How often do you sit and wonder about unknown lands outside of the current territory in which you live? The technology we have today leaves little to the imagination, allowing us to peek into different parts of the world with the click of a computer mouse. However, such technology did not exist in the 19th century and left many people around the world wondering what other parts of the world were like. A man named Nikolai Przhevalsky wanted to discover new and interesting things outside of his native Russia. While many Russian explorers attempted to venture outside their native lands in an attempt to discover new things, Przhevalsky was the most successful adventurer. During his travels, Przhevalsky led several expeditions, made numerous discoveries, and accomplished several tasks that not only separated him from other explorers, but also helped shape Russia into the country it is. Today. So who is Nikolai Przhevalsky? Nikolai Przhevalsky is a renowned explorer, geographer, military officer and teacher born in Smolensk, Russia in 1839. He was obsessed with reaching the city of Lhasa, located on the Tibetan Plateau. He attempted many times during his expeditions to achieve this goal, but failed each time. Prjevalsky began his life in the army. “Prjevalsky began his military career in 1855 with an appointment as a junior in an infantry regiment. In 1855 he was commissioned as an officer and in 1860 he entered the general staff academy. From 1864 to 1866, he taught geography at the Warsaw military school. In 1867 he became a general officer and was posted to Irkutsk, near Lake Baikal. »1 Przheva...... middle of article ......n Review 53, no. 3 (1994): 369. http://www.jstor.org/stable/131192 (accessed November 10, 2013). Encyclopedia of World Biography. 2nd ed. Detroit: Gale Research, 1998. Medvedev, Zhores A., and Roy Aleksandrovich Medvedev. The unknown Stalin. London: IB Tauris, 2003. Meyer, Karl Ernest and Shareen Blair Brysac. Tournament of Shadows: The Great Game and the Race for Empire in Central Asia. Washington, DC: Counterpoint, 1999. Nikolai Mikhailovich Przhevalsky. " Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th edition (September 2013): 1. Academic Search Premier, EBSCO host (accessed November 30, 2013). Smith, Geoffrey. Explorers and Exploration. Danbury, Connecticut: Grolier Educational, 1998. Print. Tenison, Robin . The great explorers London: Thames & Hudson, 2010. Wood, Frances The Silk Road: two thousand years in the heart of Asia.., 2002.