Sergei Kamensky Sergei Mikhailovich Kamensky ( ) ( November 5 , 1771 – December 8 , 1834 ) was a Russia n infantry general who served in the Napoleonic wars . Early life . Sergei Kamensky was the son of Field Marshal Mikhail Kamensky and brother of General Nikolai Kamensky ( in military histories he is known as Kamensky - 1 and his younger brother as Kamensky - 2 ) . Like many sons of nobles , he was enlisted as an infant in a regiment and received his education in a cadet school . Military career . In 1789 , he became a lieutenant colonel in the Ekaterinoslav Grenadier Regiment and participated in the Russo - Turkish War ; in 1792 - 1794 , he served in the Russo - Polish War and was wounded in the stomach at Praga , across the river from Warsaw . In 1797 he was promoted to colonel and in 1798 to major general , but he was disgraced by Paul I and discharged from the army in 1798 . He returned to service after Paul ' s death in 1801 and was appointed commander of the Fanagoria Grenadier Regiment on August 31 of that year . He participated in the War of the Third Coalition and fought in Langeron ’ s column at Austerlitz , where he was awarded the Order of St . Anna , 1st Class ; a historian of the battle says " Kamensky - 1 ' s brigade over - achieved in a very difficult situation . . . [ He ] stands out for his rare example of initiative and effective intervention at a critical point in the battle . " On June 27 , 1806 , he was promoted to lieutenant general and given command of the 12th Division . He joined the Army of Moldavia and participated in another Russo - Turkish War , in which he took part in actions at Brăila , Constanţa , Babadag , and Varna . In 1810 , he served under his younger brother , General Nikolai Kamensky , and distinguished himself in the battle at Pazardzhik , for which he was promoted to general of infantry . He defeated the Turkish army at Shumla on August 4 and was awarded the Order of St . George ( 2nd Class ) . He commanded the Russian left wing in the battle of Batin in northern Bulgaria on September 7 , 1810 . In 1812 , Kamensky commanded a corps in the army of General Alexander Tormasov and took part in the battles of Kobryn and Gorodechna . However , he had a falling - out with Tormasov and took a prolonged furlough late in the year . He was discharged from the army in 1822 and spent the rest of his life at Orel . Personal life . Kamensky was both famous and notorious as the owner of a serf theater that had been created by his father ; he brought it to Orel , where he was cruel to his serfs but generous to the poor and " lived in unspeakable squalor . " This short , fat , bald dandy , the owner of seven thousand souls , created an elaborate complex on Cathedral Square with residence , church , theater , and actors ' dorms — housing altogether about four hundred people . Sparing no expense , Kamensky engaged a German ballet master ; bought an acting couple and their six - year - old tap - dancing daughter for 250 souls ; maintained a well - trained serf orchestra and horn band . . . In a regiment - like operation , actors took their meals standing up and were marched back and forth to the music of drum and horn . A jail cell was on hand for infractions . Kamensky closely monitored actresses and had them flogged for leaving their quarters at night , corresponding with officers , or even looking at spectators . He dictated stage gestures as if from a lexicon , had actors memorize lines without a prompter , and beat them between the acts when they fumbled . Though the theater was popular and influential , its expense eventually ruined Kamensky , whose cruelty to his serf actress Kuzmina inspired Alexander Herzen ' s story " The Thieving Magpie . "