Biography. Bering's northern expedition What Chirikov did for geography

Vitus Bering. Reconstructed image

On June 4, 1741, two small ships under the Andreevsky flag left Avacha Bay in Kamchatka. They headed southeast. This event was the beginning of the Second Kamchatka Expedition of Vitus Bering and Alexei Chirikov. More than eight years have passed since I left St. Petersburg. Such a considerable time was spent on preparatory and organizational work, obtaining the necessary resources and materials, and, most importantly, on a protracted stubborn struggle with the local bureaucracy, which was not accustomed to the supervision of the capital. The course that the expeditionary packet boats "St. Peter" and "St. Paul" were moving was chosen in advance, after long discussions and disputes. According to the maps available to the expedition, professor of astronomy Ludovic de la Croera, it was in the southeast direction that the mysterious and vast land of Juan de Gama should be sought. It was quite often depicted in their works by cartographers of the 18th century. None of those who took part in the meetings before sailing knew that the map presented by the professor was erroneous, and the land indicated on it was nothing more than a myth. This delusion played a certain role in the fate of the expedition, but there was still more to come.

The plans of the emperor

Peter I was active and energetic in nature. Throughout his reign, Russia had to fully taste the fruits of his labors and decisions. There were projects and ideas, conceived and implemented in time. There were those that the emperor, who died by no means at an old age, did not reach the hands of. The emperor was fascinated by the idea of ​​bringing his country out of the provincial wilderness, reaching rich and exotic countries in order to establish trade with them. The implementation of these royal aspirations required not only sharp soldier bayonets and guns of battleships and frigates. Detailed information was needed about distant lands and territories and finding ways to get to them. Back in 1713, an associate of the tsar, who for a long time was a naval agent in London, Fedor Saltykov, presented the idea of ​​building ships at the mouth of the Yenisei in order to bypass Siberia along the coast and find islands and lands that could be developed, or establish trade relations with China .

However, only in 1724, already at the end of his reign, Peter Alekseevich finally began to implement such a project, that is, to explore the route through the "Arctic Sea" to India and China. The sovereign believed that in this field the Russians could achieve great success and, as a result, get a shorter path to the sources of expensive colonial goods. In December 1724, Peter signed a decree on the organization of a geographical expedition with broad objectives. She had to finally find out the location of the strait between Asia and America, to study the Far Eastern coast of Russia and, first of all, Kamchatka. For this purpose, it was ordered to build two ships on the spot, on which it was planned to carry out sea trips.

The command of the expedition was entrusted to the Dane Vitus Jonassen Bering, who had been in the Russian service for 21 years. This choice was not accidental, and the emperor, scrupulous in personnel matters, would not put a random person in such a responsible post. Bering was born in 1681 in Copenhagen and at the time of his appointment was an experienced and competent officer - he was already 44 years old. After graduating from the cadet corps in Amsterdam in 1703, in the same year he went to Russia, which was in dire need of qualified and trained maritime personnel. An important role in making such a decision was played by Bering's meeting with Admiral Cornelius Kruys, who, on behalf of the tsar, dealt with personnel issues in Europe. By this time, Bering already had a voyage to the East Indies behind him.

The young sailor was without delay accepted into the Russian service with the rank of second lieutenant. He took part in the events of the Northern War, and in 1710 he was transferred to the Azov Fleet, where, already in the rank of lieutenant commander, he commanded the shabby Munker. After the unsuccessful Prut campaign and the end of the Russian-Turkish war, Bering again found himself in the Baltic, where the struggle with the still strong Sweden continued. The Dane served regularly and confidently moved up the ranks: in 1719 he commanded the Selafail ship, which made a difficult voyage from Arkhangelsk to Kronstadt, and later, in 1720, the Malburg and Lesnoye ships. The latter was at that time one of the largest ships of the Baltic Fleet, was armed with 90 guns. In the same year, Bering received the rank of captain of the 2nd rank. In 1724, at the time of the decision to organize the Kamchatka expedition, he was already a captain-commander.

First Kamchatka expedition

The territories where the expedition was to work were then little studied, and their location on the maps of the early 18th century was very approximate. According to one version, Peter I had at his disposal a map of Kamchadalia, compiled in 1722 by the Nuremberg cartographer I. B. Homan. On this document, a rather large land mass was depicted near Kamchatka, designated as the "Land of Juan de Gama." It was Bering's responsibility, among other things, to determine the exact location of this land and find out if it connected with North America.

Initially, the expedition consisted of 37 people. On January 24, 1725, in the last days of the reign of Peter I, she left St. Petersburg and headed through Siberia to Okhotsk. Subsequently, the personnel of the expedition expanded and at times reached 400 people, including soldiers, sailors and artisans. This path, in the then conditions - on foot, on horseback and on river boats - took almost two years. The long road was full of difficulties. The personnel suffered from frost, they had to starve - there were cases of death and desertion. At the last stage of the journey to Okhotsk, 500 km long, large-sized cargo was transported on sleds, to which people were harnessed as a draft force.

On October 6, 1726, with the advance detachment, Bering arrived in Okhotsk, where he had to wait for the rest of the expedition, divided into parties. In January 1727, the last of them arrived in this settlement, led by Martin Spanberg, also a Dane in the Russian service, like Bering himself. There was no place to accommodate personnel and property, so travelers had to settle in Okhotsk on their own, building and equipping their own dwellings in order to live in them until the end of the winter of 1726–1727.

Bering was assisted in this difficult task by his comrades-in-arms, among whom lieutenants Aleksey Ilyich Chirikov and Martyn (Martin) Petrovich Shpanberg stood out for their abilities and diligence. Chirikov was a young man born in 1703 into a noble family in the Tula province. The young man showed a talent for science and in 1715 became a graduate of the Moscow navigation school, and in 1721 - the St. Petersburg Naval Academy. The very next year after graduation, Chirikov was returned to the Academy as a teacher. His sharp mind and abilities largely influenced his appointment as assistant to Bering. Lieutenant Spanberg, who entered the Russian service relatively recently, in 1720, managed to establish himself as an experienced sailor, besides, he personally knew Bering.

During the long journey through Siberia, Alexei Chirikov determined 28 astronomical points, which made it possible for the first time to find out the true latitudinal extent of Siberia. After waiting for spring, the expedition moved further from Okhotsk. In the early autumn of 1727, she reached Bolsheretsk on two river boats, and from there people and cargo were transported by boats and dog sleds to the mouth of the Kamchatka River, where the Nizhnekamchatsky prison had been located since 1713. Sled dogs were mobilized - often by force - from the local population.

