Description
One of the most striking figures in the long history of Serbian and Russian friendship, Colonel Nikolay Nikolayevich Raevsky (Russian: Николай Николаевич Раевский, November 17, 1839 – September 2, 1876 according to the Gregorian calendar) was born in Russia, in the Crimea in an aristocratic military family. He was the grandson of the celebrated general Nikolay Raevsky, the hero of the Patriotic War of 1812 against Napoleon. His father, who was also called Nikolay Nikolayevich, was a lieutenant general, commander of the Black Sea Coastal Line, founder of the city of Novorossiysk, the largest seaport on the Black Sea, and the closest friend of the Russian poet Alexander Pushkin.
When the war between Serbia and Turkey broke out in 1876, Colonel Raevsky came under the command of General Chernyayev as a volunteer. He commanded a detachment of Russian volunteers in the Battle of Aleksinac, and died a heroic death in the Battle of Gornji Adrovac on September 2, 1876.
He was buried in his homeland, but his heart, which beat for the Slavic brothers, remained forever in Serbia, in the Saint Roman monastery. The heroic personality of Nikolay Raevsky inspired the writer Leo Tolstoy for the character of Count Vronsky in the novel Anna Karenina.
Professional cooperation: The Russian House – Russian Centre of Science and Culture in Belgrade, Brotherhood of Saint Roman Monastery
Artistic realization: Nadežda Skočajić, Academic Graphic Artist
