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{{Short description|Russian explorer and adventurer, 19th century}} |
{{Short description|Russian explorer and adventurer, 19th century}} |
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| birth_date = 1859 |
| birth_date = 1859 |
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| birth_place = [[Volgograd|Tsaritsyn |
| birth_place = [[Volgograd|Tsaritsyn]], [[Russian Empire]] |
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| death_date = 1902 |
| death_date = 1902 |
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| death_place = [[Kamyshinsky Uyezd]], [[Russian Empire]] |
| death_place = [[Kamyshinsky Uyezd]], [[Russian Empire]] |
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'''Nikolay Ivanovich Ashinov''' (also Achinov or Atchinoff, {{lang-ru|Никола́й Ива́нович Ашинов}}) (1856<ref name="Wallis">{{cite book |last=Budge |first=E. A. Wallis|date=1928 |title=A History of Ethiopia, Nubia & Abyssinia : According to the Hieroglyphic Inscriptions of Egypt and Nubia, and the Ethiopian Chronicles |trans-title= |url= |language= |location=Methuen |publisher=Taylor & Francis|isbn=}}</ref>-1902<ref name="BV">{{cite book |last=Böll |first=Verena |date=2005 |title=Ethiopia and the Missions: Historical and Anthropological Insights |trans-title= |url= |language= |location=Münster |publisher=LIT |isbn=}}</ref>) was a [[Cossacks|Cossack]]<ref>{{cite book |last=Пикуль |first=Валентин Саввич |date=2002|title=Исторические миниатюры, Вольный казак Ашинов. |trans-title=Historical miniatures, Free Cossack Ashinov. |url= |language=ru |location=Saint-Petersburg |publisher=АСТ, Вече |isbn=5170106661 |page=188}}</ref> |
'''Nikolay Ivanovich Ashinov''' (also Achinov or Atchinoff, {{lang-ru|Никола́й Ива́нович Ашинов}}) (1856<ref name="Wallis">{{cite book |last=Budge |first=E. A. Wallis|date=1928 |title=A History of Ethiopia, Nubia & Abyssinia : According to the Hieroglyphic Inscriptions of Egypt and Nubia, and the Ethiopian Chronicles |trans-title= |url= |language= |location=Methuen |publisher=Taylor & Francis|isbn=}}</ref>-1902<ref name="BV">{{cite book |last=Böll |first=Verena |date=2005 |title=Ethiopia and the Missions: Historical and Anthropological Insights |trans-title= |url= |language= |location=Münster |publisher=LIT |isbn=}}</ref>) was a [[Cossacks|Cossack]],<ref>{{cite book |last=Пикуль |first=Валентин Саввич |date=2002|title=Исторические миниатюры, Вольный казак Ашинов. |trans-title=Historical miniatures, Free Cossack Ashinov. |url= |language=ru |location=Saint-Petersburg |publisher=АСТ, Вече |isbn=5170106661 |page=188}}</ref> [[Burgess (title)|burgess]] of [[Penza]]<ref name="effon">{{cite book |last=|first=|date=1905 |title=Ашинов, Николай Иванович. доп. т. I: Аа — Вяхирь. Энциклопедический словарь Брокгауза и Ефрона |trans-title=Ashinov, Nikolai Ivanovich. add. vol. I: Aa - Wood Pigeon. Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron |url= |language=ru |location=Saint-Petersburg |publisher=Brockhaus and Efron |isbn= |page=188}}</ref> and adventurer-[[travel]]er.<ref name="effon"/> He was also a Russian [[Linguistics|amateur linguist]] who published “The Abyssinian alphabet and the initial Abyssinian-Russian dictionary” ({{lang-ru|Абиссинскую азбуку и начальный абиссино-русский словарь}}) as well as the [[commanding officer]] of the ''[[Sagallo]] expedition'' in [[Ethiopian Empire|Abyssinia]]. |
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His deeds contributed to a political and ecclesiastic rapprochement of this Christian country with the [[Russian Empire]]. Furthermore, Achinov participated in [[Nikolay Leontiev]]'s colonial expeditions in the Horn of Africa. |
His deeds contributed to a political and ecclesiastic rapprochement of this Christian country with the [[Russian Empire]]. Furthermore, Achinov participated in [[Nikolay Leontiev]]'s colonial expeditions in the Horn of Africa. |
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==Biography== |
==Biography== |
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===Russian period=== |
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Nikolay Ivanovich Ashinov was born in 1856 in a hereditary merchant family of Tsaritsyn (present day [[Volgograd]]) in the [[Saratov Governorate]].<ref name="Wallis"/> |
Nikolay Ivanovich Ashinov was born in 1856 in a hereditary merchant family of Tsaritsyn (present day [[Volgograd]]) in the [[Saratov Governorate]].<ref name="Wallis"/> He studied at the Saratov Real school N.1.<ref>{{cite book |last=|first=|date=1873 |title=Государственный архив Саратовской области, ф. 407 — Саратовская губернская ученая архивная комиссия, оп. 1, д. 942 |trans-title=State Archives of the Saratov Region, f. 407 - Saratov provincial scientific archival commission, op. 1, d. 942 |url= |language=ru |location=Saratov |publisher=Министерствo народного просвещения. |isbn= |page=}}</ref> He was of a restless disposition and his studies did not work out as expected. When his father went bankrupt, Nikolai sold the remaining property and left his hometown (1880).<ref name="Lunotchkin">{{cite book |last=Луночкин |first=А. B. |date=1999 |title=Атаман вольных казаков, Николай Ашинов и его деятельность |trans-title=Ataman of the free Cossacks, Nikolai Ashinov and his activities |location=Волгоград |publisher=Волгоград. гос. университета|pages=37–50 |isbn=}}</ref> |
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He rushed to the Caucasus, driven by the project to grow tobacco. However, Ashinov did not possess the knowledge and patience of such an endeavour and abandoned the region 3 years later.<ref name="almazov"/> |
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In 1883, Ashinov arrived in [[Saint Petersburg]]. He was convinced that Cossacks, originally from Russia, moved to the mountains of [[Anatolia]] -then part of the [[Ottoman Empire]]- and to [[Iran|Persian]] shores of the [[Caspian Sea]] where they have been living for the last three hundred years. He shared this alleged knowledge that these tribes retained not only their way of life and the Russian customs, but also their loyalty to the [[Eastern Orthodox Church|Orthodox Church]] and a desire to serve Russian Motherland. Ashinov presented himself as the elected [[Ataman]] of these “free Cossacks” and stated that he came to St. Petersburg in order to ask the Russian government to allow them to return to Russia and settle on the [[Black Sea]] coast. There, Nicolay offered to set up and lead a new "Black Sea Cossack army".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://gatchinapalace.ru/special/publications/collection/abissinskie.php?sphrase_id=39285 |title=Абиссинские вещи в Гатчинском дворце |last=Родионов |first=Е. А. |date=20 February 2023 |website=gatchinapalace.ru |publisher=Cобраниe ГМЗ Царское Село |access-date=14 April 2024 |quote=}}</ref> |
