Vladimir Ivanovich Voronin (russian: Владимир Иванович Воронин; October 17, 1890 – October 18, 1952) was a
Soviet Navy captain, born in
Sumsky Posad, in the present
Republic of Karelia
The Republic of Karelia (russian: Респу́блика Каре́лия, Respublika Kareliya; ; krl, Karjalan tašavalta; ; fi, Karjalan tasavalta; vep, Karjalan Tazovaldkund, Ludic: ''Kard’alan tazavald''), also known as just Karelia (rus ...
,
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
. In 1932 he commanded the expedition of the
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, ...
icebreaker ''
A. Sibiryakov'' which made the first successful crossing of 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 Nov ...
in a single navigation without wintering. This voyage was organized by the All-Union Arctic Institute (presently known as the
Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute
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).
The ''A. Sibiryakov'' expedition
The ''
A. Sibiryakov'' sailed from
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 ...
, crossed 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. ...
and chose a northern, unexplored way around
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 ...
to the
Laptev Sea
The Laptev Sea ( rus, мо́ре Ла́птевых, r=more Laptevykh; sah, Лаптевтар байҕаллара, translit=Laptevtar baỹğallara) is a marginal sea of the Arctic Ocean. It is located between the northern coast of Siberia, th ...
. In September the propeller shaft broke and the icebreaker drifted for 11 days. However, the ''A. Sibiryakov'' used its sails and arrived in the
Bering Strait in October. The
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 ...
reached the Japanese port of
Yokohama
is the second-largest city in Japan by population and the most populous municipality of Japan. It is the capital city and the most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a 2020 population of 3.8 million. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of To ...
after 65 days, having covered more than 2500 miles in the Arctic seas. This was regarded as a heroic feat of Soviet polar seamen and Chief of Expedition
Otto Schmidt
Otto Yulyevich Shmidt, be, Ота Юльевіч Шміт, Ota Juljevič Šmit (born Otto Friedrich Julius Schmidt; – 7 September 1956), better known as Otto Schmidt, was a Soviet scientist, mathematician, astronomer, geophysicist, statesm ...
and Captain Vladimir Voronin were received with many honors on their return to Russia.
The icebreaker ''A. Sibiryakov'' continued in service until it was sunk in 1942 after an unequal fight with
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ger ...
heavy cruiser ''
Admiral Scheer'' during
Operation Wunderland
Operation Wunderland ("Wonderland") comprised a large-scale operation undertaken in summer 1942 by the German ''Kriegsmarine'' in the waters of the Northern Sea Route close to the Arctic Ocean. The Germans knew that many ships of the Soviet Navy ...
in
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
.
The ''Chelyuskin'' expedition
In 1933-34 Voronin commanded another icebreaker on a dramatic, albeit not so fortunate, expedition. In July 1933 the ''
Chelyuskin'' sailed from
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 ...
before a large crowd. However, in September icebreaker ''Chelyuskin'' got stuck in
pack ice
Drift ice, also called brash ice, is sea ice that is not attached to the shoreline or any other fixed object (shoals, grounded icebergs, etc.).Leppäranta, M. 2011. The Drift of Sea Ice. Berlin: Springer-Verlag. Unlike fast ice, which is "fasten ...
in the
Chukchi Sea
Chukchi Sea ( rus, Чуко́тское мо́ре, r=Chukotskoye more, p=tɕʊˈkotskəjə ˈmorʲɪ), sometimes referred to as the Chuuk Sea, Chukotsk Sea or the Sea of Chukotsk, is a marginal sea of the Arctic Ocean. It is bounded on the west b ...
near
Kolyuchin Island
Kolyuchin Island or Koliuchin Island (russian: Остров Колючин, ) is a small island in the Chukchi Sea. It is not far from the coast, being only from the northern shore of the Chukotka Peninsula. Its latitude is 67° 28' N and its long ...
. The crew worked hard to free the ship from the surrounding ice, succeeding after almost a week. But the ship became stuck again and drifted in the general direction of the pack ice toward the
Bering Strait. By the end of November it became obvious that the ''Chelyuskin'' would not break free from the pack ice and would have to winter on the Chukchi Sea. Eventually the ship was squeezed by large
ice floes
An ice floe () is a large pack ice, pack of Drift ice, floating ice often defined as a flat piece at least 20 m across at its widest point, and up to more than 10 km across. Drift ice is a floating field of sea ice composed of several ice fl ...
and was in danger of sinking. Captain Voronin ordered the crew to unload equipment from the ship and set up a camp site astern of the ship. But cracks in the ice formed under the tents, forcing the crew to load their equipment back onto the ship. The ''Chelyuskin'' drifted for the next two months in the Chukchi Sea to the east of
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 ...
.
