The Leslie family (Russian: Лесли) is the name of Russian noble family of Scottish origin.
Descendants of Alexander Leslie of Auchintoul, who was a Scottish soldier in Swedish and General in Russian service. In 1654 he wrested Smolensk from the Poles and became the Tsar's governor/voivode there.[1] Auchintoul fought for the Montrosians in the English Civil War. He was the son of William Leslie, third laird of Crichie, a branch of the Balquhain Leslies.[2] He was commander of Russian forces during the Siege of Smolensk (1654), one of the first great events of the Russo-Polish War (1654–67).[3]
- Alexander Leslie of Auchintoul, General and voivode of Smolensk, owner of Gerchikovo [ru] manor had three sons, Colonel[4] Alexander,[1] Yakov-John[1] and Colonel Fedor-Theodore (?-1695),[1] commander of Belgorodski Regiment [ru].
- John Leslie of Balquhain, son of General Alexander Leslie, was a Scottish cavalry colonel in Russian service killed in the storming of Igolwitz castle on 30 August 1655,[5] he married a daughter of Colonel Crawford in Muscovy, though there are at least three Crawfords with that rank in the Russian service, so it's not entirely clear who is meant.[6]
Family had several generals during Great Northern War, War of the Polish Succession and Russo-Turkish War (1735–1739).
- ^ a b c d Grosjean & Murdoch, SSNE, ID 2916
- ^ W. Barnhill and P. Dukes, 'North-east Scots in Muscovy in the seventeenth century' in Northern Scotland, vol. 1, no. 1, 1972
- ^ Diary of General Patrick Gordon of Auchleuchries 1635-1699 Archived 2009-11-12 at the Wayback Machine, University of Aberdeen website
- ^ D. Fedosov, The Caledonian Connection, Aberdeen, 1996
- ^ Historical records of the Family of Leslie from 1067 to 1868/69, Printed by R. Clark, Einburgh, 1869
- ^ D. Fedosov in the Caledonian Connection in Aberdeen, 1996 and Dukes in "Aberdeen and North-east Scotland: some archival and other sources", in The Study of Russian History from British Archival Sources, 1986, p. 54.
- ^ Smolensk Noble Opolcheniye 1812