In 1883, Ashinov arrived in [[Saint Petersburg]]. He was convinced that Cossacks, originally from Russia, moved to the mountains of [[Anatolia]] -then part of the [[Ottoman Empire]]- and to [[Iran|Persian]] shores of the [[Caspian Sea]] where they have been living for the last three hundred years. He shared this alleged knowledge that these tribes retained not only their way of life and the Russian customs, but also their loyalty to the [[Eastern Orthodox Church|Orthodox Church]] and a desire to serve Russian Motherland. Ashinov presented himself as the elected [[Ataman]] of these “free Cossacks” and stated that he came to St. Petersburg in order to ask the Russian government to allow them to return to Russia and settle on the [[Black Sea]] coast. There, Nicolay offered to set up and lead a new "Black Sea Cossack army".<ref name="gatchinapalace">{{cite web |url=https://gatchinapalace.ru/special/publications/collection/abissinskie.php?sphrase_id=39285 |title=Абиссинские вещи в Гатчинском дворце |last=Родионов |first=Е. А. |date=20 February 2023 |website=gatchinapalace.ru |publisher=Cобраниe ГМЗ Царское Село |access-date=14 April 2024 |quote=}}</ref> |
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Ashinov's speech seduced several influence figures: |
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Ashinov managed to attract to his side the engineer and publicist [[Panaev, Valerian Aleksandrovich|Panaeva]], the commander of the Main Imperial Apartment, General [[Richter, Otton Borisovich|Richter]], the leader of the Slavophiles [[Aksakov, Ivan Sergeevich|Aksakov]] and the influential publisher [[Katkov, Mikhail Nikiforovich|Katkova]]. After this, Ashinov, in the spring of 1884, began to collect volunteers for resettlement from [[Poltava province|Poltava province]] to [[Sukhumi district]], where Ashinov managed to obtain territory for them for a settlement, which he called the village of Nikolaevskaya, but more than half of the settlers immediately returned back. Ashinov, having imposed himself on them as atamans, appropriated the raising money allocated by the local administration. In December 1884, after an investigation, a criminal case was opened, but Ashinov fled to [[Moscow|Moscow]], where he presented himself as the injured party, in which he was helped by Katkov, and then by the St. Petersburg publicist [[Suvorin, Alexey Sergeevich|Suvorin]] <ref name="autolink1">{{Cite web |url=https://gatchinapalace.ru/special/publications/collection/abissinskie.php?sphrase_id=39285 |title=Абиссинские вещи в Гатчинском дворце |access-date=2023-02-20 |archive-date=2023-02-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230220131237/https://gatchinapalace.ru/special/publications/collection/abissinskie.php?sphrase_id=39285 |url-status=live}}</ref>. |
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* Valerian Panaev (1824-1899), an engineer and publicist ; |
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* General Otto Karl Peter von Richter (1830-1908), commander of the [[Imperial Main Headquarters]]; |
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* [[Ivan Aksakov]] (1823-1886), an [[intellectual]] and slavophile; |
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* [[Mikhail Katkov]] (1818-1887), an influential journalist. |
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In the spring of 1884, Nikolay began to collect volunteers from the [[Poltava Governorate]] to be resettled to the [[Sukhumi okrug|Sukhumi district]]. There, Ashinov had obtained a territory where he intended to set up the village of "Nikolaevskaya". However, more than half of the settlers immediately left the colony and returned back.<ref name="Lunotchkin"/> In this activity, though, Ashinov had kept personally the money allocated by the local administration for the project. |
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In [[1885]]u arrived in the northern port of [[Italian Eritrea|Italian colony]] [[Massawa|Massau]] [[Eritrea|Eritrea]] on the coast of the [[Red Sea|Red Sea]] in the area of [[ Somalia|Horn of Africa]], claiming that he is [[chitaman]] and his goal is to travel to the northern Ethiopian province of [[Tigray|Tigray]] [[Ethiopian Empire|Abyssinia]], where he went, setting out a plan to promote political and the church rapprochement of the Christian country with the [[Russian Empire|Russian Empire]], and in these forms entered into political relations with [[Iohannis IV|negus John]], posing as a representative of the Russian government. |
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In December 1884, after an investigation, a criminal case for embezzling was opened against him:<ref name="Lunotchkin"/> Ashinov having fled to [[Moscow]], he presented himself as the victim. He got the support from Mikhail Katkov and by [[Aleksey Suvorin]], an influencing journalist from St. Petersburg.<ref name="gatchinapalace"/> |
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⚫ | After returning to Russia, |
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===Activities in Africa=== |
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⚫ | Ashinov tried to get government support |
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[[File:Ru russiasomaliland-sagallo.gif|thumb|Flag of the Russian Somaliland raised at Sagallo]] |
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In 1885, Ashinov reached the northern port of [[Massawa]], then in [[Italian Eritrea]], located on the coast of the [[Red Sea]]. He presented himself as an [[Ataman]] whose goal was to travel to the province of [[Tigray Region|Tigray]], part of the [[Ethiopian Empire]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://towardsthegreatocean.com/2017/11/14/the-forgotten-dream-of-a-russian-africa/ |title=The Forgotten Dream of a Russian Africa |last=Алмазов |first=Борис |date=14 November 2017 |website=towardsthegreatocean.com |publisher= |access-date=22 April 2024 |quote=}}</ref> |
