Panos Bitsilis

Who is Panos Bitsilis?

Panos Bitzilis was an 18th-century General Consul of Russia in Albania and Himara.

Bitzilis came from a notable family of Himarë, modern Albania, then Ottoman Empire, that provided several officers to the Regimento Cimarioto of the Venetian army. Additionally, it was also the first clan in Himara than offered its services to the Russian Army. Panos Bitsilis, being an influential personality, became the Russian consul in Albania and Himara, in the 1780s.

During the Russo-Turkish War together with Loudovikos Sotiris from Lefkada, became the revolutionary leaders of an uprising in Epirus against the Ottomans. He was also probably member of the Greek patriotic organization Filiki Eteria.