the lion of the russian army - Florida State University

courtier’s craftiness, “My Prince, if you want to see someone distinguished, here is the
rising sun of Russia” and pointed to Alexander. 13
However, Bagration was also in a perilous position. His close relationship with
Suvorov, whom Paul disliked so much, could have led to his disgrace. However, there
were cordial relations between the emperor and young general. Paul met Bagration on
many occasions and contacted ailing Suvorov through him. Besides, Bagration had no
connections at the court and was not involved in court machinations. Paul was already
suspicious about the conspiracy against him and with each passing day he grew more and
more cautious. He needed trustworthy people around him so he focused on Bagration.
Prince Peter was new to the court. He had spent most of his life on the periphery of the
empire and had visited St. Petersburg only once in 1782, when he joined the service. For
next eighteen years, he fought in the Caucasus, Crimea, Poland, Italy and Switzerland
and could not travel to the capital. He was not familiar with the Imperial court and did
not participate in various intrigues. Moreover, Bagration’s military achievements were
well known to the emperor. Suvorov had regularly reported Bagration’s successes at
Brescia, Tidone, Trebbia and Novi. The Swiss Campaign brought new laurels to him so
Paul appreciated his talents. On 20 March 1800, he was appointed shef of the 6 th Jager
Regiment and, in April, Paul gave him a large estate in Lithuania to replace the one
Bagration received for his actions on the Trebbia. 14 However, Bagration was not frugal.
To lead the life appropriate with his status, he began a flamboyant lifestyle in the capital
that naturally resulted in increasing debts. Over the years, Bagration sold two estates to
cover the debts.
With the beginning of the spring, Bagration was ordered to Pavlovsk, where his
Jagers protected the imperial family. 15 In May, Bagration attended the ceremony to
13
“Yunosheskie vospominania Evgenie Vitembergskogo” [Eugene of Wuttemberg’s
Recollection of Adolescent], Russkii arkhiv, 16/1 (1878) 61.
14 Imperial Decree, 24 July 1799, in Miliutin, Campaign of 1799, I, 579; Bogdanovich,
Suvorov’s Campaigns in Italy and Switzerland, 72; Mikheil Gonikishvili, Bagrationta dasaxleba
da mogvatseoba rusetshi [Bagrations’ Settlement and Service in Russia] (Tbilisi, 1986), 51-52
15 Paul gave Bagration a carriage with four horses, two wagons, six transport and six riding
horses. Gribanov, Bagration in St. Petersburg, 59; A. Shervashidze, Bagration (Batum, 1976), 78.
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