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Once in the area, Nikolay set out a plan to promote a rapprochement of the Christian country with the Russian Empire. Part of his political engagements led him to approach the [[Emperor of Ethiopia]] [[Yohannes IV]] ({{lang-am|ንጉሠ-ነግስት ዮሐንስ አራተኛ}}), posing as a representative of the Tsarist authorities. |
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⚫ | After returning to Russia, his travel story circulated by Russian newspapers and embellished by journalists gave him an unexpected popularity. Ashinov activated his supports to get an audience with [[Alexander III of Russia|Alexander III]], but it did not happen. To this purpose, he had brought gifts to the tsar, allegedly from the Abyssinian [[Negus]], among which was a live [[ostrich]]. These presents were handed over to the commander of the Imperial Apartment, General Richter; the ostrich was placed in a poultry house in [[Gatchina Palace|Gatchina]] park.<ref name="Lunotchkin"/> |
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In the spring of 1888, Ashinov with a small group of companions sailed on the steamship [[Voluntary Fleet|Voluntary Fleet]] "Kostroma" to Africa and on April 6, 1888 they landed on the shore of the [[Gulf of Tadjoura|Gulf of Tadjoura]]. He managed to establish friendly relations with the local tribal leader, soon after which he returned to Russia. He brought with him two Abyssinian monks from the [[Jerusalem]]monastery, passing them off as envoys of the Negus himself<ref name="autolink1" />. |
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⚫ | Ashinov tried to get government support (i.e. money and weapons) to occupy a territory in Abyssinia. He first unsuccessfully acted through [[Ivan Shestakov]], the [[Minister of the Russian Navy]]. His second move was to reach [[Konstantin Pobedonostsev]], then Chief [[Procurator (Russia)|Prosecutor]] of the [[Most Holy Synod|Holy Synod]], who was championing the founding of an Orthodox mission in Abyssinia. Lastly, Nikolay secured the patronage of [[Nikolay Baranov (1837)|Nikolay Baranov]], the [[Nizhny Novgorod Governorate|governor of Nizhny Novgorod]] who enjoyed the trust of Alexander III. Eventually, the emperor agreed to a preliminary exploration in the area of the [[Horn of Africa]].<ref name="gatchinapalace"/> |
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* 1888 published The Abyssinian alphabet and the initial Abyssinian-Russian dictionary” ({{lang-ru|Абиссинскую азбуку и начальный абиссино-русский словарь}}) |
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* Sagallo expedition <ref>Abyssinian mission of Archimandrite Paisius and N. I. Ashinov (Tale of expedition member L. Nikolaev). Odessa. 1889.</ref> Абиссинская миссия архимандрита Паисия и Н. И. Ашинова (Рассказ участника экспедиции Л. Николаева). Одесса. 1889. who settled with voluntary Russian [[Colonization|colonists]] from the [[Terek Cossacks|Terek Cossacks]] in the abandoned Egyptian [[fort]]e [[Sagallo]] (Sagallu, fr. Sagallou) at the beginning of [[1889]]a and assigned the specified territory to the [[Russian Empire|Russian Empire]] under the name New Moscow<ref>Jean Robert Constantin. L'Archimandrite Paisi et l'ataman Achinoff. Paris, 1891.{{in lang|fr}}</ref> <ref>[https://inosmi.ru/archive2015/20180223/241550234.html Forgotten history: 129 years ago Russia tried to gain a foothold in Africa] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180224173719/https://inosmi.ru/archive2015/20180223/241550234.html}}. InoSMI RU (registered with the Federal Service for Supervision of Communications, Information Technologies and Mass Communications (Roskomnadzor) on April 8, 2014. Certificate of registration EL No. FS77-57642).</ref> |
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* having come into contact with the Ethiopian emperor - [[negus]]om [[Yohannas IV|John IV]] ({{lang-am|ንጉሠ-ነግስት ዮሐንስ አራተኛ}}), - and as [[ataman]]a, contributed political and church rapprochement of this [[Christianity|Christian]] country with the [[Russian Empire|Russian Empire]]<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20101125165329/http://www.a-pesni.golosa.info/istor/a-achinov.htm Rostislav Nikolaev. The first Russian landing in Africa.]</ref> |
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Ashinov launched his mission in the spring of 1888 with a small group of companions. The group left on the "Kostroma", a steamship of the [[Dobroflot]], towards Africa. They landed on 6 April 1888 on the shores of the [[Gulf of Tadjoura]]. There, Nikolay managed to establish friendly relations with the local tribal leader. Without warning, he left in June to Kyiv, where the 900th anniversary of the baptism of Russia was celebrated, leaving the local project in midair.<ref name="almazov"/> He was accompanied by two Abyssinian monks, whom he presented to Konstantin Pobedonostsev in St. Petersburg as envoys of the Negus himself.<ref name="gatchinapalace"/> |
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⚫ | |||
⚫ | Pobedonostsev was impressed and started to prepare a spiritual mission to Abyssinia. Furthermore, he mentioned Ashinov efforts to the Tsar Alexander III in a letter on 9 October 1888; the latter supported the endeavour (''I’ll see what can be done about this''). As a matter of fact, it was decided to send together with Ashinov a spiritual mission led by [[Archimandrite]] Paisius. The planned expedition was also supposed to carry a small batch of weapons for the Abyssinian people and some equipment to establish a sea shore coal-storage station, dedicated to re-supply Russian ships. A calling for volunteers as well as a collection of donations began and Ashinov was handed out a stack of weapons from the arsenals of the [[Odessa Military District]]. However, on 7 November 1888, the Tsar was informed by [[Aleksandr Nelidov]],<ref name="Lunotchkin"/> his ambassador in [[Constantinople]], that Ashinov's first mission in Africa had been in reality abandoned by him without any achievement. These news interrupted immediately government support for the man, while weapons and equipment were taken back. |
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In December 1888, Ashinov's expedition set off for Africa. There were only about 150 people of various origins, including women with children and about 40 people of the spiritual mission. |