Here in the spring of 1728 the construction of an expeditionary vessel began. By the summer of the same year, the St. Gabriel boat was ready, on which Bering went to sea on July 14. The boat was moving north along the coast of Kamchatka, along with the navigation, the coastline was being surveyed. As a result, more than 600 km of the previously practically unexplored coastline was mapped. Discoveries of the Kamchatka and Ozerny peninsulas have been made. Having reached the southern coast of Chukotka, having made the discovery of the Gulf of the Cross, the Bay of Providence and the island of St. Lawrence on August 31, Bering did not land on the island and did not come close to the coast, but continued moving to the northeast.

"Saint Gabriel" met strong winds on its way, alternating with foggy weather, and the next time the land was seen from the board only on August 12. The next day, Bering, not seeing the coast anymore, decided to call a meeting. Having gathered Alexei Chirikov and Martyn Shpanberg in his cabin, he invited them to express their opinion on the following questions: should the fact of the existence of a strait between Asia and America be considered completely proven? And is there a need in this case to move to the mouth of the Kolyma, as was indicated in one of the numerous paragraphs of the instructions for the expedition? Chirikov suggested approaching the coast and continuing to move northeast until the mouth of the Kolyma or a strip of ice was reached. If the weather is unfavorable and accompanied by opposite winds, then no later than August 25, turn back and winter on the land opposite Chukotka, rich in forest, which was known from the Chukchi. I mean Alaska. Spanberg adhered to a cautious position, offering to go to the northeast until August 16, and then go to spend the winter in Kamchatka. As a result, Bering decided to move north to further clarify the situation.

On the afternoon of August 14, when visibility became more or less acceptable, land with high mountains was seen from the "Saint Gabriel" far to the west, most likely it was Cape Dezhnev. Vitus Bering and his companions did not yet know that almost 80 years before them, Russian Cossacks under the leadership of Semyon Dezhnev had passed through this strait, and this geographical place was actually discovered a second time. Having gone out into the sea, later called the Chukchi, the travelers made numerous measurements of the depths and other observations. However, it was already quite late for the Arctic voyages, and Bering gave the order to return. Two weeks later, "Saint Gabriel" returned to Nizhnekamchatsky prison, or Nizhnekamchatsk, where the expedition stayed for the winter of 1728-1729.

In the summer of 1729, Bering made an attempt to reach the American coast. "Saint Gabriel" left the parking lot on June 5, but three days later, after passing more than 100 miles to the east and meeting a strong wind on the way, he was forced to turn back. Having rounded Kamchatka from the south, having opened the Avacha Bay and the Kamchatka Bay, on July 24, 1729, the boat arrived in Okhotsk. During this trip, the members of the expedition described most of the eastern and some of the western coast of Kamchatka. If we take into account similar work carried out in the previous year, 1728, then the total length of the coastline explored by Bering and his companions reached almost 3.5 thousand km. From Okhotsk, Bering left for St. Petersburg with expedition reports and reports. He reached the capital after 7 months.

Senate instructions and preparations for the Second Kamchatka Expedition

During Bering's five-year absence, changes have taken place in Russia. Empress Anna Ioannovna now sat on the throne, whose thoughts were far from the projects of her great uncle. Based on the results of their voyages, Vitus Bering and Aleksey Chirikov created a detailed map, which was in use for a long time. Later, even such a famous English navigator as James Cook expressed his admiration for the cartographic work done. Of course, there were inaccuracies on the map made: Kamchatka was somewhat shorter than its original, the outlines of Chukotka were not entirely correct - however, this was the first document known in Europe, where hitherto completely unexplored lands were depicted.

After two months in St. Petersburg, having understood the new realities of the capital, Vitus Bering at the end of April 1730 submits memorandums to the Admiralty Board. In the first document, called "The Proposal", the Dane argued in a convincing manner that America was close to the Kamchatka peninsula and the need to establish trade and economic relations with the local population. Since the trip to the Far East and back through Siberia made a strong impression on Bering, in the same "Proposal" he spoke in favor of a more intensive development of this region - in his opinion, it was possible and necessary to extract iron ore, table salt and sow grain here. The second note, submitted to the Admiralty Board, expressed the need for further exploration of the coast of Asia, the prospective sending of ships to the mouth of the Amur and the Japanese Islands. In addition, Bering insisted on organizing a special expedition to the coast of America to study the issue of founding colonies and trading posts. The captain-commander expressed a desire to go back to the Far East and take a personal part in the new expedition.

Things in the reign of Anna Ioannovna were not resolved as dynamically as before, and memoranda from the Admiralty Board reached the Senate only by the end of 1730. Nevertheless, the documents presented by Bering did not become the prey of dusty chests and long boxes. After reviewing the reports and reports, the Russian Academy of Sciences admitted that the Kamchatka expedition, despite the successes achieved, did not achieve all the tasks set, and the exploration of Kamchatka and, in the future, the coast of America should be continued. In addition, it was necessary to make a voyage across the Arctic Ocean in order to study the possibility of laying a more convenient route to the Kamchatka Sea than by land. In fact, these were the ideas for the creation of the Northern Sea Route, the implementation of which became possible only much later.

Bering's projects, supplemented by scientists from the Academy of Sciences, risked drowning in a much more dangerous sea than Kamchatka - in the sea of ​​senate and court bureaucracy. However, they found an active ally - the chief secretary of the Senate, Ivan Kirillovich Kirilov. He was an outstanding person of his time: statesman, scientist, associate of Peter I, Kirilov is considered one of the founders of Russian academic geography. Cartographer, historian and jurist, he was a persistent supporter of establishing mutually beneficial trade between Russia and the East. In his accompanying note to Bering's materials, Kirilov listed the numerous benefits that Russia could receive from organizing a new expedition to the Far East. It should be noted that it was then that the idea was put forward to organize a round-the-world expedition from Kronstadt to the shores of Kamchatka. This plan was carried out only seventy years later by Ivan Kruzenshtern and Yuri Lisyansky on the sloops Neva and Nadezhda.

Having overcome all the bureaucratic delays, in April 1732 the highest decree on the organization and equipment of the Second Kamchatka Expedition followed, the leadership of which was again entrusted to Vitus Bering. It was supposed to take place as part of an even larger project, called the Great Northern Expedition. Its main tasks and goals were formulated by the chief secretary of the Senate, Ivan Kirillovich Kirilov, and the president of the Admiralty Board, Nikolai Fedorovich Golovin. It was supposed to carry out extensive and comprehensive studies of the northern lands, Siberia and the Far East.

