Nikolay Yakovlevich Shkot (russian: Никола́й Я́ковлевич Шкот; 26 December 1829 – 1 September 1870) was a

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

sailor A sailor, seaman, mariner, or seafarer is a person who works aboard a watercraft as part of its crew, and may work in any one of a number of different fields that are related to the operation and maintenance of a ship. The profession of the s ...

and

explorer Exploration refers to the historical practice of discovering remote lands. It is studied by geographers and historians. Two major eras of exploration occurred in human history: one of convergence, and one of divergence. The first, covering most ...

, best known for one of the earliest

expeditions Exploration refers to the historical practice of discovering remote lands. It is studied by geographers and historians. Two major eras of exploration occurred in human history: one of convergence, and one of divergence. The first, covering most ...

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 admini ...

, and as a founder of

Vladivostok Vladivostok ( rus, Владивосто́к, a=Владивосток.ogg, p=vɫədʲɪvɐˈstok) is the largest city and the administrative center of Primorsky Krai, Russia. The city is located around the Zolotoy Rog, Golden Horn Bay on the Sea ...

Biography

Nikolay Yakovlevich Shkot was born in 1829 in Makaryevsky District,

Kostroma Governorate Kostroma Governorate (russian: link=no, Костромская губерния, ''Kostromskaya guberniya'') was an administrative division (a '' guberniya'') of the Russian Empire and the Russian SFSR, which existed from 1796 to 1929. Its adminis ...

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

, and graduated from the Naval Cadet Corps 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 a ...

. His brother, Pavel Shkot, was a vice-admiral. Shkot was promoted to

midshipman A midshipman is an officer of the lowest rank, in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Canada (Naval Cadet), Australia, Bangladesh, Namibia, New Zealand, South Afr ...

in 1848, and participated in the Siege of Sevastopol during the

Crimean War The Crimean War, , was fought from October 1853 to February 1856 between Russia and an ultimately victorious alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom and Piedmont-Sardinia. Geopolitical causes of the war included the de ...

, during which he was badly wounded in the battle. Shkot became a senior commander of the

troopship A troopship (also troop ship or troop transport or trooper) is a ship used to carry soldiers, either in peacetime or wartime. Troopships were often drafted from commercial shipping fleets, and were unable land troops directly on shore, typicall ...

''Yaponets'' at the rank of

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

in 1856, before accepting command of

corvette A corvette is a small warship. It is traditionally the smallest class of vessel considered to be a proper (or " rated") warship. The warship class above the corvette is that of the frigate, while the class below was historically that of the slo ...

steamship A steamship, often referred to as a steamer, is a type of steam-powered vessel, typically ocean-faring and seaworthy, that is propelled by one or more steam engines that typically move (turn) propellers or paddlewheels. The first steamships ...

'' Amerika'' a year later on June 6, 1857. Shkot led an expedition in ''Amerika'' to the recently acquired region of the

known as

Russian Manchuria Outer Manchuria (russian: Приаму́рье, translit=Priamurye; zh, s=外满洲, t=外滿洲, p=Wài Mǎnzhōu), or Outer Northeast China ( zh, s=外东北, t=外東北, p=Wài Dōngběi), refers to a territory in Northeast Asia that is now ...

, which had been ceded by

Qing China The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu people, Manchu-led Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin (1616–1636), La ...

to the Russian Empire. The expedition recorded numerous geographic discoveries in largely undocumented region, particularly along the coast of modern

Primorsky Krai Primorsky Krai (russian: Приморский край, r=Primorsky kray, p=prʲɪˈmorskʲɪj kraj), informally known as Primorye (, ), is a federal subject (a krai) of Russia, located in the Far East region of the country and is a part of the ...

and

Sakhalin Sakhalin ( rus, Сахали́н, r=Sakhalín, p=səxɐˈlʲin; ja, 樺太 ''Karafuto''; zh, c=, p=Kùyèdǎo, s=库页岛, t=庫頁島; Manchu: ᠰᠠᡥᠠᠯᡳᠶᠠᠨ, ''Sahaliyan''; Orok: Бугата на̄, ''Bugata nā''; Nivkh: ...

