Expedition, see Contract of transport expedition.

Kamchatka salmon (mikizha) Kamchatka salmon, or mykizha - (Salmo mikiss) is a rare endemic species of Far Eastern noble salmon, belonging to the same genus of true salmon as salmon with brown trout (other salmon of the Far East: chum salmon, chinook, sim, etc. , - relate

(1703-1748)

Route of the First Kamchatka Expedition

The great Russian navigator and talented research scientist, discoverer of Northwest America, Captain-Commander Alexei Ilyich Chirikov was born on December 13 (24), 1703 in a small estate family of a Tula nobleman. The Chirikov family is known in the Tula region, their family estate was located in the village of Averkievskoye-Luzhnoye, Tula district (now the village of Luzhnoye, Dubensky district, Tula region). His father at one time served as a commandant in the Kiev province. The Tula period of the biography of Alexei Chirikov has not been studied. It is known that he lived and was brought up in Moscow with his uncle I.R. Chirikov.

On a frosty January day in 1715, cousins ​​Alexei and Ivan Chirikov arrived in Moscow. Soon they brought a petition to the Moscow Admiralty Office, in which they wished to enroll them in the "school of mathematics and navigational sciences." They filed a petition without any hope, they were very poor and thin. But after checking their knowledge, they were enrolled, and studies began, and just a year later they were transferred to Maritime Academy that was opened in the city on the Neva.

Alexey Chirikov plunged into the study of astronomy and navigation, spherical trigonometry and geodesy, " ship science"and cartography. In the spring of 1721, the first graduation of students from the Naval Academy took place. On" inspection of incremental knowledge"Peter I himself was present. Aleksey Chirikov discovered such brilliant knowledge that he was immediately granted the rank of non-commissioned lieutenant. Since then, they began to call Chirikov in Admiralty circles" learned sailor".

After a short service on a ship of the Baltic Fleet, he was appointed teacher at the same Naval Academy, where he taught "different sciences" to midshipmen.

On December 23, 1724, Peter I signed a decree on organizing a sea expedition to Kamchatka (the First Kamchatka Expedition).

"Back in the fall, saving in ice water sailors of a sinking ship, the king caught a cold and fell ill. They were waiting for Peter's death. And he, going over in his mind the things that he planned, but did not complete, he also remembered that he was going to send an expedition to Kamchatka in order to find out if there was a strait between Asia and America. And Peter himself writes the order: 1) It is necessary to make one or two boats with decks in Kamchatka or in another customs place. 2) On these boats, sail near the land that goes to the north and by hope (they don’t know the end of it) it seems that that land is part of America. 3) And in order to look for where she met with America ". Peter ordered the captain of the fleet Vitus Bering to command the expedition, Alexei Chirikov and Martyn Shpanberg were appointed his assistants. At the end of January, Tsar Peter died ... ".

In the Admiralty, when approving the candidacy of Chirikov, they wrote: " In terms of training midshipmen and naval officers, he was the most skillful of all ". Leaving St. Petersburg in January 1725, Chirikov hardly thought that from that moment his entire future fate would be determined ... Bering instructed him not only to equip the expedition, but also to transport the convoy to the eastern outskirts of the country. The expedition spent three years and a month and a half to move from St. Petersburg to Nizhnekamchatsk. The people who were part of the expedition left Petersburg in separate groups between January 24 and February 5, 1725. In total, over 60 people went - sailors, soldiers, navigators, midshipmen. They were accompanied by a huge convoy - sails, tackle, anchors, chains, nails for building ships, food. The tract, along which it was possible to ride horses, reached only Tobolsk. Further up to Sea of ​​Okhotsk there were no paths or roads.

On March 6, 1725, the expedition arrived in Tobolsk and only on July 3, 1727 in Okhotsk. The expedition reached here, divided into three detachments. The detachment had the hardest time, which, having captured the heaviest and bulkiest cargoes, had to try to go by boat along the rivers as close as possible to the Sea of ​​​​Okhotsk. On boats, the passage failed, and the cargo was reloaded onto sleds with dog teams. There was a most difficult winter transition, in the very frosts, through mountains, forests and snowy deserts. Food was in short supply. Hunger has begun. Subsequently, Bering wrote in his report: « going the way, the whole team starved, and from such hunger they ate dead horse meat, rawhide bags and all kinds of raw leather, leather dress and shoes ».