To implement this plan, it was planned to equip 8 research detachments, each of which would have its own task and region of study and act independently of the others. Bering's detachment was supposed to cross Siberia, reach Kamchatka and begin exploring the shores of America. In addition, it was necessary to find out the fact of the existence of the so-called "Land of Juan de Gama", which still worried the minds of many scientists. To help Bering, they gave his already proven travel companion Alexei Chirikov, who by that time had already received the rank of lieutenant commander. Another comrade-in-arms of the captain-commander, Dane Martyn Spanberg, now received an independent task: to map in detail the little-studied Kuril Islands and then sail to the shores of Japan.

The work of the Great Northern Expedition was expected to be completed in 6 years, a significant amount was allocated for the equipment of the detachments included in it - 360 thousand rubles. The Russian Academy of Sciences sent a large group of scientists, which became the Academic Detachment of the Great Northern Expedition.

The second time through Siberia to the Far East

At the beginning of 1734, Vitus Bering and his people concentrated in Tobolsk. From here they sent several geodetic parties to explore the northern lands. In fact, it was Bering who was entrusted with the task of coordinating the actions of individual detachments of the Northern Expedition. At the end of October of the same year, Bering arrived in Yakutsk, where he had to spend three years. It was not an empty and useless pastime - the efforts of the captain-commander and his associates organized the construction of an ironworks, a rope workshop for the manufacture of rigging for future ships of the expedition. The necessary equipment and food was prepared and sent to Okhotsk.

Nevertheless, the captain-commander left the city and went to Okhotsk only after he was convinced that his people were provided with food in the proper amount. In Okhotsk, I again had to face the "full assistance" of the local authorities. Bering had a frankly bad relationship with the commandant of the city. The “all-seeing eye” of the Admiralty College, which for some reason considered itself to be such only because of the generous flow of denunciations that came from Siberia, irritably urged the captain-commander, openly reproaching him for sluggishness, pointing out that the ships should have already been built , and the sails are sewn, and it is necessary not to write reports, but to set sail as soon as possible. The high officials of the capital were unaware that the difficulties that Bering faced were not at all caused by his slowness, but that local conditions were similar in complexity to the fortress of the Arctic ice and almost equally insurmountable.

Packet boat "St. Peter" (drawing, XIX century)

Meanwhile, in Okhotsk, under the guidance of shipbuilders Makar Rugachev and Andrei Ivanovich Kuzmin, the construction of two expeditionary ships, the packet boats St. Peter and St. Paul, was coming to an end. These two-masted ships had a displacement of about 200 tons and were armed with 14 guns. At the beginning of July 1740, the packet boats were launched, and their equipment for future navigation began. In September of the same year, Vitus Bering sailed from Okhotsk to Kamchatka, where a convenient bay was opened on the eastern coast, which received the name Petropavlovskaya. Here both ships and their crews hibernated. In the spring of 1741, final preparations began.

To the shores of America

A few weeks before the proposed departure, a meeting of officers and navigators took place, at which a route was worked out. Based on an inaccurate map in the possession of Professor de la Croer, with the notorious "Land of Juan de Gama" marked on it, they decided to head southeast - for its discovery and further study. This decision was recorded in a written protocol.

On June 4, 1741, the flagship "St. Peter" under the command of Bering and "St. Paul", whose commander was Alexei Chirikov, left the Avacha Bay. For almost two weeks, the ships moved southeast, trying to find something that was not there. Finally, when all possible calculations and deceived expectations showed that there was no land in this area, Bering ordered a change in course to the northeast. The expedition was just wasting time and supplies. On June 20, a thick fog shrouded the sea, in which "St. Peter" and "St. Paul" lost each other. Bering spent three days looking for Chirikov, going south about 200 miles. But it was all in vain. Further, the ships followed to the shores of America on their own.

On July 17, 1741, land with snow-capped mountains was finally seen from the board of the St. Peter. Subsequently, the highest of them was named Mount St. Elijah. The expedition members congratulated Bering on the long-awaited discovery, but he did not show joy, and according to the observations of those around him, he was gloomy and taciturn. Even then, the sixty-year-old captain-commander showed malaise.

"Saint Peter" headed along the coast to the west, and three days later Kayak Island was discovered at 60 degrees north latitude. A little to the north, a convenient bay was noticed, which was used to replenish fresh water from the shore. Already being sick, Bering himself did not land on American soil. Traces of human habitation were found on the shore: dwellings, utensils and hearths. Probably, the locals fled when they saw a construction that was unprecedented for them - a sailing ship.

On July 21, the ship continued its journey to the west - the weather was rainy and cloudy. Almost a third of the team suffered from scurvy, Bering himself did not get out of bed. On August 2, Tumanny Island (later Chirikov Island) was discovered. On August 10, when there were already many patients on board, Bering decided to return to Kamchatka. On August 29, treeless and deserted islands were discovered off the southwestern tip of Alaska, on which a sailor, the first to die from scurvy, was buried a couple of days later. Subsequently, this disease will still reap its harvest. In this place, "St. Peter" stood for about a week, and the first contact with the natives immediately took place.

September 6 packet boat went to sea and followed the course to the west. At times, a mountainous land appeared on the horizon - the Aleutian Islands. There was not enough provision. There were more and more patients, which made it difficult to control the ship. Often sailors on watch at the helm were taken under the arms of their healthier comrades. Not having maps of the area in which they were, the officers of the packet boat led it exclusively by the stars. The stormy sea drove the "St. Peter" to the north.

On November 4, the land with snow-covered mountains appeared. The crew mistook her for Kamchatka, but it was an island. Not finding a suitable harbor for parking, "Saint Peter" anchored near the shore. This played a fatal role in his fate. Twice the anchor ropes were torn, and in the end the waves and the wind landed the ship on the rocks.

The death of Bering, wintering and the end of the expedition

Realizing that the ship was no longer fit for further navigation, the crew, as soon as the weather allowed, began disembarking. It was November 8th. It soon became clear that the discovered land was not Kamchatka at all, but an island, the shores of which were dotted with driftwood. Six rectangular holes were dug on the shore, which were covered with canvas - they became the dwellings of travelers for the coming months. All possible supplies and equipment were unloaded from the ship. Bering himself, already seriously ill, was transported on a stretcher. Of the crew of 75 people, shortly after landing on the island, 20 died of scurvy. Of the remaining, no more than a dozen could stand on their feet. Exhausted, Captain-Commander Vitus Bering lay in the dugout for almost a month. At his request, he was half-covered with sand - the patient said that he was warmer that way. On December 6, 1741, the brave pioneer passed away.

Cross on Bering's grave on Bering Island (Commander Islands)

Bering was buried in the land of the island, which was later named after him. And all the islands of the archipelago were called Commander Islands. The command of the crew was taken over by senior officer Sven Waxel, a Swede by nationality. Together with him, his ten-year-old son, taken on a voyage, experienced all the hardships of wintering. Subsequently, Lavrenty Vaksel became an officer in the Russian fleet. By the middle of winter, only 45 crew members remained alive. Fortunately, the island was full of fuel, there were many arctic foxes on it, and off the coast there were marine mammals that have died out by now, which were called sea cows.

The St. Peter, dilapidated by winter storms, was dismantled and a small evacuation vessel was built from its components. Since both ship's carpenters had died by this time, difficulties arose during the construction, since none of the officers and navigators was a ship's master. The situation was saved by the Krasnoyarsk Cossack Savva Starodubtsev, who took part in the construction of packet boats in Okhotsk. With his help, it was possible to build a small ship, also called "Saint Peter". Subsequently, according to the report of Waxel, Starodubtsev was awarded the nobility for these merits. On August 9, 1742, the new "St. Peter" was launched. On August 13, the travelers left the island that sheltered them and on the 29th of the same month they safely reached the Peter and Paul prison in Kamchatka.

The voyage of the St. Paul packet boat turned out to be shorter and ended happily. Having lost sight of his flagship, Alexei Chirikov, on the night of July 14-15, noticed the land, which turned out to be a group of islands. 11 people who landed on the shore, and then 4 more people went missing along with the boats, which made the task of replenishing fresh water difficult, and on July 25 it was decided to return to Kamchatka. Passing along the Aleutian Islands, on October 10, 1741, "Saint Paul" returned to Petropavlovsk.

Real image of Vitus Bering

For a long time, the exact burial place of Vitus Bering remained unknown. In 1991, when Bering and Chirikov’s voyage to the shores of America turned 250, the Adventure Club, led by the famous journalist and researcher Dmitry Shparo, together with the Institute of Archeology of the USSR and with the support of others, including Danish organizations, carried out an expedition to the island Bering. As a result of the excavations, the grave of the captain-commander was found, his remains were removed and sent to Moscow for examination. Subsequently, they were returned and reburied on Bering Island. As a result of the research, it was possible to restore the true appearance of the famous pioneer. The well-known image allegedly of Vitus Bering actually belongs to his own uncle, a Danish court poet of the 17th century. The original appearance of the captain-commander was restored.

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The Great Northern Expedition was carried out by Russian sailors along the Arctic coast of Siberia, to the shores of North America and Japan in 1733-1743. The expedition consisted of seven independent detachments, each of which was assigned its own section. Vitus Bering was assigned to lead the Great Northern Expedition. His tasks included not only coordinating the work of the entire expedition, but also the direct leadership of one of its detachments. Aleksey Chirikov was again appointed as Bering's assistant, as in the First Kamchatka Expedition. Bering and Chirikov were supposed to cross Siberia and head from Kamchatka to North America to explore its coast.

All the necessary equipment and food for the expedition was prepared by the summer of 1740. At the same time, in Okhotsk, under the guidance of shipbuilders Kozmin and Rogachev, the construction of two ships was completed. On September 8, 1740, the packet boats "Saint Peter" under the command of Bering and "Saint Paul" under the command of Chirikov left Okhotsk. The ships passed between the southern tip of Kamchatka, called Cape Lopatka, and the northernmost of the Kuril Islands. Having passed the strait on September 26, they continued to head northwest towards Avacha Bay. On September 27, the packet boats approached Avacha Bay, but then they encountered thick fog and stormy weather, so they were forced to put to sea again. Finally, on October 6, 1740, the expedition members managed to enter the Avacha Bay and on the same day to get to the wintering place, which they called the Peter and Paul Port, since both ships, bearing the names of Saints Peter and Paul, were the first ships to use this harbor. A settlement was founded here, from which the capital of Kamchatka, the city of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, began its history.

Throughout the winter, there were discussions between the officers about the further route. A council was convened from all the officers and navigators, to which, according to the instructions, the professor of astronomy Delacroyer, a Frenchman, attached to the expedition, was invited. The opinions of the council members were divided: there were proposals to sail to the northeast, to the east, and Delacroyer suggested sailing to the southeast, where, in his opinion, the so-called land of Juan de Gama should be located. After discussion, it was decided to explore this land, and then continue on to the shores of America.

2 Cape St. Elijah

On the morning of June 4, 1741, "St. Peter" and "St. Paul" left Avacha Bay. The members of the expedition hoped to meet such deadlines in order to return here again by the end of September.

Having reached 47 ° with. sh., where the mythical land was supposed to be, the participants of the voyage came to the conclusion that it does not exist, and the time and effort of the expedition were wasted. The ships turned north. Navigation conditions were difficult, storms and thick fogs interfered. In order not to get lost in the fog, on the ships they fired cannons or beat the bell. On June 19, neither the shots nor the blows of the bell helped - the ships parted. For three days, Bering and Chirikov tried in vain to find each other, after which Bering gave the order to move north, and Chirikov headed northeast.

For about four weeks, "St. Peter" continued to sail to the western shores of America. In the first half of July, the obscure outlines of the earth became visible along the course of the ship - the ship was sailing along the Aleutian Islands. On July 16, 1741, the expedition members finally saw the coast with high mountain ranges covered with snow. It was the long-awaited America.

“We sailed further, trying to get closer to the shore, but due to the small strength and changeability of the wind direction we could not reach it earlier than July 20, when in the evening at 6 o’clock we anchored at a depth of twenty-two fathoms on soft clay soil near a rather large an island off the mainland. At 8 pm, we sent a boat to the shore with the task of finding fresh water and our large boat with the fleet master, now the captain, Sofron Khitrovo, in order to explore the bay and coast in more detail and find out if there was a more convenient raid or harbor. The boat soon returned to the ship, and Khitrovo reported that there was a good roadstead in the passage between several islands located at a close distance, in which you can hide from winds of almost all directions, ”wrote Sven Waxel, a member of the expedition. By that time, Bering was already feeling unwell, so he did not even land on the American coast.

Khitrovo told the expedition members that on one of the islands he discovered several small buildings. He noted that the locals obviously have axes and knives, as their buildings are sheathed with smooth boards and decorated with carvings. Bering sent the naturalist Steller to the island, accompanied by the Cossack Lepekhin. Steller spent 10 hours on the shore, during which time he examined the dwellings of the Indians, compiled a description of about 160 species of local plants, as well as a description of some representatives of the fauna (seals, whales, sharks, sea beavers, foxes, several species of birds, including crested jay later named after him).

The expedition members replenished fresh water supplies, and on July 21 at 6 o'clock in the morning they moved away from this place. On the map, they marked the name of this place “Cape St. Elijah", since it was a long protruding strip of land, and according to the calendar, the day on which they arrived at this place was designated the day of St. Elijah. Later, already in the 19th century, the island was named Kayak.

3 Shumagin Islands

The expedition continued its journey, moving west. By the end of August, the expedition members began to become very ill with scurvy. The supply of fresh water gradually came to an end, and it was decided to search for land again. On August 29, the crew of the St. Peter saw the land from the north, and on August 30, anchored between several islands. The islands were designated Shumaginsky, since the first deceased member of the team, under the name Shumagin, was buried there.

Despite the poor quality of water, it was decided to stock up on it in maximum quantities. This took a whole day. At night, the expedition members noticed a fire on the shore of a nearby small island. The next day a boat was prepared and six people, including an interpreter, set out for the island. They sailed from the ship in the morning and safely reached the island, where they found a fire in which the fire had not yet gone out, but the people had already disappeared.

Meeting of Russians with Aleuts (drawing by Sven Waxel)

After exploring the island, the crew again went to sea, but was forced to return, as a southwestern storm broke out, accompanied by heavy rain. On September 5, they again tried to go to the open sea, but due to a strong southwest wind they were forced to turn back again. However, these delays allowed the expedition members to get to know the locals. From one of the nearby islands, they heard the voices and cries of people and saw a fire built there. Soon two small kayaks made of seal skins appeared. There was one person in each kayak. They swam up to the "St. Peter" and gestured to come ashore to them. Three crew members were sent ashore. This is how the first meeting with local residents, the Aleuts, took place.

4 Bering Island

The return journey was difficult. Fogs and storms hindered the movement of the ship. Water and supplies were running out. Scurvy plagued people. "Saint Peter" drifted by sea until November 4, when at 8 o'clock in the morning the ship's crew saw the land - high mountains covered with snow. The ship approached the earth already with the onset of darkness. By evening the wind began to pick up. "St. Peter "anchored not far from the coast, but the blow of the wave tore him off the anchor and threw him over the reefs into a deep bay near the coast, where the excitement was not so strong. The ship was badly damaged, but managed to anchor.

On November 6, the ship's crew began disembarking. For almost two weeks, the more healthy members of the expedition transported sick comrades ashore. Bering was transferred on a stretcher to a dugout specially prepared for him. Nine people died during the landing. On November 28, an anchored packet boat was washed ashore by a storm. The sailors did not attach much importance to this incident, as they were sure that they were in Kamchatka and would be able to establish contact with the locals. However, the members of the expedition sent by Bering for reconnaissance, having climbed the mountain, found that the place of their landing was an uninhabited island. The whole earth was covered with snow, a small river flowed from the mountains with excellent fresh water, no forest grew on the shore. We had to spend the winter in dugouts covered with tarpaulin.

Captain Vitus Bering died on December 6, 1741. This island would later be named after him. The surviving sailors were led by Sven Waxel. Having survived the winter storms and earthquakes, the team was able to hold out until the summer of 1742. On the island it was possible to hunt arctic foxes, sea otters, sea cows, and, with the advent of spring, fur seals. The hunt for these animals was very easy, because they were not at all afraid of humans. In the spring of 1742, construction began on a small single-masted ship from the remains of the dilapidated St. Peter. There was no specialist in shipbuilding among the naval officers, the brigade of shipbuilders was headed by the Cossack Savva Starodubtsev, a self-taught shipbuilder, who during the construction of expeditionary packet boats in Okhotsk was a simple worker, and later was taken to the team. By the end of summer, the new "St. Peter" was launched. It had much smaller dimensions: the keel length was 11 meters, and the width was less than 4 meters.

Death of Vitus Bering

The surviving 46 people in terrible crowding went to sea in mid-August, four days later they reached the coast of Kamchatka, and nine days later, on August 26, 1742, they went to Petropavlovsk.

"Saint Paul" under the command of Chirikov on July 15, 1741 reached the land near the coast of America in the region of 55 ° 11 "N and 133 ° 57" W. e. Having not found a suitable place for the vessel to anchor, the expedition continued its journey and on July 17 stopped at latitude 57 ° 50 ". A boat with ten sailors was sent ashore to reconnoiter the surroundings and find a parking place. For several days, the group was expected to return on the ship and then in search of them it was decided to send a boatswain with a sailor and two carpenters. This group also did not return back. After passing along the coast of America for about 400 miles, on July 26, Chirikov decided to go back. Scurvy broke out on the ship, and by the end of September there was not a single healthy person among the crew. The sailors were dying one by one. Chirikov was also sick, and from September 20 he could no longer leave the cabin. The ship was taken over by the navigator Elagin. On the morning of October 6, the navigator finally noticed the coast of Kamchatka in the distance, and On October 9, the ship anchored in the Avacha Bay.

Having wintered in the Avacha Bay and recovered from his illness, at the beginning of the summer of 1742, Chirikov, with the surviving members of the crew of the St. Paul, again set sail for the shores of America. The expedition managed to reach the western island of the Aleutian Ridge (Attu Island), but strong winds and fog prevented the voyage from continuing. On the way back, the packet boat passed within sight of the island on which the sailors from the wrecked St. Peter were located. On July 1, 1742, Chirikov returned to Kamchatka, from where the expedition members went to Okhotsk.

ALEXEY ILYICH CHIRIKOV

Among Russian navigators, A.I. Chirikov, whose name is directly associated with the great geographical discoveries in the Pacific Ocean, which have enriched world geographical science. Back in the middle of the 19th century, in the article “Chirikov and Bering”, the historian A.P. Sokolov showed that Chirikov excelled his boss both as a skilled sailor and as a scientist. It should also be noted that back in the 18th century M.V. Lomonosov wrote that Chirikov was the chief leader of the 2nd Kamchatka Expedition (2nd Siberian-Pacific Expedition).

Alexei Ilyich Chirikov was born in 1703 into the family of a small estate nobleman in the Moscow province. He received his initial upbringing in the family of his own uncle, who lives in Moscow.

In 1715, at the age of twelve, Alexei was sent to the Mathematics and Navigation School, and a year later he was transferred to the 6th Naval Academy, created in the new Russian capital. Chirikov was one of the 20 best students of the School of Mathematics and Navigation who were transferred from Moscow to St. Petersburg.

In 1721, Chirikov graduated from the Naval Academy, and for excellent academic progress he was promoted, bypassing the rank of midshipman, to non-commissioned lieutenant. The following year he was assigned to the Baltic Fleet. Service on ships helped Chirikov expand his theoretical knowledge in astronomy, artillery and navigation.

Shortly before the start of the 1st Siberian-Pacific Expedition, Chirikov received an appointment as a navigation teacher at the Academy. For his teaching talent and ability to present material, he was repeatedly praised by the Admiralty Collegiums, which indicated that “Chirikov was the most skilful in training midshipmen and naval officers.”

Chirikov's reputation as a skilled navigator was the main reason for his appointment to the 1st Siberian-Pacific Expedition led by Vitus Bering. Shortly before the start of the expedition, Chirikov was promoted to lieutenant.

In March 1728, Chirikov, together with Bering, arrived in Nizhnekamchatsk, where a small sailing ship, St. Gabriel”, on which the expedition members went to sea in July.

After approaching the island of St. Lawrence, the question arose about the future plan of the expedition. Bering could not answer himself the question whether to continue sailing or return to Kamchatka? He convened a "council" - a council of officers, at which he expressed his opinion, saying that the continuation of the voyage was useless and dangerous and that one should return to Kamchatka, where to find harbors for wintering.

However, he met the objections of Chirikov, who insisted on continuing the voyage, since the main task of the expedition - to find out whether America connects with Asia - could not be solved. Chirikov advised to go to the mouth of the Kolyma or to the ice, where to make a thorough search.

But Bering was afraid to violate the instructions of the Admiralty Colleges and rejected Chirikov's proposal, although the state of the ice made it possible to reach the mouth of the Kolyma by August 25 and fulfill the set goal there.

On March 1, 1730, Bering returned to St. Petersburg, where he reported to the Admiralty Boards that Asia and America were separated from each other by a strait. But Chirikov still insisted on continuing the voyage, since he considered the existence of a bridge connecting America and Asia to the west of the place where the St. Gabriel".

Both Bering and the Admiralty Board praised Chirikov's role in the 1st Siberian-Pacific Expedition. The Admiralty Board noted that Chirikov, "being on this expedition as well as on others where he was used in teams ... showed himself to be thorough and serviceable as a skilled naval officer should be."

All this was the reason for the appointment of Chirikov as the first assistant to Bering in the 2nd Siberian-Pacific expedition. Captain-Commander Bering was asked to act "with general agreement with Captain Chirikov on marine science." Shortly before the start of the expedition, he was promoted to captain of the 1st rank.

Having got acquainted in St. Petersburg with the instructions of the Admiralty Colleges, Chirikov expressed his own assumptions, saying that America itself is not so far from Chukotka. “And you can be sure and inform about America without reaching the Zidu to the Spanish possession.” Chirikov's assumptions were approved by the Admiralty Board, but during the expedition itself, disagreements began to arise between Bering and his assistant.

Bering tried not to deviate a single step from the instructions received at the Admiralty Collegium. Chirikov himself, distinguished by the exact fulfillment of the requirements of the maritime charter, believed that one should not expect instructions from the Admiralty Colleges on each issue, since she did not know the specific conditions in which the expedition was taking place, and it was necessary to take more initiative ourselves.

These disagreements increasingly led to conflicts between Bering and Chirikov, and the latter had already applied to the Admiralty Board with a request to release him from further participation in the expedition, pointing out that Bering was “malicious” for the advice given to him and Chirikov was afraid of him and in further "great insults".

On May 13, 1740, seeing that the construction of packet boats was proceeding slowly, Chirikov suggested that Bering send him on the brigantine “St. Michael" to inspect the land lying opposite the Chukchi nose from Kamchatka and the western side of America. In the autumn Chirikov promised to return to Okhotsk.

If such a proposal were accepted, it would be possible to reach the shores of northwestern America as early as 1740. However, Bering reiterated that Chirikov's proposal would not be in accordance with the instructions of the Admiralty Boards.

In the summer of 1740, the construction of the packet boats "St. Peter" and "St. Pavel” was completed and both ships headed for Kamchatka. Chirikov commanded the packet boat "St. Paul".

In October 1740, both ships entered the Avacha Bay, where they stopped for the winter. The port of Petropavlovsk was founded here, named after the Russian ships that first visited this bay. Subsequently, Petropavlovsk-on-Kamchatka played an important role in strengthening the Far Eastern borders of the Russian state and became the base for many expeditions undertaken by Russian navigators in the 18th and 19th centuries to explore Northwest America, the Kuril and Aleutian Islands, etc.

During his stay in Kamchatka, Chirikov defined the significance of Avacha Bay as "the best and most capable of guarding sea vessels", since it is sheltered from the winds and "at least a great fleet can stand in it."

At the winter camp, Chirikov was engaged in meteorological observations, collected information about the flora, fauna and minerals of the peninsula.

On June 4, 1741, both ships left Avacha Bay. Already at sea, Chirikov advised Bering to walk at a small distance from each other, since this is the only way to find each other if in the fog “St. Peter" and "St. Pavel" will be lost.

On June 20, the ships nevertheless dispersed. Not finding St. Peter", Chirikov decided to head first to the east, and then to the northeast. On July 2, signs of a close land were noticed, and by the color of the water, Chirikov realized that the coast was close.

At dawn on July 16, the sailors saw land on which there were high mountains with snowy peaks. It was an island located west of the Prince of Wales Island, off the southern coast of the Great Land (Baker Island), indented with many bays and bays.

Chirikov was sure that he had reached America, and ordered to anchor three miles from the island. At the same time, a langbot was sent to the shore in search of a convenient bay. However, such a bay has not yet been found, and by the evening “St. Pavel” moved away from the shore, so as not to run into pitfalls in the darkness.

Within two days, using a tailwind, "St. Pavel" moved along the American coast and soon entered the cold climate zone.

To the shore, Chirikov sent 10 people to the boat, led by the naval master Dementyev, instructing them to find a bay suitable for the boat's parking.

Dementiev also had to find out the size of the local population. Chirikov ordered to be friendly to the local residents, but if they attack the sailors, then they should defend themselves by retreating to the ship.

In the event of a successful landing, Dementiev had to make fire on the shore so that he could be seen from the packet boat. Dementyev was supposed to announce his return with two shots from a cannon.

Dementiev and his people went to the shore, but by the appointed time they did not return to St. Paul". No fire from the shore, no signal shots were also seen or heard. Chirikov realized that Dementiev and his companions were dead. However, no one was able to find out the reason for their death - whether the yalbot ran into pitfalls in the sea, or they were killed by local residents.

