The man who did so much for Russian science, who wrote with such animation and talent about things that were close to the mind and feelings of the thinking people of Russia, was forgotten by Russian society almost at the moment when the coffin of the deceased was lowered into the grave. A few years after his death, it took a lot of effort to get even the most brief information about him. M. I. Sukhomlinov. The name of Ivan Nikitich Boltin for researchers of the XVIII century is primarily associated with works on the history of Russia, but the beginning of his life was quite far from historiography. I. N. Boltin was born in early 1735 (information about the date of his birth is contradictory) in the family estate - the village of Zhdanov, Alatyr district. The Boltin family goes back to an old noble family and traces its history back to Murza Kutlubag, a native of the Great Horde, who moved to Russia in the XV century, was baptized and received the name George, and his son was nicknamed Bolt. I. N. Boltin's ancestors distinguished themselves in the military and diplomatic service, his father was a steward and owned very extensive landowners ' lands with hundreds of serfs in the Nizhny Novgorod, Alatyr, Arzamas and Murom counties. I. N. Boltin received his primary education at home, as befits noble children. It consisted of Russian literacy, reading, writing, arithmetic, and French. After studying at home, he completed his education in the Land Gentry Corps. In 1751, I. N. Boltin entered military service in the Horse Guards, in which the flower of Russian noble youth was then serving. page 74 The government sought to accept into the guard noblemen of birth and wealth, and appearance was also important for admission. He served there for eighteen years and rose to the rank of Prime Major. (Perhaps it was in the army that he became a freemason and joined the lodge of R. L. Vorontsov.) I. N. Boltin's rapprochement with his colleague G. A. Potemkin also dates back to the sa ... Read more