Poltava military gymnasium
Nikolay Dmitrievich Butovsky was born on February 1, 1850, in Kremenchug – the chief town of the Poltava Governorate in the Russian Empire (now Poltava Region, Ukraine). He originated from the nobility. His parents - Nadezhda Stepanovna Raizer and Dmitry Petrovich Butovsky - were Poltava landowners. His brother Alexei Butovsky was a General of the Russian Imperial Army.
Nikolay Dmitrievich received a military education. In 1867 he graduated from the Poltava Military Gymnasium, two years later, in 1869 - from the first military school of Pavlovsk.
On July 12, 1869, Nikolay Dmitrievich was promoted to the second lieutenant with a secondment to the Life Guards Pavlovsky regiment. A year later, he was enrolled in the regiment as a warrant officer of the guard. On April 8, 1873, he was promoted to guards lieutenant, on March 31, 1874, he was promoted to lieutenant.
In the years of 1877-1878, Nikolay Dmitrievich volunteered for the Russian-Turkish war as part of the 155th Cuban Infantry Regiment (Caucasian Theater) and the Life Guards of Pavlovsky Regiment (Balkan Theater). Subsequently, he commanded various military formations, including the 32nd Infantry Division (Kiev Military District). Nikolay Dmitrievich retired in 1911 with the rank of general from infantry.
Nikolay Dmitrievich began to publish in 1877: correspondence from the theater of war in the journal Military Collection, Razvedchik, the newspaper Golos and Russky Invalid. They subsequently compiled the collection of Military Essays and Our Soldiers, where Nikolay Dmitrievich managed to create a feasible story, in which, despite some idealization of the relationship between officers and rankers, "everything breathes truth and life".
Butovsky's works are characterized by captivating, soft humor, the expressiveness of portrait sketches. Created on the basis of the author’s combat experience, they are practically devoid of artistic fiction. Their distinguishing feature is also the sympathy and compassion of Butovsky for a simple soldier. He is the author of military pedagogical essays, including Methods of Training and Education of a Modern Soldier, Previous and Present Service.
The second wife of Nikolay Dmitrievich was Alexandra Ivanovna Konetskaya, the daughter of the merchant of the 1st guild Ivan Ivanovich Konetskiy. They had 3 sons and a daughter.
