Discovering new lands and traveling around the world. Nikolai Mikhailovich Przhevalsky. Famous travelers of ancient bpemeh

August 18 we celebrate the birthday of the Russian geographical society- one of the oldest Russian public organizations, and the only one that has continuously existed since its inception in 1845.

Just think about it: neither wars, nor revolutions, nor periods of devastation, timelessness, and the collapse of the country did not stop its existence! There have always been daredevils, scientists, mad researchers who, both in prosperous and in the most difficult times, took any risk for the sake of science. And even now, at the moment, new full members of the Russian Geographical Society are on their way. "MIR 24" tells only about some of the great travelers who glorified the Russian Geographical Society.

Ivan Krusenstern (1770 - 1846)

Photo: unknown artist, 1838.

Russian navigator, admiral, one of the initiators of the creation of the Russian Geographical Society. He led the first Russian round-the-world expedition.

Even in his youth, fellow students in the Naval Cadet Corps noted the unbending, "sea" character of the future Russian admiral. His faithful colleague, friend and rival Yuri Lisyansky, who became the commander of the second ship in their legendary circumnavigation, noted that the main qualities of cadet Kruzenshtern were "reliability, commitment and lack of interest in everyday life».

It was then, during the years of study, that his dreams were born to explore distant lands and oceans. However, they did not come true soon, only in 1803. The first Russian round-the-world expedition included the ships "Nadezhda" and "Neva".
During this expedition, new way to Russian possessions in Kamchatka and Alaska. The map was marked West Coast Japan, southern and East End Sakhalin, a comprehensively studied part Kuril ridge.

Photo: "I. F. Krusenstern in Avacha Bay”, Friedrich Georg Veitsch, 1806

During his round-the-world trip, measurements of current speed, temperature at different depths, determination of salinity and specific gravity of water, and much more were carried out. Thus, Ivan Kruzenshtern became one of the founders of Russian oceanology.

Pyotr Semenov-Tyan-Shansky (1827 - 1914)

Photo: Alexandre Quinet, 1870

Vice-chairman of the Imperial Russian Geographical Society and its leading scientist - but not an armchair. He was a brave and stubborn pioneer. He explored Altai, Tarbagatai, Semirechensky and Zailiysky Alatau, Lake Issyk-Kul. Only climbers will be able to appreciate the way the brave traveler mountains Central Tien Shan, where Europeans have not yet been able to reach. He discovered and for the first time conquered the peak of Khan Tengri with glaciers on its slopes and proved that the opinion of the international scientific world that a range of volcanoes erupts in these places is erroneous. The scientist also found out where the sources of the Naryn, Sarydzhaz and Chu rivers come from, penetrated into the upper reaches of the Syr Darya, which had not been traveled before.

Semenov-Tyan-Shansky became the actual creator of the new Russian geographical school, offering the international scientific world a fundamentally new way of knowledge. Being at the same time a geologist, botanist and zoologist, he first began to consider natural systems in their unity. A geological structure Gore compared with mountainous terrain and revealed the patterns on which the entire scientific world.

Nikolai Miklukho-Maclay (1846-1888)

Photo: ITAR-TASS, 1963

The famous Russian traveler, anthropologist, explorer, who made a number of expeditions to the unexplored New Guinea and other islands Pacific Ocean. Accompanied by only two servants, he lived among the Papuans for a long time, collected the richest materials about primitive peoples, made friends with them, and helped them.

In his travels, Miklouho-Maclay also collected a lot of information about the peoples of Indonesia and Malaya, the Philippines, Australia, Melanesia, Micronesia and western Polynesia. He was ahead of his time. His work was not sufficiently appreciated in the 19th century, but anthropological researchers of the 20th and 21st centuries consider his contribution to science to be a real scientific feat.

Nikolai Przhevalsky (1839-1888)

Photo: ITAR-TASS, 1948

Russian military figure, major general, one of the greatest Russian geographers and travelers, who consciously prepared himself for travel since the gymnasium.

Przhevalsky devoted 11 years of his life to long expeditions. First, he led a two-year expedition to the Ussuri region (1867-1869), and after that, in 1870-1885, he made four trips to the little-known regions of Central Asia.

The first expedition in the region of Central Asia was devoted to the study of Mongolia, China and Tibet. Przhevalsky collected scientific evidence that the Gobi is not a plateau, and the Nanshan mountains are not a ridge, but a mountain system. The explorer owns the discovery of a whole series of mountains, ranges, and lakes.

During the second expedition, the scientist discovered new Altyntag mountains, and for the first time described two rivers and a lake. And the border of the Tibet highlands, thanks to his research, had to be moved more than 300 km to the north on the maps.