At the very "St. Pavle" began to dry up food and fresh water. Once a day they only boiled porridge. Distilled sea water or water flowing from sails during storms was used as water. Scurvy began to rage on the ship.

However, "St. Pavel" continued to walk along the coast of the Great Land, on which the snow-covered ridge of St. Elijah rose.

Before Chirikov, the question inevitably arose whether to continue swimming or move back. To resolve this issue, a council of officers was convened. Everyone came to the conclusion that in the conditions of the impossibility of landing on the shore and the lack of supplies of drinking water, the voyage should be stopped and returned to Avacha Bay. July 27 "St. Pavel" headed for Kamchatka.

Nevertheless, swimming cannot be considered fruitless. In the course of it, Chirikov discovered part of the coastline of Northwest America, surveyed its coast for 400 miles, putting it on a map. Was collected extensive material about the flora and fauna of this land.

In the second half of August, the ship continued to move towards Kamchatka. Headwinds hampered the movement of the packet boat. Fresh water supplies were even more depleted, everything was carefully saved. The porridge was now cooked once every two days.

On September 4, land was seen in the distance to the north. It was Winak - the largest island of the eastern group of the Aleutian Islands. "St. Pavel" continued his journey, and on September 8, Chirikov discovered Azakh Island - the largest of the Andreyanovsky Islands.

The next day, seven small boats approached the ship, each carrying one person. After long invitations, the emboldened Aleuts went up on deck, and the sailors began to give them small gifts. Chirikov himself collected from the Aleuts a whole collection of objects that characterize the life and way of life of the local population.

Having stayed on the deck of St. Paul", the Aleuts went ashore, but at noon another 14 boats approached the board of the packet boat. For several hours, the Aleuts looked at the Russian ship, and then went towards their shore. Soon a fair wind blew the sails of St. Paul" and the ship moved to Kamchatka.

Scurvy increasingly undermined the strength of the entire team. Many sailors began to die. On September 20, Chirikov, who fell ill, was no longer able to climb the commander's bridge. On it, he was replaced by the navigator Elagin, who, although he did not feel healthy, was still able to conduct “St. Pavel" to Kamchatka.

On the morning of October 8, Avacha Bay appeared, but due to a headwind, “St. Pavel "was able to enter it only by the evening of the next day.

Already in Kamchatka, Chirikov again decided to make a new expedition to the American shores and "do reconnaissance in it, as much as all our possibilities will be." He reported his plans to the Admiralty Board and received their consent to organize a new expedition.

May 25, 1743 "St. Pavel" again left the Avacha Bay, heading north. Due to favorable weather, it was possible to determine the exact geographical coordinates of the open land.

Suddenly the sea was shrouded in mist. During the week of St. Pavel "tried to approach the island, but could not do it because of the fog and headwinds. The course of the ship was also hampered by the pitfalls that abound in these places.

Chirikov and his assistant Yelagin, having spent several sleepless nights on the bridge, became so weak that they could hardly walk on deck. Realizing that this time it was impossible to approach the island, Chirikov decided to return to Petropavlovsk.

Already upon returning to Kamchatka, an island was seen in the sea, which, as it later turned out, was Bering Island. July 2 "St. Pavel" entered the Avacha Bay.

On August 24, Chirikov left for Yakutsk, where he decided to wait for instructions from the Admiralty Boards. Previously, he sent her his report on the voyage to the shores of America, indicating that the expedition did not completely solve the tasks assigned to it. But at St. Pavle "there was an acute shortage of people, the packet boat itself required serious repairs. A new expedition required a new vessel that could replace the St. Paul". In addition, it was necessary to build a small ship that could approach the shore.

The report was accompanied by a large map compiled under the direct supervision of Chirikov. It reflected all the discoveries made by Russian navigators from 1725 to 1742. A significant area was plotted on the map - from Arkhangelsk to the Kuril Islands, and the exact place from which the description of North-West America was started was indicated.

Already in 1757 M.V. Lomonosov, having become the head of the Geographical Department, began the preparation of a new "Fine Russian Atlas". In preparing it, he studied the materials collected by Chirikov, which, in turn, he used in compiling an extensive program of research in the Arctic Ocean.

Having received Chirikov's report on the work done, the Senate and the Admiralty Board did nothing to prepare a new expedition, which, in their opinion, could only become a source of new expenses.

On September 23, 1743, the Senate submitted to Empress Elizabeth Petrovna a report on the 2nd Siberian-Pacific Expedition and concluded: “That expedition, from which the Senate does not recognize the fruit of the least, should be completely abandoned.” To which the appropriate response of the empress was received: "Be on this."

The leaders of the expedition were asked to send the accumulated materials to St. Petersburg, and not to proceed with further research.

After Chirikov made several appeals to the Admiralty Board to transfer him to St. Petersburg to improve his health, the Senate decided to dismiss him from his previous position and transfer him to the capital.

After spending some time in Yeniseisk, Chirikov finally gave up the command and in March 1746 returned to St. Petersburg.

In the same year, he was promoted to captain-commander and, by decree of the Admiralty Colleges, was assigned to the Academic Expedition, which dealt with naval institutions. Soon he was transferred to the Moscow office of the Admiralty Colleges, but did not stay in this position for long. At the end of 1748, Chirikov died at the forty-fifth year of his life.

Capes on the island of Kyushu, in the Gulf of Anadyr, Taui Bay, on the island of Attu and a seamount in the Pacific Ocean are named after Chirikov. But the fate of the island, located in the Gulf of Alaska, is especially interesting. In 1741, it was discovered by Chirikov during the 2nd Siberian-Pacific expedition. In 1798, the English navigator J. Vancouver named this island after its discoverer.

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It was financed by the Russian Admiralty and pursued more military-strategic goals than scientific ones. Goals - to prove the existence of the strait between Asia and America and take the first steps towards the transition to the American continent. Returning to St. Petersburg from the First Kamchatka Expedition, Vitus Bering presented memorandums in which he expressed confidence in the relative proximity of America to Kamchatka and in the expediency of starting trade with the inhabitants of America. Having traveled twice through the whole of Siberia, he was convinced that it was possible to mine iron ore, salt and grow bread here. Bering put forward further plans for exploring the northeast coast of Russian Asia, reconnaissance of the sea route to the mouth of the Amur and the Japanese Islands - as well as to the American continent.

On September 6, the ship headed due west across the open sea, along the Aleutian Islands ridge. In stormy weather, the ship carried across the sea like a piece of wood. Bering was already too ill to steer the ship. Finally, two months later, on November 4, high mountains covered with snow were noticed from the ship. By this time, the packet boat was practically uncontrollable and floated "like a piece of dead wood."

