Fedor Petrovich Litke: second circumnavigation of the world. The meaning of Fedor Petrovich Litke in a brief biographical encyclopedia History in the faces of Fedor Petrovich

Let's continue to look at stamps from the series dedicated to Russian geographical expeditions. Today, the next step is the history of exploration of the islands of Novaya Zemlya, undertaken by an expedition led by Fyodor Petrovich Litke in 1821, 1822, 1823 and 1824.

Articles about previous stamps in the series - , .

Fedor Petrovich Litke

Fyodor Petrovich Litke belonged to a glorious galaxy of sailors who came from the Baltic Germans. His grandfather Ivan Filippovich Litke (Johann Philipp Litke) came to St. Petersburg in 1735. He was a learned theologian and Lutheran pastor. Fyodor Petrovich's father, Pyotr Ivanovich Litke, was a military man and took part in the battles of Larga and Kagul in the Russian-Turkish War of 1768-1774. and served as an adjutant to Prince N.V. Repnina.

Fedor was born in St. Petersburg on September 17 (September 28), 1797. During childbirth, his mother dies. In his autobiography, Fyodor Petrovich writes:

...the first and most unhappy hour of my life was approaching. On September 17, 1797, I became the murderer of my mother. She survived my appearance in the world for no more than two hours...

The father remarried, but the marriage was unsuccessful. His new young wife poisoned him in the last years of his life, and became an evil, cruel stepmother to his children. When Fyodor was 10 years old, his father also died, leaving the boy an orphan. No one was involved in his education, and throughout the difficult and dangerous time of his youth, Fyodor was left to his own devices. It was only thanks to his strength of character and curiosity that he did not disappear; he was engaged in his own education and read a lot. And it is unknown how the fate of the future admiral would have turned out if the husband of Natalya’s elder sister had not paid attention to him, captain-lieutenant of the fleet I.S. Sulmenev. Their mutual long conversations about the sea and ship life captivated the boy and, at the request of Sulmenev, in 1812 Fyodor Litke entered the fleet under his command. While serving in 1813, Litke took part in the siege of Danzig, where he distinguished himself, was promoted to midshipman and awarded the Order of Anna, 4th degree.

In 1817, Fyodor Litke was assigned to the Kamchatka sloop, setting off on a circumnavigation of the world under the command of. On this journey, Fyodor Petrovich gains invaluable experience and turns from a young midshipman into an experienced naval commander. On this voyage, Litke became close to another future great traveler, Ferdinand Wrangel, whose friendship lasted throughout his life.

Circumnavigation of the world by V.M. Golovnin on "Kamchatka" (1817-1819)

V.M. Golovnin highly appreciated Litke’s professional and personal qualities and, upon his return, recommended Fyodor Petrovich to lead the expedition to explore Novaya Zemlya. At that time, Novaya Zemlya remained virtually terra incognita. Since the voyages of Barents in 1594-1597 and Rozmyslov in 1768-1769. No serious research has been undertaken on those places. Maps of Novaya Zemlya and the surrounding lands were very primitive.

The Arctic Ocean attracted sailors with the possibility of a shorter route from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean, to China and further to rich eastern countries. The vast Novaya Zemlya archipelago lay precisely on the route of these voyages, which were opposed by the harsh northern weather and ice itself. One of the first European expeditions to find the northeastern passage was the voyage in 1553 of an English flotilla consisting of three ships under the command of Hugh Willoughby. The ships crossed the North Sea and moved further north. During one of the storms, one of the ships under the command of Captain Chancellor fell behind. In September, the two remaining ships anchored at the mouth of the Varzina River (Kola Peninsula). The winter ended tragically, all 70 expedition members died. They were found the following spring by Lapps. Things from both ships were delivered to Kholmogory and, by order of the tsar, returned to the British, who thus learned about the fate of the lost expedition. The lagging behind, Captain Chancellor, having taken refuge after separation from the admiral in Vardgous, sailed again to the east, entered the White Sea and finally arrived at the western mouth of the Dvina River, to the St. Nicholas Monastery. This marked the beginning of trade between Russia and England.

