Maistre, Xavier de (1763-1852)

French-born soldier and writer. He served in the Piedmontese army, but on the annexation of Savoy by the French he took a commission in the Russian army, in which he rose to the rank of general. He settled in St Petersburg, where he died.

He was born in Chambéry, the brother of Joseph Marie, comte de Maistre. He served in the Austro-Russian campaign and fought in the Caucasus. His works include Voyage autour de ma chambre (1794), Le Lèpreux de la cité d'Aoste (1811), Les Prisonniers du Caucase (1825), La Jeune Sibérienne (1825), and L'Expédition nocturne (1825).