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Having then returned to Russia, he, calling himself a “free Cossack”, started in [[1889]] together with the monk Paisius an expedition to Abyssinia<ref name="ESBE">{{VT-ESBE|Ashinov, Nikolai Ivanovich}}</ref>. At the head of a detachment of 150 Terek Cossacks, he temporarily stopped at Fort [[Sagallo]] on the coast of the French Somali coast (now [[Djibouti]]) in order to then go to Abyssinia. In Abyssinia he planned to create a colony “[[New Moscow (colony)|New Moscow]]”. Ashinov's expedition caused a lot of noise in the press due to false rumors about a significant number of its participants. |
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[[File:Achinoff full.jpg|thumb|right|An article from ''[[Le Progrès|Le Progrès Illustré]]'' on Achinov's expedition]] |
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In the same 1889, Fort [[Sagallo]], where Ashinov and his companions stayed, was destroyed by French troops<ref>{{Cite news|title=Forgotten history: 129 years ago Russia tried to gain a foothold in Africa|url=https://inosmi.ru/archive2015/20180223/241550234.html|work=InoSMI.Ru|date=2018-02-23|accessdate=2018-02-24|language=ru|archivedate=2018-02-23|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20180223173424/https://inosmi.ru/archive2015/20180223/241550234.html}}</ref>. Ashinov and the settlers were arrested and sent to [[Russia|Russia]]<ref name="ESBE"/>. |
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====Sagallo expedition==== |
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On the personal instructions of the Tsar [[Alexander III|Alexander III]], after a short investigation, all members of the expedition were sent to their place of residence in a staged manner. Archimandrite Paisius was assigned to a monastery in Georgia. Ashinov was exiled under police supervision for three years to one of the remote districts of [[Saratov province|Saratov province]]<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://borisalmazov.narod.ru/stati/eproh.htm |title= Ethiopian Prohindiad |access-date=2013-07-31 |archive-date=2011-08-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110808060927/http://borisalmazov.narod.ru/stati/eproh.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>. |
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This left Ashinov with no other solution than funding his expedition through private means.<ref name="gatchinapalace"/> |
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On 10 December 1888, the mission set off for Africa: it comprised about 150 people of various origins, including women with children and around 40 people of the spiritual delegation led by Archimandrite Paisius. The expedition was transported from Alexandria to [[Port Said]] by the Russian ship ''Lazarev''. In Port Said, Ashinov hired the Austrian ship ''Amphitride'', which entered the Gulf of Tadjoura -then a French protectorate- on 6 January 1889. There, they were welcomed by four Cossacks who have been securing luggage and supplies since the previous visit. Abyssinian priests were also awaiting the spiritual delegation and its leader Paisius. |
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Once ashore, the pretense of a religious mission to Ethiopia was quickly abandoned as Ashinov revealed his intention to settle permanently in the Gulf of Tadjoura.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.aberfoylesecurity.com/?p=4849 |title=Nikolai Ivanovich Ashinov and the Russian Occupation of Djibouti, 1889 |last=McGregor |first=Andrew |date=1 March 2018 |website=aberfoylesecurity.com |publisher=Military History |access-date=22 April 2024 |quote=}}</ref> |
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Ashinov organized a shelter for the mission in the abandoned Egyptian fort of Sagallo, where they settled on 14 January. Concurrently, he announced the place Russian soil and christened it ''New Moscow'' ({{lang-ru|Новая Москва}}). Additionally he proclaimed as Russian land the area ''"fifty miles along the coast and a hundred miles inland"'': on 28 January the Russian flag was raised. |
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While several people from the expedition fled to Obock, a nearby village from the French territory nearby, French authorities became aware of the presence of the Russian colony, at odds with the initial intention to travel to Abyssinia. |
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On 5 February 1889, an ultimatum, supported by a French squadron consisting of a cruiser and three gunboats, was sent to Ashinov demanding his withdrawal from the French protectorate. Passing the deadline, Sagallo was shelled by artillery, killing one Cossack and five civilians. Furthermore, the attack entirely destroyed the landings.<ref>{{cite book |last=Konieczny |first=Jerzy |date=23 February 2018|title=Забытая история: 129 лет назад Россия пыталась закрепиться в Африке |trans-title=Forgotten history: 129 years ago Russia tried to gain a foothold in Africa |url=https://inosmi.ru/20180223/241550234.html |language=ru |location=Moscow |publisher=ИноСМИ.Ru. |pages= |isbn=}}</ref> Soon Ashinov troops surrendered and were put under arrest by the French. |
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The question of the last years of N. I. Ashinov’s life remains open. According to the memoirs of Ashinov’s peer, published in 1911, Ashinov ended his last days “in his homeland, in the Kamyshinsky district of the Saratov province”<ref>[https://archive.today/20210115192652/https://proza.ru/2011/06/22/477 ''Nikolai Scourgetail''. Conquest of Africa. Possessed Ataman Ashinov]</ref>. |
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They were sent back to [[Suez]] on the clipper ''Zabiyaka'' and then to Odessa on the steamship ''Chikhachev''.<ref name="effon"/> |
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Despite the failure, Ashinov’s adventure was important for the development of Russian-Ethiopian relations, as interest in this African country increased both in Russian society and in government circles. Ashinov also left his mark in science, publishing in [[1888]] in [[Petersburg]] the “Abyssinian alphabet and the initial Abyssinian-Russian dictionary”<ref name="autolink1" />. |
