Arakcheyev, Aleksey, Count

Arakcheyev, Aleksey (Andreyevich), Count

(born Oct. 4, 1769, Novgorod province, Russia—died May 3, 1834, Gruzino, Novgorod province) Russian soldier and statesman. Appointed inspector general of artillery in 1803, he reorganized that branch of the army, then served as minister of war (1808–10). In the Russo-Swedish War of 1808–09, he personally compelled the reluctant Russian forces to cross the frozen Gulf of Finland to attack the Åland Islands, which ultimately resulted in Sweden's cession of Finland to Russia. He was Alexander I's chief military adviser in the Napoleonic Wars. After the wars, he supervised the management of Russia's domestic matters with brutal and ruthless efficiency, which caused the period (1815–25) to be known as Arakcheyevshchina, but also took part in the emancipation of serfs in the Baltic provinces and created a system of military-agricultural colonies.