Russia. Circumstances of Time" at 10:35 on Radio Russia! Topic: "Abyssinian sings and Bagna cries... "Peter Vlasov, the first Russian envoy to Ethiopia" .
The actual member of the State Council - that is, the civilian general - Piotr Mihailovic Velsov arrived in the new capital of Ethiopia at the time - the city of Addis Ababa, to the court of Emperor Menelik II in February 1898. The journey took more than 11 months. The Russian mission, which included several senior officers, left St. Petersburg for Odessa. Then she continued her journey to Ethiopia by boat through Alexandria and the Red Sea. Vlasov carried with him a loan for the Ethiopian sovereign in the amount of 26,000 silver thalers. The task was to support Menelik. On Vlasov's initiative, an expedition was sent to the sources of the White Nile, which assured Menelik's power of the disputed lands on the borders of Sudan. Literature, technical innovations and medicines were regularly delivered to Addis Ababa. Russian doctors received the fame of good angels on African soil. Under the leadership of doctors Mikhail Labdinsky and Nikolai Rubtsin, a Russian hospital was opened in Addis Ababa in March 1898, where people from all over the country came for treatment. Vlasov's Ethiopian service was not an idyll. Russia had to confront Ethiopia's other European ally, France. French diplomats, together with Menelik's corrupt courtiers, conspired against Velsov, complicating and sabotaging the work of the Russian delegation. But by the side of the Russian officer, Menelik's wife and comrade-in-arms, the almighty queen of Ethiopia Teito Batul, always stood. Presenter: Sergey Baron - historian. Listen and subscribe to Radio Russia on Telegram MAX and download the official app of Radio Russia!