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After a short investigation ordered by the Tsar Alexander III, most of the members of the expedition were sent to an "ad hoc" place of residence:<ref name="almazov">{{cite web |url=https://borisalmazov.narod.ru/stati/eproh.htm |title=Эфиопская прохиндиада |last=Алмазов |first=Борис |date=31 July 2023 |website=borisalmazov.narod.ru |publisher=ucoz |access-date=22 April 2024 |quote=}}</ref> |
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* Archimandrite Paisius was assigned to a monastery in [[Georgia (country)|Georgia]]; |
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* Ashinov was exiled under police supervision for three years to a remote district of [[Saratov Governorate|Saratov province]]. |
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====Later years==== |
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Ashinov is one of the characters in [[Leskov]]a’s essay “Inspired Vagrants.” |
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⚫ | Pardoned in April 1890, Ashinov traveled to [[Paris]] and [[London]]. There, in August 1891, he sent a letter to the Tsar, offering his services for the development of a vast territory in Africa. He spent the rest of his life on his wife’s estate in the [[Chernihiv|Chernigov]] province, where he farmed and raised five children. |
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Nikolay's last years are shrouded with uncertainty. According to one of his peer's memoirs (1911), Ashinov ended his last days ''“in his homeland, in the Kamyshinsky district of the Saratov province”'.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://archive.today/20210115192652/https://proza.ru/2011/06/22/477 |title=Завоевание Африки. Одержимый атаман Ашинов |last=Бичехвост |first=Николай |date=15 January 2021 |website=proza-ru |publisher=Свидетельство о публикации |access-date=22 April 2024 |quote=}}</ref> |
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==Work and scientific contributions== |
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* {{cite book |last=Ashinov |first=Nikolay Ivanovich |date=1888 |title=Абиссинскую азбуку и начальный абиссино-русский словарь |trans-title=Abyssinian Alphabet and Primary Abyssinian-Russian Dictionary |url= |language=ru |location=St. Petersburg |publisher=|isbn=}} |
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* In addition to African paraphernalia from his expeditions, Ashinov’s also brought back manuscripts presented to Alexander III,<ref name="gatchinapalace"/> which ended up in the Gatchina Palace: ''The Psalter followed'' ({{lang-ru|Псалтирь следованная}}) and ''The Organon of Praise of the Holy Virgin'' ({{lang-ru|Органон восхваления Св. Девы}}). |
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The items were moved in 1924 to the library of the [[Saint Petersburg Theological Academy|Theological Academy]]. |
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==In fiction== |
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* Ashinov is one of the characters of [[Nikolai Leskov]] (1831-1895) essay ''Inspired Vagrants'' ({{lang-ru|Вдохновенные бродяги}}). |
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* Soviet novelist [[Valentin Pikul]] (1928-1990) wrote a book on the adventurer, ''Вольный казак Ашинов'' ({{lang-en|Free Cossack Ashinov}}), published in 1993. |
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==See also== |
==See also== |
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{{portal bar|Biography|Russia}} |
{{portal bar|Biography|Russia}} |
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{{Commons category|Nikolay Ivanovich Ashinov}} |
{{Commons category|Nikolay Ivanovich Ashinov}} |
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* [[Sagallo]] |
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* [[Nikolay Leontiev]] |
* [[Nikolay Leontiev]] |
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* [[Alexander Bulatovich]] |
* [[Alexander Bulatovich]] |
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* [[Leonid Artamonov]] |
* [[Leonid Artamonov]] |
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* [[Yermak Timofeyevich]] |
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* [[Foreign policy of the Russian Empire]] |
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* [[Russian colonization of North America]] |
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== References == |
== References == |
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== Bibliography == |
== Bibliography == |
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* {{inlang| |
* {{inlang|ru}} {{cite book |last=Николаев |first=Л. |date=1889 |title=Ашиновская экспедиция: Рассказ участника экспедиции Л. Николаева |trans-title=Ashinovskaya Expedition: The Story of Expedition Member L. Nikolaev |location=Одесса |publisher=И. Желиховский |pages= |isbn=}} |
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* {{inlang|ru}} {{cite book |last=Панаев |first=В. А. |date=November 1906 |title=Воспоминания. Русская старина. |trans-title=Memories. Russian antiquity. |location=Одесса |publisher=Ежемесячное историческое издание |pages=397–442 |isbn=}} |
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* {{inlang|ru}} {{cite book |last=Хренков |first=А. B. |date=1987 |title=Эфиопская миссия Николая Ашинова (по неопубликованным документам архивов Москвы и Ленинграда). |trans-title=Ethiopian mission of Nikolai Ashinov (based on unpublished documents from the archives of Moscow and Leningrad). |location=Ленинград |publisher=институт Африки АН СССР |pages= |isbn=}} |
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* {{inlang|ru}} {{cite book |last=Хренков |first=А. B. |date=1992 |title=Россия и Эфиопия: развитие двусторонних связей (от первых контактов до 1917 г.). |trans-title=Russia and Ethiopia: development of bilateral relations (from first contacts to 1917). |location=Санкт-Петербург|publisher=институт Африки АН |pages= |isbn=}} |
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* {{inlang|ru}} {{cite book |last=Хренков |first=А. B. |date=1996 |title=Русские в Африке: ашиновская авантюра N.4 |trans-title=Russians in Africa: Ashinov’s adventure N.4 |location=Санкт-Петербург|publisher=Вестник РГНФ.|pages=37–50 |isbn=}} |
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* {{inlang|ru}} {{cite book |last=Луночкин |first=А. B. |date=1999 |title=Атаман вольных казаков, Николай Ашинов и его деятельность |trans-title=Ataman of the free Cossacks, Nikolai Ashinov and his activities |location=Волгоград |publisher=Волгоград. гос. университета|pages=37–50 |isbn=}} |
