Levashov, Pavel Artemievich

Levashov was a native of a noble noble family. According to the Moscow Necropolis, he was born in 1700, but the most probable year of his birth (based on the memoirs of Levashov himself and the fact that he was active in the 1780-1790s) is considered to be 1719. Information about where Levashov studied did not survive, but his works give out an educated person, he also knew foreign languages: Italian, German, French ^[2] .

January 6, 1737 entered the military service. Member of the Russian-Turkish war of 1735-1739 . He received the rank of ensign in May 1738 ^[2] . In 1741-1743 he was an officer in the Astrakhan regiment and fought in Finland . Later he moved to the Kugolminsky Infantry Regiment. In 1750, by order of A.P. Bestuzhev-Ryumin, he was transferred from the Military College to the College of Foreign Affairs. On December 4, 1753, Lieutenant Levashov was included "for training in ministerial affairs" in the retinue of G.K. Kaiserling , the Russian ambassador in Vienna . He was granted the rank of captain in 1751 ^[2] . In 1757 he was appointed adviser to the embassy. In April 1761 - May 1762 he was accredited as Minister at the German Imperial Assembly in Regensburg .

On August 19, 1763 he became charge d'affaires in Constantinople ^[3] . He was to succeed A.M. Obreskov as a sick resident. However, the further diplomatic career of Levashov began to develop unsuccessfully. The Turkish government did not give him official recognition, and Obreskov reported that the French ambassador was able to discredit the new charge d'affaires before the sultan. In addition, Levashov’s relationship with Obreskov himself soon worsened. The arrest of Obreskov at an official audience on September 25, 1768, the Turkish sultan began a new Russian-Turkish war . Levashov was still free when, the day after the outbreak of war, he learned about the message of the Sultan of the Crimean Khan order about an attack on the borders of the Russian Empire. He sent two couriers with encrypted reports (to the Kiev governor-general and the Russian ambassador in Warsaw), where he revealed the plans of the sultan. Soon Levashov was also arrested by the Turks, was kept together with other Russian diplomats at the headquarters of the great vizier. All the arrested diplomats were transported after the Turkish army. During captivity Levashov kept a diary; these notes formed the basis of his memoirs ^[4] .

Levashov was released in May 1771, he returned to Russia in the summer and was greeted with great honors: in particular, he repeatedly appeared at the "dinner dish" in the palace. After that, he continued to work in the College of Foreign Affairs , where he was engaged in the preparation of dragomania. It is known that at that time he talked a lot with A. B. Kurakin , N. I. Panin and E. R. Dashkova . By a personal decree of the empress of November 15, 1771, Levashov became a real state adviser ^[5] .

In 1782, being with the Belarusian governor-general P. B. Passek , he met with G.I. Dobrynin , who spoke of Levashov as an interesting person with a good sense of humor and a wonderful memory. After the start of another Russian-Turkish war in 1787, Levashov often met with G. A. Potemkin and V. S. Popov , in communication with whom he made plans to create a large seaport on the site of the Hadzhibey pier (since 1795 - Odessa ), wide Russian colonization of the Northern Black Sea region and the development of trade in the region. In the fall of 1787 he was in London . After the resignation, he settled on his estate in Rogachev county , sometimes making trips to Mogilev and Moscow , in which he had a house that burned down during the Napoleon invasion ^[6] .

He died in Moscow on the 101st year (according to the Moscow Necropolis, on the 121st) year of his life and was buried in the Donskoy Monastery .

In 1757 , while staying in Vienna, Levashov translated the essay by F. Kaler “On the Minister’s Position in Foreign Courts”. “Word to true patriots” was attached to this translation, which glorified the domestic and foreign policy successes of Russia, and also spoke of the need to involve not only foreigners, but also Russians in diplomatic activities. In addition, in his statements, Levashov sympathized with the peasants and was dissatisfied with serfdom ^[6] .

In 1790, Levashov’s book, Captivity and Suffering of the Russians by the Turks , was published, telling about his capture by the Turks. The writer was interested in history and foreign policy, which the following works were also devoted to: “The Picture, or Description of All Invasions of the Tatars and Turks by Russia” (published in 1792 ; written in 1774 ) ^[7] , “On the Superiority and Presidency of European Sovereigns and their Ambassadors and ministers ”( 1792 ),“ The notes from some incidents during the war with the Turks from the day it was declared until 1775 ”( 1790 ) and“ The Curious History of the Glorious City of Odessa ”( 1819 ), as well as, probably, Tsaregradsky Letters about the ancient and current Turks ... ”( 1789 ) ^[3] . All the works of Levashov were published by P.I. Bogdanovich.

• Levashev, Pavel Artemievich // Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary : 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additional). - SPb. , 1890-1907.
• Traveling in the East: In the era of Catherine II / Introduction. A.A. Vigasina. - M .: Publishing House Vost. company lit. ”: School Press, 1995.

• Pavel Artemievich Levashov (neopr.) . Diplomats of the Russian Empire .
• Levashov, Pavel Artemievich (neopr.) . Big Biographical Encyclopedia (2009) .