On June 2, 1808, in the village of Nikolaevka, Penza province, the great Russian traveler Lavrenty Zagoskin was born into a noble family. He was the leader of the largest Russian expedition deep into Alaska, which collected rich geographical, geological, zoological and ethnographic materials. To his contemporaries, Zagoskin was known as a humanist, completely intolerant of any kind of injustice.

A sharp twist of fate

After receiving his initial education at home and in a private boarding school, Zagoskin entered the Naval Cadet Corps in St. Petersburg, where he was mentored by officers who participated in Russian round-the-world trips and in the discovery of Antarctica. His final exams were taken by the legendary navigator Ivan Kruzenshtern, who headed the first Russian round-the-world expedition.

In 1826, Zagoskin graduated from the Cadet Corps, received the rank of midshipman and was sent to serve in the Caspian Sea. His career started successfully. He delivered provisions to Russian troops in Transcaucasia and for some time was adjutant to the commander-in-chief of the Astrakhan port and flotilla.

During one of the voyages during the Russo-Persian War, Zagoskin managed to break through along the Kura River to the main forces of the Russian troops under Persian fire. His decisiveness so embarrassed the enemy that he retreated, fearing larger maneuvers from the Russians. For his actions in Transcaucasia, Zagoskin was awarded a medal and an annual salary.

However, soon a tragic incident occurred in the fate of Zagoskin, which, according to historians, largely predetermined his future life: the steamer Araks, which he commanded, burned down due to an unextinguished candle. For this, Zagoskin was demoted to the rank and file. Some time later, taking into account past merits, he was returned to the rank of lieutenant, but the stain in the service record remained.

For three and a half years he served in the Baltic Sea, however, according to historians, Zagoskin felt that he could not forget the story of the fire, and decided to radically change his fate by signing a contract with the Russian-American Company.

  • The capture of the Erivan fortress by Russian troops
  • © Franz Roubaud/History Museum of Armenia

Zagoskin went to the new duty station through Siberia. There he met with the exiled Decembrists, delivering them letters and parcels from relatives and friends. Biographers of the traveler write that he sympathized with the Decembrists, but did not fully share their views, believing that they did not understand the people and their needs.

In 1839, Zagoskin took up his duties in the Russian-American Company, having received under his command the brig Okhotsk. For about three years he sailed between various points in Russian America and Eastern Siberia, and spent several months in California. During one of the voyages, Zagoskin met Ilya Voznesensky, an employee of the Academy of Sciences seconded to America, who taught him the basics of mineralogy, botany and zoology.

'A real feat'

In 1840, Zagoskin appealed to the leadership of the Russian-American Company with a proposal to organize an expedition deep into the mainland of Alaska - in a territory completely unknown to the Russians. His reports were received by the head of the board of the company in Alaska, Adolph Aetolin, and one of its directors in St. Petersburg, Ferdinand Wrangel. Both were experienced travelers, they liked Zagoskin's idea.

In 1842, Etolin officially approved the expedition. The formal basis for its organization was to find out the ways of leakage of furs from Alaska, bypassing the trading points of the Russian Trading Company and the development of plans to curb smuggling. At the same time, according to historians, the real goal of Zagoskin's enterprise was much broader: Russian administrators wanted to study the interior regions of Alaska in order to "stake out" them and prevent further invasion of foreign industrialists.

Direct preparation for the expedition took place in the Mikhailovsky redoubt. Zagoskin not only supervised the preparation of equipment, but also conducted the first scientific research at that time.

"I became a mineralogist, an entomologist ... a zoologist ... My hut has been installed and hung with all possible rarities," he would later write.

In December 1842, Zagoskin, at the head of a small group of travelers, moved east. The members of the expedition had to overcome thousands of kilometers of previously unknown routes on sleds, boats and their feet. According to historians, the temperatures were so low that the cold froze the mercury in the thermometers. The expedition was attacked by wolves. Researchers often had to move through deep loose snow, after which, soaked through, they fell off their feet from exhaustion. Travelers spent the night in a felt tent, in the villages of local residents or just by the fire in the open air. The members of the expedition had to eat only breadcrumbs with tea for a long time.

