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Birthday anniversary of Joseph V. Gurko, statesman and military figure of the Russian Empire
July 28, 1828 in Mogilev province, in the family of a Russian general, was born Joseph Vladimirovich Gurko (Romeiko-Gurko), Russian statesman and military leader, Field Marshal (1894), a member of the State Council of the Russian Empire (1886), Governor-General of Privislinsky area (1883-94) and commander of the Warsaw military District, the hero of the Russian-Turkish war of 1877-78.
After his graduation from the Corps of Pages in 1846, Gurko became a cornet in the Life Guards Hussar Regiment, and two years later was promoted to lieutenant. In 1849 he took part in a military campaign in Hungary. In the mid-1850s Gurko was a member of the St. Petersburg garrison, where he was promoted to captain.
During the Crimean campaign of 1853-1856 Gurko sought to take part in the hostilities, so that he replaced his captain's epaulettes with shoulder straps of a Major Guard army. He was transferred to the Chernigov Regiment led by Count I. I. Diebitsch-Zabalkansky, but did not participate in combat, since by that time Sevastopol had already been surrendered, and a peace treaty was soon signed. After the war Gurko returned to Life Guards Hussar Regiment and in February 1857 was appointed commander of the squadron.
In 1862, Gurko was enrolled in the retinue of Emperor Alexander II, and held a number of important administrative assignments, which included the implementation of the Emancipation reform in Samara, Vyatka, and Kaluga provinces. In September 1862 Gurko attended the inauguration of the monument "Thousandth anniversary of Russia" in Novgorod the Great. Over the next 15 years, Gurko had changed a series of command military positions, having risen to chief of the division. In 1876 he was promoted to lieutenant general.
His talent of a military commander and personal courage Gurko demonstrated during the Russian-Turkish war of 1877-1878. Appointed commander of the Vanguard (South) of the Russian army, which operated near the Danube, in June 1877 he quickly captured the ancient capital of Bulgaria Veliko Tyrnovo, and then capturing the strategically important Hainkioysky Pass, crossed the Balkans and occupied Kazanlak and Shipka. For his victories the commander of the Vanguard was awarded the Order of St. George, 3rd class and the rank of the Adjutant General.
In August 1877 Gurko went to St. Petersburg, held a mobilization of his 2nd Guards Cavalry Division, and returned with it to the theater of military operations at Plevna. He managed to convince the General E. I. Totleben, who led the siege of the fortress, to begin a decisive action on the Sofia road, which served the channel for reinforcements and supplies coming into Plevna. Having been given the command of all the guards, including Izmailov Regiment, in October 1877 he captured the Turkish outposts of Gorny Dubnyak and Telish on the Sofia road having completed the full encirclement of the citadel. For the Battle near Gorny Dubnyak Gurko was awarded a gold sword, sprinkled with diamonds.
In winter 1877 Gurko put forward a plan for an immediate offensive Balkans. In December, being in command of 70,000 detachment, the general made the difficult passage through the mountain range, which was considered impossible at this time of year. As a result of fierce battles, he captured the fortified line of Tashkisen and by early 1878 occupied Sofia. Following Gurko, other detachments of the Russian army also crossed the Balkans. 19 (31) December, the troops of the General defeated Turkish militia under Tashkisen and, continuing the offensive, defeated it at Filibe (Plovdiv) and took Adrianople in January 1878.
Unprecedented winter passage through the Balkans had predetermined the outcome of the war that was fought for the liberation of Bulgaria and other Balkan peoples. Gurko’s contribution to the victory earned him not only the rank of general of cavalry and the Order of St. George, 2nd class, but also a great public acclaim. After the war, in April 1879 the general was appointed assistant to commander of the Guard and the St. Petersburg Military District and the interim governor-general of St. Petersburg. A few years later he became interim governor-general of Odessa, and then for 11 years had been the Warsaw Governor-General and commander of the Warsaw Military District. Constant patrols of the district by the commander, his presence in large and small maneuvers, helped the arrangement of the military life of the forces.
In 1894, Gurko resigned for health reasons, having received a rank of Field Marshal. With accession to the throne of Nicholas II in 1896, General Gurko was awarded the Order of St. Andrew.
On the night of 15 (28) January 1901, at the age of 72, Joseph V. Gurko died at his estate in the village of Sakharov, Tver province.
The people of Bulgaria to this day honor the memory of the Russian general J. V. Gurko, in honor of whom three settlements of the country have been named: the town of Gurkov, Stara Zagora region and villages of the same name in Dobrich and Sofia regions.
Lit.: Балагур Ф. Генерал-фельдмаршал Гурко или славный переход геройских русских войск через Балканские горы. М., 1900; Гвоздев М. Г. Иосиф Владимирович Гурко. Военный и государственный деятель: дис. ... к. и. н. Саратов, 2009; Генерал-лейтенант И. В. Гурко // Герои и деятели русско-турецкой войны 1877-1878 гг. СПб., 1878. С. 73—91; Гурко (Ромейко-Гурко) Иосиф Владимирович // Военная Энциклопедия: В 8 т. Т. 2. М., 1994. С. 533—534; Епанчин Н. А. Война 1877-1878 гг. Действия Передового отряда генерал-адъютанта Гурко. СПб., 1895; Он же. Очерк действий Западного отряда генерал-адъютанта Гурко. СПб., 1891—1893; Михайлов О. Генерал «Вперед» // Герои Шипки: Сб. М., 1979. С. 172—244; Супрунов А. И. Фельдмаршал Гурко. Тверь, 2005.
Based on the Presidential Library’s materials:
Булла К. К. Заседание Государственного Совета в ротонде Мариинского дворца: [фотография]. [До 1899];
Пузыревский А. К. Переход через Балканы отряда генерал-адъютанта Гурко, зимой 1877 г. СПб., 1881;