In 1584, Ivan the Terrible died and was succeeded by his elder son, Tsar Feodor I. The new tsar exiled his younger half-brother, Tsarevich Dmitry, to the small town of Uglich, where he died in myster...

Prince Platon Zubov commanded the guard at Tsarskoe Selo, where he was a second major of the Horse Guards Regiment. When Catherine the Great broke up with Count Alexander Dmitriyev-Mamonov, Count Nik...

Alexander Yermolov was the uncle of General Alexei Yermolov, who distinguished himself during the Patriotic War and was later commander-in-chief of Russian forces during the Caucasian War. A twenty-t...

Ivan Rimsky-Korsakov came from the Smolensk nobility. In 1778, as an army captain, he participated in military events in Poland. After the resignation of Semyon Zorich, Prince Grigory Potemkin recomm...

Pyotr Zavadovsky came from Chernihiv Province. He was educated by Jesuits and at the Kiev Religious Academy. Zavadovsky had a handsome face and an easy disposition. He was only the the favourite of C...