Nikolay Bestuzhev

Nikolay Alexandrovich Bestuzhev (Russian: Николай Александрович Бестужев; 13 April 1791, Saint Petersburg – 27 May 1855, Novoselenginsk) was a Russian Navy officer, writer, inventor and portrait artist; associated with the Decembrist revolt.

Biography He was born to a noble family. His father, , was a writer and government councilor. His brothers, Alexander, , , and were also writers, military officers and Decembrists.

He entered the Sea Cadet Corps school in 1802 and graduated in 1809. While there, he audited classes taught by Andrey Voronikhin at the Imperial Academy of Arts. Two years later, he reorganized the lithography department at the Admiralty, for which he was awarded the Order of Saint Vladimir, and began writing a history of the fleet.

In 1824, he was promoted to Lieutenant-Commander and, shortly after, was named Director of the Admiralty's museum, where he was known as "The Mummy". During this time he also contributed to the journals Polar Star (edited by his brother, Alexander) and Syn otechestva (Son of the Fatherland). He also served with the Bureau of Censorship and, in 1825, became a member of the Imperial Society for the Encouragement of the Arts.

Available writings Mark Azadovsky (ed.), Воспоминания Бестужевых (memoirs), "Literary Monuments" series, USSR Academy of Sciences, 1951, reissued 2005 (896 pgs.) S. F. Koval (ed.), Сочинения и письма, (writings and letters), Decembrist Memorial Museum, Irkutsk, 2003 Bayr Dugarov (ed.), Гусиное озеро: статьи, очерк (Goose Lake; ethnographic writings), Buryat Publishing House, 1991 Опыт истории Российского флота (History of the Russian Navy), Admiral Makarov National University of Shipbuilding, 1961

Selected portraits