Table of travelers and their discoveries. The most famous travelers in world history. Kamchatka campaign of Bering and Chirikov

The great Russian travelers, whose list is quite long, pushed the development of maritime trade, and also raised the prestige of their country. The scientific community learned more and more information not only about geography, but also about the animal and plant world, and most importantly, about people who lived in other parts of the world and their customs. Let's follow in the footsteps of the great Russian travelers geographical discoveries.

Fyodor Filippovich Konyukhov

The great Russian traveler Fyodor Konyukhov is not only a famous adventurer, but also an artist, an honored master of sports. He was born in 1951. From childhood, he could do what would be quite difficult for his peers - swimming in cold water. He could easily sleep in the hayloft. Fedor was in good physical shape and could run long distances - several tens of kilometers. At the age of 15, he managed to swim across the Sea of ​​Azov using a row fishing boat. Fedor was significantly influenced by his grandfather, who wanted the young man to become a traveler, but the boy himself aspired to this. Great Russian travelers often began to prepare in advance for their campaigns and sea voyages.

Konyukhov's discoveries

Fedor Filippovich Konyukhov participated in 40 trips, repeated Bering's route on a yacht, and also sailed from Vladivostok to the Commander Islands, visited Sakhalin and Kamchatka. At the age of 58, he conquered Everest, as well as the 7 most high peaks in a team with other climbers. He visited both the North and South Poles, on his account 4 round-the-world sea ​​voyages, the Atlantic crossed them 15 times. Fyodor Filippovich displayed his impressions with the help of drawing. Thus he painted 3,000 paintings. The great geographical discoveries of Russian travelers were often reflected in their own literature, and Fedor Konyukhov left behind 9 books.

Afanasy Nikitin

The great Russian traveler Athanasius Nikitin (Nikitin is the patronymic of a merchant, since his father's name was Nikita) lived in the 15th century, and the year of his birth is unknown. He proved that even a person from a poor family can travel so far, the main thing is to set a goal. He was an experienced merchant who, before India, visited the Crimea, Constantinople, Lithuania and the Moldavian principality and brought overseas goods to his homeland.

He himself was from Tver. Russian merchants traveled to Asia to establish ties with local merchants. They themselves carried there, mostly furs. By the will of fate, Athanasius ended up in India, where he lived for three years. Upon returning to his homeland, he was robbed and killed near Smolensk. The great Russian travelers and their discoveries remain forever in history, because for the sake of progress, brave and courageous wanderers often died on dangerous and long expeditions.

Discoveries of Athanasius Nikitin

Afanasy Nikitin became the first Russian traveler to visit India and Persia, on the way back he visited Turkey and Somalia. During her wanderings, she took notes "Journey Beyond the Three Seas", which later became a guide for studying the culture and customs of other countries. Particularly well outlined in his notes medieval india. He crossed the Volga, Arabian and Caspian Sea, Chernomorie. When the merchants near Astrakhan were robbed by the Tatars, he did not want to return home with everyone and fall into a debt hole, but continued his journey, heading to Derbent, then to Baku.

Nikolai Nikolaevich Miklukho-Maclay

Miklouho-Maclay comes from a noble family, but after the death of his father, he had to learn what it means to live in poverty. He had the nature of a rebel - at the age of 15 he was arrested for participating in a student demonstration. Because of this, he not only ended up under arrest in Peter and Paul Fortress, where he stayed for three days, but was also expelled from the gymnasium with a further ban on admission - so the opportunity was lost for him to get a higher education in Russia, which he later did only in Germany.

A well-known naturalist, drew attention to an inquisitive 19-year-old boy and invited Miklouho-Maclay on an expedition, the purpose of which was to study marine fauna. Nikolai Nikolaevich died at the age of 42, while his diagnosis was "severe deterioration of the body." He, like many other great Russian travelers, sacrificed a significant part of his life in the name of new discoveries.

Discoveries of Miklouho-Maclay

In 1869, Miklukho-Maclay, with the support of the Russian Geographical Society, left for New Guinea. The shore where he landed is now called Maclay Coast. After spending more than a year on the expedition, he discovered new lands. The natives learned from a Russian traveler how pumpkin, corn, and beans are grown, and how to take care of fruit trees. He spent 3 years in Australia, visited Indonesia, the Philippines, the islands of Melanesia and Micronesia. He also convinced local residents not interfere with anthropological research. 17 years of his life he studied indigenous people islands Pacific Ocean, Southeast Asia. Thanks to Miklukho-Maclay, the assumption that the Papuans are a different kind of person was refuted. As you can see, the great Russian travelers and their discoveries allowed the rest of the world not only to learn more about geographical research, but also about other people who lived in new territories.

