The first Russian circumnavigation - I. F.
On August 7, 1803, two sloops left the port of Kronstadt. On their sides were the names “Nadezhda” and “Neva”, although more recently they bore other names - “Leander” and “Thames”. It was under new names that these ships, purchased by Emperor Alexander I in England, were to go down in history as the first Russian ships, circumnavigating the entire globe. The idea of a round-the-world expedition belonged to Alexander I and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Count Nikolai Rumyantsev. It was assumed that its participants would collect as much information as possible about the countries that would be on their way - about their nature and about the life of their people. And in addition, it was planned to establish diplomatic relations with Japan, through which the travelers’ route also passed. 
Yuri Lisyansky, captain of the sloop "Neva"
Conflicts on board
Ivan Krusenstern was appointed captain of the Nadezhda, and Yuri Lisyansky became the captain of the Neva - both at that time were already quite famous sailors who had been trained in England and participated in naval battles. However, another co-leader was “attached” to Kruzenshtern on the ship - Count Nikolai Rezanov, appointed ambassador to Japan and endowed with very great power, which the captain, naturally, did not like. And after the sloops left Kronstadt, it turned out that Rezanov was not Kruzenshtern’s only problem. As it turned out, among the members of the Nadezhda team was Fyodor Tolstoy, a well-known brawler, duelist and lover of eccentric antics in those years. He had never served in the navy and did not have the necessary education for this, and he got on the ship illegally, replacing his cousin, who had the same first and last name and did not want to go on a long journey. And the brawler Tolstoy, on the contrary, was eager to set sail - he was interested in seeing the world, and even more wanted to escape from the capital, where he was facing punishment for another drunken brawl.
Fyodor Tolstoy, the most restless member of the expedition During the journey, Fyodor Tolstoy had fun as best he could: he quarreled with other members of the crew and pitted them against each other, made fun, sometimes very cruelly, of the sailors and even of the priest accompanying them. Kruzenshtern put him under arrest several times, but as soon as Fedor’s imprisonment ended, he returned to his old ways. During one of his stops on an island in the Pacific Ocean, Tolstoy bought a tame orangutan and taught him various pranks. In the end, he launched the monkey into Kruzenshtern’s own cabin and gave it ink, with which it spoiled the captain’s travel notes. This was the last straw, and in the next port, Kamchatka, Kruzenshtern put Tolstoy ashore. 
Sloop "Nadezhda" By that time he had finally fallen out with Count Rezanov, who refused to recognize his captain's authority. The rivalry between them began from the very first days of the voyage, and now it is impossible to say who initiated the conflict. In the surviving letters and diaries of these two, directly opposite versions are expressed: each of them blames the other for everything. Only one thing is known for sure - Nikolai Rezanov and Ivan Kruzenshtern first argued about which of them was in charge on the ship, then they stopped talking to each other and communicated using notes passed by the sailors, and then Rezanov completely locked himself in his cabin and stopped answering even notes to the captain. 
Nikolai Rezanov, who never made peace with Krusenstern Reinforcements for the Colonists
Autumn 1804 "Neva" and "Nadezhda" separated. Krusenstern's ship went to Japan, and Lisyansky's ship went to Alaska. Rezanov's mission in the Japanese city of Nagasaki was unsuccessful, and this was the end of his participation in the round-the-world expedition. "Neva" at this time arrived in Russian America - a settlement of Russian colonists in Alaska - and its crew took part in the battle with the Tlingit Indians. Two years earlier, the Indians had driven the Russians out of the island of Sitka, and now the governor of Russian America, Alexander Baranov, was trying to return this island. Yuri Lisyansky and his team provided them with very important assistance in this.
Alexander Baranov, founder of Russian America in Alaska Later, “Nadezhda” and “Neva” met off the coast of Japan and moved on. "Neva" went forward along east coast China, and Nadezhda explored the islands in the Sea of Japan in more detail, and then set off to catch up with the second ship. Later, the ships met again in the port of Macau in southern China, for some time they sailed together along the coasts of Asia and Africa, and then the Nadezhda fell behind again. 
Sloop "Neva", drawing by Yuri Lisyansky Triumphant return
The ships returned to Russia different time: “Neva” - July 22, 1806, and “Nadezhda” - August 5. The expedition members collected great amount information about many islands, created maps and atlases of these lands, and even discovered a new island, called Lisyansky Island. The previously almost unexplored Aniva Bay in the Sea of Okhotsk was described in detail and the exact coordinates of Ascension Island were established, about which it was only known that it was located “somewhere between Africa and South America.”
Thaddeus Bellingshausen All participants in this circumnavigation, from captains to ordinary sailors, were generously rewarded, and most of them continued to pursue a maritime career. Among them was midshipman Thaddeus Bellingshausen, who traveled on the Nadezhda, and 13 years later led the first Russian Antarctic expedition. The idea of circumnavigating the world in Russia has been floating around for quite some time. However, the first project trip around the world was developed and prepared only towards the end of the 18th century. The team of four ships was to be led by Captain G.I. Mulovsky, however, due to the war with Sweden, Russia canceled this expedition. In addition, its potential leader died in battle.
It is noteworthy that on the battleship Mstislav, whose commander was Mulovsky, young Ivan Kruzenshtern served as a midshipman. It was he, who became the leader of the implementation of the idea of Russian circumnavigation, who would later lead the first Russian circumnavigation. At the same time as Ivan Fedorovich Kruzenshtern, Yuri Fedorovich Lisyansky, his classmate, sailed on another battleship, which also took part in naval battles. Both sailed in the Pacific, Indian and Atlantic oceans. Having fought on the side of the British against the French and returning to their homeland, both received the rank of lieutenant commander.