The Dutch traveler William Barents tried three times to find the northeastern passage in 1594-1597. During the third expedition, he and his people were forced to spend the winter on Novaya Zemlya. Soon after the end of winter and sailing from the islands, Barents died of scurvy. This expedition was the last Dutch attempt to find a northern route to Asia. The Barents Sea is named after William Barents.

Old maps clearly show that even by the beginning of the 19th century, the eastern coast of Novaya Zemlya remained completely unknown to navigators and cartographers.

New Earth (Atlas of Joan Blaeu, 1665) (Source: www.davidrumsey.com)
New Earth (Atlas Gaspari, 1817)

The expedition of navigator Rozmyslov in 1768-1769 was the first Russian scientific expedition equipped specifically for the study and inventory of Novaya Zemlya. She not only photographed Matochkina Shar (the strait between the Northern and Southern islands), but also collected interesting information about the nature of the Novaya Zemlya islands.

In 1819, a special expedition was created led by Lieutenant A.P. Lazarev. The instructions given to Lazarev set him the task of describing the entire Novaya Zemlya and Vaygach Island in one summer and, in addition, determining the geographical coordinates of Kanin Nos and Kolguev Island. The scale of the tasks set, of course, did not correlate in any way with the real state of affairs and the capabilities of that time. And the expedition inevitably ended in complete failure. Lazarev never even landed on Novaya Zemlya and limited himself to sailing along the western shores. Some of the information he brought later turned out to be seriously erroneous. Upon returning to Arkhangelsk, it turned out that more than half of the team was sick with scurvy, and three died on the road.

Therefore, the instructions given to Litke were much more careful. In particular, he was told:

The purpose of the assignment given to you is not a detailed description of Novaya Zemlya, but the only survey for the first time of its shores and knowledge of the size of this island by determining the geographical position of its main capes and the length of the strait, called Mother’s Ball - if ice or other ice does not prevent this I'm so important insanity

On July 27, 1821, an expedition of 43 people on the brig “Novaya Zemlya” left the port of Arkhangelsk and set off to the northeast. Food was stored for 16 months in case of unintentional wintering. On July 31, the expedition reached the shores of Novaya Zemlya, where the crew carried out a description of the shores. The work of the first year was essentially just reconnaissance, during which Litke studied sailing conditions in the northern seas and tested the ship's seaworthiness. And the conditions were dangerous. On July 31, 1821, while tacking north of Morzhovets Island, the brig “Novaya Zemlya” ran aground, which has since been named after Litke. At the end of August, the brig headed back to Arkhangelsk, where it arrived on September 11.

F.P. Litke off the coast of Novaya Zemlya. Artist P. Pavlinov

The following year, from July 9 to August 17, Litke was engaged in exploring the shores near Murmansk and immediately after completing the work he immediately set off for Novaya Zemlya. During the expedition of 1822, the Matochkin Shar Strait was explored, its geographical coordinates were clarified, and the coast to the southern Goose Nose was described. The onset of a storm forced us to stop work, and on September 12 we went to Arkhangelsk.

The success of the second year encouraged work to continue in 1823. During the third expedition, an inventory of the Matochkin Shar Strait was completed. Rozmyslov's map turned out to be quite close to the truth. The length of the strait according to Rozmyslov differed from that determined by Litka by three miles. From Matochkin Shar, Litke went south and on August 31 reached Kusovaya Zemlya, thus completing the inventory of the western coast of Novaya Zemlya to the southernmost tip. The Kara Gate was clear of ice. However, Litke, fearing to be pinned to the shore by ice and forced to spend the winter, did not go to the Kara Sea. While returning, the brig ran into a stone bank, the rudder was broken and the casing was torn off. When death seemed almost inevitable, a gust of wind lifted the ship from the sandbank. Only the exceptional strength of the “New Earth” saved Litke and his companions from death. Thanks to the heroism and excellent training of the crew, the brig reached Solombala on September 12. Despite the accident, the successes of the third year were significant. In addition to the inventory of the shores of Novaya Zemlya, Matochkin Shar, Kolguev Island and astronomical determinations, Litke made magnetic observations in several places. For this expedition F.P. Litke was awarded the rank of captain-lieutenant on February 1, 1823.

Assessing the results of three years of work, Litke writes:

In the first three expeditions, apparently, everything was accomplished that could be accomplished off the coast of Novaya Zemlya on a seaworthy vessel not equipped for wintering: the western and southern shores, as well as the Matochkin Strait, were described; a two-year attempt to penetrate to the northern coast was unsuccessful due to continuous ice on that side; There was little hope of inspecting the eastern coast from a seaworthy vessel due to the ice, which, according to all news, almost never leaves that coast.

In 1824 an attempt was made to reach the eastern shore. However, solid ice prevented this and the successes of the fourth expedition were small.

“The brig “Novaya Zemlya” under the command of F.P. Litke off the coast of Novaya Zemlya.” Hood. Valentin Pechatin

At the end of the expedition, Litke began processing the collected materials and in 1826 completed his essay “Four-time voyage to the Arctic Ocean, made on the brig “Novaya Zemlya” in 1821-1824,” which was subsequently translated into German by the famous naturalist Erman. In the preface to the German edition of the book, Ehrmann wrote:

In photographing and describing all the points of the Arctic Ocean that he (Litke) reached, he so surpassed all his predecessors in scientific thoroughness and impartiality of his judgments that these works cannot be passed in silence either in the history of navigation or in the history of geography

Sailing routes of F.P. Litka to the shores of Novaya Zemlya in 1821-1824.

Litke barely had time to finish his book when he was appointed commander of the Senyavin sloop, on which he set off on his second voyage around the world, which lasted from 1826 to 1829. But that’s a completely different story.

F. P. Litke (1797-1882). Sloop "Senyavin"
USSR, 1947. Soloviev 1111, Mikhel 1089

The first north-eastern route was taken by the Finnish navigator Nils Nordenskiöld in 1878-1879. True, his journey lasted two seasons - at the end of September 1878, his ship Vega was frozen in ice for 9 months just 195 km from the Bering Strait.

"Vega". Finland, 1996.
Michel 1436 (not in the collection)

During one navigation, the Northern Sea Route was traversed for the first time by the icebreaking steamer "A. Sibiryakov" in 1932, under the command of Captain Vladimir Ivanovich Voronin.

Fyodor Petrovich Litke is one of the prominent geographers of the 19th century, an admiral of the Russian fleet, known for his exploration of the Arctic and circumnavigation of the world. He was one of the initiators and founders of the Russian Geographical Society, its honorary member and for 20 years he headed its work, holding the position of vice-chairman. Since 1864 - President of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences. F.P. Litke was born in St. Petersburg on September 17 (28), 1797. His childhood was difficult and joyless. His mother died at his birth. The father soon married a young woman who disliked her five stepsons and stepdaughters. At the age of seven, Fedor was sent to the boarding school of the German Meyer. After four years of study, he learned to speak German, French and English, knew arithmetic operations, and could name the main countries of the world and major cities.

In 1808, F.P.’s father died. Litke and the boy were left an orphan. He lived with his mother’s brother, member of the State Council, Senator F.I. Engel. From 11 to 15 years old, Fedor remained without any supervision and did not have a single teacher. The boy's only consolation was his uncle's rich library. He read many books on history, astronomy, philosophy, and geography. I was especially fond of reading books about travel. One day he read a book that described the journey of the Dutch navigator V. Barents to Novaya Zemlya. The persistent struggle of travelers with difficulties, pictures of the harsh, unique beauty of the Arctic nature made an indelible impression on the little reader.

In 1810, in the life of F.P. Changes have occurred in Litka. His sister Natalya married captain-lieutenant I.S. Sulmeneva. Often visiting his sister, he listened with enthusiasm to stories about trips around the world, geographical discoveries and victories of the Russian navy. Frequent visits to his sister’s apartment and weekly sailings along the Gulf of Finland to Kronstadt and back instilled in the boy a love of the sea. The young man decided to devote his life to naval service and, at the request of his sister’s husband, in 1812 he was accepted as a volunteer in the rowing flotilla. For his resourcefulness and courage, he was soon promoted to midshipman.

