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H. Lapteva in
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Arctic.
Kh.P. Laptev.
Khariton Prokofievich Laptevis one of the largest
Russian polar
researchers.
Born in the village of Pekarevo,
located near
Pskov, in 1700.
In 1715, young Laptev entered
to Petersburg Morskaya
academy, which in three
successfully completes the year and
enters the navy as a midshipman.
Expedition to the Arctic.
In 1737 Laptev wasappointed squad leader
to the Great Northern
expedition.
In the early spring of 1738, members
The expedition arrived in Yakutsk.
July 9, 1739 Khariton
Laptev with the task to describe
the shore of the Arctic Ocean to
west of Lena, came out of
Yakutsk on a double boat
"Yakutsk" and arrived on July 21
to the ocean.
In March 1740 Khariton
Laptev sent a surveyor
Chekina describe the bank of the river
Taimyr west to the river
Pyasiny. Khatanga was opened on June 15, but to move from
wintering, behind the ice it became possible, only 12
July and by August 13th we reached the ocean.
After two days, it was decided to abandon the ship.
Laptev decided to describe its shores by land, on
dogs, which he began in the spring of 1741. For an inventory of the shores of Taimyr
Laptev defeated his detachment
for three parts:
1. Chelyuskin's game 17
March 1741 he
sent to the west.
2. Surveyor Chekina 15
April 1741 Laptev
sent to describe
east coast
Taimyr.
3. Laptev himself April 24
1741 went from
winter quarters to the lake
Taimyr, and further along
valley of the Lower Taimyr
reached its mouth -
Taimyr Bay. Laptev went west
and June 1 at the Cape
Lemana met with
Chelyuskin.
On June 9 both returned
to the mouth of Pyasina, where
divided again:
1. Laptev on a boat
went up the river to
Lake Pyasino, and from there
on reindeer to the Yenisei;
2. Chelyuskin is on
deer along the shore
reached the mouth
I caught up with the Yenisei there too
Laptev, and near the mouth
their Dudinka rivers
met Chekin. Map of Taimyr, created by Khariton Laptev based on the results of his
expeditions.
In 1743 the expedition returned to
Petersburg, having collected many valuable
information and successfully complete the task.
After the expedition.
Upon returning from the expedition, Laptevcontinues to serve in the Baltic Fleet.
He ends his service as captain of the first rank.
After retiring, Laptev went to his native village,
where he died in 1763.
Results of the expedition:
Khariton Laptev made significant contributions to Arctic research:In honor of Khariton Laptev and his cousin Dmitry
Laptev is called the Laptev Sea.
In honor of Khariton Laptev, the southwestern coast of the peninsula
Taimyr is called the shore of Khariton Laptev.
Bays, capes and
The coastal islands are called the Khariton Laptev coast.
The Laptev Sea, a photo and description of which is presented in the article, belongs to the Arctic Ocean basin. The harsh nature of this sea, like the entire Arctic, has been of interest to researchers for several centuries. But only today can scientists give reliable answers to questions regarding the climate, flora and fauna of this mysterious region. Although some time ago such problems seemed unsolvable.
Laptev Sea on the map
In 1735-1742, thanks to the efforts and long work of Russian researchers, the coastline of the sea was plotted on a geographical map. For example, cousins Dmitry and Khariton, after whom the Laptev Sea is named, devoted many years of their lives to exploring the region. While in the service of the Russian Navy, they were participants in a grandiose scientific research, which was organized by Peter I and called the Great Northern Expedition.
Today, the boundaries of the sea are established absolutely precisely, but the beginning of this difficult and dangerous work was laid in those distant years by such selfless people as the Laptev brothers - Dmitry and Khariton, Semyon Dezhnev and many other of our compatriots.
From the west, the sea washes the eastern shores from Cape Arktichesky to the mainland shore of Khatanga Bay. In the north, the maritime borders run from Cape Arktichesky to the northern shores of Kotelny Island. In the eastern part, the waters of the sea wash the western shores of the Kotelny, Maly and Bolshoi islands. Then the boundaries pass along and Dmitry Laptev.
From the south, the border of the sea runs along the northern shores of Eurasia from Cape Svyatoy Nos to Khatanga Bay. It was these sea boundaries that the Laptev brothers explored. The length of the coastal border is 5254 kilometers. The distance from the southeastern shores to the northwestern ones is 1300 kilometers. This is the largest indicator characterizing the size of the sea.
History of the region's exploration
Considering the harsh natural conditions of the Laptev Sea, it is not difficult to assume that the process of exploring its waters by travelers was not simple and safe. In addition, it should be taken into account that the work began in the 18th century - at a time when the development of many sciences, including navigation, was in its infancy. The level of geographical knowledge was also not very high.
Brave travelers made an invaluable contribution to the organization of work on the study of the northern coast of Eurasia along its entire length and the seas of the Arctic Ocean basin. Many researchers were officers of the Russian navy.
The brothers Khariton and Dmitry, after whom the Laptev Sea is named, began serving in the navy in 1718, where they were enlisted as midshipmen at a young age. By 1721, young people had already been promoted to midshipman. Fate decreed that for some time the brothers' life paths diverged. But Dmitry and Khariton were always faithful to the sea, to the Russian fleet, devoting the best years of their lives to the service.
In 1734, Dmitry Yakovlevich Laptev was included in the Great Northern Expedition as one of the best officers of the Russian fleet. His reputation was so high that he took the position of one of Vitus Bering’s assistants, who was appointed head of this large-scale event.
Dmitry Laptev was ordered to take the place of the deceased captain of the Irkutsk ship. It was on it that an attempt was made to explore the waters of the seas washing the continent from the mouth of the Lena heading east. The expedition turned out to be extremely unsuccessful, since almost the entire crew died from cold, scurvy and other diseases.
In August 1736, the Irkutsk, under the command of Dmitry Laptev, leaving the Lena River delta, again found itself on the open sea. But after a few days, the voyage had to be interrupted and the ship turned back, as powerful ice blocked the sailors’ path. The captain, taking into account the experience of the previous expedition, decided to save the lives of people and spend the winter on land.
The fate of those sailors who, on the ship "Yakutsk" had to move from the mouth of the Lena in a westerly direction (to explore the sea) was also tragic. Circumstances were such that Dmitry Laptev personally had to go to St. Petersburg to receive instructions regarding further study of the region. He himself also had a plan and was ready to propose it to management, hoping for understanding. The positive outcome of the expedition worried the Russian officer most of all.
Laptev brothers
So, since 1738, the brothers again begin to serve one common cause. On the recommendation of his cousin Laptev, Khariton Prokofievich was appointed captain of the ship "Yakutsk" instead of Pronchishchev, who died on the expedition.
In the summer of 1739, an expedition began whose goal was not only to survey the northern sea expanses, but also to take an inventory of coastal areas. Therefore, it included detachments that also traveled by land.
Having a well-developed plan of action, a brave, dedicated team on land and at sea, by 1741 Dmitry Yakovlevich Laptev was able to cover the distance from the mouth of the Lena to the Kolyma on the ship "Irkutsk". Having carefully processed the information received, he returned to St. Petersburg in the fall of 1742.
Khariton Prokofievich was supposed to explore the coast and sea west of the mouth of the Lena. The detachments led by Laptev had to experience enormous difficulties and hardships. The researcher and his companions did not stop even when they lost their ship, which was destroyed by ice. The expedition continued on foot. The result was a description of the territories from the mouth of the Lena River to the Taimyr Peninsula.
The life of such people as the brothers Khariton Prokofievich and Dmitry Yakovlevich, after whom the Laptev Sea is named, can rightfully be called a feat. This is understood by everyone who touches the study of history. Amazing perseverance and determination, boundless love for Russia helped these people overcome the seemingly insurmountable.
Geological structure of the seabed
The depth of the Laptev Sea is very contrasting. This circumstance was discovered more than 200 years ago, when the ships of the first expeditions repeatedly ran aground. It should be noted that the greatest depth is 2980 meters, the smallest is 15, and the average is 540 meters. This can be explained by the steep continental slope of the area where the sea is located. Taking into account the depth indicator, it is divided into southern and northern parts. The reference point for this is the parallel where Vilkitsky Bay is located.
