Pyotr Kotlyarevsky

Pyotr Stepanovich Kotlyarevsky (23 June 1782 – 2 November 1852) was a Russian military hero of the early 19th century.

Biography
He was born in the village of Olkhovatka near Kharkiv into a cleric's family. Kotlyarevsky was brought up in an infantry regiment quartered near Mozdok. He was promoted to officer for his exploits during Count Zubov's Persian Campaign in 1796.

His leadership and boldness made him a national celebrity during the Russo-Turkish War (1806–12) and the Russo-Persian War (1804–13). In 1810 he took hold of Meghri Citadel, withstood a siege by the Persian army, and then routed them on the Araks River. In 1812, he defeated Abbas Mirza in the Battle of Aslanduz and stormed Lankaran with as little as 2,500 soldiers. Thereupon the Persians sued for peace, and Kotlyarevsky was promoted General of Infantry (a rank equal to that of Full General in other armies). Suffering from wounds, he had to retire from active service and spent the rest of his life in the Black Sea port of Feodosiya, where he eventually died aged 70.

A local artist, Ivan Aivazovsky, devised Kotlyarevsky's mausoleum, while Prince Vorontsov ordered his statue to be erected in Ganja.