In 1813, a 16-year-old young man F.P. Litke, as part of the landing party from the ship "Aglaya", participated three times in battles against French units taking refuge in Danzig. His courage, self-control and exemplary performance of combat missions under enemy artillery fire were highly praised by the command. F.P. Litke was promoted to midshipman and awarded the Order of St. Anne, 4th degree.

He continued to persistently study astronomy, navigation, instructions on maritime practice, the complex structure of sailing ships and their management, and read books about the circumnavigations of Russian and foreign sailors. Litke’s old dream grew stronger to make the same trips as those made by V. Bering, I.F. Krusenstern, Yu.F. Lisyansky.

In 1817, with the assistance of I.S. Sulmenev, a 20-year-old young man was appointed senior midshipman on the sloop of war "Kamchatka", which circumnavigated the world under the command of V.M. Golovnina. The voyage continued for more than two years. It brought great benefits to the young officer, expanding his knowledge in the field of oceanography, astronomy, physics, ethnography, navigation and determined his future activity as a researcher-traveler. V.M. Golovnin highly appreciated the abilities of F.P. Litke, and upon returning from the voyage, recommended him to the post of head of a hydrographic expedition to describe the shores of Novaya Zemlya.

In the chronicles of polar travel, a prominent place is occupied by Russian navigators and explorers, who discovered and described vast spaces, made many discoveries, paved the way to the North and began its economic development. Russian sailors visited Novaya Zemlya and the Kara Sea already in the 15th century. There are suggestions that individual Russian sailors visited these harsh, inaccessible places back in the 11th century. Russia is rightly proud of the glorious names of Russian polar sailors.

However, the valuable information of the Pomors, obtained through enormous courage, severe trials and overcoming incredible difficulties, was not generalized, and by the beginning of the 19th century. Novaya Zemlya remained unexplored. In 1807, the single-masted ship “Pchela” was sent to the shores of the archipelago under the command of navigator G.I. Pospelov. During this voyage, the shores from Kostin Shar to Matochkin Shar were described and mapped. In 1819, a new expedition was equipped under the command of Lieutenant A.P. Lazarev, which ended in failure. From the assessment of the work of all expeditions to Novaya Zemlya, a disappointing conclusion followed: information about it is scanty, fragmentary and vague.

It was necessary to carry out a lot of painstaking research work. For sailing to the Arctic, the brig “Novaya Zemlya” was built at the Arkhangelsk shipyard. It was a two-masted sailing ship with straight sails, with a carrying capacity of 200 tons. F.P. was appointed commander of the brig. Litke. On his instructions, the living deck was cleared of cargo and two cast-iron stoves were installed on it, which maintained a normal temperature. This seemingly insignificant measure provided the brig’s crew, consisting of 43 people, with quite acceptable living conditions. There were no deaths during the voyage. On the brig “Novaya Zemlya” F.P. Litke made four trips to the Arctic Ocean in 1821, 1822, 1823 and 1824.

The first voyage was a reconnaissance voyage. Only on August 10 did the brig reach the Goose Land peninsula. Despite the impassable ice fields, the expedition managed to clarify the position of the coastline in the area of ​​Kanin Nos and Svyatoy Nos. This voyage enabled F.P. Litka familiarize himself with the sailing conditions and ice conditions off the coast of Novaya Zemlya. During the second voyage, a description of the shores and many new geographical objects of the Kola Peninsula was made. The coordinates of the mouth of Matochkina Shar were determined.

Submitted by F.P. Litke's report on two years of research received a good rating from the Admiralty. He was tasked with making a third and then a fourth voyage to the Arctic Ocean. Four-year studies by F.P. Litke in the Arctic Ocean significantly expanded geographical and hydrographic knowledge of the Arctic. The western shores of Novaya Zemlya, the coast of the mainland from the Yugorsky Shar Strait to Cape Russky Zavorot and from the Holy Nose on the Kola Peninsula to the Russian-Swedish border were described and mapped; sea ​​depths were measured, soil samples were taken, and sea level fluctuations were recorded.

