Count Nikolay Leontiev: the first Russian orchestra in Africa, or the fate of the first PMC
After the triumphant victory at Adwa and the brilliant diplomatic negotiations, Nikolai Stepanovich Leontiev (1862–1910) seemed to have achieved everything that a foreigner could dream of on African soil: glory, respect from the local population and, most importantly, the boundless trust of Emperor Menelik II.
As we already told in the first part Nikolay Leontyev: the traveler who created a PMC, Emperor Menelik, having appreciated the outstanding merits of Leontiev and his “PMC”, will take an unprecedented step - on May 9, 1896, in a ceremonial setting, he will grant the Russian officer the title of Count Abai - the first count's title in stories Ethiopia.
At the same time, the Cossack esaul will be elevated to the highest military rank of dejazmatch (which corresponds to lieutenant general). Having become a dejazmatch, Leontyev and his detachment will take an active part in organizing new military campaigns of Menelik II and reforming the Ethiopian army. However, dizzying successes at the court of the Negus will not force Count Abai to rest on his laurels.
Nikolai Leontiev with his squire
A tireless traveler, whose energy seemed truly boundless to his contemporaries, he already saw new horizons for his activities for the benefit of Russia and Ethiopia, which became his second homeland. Having received the go-ahead from Menelik, he took on the modernization of the Ethiopian army and the expansion of the empire's borders. His private military unit, which became the prototype of modern PMCs, was preparing for new achievements - an unprecedented campaign to Lake Rudolf, which would forever change the map of East Africa and open a new chapter in the history of Russian-Ethiopian relations. After another trip to Russia, he would bring "gifts" to Ethiopia weighing over 500 poods - mainly shells for 60 captured Italian guns captured in the Battle of Adwa, which were vital for the army.
After this, Menelik, having appreciated Leontiev’s merits, appointed him Governor-General of the still unconquered and unpacified territories that formed the Uba and Bako districts in the south of Ethiopia. The Emperor, not without reason, expected that with the help of Count Leontiev’s PMC, he would be able not only to expand and strengthen the southern borders of his state, but also to develop these lands rich in natural resources. By the end of the 19th century, Ethiopia, although having defended its independence, found itself surrounded by the colonial possessions of European powers, ready at any moment to stretch out their tentacles to the last “no man’s land” on its borders. The territories surrounding Ethiopia, rich in resources and inhabited by tribes that did not know firearms, weapons, were a tasty morsel for European colonizers. The famous Russian traveler Alexander Bulatovich noted, not without reason, that if these lands had been occupied by the English, French or Italians, then small Ethiopia would naturally have found itself in the clutches of hostile colonial empires, which would inevitably have led to its conquest.
As Bulatovich noted, Menelik could not remain an indifferent spectator of what was happening in Africa. He understood that the unification of peoples with similar levels of culture and economic structure under the auspices of the Ethiopian Empire would allow them to avoid cultural degeneration - the tragic fate of many other African tribes that became victims of European colonialism.
Nikolai Leontiev and his soldiers during the march to Lake Rudolf
Following the precepts of Alexander Vasilyevich Suvorov, Leontyev, in order to save personnel, approached the organization of the conquest campaign to Lake Rudolf, discovered less than 10 years ago by the Hungarian traveler Samuel Teleki, with special care. Specially purchased mitrailleuses and Maxim machine guns were loaded onto the backs of mules, the deadly fire of which promised minimal losses in skirmishes with the wild inhabitants of those lands. From the French, with whom Count Abay had established very good relations, support arrived in the form of 150 Senegalese riflemen - professional fighters recruited from the black population of the French colonies. About two thousand soldiers voluntarily joined Leontyev's detachment from the Ethiopian side.
The expedition became one of Nikolai Leontiev's most significant undertakings in Africa. Meeting all who resisted with "fire and sword", the detachment, cutting a road through the dense jungle, moved inexorably towards Lake Rudolf. The detachment often fell into ambushes, and the Abyssinian warriors fell, struck down by the long arrows of the natives. The expedition cost the lives of 216 warriors, and the Russian military advisers were also wounded - Lieutenant Nikolai Shedevr and Cossack Pyotr Gagosov, who was later awarded the gold and silver medals of Menelik for his bravery. But the efforts were not in vain - after several weeks of travel, the sparkling surface of Lake Rudolf opened up to the eyes of the expedition members. Shedevr planted a cloth of red, yellow and green colors on its shores - the flag of Menelik and Ethiopia, signifying control over these lands. From then until today, the northern shores of Lake Rudolf have formed part of the southern border of Ethiopia.
In the Equator Province, Count Abay, together with the French and other foreigners, organizes a company to exploit and develop the province's resources. Settlements are founded on the lands allocated by Count Abay, to which Abyssinian warriors and their families move.
