Nikolay Raevsky

Nikolay Nikolayevich Raevsky (Николай Николаевич Раевский; September 25 [O.S. 14] 1771 — September 28 [O.S. 16] 1829) was a Russian general and statesman who achieved fame for his feats of arms during the Napoleonic Wars. His family left a lasting legacy in Russian society and culture.

Nikolay Raevsky was born in Saint Petersburg. He descended from the Rayevsky noble family which has claimed remote Scandinavian and Polish–Lithuanian ancestry. One of Peter the Great's great grandmothers came from the Raevsky family. Nikolay's grandfather, Semyon Raevsky, was the Prosecutor of the Holy Synod.

The family rose to prominence in Russia when Raevsky's father, Colonel Nikolay Semyonovich Raevsky, commander of the elite Izmaylovsky Regiment, married Ekaterina Samoylova. Ekaterina was a lady-in-waiting and close friend of Empress Catherine II, and a niece of the Empress’ influential favorite, Prince Potemkin. Ekaterina's brother was the general and statesman, Count Alexander Samoylov.

Nikolay Semyonovich Raevsky was killed in action during the Russo-Turkish War (1768–74) at Iaşi, dying several months before the birth of his son, General Nikolay Raevsky. Not long after the Colonel's death, the Empress arranged for Raevsky's mother to marry a wealthy landowner, Lev Davydov, who proved to be a generous stepfather.

Raevsky was enrolled in the Leib-Guard Semyonovsky Regiment at a very early age. On 30 April 1777 he was promoted to sergeant and on 1 January 1786 to ensign. On 23 February 1789 he was transferred to the Nizhegorodsky Dragoon Regiment with the rank of premier-major. With this regiment he took part in the Russo-Turkish War, 1787–1792 and distinguished himself at Bendery and Akkerman. In recognition of his valor, Raevsky was promoted on 1 September 1790 to lieutenant colonel and became the chief of a Cossack regiment.

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