Nicolas Notovitch

Who is Nicolas Notovitch?

Shulim or Nikolai Aleksandrovich Notovich, known in the West as Nicolas Notovitch was a Belarusian Jewish adventurer who claimed to be a Russian aristocrat and journalist.

Notovitch is known for his 1887 book claiming that during his unknown years, Jesus left Galilee for India and studied with Buddhists and Hindus there before returning to Judea. Notovitch's claim was based on a document he said he had seen at the Hemis Monastery while he stayed there, but later confessed to having fabricated his evidence. Modern scholars view Notovitch's accounts of the travels of Jesus to India as a hoax which includes major inconsistencies.

Notovitch also wrote some political books on the role of Russia in war.