Kurbat Afanasyevich Ivanov (russian: Курбат Афанасьевич Иванов, (died 1667) was a
Cossack explorer of
Siberia
Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive region, geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a ...
. He was the first Russian to discover
Lake Baikal,
and to create the first map of the
Russian Far East
The Russian Far East (russian: Дальний Восток России, r=Dal'niy Vostok Rossii, p=ˈdalʲnʲɪj vɐˈstok rɐˈsʲiɪ) is a region in Northeast Asia. It is the easternmost part of Russia and the Asian continent; and is admin ...
.
He also is credited with creation of the early map of
Chukotka and
Bering Strait, which was the first to show (very schematically) the yet undiscovered
Wrangel Island
Wrangel Island ( rus, О́стров Вра́нгеля, r=Ostrov Vrangelya, p=ˈostrəf ˈvrangʲɪlʲə; ckt, Умӄиԓир, translit=Umqiḷir) is an island of the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, Russia. It is the 91st largest island in the w ...
,
both
Diomede Islands
The Diomede Islands (; russian: острова́ Диоми́да, translit=ostrová Diomída), also known in Russia as Gvozdev Islands (russian: острова́ Гво́здева, translit=ostrová Gvozdjeva), consist of two rocky, mesa-like i ...
and
Alaska
Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S. ...
.
Kurbat Ivanov was born a
Yenisey
The Yenisey (russian: Енисе́й, ''Yeniséy''; mn, Горлог мөрөн, ''Gorlog mörön''; Buryat: Горлог мүрэн, ''Gorlog müren''; Tuvan: Улуг-Хем, ''Uluğ-Hem''; Khakas: Ким суғ, ''Kim suğ''; Ket: Ӄук, ...
an
Cossack. In 1642 he made the first map of the Russian Far East, based on the explorations of
Ivan Moskvitin
Ivan Yuryevich Moskvitin (russian: Иван Юрьевич Москвитин) (? - after 1647) was a Russian explorer, presumably a native of Moscow, who led a Russian reconnaissance party to the Sea of Okhotsk, becoming the first Russian to reac ...
.
Ivanov came to the Verkholensky
ostrog on the
Lena River, and taking 74 men with him he sailed south up the river on 21 June 1643, having decided to find if the rumors of large body of water south of the Lena were true. He took with him a
Tungus
Tungusic peoples are an ethno-linguistic group formed by the speakers of Tungusic languages (or Manchu–Tungus languages). They are native to Siberia and Northeast Asia.
The Tungusic phylum is divided into two main branches, northern (Evenic or ...
prince Mozheul to assist in finding the way. Through the upper Lena and its tributary the Ilikta they reached
Primorsky Ridge, crossed it by foot, and by the
Sarma River
The Sarma (russian: Сарма) is a river in Irkutsk Oblast, Russia. It runs from the Primorsky Range into the Small Sea Strait of Lake Baikal. It is long, and has a drainage basin of .
The valley and estuary of Sarma is the source of the ...
descended to
Lake Baikal near
Olkhon Island
Olkhon ( rus, Ольхо́н, also transliterated as Olchon; bua, Ойхон, ''Oikhon'') is the third-largest lake island in the world. It is by far the largest island in Lake Baikal in eastern Siberia, with an area of . Structurally, it const ...
. Having built new boats, Ivanov sailed to Olkhon.
Ivanov sent 36 men under the leadership of Semyon Skorokhodov to sail along the western shore of Baikal to the mouth of
Upper Angara
The Upper Angara (, ''Verkhnyaya Angara''; , ''Deede Angar'') is a river in Buryatia, Siberia to the northeast of Lake Baikal. the third longest river in the Baikal basin. It is long, and has a drainage basin of .
The Baikal–Amur Mainline run ...
giving them another Tungus prince, called Yunoga, in assistance. Skorokhodov reached the northern tip of Baikal, built a winter settlement there and started to gather tribute from locals. In the end of 1643 Skorokhodov was returning south with the half of his men, but was ambushed by Arkhich Batur (probably a
Buryat) and killed with some of his men. Twelve men managed to return to Verkholensky
ostrog, while аnother two, named Lyovka Vyatchanin and Maximka Vyzhegchanin, traveled as far as
Yeniseysk
Yeniseysk ( rus, Енисейск, p=jɪnʲɪˈsʲejsk) is a town in Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia, located on the Yenisei River. Population: 20,000 (1970).