In the third expedition, Przhevalsky singled out several ranges in Nanshan, Kunlun and Tibet, described Lake Kukunor, as well as the upper reaches of the great rivers of China, the Huang He and Yangtze. Despite his illness, the discoverer also organized the fourth expedition to Tibet in 1883-1885, during which he discovered a number of new lakes and ridges.

He described more than 30 thousand kilometers of the path he traveled, collected unique collections. He discovered not only mountains and rivers, but also hitherto unknown representatives of the animal world: a wild camel, a Tibetan bear, a wild horse.
Like many prominent geographers of that time, Przhevalsky was the owner of a good and lively literary language. He wrote several books about his travels, in which he gave a vivid description of Asia: its flora, fauna, climate and the peoples inhabiting it.

Sergei Prokudin-Gorsky (1863-1944)

Photo: Sergei Prokudin-Gorsky, 1912

Ancestor of the era of color photography in Russia. He was the first to capture in color nature, cities and people's lives on a vast stretch from the Baltic Sea to the East of Russia.

He created a system of color reproduction for photography: from the recipe of the emulsion that is applied to glass plates for photography, to the drawings of special equipment for color photography and the projection of the resulting color images.

Since 1903, he has been constantly on trips: with the obsession of a real traveler, he photographs the natural beauties of Russia, its inhabitants, cities, architectural monuments - all genuine sights Russian Empire.

In December 1906-January 1907 Prokudin-Gorsky traveled to Turkestan with an expedition of the Russian Geographical Society to photograph the solar eclipse. It was not possible to capture the eclipse in color, but the ancient monuments of Bukhara and Samarkand, colorful local types of people and much more were filmed.

In the autumn of 1908, Nicholas II himself provided Prokudin-Gorsky with the necessary vehicles and gave permission to shoot in any place, so that the photographer could capture “in natural colors” all the main sights of the Russian Empire from the Baltic Sea to the Pacific Ocean. In total, it is planned to take 10 thousand pictures in 10 years.

A few days after meeting with the tsar, the photographer sets off along the Mariinsky waterway from St. Petersburg almost to the Volga itself. For three and a half years he has been constantly moving and taking pictures. First, he takes pictures of the northern part of the industrial Urals. Then he makes two trips along the Volga, capturing it from its very sources to Nizhny Novgorod. In between, he shoots the southern part of the Urals. And then - numerous monuments of antiquity in Kostroma and the Yaroslavl province. In the spring and autumn of 1911, the photographer manages to visit the Trans-Caspian region and Turkestan twice more, where he tried color filming for the first time in history.

This is followed by two photo expeditions to the Caucasus, where he photographs the Mugan steppe, undertakes a grandiose trip along the planned Kama-Tobolsk waterway, conducts extensive surveys of areas associated with the memory of Patriotic war 1812 - from Maloyaroslavets to Lithuanian Vilna, photographs Ryazan, Suzdal, the construction of the Kuzminskaya and Beloomutovskaya dams on the Oka.

Then financial difficulties begin, the financing of expeditions is interrupted. In 1913-1914. Prokudin-Gorsky is engaged in the creation of the first color cinema. But the First World War prevented the further development of this new project. None of Prokudin-Gorsky's experimental color films has yet been found.

Artur Chilingarov (born 1939)

Photo: Fedoseev Lev / ITAR-TASS

Famous polar explorer, Hero Soviet Union, Hero Russian Federation, a prominent Russian scientist, author of a number of scientific papers on the development of the North and the Arctic. Lives and works in Moscow.

Since 1963, he has been studying the Arctic Ocean and the oceanic atmosphere at the Arctic Research Observatory in the village of Tiksi. In 1969, he headed the North Pole-19 station, created on drifting ice, since 1971 he worked as the head of the Bellingshausen station, and since 1973 - the head of the North Pole-22 station. In 1985, he led the operation to rescue the worn out Antarctic ice expedition ship "Mikhail Somov". The icebreaker "Vladivostok" broke the ice around the diesel-electric ship and freed its crew from the blockade, which lasted as much as 133 days.

In 1987, Chilingarov led the team of the nuclear-powered icebreaker Sibir, which reached the geographic North Pole in free navigation. In January 2002, the traveler proved the possibility of operating light aircraft in Antarctica: he reached the South Pole on a single-engine An-ZT aircraft.

Photo: Roman Denisov/ITAR-TASS

In the summer of 2007, the famous polar explorer led an Arctic expedition aboard the Akademik Fedorov, which proved that the Arctic Ocean shelf is a continuation of the Siberian continental platform. The Mir-1 and Mir-2 vehicles were submerged to the bottom of the ocean, one of which was carrying Chilingarov himself. He also set a kind of record as the first person in the world to visit both the South and North Poles within six months.

