Lambros Katsonis (; ; 1752–1805) was a Greek privateer of the 18th century who would ultimately sail under the Russian flag with the rank of colonel. He became a knight of the Russian Empire and was awarded the Order of St. George. Early life Lambros Katsonis was born in 1752 at Livadeia, to a well-off family. He was forced to flee his home in 1767, after feuding with a local Turk and killing him; at Galaxeidi he managed to board a vessel that brought him to the island of Zakynthos, then still under Venetian rule. Three years later, he went to Livorno, where the Russian fleet under Alexei Grigoryevich Orlov, sent to fight the Ottomans in the Aegean Sea, was gathering. He joined the infantry corps of Greek volunteers set up by the Russians, and distinguished himself due to his intelligence and resolve during the rest of the Russo-Turkish War of 1768–1774. After the war's end, he settled in the Crimea, but soon joined the retinue of the powerful Count Grigory Potemkin. He won the esteem and support of Potemkin when he managed to assassinate an Austrian envoy and steal sensitive documents from him; as a reward, he was promoted to captain and placed in Potemkin's staff. Privateer activity 1788 When the Russo-Turkish War of 1787–1792 broke out, Katsonis went to Trieste, where with his own money, and through donations from the local Greek community, he bought and equipped a 24-gun warship, and began to raid Ottoman shipping. This first expedition was a great success: over six months, Katsonis remained undefeated, assembling a flotilla of twelve vessels with over 200 guns. His main successes were the destruction of a Turkish pirate base at Kastellorizo, the sinking of an Ottoman frigate off Rhodes, and successfully fighting off the entire Ottoman fleet east of Karpathos. His actions were sanctioned by Russia in 1788, who took him under its service: Katsonis operated under the Russian flag, the right to award ranks in the name of the Russian Empire, and received financial support from the Russians. 1789 His 1789 campaign was even more successful: he gathered a fleet of 17 vessels with 500 guns, and captured Kea Island, which he fortified and made his base of operations. The Ottomans tried to entice him to their side, sending the Dragoman of the Fleet with a letter promising him amnesty for himself and his followers, a