Finally, increasing pressure resulted in the ship's creaking and eventual breach by ice. Voronin and
Otto Schmidt
Otto Yulyevich Shmidt, be, Ота Юльевіч Шміт, Ota Juljevič Šmit (born Otto Friedrich Julius Schmidt; – 7 September 1956), better known as Otto Schmidt, was a Soviet scientist, mathematician, astronomer, geophysicist, statesm ...
managed to jump off just in time before the ''Chelyuskin'' sank close to Kolyuchin Island. Thus only one crew member went down with the ship. The crew then set up tents on a part of the ice surface that was named Camp Schmidt. The crew made radio contact with the village of
Uelen
Uelen (russian: Уэлéн; Chukchi: , ''Uvèlèn''; Siberian Yupik: Улыӄ, ''Ulyḳ''; Naukan Yupik: Олыӄ, ''Oleq''; also known as Whalen in older English-language sources and Ugelen on USCGS charts) is a rural locality (a '' selo'') ...
on the
Chukchi Peninsula
The Chukchi Peninsula (also Chukotka Peninsula or Chukotski Peninsula; russian: Чуко́тский полуо́стров, ''Chukotskiy poluostrov'', short form russian: Чуко́тка, ''Chukotka''), at about 66° N 172° W, is the eastern ...
and asked for help. During a dramatic rescue operation, pilot
Anatoly Lyapidevsky sighted Camp Schmidt, landed his plane on the ice, and rescued the women and children before returning to Uelen. The remaining passengers and crew of the ill-fated icebreaker ''Chelyuskin'' were rescued later and flown to
Cape Vankarem
Cape Vankarem is a cape in the Chukchi Sea on the northern coast of Chukotka between Cape Schmidt to the west and Kolyuchinskaya Bay to the east. It projects from a sandspit across the mouth of a lagoon into which flows the Vankarem River.
At ...
on the Chukotka Peninsula. Due to severe weather conditions, the rescue took one month with planes trying hard to carry out the rescue operation from
Khabarovsk
Khabarovsk ( rus, Хабaровск, a=Хабаровск.ogg, r=Habárovsk, p=xɐˈbarəfsk) is the largest types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative centre of Khabarovsk Krai, Russia,Law #109 located from the China ...
;
Nome in
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., ...
; and
Cape Olyutor
Cape Olyutor (russian: мыс Олюторский) is a cape in the Bering Sea, in Koryak Okrug of Kamchatka Krai, Russia. It points south at the southern end of the Olyutor Peninsula, the southern end of the Olyutor Range. Google Earth It was ...
until they were successful.
Memory
Some geographic locations in Russia have been named in honor of this Soviet captain and explorer of the Arctic waters
*
Voronina Island, a small island group in 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. ...
.
*Banka Voronina, a shoal in the
Gulf of Finland
The Gulf of Finland ( fi, Suomenlahti; et, Soome laht; rus, Фи́нский зали́в, r=Finskiy zaliv, p=ˈfʲinskʲɪj zɐˈlʲif; sv, Finska viken) is the easternmost arm of the Baltic Sea. It extends between Finland to the north and E ...
.
*Bukhta Voronina, a bay in the NW shores of
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, ...
.
* The Voronin Trough, a geological feature in 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 ...
basin with a depth of 450m located 290 km east of
Franz Josef Land
, native_name =
, image_name = Map of Franz Josef Land-en.svg
, image_caption = Map of Franz Josef Land
, image_size =
, map_image = Franz Josef Land location-en.svg
, map_caption = Location of Franz Josef ...
.
Cape Voronin off
Viachtu Bay in
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: ...
Island, however, is not named after Captain Vladimir Voronin, but after Second lieutenant Aleksey Ivanovich Voronin, a previous Russian explorer who took part in the 1849-1855
Amur
The Amur (russian: река́ Аму́р, ), or Heilong Jiang (, "Black Dragon River", ), is the world's List of longest rivers, tenth longest river, forming the border between the Russian Far East and Northeast China, Northeastern China (Inne ...
Expedition.
Cape Voronin
/ref>
ARC-7 class Ice breaking LNG carrier launched in 2019 named Vladimir Voronin in his honor. Vessel regularly makes unescorted passages of the Northern Sea Route carry LNG from LNG plant in Sabetta to Europe and Asia.
References
* Armstrong, T., ''The Russians in the Arctic'', London, 1958.
History of Russian Arctic Exploration
Voronin Trough
{{DEFAULTSORT:Voronin, Vladimir
1890 births
1952 deaths
People from the Republic of Karelia
People from Kemsky Uyezd
Second convocation members of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union
Recipients of the Order of Lenin
Recipients of the Order of Nakhimov, 2nd class
Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner of Labour
Recipients of the Order of the Red Star
Explorers of the Arctic
Russian and Soviet polar explorers
Russian explorers
Russian Navy personnel
Soviet explorers
Soviet Navy officers
Chukchi Sea
East Siberian Sea
Kara Sea
Laptev Sea