Nikolai Mikhailovich Przhevalsky

Przhevalsky was favored by the emperor's family, at the end of the first trip he had the honor to meet Alexander II, who transferred his collections to the Russian Academy of Sciences. His son Nikolai really liked the works of Nikolai Mikhailovich, and he wanted to be his student, he also contributed to the publication of stories about the 4th expedition, granting 25 thousand rubles. The Tsarevich always looked forward to letters from the traveler and was glad even for a short news about the expedition.

As you can see, even during his life, Przhevalsky became quite famous person and his works and deeds received great publicity. However, as sometimes happens when great Russian travelers and their discoveries become famous, many details from his life, as well as the circumstances of his death, are still shrouded in mystery. Nikolai Mikhailovich had no descendants, because having understood in advance what fate awaited him, he would not allow himself to condemn his beloved to constant expectations and loneliness.

Discoveries of Przewalski

Thanks to Przhevalsky's expeditions, Russian scientific prestige received a new impetus. During 4 expeditions, the traveler traveled about 30 thousand kilometers, he visited Central and Western Asia, the territory of the Tibetan Plateau and the southern part of the Takla Makan desert. He discovered many ridges (Moscow, Zagadochny, etc.), described major rivers Asia.

Many have heard of (subspecies but few people know about the richest zoological collection of mammals, birds, amphibians and fish, a large number plant records and herbarium collection. In addition to animals and flora, as well as new geographical discoveries, the great Russian traveler Przhevalsky was interested in peoples unknown to Europeans - Dungans, northern Tibetans, Tanguts, Magins, Lobnors. He created How to Travel Central Asia, which could serve as an excellent guide for researchers and the military. Great Russian travelers, making discoveries, always gave knowledge for the development of sciences and the successful organization of new expeditions.

Ivan Fyodorovich Kruzenshtern

The Russian navigator was born in 1770. He happened to become the head of the first round-the-world expedition from Russia, he is also one of the founders of Russian oceanology, an admiral, a corresponding member and an honorary member of the Academy of Sciences in St. Petersburg. The great Russian traveler Krusenstern also took an active part when the Russian Geographical Society was created. In 1811 he happened to teach at the Naval Cadet Corps. Subsequently, after becoming director, he organized the highest officer class. This academy then became a naval academy.

In 1812, he allocated 1/3 of his fortune for the people's militia (started Patriotic War). So far, there have been publications three volumes books "Traveling around the world", which were translated into seven European languages. In 1813, Ivan Fedorovich was included in the English, Danish, German and French scientific communities and academies. However, after 2 years, he goes on an indefinite leave due to a developing eye disease, which complicated the situation and a difficult relationship with the Minister of the Navy. A lot of famous sailors and travelers turned to Ivan Fedorovich for advice and support.

Krusenstern's discoveries

For 3 years he was the head of the Russian expedition around the world on the ships "Neva" and "Nadezhda". During the voyage, the mouths of the Amur River were to be explored. For the first time in history, the Russian fleet crossed the equator. Thanks to this journey and Ivan Fedorovich, for the first time, the eastern, northern and northwest coast sakhalin island. Also, by virtue of his labors, the Atlas South Sea”, supplemented by hydrographic notes. Thanks to the expedition, non-existent islands were erased from the maps, it was determined exact position other geographic points. Russian science learned about the trade wind countercurrents in the Pacific and Atlantic oceans, water temperatures were measured (depths up to 400 m), its specific gravity, color and transparency were determined. Finally, the reason why the sea shone became clear. Also, data appeared on atmospheric pressure, ebb and flow in many areas of the World Ocean, which were used by other great Russian travelers in their expeditions.

Semyon Ivanovich Dezhnev

The great traveler was born in 1605. A sailor, explorer and merchant, he was also a Cossack chieftain. He was originally from Veliky Ustyug, and then moved to Siberia. Semyon Ivanovich was known for his diplomatic talent, courage and ability to organize and lead people. His name is geographical points(cape, bay, island, village, peninsula), premium, icebreaker, passage, streets, etc.

