[He] was a man of indomitable courage and extreme energy.... He was also en-
dowed with administrative ability of a high order, coupled with an aggressive,
over-bearing spirit, that served him admirably in his dealings with the native ru-
lers, Christian as well as Mussulman though probably enough it contributed both
to his own tragic fate and to that of one of his most valued subordinates....
[His wit] made him powerful enemies, yet taken with his soldierly qualities and
care for those who served him well, secured him the love, the adoration almost
of the army.^10
To the Muslims of the Caucasus, Tsitsianov appeared in a very dif-
ferent light. One of his titles, inspector (of the Caucasian Line), was
pronounced by Azeri-speaking Caucasians as "ishpokhdor," which
was given a Turkish etymology meaning "his work is dirt." He was
given another name by the Iranian chronicler Reza Qoli Khan Heda-
yat: "the shedder of blood."^11 Beliavskii and Potto were mistaken.
What they saw as Tsitsianov's devotion to Russia's interests was
really overweening personal ambition; his eloquence was marred by
bluster, just as his nobility of character was marred by deceit; the
energy he spent was largely other people's; and his determination
manifested itself in slaughter.
Like many officers who rose to prominence during Catherine's
reign, Tsitsianov spent the years between 1797 and 1801 in retire-
ment. When Alexander gave him the Caucasian command, he was
forty-eight years old and determined to make up for lost time in ad-
vancing his career. Apparently, he had aged prematurely, for his
associate, Major-General Sergei Tuchkov, assumed him to be a man
about sixty years old although an unusually energetic man for that
age. Tuchkov believed that Tsitsianov deliberately provoked con-
frontations with Muslim rulers because he wanted the opportunity
to impress Alexander.^12 The accuracy of Tuchkov's comments about
Tsitsianov might be questioned on the grounds that Tuchkov be-
lieved he was denied the honors due him because of Tsitsianov's spite.
Although Tuchkov's memoirs contain some errors, the credibility of
his judgments on his commander is strengthened by information de-
rived from a variety of contemporary sources, including Tsitsianov's
own letters.
The commander-in-chief capitalized on any opportunity to mag-
nify his own importance. All his successors referred to their position
as the office conferred on them by His Imperial Majesty. Tsitsianov
spoke of his territory. Not content with the official goal of estab-
lishing the Aras and the Kura as the border with Iran, he argued that
he should be allowed to take control of Khoi and Tabriz as well.
Sometimes his self-aggrandizement had overtones of derangement.
In 1804, St. Petersburg approved Tsitsianov's plan to force Fath
Russia's Conquest of the Eastern Caucasus 73