Krusenstern presented his project for a circumnavigation of the world to Paul I. The main goal of the project was to organize fur trade between Russia and China. However, this idea did not evoke the response that the captain had hoped for.
In 1799, the Russian-American Company was founded, the goal of which was to develop Russian America and the Kuril Islands and establish regular communications with overseas colonies.
The relevance of circumnavigation was due to the urgent need to maintain Russian colonies on the North American continent. Supplying food and goods to the colonists, providing settlers with weapons (the problem of frequent raids by the indigenous population (Indians), as well as potential threats from other powers) - these pressing issues faced Russian state. It was important to establish regular communication with the Russian colonists for their normal life. By this time it became clear that passage through the polar seas was postponed for an indefinite future. The journey by land, through all of Siberia and the Far East off-road, and then across the Pacific Ocean, is a very expensive and time-consuming “pleasure.”
From the beginning of the reign of Paul I's son Alexander, the Russian-American Company began to be under the patronage of the royal house. (It is noteworthy that the first director of the Russian-American Company was Ustyug resident Mikhail Matveevich Buldakov, who actively supported the idea of circumnavigation financially and organizationally).
In turn, Emperor Alexander I supported Kruzenshtern in his desire to explore the possibilities of communication between Russia and North America, appointing him head of the first Russian round-the-world expedition.
Captains Kruzentshtern and Lisyansky, having received two sloops under their command: “Nadezhda” and “Neva”, carefully approached the preparation of the expedition, purchasing a large amount of medicines and anti-scorbutic drugs, staffing the crews with the best Russian military sailors. It is interesting that all the cargo on the ship “Neva” was managed by another Ustyuzhan (here it is - the continuity of generations of Russian explorers) Nikolai Ivanovich Korobitsyn. The expedition was well equipped with various modern measuring instruments, since its tasks included scientific purposes (the expedition included astronomers, naturalists, and an artist).
At the beginning of August 1803, with a large crowd of people, Kruzenshtern's expedition left Kronstadt on two sailing sloops - Nadezhda and Neva. On board the Nadezhda there was a mission to Japan led by Nikolai Rezanov. The main purpose of the voyage was to explore the mouth of the Amur and neighboring territories to identify convenient places and routes for supplying goods to the Russian Pacific Fleet. After a long stay near the island of Santa Catarina (the coast of Brazil), when two masts had to be replaced on the Neva, the ships crossed the equator for the first time in the history of the Russian fleet and headed south. On March 3, they rounded Cape Horn and separated three weeks later in the Pacific Ocean. From the island of Nuku Hiva (Marquesas Islands), the sloops proceeded together to the Hawaiian Islands, where they separated again.
On July 1, 1804, the Neva arrived at Kodiak Island and remained off the coast of North America for more than a year. The sailors helped the inhabitants of Russian America defend their settlements from the attack of the Tlingit Indian tribes, participated in the construction of the Novo-Arkhangelsk (Sitka) fortress, and carried out scientific observations and hydrographic work.
At the same time, “Nadezhda” arrived in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky in July 1804. Then Krusenstern took Rezanov to Nagasaki and back, describing the northern and eastern shores of Terpeniya Bay along the way.
In the summer of 1805, Kruzenshtern for the first time photographed about 1000 km of the coast of Sakhalin, tried to pass in the south between the island and the mainland, but could not and mistakenly decided that Sakhalin was not an island and was connected to the mainland by an isthmus.
In August 1805, Lisyansky sailed on the Neva with a cargo of furs to China, and in November arrived at the port of Macau, where he again connected with Kruzenshtern and Nadezhda. But as soon as the ships left the port, they lost each other again in the fog. Following independently, Lisyansky, for the first time in the history of world navigation, navigated a ship without calling at ports or stops from the coast of China to Portsmouth in England. On July 22, 1806, his Neva was the first to return to Kronstadt.
Lisyansky and his crew became the first Russian circumnavigators. Only two weeks later the Nadezhda arrived here safely. But the fame of the circumnavigator mainly went to Krusenstern, who was the first to publish a description of the trip. His three-volume book “A Journey Around the World...” and “Atlas for a Journey” was published three years earlier than the works of Lisyansky, who considered his duties to be more important than the publication of a report for the Geographical Society. And Kruzenshtern himself saw in his friend and colleague, first of all, “an impartial, obedient person, zealous for the common good,” extremely modest. True, Lisyansky’s merits were nevertheless noted: he received the rank of captain of the 2nd rank, the Order of St. Vladimir of the 3rd degree, a cash bonus and a lifelong pension. For him, the main gift was the gratitude of the officers and sailors of the sloop, who endured the hardships of the voyage with him and gave him as a souvenir a golden sword with the inscription: “Gratitude of the crew of the ship “Neva.”
The participants of the first Russian round-the-world expedition made a significant contribution to geographical science by erasing a number of non-existent islands from the map and clarifying the position of existing ones. They discovered inter-trade countercurrents in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, measured water temperature at depths of up to 400 m and determined its specific gravity, transparency and color; found out the reason for the glow of the sea, collected numerous data on atmospheric pressure, ebbs and flows in a number of areas of the World Ocean.
During his travels, Lisyansky collected an extensive natural and ethnographic collection, which later became the property of the Russian Geographical Society (one of the initiators of which was Kruzenshtern).
