Khariton Prokofievich Laptev(1700 - December 21, 1763) - Russian polar explorer.

Khariton Prokofievich Laptev was born in 1700. In 1718 he entered the service as a midshipman and on May 24, 1726 he was promoted to midshipman.

In 1734, he took part in the war against Leshchinsky's supporters on the frigate Mitava under the command of Defremery, who was captured by the French by deception. After returning from captivity, Kh. P. Laptev, along with all the ship’s officers, was sentenced to death for surrendering the ship without a fight, but then the crew was found innocent. After his release, Kh. P. Laptev returned to the fleet.

In 1736 he was sent to the Don River to find a convenient place to build ships. In 1737, he commanded the court yacht Dekrone and was promoted to lieutenant. In December 1737, he was appointed head of a detachment of the Great Northern Expedition with instructions to survey and describe the Arctic coast west of the Lena to the mouth of the Yenisei. By this time, Dmitry Laptev, a participant in the Great Northern Expedition, arrived from Yakutsk for instructions for further actions, and when leaving, he took his cousin Khariton and Lieutenant Chikhanov with him. In March 1738 they left for Yakutsk.

On July 9, 1739, Khariton Laptev, with the task of describing the shore of the Arctic Ocean west of the Lena, left Yakutsk on the double-boat “Yakutsk” and reached the ocean on July 21. Constantly struggling with the ice, sometimes sailing, sometimes using oars, sometimes pushing with poles among the ice, almost a month later he reached the mouth of the Olenyok 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" northern latitude. Here he encountered solid ice and returned to Khatanga Bay, where on August 29 he stood at the mouth of the Bludnaya River at 72°56" northern latitude. In March 1740, Khariton Laptev sent surveyor Chekin to describe the coast from the Taimyr River west to Pyasina. Chekin managed to do only part of the work and at the end of May he returned on foot.

Khatanga was opened on June 15, but it became possible to move from the winter quarters to get the ice only on July 12 and by August 13 we reached the outlet to the ocean.

At latitude 75°30\" the ship was covered in ice and drifted across the sea, threatening to crush it every minute. After two days, it was decided to abandon the ship. Until August 30, they dragged supplies ashore on the ice. From here they walked along the coast to the old winter quarters. Thus, two years of efforts to go around The exploration of the Taimyr Peninsula by sea was not successful. Laptev decided to describe its shores by land, using dogs, which he began in the spring of 1741.

To inventory the shores of Taimyr, Laptev divided his detachment into three parties. On March 17, 1741, he sent Chelyuskin’s party west to inventory the Pyasina River and the shore from the mouth of the Pyasina to the Taimyra River. On April 15, 1741, Laptev sent surveyor Chekin to describe the eastern coast of Taimyr from the winter quarters to the Taimyr River, but due to snow blindness, Chekin described only 600 kilometers of the coast and was forced to return to the winter quarters. On April 24, 1741, Laptev himself went from the winter quarters to Lake Taimyr, and then along the valley of the Lower Taimyr River he reached its mouth - the Taimyr Bay. Next, changing the original route, he moved northeast along the coast to the expected meeting with Chekin. Laptev was able to reach only 76°42’N. Leaving a sign for Chekin and suffering from snow blindness, Laptev returned to Taimyr Bay.

Having barely recovered from his eye disease, Laptev went west and spotted several islands (from the Nordenskiöld archipelago), according to his data, reaching 76°38’N latitude. (true latitude was 77°10’N - the northern tip of Russky Island) turned south-southwest and on June 1 at Cape Leman (in Middendorf Bay) met with Chelyuskin. Further, on a joint voyage, they identified and mapped a number of bays, capes and coastal islands. This entire area was later called the Khariton Laptev coast.

On June 9, 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 to the Yenisei, Chelyuskin, on reindeer along the shore, reached the mouth of the Yenisei and there caught up with Laptev, and near the mouth of the Dudinka River they met Chekin. In August, everyone moved to the Yenisei and spent the winter in Turukhansk. It remained to describe the northernmost part of the Taimyr Peninsula, the so-called Northeastern Cape, now Cape Chelyuskin. For this purpose, Chelyuskin was sent in December, who on May 7 reached this cape and then made an inventory from Cape St. Thaddeus to the Taimyra River, where Khariton Laptev went to meet him. After that, they returned to Turukhansk, and Laptev went to St. Petersburg with reports. In 1743 he returned to St. Petersburg, having successfully completed the task. Laptev's reports and reports of 1739-1743 contained valuable information about the progress of the work of the northern detachment of the Great Northern Expedition, about the hydrography of the coast of the Taimyr Peninsula. Subsequently, he continued to serve on ships of the Baltic Fleet. Since 1746, he commanded the ship Ingermanland in the Baltic Sea. In 1754 he was promoted to captain of the 3rd rank, and in 1757 - to the 2nd rank, and at the same time, commanding the ship "Uriel", he went to Danzig and Karlskron. In 1758 he was promoted to 1st rank and, commanding a newly built 66-gun ship (still without a name), on the passage to Kronstadt, on September 19 he was wrecked near Skagen. In 1762 he was appointed Ober-Ster-Kriegs Commissioner.