, including

Peter the Great Gulf The Peter the Great Gulf (Russian: Залив Петра Великого) is a gulf on the southern coast of Primorsky Krai, Russia, and the largest gulf of the Sea of Japan. The gulf extends for from the Russian-North Korean border at the mout ...

, the largest gulf in the

Sea of Japan The Sea of Japan is the marginal sea between the Japanese archipelago, Sakhalin, the Korean Peninsula, and the mainland of the Russian Far East. The Japanese archipelago separates the sea from the Pacific Ocean. Like the Mediterranean Sea, it h ...

Nakhodka Bay Nakhodka Bay or Nakhodka Gulf () is a bay of the Peter the Great Gulf of the Sea of Japan, on which is sited the port of Nakhodka. It is part of the Primorsky Krai of Russia. The Lisy Island protects the bay from open sea waves. Literally the w ...

, and

Moneron Island Moneron Island, (russian: Монерон, ja, 海馬島 Kaibato, ja, トド島 Todojima, Ainu: Todomoshiri) is a small island off Sakhalin Island. It is a part of the Russian Federation. Description Moneron has an area of about and a highe ...

.Шкот Николай Яковлевич
In 1860, Shkot became one of the founders of

, the largest city in the Russian Far East and capital of Primorsky Krai, at the south-western tip of

Muravyov-Amursky Peninsula The Muravyov-Amursky Peninsula (Russian: полуостров Муравьёва-Амурского) is a peninsula in Primorsky Krai, Russia, located in the Peter the Great Gulf of the Sea of Japan. Vladivostok, the administrative center of Primo ...

. Shkot also founded a

hydrograph A hydrograph is a graph showing the rate of flow ( discharge) versus time past a specific point in a river, channel, or conduit carrying flow. The rate of flow is typically expressed in cubic meters or cubic feet per second (cms or cfs). It can al ...

ic post on the site of modern

Nakhodka Nakhodka ( rus, Нахо́дка, p=nɐˈxotkə) is a port city in Primorsky Krai, Russia, located on the Trudny Peninsula jutting into the Nakhodka Bay of the Sea of Japan, about east of Vladivostok, the administrative center of the krai. Po ...

and another in

Posyet Bay The Possiet Gulf or Posyet Bay (Russian: Залив Посьета) is a bay in the south-western part of the Peter the Great Gulf, between the promontories of Suslov and Gamov. It stretches for 31 kilometres from northeast to southwest and for 33 ...

. From October 2, 1864, Shkot was appointed captain over Russian ports on the

Pacific Ocean 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 continen ...

, and in 1868 was promoted to

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

1st rank. Shkot began to suffer from a serious illness in 1870, returning to

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

where he died on September 1, and was buried in Krasnenkoye Cemetery. Several sites in southern Primorsky Krai were named in honor of Shkot, including

Shkot Island Shkot Island (Russian: ''Остров Шкота'' lit. ''Isle of Shkot'') is an island in the Eugénie Archipelago within the Peter the Great Gulf of the Sea of Japan. The uninhabited island is one of the five large islands in the archipelago, wit ...

in the

Eugénie Archipelago The Empress Eugénie Archipelago (Russian: ''Архипелаг императрицы Евгении''), commonly known as the Eugénie Archipelago, is an archipelago in Peter the Great Gulf in the Sea of Japan, along the southern coast of Primors ...

, the town of Shkotovo, the Shkotovka River, and a

cape A cape is a clothing accessory or a sleeveless outer garment which drapes the wearer's back, arms, and chest, and connects at the neck. History Capes were common in medieval Europe, especially when combined with a hood in the chaperon. Th ...

Olga Bay Olga Bay (russian: Залив Ольги, ) is a small (11x4 km) mainly ice-free bay in the Sea of Japan on the east coast of Primorsky Krai. In July 1856 Captain Charles Codrington Forsyth of HMS ''Hornet'' named the bay "Port Michael Seymour ...

Notes

1829 births 1870 deaths People from Makaryevsky Uyezd (Kostroma Governorate) Explorers from the Russian Empire Primorsky Krai Imperial Russian Navy personnel 19th-century people from the Russian Empire {{russia-bio-stub

Biography

See also

Notes