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* {{inlang|ru}} {{cite book |last=Гусарова |first=E. B. |date=2016 |title=Эфиопские рукописи — наследство экспедиции Н. И. Ашинова в Абиссинию. Сборник МАЭ. Коллекции и хранители. Т. 62 |trans-title=Ethiopian manuscripts are the legacy of N.I. Ashinov’s expedition to Abyssinia. Collection of MAE. Collections and curators. T. 62 |location=Санкт-Петербург |publisher=Наука|pages= |isbn=}} |
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* {{inlang|it}} {{cite book |last= |first= |date=1889 |title=Spedizione Ascinoff del Mar Rosso. |trans-title=Achinoff Red Sea Expedition. |location=Roma |publisher=Tipografia di Gabinetto del Ministero degli affari esteri |pages= |isbn=}} |
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* {{inlang|fr}} {{cite book |last=Constantin |first=Jean Robert |date=1891 |title=L’Archimandrite Paisi et l’Ataman Achinoff: une expedition religieuse en Abyssinie / Preface de Juliette Adam. |trans-title=Archimandrite Paisi and Ataman Achinoff: a religious expedition to Abyssinia / Preface by Juliette Adam. |location=Paris |publisher=Librairie de la “Nouvelle Revue” |pages= |isbn=}} |
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* {{inlang|fr}} {{cite book |last=Burdo |first=Adolphe |date=21 April 1889 |title=Journal des voyages et des aventures de terre et de mer. N.615 |trans-title=Journal of travels and adventures of land and sea. N.615 |location=Sceaux |url=https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k6859817b |publisher=Charaire et Fils. |pages=242–243 |isbn=}} |
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* {{cite book |last=Jesman |first=Czeslaw |date=1958 |title=The Russians in Ethiopia |location=London |publisher=Chatto and Windus |pages= |isbn=}} |
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[[Category:1859 births]] |
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{{Authority control|qid=Q735650}} |
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[[Category:1902 deaths]] |
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[[Category:People from Volgograd]] |
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[[Category:19th-century writers from the Russian Empire]] |
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[[Category:Russian explorers]] |
Revision as of 18:02, 15 May 2024
Nikolay Ivanovich Ashinov | |
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![]() | |
Born | 1859 |
Died | 1902 |
Nationality | Russian |
Occupation | Explorer |
Known for | Russian exploration in Ethiopia and in the Gulf of Tadjoura |
Nikolay Ivanovich Ashinov (also Achinov or Atchinoff, Russian: Никола́й Ива́нович Ашинов) (1856[1]-1902[2]) was a Cossack,[3] burgess of Penza[4] and adventurer-traveler.[4] He was also a Russian amateur linguist who published “The Abyssinian alphabet and the initial Abyssinian-Russian dictionary” (Russian: Абиссинскую азбуку и начальный абиссино-русский словарь) as well as the commanding officer of the Sagallo expedition in Abyssinia. His deeds contributed to a political and ecclesiastic rapprochement of this Christian country with the Russian Empire. Furthermore, Achinov participated in Nikolay Leontiev's colonial expeditions in the Horn of Africa.
Biography
Russian period
Nikolay Ivanovich Ashinov was born in 1856 in a hereditary merchant family of Tsaritsyn (present day Volgograd) in the Saratov Governorate.[1] He studied at the Saratov Real school N.1.[5] He was of a restless disposition and his studies did not work out as expected. When his father went bankrupt, Nikolai sold the remaining property and left his hometown (1880).[6] He rushed to the Caucasus, driven by the project to grow tobacco. However, Ashinov did not possess the knowledge and patience of such an endeavour and abandoned the region 3 years later.[7]
In 1883, Ashinov arrived in Saint Petersburg. He was convinced that Cossacks, originally from Russia, moved to the mountains of Anatolia -then part of the Ottoman Empire- and to Persian shores of the Caspian Sea where they have been living for the last three hundred years. He shared this alleged knowledge that these tribes retained not only their way of life and the Russian customs, but also their loyalty to the Orthodox Church and a desire to serve Russian Motherland. Ashinov presented himself as the elected Ataman of these “free Cossacks” and stated that he came to St. Petersburg in order to ask the Russian government to allow them to return to Russia and settle on the Black Sea coast. There, Nicolay offered to set up and lead a new "Black Sea Cossack army".[8]
Ashinov's speech seduced several influence figures:
- Valerian Panaev (1824-1899), an engineer and publicist ;
- General Otto Karl Peter von Richter (1830-1908), commander of the Imperial Main Headquarters;
- Ivan Aksakov (1823-1886), an intellectual and slavophile;
- Mikhail Katkov (1818-1887), an influential journalist.
In the spring of 1884, Nikolay began to collect volunteers from the Poltava Governorate to be resettled to the Sukhumi district. There, Ashinov had obtained a territory where he intended to set up the village of "Nikolaevskaya". However, more than half of the settlers immediately left the colony and returned back.[6] In this activity, though, Ashinov had kept personally the money allocated by the local administration for the project.
In December 1884, after an investigation, a criminal case for embezzling was opened against him:[6] Ashinov having fled to Moscow, he presented himself as the victim. He got the support from Mikhail Katkov and by Aleksey Suvorin, an influencing journalist from St. Petersburg.[8]
Activities in Africa
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c6/Ru_russiasomaliland-sagallo.gif/220px-Ru_russiasomaliland-sagallo.gif)
In 1885, Ashinov reached the northern port of Massawa, then in Italian Eritrea, located on the coast of the Red Sea. He presented himself as an Ataman whose goal was to travel to the province of Tigray, part of the Ethiopian Empire.[9] Once in the area, Nikolay set out a plan to promote a rapprochement of the Christian country with the Russian Empire. Part of his political engagements led him to approach the Emperor of Ethiopia Yohannes IV (Amharic: ንጉሠ-ነግስት ዮሐንስ አራተኛ), posing as a representative of the Tsarist authorities.