In Okhotsk, having stocked up on provisions and ships, the expedition set out on August 22 and arrived in Bolsheretsk (in Kamchatka) 2 weeks later. From here she went to Nizhnekamchatsk, where she arrived on March 11, 1728. Alexey Chirikov spent a painstaking scientific work: described the rivers and navigation conditions, collected information about the cities of Siberia, identified them geographical position, observed the eclipse of the moon in Ilimsk and other natural phenomena. During the many thousand-mile journey through the spaces of Russia, Lieutenant A.I. Chirikov identified 28 astronomical points, which made it possible for the first time to find out the true latitudinal extent of Siberia and, consequently, the northern part of Eurasia.

The participants of the expedition, having built the ship "St. Gabriel", in July 1728 left Kamchatka to the sea and headed to the northeast. Everything went well at first. But the farther north, the worse became the conditions of navigation. Bering assembled a council. Referring to the instructions of the sovereign and the oral testimony of local residents, he stated that " Chukchi Nose"is separated from America by the sea and, therefore, it is necessary to return back. The captain was supported by fleet officer M. Shpanberg. Chirikov did not agree with them, believing that navigation should be continued along the coast to the mouth of the Kolyma River, or at least until the first ice appeared. Two day Bering gave the order to turn to Kamchatka.And again, sailing through a narrow strait, they did not see the mainland - America ...

For the first time, the conditions for navigation from Kamchatka Cape Lopatka to Cape Kekurny in the Bering Strait were determined. Described 66 geographical objects, mapped the entire northeast coast of Asia. In 1730, the Admiralty, having studied the materials received - Bering's reports and officers' diaries - Special attention drew on the travel records of Alexei Chirikov.

In June 1731, I. Schumacher wrote to his translator: " The magazine sent with this letter navy lieutenant Alexei Chirikov, the available route from St. Petersburg to Kamchatka, if you please, translate into French immediately, because there is a great need for it". A copy of this journal is kept in the Archives of the Navy in St. Petersburg. Unfortunately, the original document has been lost. There is an assumption that it is in one of the Western European archives.

Chirikov unlike Bering " showed prudent firmness in the voyage", and was promoted to captain-lieutenant. On December 20, 1731, "fleet captain-lieutenant Alexei Ilyin son Chirikov" submitted a petition to the Local Order, in which, in particular, he wrote: " In the current 1731, he married an ensign from Yakov Semenov, the son of Shishkov, to his daughter, the maiden Praskovya". Looking ahead, it must be said that Praskovya Yakovlevna soon went on the Second Kamchatka Expedition and selflessly shared the trials that fell to their lot with her husband and children.

"Enterprise Never Before Unprecedented"

V
1732 Chirikov was urgently summoned to the capital. Bering, summing up the results of the voyage, drew up a note on the economic development of Kamchatka and proposed to equip a new expedition. Interested in his proposal. In particular, the idea of ​​equipping the new expedition was supported by the chief secretary of the Senate I.K. Kirilov. When it active participation Bering's plan was significantly expanded. In April 1732, a decree was issued on equipping the Second Kamchatka Expedition under the command of Bering. The goal is to search for the northwestern shores of America, open a sea route to Japan, as well as develop industry, crafts, and arable farming in Siberia and the Far East.

Alexey Ilyich Chirikov expressed his readiness to go on a second journey without hesitation. On the margins of a special Admiralty instruction on the goals and objectives of the forthcoming expedition, its main participants made their notes. Bering focused on administrative and economic issues. Chirikov - on the most convenient ways of transporting equipment, organizing research on the coasts of the Arctic Ocean. Concerning " unknown lands"then he believed that America" lies not very far from the Chukchi eastern corner", between 50 ° and 65 ° N there should be islands inhabited and rich in natural resources. Subsequently, these assumptions were justified. Thus, Chirikov was ahead of foreign geographers.