The nature of the soil on the bottom of the Laptev Sea is greatly influenced by the rivers flowing into it. They carry large quantities of sand, silt and other sedimentary rocks. Their accumulation is 25 centimeters per year. In addition, in the shallow zone at the bottom of the sea there are boulders, large and small pebbles.
The huge glaciers of Severnaya Zemlya contribute to the formation of icebergs. The water column of the Laptev Sea contains a large amount of ice. Its melting and surf are actively destroying the coastline. Sometimes, as a result of such processes, small islands go under water.
Climatic conditions
There are several factors that determine the region's harsh climate.
Looking at the Laptev Sea on the map, we can draw the following conclusions:
- it is located in the high latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere;
- the proximity of the Central Arctic Basin cannot but influence the climate of the region;
- The sea's remoteness from the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans deprives it of the opportunity to receive the warming effect of waters.
Most of the time, calm, partly cloudy weather prevails over the sea. Only cyclones that pass south of the water area bring heavy snowfalls accompanied by strong winds.
In the southern part of the Laptev Sea it is cold for nine months, and in its northern regions negative temperatures are recorded for 11 months. The coldest month of winter is January. The average monthly air temperature is 26-28 degrees below zero. There are known cases of the mercury column dropping to -61 o C.
Cool summers here are far from uncommon. Quite the contrary - a significant increase in temperature (for example, up to 24-32 degrees) is a rare and unusual phenomenon. August is considered the warmest summer month. At this time, thermometers record +7...+9 degrees in the south and +1 o C in the northern part of the sea. The main distinguishing characteristic of the climate of the Laptev Sea is strong and prolonged cooling with a relatively calm wind regime.
Salinity and water temperature. Currents and glaciers
The distribution of water salinity in the Laptev Sea is significantly influenced by the fact that the largest rivers of the continent carry a significant volume of fresh water here. In this regard, the salinity of the southern regions of the sea is significantly lower than the northern ones. For the same reason, the percentage of salt content increases in winter, and in the warm season, water desalination is observed. The Lena, Khatanga, Yana, and Olenek rivers bring up to 90% of the annual fresh water flow in summer. At the same time, intense water occurs, which also affects the salinity indicator. It should also be noted that this indicator is not the same in the surface and deep layers of the sea water column. At the surface, salinity is lower.
The depth of the Laptev Sea determines the water temperature. This indicator also depends on the location of the waters relative to the coastal part, the influence of currents, and the time of year. Most often it is equal to zero. In summer, in certain coastal areas and in shallow waters, the temperature is 4-6 degrees Celsius. In bays, of which there are a lot, by the way, it approaches 10 o C, and in the open sea it does not exceed two degrees.
The current system in the Laptev Sea has not been studied well enough. However, it is known that rivers again play a major role in this, carrying huge volumes of water to the sea.
Among the permanent currents of the Laptev Sea are the Novosibirsk and East Taimyr. It should be noted that the speed of water movement is low, the strength of the currents is weak and unstable.
At the end of September, the process of ice formation begins throughout the entire water area, which significantly complicates navigation. From October to May, the waters of the Laptev Sea are frozen. At the same time, fast ice forms on approximately 30% of its area, the rest is covered with drifting ice floes. They melt in June and July. However, only by August a large area of the sea surface is freed from the shackles of ice.
Animal and plant life
The flora and fauna of the Laptev Sea is typical of the Arctic. Phytoplankton is represented by algae. Marine ciliates, copepods and amphipods, and rotifers are typical representatives of zooplankton.
In the depths of the sea, such fish species as Siberian whitefish, omul, nelma, and sturgeon are common. Walruses, beluga whales, and seals are representatives of the order of mammals. In the icy deserts lives a formidable resident of the Arctic - the polar bear.
Islands of the Laptev Sea
There are about two dozen large and small islands in the sea. It is noteworthy that scientists discovered the remains of mammoths on them. They are well preserved, so the finds are of great scientific value. The modern inhabitants of the islands are arctic foxes and polar bears.
Near the coast of the continent, small islands are usually located in groups. We are talking about such land areas as the islands of Komsomolskaya Pravda, Thaddeus, Petra, Aerosemki, and the Danube. There are also larger ones, located singly. These include Bolshoi Begichev, Peschany, Muostakh, Makar.
Rivers of the Laptev Sea
As stated earlier, the largest rivers that flow into the sea have a significant impact on many factors. Their location in the direction from east to west is as follows: Yana, Lena, Olenek, Anabar, Khatanga. It was these reservoirs that were actively used by the researchers of the region - Khariton and Dmitry Laptev, after whom the Laptev Sea is named.
The rivers listed above affect the level of salt in seawater. Thanks to the work of the mentioned water arteries, the topography of the seabed, the outlines of its coastline, and the composition of sedimentary rocks and suspended matter were formed.
Prospects for the region's development
Today, the Laptev Sea is included in the research program, which has been carried out jointly by scientists from Russia and Germany for the past twenty years. Modern scientists always remember that this event was started by Peter I. And such brave travelers as Vitus Bering, Laptev Dmitry and Khariton and many other polar explorers are forever inscribed in the history of Arctic exploration.
Now the research program for the Laptev Sea and adjacent territories has received international status. About 15 Russian and 12 German scientific organizations of various profiles are included in the mentioned activities. The work is planned until 2015. And today scientists have made many sensational discoveries.
The results obtained during the study of the territories we are considering are unique. Thanks to materials obtained during sea and land expeditions, scientists can learn a lot of interesting things about past climatic eras of the Arctic and understand the conditions for the formation of the climate that exists in the region today.
The Laptev Sea is considered to be a huge repository of ice and fresh water.
The expedition, carried out by the efforts of the two states using the most modern technology, instruments and scientific methods, will expand people's understanding of the Arctic and use the obtained scientific data for practical purposes.
On December 20, 1737, the Admiralty Board reviewed Bering’s reports with the materials attached to it and, disagreeing with him, decided to continue mapping the sea coast in this area. Both detachments were given new deadlines for completing the work and ordered to continue it “to completion in another or a third summer in the same way without the slightest loss of convenient time; and if some impossibility does not allow it to be completed in the third summer, then in the fourth summer try with utmost zeal and diligence to ensure that the work is completed.”
At the same time, the Admiralty Board approved new, more detailed and accurate instructions for detachment commanders. According to this instruction, the detachments had to prepare for campaigns in advance, and immediately, as soon as the ice conditions allowed, without wasting precious summer time, set off. The detachment commanders were instructed to wait for changes in the ice situation directly in those places where it would not be possible to overcome the ice, and at the slightest opportunity to move on. In addition, the instructions recommended stopping for the winter as close as possible to those points where winter would overtake the ships. This was supposed to save the troops from wasting time moving along already known shores.
At the same meeting, the Admiralty Board appointed Khariton Prokofievich Laptev as head of the detachment that mapped the sea coast between the mouths of the Lena and Yenisei. Subsequent events showed that the board was not mistaken in its choice, sending this comprehensively educated naval officer, who possessed exceptional energy, willpower and courage, to the most difficult part of the expedition’s work.
H.P. Laptev had solid experience in the navy. Before his appointment to the expedition, he had already sailed on various ships for nineteen years.
But, despite Laptev’s impeccable attitude towards his duties, his service did not go smoothly. In 1734, during the operations of the Russian fleet near Danzig, the frigate Mitau, sent for reconnaissance, on which midshipman Khariton Laptev served, was fraudulently captured by the French fleet, which had acted a few days earlier on the side of the enemy, which the Russian commander did not know frigate. All Mitau officers, including X. Laptev, were put on trial for surrendering the ship to the enemy without a fight and were sentenced to death. After an additional investigation into the circumstances of the case, carried out by decision of the government, it became clear that neither the commander nor the other officers of the frigate were guilty of surrendering the ship to the French, and therefore on February 27, 1736, they were all pardoned.
