(for example, the Decembrists in the 1820s and, in the 1830s, the
poet Lermontov, who had angered Tsar Nicholas by criticizing Push-
kin's enemies). Ever since the annexation of Georgia, service in the
Caucasus had had a bad reputation. The high cost of living and the
absence of familiar amenities greatly lowered the morale of those who
served there. Unethical conduct of all sorts was widespread. Corruption
was common in a variety of forms, from looting the subject population
to gift giving by officers to their superiors. Drunkenness, gambling, and,
to the outrage of Commander-in-Chief Paulucci, living openly with
mistresses were typical of the Russian life-style in the Caucasus. Men
who served in the Caucasus were rarely promoted to positions else-
where, especially since they were perceived as men who were not good
enough to obtain more prestigious appointments in the first place.
10
Besides their poor reputation, the soldiers assigned to the eastern
Caucasus were not an impressive fighting force. In fact, many of them
had never seen battle before. This group included Lieutenant-General
Rtishchev, the commander-in-chief from 1812 to 1816, who was sent
to the Caucasus even though he did not wish it after thirty years of
honest but undistinguished service. Major-General Zavalishin, who
commanded the ill-fated Caspian campaign of 1805, was also a new-
comer to combat duty. When reinforcements could be spared for ser-
vice in this area, they were usually raw recruits who not only were
untested in battle but were unfamiliar with the use of their weapons.^11
Others had more experience but were not particularly able or suc-
cessful. Tsitsianov was a case in point, as was his successor, Gudovich.
By the time Gudovich returned for his third tour of duty in the Cau-
casus, he was about seventy, more irascible than ever, and aware that
he was not equal to the demands of his office. Things went badly from
the start. His vanity was wounded by Lieutenant-General Glazenap,
who, in the interval between Tsitsianov's death and Gudovich's arrival,
launched an expedition from the Caucasian Line to take Derbent and
Baku. Therefore, Gudovich stopped the expedition after it had con-
quered Derbent and gave the command to one of his cronies. Glazenap
retired from active service. Gudovich then picked a senseless fight with
Major-General Nesvetaev, whom he accused of cowardice and incom-
petence for preparing to conquer Shakki and Yerevan. Nesvetaev was
allowed to proceed in Shakki, but the attack on Yerevan was canceled
so that some of Nesvetaev's troops could be sent to Baku, where they
were not needed. Before long, Gudovich had lost the confidence of
most of his subordinates. His most ambitious and least successful un-
dertaking was his Yerevan campaign of 1808. He began the siege of
Yerevan with about 3,500 men in October, traditionally considered too
The War, 1804-1813 105