Following pioneers’ paths

ТFor a long time the territory of Siberia remained a blank spot on the world map, generating a great number of fantasies and legends. Thus, in the Vth century B.C. Herodotus described the lands presumably lying at the bottom of Ural Mountains populated with strange, fantastic creatures. Many centuries later the ideas of the Europeans about Siberia did not undergo major changes.
Chronicles describing Novgorod campaigns to Yugorsk lands in the XIth century represent the sources of awareness about geography and population of Western Siberia. Information contained in “Yugorsky dorozhnik” (Yugorsk Guide) compiled by Novgorod inhabitants later served a basis for one of the first serious geographical and ethnographical surveys of Urals and Western Siberia published in 1549 by the Austrian Ambassador Siegmund Herberstein in the book “Notes on Muscovite Affairs”.

The Dutch researcher Isaac Massa is one of the first European explorers of Siberia. In the beginning of the XVIIth century he wrote several articles containing a lot of valuable information on the first steps of Russian colonization of Siberia. In particular, he described the conquest of Siberia by Ermak’s troop and gave precise description of the roads from Moscow to Siberia. Isaac Massa was one of the first European scientists to focus on geography of polar and circumpolar areas of Siberia. Summarizing travellers’ stories he drew a map featuring Yamal peninsula and Vaigach Island. Isaac Massa made a personal contribution into studying the possibilities of using Northern Sea Route in development of the Eastern boundaries of Russia.

There is a manuscript found in a library of Copenhagen. It describes a travel to Siberia of an unknown foreign serviceman. This person followed from Europe to Siberia in the company of 46 officers employed for military service in Russia. This manuscript presents an interesting historical and ethnographical document characterizing Siberian towns of the middle of the XVIIth century.

Description of N. Spafarij’s (Milescu) travel through Siberia to China in 1675 is also of significant interest. N. Spafarij was appointed an Ambassador to China. The description contains a lot of valuable geographical and ethnographical information on settlements situated on the “Siberian Road” from Tobolsk to Nerchensk.

Other important historical sources depicting “Siberian Road” of the end of the XVIIth century are travel notes of the Russian Ambassadors to China Ysbrant Ides and Adam Brandt made in 1692-1695.

Esipov and Stroganov Chronicles are the first annalistic sources created by the contemporaries of the first explorers of Siberia.

Esipov Chronicle was composed in 1636 by Savva Esipov, the scribe of Siberian archbishop Nektarij. The Chronicle is devoted to Ermak. Present-day researchers do not have a univalent point of view on the time of Stroganov Chronicle appearance. Some researchers refer it to the period of 1620-1630, the others – to the period of 1668-1673. Early circumstances of joining Siberia to Russia are explicitly set out in the Chronicle with the emphasis on the Stroganovs’ initiative to organise Ermak’s campaign.

Development of Siberian territories in the period from the end of the XVIth century to the XVIIIth century may be literally named an epoch of great geographic discoveries within the framework of national history. The main peculiar feature of the epoch is that the majority of Cossacks, industrialists and free people exploring unknown corners of Siberia did not have secular education providing at least approximate ideas on achievements of European science of that time. At the same time they possessed a number of original civilized habits giving possibilities to guide themselves at sea and land, to make long voyages on small boats and single-masters in severe climatic conditions and to find mutual language with aboriginal population. “The main goals of numerous campaigns were not connected with scientific demands and the participants were not just far from the science, but often semiliterate (sometimes illiterate). But colonization of Siberian territories insistently demanded extension of information of descriptive and cartographical character on the nature and population of the vast territories. Getting such information from land explorers and seamen as well as from Siberian administration finally constituted an epoch in the history of geography” (Lebedev D.M., Esakov V.A. Russian geographical discoveries and studies from the ancient times till 1917. M.: “Mysl”, 1971. - p. 101).

Today we may say literally that building of every new burg or winter hut could be compared with an important geographical discovery. The scale of most discoveries still strikes imagination of modern people. Thus the majority of the earliest explorers of unknown lands can be called the first investigators of immense expanses of Siberia.

In the XVIIth century and the first half of the XVIIIth century Velikiy Usyug was one of the most important base stations on the way to Siberia. The natives of the historical and cultural zone of the Russian North called Zavolochye with the capital in Velikiy Ustyug made the most significant contribution into early stages of Siberia colonization. Famous historian of Siberia P.A. Slovtsov wrote: “Siberia is quested, mined, populated, built up and constituted all by Velikiy Ustyug inhabitants and their confreres. Velikiy Ustyug inhabitants gave us farmers, coachmen, craftsmen, they built temples and bell towers for us, they brought in fairs” (Slovtsov P.A. Historical review of Siberia. Book 1. St Petersburg, 1835. p. 140). Following the data provided by historian V.N. Bulatov, in the course of the XVIIth century about 40% of Zavolochye population migrated to Ural and Siberia (Bulatov V.N. Russian North. Book 2: Meet the Sun (XV-XVII centuries) - Arkhangelsk: Publishing house of Pomor University, 1998. – p. 352). The migration determined distinctive character of Siberian history and culture.

One can’t help mentioning a special contribution of Velikiy Ustyug inhabitants into major great geographical and natural-science discoveries.

Semen Dezhnev and Fedot Popov were the first to prove the existence of a strait between Asia and America when they put out to sea on small boats in 1648. They also gave a detailed description of Chukotka and founded Anadyr burg.

In 1643-1646 the earliest explorer Vasily Poyarkov headed a party sent from Yakutsk to search for a way to the Amur River region. His party was the first to make a cruise on the Amur River, to explore the Zeya River and Amur-Zeya plain. The result of Poyarkov cruise was extension of Russian possessions in the Far East and acquisition of valuable data on the nature and population of the Amur River region.

In 1649 another native of Velikiy Ustyug Erofey Khabarov found the shortest way from Yakutsk to the Amur River, he sailed the river till the sea and made a description of the land and “a drawing of the Amur River”.

In 1697 Vladimir Atlasov discovered and described Kamchatka and Kurile Islands. He launched the era of intensive research of the shores and islands of the Pacific Ocean. The reports of Atlasov on Kamchatka interested Peter I, and the Tsar ordered to organise an expedition to “mysterious land”. Vitus Bering was appointed the chief of this expedition.

Velikiy Ustyug inhabitants took part in many other, less famous discoveries in the Pacific Ocean and Alaska. Thus the seafarer Egor Purtov, the associate of the first governor of Russian America A.A. Baranov, discovered the estuary of the Mednaya River. Vasily Malakhov founded Nikolaevsky Redoubt. Later his son Peter founded the northernmost Russian settlement Nulato in Alaska and explored Alaska Range. Yakut serviceman Mikhail Stadukhin discovered the Kolyma River in 1644 and founded a winter hut (Nizhnekolymsk) in its estuary. He was the first to communicate information about Chukchi nation.

In 1747 Totem merchant Fedor Kholodilov and Irkutsk merchant Nikifor Trapeznikov equipped Ioann Boat and sent it to trade on Bering Island. It initiated development of Russian America by the residents of Totma.

Following the Kholodilovs, in 1758 Totem merchants - brothers Gregory and Peter Panovs - started their business. They organised 11 expeditions to Aleutian Islands and Alaska. At that time Totem merchants equipped more than 20 expeditions to the north of the Pacific coast. It was a big contribution into development of new territories.

The services of Totem seafarers are invaluable also for geographical discoveries: they discovered and investigated Andeyanov Islands, the islands of Akun, Unga and Kadyak. Totem craftsman Peter Shishkin is known as the first author of the map of islands belonging to Aleutian ridge. The map showed Russian discoveries in the Pacific Ocean made within 20 years. M.V. Lomonosov highly appreciated the value of this map.

The activity of trade expeditions on little-investigated islands was very risky and it demanded big investments. Only associations of companies (joint stock companies in a sense) were able to raise money for expeditions. The biggest trade corporation of that time was Russian-American Company founded in 1799. The native of Totma Ivan Kuskov played an important role in Company creation. With support of the Russian government the Company organized 25 expeditions including 15 round-the-world tours. Company activity resulted in founding several Russian settlements in North America.

Managerial abilities of Ivan Kuskov clearly revealed in 1808-1821. At that time according to the plan of Russian-American Company managers Ross Fortress was built in California. The main purpose of the fortress was to supply Russian settlements in Alaska with foodstuffs. In order to choose the site for the fortress Kuskov with a group of industrialists made five sea tours to California.

Active development of Siberia by the Russians in the course of the XVIIth century left fewer “white spots” on its map. The Big Book of Drawings published in 1627 was one of the first books containing the maps of Western Siberia and summarizing geographical data provided by the earliest explorers. In 1667 a separate “drawing of Siberia” was made under the direction of Tobolsk voivode P. Godunov. It represented a schematic sketch of settlements located in the territory of Siberia.

In 1690 “New Landkarte of Northern and Eastern Tataria” made by a Dutch geographer Nicolaas Witsen was published in Amsterdam. It was the first European document showing a detailed plan of the whole Siberian territory drawn on the basis of geographical descriptions. The map was introduced to Peter I. It raised a great interest in Russia, however a number of inaccuracies and mistakes were revealed. Thus in 1696 a decree was issued enjoining to draw up proper detailed maps of Siberian voivodeships. In the same year Tobolsk serviceman Semen Remezov started the work on the unique project of “Siberian Book of Drawings” creation. Compared with the earlier maps, Remezov’s drawings were notable for their high accuracy and reliability. Considerable part of map material was compiled on the basis of Remezov’s personal observations. To achieve this goal he went on missions to many regions of Siberia.

The works of Remezov devoted to the history of Siberia also raise big interest. The most significant of historical works is Siberian (Kungur) Chronicle. It’s important to note that the heritage of Remezov is still topical. For many generations of geographers, historians and ethnographers it remains a unique source of information on many historical processes on the territory of Siberia.