Nikolai Litau (born 1955)

Photo: from the archive

Honored Master of Sports, Russian yachtsman, who made three round-the-world trips on the Apostol Andrey yacht built under his leadership. Awarded with the Order of Courage. During three round-the-world trips, Apostol Andrew left 110,000 nautical miles astern, visited all the continents of the planet, passed all the oceans and set five world records.

Here is what Nikolai Litau told the MIR 24 correspondent: “I made three round-the-world voyages on the Apostle Andrey. The first is around the Eastern Hemisphere through the Northern Sea Route, the second is around the Western Hemisphere, through the straits of the Canadian arctic archipelago and third, the Antarctic: in 2005-06, we circled Antarctica, all the time being above 60 degrees of latitude, the invisible border of Antarctica. The latter has not yet been repeated by anyone. The fourth global voyage, in which I happened to take part, took place in 2012-13. It was an international round-the-world trip, its route passed mainly through warm and comfortable tropical latitudes. I was the captain-instructor on Russian yacht Royal Leopard and went half the distance. During this voyage, I crossed my jubilee - the tenth equator. IN last years we are engaged in memorial trips on the yacht "Apostol Andrey" in the Russian Arctic. We recall the names of outstanding Russian sailors: Vladimir Rusanov, Georgy Sedov, Boris Vilkitsky, Georgy Brusilov and others.”

Photo: from the archive

Exactly one year ago, Nikolai Litau traveled to the Arctic for the eleventh time on the yacht Apostol Andrey. The route of this journey passed through Beloe, Barents and Kara Sea, the islands of the Arctic Institute in the Kara Sea were explored. Ahead - new expeditions.

Without the Russian pioneers, the map of the world would be completely different. Our compatriots - travelers and navigators - made discoveries that enriched world science. About the eight most notable - in our material.

Bellingshausen's first Antarctic expedition

In 1819, the navigator, captain of the 2nd rank, Thaddeus Bellingshausen led the first Antarctic expedition around the world. The purpose of the voyage was to explore the waters of the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian Oceans, as well as proof or refutation of the existence of the sixth continent - Antarctica. Having equipped two sloops - "Peace" and "Vostok" (under the command of Mikhail Lazarev), Bellingshausen's detachment went to sea.

The expedition lasted 751 days and wrote many bright pages in history geographical discoveries. The main one - the discovery of Antarctica - was made on January 28, 1820.

By the way, attempts to open the white mainland were made before, but did not bring the desired success: there was not enough luck, or maybe Russian perseverance.

So, the navigator James Cook, summing up his second circumnavigation, wrote: "I went around the ocean of the southern hemisphere at high latitudes and rejected the possibility of the existence of a mainland, which, if it can be found, is only near the pole in places inaccessible to navigation."

During Bellingshausen's Antarctic expedition, more than 20 islands were discovered and mapped, sketches of Antarctic species and animals living on it were made, and the navigator himself went down in history as a great discoverer.

“The name of Bellingshausen can be directly put on a par with the names of Columbus and Magellan, with the names of those people who did not retreat before the difficulties and imaginary impossibilities created by their predecessors, with the names of people who went their own way, and therefore were the destroyers of barriers to discoveries, by which epochs are designated, ”wrote the German geographer August Petermann.

Discoveries of Semenov Tien-Shansky

Central Asia at the beginning of the 19th century was one of the least studied areas the globe. An undeniable contribution to the study of the "unknown land" - as they called Central Asia geographers - introduced by Peter Semenov.

In 1856 came true main dream explorer - he went on an expedition to the Tien Shan.

“My work on Asian geography led me to a thorough acquaintance with everything that was known about inner Asia. In particular, the most central of the Asian mountain ranges, the Tien Shan, beckoned me to itself, on which the foot of a European traveler had not yet set foot and which was known only from scarce Chinese sources.

Semenov's research in Central Asia lasted two years. During this time, the sources of the Chu, Syrdarya and Sary-Jaz rivers, the peaks of Khan-Tengri and others were put on the map.

The traveler established the location of the Tien Shan ranges, the height of the snow line in this area and discovered the huge Tien Shan glaciers.

In 1906, by decree of the emperor, for the merits of the discoverer, they began to add a prefix to his surname - Tien Shan.

Asia Przewalski

In the 70-80s. XIX century Nikolai Przhevalsky led four expeditions to Central Asia. This little explored area has always attracted the researcher, and traveling to Central Asia was his old dream.

Over the years of research have been studied mountain systems Kun-Lun , the ranges of Northern Tibet, the sources of the Yellow River and the Yangtze, basins Kuku-burrow and Lob-burrow.

Przhevalsky was the second person after Marco Polo to reach lakes-bogs Lob-burrow!

In addition, the traveler discovered dozens of species of plants and animals that are named after him.

