Mikhail Loris-Melikov
General, Commander of the Caucasus Army
"The heights must be turned by night if they cannot be taken by day."
Biography
An Armenian nobleman in Russian service, Loris-Melikov commanded the war's other front — the Caucasus — where he outmanoeuvred and destroyed the Ottoman army of Ahmed Muhtar Pasha at the Aladzha Heights and then stormed the great fortress of Kars in a daring night assault. His victories won Russia the lasting territorial prizes of the war in eastern Anatolia. Afterwards Loris-Melikov rose to remarkable political heights: as a trusted minister of Alexander II he headed the campaign against revolutionary terrorism and drafted cautious constitutional reforms — the very plans the Tsar approved on the day he was assassinated in 1881. With Alexander's death and the reaction that followed, Loris-Melikov's reforms were shelved and he retired abroad.
Did you know?
His moderate reform program, nicknamed the 'Loris-Melikov Constitution,' was signed by Alexander II hours before the Tsar was killed — and then abandoned.
Key Battles
Battle of the Aladzha Heights
Russia & Balkan Allies victoryOctober 15, 1877 · 12,000 total casualties
Aladzha destroyed the main Ottoman field army in Anatolia and opened the way to the great fortress of Kars, securing Russia's eastern gains that would be confirmed at San Stefano.
The Storming of Kars
Russia & Balkan Allies victoryNovember 17, 1877 · 6,500 total casualties
The capture of Kars gave Russia control of eastern Anatolia and a prize it would keep for forty years, until the First World War — a lasting territorial gain from the war.
Life Journey
Timeline
1825
🌅 Birth
Born in Tiflis
November 1877
⚔️ Battle
Storms the fortress of Kars
1888
✝️ Death
Dies in exile in Nice