Rudolf (Ruvim) Lazarevich Samoylovich (russian: Рудольф Лазаревич Самойлович) (13 September (
O.S. 1 September), 1881 – 4 March 1939) was a
Soviet
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
polar explorer, professor, and doctor of geographic sciences.
Biography
Samoylovich was born into the family of a Jewish merchant in
Azov
Azov (russian: Азов), previously known as Azak,
is a town in Rostov Oblast, Russia, situated on the Don River just from the Sea of Azov, which derives its name from the town. Population:
History
Early settlements in the vicinity
The mo ...
. After graduating from the
Mariupol
Mariupol (, ; uk, Маріу́поль ; russian: Мариу́поль) is a city in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine. It is situated on the northern coast (Pryazovia) of the Sea of Azov, at the mouth of the Kalmius River. Prior to the 2022 Russian i ...
Gymnasium (
ru), he studied
physics
Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which r ...
and
mathematics
Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. These topics are represented in modern mathematics ...
at
Imperial Novorossiya University where he became involved in revolutionary activities and came under police surveillance. Under pressure from his concerned mother, he relocated to Germany and studied at the
Mining Academy in Freiberg. While in Germany he remained politically active, including by shipping to Azov copies of the underground newspaper ''
Iskra
''Iskra'' ( rus, Искра, , ''the Spark'') was a political newspaper of Russian socialist emigrants established as the official organ of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (RSDLP).
History
Due to political repression under Tsar Nicho ...
''. After graduating in 1904, he returned to Azov and worked on the underground printing of revolutionary literature.
In 1906, he moved to
Rostov-on-Don
Rostov-on-Don ( rus, Ростов-на-Дону, r=Rostov-na-Donu, p=rɐˈstof nə dɐˈnu) is a port city and the administrative centre of Rostov Oblast and the Southern Federal District of Russia. It lies in the southeastern part of the East Eu ...
. Samoylovich participated in rallies and campaigns to organize railroad workers,
Cossacks
The Cossacks , es, cosaco , et, Kasakad, cazacii , fi, Kasakat, cazacii , french: cosaques , hu, kozákok, cazacii , it, cosacchi , orv, коза́ки, pl, Kozacy , pt, cossacos , ro, cazaci , russian: казаки́ or ...
, and soldiers. During this time he was once again under police surveillance and was arrested in July 1906. He lived in
St. 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 ...
for two years as an accountant under the
pseudonym
A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...
Sorokin. During this time he was involved with the
Russian Social Democratic Labor Party
The Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (RSDLP; in , ''Rossiyskaya sotsial-demokraticheskaya rabochaya partiya (RSDRP)''), also known as the Russian Social Democratic Workers' Party or the Russian Social Democratic Party, was a socialist pol ...
. He was arrested and exiled to
Pinega
Pinega (russian: Пинега) is a rural locality (a settlement), formerly a town, in Pinezhsky District of Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia, located on the right bank of the Pinega River (hence the name). It serves as the administrative center of Pine ...
. In 1910, he was allowed to relocate to the nearby city of
Arkhangelsk
Arkhangelsk (, ; rus, Арха́нгельск, p=ɐrˈxanɡʲɪlʲsk), also known in English as Archangel and Archangelsk, is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative center of Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia. It lies o ...
where he became involved in Arctic studies and met
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 ...
.
In 1912, he participated in Rusanov's
geological expedition to
Spitsbergen
Spitsbergen (; formerly known as West Spitsbergen; Norwegian: ''Vest Spitsbergen'' or ''Vestspitsbergen'' , also sometimes spelled Spitzbergen) is the largest and the only permanently populated island of the Svalbard archipelago in northern Norw ...
. Samoylovich was one of the initiators and the first director of the
Northern Research and Trade Expedition
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. In 1925, this research center was reorganized into the
Institute of Northern Studies
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, which was headed by Samoylovich until 1930. The Institute was reorganized as the
All-Union Arctic Institute
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in which Samoylovich served as deputy director from 1932 to 1938. Samoylovich founded the Department of Polar Countries at
Leningrad State University
Saint Petersburg State University (SPBU; russian: Санкт-Петербургский государственный университет) is a public research university in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Founded in 1724 by a decree of Peter the G ...
and served as its chairman from 1934 to 1937.