In 1736, Laptev took part in the summer voyage of the Baltic Fleet, and then was sent to the Don “to find the most convenient place for the ship’s structure.” The following year, Laptev was appointed commander of the court yacht "Dekrone", but upon learning that officers were needed to participate in the Great Northern Expedition, he asked to be appointed there. Obviously, the life of a polar explorer, full of hardships, attracted Khariton Laptev more than the calm and honorable service at court.
In February 1738, Khariton Laptev’s cousin, Dmitry Yakovlevich Laptev, the head of the detachment that mapped the coast east of the Lena, arrived in St. Petersburg with journals, reports and maps. He provided the Admiralty Boards with completely new information about working conditions near the mouth of the Lena, in particular about ice accumulations, which are observed in the same places from year to year and impede the movement of ships. Dmitry Laptev proposed mapping the coast in such areas, moving on land.
Having read the report of Dmitry Laptev, the Admiralty Board on March 3, 1738 confirmed its decision on a four-year period of work for both detachments, but gave Khariton and Dmitry Laptev completely new instructions regarding how to complete the task.
Best of the day
The detachment commanders were instructed, if the ice did not allow them to complete the voyage in the first and second summers, to send the ships with part of the teams to Yakutsk or put them in a convenient place for the winter, and continue working with the rest of the people, moving along the coast.
The detachments were instructed to pay attention to the places where standing ice would be encountered, determine how far it extended, note the position of the floating ice, its concentration, the duration of its stay near the shore, as well as places “where there is no strong obstacle from the ice.” The detachments had to determine the possibility of navigation in the work area, measure depths, find river mouths and other convenient places for anchorage and wintering of ships.
The decision to continue work from the shore if it was impossible for ships to move by sea was allowed to be made by the detachment commanders only after a consultation with their officers.
The Laptevs left St. Petersburg together. In Kazan they received rigging for ships, in Irkutsk - provisions, things for gifts to residents of the Siberian coast and money. Khariton Laptev demanded that the Irkutsk office prepare deer and dogs on the coast in case his detachment had to conduct an inventory from the land, and resettled two families of industrialists from the mouth of Olenek to the mouths of Anabar, Khatanga and Taimyra, ordering them to engage in harvesting fish and building houses In case the detachment wintered at these points, at the same time Khariton Laptev informed the office of Turukhansk about the need to send provisions for his detachment to the mouth of the Pyasina River in the summer of 1739.
At the beginning of March 1738, the Laptevs arrived in Ust-Kut, located in the upper reaches of the Lena. Small river vessels were built here for the expedition. In the spring, when the river opened up, property and provisions for the detachments were delivered to Yakutsk on these ships.
On May 25, 1739, Khariton Laptev arrived in Yakutsk. The double boat "Yakutsk" was already ready for the trip. Her crew consisted of forty-five people; Almost all of them were participants in Pronchishchev’s voyage.
Having finally put everything in order, Khariton Laptev took his ship down the Lena on June 5; boarders with provisions went with him.
In the Lena delta, Laptev managed to find the entrance to the Krestyatskaya channel and by July 19 he reached the seashore.
On July 21, "Yakutsk" headed west to Khatanga Bay, and Laptev ordered the planks, not adapted for sailing on the open sea, to be led to the mouth of Olenek and stored provisions in Pronchishchev's old winter quarters.
Near the mouth of Olenek, the ship entered the “great ice.” The dubel-boat sailed under sails and oars, the crew pushed the ice floes with poles, and sometimes made a path in the ice with picks. A week later, on August 28, Laptev reached the eastern entrance to the strait separating Begichev Island from the mainland. The strait was clogged with motionless ice.
It seemed to the surveyor Chekin, who was sent ashore for an inventory, that the ice was pressed against the shore that closed the bay from the west; therefore, he mistook the strait for a bay open to the east, and Begichev Island for a peninsula. The bay was put on the map under the name Nordvik.
Moving away from the Nordvik "bay", the "Yakutsk" headed north to go around the "peninsula" and enter the Khatanga Bay. In an effort to avoid being compressed by the ice, pressed to the shore by the wind, Laptev sailed the boat into some cove, where he waited for five days for the ice situation to improve.
Having broken through the ice, Laptev entered the Khatanga Bay on August 6. A winter quarters could be seen on the western shore of the bay. Laptev decided to take some of the provisions ashore in case he had to spend the winter in this place. But before this intention could be realized, the north wind blew again, driving ice into the bay.
Again we had to look for shelter, and Laptev took the boat-boat south along the coast. Soon another winter hut appeared. Near it, the Yakutsk entered the mouth of a small river and stood there for a whole week, which was spent unloading part of the provisions ashore.
On August 14, when the wind changed direction and drove away the ice, Laptev led the ship along the coast to the north. When leaving the Khatanga Bay, an island was discovered called Transfiguration Island.
On August 17, the Yakutsk passed the Peter Islands and went along the coast to the west. The next day we had to stand due to ice at the Thaddeus Islands, and then move forward in the ice. Only on August 21, "Yakutsk" approached the high Cape Thaddeus. On one side of the cape the coast stretched to the southwest, and on the other to the west. The further path was blocked by motionless ice. It was not possible to determine the boundaries of the ice due to dense fog. Therefore, Laptev sent Chekin on dog sleds to find out how far the ice extended to the west, and Chelyuskin to Cape Thaddeus to set up a lighthouse there. Returning twelve hours later, Chekin reported that the ice was impassable.
Frost has set in. I had to think about wintering. An inspection of the shore yielded disappointing results: there was no driftwood to build housing. At a consultation organized by Laptev on August 22, it was decided to return to Khatanga Bay. By August 27, "Yakutsk" barely made its way to the winter quarters, where it was located at the beginning of the month. Laptev took the ship further south. Entering Khatanga, he reached the mouth of its right tributary - the Bludnaya River, where several families of deerless Evenks lived.
Here the detachment built a house and stayed for the winter.
By September 25, Khatanga became. The hard winter work of the detachment began. Back in the fall, Laptev sent soldier Konstantin Khoroshikh to Turukhansk with a demand that the voivode’s office deliver provisions for the winter and provide reindeer and dog sleds. Now Laptev used these sleds to transport the provisions that had previously been unloaded at the mouth of Olenek and on the shore of the Khatanga Bay. Local residents were involved in this work. The winterers did not have enough driftwood for fuel, and had to walk several miles from the winter hut every day to get it.
To protect the team from scurvy, Laptev introduced fresh frozen fish into the daily diet, thanks to which there was not a single case of scurvy throughout the winter.
Laptev continued to collect information about the northern region during the winter. From the stories of local residents - Russians, Tavgians, Yakuts and Evenks - he learned that no one lives permanently north of the Bolshaya Balakhnya River, although there is a winter hut on the sea coast, where industrialists come during hunting.
To explore the coast from the mouth of the Pyasina to Cape Thaddeus, Laptev at the end of October 1739 sent boatswain* Medvedev with one soldier to the mouth of the Pyasina on a sleigh. Having reached the mouth by the beginning of March 1740, Medvedev set off along the seashore to the northeast. But severe frosts and strong winds prevented him from carrying out the necessary work, and, having traveled along the coast for only about forty miles, he was forced to return to the detachment.
On March 23, 1740, Chekin left his winter quarters with the task of describing the coast between the mouths of the Taimyr and Pyasina. Since it was then believed that Thaddeus Bay was the mouth of the Taimyr, Chekin, therefore, had to move towards Medvedev. Laptev learned that the latter was returning back to wintering only at the end of April, when Medvedev arrived at the detachment. One soldier and one Yakut, who was settled at the mouth of the Taimyr, went with Chekin. Chekin had two teams of dogs at his disposal.
Chekin reached the source of the Taimyra River and followed it to the mouth, and then along the seashore to the west. He walked about 100 miles and reached the point where the coast turns south. Having placed a navigation sign here - a pyramid of stones - Chekin was forced to turn back, since “there was very little food for himself and for the dogs, with which it was dangerous to go further to an unknown place.”
On May 17, Chekin and his companions returned to their winter quarters on foot, “in extreme need,” having lost almost all their dogs from lack of food and abandoned the sledges.