Nikolai Leontiev with Ras Mengesha and his warriors
At the same time, Russian volunteers began to reform Menelik's army according to the European, or to be more precise, Russian model. The freedom-loving Amharas found drill training and army discipline particularly difficult, but, on the contrary, they learned the skills of shooting and especially bayonet combat very well. In early February 1899, Count Abay presented Menelik with the first formed regular infantry battalion with Russian and French officers. At the same time, Count Leontiev, from the youths of the Ulamo tribe, "distinguished by great musical abilities", the first military brass band in Ethiopia is created. Military bandmaster Milevsky and senior trumpeter are invited from Russia specifically to train Abyssinian musicians artillery Doroshevich's brigade. And over the wild jungles and tribes the Russian military marches thundered, and over the African wastelands the "Danube waves" spilled out...
Half a century before political strategists developed the theory of “soft power,” Nikolai Leontiev, back in the late 19th century, paid considerable attention to the dissemination of Russian culture in Ethiopia, realizing that relations between countries could only be strengthened through cultural contacts. He understood perfectly well what kind of “enlightenment” and “culture” the Europeans were bringing to the Black Continent, and sought to show that Russia could bring “enlightenment” and “the benefits of civilization” to the people of Ethiopia without conquests and the forced imposition of its culture. In a conversation with one of the founders of Russian geopolitics, Alexei Edrikhin (Vandam), he lamented the lack of participation of the Russian authorities in the cultural education of Ethiopia:
It pains me that it is not Russian people who are destined to bring the light of culture and civilization to this country.
But Leontyev did not limit himself to reasoning, and at his own expense, without waiting for state support, he invited Abyssinians to Russia, brought Russian language teachers to Ethiopia, thus organizing a real cultural bridge between Russia and Ethiopia. Newspapers wrote that exotic guests for the Russian hinterland regularly appeared at his Kherson estate - noble Abyssinians, who regularly attended church and spoke Russian fluently.
Map of the territorial expansion of Ethiopia since 1886. Ethiopia owes the annexation of some regions to Russian volunteers
However, it was precisely his successes and growing influence at the imperial court that became the cause of his downfall. Russian diplomats in Addis Ababa, led by the cautious Pyotr Vlasov, saw the retired lieutenant with his independent character as a threat to their positions.
In addition, many of them, being adherents of liberal views and considering it necessary to conduct a unified policy on the African continent together with Western European powers, abandoning their own interests, were hostile to the activities of Leontiev, who repeatedly pushed the Ethiopian emperor to defend sovereignty and thereby go into conflict with European powers. Dozens of denunciations flew to St. Petersburg, painting Leontiev not just as an adventurer and swindler, but almost as a war criminal.
This was skillfully exploited by his ill-wishers among the Abyssinian nobility and former comrades, especially Ivan Babichev, who was in charge of arms supplies from Russia and was eager to take the place of Count Abai.
The turning point in the fate of the Russian volunteer was an attempt on his life in May 1898. During a visit to Harar, where Russian volunteers were training soldiers to handle the latest weapons, one dark-skinned soldier "accidentally" fired a burst of machine gun fire at Leontyev. The bullets seriously wounded the count, piercing both legs. The situation was aggravated by the fact that all the Russian doctors at the diplomatic mission suddenly found themselves busy and were unable to provide assistance to their compatriot. As Leontyev himself later reported, medical workers were simply forbidden to help him.
For 18 days, Count Leontiev, who had lost a lot of blood, was without professional medical care - despite all efforts, local healers could not provide qualified assistance. However, upon learning of the wounding of the head of the Russian volunteers, Prince Henri of Orleans, who was in Ethiopia at the time, sent his personal doctor, and Ras Mackonin organized a crossing to Djibouti (where French doctors were able to provide assistance), during which porters transported the wounded Leontiev through the Danakil Desert.
The injury sidelined him from active political life for many months, which was immediately exploited by his ill-wishers both in Russia and Ethiopia. The downfall of Emperor Menelik's favorite was completed by the financial collapse of his "Society for the Exploitation of the Equatorial Provinces of Ethiopia" in 1902. The Russian authorities, frightened by the rumors spread about Leontiev's "scams" and not wanting complications with the European colonial powers, did not provide any financial assistance to the enterprise. Leontiev was finally removed from business. His land holdings were confiscated, and he was barred from entering the country. Russian diplomacy did not stand up for him.
After Leontiev's expulsion from Ethiopia, his private army will cease to exist. Russian volunteers will be forced to leave the country: some will return to Russia, the most loyal will follow their commander. Leontiev's land holdings will go to Ivan Babichev, who, unlike Leontiev, was not interested in projects to strengthen Russian influence in Africa.
