Vasily Tatishchev

Vasily Nikitich Tatishchev (sometimes spelt Tatischev; Russian: Васи́лий Ники́тич Тати́щев, IPA: [vɐˈsʲilʲɪj nʲɪˈkʲitʲɪtɕ tɐˈtʲiɕːɪf]; 19 April 1686 – 15 July 1750) was a Russian statesman, historian, philosopher, and ethnographer. He is known as the author of a book on Russian history titled The History of Russia (Russian: История Российская, romanized: Istoriya Rossiyskaya), posthumously published in 1767. He also founded three cities in the Russian Empire: Stavropol-on-Volga (now known as Tolyatti), Yekaterinburg, and Perm.

Tatishchev often did not cite his sources, which required later critical historians to find out where he got his information from. After several sources were discovered, the texts of Tatishchev which remained unaccounted for (such as the alleged Ioachim Chronicle, which has never been found) became known as "Tatishchev information" (Russian: Татищевские известия, romanized: Tatishchevskiye izvestiya), which is not to be trusted until it is supported by another extant source.