Jovan Šević or ŠevićIvan Šević (, ; died ) 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 ().
Family
Jovan Šević was born into a Serbian noble family that had migrated from Ottoman-occupied Serbia to the territory of the Serbian Despotate in Hungary in the first half of the 16th century. In some accounts, he is referred to as Ivan or Živan. Šević's grandfather was named Radoslav. Šević's father was Georgije, better known as Đurka Šević, who was an oberkapitän (upper captain) in the Serb militia in the Pomorišje military frontier (near Arad). Đurka succeeded Jovan Tekelija in this position in the first half of 18th century, while at that time, his son was an oberkapitän in Čanad (modern-day Magyarcsanád).
By the end of the 18th and the beginning of the 19th century, many of Šević's descendants had become successful officers in the Imperial Russian Army. Šević had a son named Petar, who was a lieutenant in the Moriš Brigade before the migration to Russia, where he reached the rank of lieutenant colonel. Another one of Šević's sons, Ivan, was a colonel, and his son Georgije later reached the rank of General in the Imperial Russian Army. Georgije's son, Ivan (Šević's great-grandson) also became a Russian General. In 1812, he was decorated for bravery at the Battle of Borodino, during Napoleon's invasion of Russia. Šević's daughter was married to Stevan Petrović (formerly Šarović), who had moved from Podgorica to Slavo-Serbia.
Pomorišje Military Frontier
Šević was firmly opposed to the plans to disestablish Military Frontier in Pomorišje. When it was obvious that Pomorišje and Potisje would lose their frontier status, Šević decided to migrate to Russia. In the November 1750 plebiscite, he was the first higher-ranking officer who left the Habsburg army; he applied to be regular citizen and requested a passport to emigrate to Russia. To avoid issuing the passport to Šević, the government officials staged a trial against him and arrested him, but eventually lost the case because of the lack of evidence for their accusations. When Šević was in prison, the prosecution canvassed his rival, ambitious Jovan Horvat, who additionally accused Šević to support their case. When the prosecution lost their case because of the lack of evidence, Horvat left their side and became one of the most ardent supporters of migration to Russia. On 19 October 1751, Šević's passport was issued, but he did not travel to Russia immediately after he received it. He gradually sold his property and secretly tried to convince other military officers to join him and migrate to Russia.
To prevent emigration of a larger number of Serbs to Russia, Habsburg Empress Maria Theresa issued a special decree () on 19 June 1752. People who would try to convince citizens of the Habsburg monarchy to move to another country and serve another empire would be executed. The Russian empress Elizabeth promoted Šević to the rank of General with the right to appoint other subordinated military officers who would join him to migrate to Russia. In September 1752, about a year after he received his passport, Šević led the second group of Serb colonists to Russian Empire.