Authors

Discussion

This paper focuses on Lavr Georgievich Kornilov (1870-1918) and examines his service in Turkestan, or Russian Central Asia, between 1898 and 1904. It covers the formative period of Kornilov's career as an officer in the Russian Imperial Army, and in particular his work as a military intelligence expert on the countries and territories neighbouring Turkestan, such as Kashgar and India. This work enabled Kornilov to contribute to Russian knowledge of Central Asia, and the paper will also consider the wider intellectual environment in which Kornilov's studies of the region took place. Much of the historiography about Kornilov focuses on the events of 1917, such as the ‘Kornilov affair’, and the Russian Civil War. This paper will attempt to suggest how Kornilov's early career in Turkestan may have influenced his major role in Russian history during the subsequent period of revolution and war.