“Happy fate made it possible to make a feasible study of the least known and most inaccessible countries of inner Asia,” Nikolai Przhevalsky wrote in his diary.

Around the world Krusenstern

The names of Ivan Kruzenshtern and Yuri Lisyansky became known after the first Russian round the world expedition.

For three years, from 1803 to 1806. - this is how long the first circumnavigation of the world lasted - the ships "Nadezhda" and "Neva", having passed through the Atlantic Ocean, rounded Cape Horn, and then reached Kamchatka by the waters of the Pacific Ocean, Kuril Islands and Sakhalin. The expedition refined the map of the Pacific Ocean, collected information about the nature and inhabitants of Kamchatka and the Kuriles.

During the voyage, Russian sailors crossed the equator for the first time. This event was celebrated, according to tradition, with the participation of Neptune.

A sailor dressed as the ruler of the seas asked Kruzenshtern why he had come here with his ships, because the Russian flag had not been seen in these places before. To which the expedition commander replied: "For the glory of science and our fatherland!"

Expedition of Nevelskoy

Admiral Gennady Nevelskoy is rightfully considered one of the outstanding navigators of the 19th century. In 1849, on the transport ship Baikal, he went on an expedition to the Far East.

The Amur expedition continued until 1855, during which time Nevelskoy made several major discoveries in the area downstream Amur and the northern shores of the Sea of ​​Japan, annexed to Russia the vast expanses of the Amur and Primorye.

Thanks to the navigator, it became known that Sakhalin is an island that is separated by the navigable Tatar Strait, and the mouth of the Amur is accessible for ships to enter from the sea.

In 1850, the Nikolaevsky post was founded by the Nevelsky detachment, which today is known as Nikolaevsk-on-Amur.

“The discoveries made by Nevelsky are invaluable for Russia,” wrote Count Nikolai Muravyov-Amursky , - many previous expeditions to these lands could achieve European fame, but not one of them achieved domestic benefit, at least to the extent that Nevelskoy did it.

North Vilkitsky

The purpose of the hydrographic expedition of the Arctic Ocean in 1910-1915. was the development of the Northern sea ​​route. By chance, the captain of the 2nd rank Boris Vilkitsky assumed the duties of the head of navigation. The icebreaking ships Taimyr and Vaygach put to sea.

Vilkitsky moved along the northern waters from east to west, and during the voyage he managed to draw up a true description north coast Eastern Siberia and many islands, received key information about currents and climate, and also became the first to make a through voyage from Vladivostok to Arkhangelsk.

Members of the expedition discovered the Land of Emperor Nicholas II, known today as New Earth- this discovery is considered the last of the significant on the globe.

In addition, thanks to Vilkitsky, the islands of Maly Taimyr, Starokadomsky and Zhokhov were put on the map.

At the end of the expedition, the First World War began. The traveler Roald Amundsen, having learned about the success of Vilkitsky's voyage, could not resist exclaiming in his address:

“In peacetime, this expedition would stir up the whole world!”

Kamchatka campaign of Bering and Chirikov

The second quarter of the 18th century was rich in geographical discoveries. All of them were made during the First and Second Kamchatka expeditions, which immortalized the names of Vitus Bering and Alexei Chirikov.

During the First Kamchatka campaign, Bering, the leader of the expedition, and his assistant Chirikov explored and mapped the Pacific coast of Kamchatka and Northeast Asia. They discovered two peninsulas - Kamchatsky and Ozerny, Kamchatsky Bay, Karaginsky Bay, Cross Bay, Providence Bay and St. Lawrence Island, as well as the strait, which today bears the name of Vitus Bering.

Companions - Bering and Chirikov - also led the Second Kamchatka Expedition. The goal of the campaign was to find a route to North America and explore the islands of the Pacific.

In Avacha Bay, the expedition members founded the Petropavlovsk prison - in honor of the ships of the voyage "Saint Peter" and "Saint Pavel" - which was later renamed Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky.

When the ships set sail for the shores of America, by the will of evil fate, Bering and Chirikov began to act alone - because of the fog, their ships lost each other.

"Saint Peter" under the command of Bering reached the western coast of America.

And on the way back, the expedition members, who had many difficulties, were thrown by a storm onto small island. Here the life of Vitus Bering ended, and the island on which the expedition members stopped to spend the winter was named after Bering.
"Saint Pavel" Chirikov also reached the shores of America, but for him the voyage ended more safely - on the way back he discovered a number of islands of the Aleutian ridge and safely returned to the Peter and Paul prison.

"Non-Yasak Lands" by Ivan Moskvitin

Little is known about the life of Ivan Moskvitin, but this man nevertheless went down in history, and the reason for this was the new lands he discovered.

