the lion of the russian army - Florida State University

to the will of the Russian government.” He informed Alexander about the “Russians and
foreigners who serve Russia or claim to be in her service” who propagate anti-French
sentiments in Vienna. He described these men, including Bagration, as “the friends of the
English, instigators of continental war who seek to relight the torches [of hatred], and the
enemies of the peace and the tranquillity on the continent.” Napoleon requested
Alexander “to recall these individuals and detain them within [the Russian] boundaries.”
He noted that French government would have requested satisfaction from Austria but the
individuals involved enjoyed the protection of being Russian subjects. Napoleon
concluded his letters, “France, Austria and the Russian emperor himself do not have
larger enemies than these intrigants. 9
Bagration remained in Vienna until October and then traveled to St. Petersburg.
He finally arrived at the capital in December 1810 and assumed his responsibilities as
shef of the Life Guard Jager Regiment. His debts had steadily increased so Prince Peter
had to sell his houses at Pavlovsk. At the same time, he tried to reclaim his ancestral
lands in Georgia. In May 1811, he wrote to General Alexander Tormasov, commanderin-chief
of the Russian troops in Georgia, asking him to assist in regaining his family
possessions in and around Tbilisi. 10 Bagration claimed possession of villages
Ladzhabadini, Kullari, Teletgori, Golidjvari and Pedisi. In addition, he referred to a
garden in the Garetubani district in Tbilisi, where his great-grandfather King Yese was
buried. Tormasov instructed Supreme Executive Expedition [Ispolnitelnaia Ekspeditsia]
to investigate this matter and determine Bagration’s rights to these lands. After five years
long investigation, the Expedition reported that Peter Bagration’s family possessed these
above-mentioned lands; however, the last Georgian Kings, Erekle II and Giorgi XII,
confiscated them because Peter’s family fled to Russia. The property was eventually
bought by the Russian imperial treasury and given to other nobles. Because it was
9 Napoleon to Champagny, 6 September 1810, Vandal, Napoleon et Alexandre Ier, II, 415.
10 Rtischev to Guriev, 2 June 1816, Akti cobrannie Kavkazskoi Arkheograficheskoi
Komissiei, Arkhiv upravlenia Namestnika Kavkazskogo, ed. A. Berzhe, [Acts Compiled by the
Caucasian Archeographical Commission, Archive of Vice-Roy of Caucasus] (Tbilisi, 1873) V.
602