History
Yeniseysk was founded in 1619 as a stockaded town—the first town on the Yenise ...
y ostrog by
Angara and
Yenisey
The Yenisey (russian: Енисе́й, ''Yeniséy''; mn, Горлог мөрөн, ''Gorlog mörön''; Buryat: Горлог мүрэн, ''Gorlog müren''; Tuvan: Улуг-Хем, ''Uluğ-Hem''; Khakas: Ким суғ, ''Kim suğ''; Ket: Ӄук, ...
. The latter Cossack later returned to Baikal with ataman V. Kolesnikov.
Kurbat Ivanov himself safely returned to Verkholensky
ostrog by the same way he had come to Baikal. He created a document called ''"The Chart of Baikal and into Baikal flowing rivers and lands…"'' ("Чертеж Байкала и в Байкал падучим рекам и землицам"). He told the stories about plenty of fish in Baikal and plenty of fur-bearing animals on its shores, and many Cossacks subsequently came to Baikal by the way he explored.
At some point of his life Ivanov also served on the lower Lena River in Zhigansk. In 1659—65 he was serving in
Anadyrsk
Anadyrsk was an important Russian ostrog (fortified settlement) in far northeastern Siberia from 1649 to 1764. It was on the Anadyr River, near the head of small-boat navigation, about 300 miles upstream, 12 miles northeast of the present Mark ...
y ostrog (he was the next head of Anadyrsk after
Semyon Dezhnyov
Semyon Ivanovich Dezhnyov ( rus, Семён Ива́нович Дежнёв, p=sʲɪˈmʲɵn ɪˈvanəvʲɪtɕ dʲɪˈʐnʲɵf; sometimes spelled Dezhnyov; c. 1605 – 1673) was a Russian explorer of Siberia and the first European to sail through t ...
). In 1660 he sailed from
Anadyr Bay
The Gulf of Anadyr, or Anadyr Bay (russian: Анадырский залив), is a large bay on the Bering Sea in far northeast Siberia. It has a total surface area of
Location
The bay is roughly rectangular and opens to the southeast. The corn ...
to
Cape Dezhnyov. On the basis of his own explorations, the explorations of Dezhnyov and
Popov and the stories collected from the locals, Kurbat Ivanov created a map of
Chukotka and
Bering Strait, which was the first to show the yet undiscovered
Wrangel Island
Wrangel Island ( rus, О́стров Вра́нгеля, r=Ostrov Vrangelya, p=ˈostrəf ˈvrangʲɪlʲə; ckt, Умӄиԓир, translit=Umqiḷir) is an island of the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, Russia. It is the 91st largest island in the w ...
,
both
Diomede Islands
The Diomede Islands (; russian: острова́ Диоми́да, translit=ostrová Diomída), also known in Russia as Gvozdev Islands (russian: острова́ Гво́здева, translit=ostrová Gvozdjeva), consist of two rocky, mesa-like i ...
and even
Alaska
Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S. ...
. However, all these lands except Chukotka coastline were shown so schematically that it is unlikely that Ivanov or other Russians had visited or saw them before. Only in 1732 Alaska was seen for the first time by the expedition of
Ivan Fyodorov and
Mikhail Gvozdev
Mikhail Spiridonovich Gvozdev (russian: Михаи́л Спиридо́нович Гво́здев; – after 1759) was a Russian military geodesist and a commander of the expedition to northern Alaska in 1732, when the Alaskan shore was sight ...
and it was documented.
Wrangel Island
Wrangel Island ( rus, О́стров Вра́нгеля, r=Ostrov Vrangelya, p=ˈostrəf ˈvrangʲɪlʲə; ckt, Умӄиԓир, translit=Umqiḷir) is an island of the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, Russia. It is the 91st largest island in the w ...
was discovered much later.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ivanov, Kurbat
Russian explorers
Explorers of Siberia
Russian Cossacks
History of Siberia
1667 deaths
Year of birth unknown
Tsardom of Russia people