{{Short description|Russian general and statesman (1770–1837)}} {{for|the speedway rider|Alexander Balashov (speedway rider)}} {{Infobox officeholder | image = Alexander Balashov.jpg | caption = Portrait by [[George Dawe]] from the [[Military Gallery]] of the [[Winter Palace]], {{circa|1819–1822}} | birth_name = Alexander Dmitriyevich Balashov | birth_place = Moscow, Russia<!--See MOS:GEOLINK--> | birth_date = {{Birth date|1770|07|13|df=yes}} | death_date = {{Death date and age|1837|05|08|1770|07|13|df=yes}} | office = [[Ministry of Police of the Russian Empire|Minister of Police]] of the [[Russian Empire]] | monarch = [[Alexander I of Russia|Alexander I]] | term_start = 1810 | term_end = 1812 | predecessor = ''Position established'' | successor = [[Sergey Vyazmitinov]] | office2 = [[Saint Petersburg Governorate|Governor General of Saint Petersburg]] | term_start2 = 1809 | term_end2 = 1810 | predecessor2 = [[Dmitry Lobanov-Rostovskiy]] | successor2 = [[Sergey Vyazmitinov]] | allegiance = {{flagcountry|Russian Empire}} | branch = [[Imperial Russian Army]] | rank = [[General of the Infantry (Imperial Russia)|General of the Infantry]] | alma_mater = [[Page Corps]] | battles = [[French Invasion of Russia]] }} '''Alexander Dmitriyevich Balashov'''{{efn|Sometimes spelled '''Aleksandr Dmitrievich Balashyov''' or '''Balashev'''{{sfn|Akulshin|2023}} (see also [[romanization of Russian]]).}} ({{langx|ru|Алекса́ндр Дми́триевич Балашо́в}}; 13 July 1770 – 8 May 1837) was a Russian general and statesman.

==Biography== Balashov came from a noble family. When the boy turned 6 years, his father, a [[Table of Ranks|Privy Counsellor]] and [[Senator]], had him enrolled in the [[Preobrazhensky Regiment]] though it was not until November 1781 that he entered the [[Page Corps]], matriculating in 1787 with the rank of [[Page of Honour|Kammer-page]]. On 9 January 1791 he joined the [[Izmaylovsky Regiment]] as lieutenant. From 1795 he was a [[lieutenant colonel]] in the [[regular army]]. He was promoted [[colonel]] in April 1798 and [[major 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]]. On 23 September 1804 he resigned for family reasons, but within three months he was appointed the [[chief of police]] in [[Moscow]]. In November 1807 he became the ''general-krigs-komissar'', on 29 March 1808 he replaced [[Fyodor Ertell]] in the office of chief of police in [[Saint Petersburg]] and thereupon his career soared.

In February 1809 [[Alexander I of Russia|Alexander I]] conferred on Balashov the rank of [[adjutant general]] 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 of Imperial Russia|State Council]]. In June the same year he became the [[Ministry of Police of Imperial Russia|Minister of Police]].

In 1812, during [[Napoleon's Invasion of Russia]], Balashov was present in the front-line army stationed in [[Vilnius]]. After [[La Grande Armée]] crossed the frontier on June 12 ([[Julian Calendar]]), Balashov was dispatched to deliver the Emperor's letter to [[Napoleon]]. He participated in the organization of the People's Militia ([[Narodnoe Opolcheniye|Народное ополчение]]) 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 [[Oryol|Orel]], [[Tula, Russia|Tula]], [[Ryazan]], [[Tambov]] and [[Voronezh]]. On 23 September 1834 Balashov resigned his office. He died on 8 May 1837 on his way to [[Kronstadt]].

==Notes== {{Notelist}}

==References== {{Reflist}} * {{RBD|Balashov, Alexander}} * {{cite encyclopedia |last=Akulshin |first=P. V. |title=БАЛАШЁВ АЛЕКСАНДР ДМИТРИЕВИЧ |encyclopedia=[[Great Russian Encyclopedia]] |year=2023 |url=https://old.bigenc.ru/domestic_history/text/1847198 |access-date=4 October 2025}} * {{in lang|ru}} [http://www.museum.ru/1812/Persons/RUSS/ra_b08.html Dictionary of Russian Generals]

{{s-start}} {{ succession box| before=[[Dmitry Lobanov-Rostovskiy]]| title=[[Saint Petersburg Governorate|War Governor of Saint Petersburg]]| years=1809&ndash;1810| after=[[Sergey Vyazmitinov]] }} {{ succession box| before=''Position established''| title=[[Ministry of Police of Imperial Russia|Minister of Police]]| years=1810&ndash;1812| after=[[Sergey Vyazmitinov]] }} {{s-end}} {{Governors of Saint Petersburg}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Balashov, Alexander}} [[Category:1770 births]] [[Category:1837 deaths]] [[Category:Military personnel from Moscow]] [[Category:People from Moskovsky Uyezd]] [[Category:Untitled nobility from the Russian Empire]] [[Category:Ministers of police of the Russian Empire]] [[Category:Senators of the Russian Empire]] [[Category:Members of the State Council (Russian Empire)]] [[Category:Members of the Military Council (Russian Empire)]] [[Category:Governors-general of Saint Petersburg]] [[Category:Freemasons from the Russian Empire]] [[Category:Imperial Russian Army generals]] [[Category:Russian commanders of the Napoleonic Wars]] [[Category:Recipients of the Order of Saint Alexander Nevsky]] [[Category:Recipients of the Order of St. George of the Fourth Degree]] [[Category:Recipients of the Order of St. Vladimir, 1st class]] [[Category:Recipients of the Order of St. Vladimir, 3rd class]] [[Category:Recipients of the Order of St. Anna, 1st class]] [[Category:Recipients of the Order of St. Anna, 3rd class]] [[Category:Commanders of the Military Order of Max Joseph]]