Nikolai Petrovsky
Encyclopedia
Nikolay Fyodorovich Petrovsky was the Russian consul-general in Kashgar
from 1882 until 1902.
Petrovsky's main adversary during his time in Central Asia was George McCartney, his English
counterpart. The competition between their two countries for influence in Central Asia
is known as the Great Game. Between 1899 and June 1902 the two did not speak to each other, although both were on friendly terms with visiting travellers such as Sven Hedin
.
Petrovsky was very interested in collecting materials on the history of Xinjiang
. The Soviet scholar A.F. Usmanov suggested that
he may have been instrumental in encouraging the veteran of Yaqub Beg's regime, Mulla Musa Sayrami
, to write his Tārīkh-i amniyya ("History of Peace"), which to these days remains one of the best sources on the events in the region in the 19th century.
By the end of the 19th century, Petrovsky's personal collection included some texts in the then-unknown Tocharian languages
, among other obscure dialects. The bulk of his collection was donated by Petrovsky to the Asiatic Museum in St. Petersburg.
Kashgar
Kashgar or Kashi is an oasis city with approximately 350,000 residents in the western part of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China. Kashgar is the administrative centre of Kashgar Prefecture which has an area of 162,000 km² and a population of approximately...
from 1882 until 1902.
Petrovsky's main adversary during his time in Central Asia was George McCartney, his English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
counterpart. The competition between their two countries for influence in Central Asia
Central Asia
Central Asia is a core region of the Asian continent from the Caspian Sea in the west, China in the east, Afghanistan in the south, and Russia in the north...
is known as the Great Game. Between 1899 and June 1902 the two did not speak to each other, although both were on friendly terms with visiting travellers such as Sven Hedin
Sven Hedin
Sven Anders Hedin KNO1kl RVO was a Swedish geographer, topographer, explorer, photographer, and travel writer, as well as an illustrator of his own works...
.
Petrovsky was very interested in collecting materials on the history of Xinjiang
History of Xinjiang
The recorded history of Xinjiang dates to the 2nd millennium BC. There have been many empires, primarily Han, Turkic, and Mongolic, that have ruled over the region, including the Yuezhi, Xiongnu Empire, Han Dynasty, Sixteen Kingdoms of the Jin Dynasty , Tang Dynasty, Uyghur Khaganate, Kara-Khanid...
. The Soviet scholar A.F. Usmanov suggested that
he may have been instrumental in encouraging the veteran of Yaqub Beg's regime, Mulla Musa Sayrami
Musa Sayrami
Mullā Mūsa Sayrāmī was a historian from Xinjiang, known for his account of the events in that region in the 19th century, in particular the Dungan Rebellion of 1864-1877...
, to write his Tārīkh-i amniyya ("History of Peace"), which to these days remains one of the best sources on the events in the region in the 19th century.
By the end of the 19th century, Petrovsky's personal collection included some texts in the then-unknown Tocharian languages
Tocharian languages
Tocharian or Tokharian is an extinct branch of the Indo-European language family. The name is taken from the people known to the Greeks as the Tocharians . These are sometimes identified with the Yuezhi and the Kushans. The term Tokharistan usually refers to 1st millennium Bactria, which the...
, among other obscure dialects. The bulk of his collection was donated by Petrovsky to the Asiatic Museum in St. Petersburg.