Memory of Khariton Laptev

• The Laptev Sea is named after Khariton Laptev and his cousin Dmitry Laptev.
• In honor of Khariton Laptev, the southwestern coast of the Taimyr Peninsula is named the Khariton Laptev Coast.
• In honor of the Laptev brothers, a memorial sign was erected on the site of the former village of Bolotovo, Kupuysky volost, Velikoluksky district.

Dmitry Yakovlevich and Khariton Prokopyevich Laptev (XVIII century)

The Russian Navy gave our country not only wonderful naval commanders and scientists, but also a whole galaxy of brave travelers and explorers. The latter include cousins, fleet lieutenants Dmitry Yakovlevich and Khariton Prokopyevich Laptev, remarkable Russian polar explorers, participants in the Great Northern Expedition.

Peter I laid the foundation for one of the most ambitious scientific expeditions of all time - the Great Northern Expedition. The first, so-called Kamchatka, expedition set out to determine whether Asia and America are connected by an isthmus or separated by a strait. Commander was appointed head of the expedition Vitus Jonassen Bering, a Dane by origin, who was accepted by Peter I into service in the Russian fleet in his youth and served in it for 37 years.

This expedition, successfully carried out from 1725 to 1730, was the prologue to the second stage of work - the Great Northern Expedition, which worked from 1733 to 1743 and was led until 1741 by V. Bering.

The task of the expedition was to study and inventory the Russian shores from Yugorsky Shar to Kamchatka and put them on maps. Up to 600 people took part in it, divided into several detachments.

Two of them, under the command of lieutenants Pronchishchev and Lasinius, were supposed to, leaving Yakutsk along the Lena into the sea, examine and make an inventory of the coast - Pronchishchev from the Lena to the Yenisei and Lasinius - from the Lena to Kolyma and further to Kamchatka.

The units did not complete their task.

Peter Lasinius, Swede by nationality, was accepted into Russian service in 1725. He sailed a lot and was a competent navigator. Lasinius volunteered for the expedition. Bering appointed him head of a detachment that was supposed to describe the coast from the mouth of the Lena to Kamchatka. The detachment had a built in Yakutsk bot "Irkutsk""Eighteen meters long, five and a half meters wide, with a draft of two meters.

Lasinius and his detachment left Yakutsk on June 29, 1735, simultaneously with Pronchishchev’s detachment. Both detachments arrived on August 2 at Stolb Island, located at the beginning of the Lena delta.

On the second day, the Irkutsk, having passed the Bykovskaya Channel, reached the seaside. Two days later, after waiting for a fair wind, Lasinius took his ship out to sea.

Navigation was made difficult by large accumulations of ice and unfavorable winds. Therefore, already on August 18, Lasinius brought the boat to the mouth of the Kharaulakh River, deciding to spend the winter here.

The team quickly built a house from driftwood lying on the shore.

Counting on another two years of work, Lasinius decided to save food and halved the ration. Chronic malnutrition and ignorance of anti-scorbutic drugs led to widespread scurvy, which claimed the lives of thirty-eight people. Lasinius himself was one of the first to die.

Only 9 people survived this terrible winter. To save 9 people, Commander Bering sent a special expedition under the command of navigator Shcherbinin, who took them to Yakutsk. The boat "Irkutsk" remained at the mouth of Kharaulakh. Bering appointed one of his closest assistants, Lieutenant Dmitry Yakovlevich Laptev.

Dmitry Yakovlevich Laptev born in 1701 in the village of Bolotovo near Velikie Luki. In 1715, together with his cousin Khariton Laptev, Dmitry entered the Maritime Academy in St. Petersburg. After graduating from the Academy in 1718, he was promoted to midshipman and began serving in the Baltic Fleet on the ships of the Kronstadt squadron.

In 1721, Laptev received the rank of midshipman; in 1724, for special services in maritime science, he was promoted to non-commissioned lieutenant. Since 1725, the young officer served on the ship "Favourite", sailing along the Gulf of Finland. From 1727, for two years, Dmitry Laptev served as commander of the frigate "St. Jacob", and then as commander of a packet boat plying between Kronstadt and Lubeck.

Laptev's first acquaintance with the northern seas took place in the summer of 1730, when he sailed in the Barents Sea on the frigate "Russia" under the command of Captain Barsh. In 1731, Dmitry Laptev was promoted to lieutenant.

A highly educated and knowledgeable officer, Dmitry Laptev, was noticed by the Admiralty Board and included in the list of participants in the Great Northern Expedition. In July 1735, D. Ya. Laptev arrived in Yakutsk. He was instructed to lead a caravan of small river ships with the expedition's property along Aldan, May and Yudoma as close as possible to Okhotsk, build warehouses, store cargo in them, and then bring the ships to Yakutsk. Laptev successfully completed this task, guiding the ships to the Yudoma Cross.

Initially, it was planned to assign Lieutenant Laptev to the Bering-Chirikov detachment or to the Shpanberg detachment. However, in 1736, when the tragic fate of Lieutenant Lasinius’s detachment became clear, a decision was made to appoint Dmitry Laptev as the new commander of the Lena-Yenisei detachment.

