Eduard Bogdanovich Shtets,
Independent Researcher, Moscow, Russia, e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Former Danish Officer in Russian Service (Russian Period of the Decembrist’s Life E.V. von Ruge)
DOI: 10.31518/2618-9100-2025-6-6
Lieutenant General K.-E. von Ruge went down in Russian history as a participant in the Decembrist conspiracy and an officer of the Quartermaster Service, who played a significant role in the establishment and development of Russian military topography in the first half of the 19th century. The study uses previously unknown personnel data from different years to ensure historical accuracy and completeness. A key contribution of this publication is the introduction into scholarly circulation of von Ruge’s personal correspondence, preserved in the Ruge family archive in Oslo, Norway. These letters provide valuable new insights into his life and career. The article provides official correspondence about his enlistment in the Russian army. It examines various periods of his life, including his involvement in the Decembrists’ secret society, his subsequent arrest, investigation, and punishment. His role in collecting intelligence and surveying the territories of the future theater of war in the run-up to the Russo-Turkish War of 1828−1829, as well as his participation in the post-war establishment of borders with Turkey, has been established. The article describes more than 30 years of service related to conducting topographic surveys in the southern provinces of the empire. It also provides information about the financial support provided to the generals of the Russian army and the system of rewards for their valiant service. After many years of service, Ruge’s words about the attractiveness of Russian military service for foreigners, the emperor’s favor towards him, and his recognition of Russia as his second homeland deserve special attention. The last years of his life are shown, and the exact date of his death and burial place are established. Given that biographical information on von Ruge − known as a Decembrist − has remained fragmented and largely unchanged since the 19th century, the article offers considerable interest to scholars of military and cartographic history. In conjunction with a previously published study on von Ruge’s Norwegian-Danish period, this publication constitutes the first attempt to reconstruct a full and cohesive biography of this notable military topographer.
Publishing: 28/12/2025
The article has been received by the editor on 25/08/2025
How to cite: Shtets E.B. Former Danish Officer in Russian Service (Russian Period of the Decembrist’s Life E.V. von Ruge) // Historical Courier, 2025, No. 6 (44), pp. 93−110. [Available online: http://istkurier.ru/data/2025/ISTKURIER-2025-6-06.pdf]
Links: Issue 6 2025
Keywords: Foreigners in the Russian service; military topographic service; the Decembrist; the maintenance of generals; epistolary heritage