In 1639, Moskvitin, leading a detachment of Cossacks, set sail for the Far East. The main goal of the travelers was to "find new unclaimed lands", to collect furs and fish. The Cossacks crossed the rivers Aldan, Maya and Yudoma, discovered the Dzhugdzhur ridge, which separates the rivers of the Lena basin from the rivers flowing into the sea, and along the Ulya river they entered the Lamskoye, or Sea of ​​Okhotsk. Having explored the coast, the Cossacks opened the Taui Bay and entered the Sakhalin Bay, rounding the Shantar Islands.

One of the Cossacks reported that the rivers in open lands“sable, there are a lot of all kinds of animals, and fish, and the fish is big, there is no such thing in Siberia ... there are so many of them - just launch a net and you can’t drag it out with fish ...”.

Humanity owes these brave men not only interesting information, but also scientific discoveries.

And in the times that we call "prehistoric", there were people who could not sit still, who aspired there, beyond the horizon. They went into complete obscurity, not having at their disposal worthy Vehicle and ways of protection, thinking not about themselves, but about the great goal that they set and eventually achieved.

Hanno - 505 BC

Carthaginian (resident of the state of Carthage, located on the territory of modern Tunisia - approx. ed.) Gannon considered to be the first of all famous travelers. The Carthaginian Senate equipped 60 galleys, each of which had 50 rowers. This fleet was to make a risky expedition - to reach western coasts Africa and colonize the earth. Hanno was at the head of the expedition. In total, thirty thousand people went on a trip - today they would be called settlers: their mission was to develop new lands.

Sailing across the Atlantic Ocean was then incredibly dangerous. Nevertheless, Gannon and his companions, having overcome all the obstacles on the way, reached the shores West Africa. On one of the islands (apparently belonging to the group canary islands) travelers discovered many gorillas and mistook them for "wild people". Hoping to establish contact, the Carthaginians captured three "savages", but soon, due to the aggressiveness of the gorillas, they had to be killed.

On other islands, the Carthaginians entered into friendly and commercial alliances with the locals. Having reached the South Horn, the travelers realized that they risked being left without supplies - they were running out. Then Gannon decided to return home. In Carthage, in the temple of Moloch, in memory of this journey, a large marble slab was placed, on which a description of the great journey was carved.

Herodotus (484 - 425 BC)

Ancient Greek scientist - historian and geographer, Herodotus He became famous as the "father of history", as well as one of the first travelers. He compiled the first more or less accurate description of the real world for his contemporaries - based on his own observations and on the stories of other people.

To obtain the information necessary to write his most famous work - "History" - Herodotus traveled all the countries available at that time. He traveled to Greece and Egypt, Persia and Babylonia, Asia Minor and Southern Italy, on islands mediterranean sea and in the Crimea.

Herodotus began to travel at about 20 years old, and his goal was precisely science - he sought to collect as much information as possible about ongoing events, about the peoples who inhabited different lands. His first journey resulted in a major study of those peoples who at that time were not yet known to the Greeks. Herodotus wrote in his writings about the Greco-Persian wars, about the manners and customs of the Persians.

He was the first to describe Scythia and the peoples inhabiting this country, gave Full description the river Istr (Danube), which flows through the whole of Europe, and Borisfen (Dnieper). In the writings of Herodotus, much attention is paid to Scythian myths - for example, about Hercules. He also writes about the Amazons - female warriors.

Later, Herodotus visited Northeast Africa, in Cyrene, and was the first in history to describe these territories. Herodotus collected very interesting information about Egypt, and modern scholars for the most part confirm the correctness of his descriptions.

Pytheas (340 BC)

Tragedy Pytheas lies in the fact that his stories about distant countries aroused distrust and ridicule among his contemporaries. But his courage deserves respect - he dared to embark on a dangerous voyage across the Atlantic on a single ship. The expedition of Pytheas was heading to the North - they hoped to find in uncharted lands tin and amber. Such an order was given to Pytheas by his fellow merchants from the city of Massilia (Marseille). Pytheas did an excellent job with the assignment, while making several important geographical discoveries.

For example, moving north, he noticed that the farther to the northern latitudes, the longer the day becomes. Thus, the relationship between the length of day and night and geographic latitude was established. In addition, he was the first to guess that the ebbs and flows are associated with the attraction of the moon. Pytheas discovered that polar Star cannot serve as an accurate reference to the north. He was able to make all these and other discoveries thanks to his travels.

Eudoxus (IIcentury BC)

Greek scientist and geographer Eudoxus He began his travels by visiting Egypt and India.

By hiring capital ship and two longboats, Eudoxus sailed on the waters of the Atlantic. It is not known how far he made his way. Scholars are wary of putting too much trust in his evidence because there is no credible evidence. However, it is known for sure that by order of the pharaoh Ptolemy Eudoxus visited India, sailing there accompanied by an Indian guide. This was followed by a second trip to India - Eudoxus was sent there by the queen Cleopatra, to bring Indian incense.