Dezhnev's discoveries

Semyon Ivanovich 80 years before Bering passed the strait (called the Bering Strait) between Alaska and Chukotka (completely, while Bering passed only part of it). He and his team opened a sea route around the northeastern part of Asia, reached Kamchatka. Nobody had known before that about the part of the world where America almost converged with Asia. Dezhnev passed the Arctic Ocean, bypassing the northern coast of Asia. He mapped the strait between the American and Asian coasts, and after the ship was shipwrecked, his detachment, having only skis and sledges, traveled 10 weeks before (while losing 13 people out of 25). There is an assumption that the first settlers in Alaska were part of the Dezhnev team, which separated from the expedition.

Thus, following in the footsteps of the great Russian travelers, one can see how the science community Russia, enriched knowledge about the outside world, which gave a huge impetus to the development of other industries.

Without the Russian pioneers, the map of the world would be completely different. Our compatriots - travelers and navigators - have made discoveries that have 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 - "Mirny" and "Vostok" (under the command), Bellingshausen's detachment went to sea.

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

By the way, attempts to open white mainland undertaken earlier, 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 Antarctic expedition More than 20 islands were discovered and mapped by Bellingshausen, sketches were made of the views of Antarctica and the animals living on it, 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 70s-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", passing through 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 Far East.

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

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 Northern Arctic Ocean 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 I. I., 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. Traveler Roald Amundsen, having learned about the success of Vilkitsky's voyage, could not resist exclaiming to him:

“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 expedition leader and his assistant Chirikov, explored and mapped pacific coast 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 purpose of the campaign was to find a way to North America and explore the islands of the Pacific.

IN Avacha bay The members of the expedition 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 leadership of Bering reached west coast 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 ...”.

The geographical data collected by Ivan Moskvitin formed the basis of the first map of the Far East.

Afanasy Nikitin is a Russian traveler, Tver merchant and writer. He traveled from Tvrea to Persia and India (1468-1474). On the way back he visited the African coast (Somalia), Muscat and Turkey. Nikitin's travel notes "Journey Beyond Three Seas" is a valuable literary and historical monument. He is noted for his versatility of observations, as well as religious tolerance, unusual for the Middle Ages, combined with devotion to the Christian faith and native land.

Semyon Dezhnev (1605 -1673)

An outstanding Russian navigator, explorer, traveler, explorer of Northern and Eastern Siberia. In 1648, Dezhnev was the first among the famous European navigators (80 years earlier than Vitus Bering) who managed to pass the Bering Strait, which separates Alaska from Chukotka. A Cossack ataman and fur trader, Dezhnev actively participated in the development of Siberia (Dezhnev himself married a Yakut Abakayada Syuchyu).

Grigory Shelikhov (1747 - 1795)

Russian industrialist who geographical research northern islands Pacific Ocean and Alaska. He founded the first settlements in Russian America. The strait between about. Kodiak and the North American mainland, a bay in the Sea of ​​Okhotsk, a city in Irkutsk region and a volcano in the Kuriles. A remarkable Russian merchant, geographer and traveler, nicknamed “Russian Columbus” by G. R. Derzhavin, was born in 1747 in the city of Rylsk, Kursk province, into a bourgeois family. Overcoming the space from Irkutsk to the Lama (Okhotsk) Sea was his first journey. In 1781, Shelikhov created the Northeast Company, which in 1799 was transformed into the Russian-American Trading Company.

Dmitry Ovtsyn (1704 - 1757)

Russian hydrographer and traveler, led the second of the detachments of the Great Northern Expedition. Produced the first hydrographic inventory of the coast of Siberia between the mouths of the Ob and Yenisei. He discovered the Gydan Bay and the Gydan Peninsula. Participated in last voyage Vitus Bering to the shores of North America. A cape and an island in the Yenisei Bay bear his name. Dmitry Leontyevich Ovtsyn was in the Russian fleet from 1726, took part in the first voyage of Vitus Bering to the shores of Kamchatka, and by the time the expedition was organized, he had risen to the rank of lieutenant. The significance of Ovtsyn's expedition, like that of the rest of the detachments of the Great Northern Expedition, is extremely great. Based on the inventories compiled by Ovtsyn, maps of the places he explored were prepared until the beginning of the 20th century.