Sloop "Senyavin". Hood. E.V. Voishillo, B.M. Starodubtsev.

The result of F.P.’s voyages Litka received his book “Four-time voyage to the Arctic Ocean on the military brig “Novaya Zemlya” in 1821 - 1824.” He became known as a major Arctic explorer. Soon after this expedition F.P. Litke was appointed commander of the Senyavin sloop, which was heading on a round-the-world voyage with the task of carrying out a number of works in the Bering Sea and in the Caroline Archipelago. This expedition took place in 1826 - 1829. She collected extensive geographical, hydrographic and geophysical materials. The coordinates of important points on the Kamchatka coast north of Avachinskaya Bay were determined, a number of islands of the Kuril ridge were described, and the coast of Chukotka from Cape Dezhnev to Anadyr was described.

The expedition carried out a large amount of geographical work in the South Pacific Ocean, where the Caroline Islands were surveyed. 12 were rediscovered and 26 groups and individual islands were described, the Bonin Islands were found, the location of which was then inaccurately known. For all these geographical objects, maps were compiled, inventories and drawings were made, and a separate atlas was compiled. The expedition collected extensive material on sea currents, water and air temperatures, and atmospheric pressure. An important part of the work was gravimetric and magnetic observations, which served as a valuable contribution to world science. The expedition collected significant material on zoology (more than one and a half thousand specimens of various animals were collected), botany, geology, ethnography, etc.

This entire enormous amount of work was accomplished with very modest means and a small number of employees. F.P. Litke had lieutenants N.I. as assistants. Zavalishin and A.N. Aboleshev, eight midshipmen and other junior commanders, three scientists - A.G. Mertensa, A.F. Postelsa, F.G. Kitlitsa and 48 sailors. We must not forget that the expedition was carried out on a sailing ship, which required a lot of attention, labor and skill of the entire crew. The ship sailed both in the calm zone and in the stormiest areas of the ocean; in a wide variety of climatic conditions - from the equator to the Arctic Circle, from the tropics to the Arctic. During all three years of sailing on the expedition there were no accidents, and the expedition never found itself in a difficult situation. It is not without reason that it is considered the happiest and most fruitful of all the numerous Russian voyages around the world in the first half of the 19th century, of which our country has the right to be proud.

F.P.'s circumnavigation of the world Litka on the Senyavin turned out to be his last. In 1832, Nicholas I appointed him teacher of his son Konstantin. For 16 years, Fyodor Petrovich was forced to stay at the royal court. He did not like court life, shunned vanity and lust for power, and was far from court intrigues. In 1835 he wrote: “My service is in many ways contrary to both my nature and spiritual needs.” But even while at court, Fyodor Petrovich managed to remain a scientist. He attended meetings of the Academy of Sciences, wrote an article on tides in the Arctic Ocean, and did not break ties with his sailor friends.

F.P. Litke made a proposal about the need to unite all geographers, researchers and travelers into the scientific community and obtained permission to create the Russian Geographical Society. The founding members of the society were: the famous naturalist, Russian explorer Academician K.M. Baer, ​​famous polar explorer F.P. Wrangel, geographer, historian and statistician academician K.I. Arsenyev, an outstanding astronomer, founder and director of the Pulkovo Observatory V.Ya. Struve, Admiral I.F. Krusenstern and others. In September 1845, at a meeting of the founders F.P. Litke was elected vice-chairman of the Russian Geographical Society (the chairman, by position, was a member of the imperial family). F.P. Litke led the Russian Geographical Society for over 20 years in the period 1845 - 1850. and 1857 - 1873

From 1850 to 1853 F.P. Litke was the main commander and governor of the port of Revel, and during the Crimean War - the main commander and military governor of the Kronstadt port. He was awarded the rank of admiral.

F.P. Litke actively participated in the work of the Russian Academy of Sciences. From 1864 to 1882 he was its president. In this capacity he contributed to the development of scientific societies and institutions. The activities of the Pulkovo Observatory, opened in 1839, were expanded. The Pulkovo Observatory became world famous and for several decades was the “astronomical capital” of the world. In 1849, the world's first climatological center was created in Russia - the Main Physical Observatory. F.P. Litke contributed to the further expansion of the activities of the Pavlovsk Magnetic Meteorological Observatory.

Oceanographic research vessel "Fedor Litke"

Fyodor Petrovich Litke died on October 8, 1882 at the age of 85. His name was worthily immortalized on the world map. 15 geographical objects on maps of the Arctic and Pacific Ocean are named after F.P. Litke. The memory of the great geographer is reflected in the names of streets and ships. It is deeply symbolic that the first ship to make a through passage from the Far East to Murmansk in one navigation was the ice cutter “Fedor Litke”. In the second half of the 20th century, the icebreaker “Fedor Litke” and the oceanographic research vessel “Fedor Litke” took over the sea watch.

Even after the death of Fyodor Petrovich Litke, his name continued to serve the development of geographical science. In 1873, the Imperial Russian Geographical Society established the Litke gold medal, awarded for outstanding geographical research. In 1946, the Council of Ministers of the USSR passed a resolution on the restoration of the F. P. Litke Gold Medal to encourage works in the field of geographical sciences.

Medal of the Russian Geographical Society named after F.P. Litke

Major Vladimir Pryamitsin,
Deputy Head of the Research Department
Institute of Military History VAGSH RF Armed Forces, Candidate of Military Sciences

Litke Fedor Petrovich - Russian navigator and geographer, admiral. Corresponding member (1829-55), honorary member (since 1855) and president (since 1864) of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences. In 1817-19 took part in a circumnavigation of the world. In 1821-24. described the western coast of Novaya Zemlya, the Murmansk coast and explored the eastern part of the Barents Sea, the White Sea. Based on his navigationally unsuccessful voyages to Novaya Zemlya, F.P. Litke believed that sea communication with Siberia was impossible. This erroneous opinion of Litke, thanks to his authority and social position, greatly delayed the practical solution to the issue of the Northern Sea Route.

In 1826-29. led a round-the-world expedition on the Senyavin sloop, during which he described the western coast of the Bering Sea, the Pribilof Islands, the Bonin Islands and the Caroline Archipelago, discovering 12 islands in it. The expedition collected extensive material on oceanography, ethnography, zoology and botany. F. P. Litke was the main organizer of the Russian Geographical Society created in 1845. Litke, who was elected vice-chairman of the society, led it until 1873 with a break in 1850-57, when he was commander of the Revel and then Kronstadt ports. As president of the Academy, F. P. Litke paid especially much attention to the work of the Pulkovo Astronomical Observatory, the Main Physical Observatory and the Pavlovsk Magnetic Meteorological Observatory. He was an honorary member of many Russian and foreign scientific institutions. The Geographical Society established the Litke gold medal in 1873.

A cape, a peninsula, a mountain, a bay and a lip on Novaya Zemlya are named after Litke. Islands: in the Franz Josef Land archipelago, Baydaratskaya Bay, Nordenskiöld archipelago. Capes: on Wrangel Island, Unimak Island, the southwestern coast of the Sea of ​​Okhotsk and in the Bering Strait, the strait between Kamchatka and Karaginsky Island, the shoal north of Morzhovets Island, the current from the Kara Sea to the Barents Sea.

F. P. Litke is an outstanding geographer and traveler, explorer of Novaya Zemlya, Polynesia and the northern shores of the Pacific Ocean, head of the round-the-world expedition on the Senyavin sloop, admiral. He was the main initiator of the creation of the Russian Geographical Society, one of its founders and for two decades its de facto leader. For 18 years (from 1864 to 1882) Litke headed the Academy of Sciences as its president.

Litke was born on September 17, 1797 in St. Petersburg. Having lost his parents at an early age, he was initially raised in a boarding school. In 1810, his sister - the wife of captain-lieutenant Sulmenev - took her brother to her place. The marine environment into which Litke found himself determined his future. With the help of his son-in-law, in 1813 he volunteered for the navy. Sailing on the ship “Aglaya,” which was part of Sulmenev’s detachment, Litke repeatedly took part in battles with the French. For his distinction in three battles near Weichselmünde, Litke was promoted to midshipman. In 1817, Litke, together with F. P. Wrangel and F. F. Matyushkin, took part in a circumnavigation of the world on the military sloop "Kamchatka" under the command of the famous navigator V. M. Golovnin. The ship visited England, South America, Kamchatka, the Aleutian Islands, Alaska, Hawaii, the Philippines and the Azores.

Litke learned a lot from such an excellent leader during his two years of sailing. Upon returning to Kronstadt in 1819, already with the rank of lieutenant, Litke quickly gained a reputation as one of the most experienced naval officers; he was soon transferred to the White Sea and in 1820 made the transition from Arkhangelsk to St. Petersburg on the ship “Three Saints”.

The next stage of Litke's life is associated with four voyages to the shores of Novaya Zemlya. From that time on, his independent research activities in the field of geography began.

At this time, the Admiralty was preparing a hydrographic expedition to the Arctic Ocean. Litke, on the recommendation of V.M. Golovnin, was appointed head of this expedition.

The purpose of the expedition was initially quite modest and consisted only of a general survey of Novaya Zemlya, determining the coordinates of its main capes and the Matochkin Shar Strait, as well as familiarizing itself with the nature of the coast. A special vessel was built for the expedition - the brig “Novaya Zemlya” (with a carrying capacity of 200 tons). At that time, the expedition was well supplied with everything necessary.

On July 14, 1821, “Novaya Zemlya” left Arkhangelsk. When leaving the Throat of the White Sea, the ship ran aground. This unpleasant accident allowed Litka to make corrections to the maps of this area, which were far from accurate at that time. The sailing conditions were very difficult. Due to constant fog and ice, it was not possible to get close to the shore. Nevertheless, Litke made an inventory of a small section of the coast of Novaya Zemlya.

On August 31, with the onset of autumn, he turned south and on September 11 returned to Arkhangelsk. After considering the materials presented to Litka, the Admiralty decided to continue the work of the expedition the following year, 1822. Its tasks were significantly expanded: Litka was entrusted with surveying the coast of the Barents Sea from Cape Svyatoy Nos to the mouth of the Kola River. In mid-June 1822, Novaya Zemlya went to sea. Litke carried out hydrographic work in the Svyatonossky Gulf near Nokuev Island, at the Seven Islands and further west, up to the northern part of the Kola Bay.

In addition to the inventory of the shores, Litke almost all the time carried out magnetic observations, observations of tides and currents, determined the depths of the sea and described the bottom soils; On August 3, having completed work on the Murmansk coast, Litke headed to Novaya Zemlya; On August 7, the brig was already off Cape Britvina. While carrying out survey work north along the coast of Novaya Zemlya, the ship reached a cape on August 11, which Litke mistook for Cape Zhelaniya. Further progress was prevented by continuous ice, which forced Litke to abandon his intention to go to the Kara Sea. Turning south, the ship on the 17th approached the mouth of the Matochkin Shar, where the latitude of the place was determined. Further survey of the southwestern coast was hampered by bad weather, and at the end of August Litke headed back to Arkhangelsk, where he arrived on September 6.

The Admiralty instructed Litka to continue the work, and in 1823 he was given some new tasks: to clarify the coordinates of Kanin Nos, to make an inventory of the coast from the Kola Bay to the Swedish border and other tasks.

Litke began his third voyage on June 11, 1823. The results of last year's work at St. Nos, at Oleny Island, in Teriberka Bay and at Kildina Island were clarified. Based on the results of his survey of the Rybachy area, Litke was able to prove that Rybachy, which until then was considered an island, is in fact a peninsula. From Rybachy, the ship sailed with an inventory of the shores to the Swedish border, from where on July 18 it headed to the northern Goose Nose of Novaya Zemlya. While trying to advance north, Litke established the existence of a constant current along the western shore of Novaya Zemlya. Turning south, the brig entered Matochkin Shar on August 6. Lieutenant Lavrov conducted an inventory of the shores of the strait from the boat, and Litke himself conducted observations of the tides. His intention to pass through Matochkin Shar into the Kara Sea was again, as last year, prevented by ice. On August 19, while trying to enter the Kara Sea through the Kara Gate Strait, the ship was thrown onto the rocks; It was possible to film it only thanks to a random gust of wind. The ship received such serious damage that it was necessary to immediately return to Arkhangelsk. Nevertheless, along the way, Litke made an inventory of the northern coast of Kolguev Island. On the night of August 25, a severe storm broke out, causing further damage to the ship. Only Litke's management and the dedication of the crew saved the ship. On August 30, the brig arrived in Arkhangelsk and was put in for repairs.