During this period, Samoylovich also took part in numerous Arctic expeditions. In 1928 he commanded the icebreaker
''Krasin'' in a mission to rescue survivors of the airship
''Italia'' which had crashed during an expedition to the
North Pole
The North Pole, also known as the Geographic North Pole or Terrestrial North Pole, is the point in the Northern Hemisphere where the Earth's axis of rotation meets its surface. It is called the True North Pole to distinguish from the Mag ...
. He led the scientific team on the 1931 Arctic expedition of the airship
''Graf Zeppelin'', which studied
magnetism
Magnetism is the class of physical attributes that are mediated by a magnetic field, which refers to the capacity to induce attractive and repulsive phenomena in other entities. Electric currents and the magnetic moments of elementary particles ...
and mapped
Franz Joseph Land
, native_name =
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, image_caption = Map of Franz Josef Land
, image_size =
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, map_caption = Location of Franz Josef ...
. He then led Arctic expeditions on several icebreakers: ''
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 ...
'' in 1932, ''
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 fami ...
'' in 1934, and
''Sadko'' in 1936 and 1937-1938.
Samoylovich was arrested in May 1938 and was shot on March 4, 1939 in
Leningrad
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 ...
. He was posthumously
rehabilitated in 1957.
Legacy
A strait and a glacier top on
Franz Josef Land
, native_name =
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, image_caption = Map of Franz Josef Land
, image_size =
, map_image = Franz Josef Land location-en.svg
, map_caption = Location of Franz Josef ...
, a bay on
Novaya Zemlya
Novaya Zemlya (, also , ; rus, Но́вая Земля́, p=ˈnovəjə zʲɪmˈlʲa, ) is an archipelago in northern Russia. It is situated in the Arctic Ocean, in the extreme northeast of Europe, with Cape Flissingsky, on the northern island, ...
, an island in
Severnaya Zemlya
Severnaya Zemlya (russian: link=no, Сéверная Земля́ (Northern Land), ) is a archipelago in the Russian high Arctic. It lies off Siberia's Taymyr Peninsula, separated from the mainland by the Vilkitsky Strait. This archipelago s ...
, a peninsula and a
nunatak
A nunatak (from Inuit ''nunataq'') is the summit or ridge of a mountain that protrudes from an ice field or glacier that otherwise covers most of the mountain or ridge. They are also called glacial islands. Examples are natural pyramidal peaks. ...
in
Antarctica
Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean, it contains the geographic South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest contine ...
bear Rudolf Samoylovich's name as does a
liquified natural gas carrier built in 2018. He was awarded the
Order of Lenin
The Order of Lenin (russian: Орден Ленина, Orden Lenina, ), named after the leader of the Russian October Revolution, was established by the Central Executive Committee on April 6, 1930. The order was the highest civilian decoration b ...
and
Order of the Red Banner of Labour
The Order of the Red Banner of Labour (russian: Орден Трудового Красного Знамени, translit=Orden Trudovogo Krasnogo Znameni) was an order of the Soviet Union established to honour great deeds and services to th ...
.
In ''
The Red Tent'', a 1969 Soviet-Italian film about the ''Italia'' expedition, Samoylovich is played by
Grigori Gaj Grigory, Grigori and Grigoriy are Russian masculine given names.
It may refer to watcher angels or more specifically to the egrḗgoroi or Watcher angels.
Grigory
* Grigory Baklanov (1923–2009), Russian novelist
* Grigory Barenblatt (1927201 ...
(
ru).
Since 1981, the house where Samoylovich lived in Azov has been operated as a museum.
References
*
Жертвы политического террора в СССР lists.memo.ru
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Samoylovich, Rudolf
1881 births
1939 deaths
Russian Jews
Russian geologists
Explorers of the Arctic
Russian and Soviet polar explorers
Russian explorers
Great Purge victims from Russia
Jews executed by the Soviet Union
Soviet rehabilitations
Residents of the Benois House