The sailors hoped that they had reached the shores of Kamchatka. In fact, it was only one of the islands of the archipelago, which would later be called the Commander Islands. "St. Peter "anchored not far from the coast, but the blow of the wave tore him off the anchor and threw him over the reefs into a deep bay near the coast, where the excitement was not so strong. It was the first happy accident in the whole time of navigation. Using it, the team managed to transport the sick, the remnants of provisions and equipment to the shore.

A valley adjoined the bay, surrounded by low mountains, already covered with snow. A small river with crystal clear water ran through the valley. We had to spend the winter in dugouts covered with tarpaulin. Out of a crew of 75, thirty sailors died immediately after the shipwreck and during the winter. Captain-Commander Vitus Bering himself died on December 6. This island would later be named after him. A wooden cross was placed on the commander's grave.

Against death

Image of Kamchatka from Krasheninnikov's book (1755).

The surviving sailors were led by Vitus Bering's senior assistant, the Swede Sven Waxel. Having survived the winter storms and earthquakes, the team was able to make it to the summer. Again, they were lucky that on the western coast there was a lot of Kamchatka forest thrown out by the waves and fragments of wood that could be used as fuel. In addition, foxes, sea otters, sea cows, and, with the arrival of spring, fur seals could be hunted on the island. The hunt for these animals was very easy, because they were not at all afraid of humans.

In the spring, construction began on a small single-masted ship from the remains of the dilapidated St. Peter." And again, the team was lucky - despite the fact that all three ship carpenters died of scurvy, and there was no shipbuilding specialist among the naval officers, the team of shipbuilders was headed by Cossack Savva Starodubtsev, a self-taught shipbuilder who was a simple worker during the construction of expeditionary packet boats in Okhotsk and later joined the team. By the end of summer, the new "St. Peter" was launched. It had much smaller dimensions: the keel length was 11 meters, and the width was less than 4 meters.

The surviving 46 people in terrible crowding went to sea in mid-August, four days later they reached the coast of Kamchatka, and nine days later, on August 26, they went to Petropavlovsk.

For his, without exaggeration, one can say, feat, Savva Starodubtsev was awarded the title of son of a boyar. New gookor "St. Peter "went to sea for another 12 years, before, and Starodubtsev himself, having mastered the profession of a shipbuilder, built several more ships.

Memory

USSR post stamp.

• In 1991, the USSR Post issued a stamp dedicated to the 250th anniversary of the voyage to the shores of America.
• In 1995, the Bank of Russia, in a series of commemorative coins "Research of the Russian Arctic", issued a coin "The Great Northern Expedition" in denominations of 3 rubles.
• In 2004, the Bank of Russia issued a series of commemorative coins "2nd Kamchatka Expedition" in denominations of 3, 25 and 100 rubles dedicated to the expedition.

Literature and sources

• Waxel Sven. The second Kamchatka expedition of Vitus Bering / Per. from hands. On him. lang. Yu. I. Bronstein. Ed. with prev. A. I. Andreeva. - M .: Glavsevmorput, 1940. - 176 ° C .;
• Magidovich I.P., Magidovich V.I., Essays on the history of geographical discoveries, vol. III. M., 1984

Born on December 13 (24) in a poor noble family. In 1715 he entered the Moscow Navigation School and the following year was transferred to the St. Petersburg Naval Academy, which he successfully completed in 1721, promoted to non-commissioned lieutenant and assigned to the Baltic Fleet. In 1722, by order of the Admiralty Board, he was assigned as a teacher of navigation at the same academy, and in 1725-30, with the rank of lieutenant, he took part in the First Kamchatka Expedition of Vitus Bering. All the way from St. Petersburg to Okhotsk, Chirikov determined 28 astronomical points, which made it possible for the first time to reveal the true latitudinal extent of Siberia, and, consequently, the northern part of Eurasia. On the ship "St. Gabriel", together with midshipman Pyotr Chaplin, Chirikov kept a ship's log, which is a valuable document on the history of the first marine scientific expedition in Russia. Together with Bering and Chaplin, Chirikov compiled the final navigation map, which significantly exceeded all maps that existed until then in terms of accuracy and reliability of depicting the Pacific coast of Northeast Asia.

Discovery of Northwest America

In 1733-41, Chirikov commanded the St. Pavel packet boat in Bering's Second Kamchatka Expedition as his deputy. Due to fog at 49 north latitude on June 20, 1741, having lost sight of Bering's packet ship "St. Peter", headed east-northeast and on the night of July 15-16 at 55 21 "north latitude, he was the first to see the Pacific coast of the North-West America, mountains covered with snow and forest in places (Prince of Wales Island or Baker Island).In search of a convenient harbor, sailors turned to the northwest and traveled a little over 400 km along the Alexander archipelago, which they took for the mainland.At the 58th parallel, they disappeared without a trace two boats sent ashore (to the islands of Chichanov or Jacobi) for water.On July 25, having discovered unknown mountains (the ridge of St. Pavel "turned to the west; on August 1-3 he discovered part of the Kenai Peninsula and the islands of Afognak and Kodiak, that is, Chirikov simultaneously sailed with Bering in the waters of the Gulf of Alaska; on September 5-22 he discovered several islands from the Aleutian chain, where he met with the Aleuts. On the ship there was not enough food and fresh water, many were ill with scurvy, out of 75 people a little more than 50 were alive, "quite exhausted from scurvy" and Chirikov himself, who had not left the cabin since September 21. On October 10, navigator Ivan Elagin successfully brought the packet boat "St. Pavel" to Petropavlovsk. Chirikov's report to the Admiralty Board dated December 7, 1741 on the results of the expedition became the first in the history of describing the northwestern coast of America. In the summer of 1742, "St. Pavle "Chirikov sailed east from Kamchatka, but only reached Attu Island and turned back due to bad weather. On the way back he saw Bering Island, discovered Medny Island (later the whole archipelago was named the Commander Islands, in honor of Bering).

last years of life

Upon his return, Chirikov asked to be recalled from Siberia, in March 1746 he arrived in St. Petersburg, participated in the compilation of the final map of Russian discoveries in the North Pacific Ocean, and headed the Naval Academy for about a year. In September 1746 he was promoted to captain-commander with a transfer to Moscow.

died at the end of November 1748 in Moscow from tuberculosis and the effects of scurvy. He was married and had two sons and three daughters. An island, an underwater ridge, a sea, shallows and four capes are named after him. A monument was erected to him in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky.