"Tracing" the path of a sea power. The Presidential Library spotlights the round-the-world expedition of Ivan Krusenstern

On August 7 (July 26, old style), 1803 the first Russian circumnavigation of the world was launched on the sloops Nadezhda and Neva under the command of Ivan Krusenstern and Yuri Lisyansky.

Materials about this journey under the general guidance of Krusenstern are available on the Presidential Library’s portal in a special section of the major collection Russian travels around the world in the first half of the 19th century. These are unique documents on the expedition, the works of its participants as well as research papers - both of that time and of our days.

Of particular interest is the book of a retired captain, writer Vladimir Yerger Believe in Hope (2012). This is a lively and emotionally presented overview of all the ups and downs of preparing for the trip, complex organizational issues, the results of the expedition, and its significance for Russia.

The author sets out the prehistory of the sea voyage. A descendant of a Swedish noble family, a graduate of the Naval Cadet Corps, Captain-Lieutenant Ivan Krusenstern, in 1798, being in the Chinese Canton, had the opportunity to study in detail the work of a large commercial port. There were ships under a variety of flags. Only the Russian flag was missing.

Krusenstern pondered: why does Russia not use its own fleet, but deliver goods by long, expensive and risky land route? Why, in the 100 years of the existence of the Russian regular fleet, Russian sailors have not sailed further than European waters?

Of course, attempts to organize a Russian circumnavigation were made, but were unsuccessful. Their goals were to consolidate Russia's priority in the possession of new lands and the defence of its borders.

According to Krusenstern's plan, another main task of the round-the-world expedition was the development of maritime trade. Krusenstern understood that the World Ocean had long been mastered by navigators from other countries. And he had one goal - to make Russia one of the world's maritime powers.

Krusenstern compiled his project of traveling around the world on 26 sheets filled on both sides, calling the document "Tracing". It was proposed to organize trade in the East Indies and China by sea through Russian ships with a visit to the eastern coast of Russia to collect furs and other goods. This could be done during a sea circumnavigation. Krusenstern repeatedly sent the "Tracing" to various departments to high-ranking officials, but received refusals to implement his project.

Years passed, and in 1802 Nikolai Rumyantsev was appointed Minister of Commerce, who believed that Russia should seek victories not in wars, but in the field of trade, industry and science. Krusenstern's ideas were consistent with Rumyantsev's plans. This predetermined the fate of the project itself and its creator.

In July 1802, the Minister of Naval Forces, Admiral Nikolai Mordvinov, agreed with the proposal to organize the first Russian circumnavigation. A month later, Krusenstern was officially appointed head of the detachment of ships allocated for the expedition. Actually, there were no ships yet, and Captain 1st Rank Yuri Lisyansky was sent to England to buy them, who brought two small frigates to St. Petersburg, later called Nadezhda and Neva. Without waiting for the arrival of the ships, Krusenstern began to collect crews and prepare them for a difficult sea voyage.

During the expedition, in addition to fulfilling the commercial task of establishing communications between the west and east of Russia and with other countries, for the first time in history it was supposed to bring Russian ships into the oceans, making a trip around the world. In addition, it was necessary to decide which ships Russia needed to sail in the ocean, as well as to hold a large number of experimental observations that were to become the basis for the development of domestic sciences: astronomy, natural science, hydrography, biology, ethnography, etc. The first Russian round-the-world expedition under the command of Ivan Krusenstern successfully completed all these serious and difficult tasks - it brought the Russian fleet to the World Ocean, laid the foundation for the creation of the Russian regular commercial fleet and systematic scientific study of the World Ocean.

The author of the book Believe in Hope, Vladimir Yerger, being himself a naval officer, is surprised “how at the beginning of the 19th century these brave people on fragile boats dared to go out into the ocean at all, set ambitious goals for themselves and achieve them” and believes that the feat of Ivan Krusenstern "by the audacity of his project of circumnavigation and its implementation in the 19th century can be put on the same level as the feat of the world's first cosmonaut Yu. A. Gagarin in the 20th century".