Абиссинецъ – የሐበሻ መስኮብ

Nikolay Leontyev as a mastermind of Adwa Victory: Part II

In early July 1985, a numerous Ethiopian diplomatic delegation headed by Emperor Menelik II's cousin Prince Damtew (ልዑል ራስ ዳምጠው), and accompanied by Maj. (Res.) Nikolay Leontyev, arrived in St. Petersburg. Also on the delegation list were Prince Belaqew (ልዑል ራስ በላቀው), Tsehafi-Teezaz Ato Yosif (ፀሐፊ ትዕዛዝ አቶ ዮሲፍ), General Genemye (ደጃዝማች ገነሜ), and the Metropolitan Archbishop of Harar Abune Gebre-Egziabher (አቡነ ገብረእግዚአብሔር). On the below photo, to the left is Prince Damtew, to the right is Prince Belaqew and standing in the centre is Tsehafi-Teezaz Ato Yosif. Maj. (Res.) Nikolay Leontyev was seconded by Capt. (Ret.) Konstantin Zvyagin.

Formally, the mission was to lay a Golden Crown onto the tomb of the late Russian Emperor Alexander III (26 February 1845 – 20 October 1894). De facto, Prince Damtew delivered a personal letter from Emperor Menelik II to Emperor Nicholas II. The Russian tsar received the Ethiopian delegation at the Grand (Catherine) Palace of Tsarskoye Selo (a suburb of St Petersburg). On July 12, a very exotic delegation was presented to the Russian Royal couple, the Russian Tsar Nicholas II and his August Spouse Alix.

Under commission of Emperor Menelik II, Prince Damtew awarded the Russian monarch with the Order of the Seal of Solomon, an as a sign or reciprocity accepted the Order of the Holy blessed Grand Duke Alexander Nevsky which was the award of Emperor Nicholas II for Emperor Menelik II. Also, as a gift from Ethiopia, the Russian monarch received the Holy Gospel and a Golden Cross. Despite the French language complexity of the negotiations with the Ethiopian envoys, the results of the meeting were impressive: the Ethiopian delegation took with it 135 large boxes of rifles and ammunition, as well as a large batch of cavalry sabers from the Russian Zlatoust factory.

In addition, or rather much above that, the Russian Emperor made a personal donation of 400,000 Russian Rubles to Emperor Menelik II. An important note: in the late 19th century, the Russian Empire introduced the so called golden standard for the national currency, which meant that each on Ruble equates to 7.774235 grammes of pure gold, i.e. 999.9 promille (‰) or 24 carat gold. Recalculated in pure gold terms, the Russian Emperor donation equated to 309.7 kilogrammes of pure gold (!), or 310 standard bank gold bullion bars (!!!). In his personal message to Emperor Menelik II, Emperor Nicholas II assured the Ethiopian monarch of his of his constant disposition and participation “in the destinies of the Abyssinian people”.

Italian diplomatic circles were concerned about Russian interference in Italian-Ethiopian affairs in general and the presence of the Ethiopian diplomatic mission in the Russian capital in particular. The protest of the Italian Ambassador in St. Petersburg had no effect. In response, there were only traditional formal assurances of Russian neutrality. Nevertheless, in Italy, Prince Damtew’s/Nikolay Leontyev’s visit was considered contrary to the friendly relations established between Russia and Italy. In his memo to Emperor Nicholas II, the Russian Foreign Minister, Alexey Lobanov-Rostovsky just routinely reported on the visit of the Italian Charge d'Affaires, Mr. Silvestrelli. However, the rules of the international law could not prevent Russia from accepting this mission, since Russia never recognized the protectorate of Italy over Ethiopia. Moreover, throughout the First Italo-Ethiopian War of 1895-1896 Russia provided moral support to Ethiopia via the press and through diplomatic channels. This support was combined with substantial clandestine financial and military assistance.