Having received an order to replace the deceased Lasinius, D. Ya. Laptev formed a detachment in Yakutsk and in the spring of 1736, going out to sea along the Lena, he reached the mouth of the river in light boats. Kharaulakh, where the abandoned Irkutsk stood.

Having put the ship in order, D. Ya. Laptev returned to the river delta. Lena for loading food and equipment, delivered there in advance by boats from Yakutsk. On August 22, 1736, D. Ya. Laptev completed loading and went to sea, heading east. Heavy ice blocked the path. Just four days later, D. Ya. Laptev was forced to turn back. With difficulty he reached the Lena and, having climbed it, stood for the winter somewhat higher than Bulun.

The scurvy came again. But D. Ya. Laptev took into account the sad experience of his predecessor. He recommended to his team more air, more movement, and adequate nutrition. As a result, the winter went relatively well - everyone got scurvy, but only one person died.

In the summer of 1737, D. Ya. Laptev returned to Yakutsk to agree with Bering on a plan for further work. But Bering was no longer in Yakutsk. Here D. Ya. Laptev learned about the sad fate of Pronchishchev.

Biography

Born in 1702 in the Bogimovo estate of the Tarussky district of the Kaluga province (12 kilometers from the city of Aleksin) into the noble family of the Pronchishchevs. He was the fifth child in the family. In April 1716 he entered the Navigation School in Moscow, located in the Sukharevskaya Tower, as a student.

In 1718 he was transferred to St. Petersburg to the Naval Academy (he studied with Chelyuskin and Laptev) and became a midshipman. From 1718 to 1724, he served as a navigator's apprentice in the Baltic Fleet on the ships "Diana" and "Falk", the brigantine "Bernhardus", on the ships "Yagudiil", "Uriil", "Prince Eugene", and the gukor "Kronshlot".

In 1722 he took part in Peter's Persian campaign.

In 1727 he was promoted to navigator. Joined the commission for certification of naval ranks. In 1730 he was promoted to the rank of navigator 3rd rank. Vasily Pronchishchev serves on the packet boat "Postman", in 1731 on the ship "Friedrichstadt", on the frigate "Esperanza".

Lena-Yenisei detachment of the Great Northern Expedition

In 1733 Pronchishchev received the rank of lieutenant and took part in the Great Northern Expedition, leading the Lena-Yenisei detachment, which explored the coast of the Arctic Ocean from the mouth of the Lena to the mouth of the Yenisei.

June 30, 1735 Pronchishchev went from Yakutsk down the Lena to double boat "Yakutsk".

The Yakutsk crew consisted of more than 40 people, including navigator Semyon Chelyuskin and surveyor Nikifor Chekin.

But the name of Vasily Pronchishchev stands out especially in this series, because he went on a voyage with his wife, who became the world's first female polar explorer. Most likely, they knew each other since childhood - their fathers once served in the same regiment, and their family estates were located next door. Vasily Pronchishchev was born in 1702 in the town of Mytny Stan, Tarussky district, Kaluga province, into the family of a small nobleman. Tatyana Fedorovna Kondyreva born in 1710 near the city of Aleksin of the same Kaluga governorate and also in a family of poor nobles. ...Actually, the Admiralty Board allowed officers to take their wives and children with them. And this step was completely justified in view of the obvious duration of the expedition. But the presence of women on the campaign was allowed only on the basis of long stops and inevitable wintering quarters. In the same detachment, an extraordinary, incredible event occurred: contrary to the well-known naval tradition, Lieutenant Pronchishchev interferes with his young wife in carrying out a matter of state importance. A woman on a warship is an unprecedented case! Pronchishchev did this without permission or with Bering’s unofficial consent, modern history does not know. But for a long time, in all subsequent historical and memoir references, she was mistakenly called Maria.

The voyage along the Lena passed safely and on August 2, 1735, the expedition reached the island of Stolb, from which the Lena delta begins. Initially, Pronchishchev planned to go through the Krestyatskaya channel, which led to the west, but the search for a fairway in it due to the decline in water was not crowned with success, so he decided to lead the double-boat along the Bykovskaya channel to the southeast. On August 7, the ship anchored at the mouth of this channel, waiting for favorable winds.

On August 14, 1735, Pronchishchev took the ship around the Lena delta. After quite a long time, “Yakutsk” rounded the Lena delta and headed along the coast to the west. Pronchishchev was the first to map the Lena delta. The delay in the Lena delta did not allow Pronchishchev to advance far during the first navigation. The short northern summer was ending, a rather strong leak developed on the ship and Pronchishchev decided to winter in places where fins were still found and the ship could be repaired. On August 25, the detachment stopped for the winter at the mouth of the Olenyok River (river) near the settlement of fur traders, having built two huts from driftwood. The winter passed safely, but scurvy began in the detachment.

The spring of 1736 in Ust-Olenyok turned out to be late and the sea cleared of ice only by August. Despite the difficulties that arose, in the summer of 1736 Pronchishchev continued along the coast to the west. On August 5, 1736, the detachment reached the mouth of the Anabara River. Surveyor Baskakov, going upstream of the river, discovered ore outcrops.

On August 17, 1736, off the eastern coast of Taimyr, the expedition discovered islands that they named in honor of St. Peter. Transfiguration Island was also discovered.

Moving further north in the following days along the edge of the continuous ice fast ice, which lies off the coast of the Taimyr Peninsula, the detachment passed several bays. The northernmost of the bays, Pronchishchev, was mistakenly mistaken for the mouth of the Taimyra River (in fact, it is Teresa Klavenes Bay). The coast was completely deserted, without the slightest sign of habitation. At latitude 77, the path to the wooden ship was finally blocked by heavy ice, and the frost began to draw in the free water. These days Chelyuskin wrote:

“At the beginning of this 9 o’clock calm, the sky is cloudy and gloomy, there is a great frost and there is slush on the sea, from which we are in great danger, that if it stays so quiet for one day, we are afraid of freezing here. We entered deep ice that on both sides and in front of us there were great standing smooth ices. They walked by rowing oars. However, God be merciful, God grant us a capable wind, then this sludge was blown away.”

Soon the travelers lost sight of the shore. Pronchishchev ordered to determine the position of the vessel using navigation instruments. "Yakutsk" ended up at 77° 29" N. This is the northernmost point reached by the ships of the Great Northern Expedition. Only 143 years later, Baron Adolf Erik Nordenskiöld on the ship "Vega" will advance in these places just a few minutes further north. The further path was closed. In the north and west there was continuous ice with rare polynyas and it was impossible to pass them on a double boat. "Yakutsk" turned back with the intention of wintering at the mouth of the Khatanga. Subsequently it was established that the expedition entered the Vilkitsky Strait and moved slightly to the north and reached a latitude of 77 degrees 50 minutes. Only poor visibility did not allow the expedition members to see the Severnaya Zemlya archipelago and the northernmost point of Taimyr and all of Eurasia - Cape Chelyuskin.

Pronchishchev refused to land in Khatanga Bay, having found no settlements there, and the ship headed to the former Olenyok winter quarters.

On August 29, Pronchishchev went on a reconnaissance boat and broke his leg. Returning to the ship, he lost consciousness and soon died. The true cause of death - fat embolism syndrome due to a fracture - became known only recently, after the traveler's grave was opened in 1999. Previously it was believed that Pronchishchev died of scurvy.

The Yakutsk made its further journey under the command of navigator Chelyuskin. A few days later he managed to reach the Ust-Olenyok winter quarters, where Pronchishcheva was interred, and Tatyana Pronchishcheva soon died.

On October 2, “Yakutsk” went into winter quarters, and Chelyuskin went with a report to Yakutsk by sleigh. He was appointed the new commander of the dubel-boat and the head of the Lena-Yenisei detachment. Khariton Prokopyevich Laptev.

Seeing the difficult situation of the expedition, Dmitry Yakovlevich Laptev, as the closest assistant to the absent Bering, decided to go for instructions and help to St. Petersburg, to the Admiralty College.

D. Ya. Laptev covered the long journey from Yakutsk to St. Petersburg on horseback. D. Ya. Laptev had enough time to think about the reasons for the failures of Lasinius, Pronchishchev and his own and outline a plan for future actions. D. Ya. Laptev arrived in St. Petersburg, firmly knowing what was needed for further work.

The Admiralty Board listened carefully to the messages of D. Ya. Laptev and, having discussed them, considered it necessary to continue the work. The board released additional funds and equipment and, at the suggestion of D. Ya. Laptev, instead of the deceased Pronchishchev, appointed commander of "Yakutsk" Khariton Prokopyevich Laptev.

Kh. P. Laptev previously served with his brother on Baltic ships, traveled to the Don, looking for places suitable for organizing a shipyard. Returning to the Baltic in 1737, Kh. P. Laptev was appointed captain of the yacht "Dekrone".

In March 1738, the Laptev brothers, having received the funds and equipment necessary to extend the work, left St. Petersburg for Yakutsk.

Upon arrival at the site, they inspected and repaired their ships, equipped them, and made careful plans for the expedition, designed to carry out work both from sea and from land.

On June 18, 1739, Dmitry Yakovlevich Laptev left Yakutsk on the Irkutsk with a crew of 35 people; On July 5, having passed the Lena delta, he was already at sea, heading east.

According to the adopted plan, D. Ya. Laptev sent a detachment under the command of senior sailor Loshkin, heading to the mouth of the Yana River by land, and a second detachment to the mouth of the Indigirka River under the command of surveyor Kindyakov. It was also planned to organize the work further - between Indigirka and Kolyma. On July 8, the Irkutsk reached the mouth of the Yana River and gradually moved further and further east, until ice conditions near the mouth of the Indigirka River forced it to winter.

The crew left the ship and spent the winter on the shore. Everyone continued to work. The wintering went well, and during this time the team did a great job of studying the territory. With the onset of spring, D. Ya. Laptev sent some of the people by land to Kolyma to carry out an inventory of the shores, and he himself and the rest of the team returned to the ship. The ship was trapped in ice. It was separated from clean water by an ice field about a kilometer long. D. Ya. Laptev took a difficult but true path. A channel was cut through the ice for a kilometer through which the ship came out into clear water.