Three times in his life Lisyansky was the first: the first to travel around the world under the Russian flag, the first to pave the way from Russian America to Kronstadt, the first to discover an uninhabited island in the central waters Pacific Ocean.
The first Russian round-the-world trip by Kruzenshtern-Lisyansky turned out to be practically a standard in terms of its organization, support and execution. At the same time, the expedition proved the possibility of communication with Russian America.
The enthusiasm after the return of the Nadezhda and Neva to Kronstadt was so great that in the first half of the 19th century, more than 20 circumnavigations were organized and completed, which is more than France and England combined.
Ivan Fedorovich Kruzenshtern became the inspirer and organizer of subsequent expeditions, the leaders of which were, among other things, members of the crew of his sloop Nadezhda.
Midshipman Thaddeus Faddeevich Bellingshausen traveled on the Nadezhda, who would later discover Antarctica in 1821 on a circumnavigation of the world in high southern latitudes.
Otto Evstafievich Kotzebue sailed on the same sloop as a volunteer, under whose leadership 2 circumnavigations were carried out.
In 1815-18, Kotzebue led a round-the-world research expedition on the brig Rurik. At Cape Horn, during a storm (January 1816), a wave washed him overboard; he saved himself by grabbing a rope. After an unsuccessful search for the fantastic “Davis Land” west of the coast of Chile, at 27° S. latitude. in April-May 1816 he discovered the inhabited island of Tikei, the atolls of Takapoto, Arutua and Tikehau (all in the Tuamotu archipelago), and in the Ratak chain of the Marshall Islands - the atolls of Utirik and Taka. At the end of July - mid-August, Kotzebue described the coast of Alaska for almost 600 km, discovered Shishmarev Bay, Sarychev Island and the vast Kotzebue Bay, and in it - the Bay of Good Hope (now Goodhope) and Eschscholtz with the Khoris Peninsula and Shamisso Island (all names are given in honor of the participants in the voyage). Thus, he completed the identification of the Seward Peninsula, begun by Mikhail Gvozdyov in 1732. To the northeast of the bay, he noted high mountains (spurs of the Brooks Range).
Together with the naturalists of Rurik, for the first time in America, Kotzebue discovered fossil ice with a mammoth tusk and gave the first ethnographic description of the North American Eskimos. In January-March 1817, he again explored the Marshall Islands and discovered seven inhabited atolls in the Ratak chain: Medjit, Votje, Erikub, Maloelap, Aur, Ailuk and Bikar. He also mapped a number of atolls whose coordinates his predecessors had identified incorrectly and “closed” several non-existent islands.
In 1823-26, commanding the sloop Enterprise, Kotzebue completed his third circumnavigation of the world. In March 1824 he discovered the inhabited atoll of Fangahina (in the Tuamotu archipelago) and the island of Motu-One (in the Society archipelago), and in October 1825 - the Rongelap and Bikini atolls (in the Ralik chain, Marshall Islands). Together with naturalists on both voyages, Kotzebue made numerous determinations of the specific gravity, salinity, temperature and transparency of sea water in temperate and hot zones. They were the first to establish four near-surface features (up to a depth of 200 m) ocean waters: their salinity is zonal; the waters of the temperate zone are less salty than those of the hot zone; water temperature depends on the latitude of the place; Seasonal temperature fluctuations appear up to a certain limit, below which they do not occur. For the first time in the history of ocean exploration, Kotzebue and his companions made observations of the relative transparency of water and its density.
Another famous navigator was Vasily Mikhailovich Golovnin, who, having traveled around the world on the sloop "Diana", in 1817 led an expedition on the sloop "Kamachtka". Many members of the ship's crew in the future became the colors of the Russian fleet: midshipman Fyodor Petrovich Litke (later captain of the circumnavigation), volunteer Fyodor Matyushin (later admiral and senator), junior watch officer Ferdinand Wrangel (admiral and Arctic explorer) and others. In two years, Kamchatka passed Atlantic Ocean from north to south, rounding Cape Horn, she visited Russian America, visited all the significant groups of islands in the Pacific Ocean, then, passing the Indian Ocean and the Cape of Good Hope, returned through the Atlantic Ocean to Kronstadt.
Fyodor Litke two years later was appointed head of the polar expedition on the ship Novaya Zemlya. For four years, Litke explored the Arctic, summarizing the rich expedition materials, published the book “Fourfold Journey to the Northern Arctic Ocean on the military brig “Novaya Zemlya” in 1821-1824.” The work was translated into many languages and received scientific recognition; sailors used the maps of the expedition for a century.
In 1826, when Fyodor Litka was not even 29 years old, he led an expedition around the world on the new ship Senyavin. The Senyavin was accompanied by the sloop Moller under the command of Mikhail Stanyukovich. The ships turned out to be different in their running characteristics (“Moller” is much faster than “Senyavin”) and almost throughout the entire length the ships sailed alone, meeting only at anchorages in ports. The expedition, which lasted three years, turned out to be one of the most successful and rich in scientific discoveries of travel, not only Russian, but also foreign. The Asian coast of the Bering Strait was explored, islands were discovered, materials on ethnography and oceanography were collected, and numerous maps were compiled. During the trip, Litke was engaged in scientific research in the field of physics; experiments with a pendulum allowed the scientist to determine the magnitude of the polar compression of the Earth and make a number of other important discoveries. After the end of the expedition, Litke published “A Voyage Around the World on the Sloop of War “Senyavin” in 1826-1829”, gaining recognition as a scientist, and was elected a corresponding member of the Academy of Sciences.
