Lavrenty Alekseyevich Zagoskin (russian: link=no, Лаврентий Алексеевич Загоскин; 21 May 1808 – 22 January 1890) was a Russian naval officer and explorer of

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. ...

. Zagoskin was born in 1808 in the Russian district of

Penza Penza ( rus, Пе́нза, p=ˈpʲɛnzə) is the largest city and administrative center of Penza Oblast, Russia. It is located on the Sura River, southeast of Moscow. As of the 2010 Census, Penza had a population of 517,311, making it the 38th-la ...

in a village named Nikolayevka. Even though Nikolayevka was not near the ocean, Zagoskin would eventually train for the Russian Navy and served as a naval officer in the Baltic and Caspian seas. He would subsequently receive training in mineralogy, zoology, botany, and entomology from Russian scientist I.G. Voznesensky In 1799, Russia formed the

Russian America Company The Russian-American Company Under the High Patronage of His Imperial Majesty (russian: Под высочайшим Его Императорского Величества покровительством Российская-Американс� ...

and gave it monopolistic powers over the region now known as Alaska as part of their colonization effort. Early Russian explorers like

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, and Georg Steller provided knowledge of the coastal region, however by the 1840s very little was known about the interior of the colony. Such knowledge was desired in the hopes of expanding the commercial opportunities for the Russian America Company. Zagoskin was given a two-year assignment to conduct reconnaissance of the region to help determine the most profitable and convenient sites for forts and trading posts in the region - an assignment he was well suited for given his background and in fact a mission he had proposed. In 1842 and 1843, he traveled extensively on the

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Kuskokwim The Kuskokwim River or Kusko River (Yup'ik: ''Kusquqvak''; Deg Xinag: ''Digenegh''; Upper Kuskokwim: ''Dichinanek' ''; russian: Кускоквим (''Kuskokvim'')) is a river, long, in Southwest Alaska in the United States. It is the ninth la ...

, Innoko and

Koyukuk River The Koyukuk River (; ''Ooghekuhno' '' in Koyukon, ''Kuuyukaq'' or ''Tagraġvik'' in Iñupiaq) is a tributary of the Yukon River, in the U.S. state of Alaska. It is the last major tributary entering the Yukon before the larger river empties int ...

s all told traveling over . His journals included details about the native people, their customs, language, and environment in the region all noted with remarkable accuracy. Zagoskin received national Academy of Science award for his work. To this day, his writing is recognized for its accuracy, quality and insight and is often referenced by local residents, historians, anthropologists, and geographers. Settlements visited by Zagoskin: *

Upper Kalskag, Alaska Upper Kalskag (russian: Аппер-Калскаг) is a city in Bethel Census Area, Alaska, United States. It is thirty miles west of Aniak. At the 2010 census the population was 210, down from 230 in 2000. Culture and history Upper Kalskag ...

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Selawik, Alaska , settlement_type = City , nickname = , motto = , image_skyline = 2010-06-25-CPX-8566a.jpg , imagesize = , image_caption = An aerial view of Selawik in 2010 , imag ...

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Zagoskin died in

Ryazan Ryazan ( rus, Рязань, p=rʲɪˈzanʲ, a=ru-Ryazan.ogg) is the largest city and administrative center of Ryazan Oblast, Russia. The city is located on the banks of the Oka River in Central Russia, southeast of Moscow. As of the 2010 Cens ...

References

* Michael, Henry (Ed.). 1967. Lieutenant Zagoskin's Travels in Russian America 1842-1844. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zagoskin, Lavrenty 1808 births 1890 deaths Russian America Explorers from the Russian Empire