"Nothing was really known about what peoples lived in the depths of Alaska, and how they were disposed. Finding himself face to face with them, Zagoskin took a mortal risk. But he managed to find a common language with those with whom he met, "said Alexander Petrov, chief researcher at the Institute of Linguistics of the Russian Academy of Sciences, professor at the Moscow State Linguistic University, in a commentary to RT.

  • Alaska, painting by American artist Albert Bierstadt
  • © Sepia Times/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

Zagoskin carefully described every kilometer of the way in his diary. The members of the expedition maintained good relations with the locals. Indians and Eskimos were given beads, tea, tobacco. Zagoskin asked them about the places he planned to visit, about the customs of local peoples. He surveyed and mapped the Yukon River and much of the course of the Kuskokwim River.

During the expedition, Zagoskin collected 38 species of birds, about 70 species of insects, 50 species of rocks, as well as ethnographic materials, including weapons, clothing and household items of local tribes. The expedition carried out an astronomical reference of 42 points on the ground.

The journey of Zagoskin and his companions lasted 566 days and became the most scientifically fruitful expedition in the history of Russian America. The research was completed in the summer of 1844.

  • Postage stamp "L. A. Zagoskin. A Study of Alaska, 1842-1844", released in 1992 (on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the beginning of research).
  • © Wikimedia

After the delivery of the equipment owned by the Russian-American company, it turned out that the cost of the furs purchased by Zagoskin on the way significantly exceeded the amount of expenses incurred. The traveler not only explored a previously unexplored land, but also made his expedition self-sustaining.

"It was a grand overland journey. Before Zagoskin, no one had even taken on this. He described a vast territory along with its population, geological structure, flora, fauna. His actions can only be assessed as a real feat, "said Natalia Kargapolova, a senior researcher at the State Historical Museum, in an interview with RT.

In 1845, Zagoskin returned to St. Petersburg. The materials of the expedition were published almost immediately. They were highly appreciated not only by scientists, but also by members of the public. Zagoskin's articles were noted even by the well-known literary critic Vissarion Belinsky.

  • Poster of the play "The Yukon Raven" dedicated to the 210th anniversary of L. A. Zagoskin (Penza Youth Theater, 2018)
  • © Wikimedia

After the completion of the expedition, Zagoskin was awarded the Order of St. Anne of the 3rd degree, presented to the rank of lieutenant commander and received a large cash prize from the Russian-American Company. In turn, in St. Petersburg, the results of Zagoskin's work were rated much higher. The Russian Geographical Society elected him a full member, and the Academy of Sciences awarded him the Demidov Prize.

In 1848, Zagoskin retired from military service. For some time he held various government positions, and then moved to the Ryazan province to the estate owned by his wife.

During the Crimean War, Zagoskin, with the rank of major, entered the militia. He served in the area of Nikolaev, commanding one of the militia squads. After the signing of the peace treaty, he returned to the Ryazan province, where after a while he was elected a justice of the peace. According to historians, Zagoskin was a staunch opponent of serfdom and welcomed its abolition by Alexander II.

  • Monument to L. A. Zagoskin in Ryazan (2018)
  • © Wikimedia

"Zagoskin risked his life in order to reveal the riches of Alaska to his country, and its sale caused him a sharply negative reaction. But he could not influence what happened, "said Vitaly Zakharov, a professor at Moscow State Pedagogical University, in an interview with RT.

Lavrenty Zagoskin died in Ryazan on February 3, 1890.

"With a keen interest he treated everything that went out of the sphere of ordinary everyday vulgarity, to everything that awakened society and developed in it ideal aspirations. Naturally kind and loving, he resented any injustice and sharply condemned everything dishonest and bad, "historian and archaeologist Alexei Selivanov wrote in memory of Zagoskin.