Vasily Aleksandrovich Potto (russian: Василий Александрович Потто; 1 January 1836 – 29 November 1911) was a Russian lieutenant-general (1907) and military historian, known for his landmark works on the history of the Caucasian War.

History

Born of a noble family of a German descent in the

Tula Governorate Tula Governorate (russian: Тульская губерния) was an administrative division (a '' guberniya'') of the Russian Empire and the Russian SFSR, located in the south of Moscow Governorate. The Governate existed from 1796 to 1929; its s ...

, Potto was educated at the Orlovsky Bakhtin Cadet Corps. He served as a captain in the

Crimean War The Crimean War, , was fought from October 1853 to February 1856 between Russia and an ultimately victorious alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom and Piedmont-Sardinia. Geopolitical causes of the war included the de ...

(1853–55) and took part in putting down the

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken *Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...

January Uprising The January Uprising ( pl, powstanie styczniowe; lt, 1863 metų sukilimas; ua, Січневе повстання; russian: Польское восстание; ) was an insurrection principally in Russia's Kingdom of Poland that was aimed at ...

(1863–64). In 1887 Colonel Potto was attached to the staff of the Caucasus Military District, where he was appointed head of the military and historical department in 1899. During his tenure in the Caucasus, Potto collected pieces of folk literature of the Caucasian mountain peoples and the

Cossacks The Cossacks , es, cosaco , et, Kasakad, cazacii , fi, Kasakat, cazacii , french: cosaques , hu, kozákok, cazacii , it, cosacchi , orv, коза́ки, pl, Kozacy , pt, cossacos , ro, cazaci , russian: казаки́ or ...

. He exploited his access to vast historical and first-hand material and produced a series of works pertaining to the Russian conquest of the Caucasus, including his monumental five-volume ''The Caucasian War in Different Essays, Episodes, Legends, and Biographies'' (1885–91).

References

1836 births 1911 deaths People from Tula Governorate People from the Russian Empire of German descent Russian nobility Imperial Russian Army generals Russian military historians Russian military personnel of the Crimean War Russian people of the January Uprising Caucasian War {{Russia-historian-stub