Nikolai Sukhozanet
Encyclopedia
Imperial Russian Army
The Imperial Russian Army was the land armed force of the Russian Empire, active from around 1721 to the Russian Revolution of 1917. In the early 1850s, the Russian army consisted of around 938,731 regular soldiers and 245,850 irregulars . Until the time of military reform of Dmitry Milyutin in...
general and statesman.
Nikolai Sukhozanet was born in a noble family of Vitebsk
Vitebsk
Vitebsk, also known as Viciebsk or Vitsyebsk , is a city in Belarus, near the border with Russia. The capital of the Vitebsk Oblast, in 2004 it had 342,381 inhabitants, making it the country's fourth largest city...
guberniya
Guberniya
A guberniya was a major administrative subdivision of the Russian Empire usually translated as government, governorate, or province. Such administrative division was preserved for sometime upon the collapse of the empire in 1917. A guberniya was ruled by a governor , a word borrowed from Latin ,...
. During the Napoleon's invasion of Russia he bravely fought in numerous battles and finished the campaign in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
in the rank of lieutenant
Lieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
of artillery. His awards included Order of St. Vladimir
Order of St. Vladimir
The Cross of Saint Vladimir was an Imperial Russian Order established in 1782 by Empress Catherine II in memory of the deeds of Saint Vladimir, the Grand Prince and the Baptizer of the Kievan Rus....
of 4th degree and Order of St. Anna
Order of St. Anna
The Order of St. Anna ) is a Holstein and then Russian Imperial order of chivalry established by Karl Friedrich, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp on 14 February 1735, in honour of his wife Anna Petrovna, daughter of Peter the Great of Russia...
of 2nd degree.
After the war he occupied different positions in the 1st Army and in 1824 was promoted to Major General
Major General
Major general or major-general is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. A major general is a high-ranking officer, normally subordinate to the rank of lieutenant general and senior to the ranks of brigadier and brigadier general...
. When the November Uprising
November Uprising
The November Uprising , Polish–Russian War 1830–31 also known as the Cadet Revolution, was an armed rebellion in the heartland of partitioned Poland against the Russian Empire. The uprising began on 29 November 1830 in Warsaw when the young Polish officers from the local Army of the Congress...
began he led the Staff of artillery in the acting army. He distinguished himself in the Battle of Ostrołęka and received the Order of St. George
Order of St. George
The Military Order of the Holy Great-Martyr and the Triumphant George The Military Order of the Holy Great-Martyr and the Triumphant George The Military Order of the Holy Great-Martyr and the Triumphant George (also known as Order of St. George the Triumphant, Russian: Военный орден Св...
of 3rd degree. From 1836 to 1849 he commanded the 4th artillery division. From 1849 until the Battle of Chernaya River
Battle of Chernaya River
The Battle of the Chernaya was a battle by the Chernaya River fought during the Crimean War on August 16, 1855. The battle was fought between Russian troops and a coalition of French, Sardinian and Ottoman troops. The Chernaya River is on the outskirts of Sevastopol...
of Crimean War
Crimean War
The Crimean War was a conflict fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the French Empire, the British Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Sardinia. The war was part of a long-running contest between the major European powers for influence over territories of the declining...
he commanded the artillery of the acting army, after that Sukhozanet got the 3rd Corps and the Southern Army the next year.
On 17 April 1856 he became the Minister of Land Forces
Heads of military of Imperial Russia
-College of War:The Russian College of War was created in the course of Government reform of Peter I 11 December 1717.-Presidents:* Prince Alexander Menshikov 1717–24* Prince Anikita Repnin 1724–26* Prince Mikhail Golitsin 1728–30...
. Emperor Alexander II
Alexander II of Russia
Alexander II , also known as Alexander the Liberator was the Emperor of the Russian Empire from 3 March 1855 until his assassination in 1881...
has put him two main tasks: the reduction of army's expenses and the deep reform of the army. The first task was solved but the second was completely abandoned by Sukhozanet.
During his minister's term he two times acted as a Namestnik of Kingdom of Poland – first time during the illness of Prince Mikhail Gorchakov
Mikhail Dmitrievich Gorchakov
Prince Mikhail Dmitrievich Gorchakov was a Russian General of the Artillery from the Gorchakov family, who commanded the Russian forces in the latter stages of the Crimean War and later served as a Namestnik of Kingdom of Poland from 1856 until his death....
and second after resign of Karl Lambert
Karl Lambert
Karl Karlovich count Lambert – Russian General of Cavalry, Namestnik of the Kingdom of Poland from August to October 1861.From 1840 to 1844 he fought against Chechen highlanders during Caucasian War...
. Because of bad health he left on 6 October 1861 the army and on 9 November resigns his post of minister.