Count Sava Vladislavi ’s Euro-Asian horizons

The paper deals with the diplomatic, political, trade and cultural activity of the well-known man from Herzegovina, count Sava Vladislavi , born in Dubrovnik. It provides a short review of his trading activities in Venice, Spain and France, and then in greater detail sheds light on his business and his political-intelligence work in Constantinople at the end of the 17th and the beginning of the 18th century for the state interests of the czarist Russia. Gifted and educated, tactful, with good knowledge of west and east languages, Vladislavi gained an excellent insight into the circumstances in the Ottoman Empire. From 1705 to 1738 he lived mostly in Russia, becoming one of the most accomplished Russian diplomats and one of the richest persons in the czarist Russia. During his stay in Venice in 1716-1722, he did several different tasks (trading, negotiations with the Pope Clement XI about the concordat); in these activities, he left a deep trace collecting statues, busts and other works of art for the decoration of the newly-founded Russian capital Sankt Peterburg. The peak of his diplomatic state activity was his diplomatic mission in China in 1725-1728.