In April of the same year, cartography of the coast between the mouths of the Pyasina and Taimyra was carried out by the navigator Sterlegov sent by Minin. Apparently, he arrived at the mouth of the Pyasina shortly after Medvedev left there. Chekin and Sterlegov moved towards each other, and both turned back almost at the same time. There were about 200 kilometers between the extreme points they reached.
Preparing for the next voyage, Laptev decided to stock up on food for his squad. For this purpose, he sent two industrialists to the mouth of the Taimyr River to catch and stock fish.
Khatanga was opened on June 15, but due to ice accumulated in the Khatanga Bay, the dubel-boat was able to leave the river only on July 13. It took another month for the Yakutsk to overcome the ice in the bay and go to sea.
During the first 24 hours after leaving Khatanga Bay, the ship moved quite far to the north. On the morning of August 13, at 75°26" north latitude, the Yakutsk approached the edge of unbroken ice, stretching from the shore to the northeast. Laptev directed the ship along the edge. The wind, which soon changed, began to catch up with the ice, and the boat-boat got stuck. The wind grew stronger, the ice As the vessel became more and more compressed, a leak appeared.
The crew continuously bailed out water and used logs to protect the sides of the boat from the ice pressure. But this did not save Yakutsk. Soon the ice broke the stem, and by the morning of August 14 the ship was in completely hopeless condition. Laptev ordered a heavy load to be unloaded onto the ice, hoping to ease the situation of the double boat: guns, anchors, provisions and other cargo were removed, and then, when it became clear that the ship could not be saved, people abandoned it.
A day later, when sufficiently strong ice had formed, Laptev led the team ashore. The sailors carried provisions; The sleds of the dog sled on the doubel-boat were loaded to the limit with provisions. Having warmed up by the fire, the tired people began to build a dugout and transfer the cargo remaining near the ship to the shore.
This work continued until August 31, when the ice that began to move destroyed the Yakutsk double boat and the cargo remaining on the ice.
It was not possible to move south to populated areas due to ice drift on the rivers. Only on September 21 the detachment was able to set off. On the fifth day he reached the winter quarters of Konechnoye, where the industrialists were located. Twelve patients remained here, and the rest took advantage of the transport of industrialists and by October 15 arrived for the winter near the Bludnaya River. Soon the industrialists, whom Laptev had sent in the spring to the mouth of the Taimyr River to stock up on fish, also arrived for the winter. They managed to successfully complete the task within a short summer.
The experience of Pronchishchev's voyages in 1736, as well as Laptev's own research in 1739 and 1740, convinced him that it was impossible to sail along the coast between the mouths of Pyasina and Taimyra. Moreover, the only ship of the detachment, the Yakutsk, was lost. There was only one possibility left - to carry out cartographic work from land.
On November 8, 1740, Laptev arranged a consultation with his subordinates - Chelyuskin, Chekin and Medvedev. The council agreed with Laptev’s opinion that “the state of the ice and the depth of the bays and rivers cannot be described at any other time, given the local climate, but to start in June and follow through the months of July and August, observing their condition, because at that time... the ice breaks both on the sea, and in the lips and in the rivers, and [in] other times stand still." Therefore, it was decided to describe the coast, which had not yet been mapped, from land.
But it was impossible to carry out an inventory from the shore in the summer, since dog and reindeer sleds, which served as the only means of transport, could move across the tundra only in winter. Taking this into account, the council decided to carry out mapping in winter, although the results could be less accurate and complete.
On November 25, Laptev sent all these decisions, along with his report, to the Admiralty Boards for approval. Giving a number of arguments in favor of the council’s decision, he said that he could begin work in April 1741 and that he would send people free from work to the Yenisei “to a residential place where there is enough food, and also healthy places.”
Laptev’s envoy, sailor Kozma Sutormin, quickly delivered the detachment’s report and journals to St. Petersburg at that time, and already on April 7, 1741, the Admiralty Board began considering these materials. She agreed with the decision of the council and allowed an inventory of the seashore to be made from land.
Laptev began to implement his plan long before receiving the order from the Admiralty boards. He decided to make an inventory; in three batches at once. One party was supposed to work between the mouths of Khatanga and Taimyra, the second - from the mouth of Pyasina to the east before meeting with the third party, moving from the mouth of Taimyra to the west. This distribution of routes is explained by the fact that at that time Laptev still believed that the mouth of the Taimyr River was located in the area of Cape Thaddeus, that is, much east of its true position. Therefore, the section of coast from Khatanga to Taimyra seemed much shorter than it actually is, and the section between Taimyra and Pyasina, on the contrary, was very large.
Relatively few people were required to complete the land inventory. Laptev left with him Chelyuskin, Chekin, one non-commissioned officer, four soldiers and a carpenter, and sent the rest in two groups (one on February 15, the other on April 10) on reindeer to Dudinka on the Yenisei. Part of the property rescued from the double boat was sent with the second group. The heaviest cargo remained in the warehouse at the wintering site.
At the same time, Laptev received a message from the Turukhansk voivodeship office that his requirements regarding the preparation of dog food at the mouth of the Pyasina and in other “convenient places” on the coast, sent to the office in the fall of 1740, had been fulfilled. However, this news turned out to be false: there were no food reserves anywhere, and all parties of Laptev’s detachment experienced extreme difficulties due to this.
On March 17, 1741, the second party, Chelyuskin and two soldiers, left the detachment’s winter quarters on three dog sleds.
On April 15, the first party left the detachment’s winter hut - Chekin with soldiers and a Yakut, and on April 24 - the third party, led by Khariton Prokofievich Laptev himself.
Six days later, Laptev’s party reached Lake Taimyr, crossed it and, reaching the source of Taimyr, moved along its valley further to the north. On May 6, Laptev arrived at the mouth of the Taimyra River and became convinced that it was located significantly west of Thaddeus Bay. This forced him to change his work plan. Seeing that Chekin had to make an inventory of the coast over a much larger area than he had expected, Laptev decided to go towards Chekin, that is, to the east, and not to the west. Having mapped the coast, Laptev approached a place where a long-term accumulation of ice had formed. He discovered this accumulation through various layers of ice that had formed over a number of years. In those places where “the ice breaks in summer,” in winter it was clear “that in some places there are fresh hummocks.” Most of the hummocks were near the shore, and far from it there were ice floes “with summer thawed patches.” Summarizing his observations, Laptev came to the conclusion that in summer the ice cover breaks up, and the accumulation of hummocks occurs where moving ice encounters an obstacle - stationary ice or the shore.
This conclusion of H.P. Laptev was confirmed by later studies. It is still true today.
On May 13, having reached latitude 76°42", Laptev was forced to stop due to a blizzard and fog. In addition, he and the soldier accompanying him began to experience snow blindness. Further advancement could only worsen the disease. After waiting out the bad weather, Laptev decided to return to the mouth Taimyr, where he expected to find food.
However, there was no food at the mouth of the Taimyr River, where Laptev arrived on May 17. Arctic foxes and polar bears ate the fish stored here, and Chekin needed the food supply brought here to feed his dogs.
Thus, Laptev could not take anything for his four teams. Therefore, he decided to go west, towards Chelyuskin, hoping to receive “help with food” from him.
On May 19, when the pain in his eyes had subsided somewhat, Laptev set off. On May 24, he approached the cape, from which the coast turned south. Having determined the latitude of the cape (76°39") and placing a noticeable sign on it, Laptev moved on.
On June 1, Laptev met with Chelyuskin near the sign erected in 1740 by Sterlegov at the end point of his route. Chelyuskin’s dogs were also exhausted, since he and he had little food to spare. Only a successful hunt for polar bears helped the travelers.
Spring was approaching, and Laptev, afraid of being stuck on the deserted seashore for a long time, was in a hurry to get to the winter quarters at the mouth of the Pyasina River. By June 9, he, together with Chelyuskin, reached the mouth of the Pyasina, where he was forced to wait out the flood. Only a month later they managed to go by boat up the river. The path was extremely difficult, but, fortunately, the detachment soon met the Nenets wandering in the lower reaches of Pyasina and by the end of July reached Golchikha with them on reindeer, and then on a passing ship up the Yenisei to Dudinka.
Chekin was already here. It turned out that he only managed to reach latitude 76°35", that is, to the Peter Islands. He was unable to proceed further due to snow blindness.
In Dudinka, Laptev learned that part of his detachment, sent from Khatanga on April 15, had not yet arrived here. A sailor who came to Dudinka said that when their group reached the Dudypta River on reindeer, the owners of the reindeer - the Tavgians - dropped their loads and went on a summer nomad in the tundra. Having obtained boats, the sailors went down the Dudyptedo Pyasina. Here they remained to wait for help. Laptev sent the Nenets and Tavgians gathered in Dudinka after them.
When Laptev summed up the work of all three parties, it turned out that the cartographic work had not been completely completed, since the section of coast between Cape Thaddeus in the east and the extreme point in the west, which he himself had reached, remained unmapped. Laptev postponed the filming of this section until next winter, but in the meantime he decided to go to Turukhansk to request from the authorities the necessary transport for a trip to the coast, provisions for people and food for dogs, and also to arrange winter quarters for the detachment’s people free from work.
On September 29, Laptev with all the people who were with him in Dudinka arrived in Turukhansk, and on September 15, part of the detachment taken from Lake Pyasina arrived there. For the first time this year, the entire detachment gathered in Turukhansk. Preparations for the last campaign began. By December all preparations were completed. On December 4, 1741, Chelyuskin with three soldiers left Turukhansk on five dog sleds, and on February 8, 1742, also on five sleds, Kh.P. himself. Laptev.
Chelyuskin headed to the mouth of Khatanga, and from there to the north, along the coast. Laptev's path was more complex and lengthy. Having reached Dudinka along the Yenisei, Laptev’s group turned east and through the tundra reached Pyasina, and then along it to Dudypta. From here Khariton Laptev turned north, crossed the Bolshaya Balakhnya River and approached the southern shore of Lake Taimyr. The further path lay on the ice across the lake and along the Taimyr River to its mouth.
Arriving at the mouth of the Taimyr in early May, Laptev sent a soldier Khoroshikh and one Yakut with a supply of provisions and dog food to meet Chelyuskin. At this time, Chelyuskin had already reached the northernmost cape of Asia and was mapping the northern coast.
On May 15, Chelyuskin met with the people sent by Laptev, and together with them went to the mouth of the Taimyr River to meet with the head of the detachment, since he had completed the inventory of the site by that time. From the mouth of the Taimyra, Khariton Laptev and Chelyuskin hurried to Turukhansk, and from there the entire detachment went to Yeniseisk, mapping the banks of the Yenisei along the way. On August 27, 1742, the detachment arrived at its destination. The task assigned to him was completed.
Now it was already possible to present to the Admiralty Boards a new, more accurate map of the Taimyr Peninsula. Of course, the information collected by Khariton Laptev’s detachment could not be considered absolutely accurate. He himself and his expedition comrades knew this. They had imperfect instruments and methods for determining longitude, which gave very approximate results. At that time, there was not even a chronometer (this device was invented only in 1772). In addition, Khariton Laptev’s detachment worked in winter, when the snow cover did not allow establishing the exact outlines of the coastline.
All this determined the errors on the map compiled by Laptev, on which the eastern coast of the Taimyr Peninsula is plotted much further east than it actually is, and the islands lying north of the Taimyr Peninsula are designated as capes (for example, Cape North-West).
However, all this in no way detracts from the merits of Khariton Laptev, the first explorer of one of the harshest areas of the Arctic Ocean.
September 13, 1743 H.P. Laptev submitted a report to the Admiralty Board, in which he outlined the results of the detachment’s work and his personal notes, which are of great scientific value. Laptev explained that he compiled these notes “for information” to his descendants, that he included in them what he considered “indecent to add to the journal,” as not related to the work performed by the detachment. He called them "The shore between the Lena and the Yenisei. Notes of Lieutenant Khariton Prokofievich Laptev."
The notes consisted of three parts. In the first part, he gives a brief description of the coast from Stolb Island on the Lena River to the mouth of the Yenisei. In a concise form, but quite fully, he described the nature of the coast, coastal depths, “decent places”, their soil, the state of the ice, the mouths of rivers, their width and depth, data on the ebb and flow of the tides and other information very important for science are given.
The second part describes the rivers sequentially, starting from the Lena and further west to the Yenisei. Each river is given a characteristic - where it flows from, how long it is, where the forest ends and the tundra begins, in what places people live and what they do. The following describes Lake Taimyr. It tells “about the tundra lying near Lake Taimursky”, “about mammoth horns” (that is, about fangs). Much space in this part is devoted to the life, activities, morals and customs of the inhabitants of Turukhansk.
In the third part, entitled “Finally, this description is appended about the nomadic peoples near the northern Siberian places in Asia, in what superstition they contain themselves, and about the state of something about them,” Khariton Laptev systematizes ethnographic information about the peoples inhabiting the Taimyr Peninsula.
These observations are fully confirmed by modern data. A characteristic feature of the ethnographic descriptions of H.P. Laptev is the absence of arrogance towards representatives of northern peoples. Khariton Laptev speaks with praise, for example, of the Evenks - “Tungus”. Reporting that local residents eat raw meat and fish, he does not express any contempt for them for such “savagery.” On the contrary, Laptev notes the need for food in northern places with raw planed meat, which “does not allow a sick person to develop scurvy, but at the same time drives out old ones; even better is the effect of frozen planed meat, deer, and the same disease is treated.”
The notes of Khariton Prokofievich Laptev, which are of enormous scientific value, were highly appreciated by leading scientists in Russia and other countries.
Khariton Prokofievich Laptev also continued to serve in the navy after the expedition. In the spring of 1757, he was assigned to the Navigation Company to train future navigators. Until 1762, Laptev held combat positions, commanding ships in the summer months. By this time he had the rank of captain 1st rank. On April 10, 1762, Laptev was appointed Ober-Ster-Kriegs-Commissar of the Fleet. On December 21, 1763, he died.
The Motherland has not forgotten the names of the heroic participants of the Great Northern Expedition - the leaders of the detachment that described the coast between the mouths of the Lena and Yenisei. Their names remained on the world map, reminding descendants of the scientific feat of their compatriots.
On the eastern coast of the Taimyr Peninsula, somewhat north of the Komsomolskaya Pravda Islands, there is Cape Pronchishcheva. The eastern coast of this peninsula, stretching from the Peter Islands to the entrance to the Khatanga Bay, is called the coast of Vasily Pronchishchev.
In 1913, approximately in the middle of the coast of Vasily Pronchishchev, a large bay was discovered by a Russian expedition on the icebreakers "Taimyr" and "Vaigach", which it called Maria Pronchishcheva Bay. On the sea coast between the mouths of the Anabar and Olenek rivers there is a low mountain range called Pronchishchev.
The part of the western coast of the Taimyr Peninsula, lying between the mouths of the Pyasina and Taimyr, is called the Khariton Laptev coast.
Opposite the middle part of the Kharitov Laptev coast, closer to the mouth of the Taimyr, in a complex archipelago lies the island of the pilot Makhotkin. Its two northeastern capes are called: one Cape Laptev, the other Cape Khariton, in honor of Khariton Laptev. On the eastern coast of the Taimyr Peninsula opposite the islands of Komsomolskaya Pravda, in the place where the coast turns sharply to the west towards Theresa Claveness Bay, Cape Khariton Laptev juts out into the sea.
These names remind us of the brave Russian naval officers who, more than two hundred years ago, led the first exploration of the northernmost section of the Asian coast.
On the surface, he was a failure by all accounts. He was catastrophically unlucky. All the ships on which he served were somehow lost or dismantled during his lifetime.
He was constantly given ranks and awards. He was a witness and direct participant in one of the most shameful episodes in the history of the Russian fleet. He knew what captivity and prison were. And yet, the whole sea and a significant part of the coast of the Taimyr Peninsula bear his name. There was also a reconnaissance ship of the USSR Navy. But that’s exactly what it was. It seems that the magic of the “unfortunate” name even affected ships - the Project 850 communications vessel, SSV Khariton Laptev, was sunk in 1992.
But the Laptev Sea and the Khariton Laptev shore have not gone away. As well as the memory of this person. Unfortunately, it has become somewhat scant - his biography is not so much told as described in an incomprehensible patter. And they are trying to put that one into the unintelligible “Russian polar explorer.” Meanwhile, Khariton Prokofievich Laptev came from an old noble family. However, it can only be considered ancient by today's standards. In 1700, when little Khariton was born, the Laptevs owned their patrimony, the village of Pekarevo, Slautsk camp, Velikiye Luki province, for barely seven decades. That did not stop them from tracing their family to the legendary Adyghe prince Rededa. The same one whose single combat with the Russian prince Mstislav the Brave is sung in the “Tale of Igor’s Campaign”: “And Mstislav slaughtered Rededya in front of the Kasozh regiments.” One could really be proud of such an origin. By the way, another Russian surname, famous for the fleet, comes from the same Rededi - the Ushakovs. Moreover, the considerably aged Khariton Prokofievich, being a teacher of the Naval Cadet Corps, taught little Fedya Ushakov, the future great naval commander and even a saint, in the wisdom of navigation.
FROM UNDERGROUND TO MICHMAN
But that was later. So far, Khariton himself is walking around in undergrowth. He learns reading, writing, basic arithmetic from the local priest, and from his father... What could he learn there? My father owned a village of five households, where only 17 serf souls lived. So the Laptevs’ landowner’s economy was not much different from that of the peasants. Khariton had to not only practice his ability to lead, but also participate in peasant work himself.
In other words, there are no prospects. But here the decree of Peter I of 1715 on undergrowth arrived very opportunely. In particular, “the noble minors of Novgorod, Pskov, Velikiye Luki and other northern provinces, as if living near water communications” were included in the first intake of the newly organized Maritime Academy. They didn’t even think about competitions and exams - the shortage of personnel in the young Russian fleet was too great. Khariton and his cousin Dmitry are enrolled without problems.
Here, as in the case of the “ancient family,” some amendments need to be made. Academy. It sounds solid and weighty. In fact, this institution, by today’s standards, did not even reach the level of a nautical school and resembled training in the “take-off and landing” system, and the rest is superfluous. The full course is only three years. The list of items is defiantly meager and extremely rational. No military history. No tactics or strategy. Arithmetic, geometry, trigonometry, astronomy. Navigation as such is “reckoning of the ship’s path.” Plus navigation, design and sailing of ships, as well as the basics of their construction.
As a result, graduates were not even awarded the officer rank - they had to acquire the missing skills and abilities during the service, as they went along. Which is quite understandable - the Northern War was going on, the Swedish fleet was still too strong, and an undertrained person in the ranks is still better than an empty place.
So Khariton served in the Baltic for two years as a midshipman and received his first decent rank only in 1720. But Peter himself promoted him to “non-commissioned officer and navigator.” Great honor. But this did not affect my career in any way. He still had six years left to become a midshipman, which is the first, lowest officer rank. They weren't completely empty. On the contrary, there are a lot of possibilities. For example, a naval mission to Italy lasting a whole year. For anyone else this would be a great starting point. Khariton thought more and more not about military affairs and not about career advancement, but about the cross-country ability of the Norwegian skerries - it was they who, for some mysterious reason, sank into his soul. And about nautical maps - the midshipman turned out to have obvious drawing abilities. To which, however, no one paid attention - now there’s a war, now a campaign, there’s no time for drawings, here you have to pull the strap.
FROM ARRESTS TO COURTIERS
He remained a midshipman at the age of 34, when fate gave him another opportunity to distinguish himself. The War of the Polish Succession promised to be a cakewalk. The French protégé Stanislav Leszczynski, who proclaimed himself king, had already been beaten more than once. All they had to do was to besiege the Polish port of Gdansk, where the self-proclaimed king was located, from land and block it from the sea. To ensure the blockade, the Russian fleet went to sea in 1734. In particular, the frigate "Mitava".
Subsequently, during debriefings, the name of the most junior officer of this ship, midshipman Khariton Laptev, was rarely mentioned. Nevertheless, he, like the rest of the 192 crew members, according to the Naval Regulations of Peter the Great, had to “be subject to the death penalty by shooting.” Moreover, if judged formally, the punishment was deserved. The ill-fated frigate became the first warship in Russian history to surrender to the enemy without firing a single shot and lower its flag.
According to maritime law, a warship can stop any ship for inspection if it suspects it of piracy. It was this point that the French squadron of five ships took advantage of when they discovered a lone frigate. It flew under the Swedish flag. Seeing the patrol, the strange ship lowered the Swedish flag and raised the Russian one. After a short chase, the ship was surrounded. The French demanded that the captain come on board. Russian officer Peter Defremeri calmly got into the boat and set sail. They demanded that he tell the purpose of the cruising and show the captain's patent, threatening otherwise to recognize the captain as a pirate. Defremery presented a patent and stated that he was returning to his ship, but in response he heard that the French were detaining the Russian frigate, since at the moment they were serving Stanislav Leszczynski, who was waging hostilities with Russia. “Mitava” was surrounded by boats and longboats with boarding parties, which “forcibly took the Russian armed servants to their ships, robbed letters and luggage, and gave the frigate under their convoy.” Among them was midshipman Laptev.
The act of the French can be interpreted both as a military stratagem and as meanness. The behavior of the Russian captain is like excessive trust in maritime law or extreme idiocy. In any case, the frigate's crew was not to blame for anything. In the end, the sailors who returned from captivity “were dressed in rags, robbed to the extreme and looked very hungry.” Nevertheless, Khariton spent two whole years in prison at home - that’s how long the trial lasted. The only plus was that officers were allowed to use the library. During these years, Laptev did what he loved - he practiced compiling and drawing sea charts.
He, like the rest of the team, was nevertheless acquitted. There was a war with Turkey, and it seemed wasteful to waste career naval officers. In addition, his cartographic studies were noticed and taken into account. The midshipman, restored to his rights, goes to the Don and the Sea of Azov “to find a place most convenient for the ship’s building.” And upon returning, he suddenly receives a high, even the highest appointment - now Khariton Laptev is the commander of the court yacht "Dekrone".
FROM A WARM PLACE TO AN EXPEDITION TO THE ENDS OF THE EARTH
It seemed that fate had finally changed its anger to mercy. After all the misadventures, after captivity, prison and career failure, to receive a truly royal gift for your 37th birthday. Empress Anna Ioannovna keeps a yacht only for prestige, because “that’s how it’s supposed to be.” During all the years of her reign, she did not make a single voyage, not even a single seedy boat trip, at least to Kronstadt. But allocations for the court ship came, and considerable ones. And they almost didn’t demand a report on the funds. This is not just a sinecure - it's a goldmine! Especially for an elderly midshipman by those standards, who spent his childhood and adolescence in peasant canvas ports. In addition, Laptev, after leaving prison, got married. Yes, on a dowry girl who was twenty years younger than him. It's time to turn the run-down patrimonial village into a normal estate. And even if you buy a couple more villages and about five hundred serf souls, the treasury will not become poorer.
Many people thought and acted this way, not seeing anything shameful in embezzlement. But Laptev used his court service differently. Being a member of the highest circles, he often saw and talked with the almost omnipotent Vice-Chancellor Osterman. Since he was involved, among other things, in the fleet, he was in charge of the Kamchatka expedition, commanded by Bering. Osterman was clearly burdened by her and had the imprudence to complain that the aforementioned Bering had already buried two detachment commanders.
Khariton Laptev's reaction was immediate. And according to others, she’s also crazy. “There are now vacancies in the Kamchatka expedition, I ask you to welcome me as a lieutenant from the fleet and send me to the above-mentioned expedition.”
It is almost impossible to understand what Laptev was guided by when making such a decision. Voluntarily leave your court position and ask for certain death! Unthinkable. If you do not take into account the simplest reason. He had finally discovered his purpose. That very real thing for which you can and even need to give up everything, because otherwise it turns out that your life has been lived in vain.
In March 1738, leaving his Natalya and his very young son in the family village, Khariton set off on the road. Previously, he touched Big History by chance, only on orders from his superiors. Now he himself is Big History. Or another nameless mound in the permafrost - it depends on your luck.
FROM ADVENTURER TO COMMANDER
A dotted line on the map is the most visual option. Spring of 1738 - Khariton arrived in Kazan on the last sleigh ride. Next - Kama and Chusovaya. Tyumen. Tobolsk Lena River, Ust-Kut village. Wintering. And finally, the destination is Yakutsk. Dubel-boat, also “Yakutsk”. It took a year-long journey just to get to the start.
The crew, 47 people, treated the new commander with caution and suspicion. From the capital. Courtier. Strict or not? Tyrant or efficient?
At first they were inclined to believe that he was a tyrant. Brought the treasury. He opened the box. He issued a salary that had not been paid for more than a year. However, he forbade drinking under pain of severe punishment. For some reason, he took on board a team with sled dogs and food for them, which previous commanders had never done - it was against all regulations. But the human supply was reduced - at first its weight was 64 tons, after loading the dogs and rationing them - 59 tons.
The detachment, which included, in addition to a double boat, a boat with firewood, a plank with supplies and a kayak with flour, set off on June 8. Everything went well and according to plan. They left the mouth of the Lena for the seaside on July 19. Further - due north. New islands and lands. Laptev, unlike his predecessors, understood perfectly well that a discovery is only fully realized when it receives its own name. He followed the example of the Spanish navigators, who gave the names of saints to newly discovered lands. Khariton always had the Saints at hand. The map is decorated with the names of St. Paul, St. Ignatius, Transfiguration, St. Peter, St. Andrew, St. Thaddeus, St. Samuel... But already on August 21, “Yakutsk” ran into solid ice. There was no longer a way to the north. Or was it?
The team has already realized that their new commander is not a court dandy. But all the peasant foresight, all the practical insight of Laptev were appreciated only now. Without dogs there would be no chance of knowing how far this ice extends. And so the daily reconnaissance of the surveyor Chekin on a dog sled showed that there was still no way. And we must not play heroes, but turn to the winter hut, to the mouth of the Khatanga River and further upstream.
The place was found on August 28 - just in time, since real frosts hit already on September 15. In this short period of time, they managed to build a good base - five residential buildings, as well as “cannon, sail, provisions and other barns.” The stoves were built from slate slabs. In other words, preparations for winter were carried out quickly and skillfully. Evidence of this is the ship's log, which notes that out of 47 people, only one died during the winter: “On October 20, the Yakut regiment of soldiers Gavril Baranov, who was overcome by the French disease, died.”
But scurvy, aka scourge, this scourge of the Arctic latitudes, was not affected by Laptev’s expedition. On his own initiative, he introduced a curious product into the diet - water infused with peas and cereals. An infusion of steamed pine needles was also used. They didn’t hesitate to learn from the locals - many Yakuts drank fresh deer blood.
The first winter went well. Theoretically, one could try again and again to storm the Arctic Ocean in search of a sea route. But the main task was still mapping. And Khariton Prokofievich acted in full accordance with the ancient military wisdom: “A good commander fights not with a cry of “Hurray!”, but with a shovel and porridge.”
TRIUMPH OF A NEW STRATEGY
During the winter he thought through his polar strategy. Subsequently, it would be repeated in general terms by many researchers, including the conquerors of the North and South Poles.
First of all, he came to the conclusion that the sea route is shorter and, at first glance, simpler, but the sea does not forgive mistakes. Therefore, the number of dog sleds should be tripled and duplicated with reindeer sleds. Provide for retreat options in advance and set up firewood and food warehouses at key positions. And of course, reconnaissance and information gathering. And this means close contact with the local population. “Sailors” were sent to Turukhansk and Yakutsk to replenish stocks of canvas, cloth, beads and tobacco - the most popular currencies among the local Yakuts and Dolgans.
However, ships were also being prepared for a new assault on the ocean. But the second sea search turned out to be short and fruitless. The elements were clearly against it in 1740 - the ice on Khatanga melted only on July 12. And already on August 12, the boat-boat “Yakutsk”, without making a single discovery, was lost in the ice. The drift has begun. It was short-lived and, in fact, represented desperate attempts to save the ship - the ice squeezed the hull and broke it in several places. What happens for non-compliance with the Naval Charter of Peter the Great, Laptev already knew. And therefore “Yakutsk”, as it should be, fought for life “until it is possible.” It came to the point of self-sacrifice: “They covered the holes with flour, but they didn’t get any help to stop the leak.” On August 15, the Yakutsk sank. There were wet, frozen people on the shore, who nevertheless were able to salvage a significant share of supplies from the sunken ship. Now all I had to think about was survival.
Here again, and once again, the experience and resourcefulness of the Laptev mind helped. He ordered to hastily dig round holes, line the bottom with driftwood, and build ceilings from the remains of the rigging and sails, which were then covered with turf on top. The result, in his words, was “earth yurts” with heater stoves. In principle, such dwellings could withstand the polar winter.
And they survived. However, the second round of the confrontation between Laptev and the Arctic ended with a regrettable result. Three people died from cold and illness. Once the commander was forced to use force: “Soldier Godov and sailor Sutormin refused to work, saying that we would all freeze and not reach the winter quarters, for which they were fined with cats.”
The assignments of the Admiralty Board were also not cancelled. The survey of the area, for which the entire expedition was started, was never completed.
This is where Laptev’s new, not yet thoroughly tested strategy had its full effect. The detachment was divided into three groups - navigator Chelyuskin, surveyor Chekin and Laptev himself. The 1741 campaign began in a truly innovative way. Instead of ships there are dog and reindeer sleds. Instead of the standard European or, at worst, Russian clothing - local parka overalls. And a strict order - in addition to mapping itself, also engage in related activities. For example, by collecting ethnographic information, if possible, a description of flora and fauna, as well as some minerals.
It was a triumph. In the spring of 1741, an uncharted sea coast between the mouths of the Nizhnyaya Taimyr and Yenisei rivers was mapped. In the spring of 1742, Chelyuskin reached the northernmost point of Eurasia, and then closed his route with the survey of the previous year. It became clear that the expedition had discovered the peninsula. Theoretically, the task could be considered completed. But Laptev, on his own initiative, undertook a search in the interior of the peninsula. In the same year, 1742, on February 8, it starts from Turukhansk. And on March 19 we find ourselves in the area of present-day Norilsk: “We arrived at the mouth of the Norylskaya River, along which we drove up 10 miles to the Norylsk winter quarters to spend the night.” If you believe the magazine, it turns out that the winter hut was located in the place where the Valek River flows into the Norilsk River. That is, approximately where the village of the same name is now located. Having laid out a loop along Taimyr and brilliantly described the interior regions of the peninsula, especially the lake areas, Laptev set off on the return journey. On July 20, in the city of Mangazeysk, Chelyuskin overtook him. “On August 7, we left Mangazeya on a plank, and on September 6, 1742, we arrived in the city of Yeniseisk.” The journal of Khariton Laptev’s detachment puts an end to this.
FROM HEROES TO OBLIGATION
But not in life. He was in a hurry to report on the expedition. He did more than was ordered. In addition to a map of hitherto unexplored lands, Laptev brought to the capital the most valuable thing - knowledge of how to live and work in unbearable conditions without losses or with small losses. He understood the algorithm for exploring the Arctic. He developed a clear and accessible strategy that can be implemented.
He didn't take one thing into account. The government has changed. It is generally accepted that the reign of Anna Ioannovna was the pitch darkness of corruption and embezzlement, aggravated by iniquity and personally by the “fiend of hell Biron.” Anna was replaced by “Petrov’s daughter,” the new Empress Elizabeth. The brightest hopes were pinned on her. But in vain.
Suddenly it turned out that the Great Northern Project, of which Laptev’s expedition was a part, was possible only under the “darkness of Bironovism.” Yes, yes, Anna Ioannovna left the state budget with a surplus of two million rubles - a gigantic amount. With two million at one time, Peter the Great was able to completely reformat the Russian army and create a fleet. It would be logical to assume that his own daughter will continue the business.
But Laptev and his report were received extremely coldly under the new order. Here is an excerpt from a meeting of the Admiralty Board: “October 4, 1743. They listened to Lieutenant Khariton Laptev’s report... and ordered this report, a nautical chart and another smaller one... with a description, to be taken along and included in the general extract about the Kamchatsk expedition. From here he, Laptev, should be assigned to the local ship’s crew...”
All. That is, completely. No thanks for the extra work, no rewards. What about rewards? Everyone who returned from the expedition was considered “treasury squanderers,” so Khariton had to submit a separate report on the funds spent. When it came to the fact that it had now become clear exactly how Arctic research could be continued, the question was posed even more harshly: “There is no money in the treasury for such projects.” It is clear - the new empress was aimed at another “project” - no less ambitious. The construction of a new Winter Palace, the current Hermitage, was started. There was no place for exploration of new lands under the new government.
There was barely a place for Khariton himself. He received the next rank, captain of the second rank, only seven years later, in 1750. Next was the usual soldier's strap. He taught at the Marine Corps. During the Seven Years' War he commanded a battleship and took part in the siege of the Prussian city of Kolberg. He received captain of the first rank upon the accession to the throne of Catherine II - in 1762. Shortly before this he became Ober-Ster-Kriegs-Commissar of the Baltic Fleet. That is, the head of all quartermaster affairs. Again more than a bread position. And again, Laptev, instead of lining his pockets, serves conscientiously. And in the family village of Pekarevo there are big problems. The neighbor, landowner Abraham Abaryutin, seized part of the land, the litigation has been going on for many years, and there is nowhere to get money for bribes to judges...
Death came to Khariton Prokofievich on December 21, 1763. No longer to the captain - to the landowner. He was buried without military honors at the village chapel. The lists from his maps were used for another hundred and fifty years - they turned out to be so accurate. But the author was no longer interesting to anyone. The name of Khariton Laptev himself was finally fixed on geographical maps only in Soviet times.
Cover photo: Sergey Gorshkov
Text: Konstantin Kudryashov
Illustrations: Natalya Oltarzhevskaya
12/21/1763 (3.1). – Khariton Prokofievich Laptev, explorer of the Arctic and Russian North, captain 1st rank, died.
(1700–12/21/1763) - polar explorer, creator of the map of Taimyr, who wrote a glorious page in the history of the development of the Russian North. Born in 1700 into a family of small landed nobles in the village of Pekarevo, Velikoluksky district (later part of the Pskov province). He received his first education at Trinity Church under the guidance of priests. In 1715 he continued his studies at the St. Petersburg Maritime Academy, graduating in 1718.
He began serving in the navy in 1718 as a midshipman. In the spring of 1726 he was promoted to midshipman. In 1734 he took part in the War of the Polish Succession on the frigate Mitava, which was captured by the French by deception. After returning from captivity and being found innocent, Laptev returned to the fleet. In 1737 he commanded the court yacht "Dekrone" and was promoted to lieutenant. However, quiet service in the capital did not correspond to his character, and upon hearing that officers were being recruited for a long-distance expedition to Kamchatka and the Arctic, he applied for enlistment.
In December 1737, he was appointed head of one of the detachments with instructions to survey and describe the Arctic coast west of the Lena to the mouth of the Yenisei. They had no idea how labor-intensive this task was and how far to the north the Arctic tip of the earth’s continental land (now) goes.
In July 1739, Laptev and his people left Yakutsk on the double-boat "Yakutsk". Having gone out into the ocean and constantly struggling with the ice, walking now under sail, now under oars, now pushing with poles among the ice, almost a month later he reached the mouth of the Olenek River. Having described part of the mouth, he walked to Khatanga Bay, where he was detained by ice. Only on August 21 did he approach Cape St. Thaddeus at 76°47" north latitude. Here he encountered solid ice and returned to Khatanga Bay, where he had to spend the winter next to several Evenk families. Taking advantage of their experience, to protect the team from scurvy, Laptev included it in the daily diet Stroganina (frozen fresh fish) During the winter, he collected information from local residents about the northern coast, taking it into account in his plans.
The next year, by August, we again reached the ocean. At a latitude of 75°30" the ship was covered in ice and drifted across the sea, threatening to be crushed every minute. Two days later it was decided to abandon the ship, which had developed a leak; a day later it was crushed and sank along with the main part of the cargo. Having dragged some of the vital supplies to the shore along ice, after a grueling campaign, they returned to their old winter quarters on October 15. Thus, two years of efforts to go around the northern tip of Eurasia by sea failed (even large ships do not succeed every year in our time).Laptev decided to describe the shores by land, moving on dogs, to which he began with the onset of daylight in the spring of 1741. The polar day (when the sun does not set below the horizon, making circles in the sky) on Taimyr lasts about four months, and snow blindness became an unforeseen obstacle for the researchers.
Having sent surplus people on reindeer to Dudinka, Laptev left surveyor Nikifor Chekin, four soldiers, one carpenter and a non-commissioned officer to inventory the banks of Taimyr. Laptev divided the remaining ones into three groups. He initially sent Chelyuskin to the west to inventory the Pyasina River and the western bank from the mouth of the Pyasina to the Taimyra River. Chekin was sent to describe the eastern coast, moving northwest (that is, he had to discover the northernmost cape), but due to snow blindness, he described only 600 kilometers and was forced to return to the winter quarters. Laptev himself in April-May 1741 went from the winter quarters to Lake Taimyr and then along the Lower Taimyr reached the ocean. Then, changing the original route, he moved northeast along the coast to the expected meeting with Chekin. However, also suffering from snow blindness, Laptev was able to reach only 76°42’N, left a sign there for Chekin and returned to Taimyr Bay. The food warehouse previously prepared there for the expedition was stolen and eaten by polar bears and arctic foxes. Having barely recovered from an eye disease and hoping to find food from Chelyuskin, Laptev went west, examined several islands (from the Nordenskiöld archipelago), turned south and on June 1 at Cape Leman (in Middendorf Bay) met Chelyuskin. However, Semyon Ivanovich also had little food, and his dogs were very exhausted, so he had to hunt a polar bear. Further, in a joint campaign, they identified and mapped a number of bays, capes and coastal islands in the Kara Sea. This entire section of the Arctic Ocean was subsequently called the Khariton Laptev coast (and the famous northern cape, discovered a year later, was named after Chelyuskin).
On June 9, 1841, both returned to the mouth of the Pyasina, where they separated again: Laptev went up the river by boat to Lake Pyasino, and from there on reindeer went to the Yenisei, Chelyuskin on reindeer along the shore also reached the mouth of the Yenisei and there caught up with Laptev, and near Chekin met them at the mouth of the Dudinka River. In August, everyone moved to the Yenisei and spent the winter in Turukhansk to gain strength and prepare to describe the most inaccessible northern part of the Taimyr Peninsula. We decided to start this under polar night conditions. S.I. was sent there in December 1741. Chelyuskin, along with the three soldiers accompanying him and the cargo on five dog sleds. On May 7, 1742, Chelyuskin reached this cape and then made an inventory from Cape St. Thaddeus to the Taimyra River, where Laptev went to meet him. After that, they returned to Turukhansk, and Laptev went to St. Petersburg with reports and reports that contained valuable information about the previously unexplored Arctic coast, over two thousand kilometers long, and about the Taimyr Peninsula with its lakes and rivers.
Subsequently, Laptev continued to serve on ships of the Baltic Fleet. From 1746 he commanded the ship Ingermanland. In 1754 he was promoted to captain of the 3rd rank, in 1757 - to the 2nd rank. During the course, commanding the ship "Uriel", he went to Danzig and Karlskron, in 1758 he was promoted to captain of the 1st rank. In 1762, Ober-Ster-Kriegs was appointed commissar, who was in charge of providing the armed forces with everything necessary. Laptev worked in this position until his death in his native village of Pekarevo on December 21, 1763.
In honor of Khariton Laptev, the southwestern coast of the Taimyr Peninsula is named the Khariton Laptev Coast. The two capes of Makhotkin Island are named Cape Laptev and Cape Khariton. In 1913, the Russian Geographical Society approved the name Laptev Sea in honor of Khariton Laptev and his cousin Dmitry Yakovlevich Laptev (he also participated in the Great Northern Expedition, describing the shores east of the Lena River to the mouth of the Kolyma River).
