1 round-the-world trip of the Krusenstern. The first Russian trip around the world. Discovery of Antarctica - round-the-world expedition of Thaddeus Bellingshausen and Mikhail Lazarev

215 years ago, the first round-the-world voyage in the history of the Russian fleet began. The expedition on the ships Nadezhda and Neva, commanded by Ivan Krusenstern and Yuri Lisyansky, lasted three years. According to experts, the circumnavigation of the world became a marker of the maturity of the Russian fleet and opened a new era in its history. The expedition made it possible to make a number of geographical discoveries and gave a start in life to such people as the discoverer of Antarctica Thaddeus Bellingshausen and the Pacific Ocean explorer Otto Kotzebue. About the glorious page in the history of the Russian fleet - in the RT material.

Ivan Kruzenshtern and Yuri Lisyansky became friends within the walls of the Naval Cadet Corps, which was located in Kronstadt at that time. Ivan came from a Russified German noble family, a descendant of the German diplomat Philipp Krusenstern. He was born in 1770 into the family of a judge and spent his youth in Estonia. Yuri was three years younger than his friend. He came to study in Kronstadt from Little Russia - he was the son of the archpriest of the Church of John the Evangelist in the city of Nezhin. Young people easily found mutual language and together they dreamed of distant travels.

“The first Russian round-the-world expedition led by Grigory Mulovsky was supposed to take place back in 1788. But its start was prevented by the war with Sweden,” St. Petersburg State University professor, doctor, told RT historical sciences Kirill Nazarenko.

Krusenstern and Lisyansky dreamed of participating in the journey under the leadership of Mulovsky, but fate decreed otherwise. Because of the war, young people were released early from the Naval Corps and sent to the active fleet. 17-year-old midshipman Kruzenshtern still came under the command of Mulovsky, but not on the expedition, but on the ship “Mstislav”, which participated in the war with the Swedes. Ivan distinguished himself in battles and was noted by his commander. However, Mulovsky died in the battle near the island of Öland, and the first round-the-world voyage of Russian sailors was postponed indefinitely.

After participating in the battles of 1790, Krusenstern was promoted to lieutenant. In 1793, he was sent to study in the Royal Navy of Great Britain. Ivan took part in hostilities against French ships off the coast of North America, and then reached India and China through South Africa. The British did not want to take foreigners on ships going to Asia, and Krusenstern had to go to India on a frigate that could barely float, on which English sailors were afraid to hire.

“From the perspective of the 21st century, we, of course, see the geographical mission as the main one, but in those days everything was not so simple. It is impossible to say with certainty what was more important then - putting Russian names on the map or organizing trade in seal skins with China,” the expert emphasized.

Before the start of the voyage, Alexander I personally inspected the ships and was pleased with them. The maintenance of one of them was undertaken by the imperial treasury, and the other by the Russian-American Company. Both sloops officially flew the flag of war.

Experts emphasize that the identity of the expedition leader was the result of a balanced decision by the Russian authorities. “Despite Krusenstern’s initial initiative, St. Petersburg hypothetically had hundreds of other candidates. The head of the expedition had to be at the same time a good naval officer, an excellent organizer, a business executive, and a diplomat. In the end, they decided that it was Kruzenshtern that had the optimal balance of all these qualities,” Konstantin Strelbitsky, chairman of the Moscow Fleet History Club, told RT.

Kruzenshtern and Lisyansky selected officers for their teams according to themselves. Among them were the future discoverer of Antarctica Thaddeus Bellingshausen and the Pacific Ocean explorer Otto Kotzebue. Sailors were recruited exclusively from volunteers, offering them a very significant salary for that time - 120 rubles a year. Krusenstern was offered to involve British sailors in the team, but he rejected this idea.

The candidacies of some of the expedition participants turned out to be “brought down from above” - we are talking, in particular, about the envoy Rezanov with his retinue, several scientists and “well-bred” young people from among the representatives of St. Petersburg secular society. And while Kruzenshtern easily found a common language with the scientists, serious problems arose with the others.

Firstly, among the representatives of the “secular society” was the adventurer and duelist of the guard, Lieutenant Count Fyodor Tolstoy, who decided to escape from Russia for a while in order to avoid punishment for another offense. On the ship, Tolstoy behaved defiantly. One day he showed his tame monkey how to smear paper with ink and launched it into Krusenstern’s cabin, as a result of which some of the expedition leader’s notes were completely lost. Another time he got the ship's priest drunk and glued his beard to the deck. In a close team, such behavior was fraught with big problems, so in Kamchatka Kruzenshtern put Tolstoy ashore.

Secondly, already during the voyage, it became clear from secret instructions that envoy Rezanov, who constrained the sailors with his large retinue, was also endowed with extremely broad powers. As a result, Kruzenshtern and Rezanov constantly quarreled and eventually stopped talking, exchanging notes instead.

The team supported their boss. Rezanov was furious at the obstinacy of the military and promised to judge the crew and personally execute Kruzenshtern. The head of the expedition reacted to this calmly and stated that he would go to trial directly in Kamchatka, even before leaving for Japan, which would automatically disrupt the envoy’s mission. The ruler of the Kamchatka region, Pavel Koshelev, reconciled them with great difficulty. At the same time, Rezanov wrote in his memoirs that the entire crew apologized to him, but all the other eyewitnesses claimed that it was Rezanov who had to apologize to Kruzenshtern.

Closed Japan

The expedition left Kronstadt on August 7, 1803. The ships called at a number of European ports and on the island of Tenerife, and on November 26 crossed the equator. For the first time in history, the Russian flag was raised in the Southern Hemisphere. On December 18, the ships approached the shores South America and made a stop in Brazil. When they again headed south, Kruzenshtern and Lisyansky agreed that if bad weather separated the ships in the Cape Horn area, they would meet either at Easter Island or Nukagiwa Island. And so it happened. Having lost each other in the fog, “Nadezhda” and “Neva” again united into one group only off the coast of Nukagiwa, where the Russian sailors were greeted kindly by the Polynesians. After Nukagiwa, the expedition reached the Hawaiian Islands and split: Kruzenshtern moved to Kamchatka, and Lisyansky to Alaska.

In Petropavlovsk, the head of the expedition, having resolved the problem with Tolstoy, sorted out relations with Rezanov and replenished food supplies, set a course for Japan. There they were not greeted very warmly. The state adhered to a strict isolationist policy and among the Europeans - with a number of reservations - maintained trade relations only with the Dutch.

On September 26, 1804, the Nadezhda arrived in Nagasaki. Russian sailors were not allowed to go into the city, providing only a fenced area on the shore for rest. Rezanov was given a comfortable house, but was not allowed to leave it. After a long wait, an imperial official arrived to see the Russian envoy. Rezanov was forced to fulfill the rather humiliating requirements of Japanese etiquette - he spoke to the emperor's representative while standing and without shoes.

However, all these unpleasant procedures did not lead to any results. The Japanese emperor returned the gifts from the Russian Tsar and refused to establish economic relations. At the end of the negotiations, Rezanov could only relieve his soul by being rude to Japanese officials. And Kruzenshtern was glad that he had the opportunity to explore the western shores of the Japanese islands, which were forbidden to approach. He was no longer afraid of ruining non-existent diplomatic relations.

After a failed mission, Rezanov left as an inspector for Alaska, where he acquired the ships “Juno” and “Avos” and went to California to resolve issues of supplying Russian America with provisions. There, the 42-year-old diplomat met the 15-year-old daughter of the local Spanish governor, Concepcion Arguello, and proposed marriage to her. The girl agreed and the engagement took place. Rezanov immediately went to Russia to obtain permission from the Pope through the emperor to marry a Catholic, but in Siberia he caught a cold, fell off his horse in a fever and broke his head. He died in Krasnoyarsk. Having learned about the fate of the groom, the beautiful Spanish woman remained faithful to him and ended her days in the monastery.

While Kruzenshtern visited Kamchatka and Japan, Lisyansky arrived in Alaska. At this time, a war provoked, according to one version, by American merchants between the Russian-American Company and its allies, on the one hand, and the union of the Tlingit Indian tribes, on the other, just began there. “Neva” turned out to be very formidable in this situation military force and contributed to the Russian victory, which led to a truce. Having loaded up with furs in Alaska, Lisyansky headed for China. Krusenstern, who had already visited Hokkaido and Sakhalin, was already waiting for him there.

The friends managed to sell the furs quite profitably and load the holds of the ships with Chinese goods. After this, “Nadezhda” and “Neva” went home. In the Indian Ocean, the ships again lost each other and returned to Kronstadt within a few days of each other in August 1806.

Another high-quality level of the Russian fleet

During the expedition, the coasts of Japan, Sakhalin and Alaska were explored, an island named after Lisyansky as part of the Hawaiian archipelago was discovered, and a reef named after Kruzenshtern was discovered south of Midway Atoll. In addition, Russian sailors refuted myths about the existence of several islands in the North Pacific Ocean, invented by European sailors. All officers participating in the expedition received new ranks, orders and large cash bonuses. Lower ranks - medals, right to retirement and pension.

