Ivan Fedorovich Kruzenshtern (1770–1846) is not only a legendary navigator, admiral, honorary member of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences, but also a unique historical figure and one of the founders of Russian oceanology. This man had a tangible influence both on the history of domestic marine expeditions, and in general on all navigation as a whole. Not many people know that the author of the first “Atlas of the South Sea” was Ivan Fedorovich Kruzenshtern. A short biography of this Russian navigator is in school textbooks, it is held in all special educational institutions, since this name, which every educated person knows, is invariably associated with Russian oceanology, geography, etc.
Ivan Fedorovich Kruzenshtern: a brief biography
This Russian navigator, who was named Adam John at birth, came from the Ostseey Russified German noble family, the founder of which was his great-grandfather - Philip Crusius. Ivan Fedorovich Kruzenshtern, whose biography is closely connected with the sea, was born on November 8, 1770 in Estonia, in the estate of Hagudis. His father was a judge. From early childhood, the future admiral dreamed of circling the globe around the sea. And although his life was always connected with the sea, this dream was not immediately realized.
Ivan Fedorovich Kruzenshtern after the Revel church school, in which he studied for three years starting with twelve years old, immediately entered the only educational institution in those times in Kronstadt, which trained naval officers - the Marine Corps. The first campaign of the young midshipman in the water expanses was carried out in 1787 in the Baltic. Soon the Russian-Swedish war began. Like many others, Ivan Kruzenshtern, not having time to complete the training course, was prematurely called up for midshipmen on the battleship 74-gun ship Mstislav. It happened in 1788. Having distinguished himself in the Battle of Hogland in the same year, young Ivan was marked by command. And for his services in naval battles in the Vyborg Bay near Krasnaya Gorka and in Revel in 1790, he was promoted to lieutenant.
UK volunteering period
In 1793, twelve excellent officers were sent to England to improve naval affairs. Among them was Ivan Fedorovich Kruzenshtern. The biography of the future admiral from this time begins to sharply gain momentum. Leaving the Russian Empire, he sailed for a long time on the frigate Thetis off the northern coast of America, where he participated in battles with French ships more than once, visited Suriname, Barbados, and Bermuda. In order to study the East Indian waters, he went into the Bay of Bengal. His goal was to establish a route for Russian trade in this region.
Ivan Fedorovich Kruzenshtern, already being the Knight of the Order of St. George of the fourth class, became very interested in the fur trade in Russia and China, the route of which went through the land route from Okhotsk to Kyakhta. While in Canton, he had the opportunity to see the benefits that Russia could get from the direct marketing of its fur products to China by sea. In addition, despite his comparative youth, the future Admiral Ivan Fedorovich Kruzenshtern tried to establish a direct connection between the metropolis and the Russian possessions located in America in order to be able to supply them with everything necessary. In addition, he had already begun to seriously consider the grandiose round-the-world voyage project that had arisen from him even before the outbreak of the Swedish war, the main purpose of which could be to improve the Russian fleet with such distant routes, as well as the development of colonial trade. Therefore, sailing in the service in the waters of the Indian, Pacific and Atlantic oceans, this navigator studied all possible ways.
Homecoming
Having gained experience and gained strength, in 1799 Ivan Fedorovich returned to Russia six years later. In St. Petersburg, he tried to submit his project and ideas to the maritime department, but did not meet with understanding.
However, when in 1802 the main board of the Russian Ministry of Commerce began to make a similar proposal, Emperor Alexander I approved it, and in pursuance of it was decided to equip the world expedition. Just at that time, they remembered Kruzenshtern, inviting him to the king.
First circumnavigation
The sovereign, greatly inspired by the project, approved it and provided Kruzenshtern with the possibility of his personal implementation. Two small sailboats were appointed for the trip: the Nadezhda weighing 450 tons and the slightly lighter ship Neva. Kruzenshtern Ivan Fedorovich was to command the expedition and the main ship, the discoveries of which would later go down in the history of Russian navigation as one of the most significant. And the command of the sloop "Neva" was entrusted to his close comrade, Lieutenant Commander Yu.
A glorious journey started in early August 1803. Both ships simultaneously left the port of Kronstadt to embark on a long and very difficult journey. The main task that was set before the expedition was to study the mouth of the Amur River to discover new routes. This has always been the cherished goal of the Pacific Russian fleet, to which it was entrusted to old friends and classmates Kruzenshtern and Lisyansky. They subsequently had to endure many difficulties.
The ships were to wear a military flag. In addition to trade goals, the sloop Nadezhda was supposed to transport the Russian ambassador, chamberlain Rezanov, to Japan, who was obliged to organize trade relations with Japan. And in order to conduct scientific research from the Russian Academy of Sciences, the scientists Langsdorf with Tilesius and the astronomer Horner were seconded to the expedition.
Southern Hemisphere
After leaving the raid in Kronstadt, the ships sailed to the port of Copenhagen, to Falmouth, drove to the island of Tenerife, and already on November fourteen, crossing the equator, brought the Russian military flag to the Southern Hemisphere for the first time. During the whole voyage, Kruzenstern Ivan Fedorovich was engaged in the correction of maps, the search for new islands, and the shooting of the surrounding coast. What the great navigator discovered during this round-the-world voyage will become known a few years later, when he will publish his notes on this journey, presenting to the public a lot of interesting material about everything that he saw during the expedition.
Having reached the Brazilian Santa Catarina, the sailors found that the Neva needed a change of two masts, so I had to make a small parking lot. Having completed the repair, the ships headed further to cross the equator. Starting from this time, Kruzenshtern and Lisyansky could already be proud of their merits to their homeland. After all, the Russian flag first hit the Southern Hemisphere, which at that time really was a revolutionary step.
In February 1804, the round-the-world flotilla, circling Cape Horn, split. The reason was extreme weather conditions. By the end of April, Kruzenshtern managed to get to the Marquesas Islands, where the travelers reunited: in the port of Anna Maria, which would later become known as Nukagiva, Neva met with Nadezhda.
Passing by the Washington Islands, the first Russian round-the-world expedition continued its journey towards the north. But in May, near the Hawaiian Islands, the Neva and Hope again parted. The first ship sailed towards Alaska, and the second sailed to the shores of Kamchatka towards Japan. Since then, the Eskimo island Ingalik, which belongs to the United States, was officially named the island of Kruzenshtern.
Japanese part of travel
On September 26, 1804, the sloop Nadezhda arrived in Nagasaki. In Japan, Ivan Fedorovich Kruzenshtern was forced to stay until next year. The incredulous and extremely slow Japanese resolutely refused to accept the Russian ambassador. Finally, in April, the issue was resolved.
Kruzenshtern decided to return with Rezanov to Kamchatka through the Sea of ​​Japan, which at that time was completely unknown to sailors. On the way, he managed to explore the western shores of Nipon and Matsmay, as well as the southern and half of the eastern part of Sakhalin Island. In addition, Ivan Fedorovich determined the position of many other islands.
Mission completion
Having sailed to the port of Peter and Paul, having landed the ambassador, Kruzenshtern returns to the shores of Sakhalin, finishes his research, then, rounding it from the north, enters the Amur estuary, from where he returns to Kamchatka on the second of August, where, having replenished food supplies, Nadezhda goes to Kronshtadt. Thus ended the legendary round-the-world trip of Kruzenshtern, which was first inscribed in the history of Russian navigation. It fully justified the planned project, making up not only a new era, but also enriching geography and natural sciences with useful information about little-known countries. The sovereign very generously awarded Kruzenshtern and Lisyansky, as well as all other members of the expedition. In memory of this important event,
Alexander the First even ordered a special medal to be knocked out.
Summarizing
In 1811, Ivan Fedorovich Kruzenshtern, whose photo can be seen in any textbook of maritime schools and other special educational institutions, was appointed class inspector in the Naval Cadet Corps. However, the developing eye disease and not very successfully developing relations with the Tsar’s Minister of the Sea led him to ask for his dismissal from work and already on December 1815 go on indefinite leave.
Almost from that time, he began to develop detailed instructions for the round-the-world expedition, which took place from 1815 to 1818 under the leadership of Kotzebue, a junior officer on the first voyage. Kruzenshtern even went to England, where he ordered the necessary travel tools. And having returned, having received indefinite leave, he began to work on the creation of his “Atlas of the South Sea”, to which hydrographic notes were to be attached, which served as a parsing and explanation. Ivan Fedorovich, with the help of specialists, processed and created an excellent educational description of the trip with a large number of maps and drawings. This work, published in Russian and German, was translated into French, and subsequently into all European languages ​​without exception. He was awarded the full Demidov Prize.
Marine Corps Leadership
In 1827, Kruzenshtern became director of the Marine Corps. Almost at the same time, he became a member of the Admiralty Council. Sixteen years in the post of leader were marked by radical changes in this military educational institution: Ivan Fedorovich introduced new subjects for teaching, enriched the library and museums with many manuals. Fundamental transformations affected not only the moral and educational level. The admiral established an officer class, a physics office, and an observatory.
At the special request of Ivan Fedorovich, the corps became the Naval Academy in 1827.
Scientific and organizational activities
At the beginning of the Patriotic War, in 1812, Kruzenshtern, being a poor man, donated a third of his fortune to the people's militia . At that time it was a lot of money - a thousand rubles. In the same year he published his three-volume edition “Traveling Around the World ...”, and in 1813 he was elected a member of many scientific societies and even academies in England and Denmark, Germany and France.
Until 1836, Kruzenshtern published his Atlas of the South Sea, which contained extensive hydrographic notes. From 1827 to 1842, gradually rising in rank, he reached the admiral. Many outstanding travelers and sailors turned to Ivan Fedorovich for support or advice. He was the organizer of the expedition led not only by Otto Kotzebue, but also by Vaviliev and Shishmarev, Bellingshausen and Lazarev, Stanyukovich and Litke.
Physical training
According to contemporaries, Kruzenshtern stood out strongly in his surroundings, distinguished by an athletic physique, and excelled everyone in the expedition by his shoulder girdle and heroic chest. Interestingly, while traveling, despite the bewilderment of his colleagues, he carried kettlebells with him and worked with them daily. His favorite exercise was bench press.
In memory
Since 1874, in St. Petersburg, a monument to Kruzenshtern was erected by the architect Monighetti and sculptor Schroeder in front of the Marine Corps. It was built on private funds, although a small allowance was received from the state.
The strait, reef and barque are named after this great navigator. And in 1993, the Russian Bank issued commemorative coins of the series "The First Russian Around the World Travel".
The great Admiral Ivan Fedorovich Kruzenshtern was buried in the Tallinn Dome Cathedral.