Valerian Madatov Prince Valerian Grigoryevich Madatov ( , , Rostom Madatyan ) ( 1782 – September 4 , 1829 ) was a Russian prince and a lieutenant - general of the Russian Empire . Early life . Madatov was born Rostom Madatyan in 1782 in Avetaranots , a village of the historical Varanda county of Nagorno - Karabakh , in a minor Armenian noble family as a melik ( prince ) . At the age of 15 he left Karabakh for St . Petersburg with senior nobleman to seek support from Catherine the Great in their efforts to abolish Muslim control of the region . Military career . In St . Petersburg , young Madatov joined the Leib Guard Preobrazhensky Regiment at the rank of " praporshik " , and for the next 10 years spent his time training and serving in lower officer ranks . Madatov saw action for the first time in 1808 on the Danube during the storming of the Brailov fortress , where he received his first order of commendation . In 1810 Madatov joined the Aleksandriya Hussar Regiment as a captain and later as a major . Madatov ' s first major combat experience was during the Russo - Turkish War , 1806 - 1812 . For his actions against the Turks he was given on April 11 , 1811 the Order of St . George of 4th degree . During Napoleon ' s invasion of Russia , he commanded a detachment , and successfully served in Kobryn and Barysaŭ , as well as during the capture of Vilnius . In 1812 Madatov received the rank of colonel . The next year he was injured in Leipzig . Still not fully recovered from his wound , Madatov was there to march his men across Paris . He would remain in France as one of the commanders of the occupational forces and as the Commander of the Hussar Brigade . Field Marshal Hans Karl von Diebitsch referred to Madatov as " the Russian Murat . He was called back in 1815 to serve in the Caucasus , due to his familiarity with the region and the fact that he knew most of the major languages spoken in the area . He managed to consolidate Russian power by brokering peace with the local regional rulers . In 1816 Madatov was appointed as the commander - in - chief of the Russian forces of the Karabakh khanate , in the following year - he was in command of the forces in several other former khanates . In 1818 Aleksey Petrovich Yermolov subjugated the Chechens with Madatov ' s aid . In 1826 Persia attacked Karabakh , starting the Russo - Persian War , 1826 - 1828 . Madatov hurried to Tiflis to take command of the forces which would push the Persians out of Southern Caucasus . The 2 , 000 men under Madatov ' s command routed the 10 , 000 men Persian army on the banks of the Shamkhor river and retook Ganja on September 5 . Upon hearing the news , crown prince of Persia Abbas Mirza lifted the siege of Shusha and marched towards Ganja . Additional Russian reinforcements under Ivan Paskevich arrived just in time to join their forces with Madatov and to form a 8 , 000 - strong corps under Paskevich ' s command . Near Ganja they fell upon the Persians and forced them to retreat across the Araks river back to Persia . On 28 September of the same year Madatov was made Lieutenant General . He concluded his career fighting the Turks once again on the Danube during the Russo - Turkish War , 1828 - 1829 . On September 4 , 1829 , two days after the signing of a peace treaty that ended the war , Madatov died from a pulmonary disease , which was sharply aggravated as a result of the burdens of marching during the war . His remains are interred at the Alexander Nevsky Lavra in Saint Petersburg .