Vasily Vasilievich Vereshchagin was one of the most famous Russian war artists and one of the first Russian artists to be widely recognized abroad. The graphic nature of his realistic scenes meant that many of them were never printed or exhibited.

Vereshchagin was born in Cherepovets, Novgorod province, Russia, in 1842. the middle of three brothers. His father was a noble landowner, and his mother had Tatar roots. When he was eight years old, he was sent to Tsarskoe Selo to join Alexander's cadet corps. Three years later, he joined the Marine Cadet Corps in St. Petersburg and made his first voyage in 1858. Served in the frigate "Kamchatka", which sailed to Denmark, France and Egypt.