Litke became one of the founders of the Russian Geographical Society, and for many years was its vice-chairman. In 1873, the society established the Great Gold Medal named after. F. P. Litke, awarded for outstanding geographical discoveries.
The names of brave travelers, heroes of Russian round-the-world expeditions are immortalized on maps of the globe:
A bay, peninsula, strait, river and cape on the coast of North America in the area of the Alexandra Archipelago, one of the islands of the Hawaiian archipelago, an underwater island in the Sea of Okhotsk and a peninsula on the northern coast of the Sea of Okhotsk are named after Lisyansky.
A number of straits, islands, capes in the Pacific Ocean, a mountain in the Kuril Islands are named after Krusenstern.
The following are named in honor of Litke: a cape, a peninsula, a mountain and a bay on Novaya Zemlya; islands: in the Franz Josef Land archipelago, Baydaratskaya Bay, Nordenskiöld archipelago; strait between Kamchatka and Karaginsky Island.
During voyages around the world in the 19th century, expedition members showed their best qualities: Russian sailors, military men and scientists, many of whom became the color of the Russian fleet, as well as domestic science. They forever inscribed their names in the glorious chronicle of “Russian civilization.”
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 Philip 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. The young people easily found a common language and together 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.
- Ivan Krusenstern and Yuri Lisyansky
- Wikimedia
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.
Krusenstern returned to Russia only in 1799, having a reputation as a real sea wolf. At home, he began to promote the idea of organizing a Russian round-the-world expedition. Paul I was not interested in his plan, but Alexander I, who ascended the throne instead of him, at the suggestion of the leadership of the Russian-American company, which was looking for alternative routes to Alaska, approved Kruzenshtern’s plans. It was decided to equip the expedition on two sloops - Nadezhda and Neva. Kruzenshtern decided to lead the Nadezhda himself, and offered command of the second sloop to his childhood friend Lisyansky. He immediately agreed.
Let's hit the road!
“In the second half of the 18th century, around-the-world expeditions became a sign of the wealth and maturity of maritime powers. England and France were especially active in this sense. In 1803, it was Russia’s turn,” noted Kirill Nazarenko.
In addition to the purely geographical one, the expedition of Kruzenshtern and Lisyansky was entrusted with several more missions: the sailors had to study the issue of profitability of sea transportation of goods from the European part of Russia to Alaska, try to establish economic ties between Russian America and China and deliver envoy Nikolai Rezanov to Japan.
“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 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.
- Sloops "Nadezhda" and "Neva"
- Wikimedia
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 among volunteers, offering them a very significant salary for those times - 120 rubles per 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 big problems, so in Kamchatka Kruzenshtern put Tolstoy ashore.
- Nikolay Rezanov
- Wikimedia
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.
- The first Russian trip around the world, off the coast of Japan
- Wikimedia
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 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 retire and pension.
- ppt4web.ru
Krusenstern was engaged in science and served in the Naval Cadet Corps, which he eventually headed 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 marked the beginning of a new era. Russian discoveries. Before that, our research was related to the North, Siberia, Alaska, and in 1803 the 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.
Let's return to the topic of travel. We already have a story about the sailing ship "Kruzenshtern", but let's finally turn to Ivan Fedorovich Kruzenshtern himself - the head of the first Russian round-the-world expedition. A stamp in honor of Ivan Fedorovich and his voyage was issued in Russia in 1994 in a series dedicated to the 300th anniversary of the Russian fleet
The first Russian trip around the world
The first Russian trip around the world was planned back in the era of Catherine II in 1787. Five ships were equipped for the expedition under the command of Captain 1st Rank Grigory Ivanovich Mulovsky. But the expedition was canceled at the very last moment due to the outbreak of the Russian-Turkish war. Then the war with Sweden began and there was no time for long journeys at all. Mulovsky himself was killed in the battle near the island of Öland.
They returned to the idea of traveling around the world only at the beginning of the nineteenth century thanks to the energy of Ivan Fedorovich Krusenstern and the money of the Russian-American Company.
Ivan Fedorovich (born Adam Johann) Krusenstern was a descendant of a Russified German family. Born on November 8 (19), 1770, he lived and studied in Reval (the former name of Tallinn), then in the Naval Cadet Corps in Kronstadt. In 1788, he was promoted ahead of schedule to midshipman and assigned to the ship "Mstislav", the captain of which was the failed leader of the circumnavigation of the world, Mulovsky. Naturally, conversations about the preparation of the expedition, discussion of its plans, could not but leave a deep imprint in the soul of the inquisitive and brave young man. After the end of the war, Kruzenshtern served as a volunteer in the English fleet for two years, and his visits to India and China further convinced the young sailor of the need to explore distant borders with the Russian fleet, which could bring considerable benefits to commercial affairs. While serving in the English fleet, Krusenstern began to develop his plan for a circumnavigation of the world, which he presented upon his return to St. Petersburg. His ideas were received coldly and only the enthusiastic support of the then minister, Admiral Mordvinov, and State Chancellor, Count Rumyantsev, allowed the matter to move forward.
Portrait of Admiral Ivan Fedorovich Kruzenshtern Unknown artist. XIX century (from the collections of the State Hermitage)
Just at this time, the Russian-American Company (RAC), which received new rights and privileges under Alexander I, began to think about how to establish relations with its colonies. Far East and America sea communication. The land route was very long and expensive, and cargo often disappeared or arrived spoiled. For these purposes, it was decided to use Krusenstern’s plan. For the expedition, two small sloops were purchased from England, named Nadezhda and Neva. Kruzenshtern was appointed captain of the Nadezhda and the leader of the entire expedition; Lieutenant Commander Yuri Fedorovich Lisyansky, a classmate and friend of Kruzenshtern, became the captain of the Neva.
