| Friedrich Wilhelm von Buxhöwden | |
| Termstart: | 1808 |
| Successor1: | Count Alexander Tormasov |
| Termstart1: | 1803 |
| Termend1: | 1806 |
| Predecessor2: | Nikolai Arkharov |
| Termend2: | 1798 |
| Predecessor1: | Prince Sergei Golitsyn |
| Office2: | Governor General of Saint Petersburg |
| Successor2: | Peter Ludwig von der Pahlen |
| Successor: | Prince Dmitry Lobanov-Rostovsky |
| Predecessor: | Count Alexander Tormasov |
| Termstart2: | 1797 |
| Termend: | 1809 |
| Battles: | |
| Honorific Prefix: | Count |
| Commands: |
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| Unit: | Kexholm Life Guards Regiment |
| Rank: | General of Infantry |
| Serviceyears: | 1770–1798, 1802–1810 |
| Branch: | Imperial Austrian Army[1] |
| Death Place: | Lode Castle, Wiek, Governorate of Estonia, Russian Empire |
| Birth Place: | Muhu, Governate of Riga, Russian Empire |
| Death Date: | (aged 60) |
| Caption: | Portrait by Vladimir Borovikovsky, |
| Office: | Governor General of Livonia |
| Education: | Second Cadet Corps |
Friedrich Wilhelm Graf von Buxhoevden (Russian: Фёдор Фёдорович Буксгевден|Fyodor Fyodorovich Buksgevden; other spellings: Feodor Buxhoeveden, Buxhœwden, Buxhöwden; September 14, 1750 – August 23, 1811) was a Russian general of the infantry and government official. Buxhoeveden commanded the Russian armies during the Finnish War.
The Buxhoevedens, a Baltic German family from Estonia, traced their roots to Bexhövede in Lower Saxony.
Buxhoevden's wife, countess Natalia Alexeyeva, was the illegitimate daughter of Grigory Orlov (1734–1783) by a lady of the court, but her mother – contrary to some claims – was not the Empress Catherine, but a member of the Apraksin family. Buxhoeveden's granddaughter Varvara Nelidova was a mistress of Nicholas I of Russia (1796–1855) for 17 years (1832–1855).
In 1805 Buxhoevden took part in the Battle of Austerlitz as a commander, contributing to the Third Coalition's failure to defeat Napoleon by being drunk during the battle.[2] In 1808 he served as Commander-in-Chief in the Russian conquest of Finland, and led Russian troops during the initial battles of the Finnish War (1808-1809).
Buxhoevden received the castle and lands of Koluvere in western Estonia after Duchess Augusta of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel had died there in 1788 in suspicious circumstances. He also owned the villa and manor of Ligovo near Saint Petersburg.
Russian Empire awards:
Foreign state awards: