Geographical expeditions of the 18th-19th centuries. Development of geographical science in Russia of the 19th century Russian geographical researchers of the 19th and 20th centuries

The first Russian trip around the world on the ships "Neva" and "Nadezhda".

In the history of the first half of the 19th century, a number of brilliant geographical studies are known. Among them, one of the most prominent places belongs to Russian trips around the world.

At the beginning of the 19th century, Russia occupied a leading place in organizing and conducting circumnavigation and ocean exploration.

The first voyage of Russian ships around the world under the command of captain-lieutenants I.F. Krusenstern and Yu.F. Lisyansky lasted three years, like most circumnavigations of that time. This journey in 1803 begins an entire era of remarkable Russian expeditions around the world.

Yu.F. Lisyansky received orders to go to England to purchase two ships intended for circumnavigation. Lisyansky bought these ships, Nadezhda and Neva, in London for 22,000 pounds sterling, which was almost the same amount in gold rubles at the exchange rate of that time.

The price for the purchase of "Nadezhda" and "Neva" was actually equal to 17,000 pounds sterling, but for corrections they had to pay an additional 5,000 pounds. The ship "Nadezhda" has already been three years old since its launch, and the "Neva" is only fifteen months old. "Neva" had a displacement of 350 tons, and "Nadezhda" - 450 tons.

In England, Lisyansky bought a number of sextants, lel-compasses, barometers, a hygrometer, several thermometers, one artificial magnet, chronometers by Arnold and Pettiwgton, and more. The chronometers were tested by academician Schubert. All other instruments were Troughton's work.

Astronomical and physical instruments were designed to observe longitudes and latitudes and orient the ship. Lisyansky took care to purchase a whole pharmacy of medicines and anti-scorbutic agents, since in those days scurvy was one of the most dangerous diseases during long voyages. Equipment for the expedition was also purchased from England, including comfortable, durable clothing for the team that was suitable for various climatic conditions. There was a spare set of underwear and dresses. Mattresses, pillows, sheets and blankets were ordered for each of the sailors. The ship's provisions were the best. The crackers prepared in St. Petersburg did not spoil for two whole years, just like the corned beef, which was salted with domestic salt by the merchant Oblomkov. The Nadezhda crew consisted of 58 people, and the Neva crew of 47. They were selected from volunteer sailors, of whom there were so many that everyone who wanted to participate in a trip around the world could be enough to staff several expeditions.

It should be noted that none of the team members participated in long voyages, since in those days Russian ships did not descend south of the northern tropic. The task that faced the officers and crew of the expedition was not easy. They had to cross two oceans, go around the dangerous Cape Horn, famous for its storms, and rise to 60° N. sh., visit a number of little-studied coasts, where mariners could expect uncharted and undescribed pitfalls and other dangers. But the command of the expedition was so confident in the strength of its “officers and enlisted personnel” that they rejected the offer to take on board several foreign sailors familiar with the conditions of long voyages. Among the foreigners on the expedition were naturalists Tilesius von Tilenau, Langsdorff and astronomer Horner. Horner was of Swiss origin. He worked at the then famous Seeberg Observatory, whose director recommended him to Count Rumyantsev. The expedition was also accompanied by a painter from the Academy of Arts.

The artist and scientists were with the Russian envoy to Japan, N.P. Rezanov, and his retinue on board the large ship Nadezhda. "Nadezhda" was commanded by Krusenstern. Lisyansky was entrusted with command of the Neva. Although Krusenstern was listed as the commander of the Nadezhda and the head of the expedition at the Naval Ministry, in the instructions given by Alexander I to the Russian ambassador to Japan, N.P. Rezanov, he was called the main commander of the expedition. This dual position was the reason for the emergence of conflictual relationships between Rezanov and Krusenstern. Therefore, Kruzenshtern repeatedly submitted reports to the Directorate of the Russian-American Company, where he wrote that he was called upon by the highest order to command the expedition and that “it was entrusted to Rezanov” without his knowledge, to which he would never agree, that his position “does not consist only to watch the sails,” etc. Soon the relationship between Rezanov and Kruzenshtern became so tense that a riot occurred among the Nadezhda crew.

The Russian envoy to Japan, after a series of troubles and insults, was forced to retire to his cabin, from which he did not leave until his arrival in Petropavlovsk-on-Kamchatka. Here Rezanov turned to Major General Koshelev, a representative of the local administrative authorities. An investigation was ordered against Krusenstern, which took on an unfavorable character for him. Considering the situation, Kruzenshtern publicly apologized to Rezanov and asked Koshelev not to allow the investigation to proceed further. Only thanks to the kindness of Rezanov, who decided to drop the case, Kruzenshtern avoided major troubles that could have had fatal consequences for his career.

The above episode shows that the discipline on the Nadezhda ship, commanded by Kruzenshtern, was not up to par if such a high-ranking person vested with special powers as the Russian envoy to Japan could be subjected to a number of insults from the crew and the captain of the Nadezhda himself. It is probably no coincidence that the Nadezhda was in a very risky position several times during its voyage, while the Neva only once landed on a coral reef and, moreover, in a place where it could not be expected according to cards. All this leads to the assumption that the generally accepted idea of Kruzenshtern’s leading role in the first Russian trip around the world does not correspond to reality.

Although the ships were supposed to make the first part of the journey to England, and then across the Atlantic Ocean, bypassing Cape Horn, together, then they had to separate at the Sandwich (Hawaiian) Islands. "Nadezhda", according to the expedition plan, should have gone to Kamchatka, where she was supposed to leave her cargo. Then Kruzenshtern should have gone to Japan and delivered the Russian ambassador N.P. there. Rezanova with his retinue. After this, "Nadezhda" had to return to Kamchatka again, take a cargo of furs and take it to Canton for sale. The Neva's route, starting from the Hawaiian Islands, was completely different. Lisyansky was supposed to go "north-west, to the island of Kodiak, where the main office of the Russian-American company was located at that time. The Neva was supposed to winter here, and then it was supposed to take a cargo of furs and deliver it to Canton, where it was assigned meeting of both ships - "Neva" and "Nadezhda". From Canton, both ships were supposed to head to Russia past the Cape of Good Hope. This plan was carried out, although with retreats caused by storms, which separated the ships long ago, as well as long stops for the necessary repairs and replenishment of food.

Naturalists present on the ships collected valuable botanical, zoological and ethnographic collections, made observations of sea currents, temperature and density of water at depths of up to 400 m, tides and barometer fluctuations, systematic astronomical observations to determine longitudes and latitudes and established the coordinates of the whole a number of points visited by the expedition, including all the harbors and islands where there were anchorages.

If the special tasks of the expedition in the Russian colonies were successfully completed, then the same cannot be said about that part of the expedition’s plans that was associated with the organization of the embassy to Japan. Embassy of N.P. Rezanov was not successful. Although he was surrounded by attention and all kinds of signs of honor and respect upon his arrival in Japan, he failed to establish trade relations with this country.

On August 5, 1806, the Neva arrived safely at the Kronstadt roadstead. Cannon salutes from the Neva and response salvos from the Kronstadt Fortress rang out. Thus, the Neva spent three years and two months at sea. On August 19, Nadezhda arrived, which had been on a circumnavigation for fourteen days longer than Neva.

The first Russian circumnavigation constituted an epoch in the history of the Russian fleet and brought to world geographical science a number of new information about little-explored countries. A whole series of islands that were visited by Lisyansky and Kruzenshtern had only recently been discovered by sailors, and their nature, population, their customs, beliefs and economy remained almost completely unknown. These were the Sandwich (Hawaiian) Islands, discovered in 1778 by Cook, less than thirty years before they were visited by Russian sailors. Russian travelers could observe the life of the Hawaiians in its natural state, not yet changed by contact with Europeans. The Marquesas and Washington Islands, as well as Easter Island, have been little studied. It is not surprising that the descriptions of the Russian trip around the world made by Kruzenshtern and Lisyansky aroused keen interest among a wide range of readers and were translated into a number of Western European languages. The materials collected during the voyage of the Neva and Nadezhda were of great value for the study of the primitive peoples of Oceania and the North Pacific Ocean. Our first Russian travelers observed these peoples in the stage of tribal relations. They were the first to describe in detail the peculiar, ancient Hawaiian culture with its immutable laws of “taboo” and human sacrifice. The rich ethnographic collections collected on the ships "Neva" and "Nadezhda", together with descriptions of the customs, beliefs and even the language of the Pacific islanders, served as valuable sources for the study of the peoples inhabiting the Pacific islands.

Thus, the first Russian trip around the world played a big role in the development of ethnography. This was greatly facilitated by the great observation and accuracy of the descriptions of our first travelers around the world.