The purpose of the expedition was to deliver the goods they needed to our American colonies, accept there a cargo of furs, which were to be sold or exchanged in Chinese ports for local goods and deliver the latter to Kronstadt. To this main goal They also added the production of hydrographic surveys in designated places and the delivery of the embassy to Japan to establish trade relations with this country. Chamberlain Rezanov, one of the main shareholders of the RAC, was appointed envoy to Japan. Both ships were allowed to have military flags.
Leaving Kronstadt at the end of June 1803, the expedition returned safely at the end of the summer of 1806, having fulfilled everything assigned to it. The expedition to the colony went past Cape Horn, and on the way back - past the Cape of Good Hope. On this journey, on the way from the Cape Verde Islands to the shores of South America, Russian ships crossed the equator for the first time on November 14, 1803. In honor of this, a salvo of 11 guns was fired, toasts were raised to the health of the Emperor, and one of the sailors, putting on a beard, made a welcoming speech on behalf of the sea god Neptune.
Route of the first Russian circumnavigation of the world 1803-1806. After his return, Ivan Fedorovich Kruzenshtern wrote a detailed report, which was published in three volumes. The books have now been digitized and are available to everyone on the website of the Russian State Library (links are provided at the end of the post).
I.F. Krusenstern and Yu.F. Lisyansky. Artist P. Pavlinov Sloops "Nadezhda" and "Neva"
The sloops “Nadezhda” and “Neva” were purchased in 1801 in England; they were personally chosen by Yu.F. Lisyansky. Their original names were "Leander" and "Thames". The purchase of both ships cost the Russian treasury £17,000, plus materials for repairs worth another £5,000. The ships arrived in Kronstadt on June 5, 1803.
"Nadezhda" (aka "Leander") was launched in 1800. According to the classification of English ships of that time, sloop. The greatest length along the hull is 34.2 meters, length along the waterline is 29.2 meters. The greatest width is 8.84 meters. Displacement - 450 tons, draft - 3.86 meters, crew 58 people. The sloop was built for the merchant T. Huggins for trade between England and Africa. After returning from the trip, in the fall of 1808, the Nadezhda was chartered by the merchant of the Russian-American Company D. Martin to transport goods from Kronstadt to New York, and on the first voyage, in December 1808, the ship was lost in ice off the coast of Denmark.
The Neva (formerly the Thames, no matter how strange it may sound) was launched in 1802. Like the Leander, it was a three-masted sloop armed with 14 small carronades. Displacement - 370 tons, maximum length with bowsprit - 61 m, crew 43 people.
The journey for the Neva was by no means calm. "Neva" played a key role in the battle on the island. Sitka in 1804, when the Russians recaptured Fort St. Michael the Archangel from the Tlingit, who had captured it in 1802. In 1804, Alexander Baranov, general manager of the Russian-American Company, failed in his attempts to retake the fort. Baranov had at his disposal only 120 soldiers on four small ships and 800 Aleuts on 300 canoes (this is related to the question of how much force we had in Alaska, whether it was worth selling it or not, and could Russia keep it if something happened, if a gang from the key fort the Indians could not be knocked out for 2 years). At the end of September 1804, the Neva and three other smaller sailing ships launched another siege of the fort, supported by 150 armed fur traders, as well as 400-500 Aleuts with 250 canoes. The attack was successful and the region returned to Russian control.
Sloop "Neva". Drawing from an engraving by I.F. Lisyansky In June 1807, the sloop Neva was the first Russian ship to visit Australia.
In August 1812, the Neva sailed from Okhotsk with a cargo of furs. The transition turned out to be difficult, the ship was pretty battered by storms, and part of the crew died of scurvy. The crew decided to sail to Novo-Arkhangelsk, but before reaching their destination only a few kilometers, the sloop, in stormy weather on the night of January 9, 1813, ran into the rocks and was wrecked near Kruzov Island. Only 28 people remained from the crew, who managed to swim to the shore and wait out the winter of 1813.
About the brand
As I already said, the stamp was issued in November 1994 in a series dedicated to Russian geographical expeditions. In total, the series consists of 4 stamps with a face value of 250 rubles. each. Three other stamps are dedicated to the journey of V.M. Golovnin 1811 on the exploration of the Kuril Islands, expedition F.P. Wrangel to North America and the expedition of F.P. Litke during the exploration of the islands of Novaya Zemlya in 1821-1824.
The stamps were also issued in small sheets.
Image from the website of Marka JSC (www.rusmarka.ru) The circulation of stamps is 800,000 pieces, small sheets are 130,000 pieces. Paper - coated, intaglio printing plus metallography, perforation - frame 12 x 11½.
"Neva" and "Nadezhda" on other stamps
Stamps, dedicated to travel, were issued by our neighbors, formerly fraternal republics, Estonia and Ukraine. Philately is not at all alien to politics, and as in the case of the Dane, Ukraine and Estonia, with the help of stamps, remind the whole world that Kruzenshtern was actually born in Tallinn, and Lisyansky in the Chernigov province.
