Jovan Šević

Jovan Šević or Ivan Šević (Serbian Cyrillic: Јован Шевић, Russian: Иван Егорович Шевич; died c.) was an 18th-century military officer of Serb origin. He reached the rank of lieutenant colonel in the Serb militia forces in the Pomorišje region, then in the Military Frontier of the Habsburg monarchy. When it became obvious that privileges granted to Serb militiamen would be reduced or completely revoked after Pomorišje and Potisje lost their frontier status, Šević left Habsburg military service in 1750 and moved to Russia. At the end of 1752, he led the second wave of colonists who migrated from Pomorišje, Potisje and Slavonia to the Russian Empire (modern-day Ukraine) where they settled the newly established administrative region of Slavo-Serbia at the beginning of 1753. To enable him to recruit more of his fellow officers, Šević was promoted to the rank of General by the Russian Empress, Elizabeth. He commanded a Serb Hussar Regiment consisting of the colonists he brought to Russia. After Šević's death, Slavo-Serbia was disestablished, and many of his descendants became notable military officers in the Russian Imperial Army. Over time, all the Serb colonists became assimilated. Miloš Crnjanski described the migration led by Šević in his most notable work, the novel Migrations (Serbian: Сеобе).