After returning to Russia, his travel story circulated by Russian newspapers and embellished by journalists gave him an unexpected popularity. Ashinov activated his supports to get an audience with Alexander III, but it did not happen. To this purpose, he had brought gifts to the tsar, allegedly from the Abyssinian Negus, among which was a live ostrich. These presents were handed over to the commander of the Imperial Apartment, General Richter; the ostrich was placed in a poultry house in Gatchina park.[6]
Ashinov tried to get government support (i.e. money and weapons) to occupy a territory in Abyssinia. He first unsuccessfully acted through Ivan Shestakov, the Minister of the Russian Navy. His second move was to reach Konstantin Pobedonostsev, then Chief Prosecutor of the Holy Synod, who was championing the founding of an Orthodox mission in Abyssinia. Lastly, Nikolay secured the patronage of Nikolay Baranov, the governor of Nizhny Novgorod who enjoyed the trust of Alexander III. Eventually, the emperor agreed to a preliminary exploration in the area of the Horn of Africa.[8]
Ashinov launched his mission in the spring of 1888 with a small group of companions. The group left on the "Kostroma", a steamship of the Dobroflot, towards Africa. They landed on 6 April 1888 on the shores of the Gulf of Tadjoura. There, Nikolay managed to establish friendly relations with the local tribal leader. Without warning, he left in June to Kyiv, where the 900th anniversary of the baptism of Russia was celebrated, leaving the local project in midair.[7] He was accompanied by two Abyssinian monks, whom he presented to Konstantin Pobedonostsev in St. Petersburg as envoys of the Negus himself.[8]
Pobedonostsev was impressed and started to prepare a spiritual mission to Abyssinia. Furthermore, he mentioned Ashinov efforts to the Tsar Alexander III in a letter on 9 October 1888; the latter supported the endeavour (I’ll see what can be done about this). As a matter of fact, it was decided to send together with Ashinov a spiritual mission led by Archimandrite Paisius. The planned expedition was also supposed to carry a small batch of weapons for the Abyssinian people and some equipment to establish a sea shore coal-storage station, dedicated to re-supply Russian ships. A calling for volunteers as well as a collection of donations began and Ashinov was handed out a stack of weapons from the arsenals of the Odessa Military District. However, on 7 November 1888, the Tsar was informed by Aleksandr Nelidov,[6] his ambassador in Constantinople, that Ashinov's first mission in Africa had been in reality abandoned by him without any achievement. These news interrupted immediately government support for the man, while weapons and equipment were taken back.
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/51/Achinoff_full.jpg/220px-Achinoff_full.jpg)
Sagallo expedition
This left Ashinov with no other solution than funding his expedition through private means.[8] On 10 December 1888, the mission set off for Africa: it comprised about 150 people of various origins, including women with children and around 40 people of the spiritual delegation led by Archimandrite Paisius. The expedition was transported from Alexandria to Port Said by the Russian ship Lazarev. In Port Said, Ashinov hired the Austrian ship Amphitride, which entered the Gulf of Tadjoura -then a French protectorate- on 6 January 1889. There, they were welcomed by four Cossacks who have been securing luggage and supplies since the previous visit. Abyssinian priests were also awaiting the spiritual delegation and its leader Paisius.
Once ashore, the pretense of a religious mission to Ethiopia was quickly abandoned as Ashinov revealed his intention to settle permanently in the Gulf of Tadjoura.[10] Ashinov organized a shelter for the mission in the abandoned Egyptian fort of Sagallo, where they settled on 14 January. Concurrently, he announced the place Russian soil and christened it New Moscow (Russian: Новая Москва). Additionally he proclaimed as Russian land the area "fifty miles along the coast and a hundred miles inland": on 28 January the Russian flag was raised. While several people from the expedition fled to Obock, a nearby village from the French territory nearby, French authorities became aware of the presence of the Russian colony, at odds with the initial intention to travel to Abyssinia.
On 5 February 1889, an ultimatum, supported by a French squadron consisting of a cruiser and three gunboats, was sent to Ashinov demanding his withdrawal from the French protectorate. Passing the deadline, Sagallo was shelled by artillery, killing one Cossack and five civilians. Furthermore, the attack entirely destroyed the landings.[11] Soon Ashinov troops surrendered and were put under arrest by the French.
They were sent back to Suez on the clipper Zabiyaka and then to Odessa on the steamship Chikhachev.[4] After a short investigation ordered by the Tsar Alexander III, most of the members of the expedition were sent to an "ad hoc" place of residence:[7]
- Archimandrite Paisius was assigned to a monastery in Georgia;
- Ashinov was exiled under police supervision for three years to a remote district of Saratov province.
Later years
Pardoned in April 1890, Ashinov traveled to Paris and London. There, in August 1891, he sent a letter to the Tsar, offering his services for the development of a vast territory in Africa. He spent the rest of his life on his wife’s estate in the Chernigov province, where he farmed and raised five children.
Nikolay's last years are shrouded with uncertainty. According to one of his peer's memoirs (1911), Ashinov ended his last days “in his homeland, in the Kamyshinsky district of the Saratov province”'.[12]
Work and scientific contributions
- Ashinov, Nikolay Ivanovich (1888). Абиссинскую азбуку и начальный абиссино-русский словарь [Abyssinian Alphabet and Primary Abyssinian-Russian Dictionary] (in Russian). St. Petersburg.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - In addition to African paraphernalia from his expeditions, Ashinov’s also brought back manuscripts presented to Alexander III,[8] which ended up in the Gatchina Palace: The Psalter followed (Russian: Псалтирь следованная) and The Organon of Praise of the Holy Virgin (Russian: Органон восхваления Св. Девы).
The items were moved in 1924 to the library of the Theological Academy.
In fiction
- Ashinov is one of the characters of Nikolai Leskov (1831-1895) essay Inspired Vagrants (Russian: Вдохновенные бродяги).
- Soviet novelist Valentin Pikul (1928-1990) wrote a book on the adventurer, Вольный казак Ашинов (English: Free Cossack Ashinov), published in 1993.
