Mikhail Skobeleff was born in Saint Petersburg on 29 September 1843 (Michaelmas) to philanthropist Olga Skobeleva, and Russian general Dmitry Ivanovich Skobelev. Like his father, he graduated from the General Staff Academy, seems to be equivalent to the American West Point, as a staff officer, and was immediately sent to Turkestan, Central Asia, in 1868 where he remained until 1877.
A modern Tamerlane?
His nickname in the British Press was “Bloody Eyes” but among his own men he was called, The Great White Lord. British Marquess George Nathaniel Curzon of Kedelston, in his travelogue, “Tales of Travel, Russia in Central Asia,”* cites Skoboleff said “How unutterably bored I am, there is nothing left to do,” after killing 20,000 Turkomanish troops [technically Turkomans are nomadic Turkic people of Turkmenistan but Curzon could be using it instead as a synecdoche for the Turkish Army] in the Russo-Turkish Wars. But while the quote is widely reported it seems to be a fabrication. The main reason for suspecting it is the British Curzon published it in full light that the monarchs of England were Teutonic, and Skoboleff was suspicious of their motives towards Russia; thus there was some political antipathy between subject and reporter. If the quote is true, and the main reason for this essay, that would make Skoboleff a modern-day Tamerlane.
Naturally, of course, that made us curious to see how much the General’s chart and Tamerlane’s were synchronous, having already done the great Central Asia War Lord. In the course of the comparison, some things popped out — Neptune was discovered during Skoboleff’s lifetime, and is found in his 6th house of service. It is sextile the yet to be discovered Pluto (conjunct Uranus) in the 8th house of death and regeneration. This is very unlike the Tamerlane chart who was had a stellium in the 6th, suggesting that for Skoboleff, this was done in the name of duty and not as a job extending his personal realm and greed.
Notice That Skoboleff’S Mercury And Sun Are Partile. Traditionally This Pairing Makes His Logic Clouded By Sunbeams Or Willfulness Strong To The Point Of Obstinacy. To Complicate Matters, The General’S Neptune, Recently Discovered Before His Birth, Is Inconjunct The Duo In The Sixth House Of Service And Loyalty And The Inconjunct Again His Mars On The 11Th House. This Sets Up And Unfortunate Yod In His Chart Blinding Him So Severely, That His Service To His Emperor Becomes A Prison. 
We have painted a “fake trine” in pink on Skoboleff’s chart showing the problem of trying to force a temperament type. Marc Jones used nothing but the 10 planets to make his types, and states that will “Most astrologers put the dragon’s head and tail in charts, and the PoF, they are of no assistance in the classification of planetary patterns.”
The White Pasha
Skoboleff commanded the advanced guard of General Lomakine’s column from Kinderly Bay, in the Caspian, in the expedition to Khiva in 1874, and, after suffering through the desert march, took a prominent part in the capture of the capital. Dressed as a Turkoman, he personally scouted the route from Khiva to Igdy Uzbekistan and the old bed of the Oxus. This led to an important command in the expedition against Khokahd ** , where he he out-manoeuvred the Makram (current day Yemen) and captured 58 guns.
Then in brilliant night retreat from Andijan, again in Turkmenistan on the Silk Road, he routed a large force with a handful of cavalry. He was promoted to be major-general, decorated with the order of St George, and appointed the first governor of Fergana, the capitol city.
Back in the Balkans during a severe snowstorm, he defeated the Turks at Senova capturing 36,000 men and 90 guns. True to his Libra ascendant he always dressed with care & in white uniform mounting a white horse. He did lead his troops from behind but instead led them personally, and was often found in the thickest of the fray (Mars on the 11th house cusp). These action made him so adored by his soldiers that they called him the “White General” and the Turks the “Great White Pasha.”****
In his last years, Skoboleff engaged in politics, making speeches in Paris and in Moscow in favour of Panslavism, and predicted strife between (Germanic) Teuton, Turkish and Slavic races. He was prescient here, as that was the kickoff for World War I, as the Germans and Britains eyed the Russian Empire he had made so formidable. His comments so infuriated the Tsar, he was recalled to St Petersburg. While staying at a Moscow hotel, he died heart disease on July 8, 1882, the Feast Day of Our Lady of Kazan.***
Footnotes:
- We are using (*)asterisks instead of supernumerals because of the new block blogging on WordPress. There is no easy way to add supernumerals in anymore.
- Curzon, Lord, Travelogues (there were many) were published from 1889 to 1924 leading to him securing the position of the British Foreign Secretary well after Skoboleff had left Central Asia so all of his quotes from the General are hearsay and rather suspect as Britain was trying to negotiate with the Ottoman Empire surreptitiously.
- * The Khokhad or Khokar are an indigenous tribe of people of the Punjab region of Pakistan. Considered to be either of Rajput or Jat ethnicity & Hindu during the 13th and 14th centuries AD, but by Skoboleff’s time, Muslim.
- * The feast of Our Lady of “Kazan” commemorates the icon of the Most Holy Theotokos (1579)” in Kazan Russia. It is one of the most revered icons of the Mother of God in Russia.” (Great Horologion)
- * Pasha, (Turkish Paşa,) is the title of a man of high rank or office in the Ottoman Empire. It was the highest official title of honour in the Ottoman Empire, always used with a proper name, which it followed. It was given to soldiers and high civil officials, not to men of religion and like the British “Sir” (a titled Knight) and not hereditary.
- Skoboleff’s military exploits are from the Encylopaedia Britannica 1911 — greatly abbreviated.
