Jan Prosper Witkiewicz, known in Russia as Yan Viktorovich Vitkevich, was an officer, orientalist, traveler, and the first ambassador of the Russian Empire in Kabul. He was born into a family of minor landed gentry in the village of Pašiaušė, Lithuania, on June 24, 1808.
In 1823, Jan Witkiewicz was arrested for his participation in the secret Polish anti-government organization “The Black Brothers” and exiled to the Orsk fortress. There, he served as a soldier in the fifth combat maneuver battalion of the Separate Orenburg Corps from 1824 to 1832.
During his time in exile, he studied the history of the region and the customs of local people. He was fluent in German, English, French, Polish, and Russian and quickly mastered Persian (Farsi) and various Turkic languages such as Uzbek, Kyrgyz, Kazakh, and Arabic.
In 1829, Jan Witkiewicz met Alexander von Humboldt, a German traveler, geographer, and naturalist. For some time, Jan Witkiewicz served as an interpreter for him and impressed him greatly. Alexander von Humboldt interceded on his behalf with both the local authorities and the emperor.
In 1830, Jan Witkiewicz was promoted to a non-commissioned officer, marking the beginning of his career as a Russian intelligence agent and diplomatic officer.
In 1831, he was transferred to Orenburg where the Border Commission operated under the direction of Governor Pavel Petrovich Sukhtelen. This was essentially an intelligence center that gathered and analyzed information about steppe tribes and states of Central Asia. Jan Witkiewicz started working there as an interpreter.
In 1832, Jan Witkiewicz was promoted to ensign. In addition to his duties as an interpreter, he was engaged in diplomacy and intelligence.
In 1837, Jan Witkiewicz was sent on a diplomatic mission to Kabul, Afghanistan, to establish relations with Emir Dost Mohammad Khan. However, his negotiations were interrupted by the British, who saw them as a pretext for starting a war. After returning to St. Petersburg in 1839, Jan Witkiewicz burned his documents and committed suicide.