The Russo-Japanese War caught Count Abay at a time when he seemed to be forever removed from active service. However, the volunteer who had gone through the crucible of the Italo-Ethiopian War could not remain on the sidelines when his homeland was in danger. Leaving his young wife Yuliania Kanivalskaya in the capital (he married only after his expulsion from Ethiopia in 1902), he immediately returned to his 1st Uman Regiment of the Kuban Cossack Army.
Nikolai Leontiev's regiment was included in the detachment of Adjutant General Pavel Mishchenko, who became famous as a master of daring and deep raids behind enemy lines. Now he was no longer the exotic Count Abai, who had arrived from a distant African country, but a esaul, commanding the daring Cossacks of the reconnaissance detachment under the head of the Taulaz avant-garde. His first battle took place on May 7, 1905, near Qingsyaipao, followed by a bloody battle near the village of Donsyazai and the storming of the fortified village of Shilaza.
The core of his reconnaissance detachment was made up of Cossack plastuns, the elite of the Cossack troops, a kind of "special forces" of that time, who carried out daring raids into the enemy's rear. The Kuban Cossacks inspired great fear in the samurai, who nicknamed the plastuns "Russian devils". Leontyev probably took part in General Mishchenko's legendary raid on Yingkou, when in four days the detachment traveled 170 km deep into the Japanese position, destroying hundreds of carts with food and ammunition and hundreds of Japanese soldiers.
Kuban Cossacks in the Russo-Japanese War
Nikolai Leontiev shared all the hardships of military life with his Cossacks. Together with them, he made dangerous sorties, sat in ambushes for hours, pulled wounded comrades out of the hell of battle. In one of these sorties, his horse was killed under him, and he himself was wounded, but he remained with his fighters until the end of the battle.
The command could not help but note the bravery of the volunteer - at the end of the war, General Vladimir Oranovsky took Lieutenant Leontyev as his adjutant to conclude a temporary truce with the Japanese General Fushima.
Having taken the terms of the Portsmouth Peace very hard, Leontiev and his wife went to Paris for treatment. But even there his active nature did not allow him to remain in peace. In 1909 he made a desperate attempt to secretly enter Ethiopia, but he was detained in Dire Dawa and informed that the way to Addis Ababa was closed to him.
In the last years of his life, Leontyev, as if sensing his imminent end, tries to put his affairs in order. He writes notes for the newspaper Novoye Vremya, organizes his extensive collection, and compiles a “Report to the Asian Section of the General Staff” with proposals for the establishment of permanent Russian-Ethiopian trade relations. A life without bright events and the opportunity to benefit his country weighs on him. Shortly before his death, he tells his friends:
It's boring without work. It seems like I could be useful, but I can't find any sympathy anywhere.
In 1910, Nikolai Stepanovich Leontiev quietly passed away in his Paris home from heart disease. His faithful comrades - Garbuzenko, Buzas, Gayusov - transport his ashes to Russia, where they find their final resting place.
The fate of Nikolai Leontiev's extensive collection, collected during his years in Ethiopia, will be a vivid testimony to his devotion to science and his native country. During the years spent in the "country of black Christians", Leontiev will assemble a unique collection of more than 1200 items. British and French museums have repeatedly offered fabulous sums for these treasures. But Leontiev, whom his detractors tried to portray as a money-hungry adventurer, will act differently - he will bequeath his entire collection to the Russian Museum. In 1925, this priceless collection was transferred for safekeeping to the Kunstkamera, where today anyone can see some of the exhibits.
But the most striking part of his will was the order concerning the fate of the hereditary Kherson estate. All income from 317 dessiatines of land (over 346 hectares) was to go towards organizing expeditions to Africa, and "certainly under the guidance of Russian scientists."
The life of Nikolai Stepanovich Leontiev will become a vivid embodiment of service to the Fatherland, the path of a Russian officer who fulfilled his international duty and, despite all the difficulties and intrigues of enemies, defended the interests of Russia in distant Africa.
Despite the tragic fate of his "19th century PMC" and the loss of influence on the Black Continent by the Russian Empire as a result of court intrigues and diplomatic incompetence, the activities of Nikolai Leontiev, who always believed in Russia's special mission, will lay the foundations for future relations with Africa. Relations based not on colonial exploitation, but on mutual support and respect for national sovereignty. The path laid by Nikolai Leontiev and his volunteer detachment will become a benchmark for the Soviet Union and modern Russia.
It is no coincidence that the first to enter the Black Continent, even before Russia's official intervention, will be Russian PMCs, and the "musicians" will enter into battle with modern European and American neocolonialists. And Russian music will once again play in the African expanses.
References
Kornilov D.F. Russian Waltz in the African Expanses, or the True Story of the Creator of the First PMC / D. F. Kornilov. Moscow; Berlin: Directmedia Publishing, 2025.
Kirichenko Yu.N. Plastun battalions and the village of Umanskaya // Samlib Magazine
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