It should be noted that numerous observations of sea currents, temperature and water density, which were made on the ships Nadezhda and Neva, gave impetus to the development of a new science - oceanography. Before the first Russian voyage around the world, such systematic observations were not usually made by navigators. Russian sailors turned out to be great innovators in this regard.

The first Russian circumnavigation opens a whole galaxy of brilliant trips around the world made under the Russian flag,

During these travels, an excellent cadre of sailors was created who acquired long-distance navigation experience and high qualifications in the art of navigation, which is difficult for a sailing fleet.

It is interesting to note that one of the participants in the first Russian circumnavigation of the world, Kotzebue, who sailed as a cadet on the ship "Nadezhda", subsequently himself carried out an equally interesting circumnavigation on the ship "Rurik", equipped at the expense of Count Rumyantsev.

The expedition on the ships "Neva" and "Nadezhda" paved a new route to the Russian North American colonies. Since then, their supply of necessary food and goods has been carried out by sea. These continuous long-distance voyages revived colonial trade and in many ways contributed to the development of the North American colonies and the development of Kamchatka.

Russia's maritime ties with the Pacific Ocean have strengthened, and foreign trade has developed significantly. With a series of valuable observations along long-distance routes, the first Russian voyage around the world laid a solid scientific foundation for the difficult art of long-distance navigation.

Geographical discoveries of the era of Peter $I$

The end of the 17th century was marked by the access of Russian explorers and scientists to the Pacific Ocean, the discovery of Chukotka, and the description of the shores of Kamchatka.

In Russia, the end of the 17th century was marked by the accession to the throne of Tsar Peter $I$. The end of the $17th and beginning of the $18th centuries in Russia is called "Peter's times" or " the era of Peter I" These times were marked by a radical restructuring and breaking of previous stereotypes and structures of social life, economics, and domestic and foreign policy of Russia.

Peter $I$ sought to create a powerful state with, as they would say now, a competitive economy, independent of foreign suppliers. The development of production required a lot of raw materials. By order of the tsar, a number of expeditions were equipped to study the nature and mineral resources of the European part of Russia (especially the northern regions). The Corps of Military Topographers was created. Work has begun to clarify and systematize the maps of the “Russian State”. The positions of Russians in Siberia and the Far East were strengthened. The “Nerchinsk Peace” made it possible to clarify Russia’s border with China. In $1701, S. U. Remezov published the first domestic atlas - “Drawing Book of Siberia”. The most important achievement of geographical research in the “time of Peter” is considered to be the organization of the Kamchatka expeditions under the command of Vitus Bering.

The first Kamchatka expedition, led by Vitus Bering and Alexei Chirikov ($1725–$30), for the second time opened the strait between Eurasia and North America, explored the coast of Kamchatka, the Diomede Islands.

The second Kamchatka expedition $1733–43, led by V. Bering, entered the history of Russian geographical discoveries under the name of the Great Northern, sometimes called the Siberian-Pacific.

The Commander and Aleutian Islands were discovered, the shores of North America and the Kuril Islands were explored.

In the middle of the 18th century, five teams carried out a cartographic survey and description of the northern coast of Russia east of Arkhangelsk. In $1742, S.I. Chelyuskin reached the extreme northern point of Eurasia and put it on the map.

"Lomonosov" period of research

The middle of the 18th century deservedly bears the name “ Lomonosov period of study of Russia" It was he who initiated many areas of study of the nature of Russia. He summarized the material from studies of the nature of the Russian North, drew up diagrams of ice movement, and put forward the idea of the “Northern Sea Route”. To do this, he obtained equipment for the secret polar expedition of V. Ya. Chichagov. In addition, Mikhail Vasilyevich was the organizer of systematic cartographic and geodetic work for the geographical study of the country. Lomonosov was the first to try to identify economic regions on Russian territory. Thanks to his initiative, the richest collections of minerals were collected and exploration of many types of minerals was carried out. In the second half of the 18th century, the Russian Academy of Sciences organized a number of expeditions (they are known as academic) to study the Asian part of the country. These expeditions included such scientists as:

P.S. Pallas,
I.I. Lepyokhin,
S.G. Gmelin,
I.S. Georgi,
I.P. Falk
and etc.

Geographical discoveries in Russia in the 19th century

In the $1900s, the study of the nature of the interior regions of Russia continued by expeditions of the Academy of Sciences. Expedition A.F. Middendorfa explored Central Siberia from Taimyr to Krasnoyarsk. The south of the Far East was studied by G.I. Nevelskoy. He opened a strait between the mainland and Sakhalin, proving that Sakhalin is an island.
The riches of the Urals and Altai were studied.

Note 1

Some openings were, in fact, “closures.” For example, “Andreev’s Land” and “Sannikov’s Land” were not discovered.

But at the same time, the New Siberian Islands were discovered, and the system of Arctic currents was studied.

P. P. Semenov-Tyan-Shansky, who headed the Russian Geographical Society for more than $40 years, did a lot to study the nature of Russia. V.V. Dokuchaev, A.N. Krasnov, G.I. Tanfilyev studied the soil cover and natural zones of Russia.

The intensification of industrial relations also led to the intensification of geographical research of an applied and economic nature. Few people know that at the end of the 19th century the work of V. I. Ulyanov was published ( Lenin) "Development of capitalism in Russia." This work not only provided an analysis of the development and location of production forces, but also carried out a scientifically based economic and geographical zoning of the territory of Russia.

Modern geographical research

The beginning of the 20th century in Russia was marked by wars. First it was the Russian-Japanese war, then the First World War, which turned into a civil war. The military events were superimposed on the revolutionary events of 1905-1907 and 1917. During this period, all research programs were curtailed. Only from the $20s did peaceful life and, consequently, economic activity begin to improve. The industrialization of the $30s intensified further study of the natural resource potential of the young Country of the Soviets. Little-known areas of the Arctic were studied (expeditions of I. D. Papanin, O. Yu. Shmidt).

The Papanin expedition to the North Pole $1$ station made it possible to study the movement of ice and climate features in the polar region.

In the $30s, O.Yu. Schmidt headed the study of the seas of the Arctic Ocean and supervised the work of the Main Northern Sea Route.

At the same time, the territories of the Urals, Volga region, Western Siberia, Yakutia, Altai, Sayan, and Baikal region were surveyed.

Economic geography developed. Lev Semenovich Berg is considered the founder of economic geography in the USSR. And his textbook was for a long time the best textbook in economic geography.

During the Great Patriotic War, many scientific programs had to be curtailed again. But the results of pre-war expeditions made it possible to survive the loss of deposits of many minerals in the territory of the European part of the Soviet Union.

After the end of the war, the attention of scientists was drawn to the possibility of developing fertile virgin lands to quickly provide the country's population with food. A program for constructing a network of hydroelectric power stations (to produce cheap electricity) was also adopted. To protect the European part of the Soviet Union from dry winds from Asia, a system for constructing protective forest belts and forested areas was developed. These programs, unfortunately, were not always scientifically based, so in a number of cases economic losses were incurred. Taking into account such errors and miscalculations, since the second half of the 20th century, geographical science began to pay more attention to the environmental aspects of environmental management and the consequences of human influence on nature.

Such research now plays an important role in the active development of the regions of Siberia, the Far East and the Far North. Methods of aerial and space photography provide great assistance in modern research.

Note 2

Modern economic geographers pay attention to studying the location of production forces and resources, improving the economic zoning of the country's territory.

In 1803, on the instructions of Alexander I, an expedition was undertaken on two ships “Nadezhda” and “Neva” to explore the northern part of the Pacific Ocean. This was the first Russian round-the-world expedition, which lasted three years. It was headed by corresponding member of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences Ivan Fedorovich Kruzenshtern (1770-1846). He was one of the greatest navigators and geographers of the century. During the expedition, more than a thousand kilometers of the coastline of the island were mapped for the first time. Sakhalin. The participants of the trip left many interesting observations not only about the Far East, but also about the territories through which they sailed. The commander of the Neva, Yuri Fedorovich Lisyansky (1773-1837), discovered one of the islands of the Hawaiian archipelago, named after him. A lot of interesting data was collected by the expedition members about the Aleutian Islands and Alaska, the islands of the Pacific and Arctic oceans. The results of the observations were reported to the Academy of Sciences. They were so significant that I. F. Kruzenshtern was awarded the title of academician. His materials were used as the basis for the book published in the early 1920s. "Atlas of the South Seas". In 1845, Admiral Kruzenshtern became one of the founding members of the Russian Geographical Society and trained a whole galaxy of Russian navigators and explorers.

One of Krusenstern’s students and followers was Thaddeus Faddeevich Bellingshausen (1778-1852). He was a member of the first Russian round-the-world expedition, and after its return he commanded the frigate Minerva on the Black Sea. In 1819-1821 he was entrusted with leading a new round-the-world expedition on the sloops “Vostok” (which he commanded) and “Mirny” (Mikhail Petrovich Lazarev was appointed commander). The expedition project was drawn up by Krusenstern. Its main goal was “the acquisition of complete knowledge about our globe” and “the discovery of the possible proximity of the Antarctic Pole.” On January 16, 1820, the expedition approached the shores of Antarctica, unknown to anyone at that time, which Bellingshausen called the “ice continent.” After stopping in Australia, the Russian ships moved to the tropical part of the Pacific Ocean, where they discovered a group of islands in the Tuamotu archipelago, called the Russian Islands. Each of them received the name of a famous military or naval figure of our country (Kutuzov, Lazarev, Raevsky, Barclay de Tolly, Wittgenstein, Ermolov, etc.). After a new stop in Sydney, the expedition again moved to Antarctica, where islands were discovered. Peter I and the shore of Alexander I. In July 1821, she returned to Kronstadt. During 751 days of sailing, Russian ships covered a route of about 50 thousand miles. In addition to the geographical discoveries made, valuable ethnographic and biological collections, observation data on the waters of the World Ocean and the ice coverings of a new continent for mankind were also brought. Later, both leaders of the expedition heroically showed themselves in military service to the Fatherland. And M.P. Lazarev, after the defeat of the Turks at the Battle of Navarino (1827), was appointed chief commander of the Black Sea Fleet and Russian ports on the Black Sea coast.

The largest explorer of the Russian Far East in the mid-century was Gennady Ivanovich Nevelskoy (1813-1876). Having since the 18th century. vast possessions in the Far East, Russia never succeeded in developing them. Even the exact limits of the country's eastern possessions were not known. Meanwhile, England began to show attention to Kamchatka and other Russian territories. This forced Nicholas I, at the suggestion of the Governor-General of Eastern Siberia N.N. Muravyov (Amursky), to equip a special expedition to the east in 1848. Captain Nevelskoy was placed at its head. In two expeditions (1848-1849 and 1850-1855), he managed, bypassing Sakhalin from the north, to discover a number of new, previously unknown territories and enter the lower reaches of the Amur, where in 1850 he founded the Nikolaev Post (Nikolaevsk-on-Amur). expedition geography russia

On the world map of the late 18th - early 19th centuries. the outlines of Europe, Asia, Africa are correctly shown; with the exception of the northern outskirts, America is correctly depicted; Australia is outlined without major errors. The main archipelagos and largest islands of the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific oceans are mapped.

But inside the continents, a significant part of the surface is indicated on the map by “white spots”. Unknown to cartographers were the vast and uninhabited polar regions, almost three-quarters of Africa, about a third of Asia, almost all of Australia, and large areas of America. All these territories received reliable representation on the map only during the 19th century and at the beginning of our century.

The largest geographical achievement of the 19th century was the discovery of the last, sixth continent of the Earth - Antarctica. The honor of this discovery, made in 1820, belongs to the Russian round-the-world expedition on the sloops “Mirny” and “Vostok” under the command of F. F. Bellingshausen and M. P. Lazarev.

When creating a modern map, cartographic knowledge and geographical information of various peoples and different eras were generalized. Thus, for European geographers of the 19th century who studied Central Asia, ancient Chinese maps and descriptions were of great value, and when exploring the interior of Africa they used ancient Arab sources.

In the 19th century a new stage in the development of geography began. She began not only to describe the lands and seas, but also to compare natural phenomena, look for their causes, and discover the patterns of various natural phenomena and processes. During the 19th and 20th centuries, major geographical discoveries were made, and considerable progress was achieved in the study of the lower layers of the atmosphere, the hydrosphere, the upper layers of the earth's crust and the biosphere.

In the second half of the 19th century. Russian voyages from the Baltic to the Far East almost ceased due to the outbreak of the Crimean War, and then the sale of Alaska to the United States by the tsarist government.

Among the foreign expeditions around the world in the first half of the 19th century. The French expedition on the ship "Astrolabe" in 1825 - 1829 became famous for its geographical discoveries. under the Command of Jules Sebastian Dumont-Durville; During this journey, the northern shores of the islands of New Zealand and New Guinea were mapped.

