A member of the de Balmens, his father came to Russia during the reign of Empress Anna and entered the Russian service as a major.
He participated in the Russian-Turkish war in 1770, as commander of the Rostov Carabinieri Regiment, where he distinguished himself during the assault on Bendery and the capture of the Perekop fortifications and the city of Kaffa by storm.
He was appointed commander of Russian Caucasian corps from May to October 1790, during the war with Ottoman Empire, where, after the unsuccessful expedition of General Yuri Bibikov to Anapa, matters were in extremely poor condition.
De Balmen arrived in the Caucasus completely ill with consumption and died on October 4, 1790, in Georgievsk.
For the merits of Count de Balmen, Empress Catherine II granted his widow 500 serfs and several thousand acres of land, and placed the children in educational institutions at public expense.