Lambros Katsonis
Portrait, 18th century
Native name	Λάμπρος Κατσώνης
Born	1752 (1752) Livadeia, Ottoman Empire
Died	1805 (aged 52–53) Livadiya, Crimea, Russian Empire
Allegiance	Russia
Branch	Imperial Russian Army  Imperial Russian Navy
Rank	Colonel
Conflicts	Russo-Turkish War (1768–1774) Orlov Revolt Battle of Chesma Russo-Turkish War (1787–1792) Battle of Andros Battle of Porto Kagio
Awards	Order of St. George IV Class
Spouse	Maria Sophianou (Angelina)
Children	4
Relations	Odysseas Androutsos (godson)
Signature

Lambros Katsonis (Greek:Λάμπρος Κατσώνης;Russian:Ламброс Кацонис; 1752–1805) was aGreek naval commander of the 18th century who would ultimately sail under the Russian flag with the rank ofcolonel.^[1] He became aknight of theRussian Empire and was awarded theOrder of St. George.

Lambros Katsonis was born in 1752 atLivadeia, to a well-off family.^[2] He was forced to flee his home in 1767, after feuding with a local Turk and killing him; atGalaxeidi he managed to board a vessel that brought him to the island ofZakynthos, then still underVenetian rule.^[2]

Three years later, he went toLivorno, where the Russian fleet underAlexei Grigoryevich Orlov, sent to fight the Ottomans in theAegean Sea, was gathering. He joined the infantry corps of Greek volunteers set up by the Russians, and distinguished himself due to his intelligence and resolve during the rest of theRusso-Turkish War of 1768–1774.^[2] After the war's end, he settled in theCrimea, but soon joined the retinue of the powerful CountGrigory Potemkin. He won the esteem and support of Potemkin when he managed to assassinate an Austrian envoy and steal sensitive documents from him; as a reward, he was promoted to captain and placed in Potemkin's staff.^[2]

When theRusso-Turkish War of 1787–1792 broke out, Katsonis went toTrieste, where with his own money, and through donations from the local Greek community, he bought and equipped a 24-gun warship, and began to raid Ottoman shipping.^[2] This first expedition was a great success: over six months, Katsonis remained undefeated, assembling a flotilla of twelve vessels with over 200 guns. His main successes were the destruction of a Turkish pirate base atKastellorizo, the sinking of an Ottoman frigate offRhodes, and successfully fighting off the entire Ottoman fleet east ofKarpathos.^[2] His actions were sanctioned by theRussian Empire in 1788, who took him under its service: Katsonis operated under the Russian flag, the right to award ranks in the name of the Russian Empire, and received financial support from the Russians.^[2]

His 1789 campaign was even more successful: he gathered a fleet of 17 vessels with 500 guns, and capturedKea Island, which he fortified and made his base of operations.^[2] The Ottomans tried to entice him to their side, sending theDragoman of the Fleet with a letter promising him amnesty for himself and his followers, a salary of 200,000 gold coins, and lordship over an island of his choice. Katsonis rejected the proposal.^[3][4]

On 3 June 1788, he defeated an Ottoman squadron of 11 or 14 ships, including two ships of the line and three frigates, in the strait betweenTinos andMykonos.^[5] On 7 August, his ships defeated eight 32-gun Algerianxebecs between Kea andMakronisos, sinking two and pursuing the others untilNafplion.^[5] This was followed up by another victory over the Ottoman fleet a fortnight later at Chios.^[5] His own fleet increased to 27 vessels, mostly lighter craft, but also including some 24 or 28-gunbrigs.^[5]

In 1790, Katsonis conceived his most ambitious plan yet. Taking on board theklepht chieftainAndreas Androutsos [el] and his 800 men, he raided Turkish shipping in the Aegean, advancing up toTenedos, blocking the entrance to theDardanelles and hoping to confront an Ottoman fleet.^[5][6] The Ottoman government reacted by calling on the aid of the North African fleets, and Katsonis was caught off guard, with his fleet dispersed. He was caught offAndros with only nine vessels between an Ottoman and an Algerian fleet, and defeated in atwo-day battle.^[5][7]

With the remaining ships Katsonis fled to the Ionian island ofIthaca, where he managed to reconstitute his forces and recruit more ships.^[8] Despite his defeat, he was rewarded by Empress Catherine, on the recommendation ofGrigory Potemkin, with promotion to Colonel and theCross of St. George, 4th Class.^[9]