The circumnavigation of the English ship Beagle in 1831-1836 was especially important in the history of science. under the command of Robert Fitz Roy. The expedition carried out extensive hydrographic work and, in particular, for the first time described in detail and accurately most of the Pacific coast of South America. The famous naturalist Charles Darwin traveled on the Beagle. Observing and comparing the nature of different regions of the Earth, Darwin later created a theory of the development of life, which immortalized his name. Darwin's teaching dealt a crushing blow to religious ideas about the creation of the world and the immutability of plant and animal species (see Vol. 4 DE).

In the second half of the 19th century. a new stage in the study of the ocean begins. At this time, special oceanographic expeditions began to be organized. The techniques and methods for observing the physical, chemical, biological and other features of the World Ocean have improved.

Wide-ranging oceanographic research was carried out by the English round-the-world expedition of 1872 -1876. on a specially equipped vessel - the sail-steam corvette Challenger. All work was carried out by a scientific commission of six specialists, headed by the head of the expedition, Scottish zoologist Wyville Thomson. The corvette covered about 70 thousand nautical miles. During the voyage, at 362 deep-sea stations (places where the ship stopped for research), the depth was measured, soil samples and water samples were taken from different depths, water temperature was measured at different horizons, animals and plants were caught, and surface and deep currents were observed. Throughout the entire journey, the weather conditions were noted every hour. The materials collected by the expedition turned out to be so large that a special institute had to be created in Edinburgh to study them. Many English and foreign scientists, led by voyage participant John Murray, editor of the works, took part in processing the materials

expeditions. The report on the results of research on the Challenger amounted to 50 volumes. The publication was completed only 20 years after the end of the expedition.

Challenger's research yielded a lot of new things and for the first time made it possible to identify general patterns of natural phenomena in the World Ocean. For example, it was found that the geographic distribution of sea soils depends on the depth of the ocean and the distance from the coast, and that the water temperature in the open ocean everywhere, except for the polar regions, from the surface to the very bottom is continuously decreasing. For the first time, a map of the depths of three oceans (Atlantic, Indian, Pacific) was compiled and the first collection of deep-sea animals was collected.

The Challenger voyage was followed by other expeditions. Generalization and comparison of collected materials led to outstanding geographical discoveries. The remarkable Russian naval commander and marine scientist Stepan Osipovich Makarov became especially famous for them.

When Makarov was 18 years old, he published his first scientific work on a method he invented for determining deviation 1 at sea. At this time, Makarov sailed on ships of the Baltic Fleet. One of these training voyages in 1869 on the armored boat “Rusalka” almost ended in the death of the ship. "Rusalka" ran into an underwater rock and got a hole. The ship was far from the harbor and would have sunk, but the resourceful commander sent it aground. After this incident, Makarov became interested in the history of shipwrecks and learned that many ships had died from underwater holes. He soon found a simple way to seal the holes using a special canvas plaster named after him. The “Makarov patch” began to be used in all fleets of the world.

1 Deviation - deviation of the magnetic needle of ship compasses from the direction of the magnetic meridian under the influence of metal parts of the ship.

Makarov also developed the design of drainage systems and other emergency devices on ships and thereby became the founder of the doctrine of the unsinkability of a ship, that is, its ability to remain on the water even if it has holes. This doctrine was later developed by the famous shipbuilder Academician A.I. Krylov. Makarov soon became famous as a hero of the Russian-Turkish war of 1877-1878. Seeing its inevitability, he achieved a transfer to the Black Sea even before the outbreak of hostilities. According to the Paris Peace Treaty, concluded after the Crimean War, Russia did not have the right to build warships on this sea until 1871 and therefore did not yet have time to create its own fleet here. Foreign military experts predicted complete freedom of action for the Turkish fleet in the Black Sea. However, thanks to Makarov, this did not happen. He proposed using fast merchant ships as floating bases for undecked mine boats. Makarov turned the passenger steamer “Grand Duke Konstantin” into a formidable combat vessel. The boats were launched into the water and used to launch a mine attack on enemy ships. Makarov also used a new military weapon - a torpedo, that is, a self-propelled mine. Stepan Osipovich destroyed and damaged many enemy ships, including armored ones; his dashing raids constrained the actions of the Turkish fleet and greatly contributed to Russia's victory in the war. The mine boats used by Makarov became the founders of a new class of ships - destroyers.