In the project, Chirikov touched upon the problem of preserving the natural environment. Observing frequent fires in the expanses of Siberia, causing enormous damage to forestry and fur farming, he proposed specific measures for their protection. Chirikov put forward a rather extraordinary proposal to study the natural resources of Siberia with the help of local residents. He emphasizes: " Since Siberia is so large in space that one equals the whole of Europe, it is not surprising to have rich ores in it. "Therefore, it is necessary to involve" nomadic peoples "in the exploration of the existing wealth, so that they" notice the properties of the earth and bring its samples. the good will be opened in this way, then the discoverers will be rewarded,- concluded Alexei Ilyich.

A.I. Chirikov survived Bering by 8 years. The scurvy that he contracted had a detrimental effect on his health. The Petersburg climate was not suitable for him. The Admiralty Board, trying to save Alexei Chirikov, exhausted by many years of deprivation, appointed him head of the Moscow Admiralty Office. In the summer of 1747, Empress Elizabeth, who was in Moscow, received him. During the meeting, he presented her with a map of his voyage to the shores of America.

On September 7, 1747, a personal decree was issued to award Chirikov to the captain-commander. Alas, fame and honors never reached one of the most prominent people in Russia in the first half of the 18th century. Chirikov was overcome by consumption and other illnesses acquired on long-distance expeditions.

Alexey Ilyich was dying in the prime of his creative powers, in poverty and obscurity. We don't even know exact date his death. Only on December 7, 1748, one of the officials of the Admiralty wrote: " And since Captain-Commander Chirikov, who was at the office of the Admiralty affairs in Moscow, died, they ordered Prince Volkonsky to be sent to the administration".

After the death of the pioneer, the widow Praskovya Yakovlevna and five children eked out a miserable existence. " While Bering enjoys universal fame, Captain Chirikov is almost forgotten, and few people know his name.". The veracity of these words of Jules Verne is undeniable. Unfortunately, Chirikov's feat of life for the sake of the fatherland was not appreciated by his contemporaries. Only later, in 1760, did the Russian genius M.V. Lomonosov, responding to " History of the Russian Empire under Peter the Great"will write: " The American expedition through Kamchatka does not mention Chirikov, who was in charge and went further, which is necessary for our honor. And in order to send a map of these navigations to the writer".

Today on the world map you can find several geographical names bearing the name of the great Russian pioneer: Fr. Chirikov in the Gulf of Alaska (USA), four capes of Chirikov, two of which are located on the territory of Russia (the coast of the Gulf of Anadyr and the Sea of ​​Okhotsk), and two - in the USA (Alexander Archipelago in pacific ocean and about. Attu), a seamount in the Pacific Ocean.

The first Kamchatka expedition of Vitus Bering. 1725-1730.

Vitus Bering was the first Russian navigator to head purposeful geographical expedition. You can read his short biography here. If we draw historical parallels, then Bering's expeditions can be compared with the expeditions of James Cook, whose voyages were also the initiative of the Admiralty and the state.

Did the idea of ​​the First Kamchatka Expedition belong to Peter the Great?

Peter was the first of the rulers of Russia to begin a systematic study of the geography of the country, and above all, the instrumental compilation of "general" maps.

The search for Russia's access to the expanses of the world's oceans has always been his "idea fix". But it was not possible to break through to the Black Sea. Dominance in the Baltic was very relative - the Swedes or the Danes at any moment could block the narrow neck of the exit from the Baltic to the Atlantic expanses. There remained the Northern Sea Route and the Far East: through the strait between Asia and America, Russian ships could break through to India and China. If there was a strait.

It is known that at the beginning of the independent reign of Peter, the first explorer of Kamchatka, Vladimir Atlasov, brought to Moscow a Japanese named Denbey, who was brought by a storm to south coast peninsula in 1695 and was held captive by the Kamchadals.

Tsar Peter, despite the endless wars in the west, did not forget about the eastern borders of his kingdom. In 1714-1716, at the direction of Peter, sea communication (on boats) was established between Okhotsk and the western coast of Kamchatka. The next step was to find the coast North America, which, as he assumed, is not far from Kamchatka or even merges with Asia. In 1720-1721, one of the expeditions, heading from Kamchatka to the southwest, even reached the middle of the Kuril ridge, but did not find the American coast.

It must be said that the question “whether or not Asia is united with America” was of interest to many in those years. For the first time, the Paris Academy of Sciences, of which Peter was formally a member, turned to Peter I with a question and a request to equip the expedition. The famous German scientist Leibniz had a great influence on Peter I in this matter. Leibniz was not only the initiator of the creation of the Russian (first St. Petersburg) Academy of Sciences, but also advised Peter on many issues of government and had a great influence on him. But the Dutch East India Company was especially zealous in finding new ways to the East, which at one time brought Peter the Great to power in Russia. For her, the question is "Does Asia connect with America?" was not at all idle. And in 1724, Peter was "finished" before making a decision. And, as you know, Peter had a short distance from making a decision to incarnation.

On December 23, 1724, Peter instructed the Admiralty Board to equip an expedition to Kamchatka under the command of a worthy naval officer. The Admiralty Board proposed to put Captain Bering at the head of the expedition, since he "was in the East Indies and knows how to get around." Peter I agreed with Bering's candidacy. (Dutch too.)

"Tsar's order" of the Bering expedition

On January 6, 1725, (just a few weeks before his death), Peter himself wrote instructions for the First Kamchatka Expedition. Bering and his comrades were instructed to build two deck ships in Kamchatka or in another suitable place.

1. It is necessary in Kamchatka or elsewhere to make one or two boats with decks; 2. On these boats near the land that goes to the Nord and by hope (they don’t know the end of it), it seems that land is part of America; 3. In order to look for where it came together with America: and in order to get to which city of European possessions or if they see which ship is European, to find out from it, as this bush is called and take it on a letter and visit the shore yourself and take a genuine statement and, put on the map, come here.

The Bering Strait was discovered by Semyon Dezhnev

Some irony of the situation was that the strait between Asia and America was discovered 80 years ago by the Cossack Semyon Dezhnev. But the results of his campaign were not published. And neither Peter, nor the Admiralty College, nor Vitus Bering himself, who was far from geographical discoveries in his duties, knew about them. The historian Miller came across the "tale" about Dezhnev's campaign in Yakutsk only in 1736, during the Great Northern Expedition.

Composition of the First Kamchatka Expedition

In addition to Bering, naval officers Aleksey Chirikov and Martyn Shpanberg, surveyors, navigators, and shipwrights were assigned to the expedition. In total, more than 30 people went on a trip from St. Petersburg.

On January 24, 1725, A. Chirikov left St. Petersburg with his team; on February 8, he arrived in Vologda. A week later, Bering joined him with other members of the expedition. The number of full-time members of the expedition alone, both those sent from St. Petersburg and those who joined along the way, reached 20 specialists. In total, under the command of Vitus Bering, including the auxiliary staff (rowers, cooks, etc.), there were about 100 people.

From Vologda to Okhotsk

The expedition covered the distance from Vologda to Tobolsk in 43 days. After a month's rest, we set off again. Almost the entire summer of 1725 the team spent on the road. The winter of 1725-26 was spent in Ilimsk. On June 16, all expedition units arrived in Yakutsk. And only on July 30, 1727, in the third year after departure from St. Petersburg, Bering and his team reached Okhotsk in separate groups. Legend has it that Bering himself, from Yakutsk to Okhotsk, spent 45 days in the saddle! Upon arrival in Okhotsk, without wasting time, they began to build the ship. In total, more than ten thousand miles were covered by water, on horseback, on sleds, on foot ...

On August 22, 1727, the newly built ship - the galliot "Fortuna" and the small boat accompanying it, which arrived from Kamchatka, left Okhotsk and headed east.

Galiot is a two-masted, shallow-sitting vessel.

From Okhotsk to Nizhnekamchatsk

The journey from Okhotsk to the western coast of Kamchatka took a week, and on August 29, 1727, travelers were already sailing in view of the Kamchatka coast. What happened next is difficult to explain logically. Despite the fact that by that time the Russians had already more or less settled in Kamchatka, Beringa had no idea about the size of the peninsula. There was even an opinion that Kamchatka smoothly passes into Japan, and that there is no through route to the east ... Bering did not even suspect that there was very little left to the southern point of Kamchatka.

Therefore, the expedition commander decided to land on the western coast and move over the winter to the eastern coast, to Nizhnekamchatsk. They decided to build new ship and from there to begin the main investigations. (According to other sources, the hastily built "Fortuna" gave a strong leak, and the expedition was forced to land on the shore). Whatever it was, but Bering went to the mouth of the Bolshaya River and ordered to drag equipment and supplies to the shore.

Bering's journey through the Kamchatka Peninsula

In the Central Archive of the Navy, Bering's reports to the Admiralty - Board on his passage across Kamchatka have been preserved:

“... Upon arrival at the Bolsheretsky mouth, materials and provisions were transported to the Bolsheretsky prison by water in small boats. With this prison of Russian housing there are 14 courtyards. And he sent heavy materials and some of the provisions up the Bystraya River in small boats, which were brought by water to the Upper Kamchadal prison for 120 miles. And in the same winter, from the Bolsheretsky prison, to the Upper and Lower Kamchadal prisons, they were transported quite according to the local custom on dogs. And every evening, on the way for the night, they raked camps out of the snow, and covered them from above, because great blizzards live, which are called blizzards in local language.

The description of the expedition's passage through the Kamchatka Range, the dragging of all property, including materials for building ships, weapons, ammunition, food, took more than two months. On foot, along the rivers and on dog sleds, the expedition covered more than 800 miles! A truly heroic feat.

To the Bering Strait in full sail

Upon arrival in Nizhnekamchatsk of all cargo and crew members, a new ship was solemnly laid down. It happened on April 4, 1728. Construction proceeded unusually quickly. On June 9, the ship was already completed. And exactly a month later, on July 9, 1728, the well-puttyed and equipped boat "Saint Gabriel" under full sail, with 44 crew members on board, left the mouth of the Kamchatka River and headed northeast.

Only a little more than a month lasted sailing north along the coast of Asia. August 11, 1728 "Saint Gabriel" crossed the strait separating Asia from America. But at that time, the sailors could not know whether this or that was spilled. The next day they noticed that the land, past which they had gone on the same course, was left behind on the left. On August 13, the ship, driven by strong winds, crossed the Arctic Circle.

50 years later, Captain James Cook, during his time, passed through this strait in search of the Northern Sea Route around America. He laid his route from the maps compiled by Vitus Bering. Struck by the accuracy of the Russian pilots, James Cook suggested that the strait between the continents be named after Bering. So, at the suggestion of this great navigator, one of the most significant straits on earth received the name of our no less great compatriot.

Bering's expedition completed its task

On August 15, the expedition entered the open (Arctic) Ocean and continued sailing to the north-northeast in complete fog. Lots of whales appeared. The boundless ocean spread all around. The Chukotka land no longer extended further north. No other land was visible.

At this point, Bering decided that the expedition had completed its task. He did not find any American coast in the line of sight. There was no isthmus further north. Having gone a little further north to clear his conscience, to latitude 67 "18", on August 16, 1728, Bering gave the order to return to Kamchatka so that "for no reason" he would not spend the winter on unfamiliar treeless shores. Already on September 2, 1728, "Saint Gabriel" returned to the Nizhnekamchatka harbor. Here the expedition decided to spend the winter.

Bering understood that he had completed only part of the task. He didn't find America. Therefore, in the summer of next year, he and his associates made another attempt to break through to the American shores from the east. Putting to sea in June 1729, the expedition traveled due east for 200 miles and did not meet any signs of land.

Nothing to do but turn back. But on the way to Okhotsk they bypassed Kamchatka from the south and established the exact southern tip of the peninsula. This discovery became extremely important and necessary for all subsequent expeditions. Oh, if only they themselves knew the true size of Kamchatka, they wouldn't have to drag the whole load over hundreds of miles on dry land!

Vitus Bering. short biography. What did you discover?

Russian travelers and pioneers

Again Travelers of the Age of Discovery

The first Kamchatka expedition 1725-1730 ranked in the history of science special place. She
was the first in history Russian Empire a major scientific expedition undertaken by government decision. In organizing and conducting the expedition, a great role and merit belongs to navy. The starting point of the First Kamchatka Expedition was the personal decree of Peter I on the organization of the "First Kamchatka Expedition" under the command of Vitus Bering, December 23, 1724. Peter I personally wrote instructions to Bering.

The sea route from Okhotsk to Kamchatka was discovered by the expedition of K. Sokolov and N. Treska in 1717, but the sea route from the Sea of ​​Okhotsk to the Pacific Ocean had not yet been opened. It was necessary to walk across the mainland to Okhotsk, and from there to Kamchatka. There, all supplies were delivered from Bolsheretsk to the Nizhnekamchatsky prison. This created great difficulties in the delivery of materials and provisions. It is difficult for us to even imagine all the incredible burden of the journey through the deserted thousand-mile tundra for travelers who do not yet have organizational skills. It is interesting to see how the journey proceeded, and in what form people and animals arrived at their destination. Here, for example, is a report from Okhotsk dated October 28: “Provisions sent from Yakutsk by land arrived in Okhotsk on October 25 on 396 horses. On the way, 267 horses disappeared and died for lack of fodder. During the journey to Okhotsk, people suffered a great famine, they ate belts from a lack of provisions,
leather and leather pants and soles. And the horses that arrived fed on grass, getting it out from under the snow, since they did not have time to prepare hay due to their late arrival in Okhotsk, but it was not possible; everyone froze from deep snow and frost. And the rest of the servants arrived by sledges on dogs in Okhotsk. From here the cargoes were transported to Kamchatka. Here, in the Nizhnekamchatsky prison, on April 4, 1728, under the leadership of Bering, a boat was laid, which in June of the same year was launched and named "St. Archangel Gabriel."

On this ship, Bering and his companions in 1728 sailed through the strait, which was later named after the head of the expedition. However, due to dense fog, it was not possible to see the American coast. Therefore, many decided that the expedition was unsuccessful.

Results of the I Kamchatka expedition

Meanwhile, the expedition determined the extent of Siberia; the first sea vessel in the Pacific Ocean was built - "Saint Gabriel"; open and mapped 220 geographical features; the presence of a strait between the continents Asia and America was confirmed; the geographical position of the Kamchatka Peninsula was determined. The map of V. Bering's discoveries became known in Western Europe and immediately entered the latest geographical atlases. After the expedition of V. Bering, the outlines of the Chukotka Peninsula, as well as the entire coast from Chukotka to Kamchatka, take on maps a look close to their modern images. Thus, the northeastern tip of Asia was mapped, and now there was no doubt about the existence of a strait between the continents. In the first printed report on the expedition, published in the St. Petersburg Vedomosti on March 16, 1730, it was noted that Bering reached 67 degrees 19 minutes north latitude and confirmed that “there is a truly northeastern passage, so that from Lena ... by water to Kamchatka and further to Japan, Khina
(China) and the East Indies, it would be possible to get there.

Of great interest to science were geographical observations and travel records of the expedition members: A.I. Chirikova, P.A. Chaplin and others. Their descriptions of coasts, relief,
flora and fauna, observation of lunar eclipses, currents in the oceans, weather conditions, notes about earthquakes, etc. were the first scientific data on physical geography this part of Siberia. The descriptions of the expedition members also contained information about the economy of Siberia, ethnography, and others.

The first Kamchatka expedition, which began in 1725 on the instructions of Peter I, returned to St. Petersburg on March 1, 1730. V. Bering presented to the Senate and the Admiralty Board a report on the progress and results of the expedition, a petition for promotion and awarding officers and privates.

Sources:

1. Alekseev A.I. Russian Columbuses. - Magadan: Magadan book publishing house, 1966.

2. Alekseev A. I. Brave Sons of Russia. - Magadan: Magadan book publishing house, 1970.

3. Berg A. S. Discovery of Kamchatka and Bering's expedition 1725-1742. - M .: Publishing house of the Academy
Sciences of the USSR, 1946.

4. Kamchatka XVII-XX centuries: historical and geographical atlas / Ed. ed. N. D. Zhdanova, B. P. Polevoy. – M.: Federal service of geodesy and cartography of Russia, 1997.

5. Pasetsky V. M. Vitus Bering. M., 1982.

6. Field B. P. Russian Columbuses. - In the book: Nord-Ost. Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, 1980.

7. Russian Pacific epic. Khabarovsk, 1979.

8. Sergeev V. D. Pages of the history of Kamchatka (pre-revolutionary period): teaching aid. - Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky: Far Eastern Book Publishing House, Kamchatka Branch, 1992.