Ivan the Russian

Ivan the Russian
Allegiance	Second Bulgarian Empire
Rank	protostrator

Ivan the Russian (Bulgarian: Иван Русина, Ivan Rusina; Hungarian: Orosz Iván) (fl. 1288/1323–1332) was a 14th-century Bulgarian military leader of Russian origin who served Bulgarian tsars Michael Shishman and Ivan Alexander. Prior to joining the armed forces of the Second Bulgarian Empire, Ivan the Russian may have been a military commander in the service of the Hungarian governor of Severin.

Ivan the Russian rose to a high rank in the Bulgarian military in the wake of the accession of Michael Shishman to the throne. In 1323, he was in charge of the Bulgarian defence of Plovdiv during the prolonged and ultimately successful Byzantine siege of the city. In 1328, he was involved in a failed Bulgarian attempt to capture the Byzantine capital Constantinople from within. Probably taking part in the turbulent events that surrounded and followed Michael Shishman's death, Ivan the Russian was last mentioned as a representative of Ivan Alexander in 1332.

Bulgarian historian Plamen Pavlov conjectures that Ivan the Russian was a Ruthenian born in the Kingdom of Galicia–Volhynia (centred on modern western Ukraine), a hypothesis based only on his ties to Hungary, the western neighbour of Galicia–Volhynia. Hungarian sources from 1288 make notice of one Russian named Ivan (Iwan dicto Oroz) as an ally of the ban of Severin, Theodore Vejtehi from the kindred Csanád, who was one of the nobles that opposed the rule of Charles I of Hungary in 1316–1317. The land to the south of Severin was governed for Bulgaria by the despot of Vidin, Michael Shishman, a supporter of Vejtehi. Thus, as the Hungarian king established his authority over Severin and suppressed Vejtehi's rebellion, Ivan the Russian may have fled to Vidin and entered the service of Michael Shishman. Ivan is thought to have been joined, as a commander subordinate to the despot of Vidin, by his personal forces which consisted of Hungarians and, presumably, Russians.

...
Wikipedia