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The papers consist of Skobelev's correspondence, manuscripts, documents, subject files, and printed materials. There are awards and documents of M. D. Skobelev, his father (Dmitrii Ivanovich), and his grandfather (Ivan Nikitich), both of whom were also generals. These documents include edicts signed by Russian Tsars Paul I, Alexander I, Nicholas I, and Alexander II, and by two Kings of Prussia, Friedrich Wilhelm IV and Wilhelm I. There are also patents of nobility, military service records, and documents related to various military campaigns including maps. The correspondence primarily dates from 1870-1890 and consists mainly of letters received by Mikhail Skobelev and copies of letters which he wrote. Also included are incoming and outgoing letters of D. I. Skobelev. The manuscripts include essays, notes, drafts, memos on military affairs by M. D. Skobelev and other authors. There are subject files with materials about M. D. Skobelev, including printed materials such as newspapers and clippings. There are also files with materials related to activity of the Komitet imeni General-Ad'iutanta M. D. Skobeleva dlia vydachi posobii poteriavshim na voine sposobnost' k trudu voinam, and Osobaia Komissia dlia obsuzhdeniia voprosov ob ustroistve voennago upravleniia.
Series I: Correspondence, 1843-1913
Personal and oficial incoming and outgoing correspondence of D. I. Skobelev and M. D. Skobelev with various people.
Series II: Documents, 1785-1882, undated
Documents of Dmitrii Ivanovich, Fedor Nikitich, Ivan Nikitich, and Mikhail Dmitrievich Skobelevs. There are imperial edicts of award and promotion including ones signed by Paul I, Alexander I, Nicholas I, Alexander II, Frederick William IV and William I. There are also patents of nobility, military service records, documents related to various military campaigns including maps.
Series III: Manuscripts and Notes, 1881-1882, undated
Series consists mostly of M. D. Skobelev's notes and drafts on various military affairs, memos and reports. There are also manuscript by others.
Series IV: Subject Files, 1870s-1912, undated
Series includes material about M. D. Skobelev, materials related to activity of the Komitet imeni General-Ad'iutanta M. D. Skobeleva dlia vydachi posobii poteriavshim na voine sposobnost' k trudu voinam, and Osobaia Komissia dlia obsuzhdeniia voprosov ob ustroistve voennago upravleniia.
Material is organized in five series: Correspondence; Documents; Manuscripts; Subject Files; Drawing, Print, Briefcase.
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This collection is located on-site.
This collection has no restrictions.
Reproductions may be made for research purposes. The RBML maintains ownership of the physical material only. Copyright remains with the creator and his/her heirs. The responsibility to secure copyright permission rests with the patron.
Identification of specific item; Date (if known); Mikhail Dmitrievich Skobelev Papers; Box and Folder; Bakhmeteff Archive, Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Columbia University Library.
Papers: Source of acquisition--Sergei S. Beloselʹskii-Belozerskii. Method of acquisition--Bequest; Date of acquisition--1978.
Columbia University Libraries, Rare Book and Manuscript Library
Papers Accessioned 1978.
Papers Processed 06/--/82.
Papers Revised 06/--/83.
Papers reprocessed 07/2022 by Katia Davydenko.
2022-07-15 Papers reprocessed, new finding aid created, pdf finding aid removed, record updated. ksd
2022-07-15 Some materials were send to collection management for conservation review due to mold suspicion. Assessment records were created.
Mikhail Dmitrievich Skobelev (1843-1882), Russian general who played prominent roles in Russia's conquest of Turkistan and in the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–1878.
Mikhail Skobelev was born in St. Petersburg into a noble Russian family. His grandfather was a Peter and Paul Fortress Commandant and his father was an officer of the Imperial Russian army. Skobelev was educated in St. Petersburg and Paris but never graduated from a military school. In 1861, he was accepted to the St. Petersburg university but soon after decided to enter military service in the Cavalry Regiment. After passing the exam in 1862, he was promoted to a cadet harness, and then to a cornet. Later in his life he graduated from a military academy in St. Petersburg.
In 1868, Skobelev was sent to Tashkent to participate in General Konstantin P. Kaufmann's successful campaign (1873) against the Khanate of Khiva. Subsequently, when a rebellion in the Khanate of Kokand (1875) resulted in Kaufmann's invasion of that region, Skobelev captured the city of Andizhan in January 1876, enabling the Russians to occupy the whole khanate. The Russian government then annexed Kokand renamed it the province of Fergana, and appointed Skobelev, who had been promoted to major general, to be its first Russian governor.
When war broke out between Russia and Turkey in 1877, Skobelev was transferred to the European front. His forces defeated the Turks in several strategic battles and finally captured Adrianople and San Stefano, thus forcing the Turks to conclude an armistice. Because he always appeared in the midst of battle wearing a white uniform and riding a white horse, Skobelev became known by his soldiers as the "White General."
Skobelev returned to Turkistan and in 1880 took command of the Russian campaign against the Turkmens living between the Caspian and Aral seas and the Persian province of Khorāsān. On Jan. 24, 1881, Skobelev captured Göktepe, where he slaughtered the male population in the vicinity. He then forced the region into submission and was proceeding against Ashkhabad (now Ashgabat) when he was recalled and given command of the Minsk Army Corps.
At the beginning of 1882 Skobelev entered the political arena, making speeches in Paris and Moscow in favor of militant pan-Slavism and predicting an inevitable conflict between the German and Slav peoples. Those views, however, clashed with the official policy of the Russian government, which in 1881 had concluded an alliance with Germany and Austria-Hungary. Skobelev therefore was immediately recalled to St. Petersburg, where he suffered a fatal heart ailment. He died in Moscow in 1882.
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