The Russian diplomat G. S. Shcherbina, who tragically died in the Balkans at the age of less than 35, came from a carpenter's family, a man of outstanding abilities. His name, which attracted the attention of the Russian press in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, was then forgotten .1Grigory Stepanovich was born on November 21, 1868 in Chernihiv 2 . In a boarding school for the poor, he received preparatory education for entering the gymnasium, and from the fifth grade he worked part-time as a tutor. In 1886, he graduated from the gymnasium with a silver medal and entered the Moscow Lazarev Institute of Oriental Languages, where he graduated with honors in 1889. As the best graduate student, Shcherbina was recommended to the Department of Oriental Languages of the Asian Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and successfully graduated three years later. He wrote his dissertation on the political history of Turkey in Turkish. In April 1890, while practicing at the Embassy in Constantinople, he was confirmed with the rank of collegiate secretary. In 1894, the Russian Geographical Society awarded Shcherbina the silver medal "For Useful Work" for her contribution to the work of the Marmara Sea research expedition and recommended her for election as a full member of the society .3Shcherbina was proficient in Latin, Ancient Greek, Arabic, Turkish, Tatar, Persian, Georgian, Armenian, Albanian, Bulgarian, Serbo-Croatian, French, English, Italian and German, was interested in political economy, and played the piano and violin. Contemporaries say of him: "Extremely capable, hardworking, extremely attentive to everything,.. very friendly,.. energetic, courageous person "4 ;" nice personality,.. a person of extremely broad views, rare energy "5 ;" a wonderful person, calm, balanced will " 6 . Shcherbina's short career was connected with working in Russian diplomatic missions in the Ottoman Empire and its Balkan provinces. He was a translator in Constantinople 1 The ... Read more