Kruzenshtern was engaged in science and served in the Marine cadet corps, who eventually took charge in 1827. In addition, he served on the governing boards of a number of government agencies and was an honorary member of the Imperial Academy of Sciences. Lisyansky retired in 1809 and took up literary activity.

According to Konstantin Strelbitsky, the moment to send the first round-the-world expedition was chosen very well. “It was at this time that the fleet did not take part in active hostilities and was in allied or neutral relations with most of the main fleets of the world. The expedition members did an excellent job of exploring new sea routes. The Russian fleet has moved to another qualitative level. It became clear that Russian sailors are capable of withstanding many years of voyage and successfully operating as part of a group,” he noted.

Kirill Nazarenko also considers the expedition of Krusenstern and Lisyansky an important milestone in the history of the Russian fleet. “The circumnavigation in itself has become an important marker of changes in the quality and maturity of the Russian fleet. But it also became the beginning new era Russian discoveries. Before this, our research was connected with the North, Siberia, Alaska, and in 1803 Russian geographical science entered the World Ocean,” the expert emphasized.

According to him, the choice of Krusenstern as the leader of the expedition was successful. “His name stands today on a par with such outstanding navigators as Cook and La Perouse. Moreover, it should be emphasized that Kruzenshtern was much more educated than Cook,” Nazarenko noted.

According to Konstantin Strelbitsky, the first round-the-world expedition brought invaluable experience to the Russian fleet, which needed to be passed on to new generations of sailors. “Therefore, the name Kruzenshtern has become a real brand for the Naval Corps,” Strelbitsky summed up.

After the victorious wars with Sweden and Ottoman Empire By the beginning of the 19th century, Russia had secured its status as one of the leading world powers. But a world power cannot exist without a strong fleet, so special attention was paid to its development. For example, Russian officers were sent to gain experience in the fleets foreign countries. You will learn briefly about the round-the-world trip of Kruzenshtern and Lisyansky while reading the article.

Preparation

The idea of ​​Yuri Lisyansky and Ivan Kruzenshtern belonged to the latter. He began to think about it immediately upon returning to Russia in 1799. The final version was presented in early 1802 and was quickly approved by the Minister of the Navy and the Minister of Commerce. Already on August 7, Kruzenshtern was appointed commander of the expedition. His deputy was his old friend, an acquaintance from his time studying in the Naval Corps, Lieutenant Commander Lisyansky. Most of the expenses of Ivan Krusenstern and Yuri Lisyansky's trip around the world were paid by the Russian-American company. The merchants had their own interest; they hoped to open a new promising sea route along which goods could be delivered to China and Russian settlements in America.

Preparations for the first circumnavigation of Kruzenshtern and Lisyansky were carried out quickly but carefully. It was decided not to build the ships ourselves, but to buy them abroad. In England, two three-masted sloops, named “Nadezhda” and “Neva”, were purchased for seventeen thousand pounds sterling. The first was commanded by Krusenstern himself, and the second by Lisyansky. The necessary navigation instruments and other equipment for a long voyage were also purchased there. The crews were recruited exclusively from Russian volunteer sailors, despite the fact that Krusenstern was advised to invite experienced foreign sailors. This was an unusual decision, because Russian ships and crews had no experience of long ocean voyages. In addition, the expedition included several scientists, as well as Ambassador Rezanov, who was tasked with establishing ties with Japan.

Europe and the Atlantic Ocean

On July 26 (August 7, new style), 1803, the ships of the expedition left Kronstadt. Russian sailors setting off on their first trip around the world were solemnly seen off by local residents and crews of ships stationed in the roadstead. Ten days later, the expedition reached Copenhagen, where the chronometers at the observatory were adjusted. On September 26, “Nadezhda” and “Neva” stopped in England, in Falmouth, where they stayed until October 5 to caulk the hulls. The next stop was made in the Canary Islands, where they stocked up on provisions and fresh water. After that we set off for the shores of South America.

On November 26, Russian ships crossed the equator for the first time. This event was marked by the solemn raising of the St. Andrew's flag and a gun salute. In December, the expedition approached the island of St. Catherine off the coast of Brazil and stopped there. The Neva needed a mast replacement, and repairs dragged on until the end of January. During this time, the expedition members became acquainted with the nature of the tropical country. Much was surprising, because in the southern tropical latitudes January is the hottest month, and the travelers saw the entire diversity of flora and fauna. A detailed description of the island was compiled, amendments and corrections were made to the coast map, and dozens of samples were collected various types tropical plants.

Pacific Ocean

Finally, the repairs were completed, so the first Russian circumnavigation of Krusenstern and Lisyansky continued. On February 20, 1804, the ships rounded Cape Horn and continued their journey along the Pacific Ocean. This was not without incident: due to strong winds, rain and fog, the ships lost sight of each other. But the command of the expedition foresaw such a possibility, relying on the stories of English sailors about the “furious fifties” and “roaring forties” latitudes. In the event of such a development of events, it was decided to meet on Easter Island. "Neva" approached the island and, after waiting there for three days, went to where and met with "Nadezhda" near the island of Nukagiwa.

It turned out that, having lost from Lisyansky, Kruzenshtern headed north to explore the local part of the ocean, but never found new land. The island itself was described in detail, a collection of plants unknown to science was collected, and Lisyansky compiled short dictionary native language. After this, the ships left Nukagiwa, crossed the equator for the second time in May and headed for the Hawaiian Islands, where they separated. “Nadezhda” went to Kamchatka, and “Neva” to the northwestern shores of America.

Count Fyodor Tolstoy

On the way to Kamchatka, on one of the islands, the expedition parted ways with one of the crew members, Fyodor Tolstoy. He was the most famous representative Russian nobility of those years, and received his fame for his eccentric and provocative behavior. He did not change his character during the journey either. In the end, Krusenstern got tired of Tolstoy's antics, so he put him ashore. From there, Tolstoy reached the Aleutian Islands and Alaska, after which he returned back to Kamchatka and arrived in St. Petersburg through the Far East, Siberia and the Urals.

Kamchatka

At the beginning of July, Nadezhda arrived in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. By this time, relations between Kruzenshtern and Ambassador Rezanov had become tense to the limit. The conflict between them arose at the beginning of the journey and was due to the fact that, although Kruzenshtern was the commander of the ship, Rezanov was formally considered the head of the expedition, and his status became known only after leaving Kronstadt.

Such dual power simply could not help but affect the discipline of the crew during the first trip around the world by Krusenstern and Lisyansky. Things almost came to a riot, and the ambassador was forced to spend all his time in his cabin before arriving in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. Having gone ashore, he immediately filed a complaint with the governor about the actions of Krusenstern and the crew. However, everything was resolved successfully, and “Nadezhda” put to sea and set off for the shores of Japan.

Japan

On September 26, 1804, the ship arrived at the port of Nagasaki. But local authorities They gave the Russian sailors a rather cold, even hostile reception. First, they were required to hand over their cannons and all firearms in general; only after that the ship was allowed to enter the bay. “Nadezhda” stood in the harbor for six months, during which time the sailors were not even allowed to go ashore. Finally, the ambassador was informed that the emperor could not receive him. Moreover, Russian ships were henceforth forbidden to appear near the Japanese coast. An attempt to establish diplomatic relations ended in failure. However, this is not surprising, because Japan at that time strictly adhered to the policy of isolation and did not intend to abandon it. The ship returned to Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, where Rezanov was released from further participation in the voyage.

However, the voyage to Japan was not in vain. The region was poorly known to Europeans; the maps were full of inaccuracies and errors. Kruzenshtern compiled a description of the western coastline of the Japanese Islands and made some amendments to the maps.

In July 1805, Nadezhda made another voyage, this time to the shores of Sakhalin. Having passed from the south to the north of the island and trying to go around it, the expedition encountered fog and shallow water. Kruzenshtern mistakenly decided that Sakhalin was a peninsula connected to the mainland by an isthmus, and turned back to Kamchatka. Having replenished the supply of provisions, made the necessary repairs and loaded with furs, the sloop set off for China at the end of September. Along the way, several non-existent islands were removed from the maps, and the Nadezhda itself was caught in a storm several times. Late autumn, the ship finally dropped anchor in Macau and began to wait for Lisyansky's arrival.

Journey of the Neva

After separation in the Hawaiian Islands, the Neva went to the coast of North America. There the expedition primarily took up the hydrographic description of the coast. In addition, in the fall of 1804, Lisyansky was forced to interrupt Scientific research on Kodiak Island and provide assistance to Russian settlers in America who were attacked by the natives. Having resolved the problems of the settlers and completed the necessary astronomical observations in those places, the ship returned to Kodiak. In addition to hydrographic and astronomical observations, the weather was monitored, and a map of the Kodiak archipelago was compiled.

