Forgotten Russian explorers of the XVII century

Their names are remembered in the best pages of encyclopedias, and yet they have done for their time doing important and even heroic.

Forgotten Russian explorers of the XVII century

Every schoolboy knows about Athanasius Nikitin and his "Journey Beyond Three Seas", I heard about the Siberian pioneers Ermak and Semyon Dezhnev, expeditions Przewalski, Semenov-Tyan-Shan and Nicholas Roerich Central Asian life Maclay among the savages of New Guinea , Russian seafarer Krusenstern, Lazarev and Bellingshausen ... the material - of those who made many great discoveries and heroic deeds, these findings are followed, but undeservedly forgotten.

In the XVII century, Russia set our sights to the east. established diplomatic ties with China, and many pioneers went to Eastern Siberia, until then unknown to the land of Rus. Unfortunately, information about most of these explorers are fragmentary, sometimes even legendary. The date of their lives know about, and they made description of the marches lost. And yet, something we know about them.

Ivan Petlin

Forgotten Russian explorers of the XVII century

Siberian Cossacks from Tomsk Ivan Petlin (sometimes writing Petelin) led the first official Russian diplomatic mission in China. The expedition crossed the Western Sayan, Tuva and the Gobi Desert and in three months reached Beijing. By the Chinese emperor Cossacks, however, not allowed, but from his face, handed four letters addressed to the Russian Tsar. However, when the letters were brought to Moscow, it was found that read them, no one can. It is believed that if there was an expression of "Chinese puzzle". According to the results of his trip to China Petlin wrote a report entitled "Painting of the Chinese state, and Lobinskomu, and other states, residential and kochevnym and ulus, and the great Obi, and rivers, and roads." The document was considered confidential and stored in Ambassadorial order. But British spies managed to make a copy of it, and by the middle of the XVII century, "painting" has been translated into many European languages, becoming the notes after Marco Polo's second most important document in the history and geography of China. In Russia Petlina manuscript it was not published until 1818, and then in the form of translation from French.

Pantelei Penda

Forgotten Russian explorers of the XVII century

At the head of the order of 40 explorers Penda (or demid pyanda) first took place on the territory of Eastern Siberia and opened a variety of large and small rivers, the main of which was Elyuene (Evenki "big river"), that is, Lena. Penda detachment of the first alloy on the Angara and its famous rapids, but also proved that the Upper Tunguska and Angara - the same river. Unfortunately, Penda reports on his travels ( "Skaskiv") is not preserved. There are only a number of references to them from other pioneers of Siberia, which later passed on his feet.

Ivan Moskvitin

Forgotten Russian explorers of the XVII century

The name of the Spaniard Nunez de Balboa is known to every educated person. It was he who in 1513 was the first inhabitants of the Old World came to the Pacific Ocean by the Isthmus of Panama. But the Cossack Ataman Ivan Moskvitin such national fame, alas, is not rewarded. Although it made no less significant (and even more significant for Russia) feat. At the head of the 30 people he passed the whole of Siberia, climbing the taiga rivers and encountering fierce resistance from the local population. By the Okhotsk Sea Cossacks came near the mouth of the river Hive, where they built the first in the Pacific Russian jail. Hence, they have made several trips to the south and to the north along the Pacific coast, and then, having built two sailing vessels, the first time reached the coast of Sakhalin. With mined geographical information Ivan Moskvitin safely returned to Moscow, and they were used in the preparation of the first map of the Far East.

Mikhail Stadukhin

Forgotten Russian explorers of the XVII century

In contrast to many other Siberian pioneers, Michael Stadukhin was not a Cossack, and Pomorie. He was born on the Pinega River, near Arkhangelsk. But then fate brought him to Eastern Siberia, where he led several expeditions fur. Under the Stadukhin some time served and future famous pioneer Dezhnev. The main goal of most expeditions that time was to collect tribute, fur tribute from the local population. Across Siberia scoured dozens of similar groups. Fortunately, some chieftains not only looting, but were descriptions of lands visited by them. However, due to the fact that not everyone wanted to share their secrets with competitors often describe these were fragmentary, so Stadukhin stay in Kamchatka and Chukotka is semi-legendary character. However, it is possible that much of the information on their future geographical discoveries, in particular on the strait between Asia and America, Dezhnev got it from Stadukhin. For ten years his travels in northeast Siberia Mikhail Stadukhin was about 15 000 km - more than any other explorer of the XVII century.

Simon Little

Throughout the XVII century Russia tried to establish trade and diplomatic relations with India, but to no avail. In 1646 and 1654 respectively, two Russian embassy on their way to India, were detained by the Persian authorities. In 1675 the Moscow embassy, ​​led by a Tatar Muslim Muhammad Yusuf Kasimov could pass through Persia, and even crossed the border of the Mughal Empire, but then again they Kabul were not allowed. And then, finally, in 1698 another attempt was unsuccessful. This time at the head of a diplomatic mission was a merchant Semen Little. Embassy through Persia came to Bandar Abbas, standing on the shores of the Indian Ocean, and then by sea reached the Indian city of Surat, where has gone to Delhi. Sultan Aurangzeb honored Seeds Small audience and even allowed him to free trade across India. The merchant, of course, took advantage of this opportunity, and for three years visited many Indian cities: Agra, Bhopal, Burhanpur and others.

In 1701, the embassy safely returned to Moscow, but due to the outbreak of British expansion in India further contacts between Moscow and New Delhi for a long time interrupted.