Ivan Kruzenshtern (1770 - 1846)

Russian navigator, admiral, led the first Russian round-the-world expedition. Mapped for the first time most the coast of Sakhalin. One of the founders of the Russian geographical society. His name is the strait in the northern part of the Kuril Islands, the passage between about. Tsushima and the islands of Iki and Okinoshima in the Korea Strait, islands in Bering Strait and the Tuamotu Archipelago, a mountain on Novaya Zemlya. On June 26, 1803, the ships "Neva" and "Nadezhda" left Kronstadt and headed for the coast of Brazil. This was the first passage of Russian ships to the southern hemisphere. On August 19, 1806, during a stay in Copenhagen, a Danish prince visited a Russian ship, who wished to meet Russian sailors and listen to their stories. The first Russian circumnavigation was of great scientific and practical importance and attracted the attention of the whole world. Russian navigators corrected in many points English cards considered to be the most accurate at the time.

Thaddeus Bellingshausen (1778 - 1852)

Thaddeus Bellingshausen - Russian navigator, participant in the first Russian circumnavigation of the world by I.F. Kruzenshtern. Leader of the first Russian Antarctic expedition that discovered Antarctica. Admiral. His name is given to the sea off the coast of Antarctica, the underwater basin between the continental slopes of Antarctica and South America, islands in the Pacific, Atlantic oceans and the Aral Sea, the first Soviet polar station on about. King George in the Southern Archipelago Shetland Islands. The future discoverer of the southern polar continent was born on September 20, 1778 on the island of Ezel near Arensburg in Livonia (Estonia).

Fyodor Litke (1797-1882)

Fyodor Litke - Russian navigator and geographer, count and admiral. Head of the round-the-world expedition and research on Novaya Zemlya and the Barents Sea. Discovered two groups of islands in the Caroline chain. One of the founders and leaders of the Russian Geographical Society. The name of Litke is 15 points on the map. Litke led the nineteenth Russian round the world expedition for hydrographic studies of little-known areas of the Pacific Ocean. Litke's voyage was one of the most successful in the history of Russian circumnavigations and had a great scientific significance. The exact coordinates of the main points of Kamchatka were determined, the islands were described - Karolinsky, Karaginsky, etc., the Chukchi coast from Cape Dezhnev to the mouth of the river. Anadyr. The discoveries were so important that Germany and France, arguing over the Caroline Islands, turned to Litka for advice on their location.

Apr 26, 2016

The age of great geographical discoveries has long ended, the world map is fully formed and full of tourist routes. Traditional holiday lovers enjoy. But there are those who do not stop at the known and constantly strive for new heights. the site tells about contemporaries for whom travel is not a vacation, but the meaning of life associated with the constant overcoming of the elements.

Russia owns a lot of both domestic and world geo- and ethnographic discoveries and research. At one time, the country was glorified by many travelers who mastered unknown lands. Centuries later, their exploits inspire our compatriots to new achievements - to repeat the historical route or create their own special one.

The heroes of our time set themselves a very realistic goal and approach it from a young age, or after a significant career path. Passion for travel generates project after project, inspiring people around the world for personal travel, and our heroes wholeheartedly share their successes by publishing books, participating in exhibitions of paintings and photos, uniting like-minded people.

Fedor Konyukhov was born and raised on the coast Sea of ​​Azov. He began to conquer the sea with his father on fishing boat and then independently. Sport, military service and study tempered character and brought up endurance, resourcefulness and courage, which will later manifest itself in expeditions to conquer the highest mountain peaks, water, air and land travel.

In the biography of Fyodor Konyukhov there is a significant moment when he receives from his grandfather the pectoral cross of the great conqueror of the north Georgy Sedov. The Russian explorer left him before his last trip to the North Pole in the hope that Mikhail Konyukhov would give the cross to the child who could reach the Arctic.

Fedor was able to achieve his cherished goal three times: following the route of the legendary Vitus Bering and recreating the conditions of that period; as part of the Soviet-Canadian transantarctic ski expedition, as well as having made a solo 72-day trek to the North Pole in 1990.

Subsequently, Fedor conquered in 59 days South Pole, participated in land and bicycle expeditions, carried out solo sea trips, 6 round-the-world voyages; climbed 7 peaks of the world, and this year he plans, bypassing 33-35 thousand km through the Tasman Sea, the Pacific Ocean, Chile, Argentina, the Atlantic Ocean, Cape Good Hope, Indian Ocean, go back.