After the war, Stepan Osipovich was appointed commander of the steamship Taman, which was at the disposal of the Russian ambassador in Turkey. The ship was in Constantinople. Makarov decided to use his free time to study currents in the Bosphorus. He heard from Turkish fishermen that in this strait there is a deep current from the Marmara Sea to the Black Sea, it goes towards the surface current from the Black Sea. The deep current was not mentioned in any of the sailing directions; it was not shown on any map. Makarov in a four-boat went out into the middle of the strait, and the sailors lowered a barrel (anchor) filled with water with a heavy load tied to it on a cable. This “directly showed me,” he said, “that there was a reverse current below and quite a strong one, because the anchor of five buckets of water was sufficient to force the four to move against the current.”

Convinced of the existence of two currents, Makarov decided to study them carefully. At that time, they did not yet know how to measure the speed of deep currents. Stepan Osipovich invented a device for this purpose, which soon became widespread.

Makarov carried out a thousand measurements of current speed in various places of the Bosphorus from surface to bottom and made four thousand determinations of water temperature and its specific gravity. All this allowed him to establish that the deep current is caused by different densities of the waters of the Black and Marmara seas. In the Black Sea, thanks to the abundant river flow, the water is less salty than in the Marble Sea, and therefore less dense. In the strait at depth, the pressure from the Sea of Marmara turns out to be greater than from the Black Sea, which gives rise to a lower current. Makarov spoke about his research in the book “On the exchange of waters of the Black and Mediterranean Seas,” which in 1887 was awarded a prize by the Academy of Sciences.

In 1886-1889. Makarov circumnavigated the world on the corvette Vityaz. The voyage of the Vityaz forever entered the history of oceanography. This is the merit of Makarov and the officers and sailors who were passionate about him on the path of serving science. In addition to their daily military service, the corvette crew participated in oceanographic research. Already the first observations made on the Vityaz shortly after leaving Kronstadt led to an interesting discovery. The stratification of water into three layers, characteristic of the Baltic Sea in summer, was established: warm surface with a temperature above 10°, intermediate at a depth of 70-100 m with a temperature of no more than 1.5° and bottom with a temperature of about 4°.

In the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, the Vityaz sailors successfully carried out multilateral observations and, in particular, surpassed the Challenger expedition in accurately determining the temperatures and specific gravity of deep water.

The Vityaz remained in the Far East for over a year, making several voyages in the northern part of the Pacific Ocean, during which areas not yet visited by any oceanographic vessel were explored. The Vityaz returned to the Baltic through the Indian Ocean, Red and Mediterranean seas. The entire voyage took 993 days.

At the end of the voyage, Makarov carefully processed the huge material of observations on the Vityaz. In addition, he studied and analyzed the ship's logs of all circumnavigations of not only Russian, but also foreign ships. Stepan Osipovich compiled maps of warm and cold currents and special tables of the distribution of temperature and density of water at different depths. He made generalizations that revealed the patterns of natural processes in the World Ocean as a whole. Thus, he was the first to come to the conclusion that surface currents in all seas of the northern hemisphere, as a rule, have a circular rotation and are directed counterclockwise; in the southern hemisphere, currents move clockwise. Makarov correctly pointed out that the reason for this is the deflecting force of the Earth's rotation around its axis (the "Coriolis law", according to which all bodies when moving are deflected to the right in the northern hemisphere, and to the left in the southern hemisphere).

The results of Makarov’s research comprised the major work “Vityaz” and the Pacific Ocean.” This work was awarded a prize from the Academy of Sciences and a large gold medal from the Russian Geographical Society.

In 1895-1896 Makarov, already commanding a squadron, again sailed in the Far East and, as before, carried out scientific observations. Here he came to the conclusion about the need for the rapid development of the Northern Sea Route. This route, said Stepan Osipovich, “will bring to life the now dormant North of Siberia” and will connect the center of the country with the Far East as the shortest, and at the same time safe, sea road, far from foreign possessions. Returning to St. Petersburg, Makarov turned to the government with a project to build a powerful icebreaker to explore the Arctic, but stupid tsarist officials resisted him in every possible way. Then the scientist made a report at the Geographical Society in which he convincingly proved “that no country is as interested in icebreakers as Russia.” The most prominent scientists, including P. P. Semenov-Tyan-Shansky and D. I. Mendeleev, strongly supported Makarov’s project, and in October 1898, the world’s first powerful icebreaker “Ermak”, built according to Makarov’s drawings in Newcastle (England) ), was launched.

In the summer of 1899, Ermak, under the command of Makarov, made its first Arctic voyage. He penetrated to the north of Spitsbergen and carried out research in the Arctic Ocean.

New glory was brought to "Ermak" by the rescue of the battleship "Admiral General Apraksin", which ran into rocks off the island of Gotland during a snowstorm. During this operation, the great invention of A. S. Popov - radio - was used for the first time.

