In 1883, Nikolay Ivanovitch Achinov (an adventurer, and burgess of Penza[4][5] b. 1856[6]) visited Abyssinia (Ethiopian Empire) in order to establish clerical and political ties between the two countries. After his return to Russia, Achinov voiced his plans for an 1888 expedition to the Gulf of Tadjoura to establish a settlement, while claiming to be a free Cossack.