Deciding to go around Africa, the brave traveler almost carried out a dizzying plan, but died at the very end of the journey.

Strabo (64/63 BC - 23/24 AD)

Ancient Greek traveler and geographer Strabo was known for his comprehensive education. He left behind an amazing work - "Geography" in 17 volumes, which contained the most detailed and diverse information about many countries and peoples. The chapters on the Trans-Caspian lands, on Asian Scythia, and on the Caucasus are relevant and interesting even today.

Strabo traveled a lot. He repeatedly visited Egypt and compiled a detailed description of Alexandria, described Egyptian pyramids, talked a lot about the wonders of the world.

Strabo lived a long life and died in Rome. His "Geography" is the most important and interesting monument ancient Greek science.

travelers

in the paintings of artists N. Solomin and S. Yakovlev

Brilliant pages in the history of geographical discoveries were written by Russian travelers. They not only studied the vast expanses of the Motherland, but also made discoveries and researches far beyond its borders.

Semyon Ivanovich Dezhnev (born around 1605 - died in 1672/3) - famous explorer and sailor. Served in Tobolsk, Yeniseisk, Yakutsk; went far and dangerous hikes on the rivers Yana, Indigirka, Oymyakon. Departing in 1648 from the Nizhne-Kolyma prison, Dezhnev sailed from the Arctic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and practically proved the existence of a strait separating Asia from America.

Faddey Faddeevich Bellingshausen (1779-1862) - famous navigator, prominent scientist. He participated in the expedition of Kruzenshtern and Lisyaneky, then commanded together with M.P. Lazarev in 1819-1821 the sloops Vostok and Mirny. This expedition to South Pole made a great geographical discovery - reached the shores of Antarctica, and also conducted extensive research in the equatorial and tropical zones of the Pacific Ocean and made adjustments to sea charts.

Pyotr Petrovich Semyonov-Tyan-Shansky (1827-1914) - a remarkable Russian geographer and traveler. The first Europeans penetrated the hard-to-reach areas of the Central Tien Shan and established that the Chu River does not flow into Issyk-Kul Lake, discovered the sources of the Naryn and Sarydzhaz rivers, the second highest Tien Shan peak - Khan Tengri, huge glaciers covering its slopes.

Pyotr Kuzmich Kozlov (1863-1936) was a remarkable Russian traveler and explorer of Central Asia. Participating in the expeditions of N. M. Przhevalsky, M. V. Pevtsov and V. I. Roborovsky, he repeatedly crossed Mongolia and China. From 1899 to 1926 Kozlov led three expeditions to Central Asia. He studied the mountains of the Mongolian Altai, penetrated into the least explored areas of the Tibetan highlands; in the middle of the Mongolian deserts opened ancient city Khara-Khoto; excavated the Khentei-Noinulinsky mounds, enriching science with versatile information about the regions of Central Asia.

Nikolai Nikolaevich Miklukho-Maclay (1846 - 1888) - famous Russian traveler and scientist, anthropologist and ethnographer. He spent twelve years in New Guinea, Malacca, Australia and the Pacific Islands, studying the peoples inhabiting them. The creator of modern anthropology, Miklouho-Maclay was a passionate fighter against racial discrimination and colonial oppression.

Nikolai Mikhailovich Przhevalsky (1839-1888) - the great Russian traveler and geographer. Already after the first expedition to the Ussuri region (1867-1869) he became famous as a talented explorer of distant and little-known lands. He conducted four expeditions to Central Asia, during which he crossed vast expanses from the Sayan Mountains to Tibet and from the Tien Shan to the Khingan.

Mikhail Petrovich Lazarev (1788-1851) - famous navigator, naval commander and research scientist. Together with F. Sh. Bellingshausen, he commanded a remarkable sea expedition that discovered Antarctica. Even before that, he went around the world on the ship "Suvorov", and after sailing to Antarctica he made the third trip around the world, commanding the frigate "Cruiser". The last seventeen years of his life he devoted to the education of Russian sailors and the construction of the Black Sea Fleet.

Slide #10

Ivan Fedorovich Kruzenshtern (1770-1846) - a remarkable navigator and research scientist. He commanded the first Russian round-the-world expedition from 1803 to 1806. The expedition refined the map of the Pacific Ocean, collected information about the nature and inhabitants of Sakhalin, the Pacific Islands and Kamchatka. Kruzenshtern published a description of his journey and compiled a two-volume atlas of the Pacific Ocean.

Slide #11

Georgy Yakovlevich Sedov (1877-1914) - a brave navigator, explorer of the Arctic. In 1912 he proposed a trip to the North Pole. Having reached the ship "St. fock" of Franz Josef Land, Sedov made a bold attempt to reach the North Pole by dog sledding, but died on the way to the cherished goal.

