Born in
Pskov to the family of a local landowner, Pyotr Petrovich Konovnitsyn, who later became the
Governor of Saint Petersburg. From a noble family that traced its roots back to the roots of the
House of Romanov (that is, to
Andrei Kobyla). He spent his childhood and youth in the family estate of Kyarovo,
Gdovsky Uyezd Saint Petersburg Governorate. In 1770, he was enrolled in the
Artillery and Engineering Gentry Cadet Corps. On October 8, 1774, he was enrolled as a
furir to the
Semyonovsky Life Guards Regiment. He received his education and upbringing at home. He began his active service on January 12, 1785, in the Semyonovsky Life Guards Regiment as a sub-ensign. He participated in the
Russo-Swedish War of 1788-1790. On July 3, 1791, he was sent with the rank of
Prime major to the
war with Turkey. On September 7, he was promoted to
podpolkovnik and appointed adjutant to
Grigory Potemkin to fill the vacancy of Captain 2nd rank Senyavin. He did not have time to take part in the hostilities, since
a peace was soon concluded in
Iași. In Iasi, he first met
Mikhail Kutuzov. On February 23, 1792, he was promoted to colonel and on June 1, he was appointed commander of the Stary Oskol Musketeer Regiment. He took part in the Polish campaigns
of 1792 and
of 1794. On September 28, 1797, he was promoted to major general and appointed chief of the and on March 23, 1798, as chief of the Uglich Musketeer Regiment; on November 13, 1798, he was dismissed and spent eight years in seclusion on his estate in Kyarovo. He devoted much time to his self-education, including
military science. In 1806, with the beginning of the
war between Russia and Prussia against Napoleon, he arrived in
Saint Petersburg, where in December, with the approval of Emperor Alexander I, he was elected head of the
zemstvo opolchenie of the
Saint Petersburg Governorate. He participated in the formation and direction of new troops to the theater of military operations. He was awarded the
Order of Saint Anna, 1st degree. Alexander I granted him 3,000
Dessiatins of land and wished to see him again in military service. On December 7, 1807, he re-entered active service and was appointed to the
His Imperial Majesty's Retinue. On February 1, 1808, he was appointed duty general to
Friedrich Wilhelm von Buxhoeveden, who led the
Imperial Russian Army in the
Russo-Swedish War of 1808–1809. Konovnitsyn's main tasks included providing the army with all the necessary material resources, but he did not miss the opportunity to personally participate in the fighting. For his active participation in the capture of
Svartholm fortress and
Sveaborg (March 18), Konovnitsyn was awarded the rank of lieutenant general on April 24. On August 2, in a
naval battle near the island of
Kimitoön, he assumed command in a naval battle, leading a rowing flotilla that repelled an attack by 12 Swedish gunboats. On February March 1, 1809, he was awarded the
Order of St. George. From May 6, 1809, he was appointed chief of the
29th Chernigov Infantry Regiment and head of the
3rd Infantry Division. Due to Russia's participation in the
continental blockade of
England and the limitation of its naval operations, Konovnitsyn's division guarded the shores of the
Baltic Sea. ,
Pskov Oblast At the beginning of the
French Invasion of Russia, Konovnitsyn's 3rd Infantry Division was in General
Nikolay Tuchkov corps as part of
Michael Andreas Barclay de Tolly's
First Western Army. On July 14, at
Ostrovno, the division entered into its first
battle with the French. Having replaced General
Alexander Ivanovich Ostermann-Tolstoy's corps, it held back the enemy's onslaught all day, ensuring the retreat of the army's main forces, first against
Murat and
Beauharnais, and then against Napoleon. On the same month his forces fought the
Battle of Vitebsk. On August 16, he
defended the Malakhov Gate of Smolensk, remaining wounded in the ranks, and on August 17, he fought at Lubin. On August 19, he distinguished himself in the
Battle of Valutino. From August 29, he commanded the rearguard of the combined armies; under his command were troops numbering up to 30 thousand soldier. He participated in daily skirmishes with Murat's cavalry corps. On August 31, he endured a