Estonia, 2003 
Ukraine, 1998
When Russia went to sea, acquired its own fleet and overseas colonies - Russian America - all it had to do was move forward. It was hard to believe that just recently the Russian fleet, created by the will of Peter I, did not exist at all. And now the thought arises of a trip around the world, which would be made under the Russian naval flag.
Predecessors
Under the phrase of the famous diplomat and traveler N.P. Rezanov, “May the fate of Russia be covered with sails!” A lot of people would have signed up - commanders, ordinary sailors, and those who, without going to sea themselves, did everything possible to carry out such expeditions. The great Transformer himself dreamed of long sea voyages; Peter’s plans included a trip to the West Indies, crossing the equator and establishing trade relations with the “Great Moguls.”
These plans were not destined to come true. Nevertheless, in 1725–1726, the Russian oceanic expedition to Spain took place under the command of Captain I. Koshelev, who later proposed the idea of a round-the-world voyage from St. Petersburg.
In 1776, Catherine II signed a decree sending ships from the Baltic Sea on the first Russian round-the-world expedition. The campaign was to be led by the young captain G.I. Mulovsky, an experienced and skillful sailor. The expedition had to solve several problems at once: deliver serf weapons to the Peter and Paul Harbor, establish trade relations with Japan, transport livestock and seed grain, as well as other necessary goods to settlers in Russian America, and in addition, discover new lands and strengthen the prestige of Russia.
Preparations for a large-scale expedition unfolded full swing, the factories had already cast iron coats of arms and medals with images of Catherine, which were to be installed in the newly discovered territories. But it started Russo-Turkish War, and all supplies were ordered to be distributed to ships departing for the Mediterranean Sea. Mulovsky himself died in a naval battle. During the reign of Catherine, the Russian circumnavigation of the world never materialized, but the idea had already firmly captured the minds.
The first Russian round-the-world expedition
Sometimes life turns out so strangely that in any book such a plot would look like a stretch. On the ship "Mstislav" there was a very young midshipman, yesterday's midshipman. Ivan Kruzenshtern was only 17 years old when he entered the command of Captain Mulovsky. It is difficult to say whether they were talking about the failed expedition, but it was Krusenstern who had to do what fate had denied his brave predecessor.
I. F. Krusenstern and Yu. F. Lisyansky
Ivan Fedorovich Kruzenshtern and his colleague in the Naval Corps, Yuri Fedorovich Lisyansky, as young sailors who showed significant success, were sent for an internship in the English fleet. Kruzenshtern became extremely interested in trade with China, visited Chinese ports - and upon returning to Russia, he expressed his opinion in detail, with figures and calculations, that organizing maritime communication between the Russian colonies and China was an extremely profitable and useful matter for Russia. Of course, the young lieutenant’s opinion was ignored - the proposal was too bold. But suddenly Krusenstern was supported by prominent and authoritative nobles - State Chancellor Rumyantsev and Admiral Mordvinov, and soon the Russian-American Company (RAC) made a similar proposal - and so the fate of the first Russian round-the-world expedition was decided.
The generous sponsorship of the RAC made it possible not to wait until ships were built that could withstand the hardships of the journey. Two suitable vessels were purchased in England, improved, and named “Nadezhda” and “Neva”. The RAC was a sufficiently influential and wealthy organization that the expedition was supplied with the best of everything in record time.
Only volunteers were recruited for the long and dangerous journey - nevertheless, there were so many of them that it would have been enough to complete three expeditions. The team included scientists, artists (to sketch landscapes, plants and animals unknown to science), and an astronomer. The goal was to deliver the necessary goods to our Russian settlements in America, take furs from them, sell or exchange goods in Chinese ports, and prove the benefits of the sea route to Russian America compared to the land route through Siberia. And besides, to deliver an embassy to the shores of Japan under the leadership of Chamberlain N.P. Rezanov.
Despite the “trading” nature of the expedition, the ships sailed under the naval flag. Chamberlain Rezanov was far from the last person in the RAC; after all, he was the son-in-law of the head and founder of the company, G. Shelikhov, the heir to the capital of the “Russian Columbus”. It was assumed that he was responsible for the scientific and economic part, and Kruzenshtern for the maritime one. In August 1803, the Neva and Nadezhda sailed from Kronstadt. After the Hawaiian Islands, the ships, as agreed, dispersed. The Neva, under the leadership of Lisyansky, sailed north to the islands of Kodiak and Sitka in the Gulf of Alaska, with a cargo of goods for the RAC, to rendezvous with the Nadezhda in Macau in September 1805. "Nadezhda" went to Kamchatka - and then to Japan to carry out Rezanov's diplomatic mission. On the way, Nadezhda encountered a severe storm - and, as it later turned out, into a tsunami zone.
Alas, the mission was a failure - after almost six months of waiting in Nagasaki, the Russians were refused. Japanese Emperor returned the gifts (huge mirrors in frames), refused to accept the embassy and ordered to immediately leave Japan, however, he supplied the ship with water, food and firewood. The captains met in Macau, profitably exchanged furs for tea, porcelain and other goods rare and marketable in Europe, and set off for Russia. After the storm, having lost sight of each other, “Nadezhda” and “Neva” safely returned to Russia, first “Neva”, then, a couple of weeks later, “Nadezhda”.
The voyage was not as serene as we would have liked. Problems began almost immediately after departure. Chamberlain Rezanov had a rescript signed by Alexander I, according to which he, Rezanov, was appointed head of the expedition, but with the caveat that all decisions should be made jointly with Captain Krusenstern.