Slide #12

Gennady Ivanovich Nevelskoy (1813-1876) - an outstanding researcher of the Far East. He spent about six years in the Amur region, studying its nature. In 1849, Nevelskoy while sailing along Sea of ​​Okhotsk proved that Sakhalin is an island separated from the mainland by the navigable Tatar Strait.

Slide #13

Vladimir Afanasyevich Obruchev (1863-1956) - a remarkable traveler, the greatest Soviet geologist and geographer. After research in Central Asia(1886) and numerous expeditions in Eastern Siberia, in 1892 the scientist went to Mongolia and China for two years, covering more than thirteen and a half thousand kilometers during this time. Obruchev headed major geological research in Siberia.

Russian navigators, along with European ones, are the most famous pioneers who discovered new continents, sections of mountain ranges and vast water areas.

They became the pioneers of significant geographical objects, took the first steps in the development of hard-to-reach territories, made world travel. So who are they - the conquerors of the seas, and what exactly did the world learn about thanks to them?

Afanasy Nikitin - the very first Russian traveler

Afanasy Nikitin is rightfully considered the first Russian traveler who managed to visit India and Persia (1468-1474, according to other sources 1466-1472). On the way back he visited Somalia, Turkey, Muscat. On the basis of his travels, Athanasius compiled the notes "Journey Beyond the Three Seas", which became popular and unique historical and literary aids. These records became the first book in the history of Russia, made not in the format of a story about a pilgrimage, but describing the political, economic and cultural features of the territories.

Afanasy Nikitin

He was able to prove that even as a member of a poor peasant family, one can become famous researcher and traveller. Streets, embankments in several Russian cities, motor ship, passenger train and aircraft.

Semyon Dezhnev, who founded the Anadyr prison

Cossack chieftain Semyon Dezhnev was an Arctic navigator who became the discoverer of a number of geographical objects. Wherever Semyon Ivanovich served, everywhere he sought to study the new and previously unknown. He was even able to cross the East Siberian Sea on a makeshift koch, going from Indigirka to Alazeya.

In 1643, as part of a detachment of explorers, Semyon Ivanovich discovered Kolyma, where he founded the city of Srednekolymsk with his associates. A year later, Semyon Dezhnev continued his expedition, walked along the Bering Strait (which did not yet have this name) and discovered the most east point mainland, later named Cape Dezhnev. An island, a peninsula, a bay, a village also bear his name.

Semyon Dezhnev

In 1648, Dezhnev set off again. His ship was wrecked in the waters located in the southern part of the Anadyr River. Having reached on skis, the sailors went up the river and stayed there for the winter. Subsequently, this place appeared on geographical maps and was called the Anadyr prison. As a result of the expedition, the traveler was able to make detailed descriptions, draw up a map of those places.

Vitus Jonassen Bering, who organized expeditions to Kamchatka

Two Kamchatka expeditions inscribed the names of Vitus Bering and his associate Alexei Chirikov in the history of marine discoveries. During the first trip, the sailors conducted research and were able to supplement the geographical atlas with objects located in Northeast Asia and on pacific coast Kamchatka.

The discovery of the Kamchatka and Ozerny peninsulas, the bays of Kamchatsky, the Cross, the Karaginsky, the Bay of Conduct, the island of St. Lawrence are also the merit of Bering and Chirikov. At the same time, another strait was found and described, which later became known as the Bering Strait.

Vitus Bering

The second expedition was undertaken by them in order to find a way to North America and explore the Pacific Islands. On this journey, Bering and Chirikov founded the Peter and Paul prison. It got its name from the combined names of their ships ("Saint Peter" and "Saint Paul") and subsequently became the city of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky.

On the approach to the shores of America, the ships of like-minded people lost sight of each other, heavy fog affected. "Saint Peter", driven by Bering, sailed to the west coast of America, but got into a severe storm on the way back - the ship was thrown onto an island. The last minutes of Vitus Bering's life passed on it, and the island subsequently began to bear his name. Chirikov also reached America on his ship, but successfully completed his voyage, finding several islands of the Aleutian ridge on the way back.

Khariton and Dmitry Laptev and their “named” sea

Cousins ​​Khariton and Dmitry Laptev were like-minded and assistants to Vitus Bering. It was he who appointed Dmitry the commander of the Irkutsk ship, and Khariton led his double-boat Yakutsk. They took part in the Great Northern Expedition, the purpose of which was to study and accurately describe and map the Russian shores of the ocean, from Yugorsky Shar to Kamchatka.

Each of the brothers made a significant contribution to the development of new territories. Dmitry became the first navigator to survey the coast from the mouth of the Lena to the mouth of the Kolyma. He made detailed maps of these places, based on mathematical calculations and astronomical data.