After wintering in 1805, exploration of the coast continued. In the summer, the Neva dropped anchor in the settlement of Novo-Arkhangelsk. Here the expedition spent about two months exploring the area. Coastal reconnaissance and forays deep into the islands were carried out, and a detailed description of them was compiled. In particular, Lisyansky climbed Mount Echkom, which was an extinct volcano. Observations were made about vegetation, temperature changes with altitude, and samples of volcanic rocks were collected. Lisyansky discovered hot springs on Baranova Island, the water of which had medicinal properties. He also collected a lot of information about the life of the Indians and a collection of their household items.

After completing all the necessary research, the Neva accepted a cargo of furs belonging to the Russian-American company, and on September 1 set off for the shores of China. Before sailing, several dozen buckets of wild sorrel were prepared, which was a proven remedy for scurvy. And indeed, there were no cases of the disease further along the way.

Lisyansky hoped to discover unexplored land and plotted a route through those parts of the ocean that had not been visited by ships before. But these searches almost turned into trouble: on the night of October 3, the Neva ran aground. As it turned out in the morning, this saved the ship from colliding with a small island located in the center of the shoal. The island was given the name Lisyansky. It was uninhabited and very low; in the darkness of a tropical night it was very easy to miss it, and a collision with the rocky shore would end in the death of the ship. "Neva" successfully refloated and continued on its way.

Nevertheless, the voyage of Ivan Kruzenshtern and Yuri Lisyansky was delayed, the ship did not make it on time, and Lisyansky decided to shift south so that a fair wind would fill the sails. Near the Philippines, the Neva was badly battered by a typhoon, and it was even necessary to throw part of the cargo overboard. Finally, in mid-November, the sailors met the first Chinese ship. On November 21, 1805, the Neva arrived in Macau, where the Nadezhda was already waiting for her.

China

Upon arrival in Macau, Krusenstern informed the governor of the purpose of the visit and convinced him to allow the Nadezhda to remain in the port until the Neva arrived, even though warships were prohibited from staying there. But he was not immediately able to persuade the local authorities to allow both ships to enter. Therefore, when the Neva approached Macau, he switched to her and, together with Lisyansky, went to the port.

There were certain difficulties with the sale of furs, as Chinese merchants were waiting for government permission to enter into trade relations with the Russians. Finally, with the help of a local English trade mission, we managed to sell the cargo. Having purchased Chinese goods (tea, silk, porcelain) and completed trade affairs, the expedition was preparing to depart, but then Chinese officials intervened again, prohibiting the ships from leaving the port until permission was received. A month later, permission was finally received, and on January 28, 1806, Russian sailors set off.

Return

While sailing through Polynesia, Indian and Atlantic Ocean no geographical discoveries were made, since this route was widely known and had been explored for a long time. However, several interesting events still happened. The ships sailed together to the coast of Africa, but while passing by they fell into fog and on April 3 lost sight of each other. According to the agreements, in such a case it was planned to meet again on the island of St. Helena. Upon arrival there, Kruzenshtern received news that Russia and France were at war. This forced him to change the further route of the expedition of Krusenstern and Lisyansky’s round-the-world trip, and “Nadezhda” went away from the European shores, rounding the British Isles.

Lisyansky decided to return on his own, without going to St. Helena Island. Having dropped anchor in Portsmouth and having learned about the war, he nevertheless continued sailing across the English Channel. One way or another, both ships successfully completed the first trip around the world by Krusenstern and Lisyansky. "Neva" returned to Kronstadt on July 22, and "Nadezhda" arrived on August 7, 1806.

Meaning

The first Russian trip around the world by Kruzenshtern and Lisyansky opened a new page geographical research. The expedition discovered new islands and erased non-existent ones from maps, clarified the coastline of North America and Japan, and established the latitude and longitude of many points on the map. Updated maps of little-explored places on the globe have simplified further expeditions. After the first circumnavigation of Kruzenshtern and Lisyansky, a lot of information was obtained about the population of distant lands, about their customs, culture and way of life. The collected ethnographic material was transferred to the Academy of Sciences and served as a valuable source of information. During the trip, Chukchi and Ainu dictionaries were also compiled.

Research on the temperature of water in the oceans, its salinity, currents, tides did not stop during the entire journey; in the future, the information obtained will become one of the foundations of oceanography. Observations of weather in different parts of the globe will subsequently be important for the development of such a science as climatology. The value of the research and observations of the Russian expedition is that they were carried out systematically, using the most modern instruments; such an approach was innovative at that time.

The information obtained during the round-the-world trip of Kruzenshtern and Lisyansky (the description was presented to your attention in the article) was published in the books of Kruzenshtern and Lisyansky. Atlases with the latest maps and illustrations of nature and cities of distant countries. These works, which contained a lot of information about little-explored lands, aroused strong interest in Europe, and were soon translated into Western European languages ​​and published abroad.

The expedition became the first Russian trip around the world; sailors and officers gained experience for the first time long voyages, thereby forming the basis for further geographical discoveries under the Russian flag. In particular, the crew of “Nadezhda” included Thaddeus Bellingshausen, the future one, and Otto Kotzebue, who later made another trip around the world, but this time as the commander of the expedition.

Russian travelers. Russia was becoming a great maritime power, and this put forward new tasks for domestic geographers. IN 1803-1806 was undertaken from Kronstadt to Alaska by ship "Hope" And "Neva". It was headed by Admiral Ivan Fedorovich Krusenstern (1770 - 1846). He commanded the ship "Hope". By ship "Neva" was commanded by captain Yuri Fedorovich Lisyansky (1773 - 1837). During the expedition, the islands of the Pacific Ocean, China, Japan, Sakhalin and Kamchatka were studied. Were compiled detailed maps explored places. Lisyansky, having independently traveled from the Hawaiian Islands to Alaska, collected rich material about the peoples of Oceania and North America.

Map. The first Russian round-the-world expedition

The attention of researchers around the world has long been attracted by the mysterious region around the South Pole. It was assumed that there was a vast Southern continent (names "Antarctica" was not in use then). English navigator J. Cook in the 70s of the 18th century. crossed the Antarctic Circle, encountered impassable ice and declared that sailing further south was impossible. They believed him, and for 45 years no one undertook a south polar expedition.

In 1819, Russia equipped an expedition on two sloops to the southern polar seas under the leadership of Thaddeus Faddeevich Bellingshausen (1778 - 1852). He commanded the sloop "East". Commander "Peaceful" was Mikhail Petrovich Lazarev (1788 - 1851). Bellingshausen took part in Krusenstern's voyage. Lazarev subsequently became famous as a combat admiral, who trained a whole galaxy of Russian naval commanders (Kornilov, Nakhimov, Istomin).

"East" And "Peaceful" were not adapted to polar conditions and differed greatly in seaworthiness. "Peaceful" was stronger and "East"- faster. It was only thanks to the great skill of the captains that the sloops never lost each other in conditions of stormy weather and poor visibility. Several times the ships found themselves on the verge of destruction.

But still Russian expedition managed to get to the South much further than Cook. January 16, 1820 "East" And "Peaceful" almost came close to the Antarctic coast (in the area of ​​modern ice shelf Bellingshausen). Before them, as far as the eye could see, stretched a faintly hilly icy desert. Perhaps they guessed that it was - Southern continent, and not solid ice. But the only way to obtain evidence was by landing on shore and traveling far into the desert. The sailors did not have this opportunity. Therefore, Bellingshausen, a very conscientious and accurate man, reported in a report that he had been seen "continent of ice". Subsequently, geographers wrote that Bellingshausen “saw the mainland, but did not recognize it as such”. And yet this date is considered the day of the discovery of Antarctica. After this, the island of Peter I and the coast of Alexander I were discovered. In 1821, the expedition returned to its homeland, having completed a complete voyage around the open continent.

Kostin V. "Vostok and Mirny off the coast of Antarctica", 1820

In 1811, Russian sailors led by captain Vasily Mikhailovich Golovkin (1776 - 1831) explored the Kuril Islands and were taken into Japanese captivity. Golovnin's notes about his three-year stay in Japan introduced Russian society to the life of this mysterious country. Golovnin's student Fyodor Petrovich Litke (1797 - 1882) explored the Arctic Ocean, the shores of Kamchatka, and South America. He founded the Russian Geographical Society, which played a major role in the development of geographical science.

Large geographical discoveries in the Russian Far East are associated with the name of Gennady Ivanovich Nevelsky (1814-1876). Rejecting the court career that was opening up to him, he achieved appointment as commander of military transport "Baikal". He is on it in 1848 - 1849. made a voyage from Kronstadt around Cape Horn to Kamchatka, and then led the Amur expedition. He discovered the mouth of the Amur, a strait between Sakhalin and the mainland, proving that Sakhalin is an island, not a peninsula.

Amur expedition of Nevelskoy

Expeditions of Russian travelers, in addition to purely scientific results, had great importance in the matter of mutual knowledge of peoples. In distant countries, local residents often learned about Russia for the first time from Russian travelers. In turn, the Russian people collected information about other countries and peoples.

Russian America

Russian America . Alaska was discovered in 1741 by the expedition of V. Bering and A. Chirikov. The first Russian settlements in the Aleutian Islands and Alaska appeared in the 18th century. In 1799, Siberian merchants engaged in fishing in Alaska united into the Russian-American Company, which was assigned a monopoly right to use the natural resources of this region. The board of the company was first located in Irkutsk, and then moved to St. Petersburg. The main source of income for the company was the fur trade. For many years (until 1818), the main ruler of Russian America was A. A. Baranov, a native of the merchants of the city of Kargopol, Olonets province.

The Russian population of Alaska and the Aleutian Islands was small (in different years from 500 to 830 people). In total, about 10 thousand people lived in Russian America, mainly Aleuts, residents of the islands and coast of Alaska. They willingly became close to the Russians, were baptized in Orthodox faith, adopted various crafts and clothing. Men wore jackets and frock coats, women wore calico dresses. The girls tied their hair with ribbons and dreamed of marrying a Russian.

The Indians who lived in the interior of Alaska were a different matter. They were hostile to the Russians, believing that it was they who brought previously unknown diseases to their country - smallpox and measles. In 1802, Indians from the Tlingit tribe ( "koloshi", as the Russians called them) attacked the Russian-Aleut settlement on the island. Sith, they burned everything and killed many of the inhabitants. Only in 1804 was the island recaptured. Baranov founded the Novo-Arkhangelsk fortress on it, which became the capital of Russian America. A church, a shipping dock, and workshops were built in Novo-Arkhangelsk. The library contains more than 1200 books.

After Baranov’s resignation, the position of chief ruler began to be occupied by naval officers with little experience in commercial matters. The fur wealth was gradually depleted. The company's financial affairs were shaken, and it began to receive government benefits. But geographical research has expanded. Especially in the deep areas, which were marked as a white spot on the maps.

The expedition of L. A. Zagoskin in 1842 - 1844 was of particular importance. Lavrenty Zagoskin, a native of Penza, was the nephew of the famous writer M. Zagoskin. He outlined his impressions of the difficult and lengthy expedition in the book “Pedestrian inventory of part of Russian possessions in America”. Zagoskin described the basins of the main rivers of Alaska (Yukon and Kuskokwim) and collected information about the climate of these areas, their natural world, and the life of the local population, with whom he managed to establish friendly relations. Written vividly and talentedly, "Pedestrian inventory" combined scientific value and artistic merit.

I. E. Veniaminov spent about a quarter of a century in Russian America. Arriving in Novo-Arkhangelsk as a young missionary, he immediately began studying the Aleut language, and later wrote a textbook on its grammar. On about. Unalaska, where he lived for a long time, through his labors and care a church was built, a school and a hospital were opened. He regularly conducted meteorological and other field observations. When Veniaminov became a monk, he was named Innocent. Soon he became the bishop of Kamchatka, Kuril and Aleut.

In the 50s of the XIX century. The Russian government began to pay special attention to the study of the Amur region and the Ussuri region. Interest in Russian America has noticeably decreased. She miraculously escaped capture by the British. In fact, the distant colony was and remained unprotected. For the state treasury, devastated as a result of the war, the considerable annual payments to the Russian-American Company became a burden. I had to make a choice between mastering Far East(Amur and Primorye) and Russian America. The issue was discussed for a long time, and in the end an agreement was concluded with the US government on the sale of Alaska for $7.2 million. On October 6, 1867, the Russian flag was lowered in Novo-Arkhangelsk and the American flag was raised. Russia peacefully left Alaska, leaving the results of its efforts to study and develop it for future generations of its residents.

Document: From the diary of F. F. Bellingshausen

January 10 (1821). ...At noon the wind moved to the east and became fresher. Unable to go south of what is encountered solid ice, we had to continue on our way, waiting for a favorable wind. Meanwhile, sea swallows gave us reason to conclude that there was a shore in the vicinity of this place.

At 3 o'clock in the afternoon we saw a black spot. When I looked through the pipe, I knew at first glance that I could see the shore. The sun's rays, emerging from the clouds, illuminated this place, and, to everyone's delight, everyone was convinced that they could see a coast covered with snow: only screes and rocks, on which the snow could not stay, turned black.

It is impossible to express in words the joy that appeared on everyone’s faces when they exclaimed: “Beach! Shore!" This delight was not surprising after a long, uniform voyage in continuous disastrous dangers, between ice, in snow, rain, slush and fog... The shore we found gave hope that there must certainly be other shores, for the existence of only one in such a vast expanse of water It seemed impossible to us.

January 11. Since midnight, the sky was covered with thick clouds, the air was filled with darkness, and the wind was fresh. We continued to follow the same course to the north in order to turn around and lie closer to the shore. As the morning continued, after the cloudiness that hovered over the coast cleared, and when the sun's rays illuminated it, we saw a high island stretching from N0 61° to S, covered with snow. At 5 o'clock in the afternoon, having approached a distance of 14 miles from the coast, we encountered solid ice, which prevented us from getting any closer; it was better to survey the coast and take something of curiosity and preservation worthy of the museum of the Admiralty Department. Having reached the ice with the sloop "Vostok", I drifted on another tack to wait for the sloop "Mirny", which was behind us. As the Mirny approached, we raised our flags: Lieutenant Lazarev congratulated me via telegraph on the acquisition of the island; On both sloops they put people on the shrouds and shouted mutual “hurray” three times. At this time, it was ordered to give the sailors a glass of punch. I called Lieutenant Lazarev to me, he told me that he saw all the ends of the coast clearly and clearly determined their position. The island was quite clearly visible, especially the lower parts, which are made up of steep rocky cliffs.

I named this island after the high name of the culprit behind the existence of the military fleet in Russia - the island.

Ivan Fedorovich Krusenstern

In the history of the first half of the 19th century century, a number of brilliant geographical studies are known. Among them, one of the most prominent places belongs to Russian trips around the world.

Russia in early XIX centuries, occupies a leading place in organizing and conducting circumnavigations and ocean exploration.

The first voyage of Russian ships around the world under the command of captain-lieutenants I.F. Krusenstern and Yu.F. Lisyansky lasted three years, like most circumnavigations of that time. This journey in 1803 begins an entire era of remarkable Russian expeditions around the world.
Yuri Fedorovich Lisyansky

Yu.F. Lisyansky received orders to go to England to purchase two ships intended for circumnavigation. Lisyansky bought these ships, Nadezhda and Neva, in London for 22,000 pounds sterling, which was almost the same amount in gold rubles at the exchange rate of that time. The price for the purchase of "Nadezhda" and "Neva" was actually equal to 17,000 pounds sterling, but for corrections they had to pay an additional 5,000 pounds. The ship "Nadezhda" has already been three years old since its launch, and the "Neva" is only fifteen months old. "Neva" had a displacement of 350 tons, and "Nadezhda" - 450 tons.

sloop "Nadezhda"

Sloop “Neva”

In England, Lisyansky bought a number of sextants, lel-compasses, barometers, a hygrometer, several thermometers, one artificial magnet, chronometers by Arnold and Pettiwgton, and more. The chronometers were tested by academician Schubert. All other instruments were Troughton's work. Astronomical and physical instruments were designed to observe longitudes and latitudes and orient the ship. Lisyansky took care to purchase a whole pharmacy of medicines and anti-scorbutic drugs, since in those days scurvy was one of the most dangerous diseases during long voyages. Equipment for the expedition was also purchased from England, including comfortable, durable clothing for the team that was suitable for various climatic conditions. There was a spare set of underwear and dresses. Mattresses, pillows, sheets and blankets were ordered for each of the sailors. The ship's provisions were the best. The crackers prepared in St. Petersburg did not spoil for two whole years, just like solonia, which was salted with domestic salt by the merchant Oblomkov. The Nadezhda crew consisted of 58 people, and the Neva crew of 47. They were selected from volunteer sailors, of whom there were so many that everyone who wanted to participate in a trip around the world could be enough to staff several expeditions. It should be noted that none of the team members participated in long voyages, since in those days Russian ships did not descend south of the northern tropic. The task that faced the officers and crew of the expedition was not easy. They had to cross two oceans, go around the dangerous Cape Horn, famous for its storms, and rise to 60° N. sh., visit a number of little-studied coasts, where mariners could expect uncharted and undescribed pitfalls and other dangers. But the command of the expedition was so confident in the strength of its “officers and enlisted personnel” that they rejected the offer to take on board several foreign sailors familiar with the conditions of long voyages. Among the foreigners on the expedition were naturalists Tilesius von Tilenau, Langsdorff and astronomer Horner. Horner was of Swiss origin. He worked at the then famous Seeberg Observatory, whose director recommended him to Count Rumyantsev. The expedition was also accompanied by a painter from the Academy of Arts. The artist and scientists were with the Russian envoy to Japan, N.P. Rezanov, and his retinue on board the large ship Nadezhda. "Nadezhda" was commanded by Krusenstern. Lisyansky was entrusted with command of the Neva. Although Krusenstern was listed as the commander of the Nadezhda and the head of the expedition at the Naval Ministry, in the instructions given by Alexander I to the Russian ambassador to Japan, N.P. Rezanov, he was called the main commander of the expedition.

N.P. Rezanov

This dual position was the reason for the emergence of conflictual relationships between Rezanov and Krusenstern. Therefore, Kruzenshtern repeatedly submitted reports to the Directorate of the Russian-American Company, where he wrote that he was called upon by the highest order to command the expedition and that “it was entrusted to Rezanov” without his knowledge, to which he would never agree, that his position “does not consist only to watch the sails,” etc.

Great Ancestor Crusius

The Kruzenshtern family gave Russia several generations of travelers and sailors.
The ancestor of the Krusensterns, the German diplomat Philip Crusius (1597-1676) in 1633-1635. headed two embassies of the Schleswig-Holstein Duke Frederick III to the Moscow Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich and the Persian Shah Sefi. Travel notes collected by Philip Crusius and the embassy secretary Adam Olearius (1599-1671) formed the basis of the most famous encyclopedic work about Russia XVII V. - “Descriptions of a journey to Muscovy and through Muscovy to Persia and back” by Adam Olearius.
Returning from Muscovy, Philip Crusius entered the service of the Swedish Queen Christina and in 1648 received the surname Krusenstern and a new coat of arms, crowned with a Persian turban in memory of his travels. In 1659 he became the governor of all Estonia (it then belonged to the Swedes). His grandson, Swedish Lieutenant Colonel Evert Philipp von Kruzenstern (1676-1748), a participant in the Northern War, was captured near Narva in 1704 and lived in exile in Tobolsk for 20 years, and upon his return bought the mortgaged family estates of Haggud and Ahagfer. The landowner of the Haggud, Vahast and Perisaar estates was judge Johann Friedrich von Krusenstern (1724-1791), the admiral's father.

Ivan Fedorovich, the first “Russian” Kruzenshtern

In Hagguda, on November 8, 1770, the most outstanding representative of the Kruzenshtern family, Ivan Fedorovich, was born. Biographers usually write that Ivan Fedorovich’s naval career was chosen by chance and that before him there were no sailors in the family. However, Ivan Fedorovich’s father could not help but know about his own cousin Moritz-Adolf (1707-1794), an outstanding admiral of the Swedish fleet.
Ivan Fedorovich Kruzenshtern (1770-1846), having graduated early from the Naval Cadet Corps due to the outbreak of the Russian-Swedish War (1788-1790), successfully fought with the Swedes on the ship "Mstislav". In 1793 he, together with Yu.F. Lisyansky and other young officers were sent “for an internship” to England, where he served on ships of the English fleet off the coast of North and Central America, and sailed to Africa and India. In Philadelphia, both Krusenstern and Lisyansky met with American President George Washington. Returning to his homeland, Kruzenshtern in 1800 submitted a project for a circumnavigation of the world for trade and scientific purposes. The project was initially rejected - the unknown author had no patronage, Russia, which was then constantly at war with France, did not have enough funds, and the ministers believed that the country was strong in its land army and was not fit to compete with the British at sea.
However, in July 1802, Emperor Alexander I approved the project, leaving Krusenstern to implement it himself. The purchase of the ships "Nadezhda" and "Neva", provisions and all necessary goods was undertaken by the Russian-American company, created for the development of Russian possessions in North America- in Alaska, the Aleutian Islands, Kodiak, Sitka and Unalaska. The company's industrialists hunted sea otters, fur seals, arctic foxes, foxes, bears and harvested valuable furs and walrus tusks.

Japanese question

In 1802, the emperor and the minister of commerce had the idea of ​​sending an embassy to Japan on the Nadezhda. In Japan, located close to Kamchatka and Russian America, it was planned to buy rice for Russian settlements in the North. The Japanese embassy was offered to be headed by Chamberlain Nikolai Petrovich Rezanov, one of the organizers and shareholders of the Russian-American Company, its “authorized correspondent”, Chief Prosecutor of the 1st Department of the Senate, Commander of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem. Emperor Alexander clearly did not attach much importance to Rezanov's diplomatic mission. The ambassador, who was not a diplomat himself, received a completely unrepresentative retinue. When sailing from St. Petersburg, the ambassador was not given a soldier - a guard of honor. Later he managed to “rent” it from the Governor-General of Kamchatka P.I. Koshelev two non-commissioned officers, a drummer and five soldiers.

The ambassadorial gifts were unlikely to interest the Japanese. It was unwise to bring porcelain dishes and fabrics to Japan; let us remember the elegant Japanese, Chinese and Korean porcelain and magnificent silk kimonos. Among the gifts intended for the Emperor of Japan were beautiful silver fox furs - in Japan, the fox was considered an unclean animal.
Rezanov was stationed on the main ship Nadezhda (under the command of Krusenstern); The Neva was set sailing by Yu.F. Lisyansky. A whole “faculty of scientists” sailed on the “Nadezhda”: the Swiss astronomer I.-K. Horner, Germans - doctor, botanist, zoologist and artist V.T. Tilesius; traveler, ethnographer, doctor and naturalist G.G. von Langsdorff, M.D. K.F. Espenberg. There were also talented young people on the ship - 16-year-old cadet Otto Kotzebue, the future leader of two round-the-world voyages - on the Rurik and on the Enterprise - and midshipman Thaddeus Bellingshausen, the future discoverer of Antarctica.

The hardships of swimming

The Nadezhda was 117 feet (35 m) long, 28 feet 4 inches (8.5 m) wide, and the Neva was even smaller. There were always 84 officers, crew and passengers (scientists and N.P. Rezanov’s retinue) on board the Nadezhda. The ship was also overloaded with goods that were being transported to Okhotsk, provisions for two years; gifts for the Japanese alone took up 50 boxes and bales. Due to cramped conditions and overcrowding, the two highest ranks of the expedition - Kruzenshtern and Rezanov - did not have separate cabins and huddled in one captain's cabin, not exceeding 6 m2 with a minimum ceiling height.

On the ship, on dark tropical nights, they worked by candlelight; they only saved themselves from the cold in high latitudes with an extra sweatshirt; there were only 3 latrines for 84 people; it was impossible to wash properly due to constant shortage fresh water. And all this, sometimes in the cold, sometimes in the heat, sometimes in a storm (“Nadezhda” endured nine severe storms, when the ship almost died), sometimes in the dead calm of the tropics. The exhausting pitching and swell constantly caused seasickness. The Nadezhda kept livestock to supplement the diet: pigs, or a pair of bulls, or a cow with a calf, a goat, chickens, ducks, geese. They all roared, mooed and grunted in cages on the deck, they had to be constantly cleaned up, and the pigs were even washed once, thrown overboard and thoroughly rinsed in the Atlantic Ocean.
In October 1803, the expedition visited Tenerife (Canary Islands), on November 14 (26), Russian ships crossed the equator for the first time and celebrated Christmas on the island of Santa Catarina off the coast of Brazil, which amazed the sailors with its rich wildlife and flora. The Russians spent a whole month in Brazil while the Neva's damaged mast was replaced.

I.F. Krusenstern and Yu.F. Lisyansky

Having passed Cape Horn, the ships were separated during a storm - Lisyansky explored Easter Island, and Kruzenshtern headed straight to Nuku Hiva (Marquesas Islands), where they met in early May 1804. During the passage from Brazil to the Marquesas Islands, drinking water was strictly rationed. Everyone received a mug of water to drink daily. There was not enough fresh food, the sailors and officers ate corned beef, the food was too monotonous.
In the harsh conditions of navigation, it was necessary not only to survive, but also to work. The officers had to stand watch in any weather, do trigonometric surveys, and sometimes do things themselves that the sailors couldn’t or didn’t want to do. They were responsible for the management of loading and unloading, repairing sails and rigging, careening and searching for leaks. They kept travel journals, studied themselves and taught young people. Naturalists continually made stuffed fish and birds, preserved and dried sea animals in alcohol, compiled herbariums, painted, and also kept diaries and described scientific observations.
The lieutenants stood on 3 watches: during the day twice for 3 hours and once at night for 4 hours. The sailors had 3 watches of 4 hours and one of 2 hours - from 12 noon to 16.00. Three hours a day were spent on astronomical calculations, and an hour on writing a journal.
On Nuku Hiva, the Russians, to their surprise, met two Europeans - the Englishman E. Robarts and the Frenchman J. Cabri (who had lived there for 5 years and married local women), who helped load the ships with firewood, fresh water, food and served as translators for communicating with local residents. And perhaps the most exotic impressions they got from their acquaintance with Oceania - the Marquesas, Easter and Hawaiian islands.

Conflict in the Marquesas Islands

The voyage was also complicated by the fact that Rezanov, as the head of the embassy, ​​received, along with Krusenstern, the authority of the head of the expedition, but announced this only when the ships were approaching Brazil, although he did not show any instructions. The officers simply did not believe him, the appointment of a landman as commander of a circumnavigation was so absurd. In the naval regulations to this day there is a rule that the senior person on the ship in all cases and always is the captain of the ship, at least during sea voyages.
On the Marquesas Islands, 9 months after sailing from Kronstadt, the confrontation between the officers and Rezanov resulted in a quarrel. Kruzenshtern, seeing that pigs could only be exchanged with the Marquesans for iron axes, forbade them to be exchanged for native jewelry and clubs until the ship was supplied with fresh meat: after the difficult journey from Brazil, the crew members were already beginning to suffer from scurvy. Rezanov sent his clerk Shemelin to trade Marquisian “rarities” for axes. Ultimately, the price of axes fell and the Russians were able to buy only a few pigs.
In addition, Nuku Hiva at the beginning of the 19th century. was not a tourist paradise, but an island inhabited by cannibals. The prudent Kruzenshtern did not let members of his team ashore alone, but only as an organized team under the leadership of officers. In such conditions, it was necessary to observe the strictest military discipline, possible only under unity of command.
Mutual displeasure resulted in a quarrel, and officers both ships demanded explanations from Rezanov and public announcement of his instructions. Rezanov read the imperial rescript he had and his instructions. The officers decided that Rezanov compiled them himself, and the emperor approved them without reviewing them in advance. Rezanov claimed that Kruzenshtern, even before leaving Kronstadt, saw his instructions and knew for sure that it was Rezanov who was the main commander of the expedition. However, if Krusenstern had not been firmly convinced that it was he who was leading the expedition, the project of which he himself proposed, he simply would not have set sail under such conditions.
Fleet historian N.L. Klado put forward the version that Rezanov presented Kruzenshtern in Kronstadt not with instructions, but only with the highest rescript, which said nothing about the order of subordination. Lieutenant-Commander Kruzenshtern, junior both in rank and age, clearly could not demand that the chamberlain present instructions concerning his Japanese mission.
After the conflict in the Marquesas Islands, Rezanov locked himself in his half of the cabin and did not go on deck, which saved him from the need for explanations.
From the Marquesas Islands, both ships reached Hawaii, from where Lisyansky went to Russian America, where he helped the main ruler of the Russian colonies in America, A.A. Baranov to recapture the Sitka fortress captured by the Indians

“Neva” off the coast of Alaska

Landing from the Neva (battle with Indians)

"Nadezhda" arrived in Kamchatka (July 3/15, 1804) and N.P. Rezanov immediately wrote to the Governor-General of Kamchatka P.I. Koshelev, who was then in Nizhne-Kamchatsk. The charges brought against Rezanov were so serious that the Governor General began an investigation. Understanding the offensive hopelessness of the situation. I.F. Kruzenshtern, with the determination of a man confident in his rightness, aggravates the situation to the limit, putting Rezanov before the need to publicly state his position, and therefore bear responsibility for it.

Koshelev’s restrained position contributed to the conclusion of a formal reconciliation, which took place on August 8, 1804.
The further voyage to Japan proceeded calmly, and there were no discussions about the authorities. The Emperor did not let the matter proceed, agreeing that reconciliation in Kamchatka ended the conflict, and in July 1805, after the return of the ship from Japan, the Order of St. Anne, II degree, was delivered to Kamchatka from him to Krusenstern, and a snuff box sprinkled with diamonds to Rezanov, and a gracious rescript dated April 28, 1805, as evidence of his goodwill towards both. Upon returning to St. Petersburg, Kruzenshtern received the Order of St. Vladimir with a rescript putting everything in its place: “To our fleet, Lieutenant Commander Kruzenshtern. Having completed the journey around the world with the desired success, you have thereby justified the fair opinion of you, in which, by OUR will, the main leadership of this expedition was entrusted to you.”

Japan, America, the legend of “last love”
Kruzenshtern, having unloaded company goods in Kamchatka in the summer of 1804, went to Japan, which was then closed from the whole world, where Nadezhda, while negotiations were underway with Japanese officials, stood at anchor near Nagasaki for more than six months (from September 1804 to April 1805).

“Hope” off the coast of Japan

The Japanese treated the sailors quite friendly: the ambassador and his retinue were provided with a house and a warehouse on the shore for gifts to the Japanese emperor, the embassy and the ship's crew were supplied with fresh food every day. However, the Japanese government, forcing Rezanov to wait 6 months for a response, ultimately refused to accept the embassy and trade with Russia. The reason for the refusal is still not entirely clear: either the orientation of the shogun and his entourage towards an isolationist policy played a role, or the unprofessional diplomat Rezanov frightened the Japanese with statements about how great and powerful Russia is (especially in comparison with small Japan).
In the summer of 1805, Nadezhda returned to Petropavlovsk, and then went to the Sea of ​​Okhotsk to explore Sakhalin. From Kamchatka, Chamberlain Rezanov and naturalist Langsdorf went to Russian America on the galliot "Maria", and then on the "Juno" and "Avos" to California, where the chamberlain met his last love - Conchita (Conceptia Arguello). This story surrounded Rezanov’s name with a romantic aura for centuries, inspiring many writers. Returning to St. Petersburg through Siberia, Rezanov caught a cold and died in Krasnoyarsk in 1807.

Home...

“Nadezhda” and “Neva” met at the end of 1805 in Macau (southern China), where, having sold a cargo of furs, they purchased tea, fabrics and other Chinese goods. "Nadezhda", having called at St. Helena Island, Helsingor and Copenhagen, returned to Kronstadt on August 7 (19), 1806. "Neva", without calling at St. Helena Island, returned two weeks earlier.
For most of the journey, Kruzenshtern and Lisyansky walked away from the already explored routes and everywhere they tried not only to accurately determine the position of the ship, but also to correct the maps they had. Kruzenshtern was the first to compile detailed maps of Sakhalin, Japan, the southern coast of Nuku Hiva (Marquesas Islands), and discovered several straits between the Kuril Islands and the Kamennye Trap Islands.
Kruzenshtern’s merits were highly appreciated by the world scientific community. Just one fact: in 1820, that is, during Kruzenshtern’s lifetime, a book was published in London containing an overview of the main circumnavigations of all times and peoples, entitled “From Magellan to Kruzenshtern.”
The first Russian round-the-world expedition strengthened Russia's position in the northern part of the Pacific Ocean and drew attention not only to Kamchatka and Sakhalin, but also to the polar regions lying north of the Bering Strait.

The legacy of the first circumnavigation

Although participants in the first Russian circumnavigation in the first quarter of the 19th century. published a number of works and descriptions of their journey, many of them have long become a bibliographic rarity, and some are still not published and are stored in archives. Kruzenshtern's most famous published work is “Journey Around the World.”
But not in any publication of the 19th century. there are no such picturesque details of the circumnavigation as in the diaries of the Nadezhda lieutenants E.E. Levenshtern and M.I. Ratmanova, In 2003, a translation of Levenstern's diary was finally published. Ermolai Ermolaevich Levenshtern daily recorded all the amusing, funny and even indecent incidents on board the Nadezhda, all the impressions of landing on the shore, especially in exotic countries - Brazil, Polynesia, Japan, China. The diary of Makar Ivanovich Ratmanov, senior lieutenant of Nadezhda, has not yet been published.
The situation is even worse with illustrations. Along with out-of-print atlases, there is a whole collection of drawings and sketches that have never been published and few have seen. This gap was partially filled by the album “Around the World with Krusenstern,” dedicated to the historical and ethnographic heritage of the participants in the circumnavigation. Comparison of the same objects, places in the drawings different authors helped determine geographical features, not named in the Krusenstern atlas.
Krusenstern's voyage introduced not only Russia, but also world science to the mysterious Japan. The travelers mapped the Japanese coastline and collected ethnographic materials and drawings. While staying in Nagasaki, the Russians sketched a huge amount of Japanese utensils, boats, flags and coats of arms (Japanese heraldry is still almost unknown among us).
Participants in the voyage first introduced scientists to two ancient “exotic” peoples - the Ainu (Hokkaido and Sakhalin) and the Nivkh (Sakhalin). The Russians also called the Ainu “shaggy” Kurilians: unlike the Japanese, the Ainu had lush shocks of hair on their heads and “shaggy” beards sticking out in different directions. And perhaps the main historical and ethnographic significance of the first Russian circumnavigation of the world is that it captured (in reports and drawings) the life of the Ainu, Nivkhs, Hawaiians, and Marquesanes before the radical changes that contacts with Europeans soon led to. Engravings of participants in Kruzenshtern's voyage are a real treasure for scientists and artists studying Polynesia, and especially the Marquesas Islands.
Already from the 1830s. Russian engravings began to be replicated; they were used to illustrate books on the Polynesian islands, art, and most importantly, Aboriginal tattooing. It is interesting that the Marquesans still use these engravings: they paint them on tapa (bark material) and sell them to tourists. Langsdorff’s engravings “Warrior” and “Young Warrior” were especially popular among Marquesan artists, although they were very rough compared to the originals. The "Young Warrior", a symbol of the Marquesan past, is much loved by both locals and tourists. It even became the emblem of the Keikahanui Hotel on Nuku Hiva, one of the scattering of luxury hotels in French Polynesia.
From the expedition of I.F. Krusenstern and Yu.F. Lisyansky, the era of Russian ocean voyages began. Following Krusenstern and Lisyansky, V.M. rushed to the ocean spaces. Golovnin, O.E. Kotzebue. L.A. Gagemeister, M.N. Vasiliev, G.S. Shishmarev, F.P. Litke, F.P. Wrangel and many others. And just 12 years after Kruzenshtern’s return, Russian navigators F.F. Bellingshausen and M.P. Lazarev led their ships to the South Pole. Thus Russia ended the era of great geographical discoveries.