In 1904, the Russian-Japanese War began. Vice Admiral Makarov was appointed commander of the Pacific Fleet, whose actions, due to the indecisiveness of Makarov's incompetent predecessors, were limited to the passive defense of Port Arthur. In an effort to bring a turning point in the course of military operations, Makarov begins active operations, personally leading the military campaigns of formations of ships. March 31, 1904 The battleship Petropavlovsk, on which Stepan Osipovich was returning after repelling another attack by Japanese ships on Port Arthur, hit a mine. The battleship, which sank within a few minutes, became the grave of this remarkable man.

Makarov's research in the Bosphorus marked the beginning of the study of the Black Sea. In this sea in 1890-1891. The expedition worked under the leadership of Professor of the Maritime Academy Joseph Bernardovich Spindler. The expedition found that in the Black Sea to a depth of 200 m the water has lower salinity than in the underlying layers, and at a depth of over 200 m there is no oxygen and hydrogen sulfide is formed. In the central part of the sea, researchers discovered depths of up to 2000 m.

In 1897, Spindler's expedition explored the Caspian Gulf of Kara-Bogaz-Gol and found mirabilite in it, a valuable chemical raw material.

In 1898, the Murmansk scientific and fishing expedition began its work. She studied the possibilities of developing fisheries in the Barents Sea. This expedition, which worked on the research vessel “Andrei Pervozvanny”, was headed by professor, later honorary academician Nikolai Mikhailovich Knipovich. He was vice-president of the International Council for the Study of the Seas, created in 1898, for marine fisheries and the development of measures to protect the natural resources of the sea from predatory extermination.

The Murmansk expedition worked until 1906. It carried out a detailed oceanographic study of the Barents Sea and, in particular, compiled the first map of the currents of this sea.

The First World War of 1914 suspended exploration of our seas. They resumed under Soviet power, when they assumed a systematic character and an unprecedented scale.

The achievements of Russian scientists in the field of geographical research were of particular importance. Russian travelers We visited places where no European had ever set foot before. In the second half XIX century. their efforts were focused on exploring the interior of Asia.

Expeditions into the depths of Asia began Pyotr Petrovich Semenov-Tyan-Shansky (1827-1914), geographer, statistician, botanist. He made a number of trips to the mountains of Central Asia, to the Tien Shan. Having headed the Russian Geographical Society, he began to play a leading role in developing plans for new expeditions.

The activities of others were also associated with the Russian Geographical Society Russian travelers- P. A. Kropotkin and N. M. Przhevalsky.

P. A. Kropotkin in 1864-1866 traveled through Northern Manchuria, the Sayan Mountains and the Vitim Plateau.

Nikolai Mikhailovich Przhevalsky (1839-1888) He made his first expedition along the Ussuri region, then his paths ran through the most inaccessible areas of Central Asia. He crossed Mongolia and Northern China several times, explored the Gobi Desert, Tien Shan, and visited Tibet. He died on the way, at the beginning of his last expedition. In connection with the news of his death, A.P. Chekhov wrote that such “ devotees are needed like the sun». « Constituting the most poetic and cheerful element of society, he added, they excite, console and ennoble... If the positive types created by literature constitute valuable educational material, then the same types given by life itself are beyond all price».

Overseas Russian travel scientists in the second half of the 19th century. have become more targeted. If previously they were mainly limited to describing and mapping the coastline, now they studied the life, culture, and customs of local peoples. This is a direction that began in the 18th century. put by S.P. Krasheninnikov, it was continued Nikolai Nikolaevich Miklouho-Maclay (1846-1888). He made his first travels to the Canary Islands and North Africa. In the early 70s, he visited a number of Pacific islands and studied the life of local peoples. He lived for 16 months among the Papuans on the northeastern coast of New Guinea (this place has since been called the Maclay Coast). The Russian scientist won the trust and love of local residents. Then he traveled to the Philippines, Indonesia, Malacca, and returned again to " Maclay coast" The scientist’s descriptions of the life and customs, economy and culture of the peoples of Oceania were largely published only after his death.

World geographical science in those years relied heavily on the achievements of Russian researchers. By the end of the 19th century. The era of geographical discoveries has ended. And only the icy expanses of the Arctic and Antarctic still kept many of their secrets. The heroic epic of the latest geographical discoveries, in which Russian explorers took an active part, falls at the beginning of the 20th century.