In 1802 Tsitsianov was appointed the Governor General of newly annexed Eastern Georgia(Kingdom of Kartli-Kakheti), where his rule was characterized by uncompromising policies towards the locals, including the exile of the remaining members of Georgia's formerly ruling dynasty to Russia. He successfully carried out highly important projects, such as upgrading the Georgian Military Road, and by leading the Russian armies to successes in the early stages of the upcoming 1804-1813 Russo-Iranian war. Tsitsianov's name was commonly pronounced as "Sisianov" or "Zizianov" in Persian; however, his title, "the Inspector", was pronounced as "Ispokhdor" in Azeri Turkish. Most Iranians referred to him by this title. "Ispokhdor" literally translates as "his work is shit / he whose job is shit". As Prof. Stephanie Cronin states, Tsitsianov presided over a new round of brutal military aggression, that triggered the Russo-Persian War of 1804-1813. He had strong negative feelings towards Muslims in general and the "Persians" in particular, and held in contempt everything related to Iran. A prime example of tactics and attitude were shown in the conquest of Ganja in early 1804. As added by Cronin, Tsitsianov's conquest of Ganja, which reduced the city to rubble and resulted in the murder of its governor, Javad Khan, his son, and many of the city's defenders and civilian population, was no less brutal and murderous than Agha Mohammad Khan's sack of Tiflis in 1795.