But the sailors' joy was short-lived. A storm broke out, again surrounding the ship with ice and throwing it aground. To refloat the ship, it was necessary to completely unload and disarm it, even the masts were removed. The sailors fought for the life of the ship and their own for two weeks. But finally, the Irkutsk was refloated and safely reached the mouth of the Kolyma; Having completed the necessary work here, D. Ya. Laptev moved further to the east.

Impassable ice was encountered at Cape Baranov. D. Ya. Laptev decided to return for the winter to Nizhnekolymsk on the Kolyma River. Wintering went well again. People continued to work.

In the summer of 1741, D. Ya. Laptev made another attempt to travel by sea east of Kolyma. Again, impassable ice was encountered at Cape Baranov, forcing the expedition to return to Nizhnekolymsk.

Having carefully processed the compiled inventories of the coast from the Lena to the Kolyma, D. Ya. Laptev went to the Anadyr prison on dogs and made a detailed inventory of the river. Anadyr and in the fall of 1742 returned to St. Petersburg.

Khariton Prokopyevich Laptev left Yakutsk at the end of July 1738, somewhat later than his brother. The Yakutsk crew, sailing with Lieutenant Pronchishchev, was taken by him almost unchanged. The navigator also set off on a new voyage Semyon Ivanovich Chelyuskin.

On August 17, Kh. P. Laptev reached the bay, to which he gave the name “Nordvik”. Having explored the bay, Kh. P. Laptev moved further to the west, visited Khatanga Bay and, leaving it, discovered Transfiguration Island. Then he headed north, following the eastern coast of the Taimyr Peninsula. At Cape Fadeya, ice blocked the way. Winter was approaching. Kh. P. Laptev returned back and spent the winter at the mouth of the Bludnaya River, in Khatanga Bay.

The team spent the winter safely in a house built from driftwood collected on the shore. Despite the winter conditions, work did not stop. At the same time, preparations were made for summer work from the sea and from the land.

At the wintering site, Kh. P. Laptev left large supplies of food and equipment. With the onset of spring, land survey work began. The boatswain Medvedev was sent to the mouth of the Pyasina River, and the surveyor Chekin with troops and food was sent to the mouth of the Taimyra River. These two detachments were unable to complete the work, but they found out the situation and gave Kh. P. Laptev the information necessary for the successful completion of work in the future. Kh. P. Laptev himself in August 1740, immediately after the ice broke up, made another attempt to bypass the Taimyr Peninsula by sea from the north. The attempt failed. The ship was trapped in ice and died. The crew and cargo were, by order of Kh. P. Laptev, transferred to the ice in advance.

The shore was 15 miles from the accident site. The team walked on foot, carrying loads, and moved towards the shore. But the closest accommodation was the expedition base at the mouth of the Bludnaya River. Kh. P. Laptev sent his detachment there. Four people could not bear the difficulties of the journey and died along the way. The rest made it to the base. Again a successful winter in the old place. The spring of 1741 came. Kh. P. Laptev, having lost his ship, decided to continue his research by land. He singled out three groups from his detachment. He sent one group under the command of navigator Semyon Chelyuskin to the mouth of the Pyasina River with the task of exploring the coast from the mouth of the Pyasina towards the mouth of the Taimyra.

The second group, under the command of surveyor Chekin, was supposed to examine the coast from the mouth of the Taimyra River. The third group was headed by Kh. P. Laptev himself. He had in mind to explore the interior regions of the eastern part of the Taimyr Peninsula and go to the mouth of the Taimyr River, where he was supposed to meet with the first two groups.

To ensure the normal operation of the groups, Kh. P. Laptev sent spare food and equipment ahead of each of them. Kh. P. Laptev sent all the people who were not included in the expedition groups and excess cargo on reindeer to Turukhansk.

Chekin soon returned to base, having not completed the task due to the difficulty of the journey and illness. Chelyuskin reached his destination and began work.

Kh. P. Laptev himself headed deep into the Taimyr Peninsula, went to Lake Taimyr, went down the Taimyr River to the sea and went to meet Chelyuskin.

Having finished their work, the travelers spent the winter in the city of Turukhansk on the Yenisei. In the spring of 1742, Semyon Chelyuskin returned to Taimyr to explore the remaining undescribed part of the peninsula and reached the extreme northern point of Asia - a rocky cape, which was later named after him. Cape Chelyuskin is located at 77°43" north latitude and 104°17" east longitude.

Having finished his work, Khariton Prokopyevich Laptev returned from Turukhansk to St. Petersburg, where he continued to serve in the navy, holding command positions. He died on January 1, 1764.

More than two centuries separate us from the time when, overcoming constant difficulties and hardships, exposing themselves to all sorts of dangers, the Laptev brothers studied the distant and harsh sea and its coast.