I.F. Kruzenshtern was the director of the Naval Cadet Corps, created the Higher Officer Classes, which were later transformed into Naval Academy. He abolished corporal punishment in the corps, introduced new disciplines, and founded a corps museum with ship models and an observatory. In memory of Kruzenshtern’s activities, his office has been preserved in the Naval Cadet Corps, and graduates, maintaining the tradition, put a vest on the bronze admiral on the night before graduation.

monument to I.F. Krusenstern in Leningrad

grave of I.F. Krusenstern

Modern bark “Kruzenshtern” (training ship for cadets)

The story of the first round-the-world expedition of I.F. Krusenstern and Yu.F. Lisyansky. About how two captains circumnavigated the globe for the first time under the flag of the Russian navy, despite the cruel circumstances that hindered their dream.

Background and purpose of the expedition

The petitions of Captain Ivan Kruzenshtern gathered dust in the desks of Admiralty officials. The chief executives considered Russia a land power and did not understand why it was necessary to go to the ends of the world to compile herbariums and maps?! Desperate, Kruzenshtern gives up. Now his choice is marriage and a quiet life... And Captain Kruzenshtern’s project would probably have been lost in the distant drawers of Admiralty officials, if not for private capital - the Russian-American Company. Its main business is trade with Alaska. At that time, the business was extremely profitable: a sable skin bought in Alaska for a ruble in St. Petersburg could be sold for 600. But here’s the problem: the journey from the capital to Alaska and back took... 5 years. What kind of trade is there!

On July 29, 1802, the company turned to Emperor Alexander I, also, by the way, its shareholder, with a request to authorize a round-the-world expedition based on Kruzenshtern’s project. The goals are to deliver the necessary supplies to Alaska, pick up goods, and at the same time establish trade with China and Japan. The petition was submitted by a member of the company's board, Nikolai Rezanov.

On August 7, 1802, just a week after the petition was submitted, the project was approved. It was also decided to send an embassy to Japan with the expedition, which was to be headed by Nikolai Rezanov. Captain-Lieutenant Krusenstern was appointed head of the expedition.

Left - Ivan Fedorovich Kruzenshtern, right - Yuri Fedorovich Lisyansky

Expedition composition, preparation for voyage

In the summer of 1803, two sailing sloops, Nadezhda and Neva, left the Kronstadt harbor. The captain of Nadezhda was Ivan Krusenstern, the captain of the Neva was his friend and classmate Yuri Lisyansky. The sloops “Nadezhda” and “Neva” are three-masted ships of Krusenstern and Lisyansky, capable of carrying up to 24 guns. They were bought in England for 230,000 rubles, originally called “Leander” and “Thames”. The length of "Nadezhda" is 117 feet, i.e. about 35 meters with a width of 8.5 meters, displacement 450 tons. The length of the Neva is 108 feet, displacement is 370 tons.

On board the Nadezhda were:

midshipmen Thaddeus Bellingshausen and Otto Kotzebue, who later glorified the Russian fleet with their expeditions

Ambassador Nikolai Petrovich Rezanov (to establish diplomatic relations with Japan) and his retinue

scientists Horner, Tilesius and Langsdorf, artist Kurlyantsev

mysteriously, the famous brawler and duelist Count Fyodor Tolstoy, who went down in history as Tolstoy the American, also ended up on the expedition.

Ivan Krusenstern. 32 years. Descendant of a Russified German noble family. Released from the Naval Corps early due to the Russian-Swedish War. Repeatedly participated in naval battles. Knight of the Order of St. George, IV degree. Served as a volunteer on the ships of the English fleet, visited the shores of North America, South Africa, East Indies and China.

Ermolai Levenstern. 26 years. Lieutenant of Nadezhda. He was distinguished by poor health, but performed his service efficiently and carefully. In his diary he described in detail all the incidents of the expedition, including curious and indecent ones. He gave unflattering characteristics to all his comrades, with the exception of Krusenstern, to whom he was sincerely devoted.

Makar Ratmanov. 31 year. First Lieutenant of the sloop Nadezhda. Krusenstern's classmate in the Naval Corps. The most senior of the expedition officers. participated in the Russian-Swedish war, then, as part of Fyodor Ushakov’s squadron, in the capture of the fortress of Corfu and the Ionian Islands. He was distinguished by rare courage, as well as directness in his statements.

Nikolay Rezanov. 38 years. From an impoverished noble family. He served in the Izmailovsky Life Guards Regiment, then as secretary of various offices. Having aroused the jealousy of the empress's favorite Platon Zubov, he was sent to Irkutsk to inspect the activities of entrepreneur Grigory Shelikhov. He married Shelikhov's daughter and became a co-owner of huge capital. He obtained permission from Emperor Paul to found the Russian-American Company and became one of its leaders.

Count Fyodor Tolstoy, 21 years old. Guard lieutenant, member of Rezanov's retinue. He became famous in St. Petersburg as an intriguer, adventurer and sharper. I got into the expedition by accident: I challenged my regiment commander to a duel, and in order to avoid trouble, by decision of my family, I ended up on the voyage instead of my cousin.

Wilhelm-Theophilus Tilesius von Thielenau. 35 years. German doctor, botanist, zoologist and naturalist. An excellent draftsman who compiled a hand-drawn chronicle of the expedition. Subsequently he will make a name for himself in science. There is a version that many of his drawings were copied from the works of his colleague and rival Langsdorff.

Baron Georg-Heinrich von Langsdorff, 29 years old. M.D. Worked as a doctor in Portugal, in free time conducted natural science research and collected collections. Full member of the Physical Society of the University of Göttingen. St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences.

Johann-Caspar Horner, 31 years old. Swiss astronomer. Called from Zurich to participate in the expedition as a staff astronomer. He was distinguished by rare calm and self-control.

Sloop "Nadezhda"

Sloop "Neva": Commander - Lisyansky Yuri Fedorovich.

The total number of the ship's crew is 54 people.

Yuri Lisyansky. 29 years. Since childhood I dreamed of the sea. At the age of 13, he was released early from the St. Petersburg Naval Corps due to Russian-Swedish War. Participated in several battles. At the age of 16 he was promoted to midshipman. Knight of the Order of St. George, 4th degree. He was distinguished by exceptional demands on himself and his subordinates.

Preparing for the expedition

At the beginning of the 19th century, there were white spots on the maps of the Atlantic and, most importantly, the Pacific oceans. Russian sailors had to cross the Great Ocean almost blindly. The ships were supposed to go through Copenhagen and Falmouth to the Canaries, then to Brazil, then to Easter Island, the Marquesas Islands, Honolulu and Kamchatka, where the ships would split up: the Neva would go to the shores of Alaska, and the Nadezhda to Japan. In Canton (China) the ships must meet and return to Kronstadt together. The ships sailed according to the regulations of the Russian navy. Twice a day - in the morning and late in the evening - exercises were carried out: setting and cleaning the sails, as well as alarms in case of fire or breach. For the team's lunch, hanging tables attached to the ceiling were lowered in the cockpits. At lunch and dinner they were given one dish - cabbage soup with meat or corned beef or porridge with butter. Before the meal, the team received a glass of vodka or rum, and those who did not drink were paid nine kopecks monthly for each glass not drunk. At the end of the work they heard: “Sing and have fun for the team!”

The sloops "Neva" and "Nadezhda" during a circumnavigation. Artist S.V.Pen.

Route of the expedition of Krusenstern and Lisyansky

The expedition left Kronstadt on July 26, old style (August 7, new style), heading for Copenhagen. The route then followed the scheme Falmouth (Great Britain) - Santa Cruz de Tenerife (Canary Islands) - Florianopolis (Brazil) - Easter Island - Nukuhiwa (Marquesas Islands) - Honolulu (Hawaii Islands) - Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky - Nagasaki (Japan) - Hokkaido Island (Japan) - Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk - Sitka (Alaska) - Kodiak (Alaska) - Guangzhou (China) - Macau (Portugal) - St. Helena Island - Corvo and Flores Islands (Azores) - Portsmouth (UK). On August 5 (17), 1806, the expedition returned to Kronstadt, completing the entire journey in 3 years and 12 days.

Description of swimming

Equator

On November 26, 1803, ships flying the Russian flag “Nadezhda” and “Neva” crossed the equator for the first time and entered the Southern Hemisphere. According to maritime tradition, a celebration of Neptune was held.

