Illarion Vorontsov was born on 27 May 1837 in Saint Petersburg. He took part in the conquest of Central Asia in the 1860s and was appointed Major General in 1866. He was in charge of the Hussar regiment of the Leub Guard in 1867–74. He was on friendly terms with the future Alexander III of Russia and, following Alexander's father's assassination, established a counter-revolutionary squad, or druzhina called the Holy Brotherhood.
Alexander III put Vorontsov-Dashkov in charge of the imperial court and made him Full General of Cavalry. He also was made responsible for imperial stud farms and vineyards. Following Nicholas II's coronation, he was dislodged from the office of Minister of Imperial Properties but was appointed to the State Council of Imperial Russia instead. The Russian Revolution of 1905 recalled Vorontsov to active service, and he ascended to the helm of the Viceroyalty of the Caucasus.[1]
As Russia's second-to-last viceroy of the Caucasus, Vorontsov-Dashkov implemented several reformist policies, but his time in office was marred by a general era of revolution, war, and social upheaval.[2]
He was officially in charge of the victorious Russian forces in the Battle of Sarikamish during the early months of World War I, although the effective command lay with General Alexander Myshlayevsky. In September 1915 he was removed from command and replaced with Grand Duke Nicholas.[3] He died on 15 January 1916 in his Vorontsov Palace.
Family
He married in 1867 Countess Elizaveta Andreevna Shuvalova, daughter of Count Andrei Petrovich Shuvalov. His youngest son Alexander's descendants represent the only continuation of the Vorontsov family in the male line.
Knight of St. Vladimir, 4th Class with Swords and Bow, 1865; 3rd Class with Swords, 1867; 2nd Class, 1874; 1st Class, 1894
Knight of St. George, 4th class, for distinguished service during the war, 27 June 1867; 3rd Class "For the valiant skilful leadership of the Caucasian Army, whose heroic exploits achieved brilliant military success in actions against the Turks", 15 August 1915
^W.E.D. Allen and Paul Muratoff, Caucasian Battlefields, A History of Wars on the Turco-Caucasian Border, 1828-1921, 242
^Riegg, Stephen (2018). ""Neotraditionalist Rule to the Rescue of the Empire? Viceroy I. Vorontsov-Dashkov amid Crises in the Caucasus, 1905-1915"". Ab Imperio. 19 (3): 115-139. doi:10.1353/imp.2018.0061. S2CID 165441131.
^W.E.D. Allen and Paul Muratoff, Caucasian Battlefields, A History of Wars on the Turco-Caucasian Border, 1828-1921, 322
^ a bRussian Imperial Army - Illarion Ivanovich Vorontsov-Dashkov Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine (In Russian)
^"Rother Adler-orden", Königlich Preussische Ordensliste (in German), vol. 1, Berlin: Gedruckt in der Reichsdruckerei, 1877, p. 74 – via hathitrust.org
^"Rother Adler-orden", Königlich Preussische Ordensliste (in German), vol. 1, Berlin: Gedruckt in der Reichsdruckerei, 1886, p. 26 – via hathitrust.org
^Staatshandbuch für das Großherzogtum Sachsen / Sachsen-Weimar-Eisenach (1869), "Großherzogliche Hausorden" p. 28 Archived 2020-07-11 at the Wayback Machine
^Staatshandbuch für das Großherzogtum Sachsen / Sachsen-Weimar-Eisenach (1900), "Großherzogliche Hausorden" p. 61[permanent dead link]
^M. Wattel, B. Wattel. (2009). Les Grand'Croix de la Légion d'honneur de 1805 à nos jours. Titulaires français et étrangers. Paris: Archives & Culture. p. 516. ISBN 978-2-35077-135-9.
^Hof- und Staats-Handbuch des Königreich Württemberg (1907), "Königliche Orden" p. 43
^"Ritter-Orden", Hof- und Staatshandbuch der Österreichisch-Ungarischen Monarchie, 1890, pp. 86, 98, 130, 185, retrieved 10 July 2020
^"Kongl. Svenska Riddare-Ordnarne" (PDF), Sveriges statskalender för Skottåret 1892 (in Swedish), Stockholm: Kongl. Boktryckeriet. P.A. Norstedt & Soner, 1891, p. 394, retrieved 16 November 2020 – via gupea.ub.gu.se
^Sveriges Statskalender (in Swedish), 1905, p. 440, retrieved 2018-01-06 – via runeberg.org
^Bille-Hansen, A. C.; Holck, Harald, eds. (1912) [1st pub.:1801]. Statshaandbog for Kongeriget Danmark for Aaret 1912 [State Manual of the Kingdom of Denmark for the Year 1912] (PDF). Kongelig Dansk Hof- og Statskalender (in Danish). Copenhagen: J.H. Schultz A.-S. Universitetsbogtrykkeri. pp. 4, 17. Retrieved 30 April 2020 – via da:DIS Danmark.
^ a bAcović, Dragomir (2012). Slava i čast: Odlikovanja među Srbima, Srbi među odlikovanjima. Belgrade: Službeni Glasnik. p. 624.
^Hof- und Staats-Handbuch des Großherzogtum Baden (1896), "Großherzogliche Orden" p. 64
^Hof- und Staats-Handbuch des Königreichs Bayern (1906), "Königliche-Orden" p. 25
^Staatshandbücher für das Herzogtum Sachsen-Coburg und Gotha (1890), "Herzogliche Sachsen-Ernestinischer Hausorden" p. 131
^"Real y distinguida orden de Carlos III". Guía Oficial de España (in Spanish). 1900. p. 176. Retrieved 10 July 2020.
^Shaw, Wm. A. (1906) The Knights of England, I, London, p. 422