Wherever was Russian traveler, his campaigns are connected with research and development activities Russian science as well as creativity. He is the author of 17 books and 3000 paintings.

Successful Russian businessman Sergey Dolya main reason travel called the fear of air travel.

Overcoming oneself led to a passion, which Sergey talks about in the Virtual Travelers Page blog, trying to introduce the uniqueness of each place visited, whether it be a village in the Russian outback, or a fishing village in Tanzania.

Photo reports are collected by exhibition halls, publications are formed into two full-fledged books, and Dolya sets herself new tasks: she fights against garbage dumps for the sake of the country, is rapidly losing weight for the sake of health, and visits the mystical Dyatlov Pass. Exprussia is considered the most patriotic project: in 2014 Share with like-minded people.

The founder of the Academy of Free Travel society, Anton Krotov, is the author of about 40 books about visiting the cities of Russia, Europe, Africa, Asia, America, as well as the features of a safe stay and hitchhiking, finding fellow travelers and sights of the usual way of life in these places.

The most important project of the traveler is the "House for All" that has existed since 2006 and has become a base for explorers in various countries.

The founder of the Ethical Ecological Movement (EDEM), Petersburger Vladislav Ketov, considers the preservation of life on earth and the protection of environment. For this, he received from the United Nations Organization for the Environment (UNEP) in 1995 the official status of a representative.

The bicycle, as an ecological mode of transport, and the desire to go through a unique route helped to put into practice the very first ever trip around the earth (along the coastline of the continents) from May 14, 1991 to June 3, 2012.

Having traveled 167,000 km and visited 86 countries, without passing through the war zones (Yugoslavia, the Middle East, Western Sahara, Angola, Mozambique, Northeast Africa and Arabian Peninsula, Cambodia, Colombia), mainly in difficult places, Ketov talked with local population, gave press conferences and drew graphic portraits for memory.

Vladimir Nesin

Vladimir has always been fond of a healthy lifestyle, sports (sambo) and hiking, so after retiring he took up hiking around the world barefoot. Currently, I have traveled more than 100 countries using only GPS gadgets and devices without a map. In 1999, he received the passport "Citizen of the World" in Australia and strives to pass on the experience to the younger generation.

Anatoly Khizhnyak

Sports hobbies prompted Anatoly Khizhnyak to travel alone. At the age of fourteen he had already crossed Kola Peninsula, and in 1991 he went to South America, where he walked 500 km through the Amazon jungle. Considered the best connoisseur of Peru in Russia.

He is called the Russian Indiana Jones, because he began his journey through South America without any understanding of the language, practically without a map, during a real war between the local population and almost died after staying in an Inca cave.

Leonid Kruglov

Traveler and documentarian Leonid Kruglov, based on latest facts and research, repeated the path of the first Russian world travel I.F. Kruzenshtern to create a complete reconstruction and documentary film. For 13 months, three oceans were crossed again on the legendary barque "Sedov".

Text: Olga Mikhailova

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 to prove or disprove 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 the history of 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 earlier, 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 in high latitudes and rejected the possibility of the existence of the 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 explored areas of the globe. An indisputable contribution to the study of the "unknown land" - as geographers called Central Asia - was made by Peter Semenov.

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

“My work on Asian geography led me to a detailed 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, mountain systems have been studied 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, the Kuril Islands and Sakhalin by the waters of the Pacific Ocean. 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 of ​​the lower reaches of the Amur and the northern shores of the Sea of ​​Japan, and annexed vast expanses of the Amur and Primorye to Russia.

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 through the northern waters from east to west, and during the voyage he managed to compile a true description of the northern coast of Eastern Siberia and many islands, received the most important information about currents and climate, and also became the first who made a through voyage from Vladivostok to Arkhangelsk.

The expedition members discovered the Land of Emperor Nicholas II, known today as Novaya Zemlya - this discovery is considered the last of the significant ones 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. Traveler Roald Amundsen, having learned about the success of Vilkitsky's voyage, could not resist exclaiming to him:

“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 a 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 said that the rivers in the open lands “are sable, there are a lot of animals, and fish, and the fish is big, there is no such thing in Siberia ... there are so many of them - just run a net and you can’t drag it out with fish ... ".