In order to accommodate Rezanov’s retinue on the relatively small Nadezhda, they had to refuse a number of people who were really needed for the voyage. In addition, Rezanov’s retinue included, for example, Count Fyodor Tolstoy, later nicknamed the American, a completely uncontrollable person, a cruel manipulator and intriguer. He managed to quarrel with the entire team, more than once annoyed Krusenstern personally with his antics - and in the end he was forcibly landed on the island of Sitka.
N. P. Rezanov
On a warship, according to the charter, there could only be one leader, whose orders were carried out unquestioningly. Rezanov, as a non-military person, did not accept discipline at all, and gradually the relationship between him and Kruzenshtern became tense to the limit. Forced to share one tiny cabin for a couple of years, Rezanov and Kruzenshtern communicated through notes.
Rezanov tried to force Kruzenshtern to change the route of the expedition in order to immediately go to Kamchatka - in fact, interrupting the trip around the world. Finally, Rezanov allowed himself to be rude towards the captain in the presence of the team - and this, from the point of view of the regulations, was completely unforgivable. After a loud scandal, making sure that there was no one on his side, the offended Rezanov practically did not leave the cabin until the Nadezhda reached Petropavlovsk.
Fortunately, the experienced and cold-blooded commandant P. Koshelev sorted out the matter, regardless of faces, trying to ensure that a quarrel between two private individuals could not interfere with the fulfillment of public duty. Krusenstern completely agreed with this, and Rezanov had to back down. At the end of the Japanese mission, Rezanov left Nadezhda - and he and Kruzenshtern did not meet again, to mutual satisfaction.
The further story of N.P. Rezanov, who went to California and met there the 14-year-old beauty Maria Conception Arguello, daughter of the commandant of San Francisco, is known as one of the most romantic pages not only in Russian, but also, probably, in world history. The famous rock opera “Juno and Avos” tells exactly about their tragic love, but this is a different, albeit very interesting, story.
Kotzebue Travels
Among the volunteers who went with Krusenstern on the Nadezhda was a 15-year-old cabin boy, German Otto Kotzebue. The boy’s stepmother was the captain-lieutenant’s sister, Kristina Krusenstern. When the Nadezhda returned to port, Kotzebue was promoted to midshipman, and a year later to lieutenant, and although he was not a graduate of the naval school, Otto Evstafievich received the best of naval schools - the school of circumnavigation, and since then he has not thought of life without the sea and serving the Fatherland.
Brig "Rurik" on the stamp of the Marshall Islands
After completing his circumnavigation of the world, Kruzenshtern worked tirelessly on the results of the expedition, prepared reports, produced and commented on maps and the Atlas south seas", and in particular, together with Count Rumyantsev, he developed a new round-the-world expedition. She was given the task of finding the Northeast Sea Passage from the Pacific to the Atlantic Ocean. The expedition was supposed to set off on the brig “Rurik”. The command of the brig, on the recommendation of Krusenstern, was offered to Kotzebue.
This expedition returned 3 years later, having lost only one person and enriched the geography with a mass of discoveries. Little-studied or completely unknown islands, archipelagos and coasts of the Pacific Ocean were mapped and described in detail. Meteorological observations, studies of sea currents, ocean depth, temperature, salinity and transparency of water, terrestrial magnetism and various living organisms were an invaluable contribution to science - and had considerable practical benefits.
By the way, the German scientist and romantic poet A. von Chamisso, a translator of Pushkin, took part in the voyage on the Rurik as a naturalist. German. His novel “A Journey Around the World” became a classic of adventure literature in Germany, and it was also published in Russia.
O. E. Kotzebue made his third trip around the world in 1823–1826. Before that, for a year he guarded the shores of Russian America from pirates and smugglers with his 24-gun sloop “Enterprise”. Scientific results expeditions on the "Enterprise" were almost more significant than the results of the voyage on the "Rurik". The physicist E. Lenz, a future academician who went with Kotzebue, constructed, together with his colleague, Professor Parrott, an instrument called a bathometer for taking water samples from various depths, and an instrument for measuring depths. Lenz studied the vertical distribution of salinity, scrupulously noted the temperature of Pacific waters and daily changes in air temperature at different latitudes.
By the 20s of the 19th century, traveling around the world ceased to be something unimaginable and out of the ordinary. A whole series of glorious Russian captains circled the globe, leaving Kronstadt and heading towards the horizon.
Vasily Golovnin - unstoppable and undaunted
Vasily Mikhailovich Golovnin, a captain and an excellent marine painter, was considered a seasoned man even among his fellow captains. He had more than enough adventures. At the age of fourteen, as a midshipman, he took part in naval battles - and was awarded a medal, and then returned to finish his studies, since he was still too young to become an officer.
He made his first independent voyage around the world when he was just a lieutenant. The Admiralty changed its own rules and transferred the sloop “Diana” to the command of a lieutenant, because everyone understood what kind of person Lieutenant Golovnin was. And indeed, their expectations were justified - an excellent captain, Golovnin fully possessed calmness, courage, and unbending character. When, due to the outbreak of war, Russian sailors were detained by the British in South Africa, Golovnin managed to escape captivity and still completed the mission assigned to the expedition. Voyage around the world on the sloop "Diana" in 1808–1809. completed successfully.
The “gentleman’s” captivity by the British was not too painful for our sailors, but the imprisonment during the second voyage turned out to be no joke. This time Golovnin and a number of his comrades ended up in a real prison - among the Japanese. Those who did not like the fact that the Russian ship was conducting a cartographic survey of the Kuril Islands - in 1811 Golovnin was instructed to describe the Kuril and Shantar Islands and the shore of the Tatar Strait. Japan decided that daring cartographers violated the principle of isolation of their state - and if so, then the criminals belong in prison. The captivity lasted two years, because of this incident, Russia and Japan teetered on a dangerous brink - war between them was quite possible.
