Nikolai G. Petrusevich (1838–1880) was a Russian general, geologist, geographer, and scientist, notable for being a humanitarian officer in the

Russian Army The Russian Ground Forces (), also known as the Russian Army in English, are the Army, land forces of the Russian Armed Forces. The primary responsibilities of the Russian Ground Forces are the protection of the state borders, combat on land, ...

and a geographer of

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

. He is credited with discovering the Sarygamysh Depression in 1876. He died at the siege of Dengil Teppe.

Military career

In 1865, as captain, he took up service with the Karachai, where he learned the local language, the local customs, abolished serfdom, organized schools for gifted children, and even helped Muslims make their pilgrimage. In the early 1870s, when he was just a colonel, he was active in

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

. He called the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

"rascals and thieves," because they had been merely enslaving exploiters of "Khivans, Bokharans, Persians." On the other hand, he also criticized the Russian Army for barbarism and cruelty, writing... Petrusevich also acted in a scientific capacity for the Russian Army, surveying the northern Afghanistan border.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Petrusevich, Nikolai Imperial Russian Army generals 19th-century explorers from the Russian Empire Geographers from the Russian Empire Geologists from the Russian Empire 1838 births 1880 deaths