They carried out their work on weak wooden ships, with primitive equipment and tools. They provided a variety of information about the nature of the region, its geography, coastline, sea depths, tides, population, magnetic declination, fauna, vegetation, etc. The thoroughness, accuracy and conscientiousness with which they carried out their work is amazing, how The strength of their will and love for their homeland is amazing, which allowed them to complete such a difficult task.

The sea whose shores they studied was named Laptev Sea.

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 intended 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).

KHARITON PROKOFIEVICH LAPTEV

The name of Khariton Laptev became widely known in Russia only a century after his feat.

Laptev has the honor of discovering the huge Taimyr Peninsula, stretching to the north between the Lena and Yenisei. Before Laptev appeared on these shores, the existence of Taimyr was not known in Russia.

Only Laptev was the first to establish the size and extent of this peninsula, described its relief and natural conditions, compiled the first navigational map of its shores and a unique geographical description of the nature of the interior regions and the peoples who inhabited them.

The work done by Laptev in the most difficult conditions of the wild nature of the North was so enormous that some even doubted the reality of his detachment reaching the northern point of Asia.

Khariton Prokofievich Laptev came from an old, albeit impoverished, family of Velikiye Luki nobles.

He was born in 1700 in the small village of Pekarevo, Slautsk camp, Velikiye Luki province. Here Khariton spent his childhood, receiving his primary education under the guidance of a local priest. In 1715, by decree of Peter I, among the noble minorities of the northern provinces, “as if living by water communications,” enrollment was carried out for the Maritime Academy, newly organized in the new Russian capital. Khariton Laptev went there with his younger brother Dmitry.

In 1718, the Laptev brothers, after passing their exams, were promoted to midshipmen and enlisted in the Baltic Fleet. Two years later, Khariton Laptev was promoted to the rank of non-commissioned navigator.

Five years later he was sent to Italy as part of a special naval mission, and upon his return Laptev was promoted to the first officer rank of midshipman.

In 1774, Khariton Laptev took part in the War of the Polish Succession, but there he was met with failure.

The frigate Mitau, on which Laptev served, was sent to Danzig with the task of finding out which countries' ships were supporting the contender for the Polish throne, Stanislav Leszczynski. However, the commander of the Kronstadt squadron, Admiral Gordon, who sent Laptev to conduct reconnaissance, did not write in the “warrant” given to the frigate commander that the French ships should be considered enemy. All this led to the fact that Mitau was surrounded by military ships of Stanislav Leszczynski's allies, and the entire crew of the frigate was captured.

Laptev also shared the fate of the Mitau crew. After the end of hostilities, prisoners were exchanged and the officers of the frigate were put on trial by military court on charges of surrendering the frigate to the enemy without a fight. According to Peter the Great's naval regulations, officers could lose their lives for such an offense. The verdict had already been passed, but there were witnesses who confirmed that the “warrant” did not consider the French ships to be enemy ships. A new investigation was ordered, and only in February 1736 the Mitau officers were released.

At first, Laptev sailed on the frigate Victoria in the Baltic Sea. Then he was sent to build warships in case of war with Turkey. After completing this task, Laptev returned to St. Petersburg, where he was assigned to command the court yacht Dekrone.

However, having learned that officers were needed for the Kamchatka expedition, Laptev in February 1737 submitted a petition addressed to Empress Anna Ioannovna with a request to send him to Siberia. For several months he waited for a response to his petition and only in December he was approved as commander of the double-boat “Yakutsk” of the Lena-Yenisei detachment with promotion to the next rank of lieutenant.

The instructions given to Laptev at the Admiralty Board instructed him to travel by sea from the Lena to the Yenisei and describe the unknown shores. Laptev was given a four-year period to complete the task. The Admiralty Board granted Laptev fairly broad powers to carry out the task, allowing him to resolve many issues at his own discretion.

In March 1738, Khariton and Dmitry Laptev left for Siberia.

On the way, they stopped in Kazan, where everything necessary for the expedition was located.

The Laptev convoy first walked along the Volga to the mouth of the Kama, then along the Kama and Chusovaya. The cargo was transported through the Urals by horse-drawn convoys to the Tura River. In Verkhoturye, all property was loaded onto small barges and boats, which moved along the Tura through Tyumen to the Tobol River.

From Tobolsk, barges with cargo traveled along the Irtysh to its confluence with the Ob, from where they went up the Ob to the Kebi River. From Kebi the barges went to the Makovsky fort, where all the property was loaded onto horses and transported to Yeniseisk.

By sledge, by the new year 1739, the Laptevs reached Ust-Kut on the Lena River, where planks and barges were already being built for floating equipment down the river.

On June 8, 1739, the Yakutsk moved downstream of the Lena. A large yalboat with firewood was in tow. A kayak with flour was towed behind the boardwalk.

The voyage along the Lena continued for more than a month, and finally, on July 21, 1737, the Yakutsk set out to sea heading west. Along the way, he often encountered ice floes, which the Yakutsk successfully avoided.

On July 27, high rocky headlands were discovered surrounding the entrance to the bay, which was not marked on the map. This was Cape Pax. Laptev gave this bay the name Nordvik (Northern Bay). Having completed the description of Nordvik, Laptev moved north. The further advancement of the Yakutsk was hampered by ice, which became more and more abundant.