Japanese scroll depicting the capture of Golovnin
Titanic efforts were made to save Golovnin and his people. But only thanks to the actions of Golovnin’s friend, officer P.I. Ricord and the help of the influential Japanese merchant Mr. Takataya Kahei, with whom Ricord was able to establish purely human contact, it was possible to accomplish the almost incredible - to return the Russian sailors from Japanese prison. On the territory of the Nalychevo Natural Park in Kamchatka there are the so-called “peaks of Russian-Japanese friendship” - Kaheya Rock, Mount Rikord and Mount Golovnina. Nowadays, the “Golovnin incident” is one of the textbook cases in the history of world diplomacy.
Golovnin's notes about his adventures were translated into many languages, and became a bestseller in Russia. Returning home, Vasily Golovnin continued to work tirelessly for the benefit of Russian navigation; his knowledge, experience, and energy were invaluable, and Golovnin’s books about distant travels were read by many young men who later chose a career as a naval officer.
Baron Wrangel - Chief of Alaska
In 1816, midshipman Ferdinand Wrangel, who served in Reval, submitted a request to participate in Captain Golovnin’s expedition on the Kamchatka sloop. The young man was refused. Then he, telling his superiors that he was sick, reached St. Petersburg and practically fell at Golovnin’s feet, asking to take him with him. He sternly noted that unauthorized flight from the ship is desertion and worthy of trial. The midshipman agreed, but asked to be put on trial after the voyage, during which he was ready to become at least a simple sailor. Golovnin waved his hand and gave up.
This was the first trip around the world by Ferdinand Petrovich Wrangel, in whose honor the now famous nature reserve - Wrangel Island - was later named. On board the Kamchatka, the desperate young man not only went through maritime school, but also diligently filled in the gaps in his education, and also found true friends - future researchers and tireless travelers Fyodor Litke and yesterday's lyceum student, Pushkin's friend Fyodor Matyushkin.
The trip on the Kamchatka turned out to be an invaluable source of personnel for the Russian fleet. Wrangel returned from his voyage an excellent sailor and a learned researcher. It was Wrangel and Matyushkin who were ordered to go on an expedition to explore the northeastern coast of Siberia.
Map showing Wrangel's travel routes
Few people devoted as much effort and energy to the study of Alaska and Kamchatka as Ferdinand Petrovich Wrangel. He explored North-Eastern Siberia from sea and from land, sailed around the world, commanding the military transport "Krotkiy", was awarded orders, and in 1829 was appointed chief administrator of Russian America, and, by the way, built a magnetic meteorological observatory in Alaska . Under his leadership, Russian America flourished and new settlements were created. The island is named after him, his works for the benefit of Russia were highly appreciated by the state and history. Less than fifty years have passed since the end of the first round-the-world voyage of Kruzenshtern and Lisyansky, and the Russian fleet has rapidly flourished and developed - there are so many enthusiasts, truly devoted to their work, in its ranks.
Unknown land
“I went around the ocean of the Southern Hemisphere at high latitudes and did it in such a way that I undeniably rejected the possibility of the existence of a continent, which, if it could be discovered, would only be near the pole, in places inaccessible for navigation... The risk associated with sailing in these unexplored and ice-covered seas in search of southern continent, so great that I can safely say that not a single person will ever dare to penetrate further south than I did.”, - these words of James Cook, the navigation star of the 18th century, closed Antarctic exploration for almost 50 years. There were simply no people willing to finance projects that were obviously doomed to failure, and, if successful, would still be commercial failures.
It was the Russians who went against common sense and everyday logic. Krusenstern, Kotzebue and polar explorer G. Sarychev developed the expedition and presented it to Emperor Alexander. He unexpectedly agreed.
The main task of the expedition was defined as purely scientific: "discoveries in the possible vicinity of the Antarctic Pole" with the aim of “acquiring complete knowledge about our globe”. The expedition was charged with the duties and instructions to note and study everything that deserves attention, “not only related to maritime art, but also generally serving to disseminate human knowledge in all parts”.
V. Volkov. Discovery of Antarctica by the sloops “Vostok” and “Mirny”, 2008.
In the summer of the same year aside South Pole The sloop "Mirny" and the transport converted into a sloop - "Vostok" - came out. They were led by two captains who were considered one of the best in the Russian fleet - the expedition commander Thaddeus Faddeevich Bellingshausen, a participant in the round-the-world trip of Krusenstern and Lisyansky, and Mikhail Petrovich Lazarev, a young but very promising captain. Subsequently, Lazarev would make three trips around the world, but these exploits would not overshadow his fame as a polar explorer.
The voyage lasted 751 days, of which 535 days were in the Southern Hemisphere, with 100 days in ice. The sailors went beyond the Antarctic Circle six times. Nobody came close mysterious Antarctica so close and for so long. In February 1820 Bellingshausen wrote: "Here beyond the ice fields fine ice and islands a continent of ice is visible, the edges of which are broken off perpendicularly, and which continued as we saw, rising to the south, like a shore. The flat ice islands located near this continent clearly show that they are fragments of this continent, for they have edges and an upper surface similar to the mainland.”. For the first time in human history, people saw Antarctica. And these people were ours, Russian sailors.