SIIVOROF, ALEXANDER VAssimvrrsil, Count, Prince Italiiski, a Russian field marshal, and the most famous of Russian generals, was descended from a family of Swedish origin, and was born in Finland, Nov. 13 (0. S.), 1729. His father, who was an officer of the Russian army, and rose, in after times, to the rank of general and sena tor, enrolled young Suvorof at the age of 13, in the Semenof regiment, where he remained till 1754, when he was promoted to the grade of lieutenant. Suvorof was present in the Russian army engaged in the seven years' war (q.v.), and for distinguished behavior at Kunersdorf, received the grade of colonel. By a constant succession of eminent ser vices in the Polish civil war (1768), in the war against the Turks (1773-74), in suppress ing internal disturbances, and in subduing the Tartars of the Kuban (1783), he continued to grow in reputation, and rose to the rank of general. In the Turkish war (1787-92)he was commander-in-chief, for the first time brought the bayonet prominently into use in the Russian army, and decided by it the bloody battle of ICinburn (1787), which would otherwise have been a total rout. At the siege of Otcliakof (1788), where he narrowly escaped being made prisoner, the battle of Fokshany (Aug. 1, 1789), which he gained in conjunction with the Austrians, and the decisive victory of Rymnik (Sept. 22, 1789), his headlong bravery, and peculiar system of rapid and repeated attack by over whelming numbers, secured him complete success. For this last victory, which saved the Austrians under Coburg from annihilation or capture, Suvorof was created, by the emperor Joseph IL, a count of the empire, and from his own sovereign received the title of count Suvorof-Bymnikski. His last great achievement, and the one which has given a predominant coloring to Suvorof's reputation in western Europe, was the cap ture of Ismail (q.v.). Suvorof's report of his success was couched in the following terms: " Glory to God and Your Excellency; the town is taken; I am in it." He was then appointed (1791) governor of the newly conquered provinces; was afterward sent (1794) to complete the annihilation of the Polish monarchy, which he effected by repeated victories over the Polish armies, the capture of Praga by storm, and the repossession of Warsaw (Nov. 19), where a horrible massacre of the inhabitants took place. The grade of field-marshal, and presents of rare value, rewarded these successes. Under Paul, he fell into disgrace (1798), from his impatience of the emperor's fantastic military regula tions, and was deprived of his rank; but being restored through English influence, he commanded the Russian auxiliary army sent to co-operate with the Austrians in Italy.
In April, 1799, he reached Verona; compelled Moreau to retire behind the Adda with immense loss, including,_more than 8,000 prisoners; entered Milan in triumph (April 29); again defeated the French under Macdonald, after a desperate three days' conflict, at (June 17-19), and a third time at Novi (Aug. 15), depriving them of the whole of northern Italy. His campaign in Switzerland, which promised to bring him face to face with Massena, then the best general in Europe, was rendered abortive by the tardiness of the Austrians, and the Russians, in spite of Suvorof's remonstrances, were ,soon after recalled. His escape from the Schackenthal, where he was hemmed in by the French, is considered by many to be the most brilliant and daring retreat ever executed. While on his return to St. Petersburg, where a brilliant reception was await ing him, he fell dangerously ill in Lithuania, and though, on his recovery, he found him self a second time in disgrace, he continued his route, and arrived privately in the capi tal, where lie died sixteen days afterward, May 17, 1800. His remains were honored with a mapificent funeral, and the czar Alexander erected a statue to his memory on the Champ-de-Mars. This most extraordinary man had naturally a weak constitution, but rendered it almost invulnerable by exercise, strict temperance, and the regular use of cold baths. His mode of life was of Spartan simplicity, and though the oddity of many of his habits seemed only calculated to encourage ridicule, they, in combination with his paternal care of his men, gave him a powerful hold on the affections of an army at once so ignorant and so thoroughly national in sentiment as the Russian. Suvorof, was inflexible in his resolutions and promises, and of incorruptible fidelity. His skill as a general has often been doubted, on the strength of his favorite remark, that all military tactics could be expressed in three words, stoupai i bi, " forward and strike;" but his career shows him to have been possessed of all needful military knowledge—though he hated idle maneuvering—and to have excelled in promptitude and ingenuity of concep tion, and boldness and rapidity of execution.