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280 viewsedited  Mar 2 at 06:59

Nikolay Leontyev as a mastermind of Adwa Victory: Part II

In early July 1985, a numerous Ethiopian diplomatic delegation headed by Emperor Menelik II's cousin Prince Damtew (ልዑል ራስ ዳምጠው), and accompanied by Maj. (Res.) Nikolay Leontyev, arrived in St. Petersburg. Also on the delegation list were Prince Belaqew (ልዑል ራስ በላቀው), Tsehafi-Teezaz Ato Yosif (ፀሐፊ ትዕዛዝ አቶ ዮሲፍ), General Genemye (ደጃዝማች ገነሜ), and the Metropolitan Archbishop of Harar Abune Gebre-Egziabher (አቡነ ገብረእግዚአብሔር). On the below photo, to the left is Prince Damtew, to the right is Prince Belaqew and standing in the centre is Tsehafi-Teezaz Ato Yosif. Maj. (Res.) Nikolay Leontyev was seconded by Capt. (Ret.) Konstantin Zvyagin.

Formally, the mission was to lay a Golden Crown onto the tomb of the late Russian Emperor Alexander III (26 February 1845 – 20 October 1894). De facto, Prince Damtew delivered a personal letter from Emperor Menelik II to Emperor Nicholas II. The Russian tsar received the Ethiopian delegation at the Grand (Catherine) Palace of Tsarskoye Selo (a suburb of St Petersburg). On July 12, a very exotic delegation was presented to the Russian Royal couple, the Russian Tsar Nicholas II and his August Spouse Alix.

Under commission of Emperor Menelik II, Prince Damtew awarded the Russian monarch with the Order of the Seal of Solomon, an as a sign or reciprocity accepted the Order of the Holy blessed Grand Duke Alexander Nevsky which was the award of Emperor Nicholas II for Emperor Menelik II. Also, as a gift from Ethiopia, the Russian monarch received the Holy Gospel and a Golden Cross. Despite the French language complexity of the negotiations with the Ethiopian envoys, the results of the meeting were impressive: the Ethiopian delegation took with it 135 large boxes of rifles and ammunition, as well as a large batch of cavalry sabers from the Russian Zlatoust factory.

In addition, or rather much above that, the Russian Emperor made a personal donation of 400,000 Russian Rubles to Emperor Menelik II. An important note: in the late 19th century, the Russian Empire introduced the so called golden standard for the national currency, which meant that each on Ruble equates to 7.774235 grammes of pure gold, i.e. 999.9 promille (‰) or 24 carat gold. Recalculated in pure gold terms, the Russian Emperor donation equated to 309.7 kilogrammes of pure gold (!), or 310 standard bank gold bullion bars (!!!). In his personal message to Emperor Menelik II, Emperor Nicholas II assured the Ethiopian monarch of his of his constant disposition and participation “in the destinies of the Abyssinian people”.

Italian diplomatic circles were concerned about Russian interference in Italian-Ethiopian affairs in general and the presence of the Ethiopian diplomatic mission in the Russian capital in particular. The protest of the Italian Ambassador in St. Petersburg had no effect. In response, there were only traditional formal assurances of Russian neutrality. Nevertheless, in Italy, Prince Damtew’s/Nikolay Leontyev’s visit was considered contrary to the friendly relations established between Russia and Italy. In his memo to Emperor Nicholas II, the Russian Foreign Minister, Alexey Lobanov-Rostovsky just routinely reported on the visit of the Italian Charge d'Affaires, Mr. Silvestrelli. However, the rules of the international law could not prevent Russia from accepting this mission, since Russia never recognized the protectorate of Italy over Ethiopia. Moreover, throughout the First Italo-Ethiopian War of 1895-1896 Russia provided moral support to Ethiopia via the press and through diplomatic channels. This support was combined with substantial clandestine financial and military assistance.

BY Абиссинецъ – የሐበሻ መስኮብ