Background
Aleksandr Baryatinsky was born on May 14, 1815 near Kursk, Russian Empire (now Russia).
Aleksandr Baryatinsky was born on May 14, 1815 near Kursk, Russian Empire (now Russia).
Alexander was privately educated and entered the school of the ensigns of the Guard in his seventeenth year.
On the 8th of November 1833, Baryatinsky received his commission of cornet in the Life Guards of the cesarevich Alexander. In 1835 he served with great gallantry in the Caucasus. On the first of January 1836 he was attached to the suite of Alexander, and in 1845 was again ordered off to the Caucasus and again most brilliantly distinguished himself, especially in the attack on Shamyl's stronghold. In 1846 he assisted Field Marshal Ivan Paskevich to suppress the Kraków Uprising. From 1848 to 1856 he took a leading part in all the chief military events in the Caucasus, his most notable exploits being his victory at Mezeninsk in 1850 and his operations against Shamil in Chechnya. In 1854, he took part in the brilliant Kurbsk Dere campaign. On 1 January 1856, he became commander-in-chief of the Caucasian army, and, subsequently, governor of the Caucasus.