Prince Pavel Dmitriyevich Tsitsianov (Russian: Па́вел Дми́триевич Цициа́нов; 19 September [O.S. 8 September] 1754–20 February [O.S. 8 February] 1806) was a Russian general of Georgian noble origin who played a prominent role in the Russian conquest of the South Caucasus. He served as the commander-in-chief in the Caucasus from 1802 to 1806 and commanded Russian forces in the Russo-Persian War of 1804–1813 until his assassination near Baku in 1806.

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. Tsar Alexander I appointed him commander of Russian forces in the Caucasus in 1802. He solidified Russian rule in the region, compelling local rulers and communities to submit to the Tsar and often campaigning against them. He expanded Russian possessions south of the Caucasus westward to the Black Sea and continued Russia's southward expansion. He successfully captured the city of Ganja (in modern-day Azerbaijan), triggering a conflict with Qajar Iran. He then continued south into the Erivan Khanate (in modern-day Armenia), where his outnumbered forces fought a number of battles with the Iranian army but were forced to retreat. He secured the submission of a number of the khanates of the Caucasus to Russian rule. In February 1806, he attempted to negotiate the surrender of the Khanate of Baku but was lured into a trap by the local khan and killed.

Tsitsianov has been credited with playing a foundational role in establishing Russian rule in the South Caucasus; he was universally lauded in Russian sources and often admired by Europeans as well. He has been described as a brave and energetic leader but also as cruel and overbearing. He was despised and feared by many Caucasian Muslims and Iranians for his brutal actions. He held all "Asiatics" in contempt and believed that force and assimilation were the only reliable means to secure Russian control over local populations. Many of his methods were followed by later Russian leaders in the Caucasus. According to Walter Richmond, Tsitsianov "set in motion the brutality that was the hallmark of subsequent Russian efforts to conquer the North Caucasus."

Tsitsianov was born in Moscow into the noble Georgian family of Tsitsishvili. He was related to the Georgian royal dynasty. His father, Dmitry Pavlovich [ru], was a writer and state official. His grandfather, Paata or Papuna, had moved to Russia in the early 1700s as part of a group of Georgian émigrés accompanying the exiled Georgian monarch Vakhtang VI. Tsitsianov had a younger brother, Mikhail Dmitrievich Tsitsianov [ru], a Senator of the Russian Empire.

Tsitsianov began his career in the Preobrazhensky Regiment of the Imperial Guard in 1772. He was promoted to colonel in 1785, and in 1786, he was appointed colonel of a grenadier regiment. He participated in the Russo-Turkish War (1787–92). During that war, he fought at Khotin, the Salchea River, Ismail, and Bender. He was promoted to brigadier in 1790 and major general in 1793. He also served in Poland during the 1794 uprising, for which he received the Order of St. George, third class, and the Order of St. Vladimir, third class.

In 1796, Tsitsianov participated in Persian Expedition of 1796 under the command of Count Valerian Zubov. 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. Tsitsianov temporarily left military service for health reasons in September 1797. He remained jobless for the duration of Paul's reign. The new emperor Alexander I appointed him to the Chancellery of the State Council in May 1801 and promoted him to lieutenant general in late 1801.

In 1802 Tsitsianov was appointed the commander of Russian forces in Georgia (Eastern Georgia had just been annexed by Russia), inspector of the Caucasian Line, and military governor of the Astrakhan Governorate. In effect, he was given absolute authority over all Russian forces in the Caucasus. His rule was characterized by uncompromising policies towards the locals, including the exile of the remaining members of Georgia's former ruling dynasty to Russia. Philip Longworth describes Tsitsianov as "proud, brave and cruel, a dashing man of action, subservient to no one – not even the Tsar." He received broad discretionary powers from the Tsar and further solidified Russian rule in Georgia. He upgraded the Georgian Military Road, which connected Tiflis (Tbilisi) with Russia over the Caucasus Mountains, and constructed the fortress of Alexandrovsk on the Alazani River. In Western Georgia, he secured the submission of Prince Grigol Dadiani of Mingrelia, who had revolted against King Solomon II of Imereti. Unable to negotiate the cession of the Black Sea port of Poti, he built the fortress of Redoubt Kali on the Mingrelian coast.

Tsitsianov initiated a number of social and administrative reforms in Georgia. He largely preserved the traditional social hierarchy, confirming the rights of the nobility and returning lands that had been confiscated by the Georgian kings. The bourgeoisie was supported in order to promote trade and the start of industry. However, new enterprises were limited by wars and local unrest, and Russian rule in Georgia was creating considerable expenses for the state. Tsitsianov also founded a school in Tiflis for the sons of nobles. The city, which had been sacked in 1795, was gradually restored, and a number of new public buildings were built. Tsitsianov favored a slower adoption of Russian methods of administration and kept Georgian as a local official language. 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.