Khariton and Dmitry Laptev

Khariton Laptev with his associates conducted research on the northern section coast of Siberia. It was he who determined the size and shape of the huge Taimyr Peninsula - he surveyed its eastern coast, was able to identify the exact coordinates offshore islands. The expedition took place in difficult conditions - a large number of ice, snowstorms, scurvy, ice captivity - Khariton Laptev's team had to endure a lot. But they continued the work they had begun. On this expedition, Laptev's assistant Chelyuskin discovered the cape, which was later named after him.

Noting the great contribution of the Laptevs to the development of new territories, members of the Russian Geographical Society decided to name one of them after them. largest seas Arctic. Also, the strait between the mainland and Bolshoi Lyakhovsky Island is named after Dmitry, and the western coast of Taimyr Island bears the name of Khariton.

Kruzenshtern and Lisyansky - organizers of the first Russian circumnavigation

Ivan Kruzenshtern and Yuri Lisyansky are the first Russian navigators to circumnavigate the world. Their expedition lasted three years (started in 1803 and ended in 1806). They set off with their teams on two ships, which bore the names "Nadezhda" and "Neva". Travelers passed through the Atlantic Ocean, entered the waters of the Pacific Ocean. On them, sailors sailed to the Kuril Islands, Kamchatka and Sakhalin.

Ivan Kruzenshtern

This trip allowed us to collect important information. Based on the data obtained by navigators, a detailed map Pacific Ocean. Another important result of the first Russian round-the-world expedition was the data obtained on the flora and fauna of the Kuriles and Kamchatka, local residents their customs and cultural traditions.

During their journey, the sailors crossed the equator and, according to maritime traditions, could not leave this event without a well-known ritual - a sailor dressed as Neptune greeted Krusenstern and asked why his ship arrived where the Russian flag had never been. To which he received the answer that they are here solely for the glory and development of domestic science.

Vasily Golovnin - the first navigator who was rescued from Japanese captivity

Russian navigator Vasily Golovnin led two round-the-world expeditions. In 1806, being in the rank of lieutenant, he received a new appointment and became the commander of the sloop "Diana". Interestingly, this is the only case in the history of the Russian fleet when a lieutenant was entrusted with the management of a ship.

The leadership set the goal of a round-the-world expedition to study the northern part of the Pacific Ocean, with special attention to that part of it that is within the borders of the native country. The path of "Diana" was not easy. The sloop passed the island of Tristan da Cunha, passed the Cape of Hope and entered the port, which belonged to the British. Here the ship was detained by the authorities. The British informed Golovnin about the outbreak of war between the two countries. The Russian ship was not declared captured, but the crew was not allowed to leave the bay either. After spending more than a year in this position, in mid-May 1809, the Diana, led by Golovnin, tried to escape, which the sailors successfully succeeded in - the ship arrived in Kamchatka.

Vasily Golovin

Golovnin received his next responsible task in 1811 - he was supposed to compile descriptions of the Shantar and Kuril Islands, the shores of the Tatar Strait. During his journey, he was accused of not adhering to the principles of sakoku and was captured by the Japanese for more than 2 years. It was possible to rescue the crew from captivity only thanks to the good relations of one of the Russian naval officers and an influential Japanese merchant, who was able to convince his government of the harmless intentions of the Russians. It is worth noting that no one in history has ever returned from Japanese captivity before.

In 1817-1819, Vasily Mikhailovich made another round-the-world trip on the Kamchatka ship specially built for this.

Thaddeus Bellingshausen and Mikhail Lazarev - discoverers of Antarctica

Captain of the second rank Thaddeus Bellingshausen was determined to find the truth about the existence of the sixth continent. In 1819, he went to the open sea, carefully preparing two sloops - Mirny and Vostok. The latter was commanded by his associate Mikhail Lazarev. The first round-the-world Antarctic expedition set itself other tasks. In addition to finding irrefutable facts confirming or refuting the existence of Antarctica, travelers were going to explore the waters of three oceans - the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian.

Thaddeus Bellingshausen

The results of this expedition exceeded all expectations. During the 751 days that it lasted, Bellingshausen and Lazarev were able to make several significant geographical discoveries. Of course, the most important of them is the existence of Antarctica, it is historical event happened on January 28, 1820. Also during the trip, about two dozen islands were found and mapped, sketches were created with views of Antarctica, images of representatives of the Antarctic fauna.

Mikhail Lazarev

Interestingly, attempts to discover Antarctica were made more than once, but none of them were successful. European navigators believed that either it did not exist, or it was located in places that simply could not be reached by sea. But the Russian travelers had enough perseverance and determination, so the names of Bellingshausen and Lazarev are included in the lists the greatest sailors peace.