PETR KOLCHIN (1838 – CIRCA 1890S) Portrait of General-Adjutant Prince Aleksandr

Mikhailovich Dondukov-Korsakov signed in Cyrillic ‘P. Kolchin’ (lower right) oil on canvas 67.8 x 98.9 cm Paintedcirca 1888 LITERATURE: S. Podstanitsky, Russian Portraits of the 18th – Early 20th Centuries. Materials on Iconography. Vol. III, Moscou, Éditions Avatar, 2014, p. 27 General-Adjutant Prince Aleksandr Mikhailovich Dondukov-Korsakov is depicted wearing a shortened military jacket (tuzhurka) of the 1888 pattern, with the shoulder boards of a General-Adjutant, an appointment he received in 1869 under Emperor Alexander II. The badge of the Order of St. George, 4th Class, is visible on his chest. In the background, two portraits depict the prince’s late wife, Nadezhda Andreevna (née Kologrivova, 1821–1887), with whom he shared more than three decades of his life. The walls are adorned with numerous portraits of members of the princely House of Dondukov-Korsakov. Deeply interested in his family’s genealogy, the prince published a genealogical study of the Dondukov-Korsakov family in Tiflis in 1886. Prince Aleksandr Mikhailovich Dondukov-Korsakov (1820– 1893) was a prominent Russian military commander and statesman who attained the rank of General of the Cavalry and was appointed General-Adjutant in 1869. He took part in several military campaigns, including the Caucasian and Crimean Wars. He was awarded the Order of St. George, 4th Class, for his distinction at the Battle of Kuryuk-Dara on 24 July 1854, during which he was wounded by a bullet in the left forearm. During the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–1878, he commanded the Eastern Detachment of Russian troops from February to April 1878. In April of that year, he was appointed Russian Imperial Commissioner in Bulgaria, where he subsequently commanded the Russian occupation forces from February to August 1879 and played a significant role in organising the country’s new administration. From 1882 to 1890, he served as the senior authority in charge of civil administration in the Caucasus and as Commander of the Caucasus Military District. On 20 January 1885, he was appointed Military Ataman of the Caucasian Cossack Hosts. He had been a member of the State Council since 30 August 1879. On 5 June 1890, at his own request, he was relieved of his military and administrative duties while retaining his membership of the State Council.