Alexander Dmitriyevich Balashov (13 July 1770 – 8 May 1837) was a Russia

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

n general and statesman.

Balashov came from a noble family. When the boy turned 6 years, his father, a Privy Counsellor and Senator, had him enrolled in the Preobrazhensky Regiment

Preobrazhensky regiment

The Preobrazhensky Regiment was one of the oldest and elite regiments of the Russian army. Along with the Semenovsky regiment also served as a gendarmie unit for the state Secret Chancellery in the 18th century, headed by the Prince Fyodor Romodanovsky.It was formed by Peter the Great in the late...

 though it was not until November 1781 that he entered the Page Corps

Page Corps

Page Corps was a military academy in Imperial Russia, which prepared sons of the nobility and of senior officers for military service....

, matriculating in 1787 with the rank of camer-page

Page of Honour

While a page is a comparatively low-ranking servant, a Page of Honour is a ceremonial position in the Royal Household of the Sovereign of the United Kingdom. It requires attendance on state occasions, but does not now involve the daily duties which were once attached to the office of page...

. On 9 January 1791 he joined the Izmaylovsky Regiment

Izmaylovsky Regiment

Izmaylovsky Regiment was one of the oldest regiments of the Russian army, a subdivision of the 1st Guards Infantry Division of the Imperial Russian Guard. It was formed in Moscow on 22 September 1730. The first colonel of the regiment was appointed Adjutant general Count Karl Gustav von Löwenwolde...

 as lieutenant. From 1795 he was a lieutenant colonel

Lieutenant colonel

Lieutenant colonel is a rank of commissioned officer in the armies and most marine forces and some air forces of the world, typically ranking above a major and below a colonel. The rank of lieutenant colonel is often shortened to simply "colonel" in conversation and in unofficial correspondence...

 in the regular army

Regular army

A regular army consists of the permanent force of a country's army that is maintained under arms during peacetime.Countries that use the term include:*Australian Army*British Army*Canadian Forces, specifically "Regular Force"*Egyptian army*Indian Army...

. He was promoted Colonel

Colonel

Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...

 in April 1798 and Major General

Major General

Major general or major-general is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. A major general is a high-ranking officer, normally subordinate to the rank of lieutenant general and senior to the ranks of brigadier and brigadier general...

 in 1799.

On 21 January 1800 Balashov was dismissed from the military service, but in November of the same year he was appointed governor general and chief of garrisons regiment in Tallinn

Tallinn

Tallinn is the capital and largest city of Estonia. It occupies an area of with a population of 414,940. It is situated on the northern coast of the country, on the banks of the Gulf of Finland, south of Helsinki, east of Stockholm and west of Saint Petersburg. Tallinn's Old Town is in the list...

. On 23 September 1804 he resigned for family reasons, but within three months he was appointed the chief of police

Chief of police

A Chief of Police is the title typically given to the top official in the chain of command of a police department, particularly in North America. Alternate titles for this position include Commissioner, Superintendent, and Chief constable...

 in Moscow

Moscow

Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...

. In November 1807 he become the general-krigs-komissar, on 29 March 1808 he replaced Fyodor Ertell in the office of chief of police in Saint Petersburg

Saint Petersburg

Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...

 and thereupon his career soared.

In February 1809 Alexander I

Alexander I of Russia

Alexander I of Russia , served as Emperor of Russia from 23 March 1801 to 1 December 1825 and the first Russian King of Poland from 1815 to 1825. He was also the first Russian Grand Duke of Finland and Lithuania....

 conferred on Balashov the rank of Adjutant general

Adjutant general

An Adjutant General is a military chief administrative officer.-Imperial Russia:In Imperial Russia, the General-Adjutant was a Court officer, who was usually an army general. He served as a personal aide to the Tsar and hence was a member of the H. I. M. Retinue...

 and appointed him the War Governor of Saint Petersburg. In March 1809 he was promoted to lieutenant-general. From 1 January 1810 he was a member of the newly established State Council

State Council of Imperial Russia

The State Council was the supreme state advisory body to the Tsar in Imperial Russia.-18th century:Early Tsars' Councils were small and dealt primarily with the external politics....

. In June the same year he became the Minister of Police

Ministry of Police of Imperial Russia

Ministry of Police of Imperial Russia was created in the course of Government reform of Alexander I in 1810 and existed till 1819.-Ministry objectives and credentials:* Carrying out recruitment in the Army;* Protection of the state stocks of the foodstuffs;...

.

In 1812, during Napoleon's Invasion of Russia, Balashov was present in the front-line army stationed in Vilnius

Vilnius

Vilnius is the capital of Lithuania, and its largest city, with a population of 560,190 as of 2010. It is the seat of the Vilnius city municipality and of the Vilnius district municipality. It is also the capital of Vilnius County...

. After La Grande Armée

La Grande Armée

The Grande Armée first entered the annals of history when, in 1805, Napoleon I renamed the army that he had assembled on the French coast of the English Channel for the proposed invasion of Britain...

 crossed the frontier on June 12, Balashov was dispatched to deliver the Emperor's letter to Napoleon. He participated in the organization of the People's Militia (Народное ополчение

Narodnoe Opolcheniye

Narodnoe Opolcheniye or Opolchenie was the name of irregular troops formed from the population in Russia and Soviet Union to fight alongside the regular army during several wars throughout its history....

) and was a member of the extraordinary committee choosing the commander-in-chief of the Russian army.

After the Patriotic War of 1812 Balashov was involved in important diplomatic missions. Between 1819 and 1828, he served as the war governor general of Orel

Oryol

Oryol or Orel is a city and the administrative center of Oryol Oblast, Russia, located on the Oka River, approximately south-southwest of Moscow...

, Tula

Tula, Russia

Tula is an industrial city and the administrative center of Tula Oblast, Russia. It is located south of Moscow, on the Upa River. Population: -History:...

, Ryazan

Ryazan

Ryazan is a city and the administrative center of Ryazan Oblast, Russia. It is located on the Oka River southeast of Moscow. Population: The strategic bomber base Dyagilevo is just west of the city, and the air base of Alexandrovo is to the southeast as is the Ryazan Turlatovo Airport...

, Tambov

Tambov

Tambov is a city and the administrative center of Tambov Oblast, Russia, located at the confluence of the Tsna and Studenets Rivers southeast of Moscow...

 and Voronezh

Voronezh

Voronezh is a city in southwestern Russia, the administrative center of Voronezh Oblast. It is located on both sides of the Voronezh River, away from where it flows into the Don. It is an operating center of the Southeastern Railway , as well as the center of the Don Highway...

. On 23 September 1834 Balashov resigned his office and died on 8 May 1837 on his way to Kronstadt

Kronstadt

Kronstadt , also spelled Kronshtadt, Cronstadt |crown]]" and Stadt for "city"); is a municipal town in Kronshtadtsky District of the federal city of St. Petersburg, Russia, located on Kotlin Island, west of Saint Petersburg proper near the head of the Gulf of Finland. Population: It is also...

.