Dmitry Vasilyevich Putyata () (Smolensk province, 24 February 1855 - Odessa, 3 February 1915) was a General of the

Imperial Russian Army The Imperial Russian Army () was the army of the Russian Empire, active from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was organized into a standing army and a state militia. The standing army consisted of Regular army, regular troops and ...

and a

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

n explorer of the

Pamir Mountains The Pamir Mountains are a Mountain range, range of mountains between Central Asia and South Asia. They are located at a junction with other notable mountains, namely the Tian Shan, Karakoram, Kunlun Mountains, Kunlun, Hindu Kush and the Himalaya ...

. In 1883 he explored Karakul Lake,

Tashkurgan Town Tashkurgan, historically known as Sarikol and Shitoucheng, is a town in the far west of China, close to the country's border with Tajikistan. It is seat of Tashkurgan Tajik Autonomous County, in the Autonomous regions of China, autonomous regio ...

, the Bendersky Pass to the

Wakhan Wakhan, or "the Wakhan" (also spelt Vakhan; Persian and , ''Vâxân'' and ''Wāxān'' respectively; , ''Vaxon''), is a rugged, mountainous part of the Pamir, Hindu Kush and Karakoram regions of Afghanistan. Wakhan District is a district in ...

Valley and westward along the Ghunt River. He covered more territory than any previous or subsequent expedition. Thomas Middleton and Hew Thomas, "Tajikistan and the High Pamirs", 2008 In the 1890s Putyata served on Russian General Staff as a specialist on China.
In the late 1890s, Putyata as a military Attaché to Korea was sent to

Korean Empire The Korean Empire, officially the Empire of Korea or Imperial Korea, was a Korean monarchical state proclaimed in October 1897 by King Gojong of the Joseon dynasty. The empire lasted until the Japanese annexation of Korea in August 1910. Dur ...

to modernize the

Imperial Korean Army The Imperial Korean Armed Forces (대한제국군) was the military of the Korean Empire. History Foundation Succeeding the Joseon Army and Navy, the Gwangmu Reform reorganized the military into a modern western-style military. The foundatio ...

with some other officers as a request of

Min Young-hwan Min Yeong-hwan (; 7 August 1861 – 30 November 1905) was a politician, diplomat, and general of the Korean Empire and known as a conservative proponent for reform. He was born in Seoul into the powerful Yeoheung Min clan which Heungseon Dae ...

, the Minister of War of Korean Empire who visited Russia before. However, he had conflicts with Min and tried to go back to Russia. According to the report of French Embassy in Korea, Putyata was unhappy about his payment in Korea and wanted to go back to Russia. Finally on 12 June 1897, Putyata was permitted to go back to Russia. But because he had to write reports, Putyata stayed in Korea. Finally on 24 August 1897, Putyata was permitted to go back to Russia before the successor's arrival. Between 1902 and 1906, he was Military governor of the

Amur Region Amur Oblast () is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast), located on the banks of the Amur and Zeya rivers in the Russian Far East. The oblast borders Heilongjiang province of the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the south. The administrat ...

. He was accused of liberalism and connivance with the revolutionaries and strikers during the

Russian Revolution of 1905 The Russian Revolution of 1905, also known as the First Russian Revolution, was a revolution in the Russian Empire which began on 22 January 1905 and led to the establishment of a constitutional monarchy under the Russian Constitution of 1906, t ...

. He was relieved of his duties and recalled to the General Staff in August 1906. In March 1907, he was appointed as head of the Odessa brigade, and died there on 3 February 1915.

References

19th-century explorers from the Russian Empire Explorers of Central Asia Imperial Russian Army personnel 1915 deaths 1855 births {{Explorer-stub