Pyotr Volkonsky was born in
St. Petersburg in 1776. Volkonsky participated in the plot to remove
Paul I from the throne and became one of the closest advisors to
Alexander I. On the day of his baptism, he was enlisted as a
sergeant in the
Preobrazhensky Life Guards Regiment, from which he was transferred as a
non-commissioned officer to the Life Guards Cavalry Regiment. He entered military service as a
warrant officer in the Life Guards Cavalry Regiment (March 10, 1783). Transferred to the
Semenovsky Regiment (January 13, 1784). Appointed
ensign (January 1, 1793),
junior lieutenant (January 1, 1794),
lieutenant (November 11, 1796), and staff captain (April 22, 1796). Adjutant to Grand Duke Alexander I (November 7, 1797). Soon after Alexander I ascended the throne, he was made assistant chief of the Military Field Office of His Imperial Majesty, which at that time centralized all military management in the state.
Captain (1799),
colonel (May 27, 1800). Awarded the rank of
major general with appointment as general-adjutant (September 15, 1801). In the
Third Coalition, he served as duty general and general quartermaster first in the army of
F. W. Buxhoeveden (September 1805), and then in
Mikhail Kutuzov's army (October 1805). He distinguished himself in the
Battle of Austerlitz when he seized the standard of the
Fanagoria Regiment, striking at the enemy that was attacking
Kamensky's brigade, thereby throwing the opponent into confusion; during the counterattack, two cannons were recaptured. For this battle, he was awarded the
Order of Saint George, 3rd class. After the
Treaty of Tilsit, he was sent to France to study the organization of the
French army and its
general staff. Upon his return, he was appointed manager of the Suite of His Imperial Majesty for quartermaster affairs (1810), and from that time on, P. M. Volkonsky became one of the leading figures in the
Russian army. Prince Pyotr Volkonsky is considered the founder of the
Russian General Staff: in 1810, he conducted a thorough analysis of all recent wars involving Russia and contemporary European wars, concluding that a unified structure for military planning and management (which had been dismantled by
Paul I in 1796) needed to be restored. At that time, this body became the Office of the Manager of the Suite of
His Imperial Majesty (significantly expanded and transformed into the Main Staff in 1815). Under his leadership, the responsibilities of the
quartermaster officials in peacetime and wartime were urgently developed; regulations governing the service of quartermaster officers were drafted and approved; the officer staffing system of the Suite was organized; Suite officials were assigned to all
armies,
corps, and
divisions; and, in collaboration with the
Minister of War Barclay de Tolly, he developed the "Regulations for the Management of the Large Active Army." In those years, the
Russian army also owes the establishment of a column leader school, which became the basis for staffing the general staff, and the creation of a military-topographic map depot. In 1811, he sought the emperor's permission to create a library for the
General Staff and, as a start, donated 500 books on
military science and
history from his personal library; in response,
Alexander I allocated a substantial sum for its further development (now the General Staff Library). During the
French invasion of Russia, he served directly under the
emperor and rendered important services several times. At his suggestion, Emperor
Alexander I agreed to the retreat of Russian troops from the fortified camp near
Drissa, which was poorly situated. During the foreign campaign of 1813–1814, he served with the emperor as chief of the main staff. For his distinction in the
battle of Lützen, he was promoted to
lieutenant general (April 20, 1813). After the war, he traveled with the emperor to
Vienna for the
congress (August 1814), and when the congress sessions were interrupted by the news of
Napoleon's escape from the island of
Elba, he was entrusted with all orders concerning the movement of the
Russian army from the Vistula to the Rhine. Upon his return to
St. Petersburg, he was appointed chief of the Main Staff (1815) and director of the Military-Topographic Depot (1816–1823). He was promoted to
general of infantry (December 12, 1817). Together with Count (later
Prince of the Most Serene and
Field Marshal)
M. S. Vorontsov, he was awarded the
Grand Cross of the English Order of the Bath (1819). He became a member of the State Council (June 5, 1821). He was a close friend and patron of his brother-in-law S. G. Volkonsky. He was evidently aware of some plans of the members of the Southern Society. He supported the budget for the 2nd army prepared by
A. P. Yushnevsky, which significantly exceeded its actual needs (early 1823). Due to a conflict with
A. A. Arakcheev regarding this budget, he was dismissed from his position as
chief of the Main Staff (April 25, 1823) and went on an overseas leave. He was a
knight of the Order of St. Andrew the First-Called (December 12, 1823). He returned to St. Petersburg (1824) and served with
Alexander I He was an Ambassador to the
Coronation in Reims of
Charles X of France in 1825. Afterwards, he was
Minister of Imperial Court and Properties between 1826 and 1852. ==Legacy==