Konstantin Mikhailovich Bazili was a Russian orientalist, traveler, and diplomat.
Background
Konstantin Mikhailovich Bazili was born in Istanbul (now Turkey) on February 15, 1809, in a wealthy Greek family that contributed to the traditions of the Greek liberation movement and cultural revival.
His grandfather, an Albanian Greek, participated in the anti-Turkish rebellion of 1772, stow away in Hungary after its riot, then returned to Argiro-Castro (now Gjirokastër, Albania) and was again fleeing persecution.
Mikhail Vasilyevich, Konstantin's father, settled in Istanbul, married the daughter of a Greek banker, went into business and became an influential figure among the Istanbul Greeks. After the rebellion of 1821, his father and uncle were sentenced to death but were able to obtain a refuge in the Russian envoy in Istanbul, Mr. Stroganov, thanks to the warning of a Turkish nobleman. All members of the family moved to Odessa.
Education
Konstantin Mikhailovich mastered the Russian language perfectly. He actively participated in classes on the history of social science and in performances of high school students. In 1822-1827, he studied at the Nezhin gymnasium, where he became friends with N.V. Gogol. Then in 1827-1830 studied at the Richelieu Lyceum.
At the age of 20 entered the diplomatic service in the Admiral Rikord squadron. In 1833 Konstantin Mikhailovich was transferred to Saint Petersburg to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in 1837 he was sent to the Caucasus as commission secretary draft a provision on the management of the Transcaucasian Region.
During the Petersburg period of his life, Konstantin Mikhailovich participated in a number of periodicals, wrote articles for the First Russian Encyclopedic Lexicon by A.A. Plyushar, mostly devoted to the East, and began to write his first major works: in 1834 a large two-volume work "The Archipelago and Greece" was published in 1830 and 1831.
At the beginning of 1839, Konstantin Mikhailovich was sent as the Russian consul to Syria and Palestine, in 1844 he became consul general and remained in this rank until 1853, that is, until the beginning of the Crimean War.
In 1855, Konstantin Mikhailovich was under the Russian envoy at a conference in Vienna. In 1856 was at the Paris Congress. In 1865 retired.