Matvei Platov

Count Matvei Ivanovich Platov (8 (19) August 1753 – 3 (15) January 1818) was a Russian general who commanded the Don Cossacks in the Napoleonic wars and founded Novocherkassk as the new capital of the Don Host Province.

Platov was born in Pribilyanskoe and began his service in the Don Cossacks in 1766 becoming an yesaul in 1769. He distinguished himself in the 1771 Crimean campaign and was promoted to the command of a Cossack regiment in 1772. Between 1774 and 1784 he fought against the Crimean Tatars, in 1774 and again in 1782 serving under Alexander Suvorov in the Kuban Valley, Chechnya and Dagestan. In 1790 he was awarded the Order of St George (4th Class) for his participation in the capture of Ochakov, and after actions in Akkerman, Bender, and Kaushani for which he was promoted to brigadier general, he was awarded the Order of St George (3rd Class) for the storming of Izmail. For his bravery during the assault he was promoted to ataman of the Ekaterinoslav and Chuguev Cossacks, and on 12 January 1793 he was promoted to major-general. During 1796 he was awarded the Order of St. Vladimir (3rd class) and a golden sword for courage in the Persian Campaign.

Disgraced by the Emperor Paul I of Russia as a result of rumours spread by the emperor's courtiers, he was exiled to Kostroma, but later confined to the Peter and Paul Fortress. However, after verifying his innocence, the Emperor awarded him the Commander's Cross of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem. Unfortunately, this also led to his appointment to the ill-fated and ill-conceived Russian expedition to India in 1800. Although the expedition only reached Orenburg, Platov was promoted to Lieutenant-General and pokhidnii ataman (campaign leader) of the Don Cossacks with a transfer to their HQ at Novocherkask.

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