Jan Prosper Witkiewicz

Jan Prosper Witkiewicz
Born(1808-06-24)24 June 1808
Pašiaušė, Lithuania-Vilnius Governorate, Russian Empire
Died8 May 1839(1839-05-08) (aged 30)
Saint Petersburg, Russian Empire
Occupation(s)Orientalist, explorer and diplomat

Jan Prosper Witkiewicz (Lithuanian: Jonas Prosperas Vitkevičius; Russian: Ян Вѝкторович Виткѐвич) (June 24, 1808–May 8, 1839) was a Lithuanian[1][2] orientalist, explorer and diplomat serving the Russian Empire.[3] He was a Russian agent in Kabul just before the First Anglo-Afghan War.

Surviving family accounts (supported by Polish literature) suggest that, most probably, he was a double agent who tried to provoke a major conflict between British and Russian Empire in Central Asia to weaken the latter decisively and thus give his native Lithuania a chance to regain sovereignty.[4] He was also the paternal uncle of Stanisław Witkiewicz.

  1. ^ Ludwig W. Adamec, ed. (2012). Historical Dictionary of Afghanistan. The Scarecrow Press. p. 441. ISBN 978-0521815291. A Russian agent, or adventurer, of Lithuanian descent, Vitkevich came to Kabul in December 1837 for the purpose of establishing commercial relations with Afghanistan.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference :0 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Dominic Lieven, ed. (2006). The Cambridge History of Russia: Volume 2, Imperial Russia, 1689-1917. Cambridge University Press. p. 175. ISBN 0521815290.
  4. ^ "NaszaGazeta".