Born in Moscow to a Georgian noble family that had lived in Russia for two generations, he entered military service at a young age and fought in the Russo-Turkish War of 1768–1774, the 1794 Polish uprising and the Persian expedition of 1796.

He expanded Russian possessions south of the Caucasus westward to the Black Sea and continued Russia's southward expansion.

He was despised and feared by many Caucasian Muslims and Iranians for his brutal actions and regarded as a traitor by many Georgians for his role in strengthening Russian rule over the country.

He held all "Asiatics" in contempt and believed that force and assimilation were the only reliable means to secure Russian control over local populations.

According to Walter Richmond, Tsitsianov "set in motion the brutality that was the hallmark of subsequent Russian efforts to conquer the North Caucasus.

[1] The expedition was called off by Catherine the Great's successor Paul I, who disfavored the men who had risen to high positions under his mother's reign.

[10][11] Philip Longworth describes Tsitsianov as "proud, brave and cruel, a dashing man of action, subservient to no one – not even the Tsar."

[10] He upgraded the Georgian Military Road, which connected Tiflis (Tbilisi) with Russia over the Caucasus Mountains,[10] and constructed the fortress of Alexandrovsk on the Alazani River.

[1] In Western Georgia, he secured the submission of Prince Grigol Dadiani of Mingrelia, who had revolted against King Solomon II of Imereti.

[12] Unable to negotiate the cession of the Black Sea port of Poti, he built the fortress of Redoubt Kali on the Mingrelian coast.

[1] He largely preserved the traditional social hierarchy, confirming the rights of the nobility and returning lands that had been confiscated by the Georgian kings.

In 1804, when Minister of the Interior Viktor Kochubey wrote to him proposing the restoration of a Bagrationi prince as a vassal ruler of Georgia, Tsitsianov firmly rejected the idea.

[11] Tsitsianov intended to expand Russia's possessions south of the Caucasus to the Black and Caspian seas[8] and southwards into Iran, even as far as Tabriz if possible.

[1] After the victory at Ganja, Tsitsianov returned to Georgia and forced King Solomon of Imereti to swear allegiance to the Tsar.

[27] Tsitsianov's body was left in a ditch near the city walls and remained there until Russian forces captured Baku a few months later.

Retreating for a period of forty days to the shrine at Shah-Abdol-Azim, he began to engage in certain magical practices, such as beheading wax figures representing Tsitsianov.

"[24] Authors such as Vasily Potto and N. N. Belyavsky praised his character, resolve, vision and dedication to Russian interests, while John F. Baddeley described him as a brave and energetic leader and noted his "aggressive, over-bearing spirit, that served him admirably in his dealings with the native rulers, Christian as well as Mussulman though probably enough it contributed both to his own tragic fate.

"[37] David Marshall Lang writes that Tsitsianov "laid the effective foundations of Russian power in Transcaucasia" and suggests that Georgia benefited from his "stern, even at times harsh conduct of affairs" in the long-term.

[36] According to Walter Richmond, Tsitsianov "set in motion the brutality that was the hallmark of subsequent Russian efforts to conquer the North Caucasus.

"[2] George Bournoutian writes of Tsitsianov that he was "neither the great military commander portrayed by his Russian contemporaries nor was he the terrible ogre painted by the Iranian chroniclers.

He was a soldier of his time; that is, he was ambitious, blamed others for his defeats and was a firm believer in European, specifically Russian, superiority over the 'contemptible Asiatics.'