was postponed, Suvorov was again sent to the Kuban.
The Nogai hordes at that time were vassals of the Crimean Khanate. They periodically rebelled against the policies of Shagin-Girey and Russia. In the spring of 1783, Empress Catherine II issued a manifesto, according to which Crimea, Taman and Kuban were declared Russian possessions. Part of the Nogai hordes decided to migrate beyond the river. Kuban, do not accept Russian citizenship.
In the summer of 1783, Suvorov tried to convince the Nogai nobility to swear allegiance to Petersburg. At the same time, preparations were under way for the resettlement of the Nogais beyond the Urals, near Tambov and Saratov. Part of the Nogai Murzas took the oath, resettlement began. Others revolted. In August, the uprising was suppressed, the irreconcilable fled for the Kuban.
In October, the Kuban corps under the command of Suvorov (the total corps numbered about 8 thousand Cossacks and 2 thousand Kalmyks) secretly forced the Kuban and completely defeated the rebellious Nogai in the Kermenchik tract on the Laba River. According to some reports, several thousand nomads and their leaders were killed.
After that, most of the Murzas bowed to Suvorov and recognized the annexation of the Crimea and the Kuban to Russia. At the end of 1783, the Russian general completed the rout of the remaining insurgents. The Russian government decided not to resettle the Nogais beyond the Urals. Some of the nomads were resettled to the Caspian Sea, some to the Azov Sea. Another part of the Nogai, who did not obey the Russian authorities, fled to the foothills of the North Caucasus.
General-in-chief
For his successes on the southern borders of the empire, Alexander Suvorov was awarded the Order of St. Vladimir 1st degree. In 1784 he commanded the Vladimir division, in 1785 - the St. Petersburg division. In 1785, the general turned 55. In 1786, in the order of seniority, he received the rank of general-in-chief, that is, he became a full general. Under Peter the Great, general-in-chief meant the rank of commander-in-chief.
Under Catherine II, according to the new military regulations, the highest military rank was Field Marshal. Suvorov could receive this rank only in the war. But there was no war. Looking back at the last 12 years of peaceful life, the commander felt uneasy. Everything he did seemed insignificant to him. And the childhood dream of a great deed did not go out.
"My life is for Natasha, my death is for the Fatherland", - wrote Alexander Vasilievich.
Meanwhile, a new war with Turkey was on the doorstep. Istanbul did not want to come to terms with the loss of Crimea and other lands in the Black Sea region. The war was inevitable. Petersburg understood this and prepared for it.
The Russians had to secure the Northern Black Sea region for themselves. To give the enemy a good lesson to be remembered for a long time. At this time, the powerful governor of New Russia, Potemkin, arranged a "walk" for the empress - a solemn journey to the lands newly acquired by Russia.
The great nobleman made great efforts to develop the previously "wild" lands. It was laid on the deserted bank of the Dnieper by Yekaterinoslav, near the village of Akhtiar - Sevastopol, at the mouth of the Ingul - Nikolaev, the future largest verv of the southern part of Russia. The Black Sea Fleet is being built with furious speed. Kherson was founded near the Dnieper estuary - a fortress, port and shipyard, which became the first base of the Black Sea Fleet. Potemkin develops industry and agriculture, cultivates and plants forests, orchards and vineyards in the Black Sea steppes.
Potemkin wanted to show the foreign guests of Russia that the Russian state was stronger than ever. I am ready to defend myself and stand firmly on the Black Sea. Suvorov at that time commanded the Kremenchug division. He was supposed to show the tsarina the exemplary regiments of an ordinary army division in a short time.
In 1787, Catherine, surrounded by a brilliant retinue, made her trip. She was accompanied by the Austrian emperor Joseph II, the Polish king Stanislaw August and many other noble foreigners, including the ambassadors of France and England. In Kremenchug, Potemkin suggested looking at the maneuvers of the Suvorov division. Suvorov showed his already famous end-to-end attacks: infantry against infantry, cavalry against infantry, infantry against cavalry, formation in battle formations, loose formation, columns, feigned retreat to lure the enemy and pursuit. Also fencing, fighting with rifles with bayonets, sabers and pikes. The brilliant view stunned the guests.
Catherine wrote to her correspondent Grimm in Paris:
"We have found fifteen thousand men of the finest army that can be found in the camp here."
From Kremenchug Suvorov followed to Kherson in the entourage of the queen. Catherine showered him with signs of attention. Austrian Emperor Joseph honored the conversation. On the Sevastopol roadstead, foreigners were amazed at the sight of the new Russian fleet - the Black Sea.
On the way back, the Russian queen wished to take another look at the Suvorov regiments. This time the troops were stationed on the glorious Poltava field. A tent was set up for the guests on the top of the Swedish Mogila mound. The maneuvers reproduced the Battle of Poltava. On the Russian side of the battle, Major General Mikhail Kutuzov commanded.
The second show was just as brilliant as the first. Catherine proclaimed Potemkin the Most Serene Prince of Tauride.
"And I," Suvorov wrote to his daughter, "received a gold snuffbox for the walk."
