In the Fatherland of a Russian Courtier: the Danube as I. P. Kutaisov’s Homeland

Abstract

Studying the Russian-Turkish war of 1768—1774 allows us to shed light on the circumstances preceding the appearance of I. P. Kutaisov (1759—1834) in Russia. Kutaisov was a well-known and powerful courtier during the reign of Pavel I (1796—1801), and the founder of a dynasty of counts very close to the throne. A detailed comparison of the events in 1770 allowed us to find out that during the “sabotage” in Chilia fortress (in August), count N. V. Repnin’s soldiers captivated a Tatar boy from Burkut aul on the eastern bank of the Lake Katlabukh near the Danube, in the vicinity of the fortified locality named ‘Kitay’ (Shikirli-Kitay, now Suvorovo). It seems that his surname Kutaisov derives from this toponym and was given to the child later, in Saint Petersburg. It was a joint effort of several representatives of the Russian elite to send the boy to the capital city as a ‘gift’ to Catherine the Great, after the conquest of Bender (in September). After a solemn ceremony, the Empress sent this ‘live’ gift to serve her son, prince Pavel, who gave the boy his own name (Pavlovich).