13-hour battle with three enemy corps near
Gzhatsk, and on September 4, he repelled attacks by
Louis-Nicolas Davout and Joachim Murat for 10 hours near the village of
Gridnevo. On September 9, Commander-in-Chief Kutuzov appointed Konovnitsyn commander of the
3rd Corps (in place of the mortally wounded Nikolay Tuchkov). At the
Council at Fili, Konovnitsyn voted for a new battle near Moscow. He, like most other generals, objected the Kutuzov's decision to abandon Moscow. On September 16, Kutuzov appointed Konovnitsyn as the duty general of the
Russian Army headquarters. From that time on, Konovnitsyn became the first reporter to the commander-in-chief; all of Kutuzov's combat correspondence with the military leaders subordinate to him passed through him. Papers signed by Konovnitsyn were sent to
Grand Duke Konstantin Pavlovich of Russia and
Aleksey Arakcheyev. In the camp near
Tarutino, he was engaged in the reception and distribution of reinforcements, their training and preparation. He then participated in the
Battle of Tarutino. Near
Maloyaroslavets, Kutuzov was forced to send Konovnitsyn with the
3rd Infantry Division to
drive the French out of the city. As the duty general, Konovnitsyn was with Kutuzov during the entire pursuit of Napoleon's army until the Russian troops occupied
Vilnius. As a token of gratitude to his favourite, Commander-in-Chief Kutuzov presented Konovnitsyn with the
Order of St. George, 2nd class, which belonged to him (later, in 1814, in Paris, this token was "temporarily confiscated" from Konovnitsyn for urgent presentation to the new knight of the order, British Field Marshal
Arthur Wellesley; it is currently kept in the Wellington Museum in London; in exchange, Konovnitsyn was sent a new token of the order from the Chapter of Orders). In January 1813, Konovnitsyn was appointed commander of the
Grenadier Corps, which was considered second in the hierarchy of the Russian army after
Guards units. The first battle in which the corps took part was the
Battle of Lützen. This battle was the last one for Konovnitsyn, when he led troops directly on the battlefield. Being wounded on April 20, he was visited by Alexander I who was present on the battlefield, at his apartment in
Lebestedt. Returning to the army in September, he was assigned to be with Alexander I, carrying out his instructions. For his participation in the
Battle of Leipzig, he received the
Order of Saint Vladimir, 1st degree. On December 24, 1815, Konovnitsyn was appointed
Minister of War and was included in the
State Council, the
Committee of Ministers, and the
Governing Senate. On December 24, 1817, he was promoted to full general, receiving the rank of
General of Infantry. On May 18, 1819, Konovnitsyn had asked Alexander I for leave to
Mineralnye Vody for treatment. The enormous strain of his strength during the war, his wounds, especially the one received at the
Battle of Lützen, had taken their toll. The Emperor informed in a personal letter that he was granting the request. On November December 7, 1819, he was appointed by the Emperor the Chief Director of the Corps of Pages, First and Second Cadet, Noble Regiment, Imperial Military Orphanage, Smolensk Cadet Corps and Noble Squadron under the command of His Imperial Highness the Tsarevich, a member of the Council on Military Schools and a committee under the jurisdiction of this council. On September 9, 1822, Konovnitsyn died at his
dacha near
Petergof. The funeral service in the Cadet Corps Church was attended by the highest government officials.
Grand Duke Nikolai Pavlovich, his former ward, took part in the removal of the coffin, which was then sent to the Konovnitsyn family estate, the estate, where Konovnitsyn was buried. Konovnitsyn was in service for more than a quarter of a century. His diary, covering the events of 1813–1815, was published in fragments. He provided great assistance to his former adjutant in writing and publishing the first history of the
Patriotic War of 1812 - "The Description of the War of 1812". He was depicted in the book
War and Peace by
Lev Tolstoy and in the film
Kutuzov, played by Konstantin Shilovtsev. ==External links==