Laptev intended to unload part of the provisions from the overloaded ship in the winter quarters of Konechny, located 12 km north of Cape Sibirsky, in case the Yakutsk died in the ice, and the crew would have to travel on foot. However, an east wind blew from the sea and ice appeared again, and Laptev ordered to go south, to the Khatoichsky Bay, where there was another winter quarters at the mouth of the Zhuravleva River. There was another winter quarters here, to which the boat was moved. Here the expedition members left the boat, and then the Yakutsk rushed with full sail along the eastern coast. Along the way he encountered almost no ice floes.

From the island of St. Paul (modern island of St. Andrew) "Yakutsk" walked along the coast to the west. However, he soon encountered ice floes again, which forced Laptev to swim near the shore. On the night of August 20, the south wind drove away the ice floes, and, using the resulting clearing, the Yakutsk crew first rowed and then sailed. Soon they entered Thaddeus Bay, which they mistakenly took for the mouth of the Taimyr River. It was never possible to find the mouth of the river, and Laptev designated the cape entering the sea as Cape Thaddeus.

It was impossible to go further beyond the cape to the north, and Laptev sent out small groups of people to scout out whether there was any passage in the ice floes. However, it soon became clear that ice floes covered all visible space in the north, and then Laptev decided to convene all the non-commissioned officers of his team for a council to decide on further actions. The council unanimously spoke in favor of returning to the south, where it was necessary to camp for the winter.

On August 22, the Yakutsk headed southeast. Under a favorable stormy northwest wind, the dubel-boat entered the Khatanga Bay by the morning of August 27.

Here Laptev intended to pick up the large yawlboat and provisions left from the winter quarters. However, the ice surrounded the coast so tightly that it was impossible to approach it.

It was decided to look for a new winter shelter for the ship and people. Such a place was found on the Khatanga Bay at the mouth of the Popichay River.

On August 28, the Yakutsk arrived at the winter hut, next to which by mid-September five residential buildings and barns were built, in which sails, cannons and provisions were stored. Laptev’s detachment was located in this village.

Provisions from the Ust-Olenek winter quarters were also transported here. In addition, fresh fish and reindeer meat were brought from the neighboring winter quarters.

Already in the winter hut, Laptev was thinking about continuing the work. The initial task at this stage was to determine from the sea the mouths of the Taimyra and Pyasina rivers. Already at the beginning of April, Laptev sent several people, led by surveyor N. Chekin, to inspect the coast of the mouth of the Taimyr and Pyasina rivers with a deck survey of the coast. However, the trip ended in failure, since Chekin had no experience in sleigh rides.

On June 15, Khatanga opened up and was soon freed from ice. On July 8, food and barrels of fresh water, which could be needed for sailing at sea, were loaded onto the Yakutsk.

On July 12, the Yakutsk left the coast and by the morning of the next day reached the last cape of the Khatanga River, called Korta. A large yawlboat was left here as unnecessary. However, it was still impossible to sail further - the bay was covered with unbroken ice. Only on July 30 did it become free of ice, and the Yakutsk set off, but two days later it found itself at an impassable wall of standing ice.

With great difficulty, Laptev and his comrades managed to find a channel and go to the mouth of the Zhuravleva River.

By the evening of August 12, the southeast wind dispersed the ice floes and the Yakutsk again began to make its way north. However, the voyage did not last long; the next day the Yakutsk was covered in ice. The dubel-boat was severely dented by ice floes, a leak appeared in it, no measures taken by the Yakutsk crew could save the vessel. Not only the Yakutsk, but the entire crew was in danger of death. However, standing ice was discovered to the west of the wreck site, which could have saved the ship's crew. With great difficulty, the boat filled with water was dragged along the standing ice, onto which they began to unload the cargo on board the Yakutsk.

By August 16, the crew of the ship went ashore, where they began to take everything removed from the ship. Here, on the steep rocky coast, Laptev ordered to dig round holes, line their bottom with driftwood, make ceilings from poles, covering them with brought sails taken from the Yakutsk. They had to spend time in these “earth yurts” until the ice became strong and it would be possible to cross it to the winter quarters.

On September 20, the ice became so strong that Laptev decided to send a group of nine soldiers led by Chekin to the southern shore of Maria Pronchishcheva Bay. They had to get to the nearest winter hut and ask for help there.

Laptev divided his entire detachment into three groups so that on the way they could stop in small fishing huts, changing each other. Laptev himself went with a second group of 15 people. A group led by navigator S. Chelyuskin was to follow him. Only sick soldiers and sailors, of whom there were four in total, were left in the yurt.

In five days, Laptev’s group covered 120 kilometers and finally arrived at Kozhin’s winter quarters.

On November 25, Laptev sent a report to the Admiralty Board, in which he outlined all the circumstances of the death of the Yakutsk and the council’s decision to conduct land surveys of the coast in the spring in groups of several people on dog sleds. The groups had to move towards each other from the mouths of the Khatanga, Nizhnyaya Taimyra and Pyasina rivers. It was decided to send soldiers and sailors who were not supposed to be involved in the filming to the Yenisei.

