Georgy Lvovich Brusilov (russian: Гео́ргий Льво́вич Бруси́лов; May 19, 1884 – disappeared in 1914) was a Russian

naval officer An officer is a person who holds a position of authority as a member of an armed force or uniformed service. Broadly speaking, "officer" means a commissioned officer, a non-commissioned officer, or a warrant officer. However, absent contex ...

of the

Imperial Russian Navy The Imperial Russian Navy () operated as the navy of the Russian Tsardom and later the Russian Empire from 1696 to 1917. Formally established in 1696, it lasted until dissolved in the wake of the February Revolution of 1917. It developed from ...

and an

Arctic The Arctic ( or ) is a polar region located at the northernmost part of Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean, adjacent seas, and parts of Canada (Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut), Danish Realm (Greenland), Finland, Iceland, N ...

explorer. His father, Lev Brusilov, was also a naval officer. In 1912 Brusilov led a maritime expedition which was intended to explore and map a route from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific via a northeast passage, also called the

Northern Sea Route The Northern Sea Route (NSR) (russian: Се́верный морско́й путь, ''Severnyy morskoy put'', shortened to Севморпуть, ''Sevmorput'') is a shipping route officially defined by Russian legislation as lying east of No ...

. His expedition disappeared almost without a trace, and despite searches its ultimate fate was unknown until 2010.

Arctic expeditions

Arctic Ocean Hydrographic Expedition

During 1910–1911, Georgy Brusilov participated in the Arctic Ocean Hydrographic Expedition of the

Russian Hydrographic Service The Russian Hydrographic Service, full current official name Department of Navigation and Oceanography of the Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation ( rus, Управление навигации и океанографии Министер ...

icebreaker An icebreaker is a special-purpose ship or boat designed to move and navigate through ice-covered waters, and provide safe waterways for other boats and ships. Although the term usually refers to ice-breaking ships, it may also refer to smaller ...

s ''Taymyr'''' and ''Vaygach'''', visiting the Chukchi Sea and East Siberian Sea.

Brusilov Expedition

In 1912, Brusilov commanded the Brusilov Expedition using the brig ''St. Anna'', which was intended to travel from the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

to the

Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the contine ...

by the

.Agence France Press
Scientist At Work: Russia Finds Last-Days Log of 1912 Arctic Expedition

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

, September 13, 2010. One of the members of the expedition was a 22-year-old nurse, Yerminia Zhdanko, daughter of a general who had been a hero in the

Russo-Japanese War The Russo-Japanese War ( ja, 日露戦争, Nichiro sensō, Japanese-Russian War; russian: Ру́сско-япóнская войнá, Rússko-yapónskaya voyná) was fought between the Empire of Japan and the Russian Empire during 1904 and 1 ...

. By mid-September, Captain Brusilov's expedition reached the

Kara Sea The Kara Sea (russian: Ка́рское мо́ре, ''Karskoye more'') is a marginal sea, separated from the Barents Sea to the west by the Kara Strait and Novaya Zemlya, and from the Laptev Sea to the east by the Severnaya Zemlya archipelago. ...

through the Yugorsky Shar Strait, but soon became icebound near the western shores of the

Yamal Peninsula The Yamal Peninsula (russian: полуостров Ямал, poluostrov Yamal) is located in the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug of northwest Siberia, Russia. It extends roughly 700 km (435 mi) and is bordered principally by the Kara ...

and was drifting helplessly towards the north. Brusilov wintered in the hope of seeing his ship freed in the next year's thaw. However, the summer of 1913 came and the ''St. Anna'' remained locked in sea ice. It drifted far north with the pack ice, leaving the

and entering the

Arctic Ocean The Arctic Ocean is the smallest and shallowest of the world's five major oceans. It spans an area of approximately and is known as the coldest of all the oceans. The International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) recognizes it as an ocean, a ...

