Alexander Chernyshyov Alexander Ivanovich Chernyshyov ( , 1786 , Moscow - 1857 , Castellammare di Stabia ) , General of Cavalry ( 1827 ) , was a Russian military leader , diplomat and statesman , whose career began in Napoleonic Wars . After Battle of Austerlitz , he performed successful diplomatic mission to France and Sweden and served with distinction in battles of 1812 and 1813 . Chernyshyov rose through the ranks to the role of Russian Minister of War ( 1827 – 1852 ) , chairman of State Council and Cabinet of Ministers ( 1848 – 1856 ) , and acquired the styles from Count ( 1826 ) to Serene prince ( 1849 ) . Biography . Austerlitz and Friedland . Alexander Chernyshyov was a son of Lieutenant General and senator , Ivan Chernyshyov . As soon as Alexander was born , influential father " enlisted " him to the elite Mounted Guards Regiment ( Конногвардейский полк ) of Russian Imperial Guard . He joined the real service in Chevalier Guards in 1802 , already favorably known to Tsar Alexander I . A lieutenant of the Guards ( гвардии поручик ) since September 1804 , he served with distinction in Battle of Wischau and Battle of Austerlitz , earning combat Order of St . Vladimir for the latter . During the War of the Fourth Coalition , Chernyshev again excelled at Battle of Heilsberg and Battle of Friedland , and was awarded Order of St . George , fourth class , and an honorary Golden Sword for Bravery . However , the coalition lost the battle and the war , and Tsar Alexander settled on diplomacy instead of fighting . Diplomatic career . In 1808 , tsar Alexander sent Chernyshyov as his private messenger to Napoleon , who at that time started the Peninsular War in Spain . Chernyshyov reached him in Bayonne , taking notes of French military development on his journey . He managed to establish a personalized link between two emperors and earned Napoleon ' s trust . Next year , tsar Alexander assigned Chernyshyov to be his permanent private envoy to Napoleon ( parallel to regular Ambassador of Russia ) . Chernyshyov , a member of Napoleon ' s retinue , accompanied French headquarters throughout the War of the Fifth Coalition , and received the Légion d ' honneur for the Battle of Wagram . In October 1809 , he was promoted to the rank of Rittmeister of the Guards , next year - to Colonel . As the military attaché of Russia in Paris ( 1810 - end of 1811 ) , Chernyshyov was in charge of intelligence operations . His best known success was hiring a clerk of French General Staff , who regularly supplied the Russians with complete copies of French troop disposition . As a result , the Russians were well aware of concentration of French troops . Another successful operation was his mediation of talks between Swedish envoys led by Karl Otto Mörner and Jean - Baptiste Bernadotte , who was elected Crown Prince of Sweden in August , 1810 and eventually ascended to the Swedish throne in 1818 as Charles XIV John of Sweden . Mutual understanding between Chernyshyov and Bernadotte became an asset in January 1812 , during their negotiations about Sweden ' s stance in the anticipated French invasion of Russia . However , Russian diplomacy failed in recruiting Bernadotte into military coalition , and the talks culminated in the Treaty of Åbo ( August 30 , 1812 ) , which upheld Sweden ' s friendly neutrality . Campaign of 1812 . In the end of September 1812 , Admiral Pavel Chichagov assigned Chernyshyov to lead a mobile detachment into the Duchy of Warsaw ( south - eastern Poland ) , to destroy enemy food dumps and disrupt French supply lines . Chernyshyov ' s force included 7 squadrons of regular cavalry , three Cossacks regiments and a regiment of Kalmyks , a total of 1800 soldiers . October 11 , they intercepted their first target south from Brest - Litovsk . Austrian commander Count Schwarzenberg , launched the hunt for Chernyshyov ' s corps . Chernyshyov responded with separating his force : while smaller detachments set up a screen diverting Austrians , the main force was plundering French and Austrian supplies and taking prisoners north . In the end , Austrians intercepted some of their property back , but Chernyshyov managed to evade the trap and returned to Russian base in Włodawa October 18 . In November , Chichagov , based in Slonim , discovered imminent danger from an Austrian pursuit corps , and dispatched Chernyshyov to rear guard . November 8 , Chernyshyov established contact with advancing Austrians near Volkovyssk . Cossack units destroyed existing bridges over Neman River and the Austrian supply of timber . Next day , Chichagov ordered Chernyshyov to march through the enemy territory and make contact with Russian corps of general Peter Wittgenstein . For five days , his regiment marched at night and made daytime ambushes against French communications ; in one of these ambushes , Chernyshyov ' s cossacks released general Ferdinand Wintzingerode and three Russian officers held prisoners by the French . This raid promoted Chernyshyov to Major General . December 31 , 1812 , Chernyshyov defeated Eugène de Beauharnais at Marienwerder , earning his second Order of St . George . Campaigns of 1813 - 1815 . Chernyshyov , based in Poland , met with resistance from Napoleon ' s " Lithuanian troops " ; these were defeated in January – February 1813 . He advanced on Berlin and was the first to capture the city , earning Order of St . Anna , first class . In 1813 , he was engaged in action at Lüneburg , Kassel and Battle of Hanau . This was followed by a cavalry raid in Westfalen . In 1814 , he was distinguished for assault on Soissons ; in 1815 - for taking Chalon ; in between the two campaigns , he was tsar Alexander ' s aide at the Congress of Vienna . Chernyshyov became Lieutenant General in March , 1814 , at the age of 27 . Political career . His peacetime career in the reign of Alexander slowed down ; since 1819 Chernyshyov was assigned to the Don Cossack Troops Commission and headed this institution in 1821 - 1835 . In 1821 , he became the commander of Light Division of Imperial Guards , and established close contact with Nicholas , the future tsar of Russia . Accession of Nicholas to the throne and the aftermath of Decembrist revolt accelerated Chernyshyov ' s career , who joined the close circle of tsar ' s most trusted officers . Nicholas appointed Chernyshyov to the commission investigating the revolt , and rewarded this service with titles of Count ( 1826 ) , General of Cavalry ( 1827 ) , a seat in State Council , and the appointment as acting Minister of War . " Acting " status was replaced with proper Minister of War appointment in 1832 , which he held until 1852 . Nicholas relied on Chernyshyov ' s personal experience in 1812 guerilla warfare in his handling of Caucasian War . In 1848 , Chernyshyov consolidated the roles of Chairman of State Council ( senate of Russia ) and Cabinet of ministers , being the highest - ranking statesman of Russian until 1856 . Ageing Chernyshyov was sent to honorary retirement upon ascension of Alexander II of Russia , which coincided with the final stage of the disastrous Crimean War . Chernyshyov , the chief of land forces throughout most of Nicholas I period , bears full responsibility for the performance of Russian military in Crimea .