Abstract. The article examines the biography of the head of the Penza militia – Nikolai
Fedorovich Kishensky, his life and the reasons that prevented him from becoming the com-
mander of the Penza militia in the foreign campaigns of the Russian army against Napoleon.
Keywords: Patriotic War of 1812, Penza militia, Polish uprising, Penza region, 3rd district,
militia mutiny, biography of N. Kishensky, historical personality