Cape Horn and Nuka Hiva

Neva and Nadezhda entered the Pacific Ocean separately, but the captains foresaw this option and agreed in advance on the meeting place - the Marquesas archipelago, Nukuhiva Island. But Lisyansky decided on the way to also stop by Easter Island to check if the Nadezhda had landed there. “Nadezhda” safely rounded Cape Horn and on March 3, 1804, entered the Pacific Ocean, and in the early morning of Easter Sunday, April 24, 1804, on the 235th day of the voyage, land appeared in the sunny haze. Nuka Hiva today is a small sleepy island. There are only two roads and three villages, one of which is the capital called Taiohae. There are 2,770 souls on the entire island who are slowly engaged in copra production and housekeeping. In the evenings, when the heat subsides, they sit outside the houses or play petanque, a pastime brought by the French for adults... The center of life is a tiny pier, the only place where you can see several people at once, and only then early on Saturday morning, when fishermen bring food for sale. fresh fish. On the 4th day of the stay at Nuku Hiva, a messenger from the king arrived to the captain with urgent news: at dawn they saw from the mountain far out to sea big ship. This was the long-awaited Neva.

Equator

Alaska

Russian America from 1799 to 1867 was the name given to the possessions Russian Empire in North America - the Alaska Peninsula, the Aleutian Islands, the Alexander Archipelago and some settlements on the coast Pacific Ocean. "Neva" safely reached its goal and approached the shores of Alaska on July 10, 1804. Destination - Pavlovskaya Bay on Kodiak Island, the capital of Russian America. After Cape Horn and the island of cannibals, this part of the voyage seemed quiet and boring to the sailors... But they were wrong. In 1804, the crew of the Neva found themselves in the very center of hostilities here. The warlike Tlingit tribe rebelled against the Russians, killing the small garrison of the fort.

The Russian-American trading company was founded in 1799 by the “Russian Columbus” - merchant Shelikhov, father-in-law of Nikolai Rezanov. The company traded in harvested furs, walrus tusks, whalebone, and blubber. But its main task was to strengthen distant colonies... The manager of the company was Alexander Baranov. The weather in Alaska, even in summer, is changeable - sometimes rain, sometimes sunny... It’s understandable: north. The cozy town of Sitka today lives on fishing and tourism. There is also a lot here that reminds us of the times of Russian America. Lisyansky hurried here to help Baranov. The detachment under the command of Baranov, who went to Sitka, consisted of 120 fishermen and about 800 Aleuts and Eskimos. They were opposed by several hundred Indians, fortified in a wooden fortress... In those cruel times, the tactics of the opponents were the same everywhere: they did not leave anyone alive. After several attempts at negotiations, Baranov and Lisyansky decide to storm the fortress. A landing party - 150 people - Russians and Aleuts with five cannons - lands on the shore.

Russian losses after the assault amounted to 8 people killed (including three sailors from the Neva) and 20 wounded, including the head of Alaska, Baranov. The Aleuts also counted their losses... For several more days, the Indians besieged in the fortress confidently shot at Russian longboats and even at the Neva. And then suddenly they sent a messenger asking for peace.

Sloop "Neva" off the coast of Alaska

Nagasaki

The Russian embassy of Nikolai Rezanov and Ivan Krusenstern was awaiting the shogun's response off the coast of Japan. Only two and a half months later, Nadezhda was allowed to enter the port and approach the shore, and Krusenstern’s ship with Ambassador Rezanov entered Nagasaki harbor on October 8, 1804. The Japanese said that in 30 days a “big man” would arrive from the capital and announce the will of the emperor. But week after week passed, and “ big man“It still didn’t happen... After a month and a half of negotiations, the Japanese finally allocated a small house to the envoy and his retinue. And then they fenced off a garden for exercise near the house - 40 by 10 meters.

The ambassador was told: there was no way to receive him at court. Also, the shogun cannot accept gifts because he will have to respond in kind, and Japan does not have large ships to send to the king... The Japanese government cannot conclude a trade agreement with Russia because the law prohibits relations with other nations... And for the same reason, all Russian ships were henceforth forbidden to enter Japanese harbors... However, the emperor ordered to supply the sailors with provisions. And he gave out 2000 bags of salt, 2000 silk rugs and 100 bags of millet. Rezanov's diplomatic mission was a failure. For the Nadezhda crew, this meant: after many months on the Nagasaki roadstead, they could finally continue sailing.

Sakhalin

"Nadezhda" went around the entire northern tip of Sakhalin. Along the way, Krusenstern named the open capes after his officers. Now on Sakhalin there is Cape Ratmanov, Cape Levenshtern, Mount Espenberg, Cape Golovachev... One of the bays was named after the ship - Nadezhda Bay. Only 44 years later, Lieutenant Commander Gennady Nevelskoy will be able to prove that Sakhalin is an island by sailing a ship through a narrow strait that will receive his name. But even without this discovery, Kruzenshtern’s research on Sakhalin was very significant. For the first time, he mapped a thousand kilometers of Sakhalin coastline.

To Macau

The next meeting place of the Neva and Nadezhda was determined to be the nearby port of Macau. Krusenstern arrived in Macau on November 20, 1805. A warship could not stay in Macau for long, even with a cargo of furs on board. Then Kruzenshtern stated that he intended to buy so many goods that they would not fit on his ship, and he needed to wait for the arrival of the second ship. But week after week passed, and still there was no Neva. At the beginning of December, when the Nadezhda was about to go to sea, the Neva finally appeared. Her holds were filled with fur: 160 thousand skins of sea beaver and seal. Such an amount of “soft gold” was quite capable of bringing down the Canton fur market. On February 9, 1806, “Nadezhda” and “Neva” left the Chinese coast and headed for their homeland. "Neva" and "Nadezhda" sailed together for quite a long time, but on April 3, off the cape Good Hope, in cloudy weather we lost each other. Krusenstern appointed the island of St. Helena as the meeting place for such a case, where he arrived on April 21.

Bypassing the English Channel

Kruzenshtern, in order to avoid meeting with French privateers, chose a roundabout route: around the northern tip of Scotland into the North Sea and further through the Kiel Strait into the Baltic. Lisyansky, in the Azores region, learned about the start of the war, but still went across the English Channel, risking meeting the French. And he became the first captain in world history to make a non-stop passage from China to England in 142 days.

What Ivan Krusenstern and Yuri Lisyansky discovered

New islands, straits, reefs, bays and capes were added to the world map

Fixed inaccuracies in Pacific Ocean maps

Russian sailors compiled a description of the coast of Japan, Sakhalin, the Kuril ridge and many other areas
Krusenstern and Lisyansky conducted comprehensive studies of ocean waters. Russian navigators managed to study various currents and discover inter-trade countercurrents in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans

The expedition collected a wealth of information about the transparency, specific gravity, density and temperature of sea water at various depths

The expedition collected a wealth of information about climate, atmospheric pressure, tides in various regions of the oceans and other data that laid the foundation for a new marine science - oceanography, which studies phenomena in the World Ocean and its parts.

The significance of the expedition for the development of geography and other sciences

The first Russian round-the-world expedition made a huge contribution to geographical science: she erased non-existent islands from the world map and clarified the coordinates of the real islands. Ivan Kruzenshtern described part of the Kuril Islands, the islands of Japan and the coast of Sakhalin. A new science appeared - oceanology: no one before Kruzenshtern had conducted research into the depths of the sea. The expedition members also collected valuable collections: botanical, zoological, ethnographic. Over the next 30 years, 36 more Russian voyages around the world were completed. Including with the direct participation of Neva and Nadezhda officers.

Records and Awards

Ivan Kruzenshtern was awarded the Order of St. Anne, II degree

Emperor Alexander I royally awarded I.F. Kruzenshtern and all members of the expedition. All officers received the following ranks:

commanders of the Order of St. Vladimir 3rd degree and 3000 rubles.

lieutenants 1000 each

midshipmen 800 rubles lifetime pension

lower ranks, if desired, were dismissed and awarded a pension of 50 to 75 rubles.

By the highest order it was knocked out special medal for all participants of this first trip around the world

Yuri Lisyansky became the first captain in world history to make a non-stop transition from China to England in 142 days.

A short information about the life of the expedition participants after its completion

Participation in this campaign changed the fate of Langsdorff. In 1812, he would be appointed Russian consul in Rio de Janeiro and organize an expedition to the interior of Brazil. The herbariums and descriptions of the languages ​​and traditions of the Indians he collected are still considered a unique, unsurpassed collection.

The first crossing of the equator by Russian sailors

Of the officers who circumnavigated the world, many served with honor in the Russian fleet. Cadet Otto Kotzebue became the ship's commander and later traveled around the world in this capacity. Thaddeus Bellingshausen later led a round-the-world expedition on the sloops Vostok and Mirny and discovered Antarctica.

For his participation in the trip around the world, Yuri Lisyansky was promoted to captain of the second rank, received from the emperor a lifelong pension of 3,000 rubles and a one-time reward from the Russian-American Company of 10,000 rubles. After returning from the expedition, Lisyansky continued to serve in Navy. In 1807, he led a squadron of nine ships in the Baltic and went to Gotland and Bornholm to observe English warships. In 1808 he was appointed commander of the ship Emgeiten.

And I would be happy to write letters to you,