Katsonis and his fleet remained active in the Aegean and continued to score successes against Ottoman shipping. By the summer of 1791, Katsonis disposed of 21 ships.^[10] In the meantime, however, the Russian victories atMăcin andKaliakra led to the war's end with the conclusion of an armistice on 11 August 1791, followed by theTreaty of Jassy. Katsonis was ordered to cease operations.^[11][12] Katsonis refused to obey and gathered his ships atPorto Kagio nearCape Tainaron, but wasattacked there by a joint Ottoman–French fleet and most of his fleet was sunken. Katsonis himself managed to escape to Russia with a few of his followers, settling atLivadiya in theCrimea.^[13][14]

His wife was known as Angelina in Russia, but her real name was Maria Sophianou. He had three sons and possibly one daughter. His first son was killed by the Turks when he was still infant, in the Greek island ofKea. The second, Lykourgos (known in Russia as Ликург Ламбрович Качиони, 1790–1863), born on a Greek Island, had a brilliant career as officer in theImperial Russian Army, including his service in theGreek Battalion of Balaklava. The third son, Alexander who was born inthe Crimea, also became an officer in the Imperial Russian Army. According to some sources he had a daughter named Garyfallia, but there is no information about her life.^[1] One of Lambros' grandsons, Spyridon son of Alexander, was a known Russian writer. He was also the godfather ofOdysseas Androutsos, a commander of theGreek War of Independence.

TheLivadia Palace, the summer home of the lastemperors of Russa was built on Katsonis'Livadia estate after 1861. The name of the estate was given to it by Katsonis, who named it after his birthplace; moreover, this is the origin of the name of the town ofLivadiya itself.^[1] It is there that theWorld War IIYalta Conference took place. This is where he was assassinated in 1805, under unclear circumstances.

TheHellenic Navy has namedfour of its ships after Katsonis.

•  "Ламбро-Качони" .Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary (in Russian). 1906.
• Aspreas, G. (1929). "Κατσώνης Λάμπρος".Μεγάλη Στρατιωτικὴ καὶ Ναυτικὴ Ἐγκυκλοπαιδεία. Tόμος Τέταρτος: Καβάδης–Μωριάς [Great Military and Naval Encyclopaedia. Volume IV: Kavadh–Morea] (in Greek). Athens: Ἔκδοσις Μεγάλης Στρατιωτικῆς καὶ Ναυτικῆς Ἐγκυκλοπαιδείας. pp. 103–104.OCLC 31255024.
• Pryakhin, Yuri D. (2004).Ламброс Кацонис в истории Греции и России [Lambros Katsonis in the history of Greece and Russia] (in Russian). St. Petersburg: Aletheia.ISBN 5893297318.
• Vakalopoulos, Apostolos (1975). "Η στροφή των Ελλήνων προς τους Ρώσους: Ο Ρωσοτουρκικός πόλεμος του 1787–1792 και οι Έλληνες. Οι αγώνες των Σουλιωτών και η δράση του Λάμπρου Κατσώνη" [The Greeks turn to the Russians: The Russo-Turkish War of 1787–1792 and the Greeks. The struggles of the Souliots and the actions of Lambros Katsonis]. In Christopoulos, Georgios A. & Bastias, Ioannis K. (eds.).Ιστορία του Ελληνικού Έθνους, Τόμος ΙΑ΄: Ο Ελληνισμός υπό ξένη κυριαρχία (περίοδος 1669 - 1821), Τουρκοκρατία - Λατινοκρατία [History of the Greek Nation, Volume XI: Hellenism under Foreign Rule (Period 1669 - 1821), Turkocracy – Latinocracy] (in Greek). Athens: Ekdotiki Athinon. pp. 85–97.ISBN 978-960-213-100-8.

• Dakin, Douglas (1973).The Greek Struggle for Independence, 1821–1833. Berkeley: University of California Press.ISBN 0520023420.

• 1752 births
• 1804 deaths
• 18th-century Greek people
• 18th-century military personnel from the Russian Empire
• 18th-century pirates
• 18th-century rebels
• 19th-century Greek people
• Emigrants from the Ottoman Empire to the Russian Empire
• Greek colonels
• Greek pirates
• Greek revolutionaries
• Greeks from the Ottoman Empire
• People from Ithaca
• People from Livadeia
• Pirates from the Ottoman Empire
• Rebels from the Ottoman Empire
• Recipients of the Order of St. George

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