Vasily Tatishchev

Vasily Nikitich Tatishchev (1686–1750) was a Russian statesman, historian and ethnographer. He served in the Great Northern War against Sweden and held senior posts under Peter the Great. In 1730 he backed Anna Ivanovna's accession against the Supreme Privy Council.

Sent to run the Urals factories, he founded Yekaterinburg and Perm, and governed Astrakhan from 1741 to 1744. His History of Russia, one of the first full works on the subject, was published posthumously in 1767.