Prince Mikhail Illarionovich Golenishchev-Kutuzov (Russian: Князь Михаи́л Илларио́нович Голени́щев-Куту́зов, tr. Knyaz' Mikhaíl Illariónovich Goleníshchev-Kutúzov; German: Mikhail Illarion Golenishchev-Kutuzov Graf von Smolensk; 16 September [O.S. 5 September] 1745 – 28 April [O.S. 16 April] 1813) was a Field Marshal of the Russian Empire. He served as a military officer and a diplomat under the reign of three Romanov monarchs: Empress Catherine II, and Emperors Paul I and Alexander I. Kutuzov was shot in the head twice while fighting the Turks (1774 and 1788) and survived the serious injuries seemingly against all odds. He defeated Napoleon as commander-in-chief using attrition warfare in the Patriotic war of 1812. Alexander I, the incumbent Tsar during Napoleon's invasion, would write that he would be remembered amongst Europe's most famous commanders and that Russia would never forget his worthiness.