However, the first attempt to film the shores was unsuccessful for many of its participants, including Laptev himself; many fell ill with snow blindness - light burns of the eyes. Having barely recovered from his “personal illness,” Laptev rode west to meet Chelyuskin, who was moving from the east.

Along the way, Laptev discovered several small islands that were not marked on his map. On May 24, he crossed the strait, discerning an island visible in the north (now called Russian). At its southwestern tip, many hills were discovered, with no land between them. Laptev did not suspect that the hills were small islands, also already mapped.

From Russky Island, Laptev headed towards the western edge of the array of islands in the western part of the Nordenskiöld archipelago. Here he landed on a high island, later named after Makarov.

On May 28, Laptev and his companions set out south. However, on the way they were overtaken by a blizzard, visibility was lost, and instead of standing ice, the travelers almost hit the target that separated the hummocks from the standing ice.

On June 1, 1741, a meeting between Laptev’s group and Chelyuskin’s group took place near Cape Leman. Both groups traveled many kilometers towards each other along the northern coast from the mouths of the Pyasina and Taimyra rivers. “The weather is pretty bad,” Laptev wrote in his journal, describing this meeting. - Since noon, navigator Chelyuskin came to meet us, whose dogs that came with him were very thin, and a small number came with him. And, having fed the dogs, we set off to return the navigator.”

When the Pyasina River cleared of ice, Laptev swam up it, and then along its tributary, the Pure River, to the Yenisei. Laptev made the further journey across the tundra on reindeer, and the very next day he switched to a plank and went up the Yenisei, photographing the river banks along the way all the way to Turukhansk.

On August 29, Laptev and most of his detachment gathered in Mangazitsk (Turukhansk). During research in the spring of 1741, the Laptev expedition mapped a previously unknown sea coast between the mouth of the Nizhnyaya Taimyr and Yenisei rivers. However, it was still necessary to explore one route through the interior regions of Taimyr.

On February 8, 1742, Laptev, together with four sailors, left Turukhansk, and on March 2 arrived in Dudinka. Then Laptev rode on reindeer to the east of the Yenisei.

On March 19, he reached the mouth of the Norilskaya River and continued on his way to Lake Taimyr to meet Chelyuskin’s group. However, he soon realized that his further progress was difficult, since due to the early spring the snow had become soft. Having prepared a storehouse with provisions for Chelyuskin’s group, Laptev set off on the return journey.

At the sites, he gave orders to provide Chelyuskin’s team with deer or boats. On June 27, he reached the mouth of the Dudina River in the winter quarters of Bobylevo and, as soon as the Yenisei cleared of ice, on July 16, on a yasash plank, he arrived in Turukhansk, where four days later Chelyuskin arrived with his party.

In the fall of 1742, the entire Laptev detachment gathered in Yeniseisk. Laptev sent his report on the completion of the campaign to the Admiralty Board, accompanied by Chelyuskin.

In the winter of 1743, Laptev's detachment was disbanded. He himself was involved in drawing up two report maps and describing the territory he surveyed.

After hearing the report, the Admiralty Board decided to assign Laptev to the ship’s crew of the Baltic Fleet. He remained in his previous rank of lieutenant, without receiving any awards for his five years of work. Only seven years later, Laptev was awarded the rank of captain in connection with his appointment as assistant director of the newly opened Naval Cadet Corps.

During the Seven Years' War of 1757–1762, Laptev, with the rank of captain 2nd rank, commanded a warship blockading the Prussian coast. After the end of the war, he was appointed "Ober-Ster-Kriegskommissar" (chief quartermaster) of the Baltic Fleet.

But due to his failing health, Laptev retired to his Velikiye Luki village of Pekarevo, where he died on December 21, 1763.

The northwestern part of the coast of Taimyr, where in 1741 Laptev met Chelyuskin (the coast of Khariton Laptev), is named after Khariton Laptev. In 1878 A.E. Nordenskiöld named the southeastern tip of Taimyr Island Cape Laptev. In the Laptev Sea, on the northeastern coast of Taimyr, there is Cape Khariton Laptev.

In August 1980, on the high bank of the Khatanga River, at the site of the winter mooring of the double boat "Yakutsk", where the houses in which the expedition members lived were located, a monument to its participants was unveiled. The 5-meter-high monument is a metal cone-shaped cable sea buoy. This monument helps naval vessels navigate the fairway of the Khatanga River, emerging here from the Laptev Sea, along the path that Khariton Laptev’s detachment once laid here.

When passing by the monument, by order of the captain of the ship, a sound signal is given for a quarter of minutes, and in the ship's broadcast, the crew and everyone on board the ship is announced in whose honor this salute is being given.

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Khariton Prokofievich Laptev (d. 1763) Russian navigator. Place of birth and time of birth unknown. He began serving in the navy in 1718. In 1737 he received the rank of lieutenant, and two years later he was appointed commander of a detachment of the Great Northern Expedition. In 1739, the detachment

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 acumen 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 unexplored 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, the 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