. Captain Brusilov became ill and was bedridden for months. Many members of the crew succumbed to

scurvy Scurvy is a disease resulting from a lack of vitamin C (ascorbic acid). Early symptoms of deficiency include weakness, feeling tired and sore arms and legs. Without treatment, decreased red blood cells, gum disease, changes to hair, and bleeding ...

. During the spring of 1914, Brusilov's lieutenant,

Valerian Albanov Valerian Ivanovich Albanov (russian: Валериа́н Ива́нович Альбанов; 26 May 1881 – 1919) was a Russian navigator, best known for being one of two survivors of the Brusilov expedition of 1912, which killed 22. Ea ...

, along with some members of the ''St.Annas crew, abandoned the ship and tried to walk south over the drifting ice. The only two survivors – navigator Valerian Albanov and sailor

Alexander Konrad Alexander Eduardovich Konrad (russian: Алекса́ндр Эдуа́рдович Ко́нрад; 1890 – 1940) was a Russian sailor. Along with Valerian Albanov, he was one of two survivors, and the only surviving sailor, of the Brusilov exp ...

– managed to reach

Cape Flora Northbrook Island (russian: остров Нортбрук) is an island located in the southern edge of the Franz Josef Archipelago, Russia. Its highest point is 344 m above sea level. Northbrook Island is one of the most accessible locations i ...

Franz Josef Land Franz Josef Land, Frantz Iosef Land, Franz Joseph Land or Francis Joseph's Land ( rus, Земля́ Фра́нца-Ио́сифа, r=Zemlya Frantsa-Iosifa, no, Fridtjof Nansen Land) is a Russian archipelago in the Arctic Ocean. It is inhabited on ...

. There they were rescued by the expedition of

Georgy Sedov Georgy Yakovlevich Sedov (russian: Гео́ргий Я́ковлевич Седо́в; – ) was a Russian Arctic explorer. Born in the village of Krivaya Kosa of Taganrog district (now Novoazovskyi Raion, Donetsk Oblast) in a fisherman's fam ...

on the ship ''St. Foka''.

Search and partial discovery

The almost impossible task of searching for Brusilov (and geologist

Vladimir Rusanov Vladimir Alexandrovich Rusanov (russian: Влади́мир Алекса́ндрович Руса́нов; – ca. 1913) was a Russian geologist and Arctic explorer. Early life Rusanov was born in a merchant's family in Oryol, Russia. His early ...

from another expedition), was entrusted to

Otto Sverdrup Otto Neumann Knoph Sverdrup (31 October 1854, in Bindal, Helgeland – 26 November 1930) was a Norwegian sailor and Arctic explorer. Early and personal life He was born in Bindal as a son of farmer Ulrik Frederik Suhm Sverdrup (1833–1914) ...

with the ship ''Eklips'' in 1914–15. His efforts were unsuccessful and the fate of the Brusilov expedition was unknown until 2010. In 2010, explorers announced that they had found the bones of a crew-member of Brusilov's expedition. Later in 2010, explorers announced the finding of a crew-member's logbook and various other artifacts on the shores of

References

;Notes ;Bibliography *

. "In the Land of White Death." *

William Barr William Pelham Barr (born May 23, 1950) is an American attorney who served as the 77th and 85th United States attorney general in the administrations of Presidents George H. W. Bush and Donald Trump. Born and raised in New York City, Barr ...

. "Otto Sverdrup To The Rescue Of The Russian Imperial Navy".
Ukrainian explorers
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brusilov, Georgy 1884 births Year of death unknown 1910s missing person cases Military personnel from Mykolaiv People from Khersonsky Uyezd Imperial Russian Navy personnel Explorers of the Arctic Russian and Soviet polar explorers Ukrainian polar explorers Chukchi Sea East Siberian Sea Kara Sea People lost at sea Lost explorers

Arctic expeditions

Arctic Ocean Hydrographic Expedition

Brusilov Expedition

Search and partial discovery

See also

References