See also
- Sagallo
- Nikolay Leontiev
- Alexander Bulatovich
- Leonid Artamonov
- Yermak Timofeyevich
- Foreign policy of the Russian Empire
- Russian colonization of North America
References
- ^ a b Budge, E. A. Wallis (1928). A History of Ethiopia, Nubia & Abyssinia : According to the Hieroglyphic Inscriptions of Egypt and Nubia, and the Ethiopian Chronicles. Methuen: Taylor & Francis.
- ^ Böll, Verena (2005). Ethiopia and the Missions: Historical and Anthropological Insights. Münster: LIT.
- ^ Пикуль, Валентин Саввич (2002). Исторические миниатюры, Вольный казак Ашинов [Historical miniatures, Free Cossack Ashinov.] (in Russian). Saint-Petersburg: АСТ, Вече. p. 188. ISBN 5170106661.
- ^ a b c Ашинов, Николай Иванович. доп. т. I: Аа — Вяхирь. Энциклопедический словарь Брокгауза и Ефрона [Ashinov, Nikolai Ivanovich. add. vol. I: Aa - Wood Pigeon. Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron] (in Russian). Saint-Petersburg: Brockhaus and Efron. 1905. p. 188.
- ^ Государственный архив Саратовской области, ф. 407 — Саратовская губернская ученая архивная комиссия, оп. 1, д. 942 [State Archives of the Saratov Region, f. 407 - Saratov provincial scientific archival commission, op. 1, d. 942] (in Russian). Saratov: Министерствo народного просвещения. 1873.
- ^ a b c d e Луночкин, А. B. (1999). Атаман вольных казаков, Николай Ашинов и его деятельность [Ataman of the free Cossacks, Nikolai Ashinov and his activities]. Волгоград: Волгоград. гос. университета. pp. 37–50.
- ^ a b c Алмазов, Борис (31 July 2023). "Эфиопская прохиндиада". borisalmazov.narod.ru. ucoz. Retrieved 22 April 2024.
- ^ a b c d e f Родионов, Е. А. (20 February 2023). "Абиссинские вещи в Гатчинском дворце". gatchinapalace.ru. Cобраниe ГМЗ Царское Село. Retrieved 14 April 2024.
- ^ Алмазов, Борис (14 November 2017). "The Forgotten Dream of a Russian Africa". towardsthegreatocean.com. Retrieved 22 April 2024.
- ^ McGregor, Andrew (1 March 2018). "Nikolai Ivanovich Ashinov and the Russian Occupation of Djibouti, 1889". aberfoylesecurity.com. Military History. Retrieved 22 April 2024.
- ^ Konieczny, Jerzy (23 February 2018). Забытая история: 129 лет назад Россия пыталась закрепиться в Африке [Forgotten history: 129 years ago Russia tried to gain a foothold in Africa] (in Russian). Moscow: ИноСМИ.Ru.
- ^ Бичехвост, Николай (15 January 2021). "Завоевание Африки. Одержимый атаман Ашинов". proza-ru. Свидетельство о публикации. Retrieved 22 April 2024.
Bibliography
- (in Russian) Николаев, Л. (1889). Ашиновская экспедиция: Рассказ участника экспедиции Л. Николаева [Ashinovskaya Expedition: The Story of Expedition Member L. Nikolaev]. Одесса: И. Желиховский.
- (in Russian) Панаев, В. А. (November 1906). Воспоминания. Русская старина [Memories. Russian antiquity.]. Одесса: Ежемесячное историческое издание. pp. 397–442.
- (in Russian) Хренков, А. B. (1987). Эфиопская миссия Николая Ашинова (по неопубликованным документам архивов Москвы и Ленинграда) [Ethiopian mission of Nikolai Ashinov (based on unpublished documents from the archives of Moscow and Leningrad).]. Ленинград: институт Африки АН СССР.
- (in Russian) Хренков, А. B. (1992). Россия и Эфиопия: развитие двусторонних связей (от первых контактов до 1917 г.) [Russia and Ethiopia: development of bilateral relations (from first contacts to 1917).]. Санкт-Петербург: институт Африки АН.
- (in Russian) Хренков, А. B. (1996). Русские в Африке: ашиновская авантюра N.4 [Russians in Africa: Ashinov’s adventure N.4]. Санкт-Петербург: Вестник РГНФ. pp. 37–50.
- (in Russian) Луночкин, А. B. (1999). Атаман вольных казаков, Николай Ашинов и его деятельность [Ataman of the free Cossacks, Nikolai Ashinov and his activities]. Волгоград: Волгоград. гос. университета. pp. 37–50.
- (in Russian) Гусарова, E. B. (2016). Эфиопские рукописи — наследство экспедиции Н. И. Ашинова в Абиссинию. Сборник МАЭ. Коллекции и хранители. Т. 62 [Ethiopian manuscripts are the legacy of N.I. Ashinov’s expedition to Abyssinia. Collection of MAE. Collections and curators. T. 62]. Санкт-Петербург: Наука.
- (in Italian) Spedizione Ascinoff del Mar Rosso [Achinoff Red Sea Expedition.]. Roma: Tipografia di Gabinetto del Ministero degli affari esteri. 1889.
- (in French) Constantin, Jean Robert (1891). L’Archimandrite Paisi et l’Ataman Achinoff: une expedition religieuse en Abyssinie / Preface de Juliette Adam [Archimandrite Paisi and Ataman Achinoff: a religious expedition to Abyssinia / Preface by Juliette Adam.]. Paris: Librairie de la “Nouvelle Revue”.
- (in French) Burdo, Adolphe (21 April 1889). Journal des voyages et des aventures de terre et de mer. N.615 [Journal of travels and adventures of land and sea. N.615]. Sceaux: Charaire et Fils. pp. 242–243.
- Jesman, Czeslaw (1958). The Russians in Ethiopia. London: Chatto and Windus.