The results of this expedition were approved by the Admiralty, and Litke was appointed for the fourth time the head of the expedition to Novaya Zemlya. This time the expedition was unsuccessful. “Novaya Zemlya” and the brig “Ketty” went to sea on June 18, 1824 and on July 6 approached Kanin Nos. Further navigation was hampered by winds, fogs and ice; all attempts to approach the shores of Novaya Zemlya, break through to the north, or enter the Kara Sea failed. Taking into account the late season, Litke headed to Arkhangelsk on August 19, where he arrived on September 11.

Litke's four voyages were the first systematic work to explore Novaya Zemlya. The results of the expedition were significant and deserved high praise, and the maps compiled by Litke remained the best for almost a century. After the end of the expedition, he published the book “Four-time voyage to the Arctic Ocean on the military brig “Novaya Zemlya” in 1821-1824.” This book, then translated into foreign languages, brought Litka wide fame both in Russia and abroad.

Despite the relative failure of the Novaya Zemlya expedition (for the ultimate goal - a description of the eastern coast of Novaya Zemlya - was never achieved), Litke's work was a major contribution to the knowledge of the Arctic for its time and attracted attention for the seriousness, breadth and complexity of observations, and the reliability of the factual material , impartiality of judgment. In the “Introduction” to the said work, written after this, Litke gave a complete summary of the history of the study of Novaya Zemlya, critically assessed the results of previous research, emphasized the priority of the Russian Pomors in the discovery and first acquaintance with Novaya Zemlya, and spoke with complete objectivity about the merits and failures of his predecessors - Russian and foreign. Only one of Litke’s fundamental conclusions turned out to be erroneous: his assertion that “sea communication with Siberia is one of the impossible things.” It is clear that Litke made such a conclusion primarily taking into account his personal experience, since he never managed to go even to the Kara Sea. That is why Litke was among the opponents of the idea of ​​the Northern Sea Route.

In 1826, Litke was appointed commander of the Senyavin sloop, which was setting off on a voyage around the world. The main task of the expedition on the Senyavin was to describe the Asian shores of the Bering and Okhotsk seas.

At the same time, the instructions included hydrographic tasks during the Senyavin’s winter voyage in the tropics.

Thus, Litka was asked to explore the Bonin and Caroline Islands, and then the northern shores of the Solomon Islands, New Ireland, Hanover, and others.

From this enumeration it is clear that the tasks assigned to Litke were very great.

On August 20, 1826, the Senyavin, having 62 people on board, left Kronstadt simultaneously with the sloop of the same type, the Moller, whose commander was M. N. Stanyukovich.

On September 25, Litke arrived in Portsmouth, and on November 2, he anchored off the island of Tenerife. Further the path lay through Rio de Janeiro and Valparaiso.

Leaving Valparaiso on April 3, Litke headed to the Hawaiian Islands, firstly, to survey a little-visited area and, secondly, to search for the intersection point of the geographic and magnetic meridians, which, according to the information at that time, were located at 130° W. On June 12, “Senyavin” was near Novoarkhangelsk.

For a month, while the ship was being repaired, Litke collected various information about the nature and population of Russian America, and then comprehensively studied the Aleutian Islands.

From August 21 to September 1, Litke was engaged in determining the geographical location and inventory of the island of St. Matthew, after which he went to Petropavlovsk. On October 19, Litke left Petropavlovsk and went south to the Caroline Islands.

On October 29, Litke searched in vain for two small islands shown on the map at 50°12"N and 162°57"E. d. Also in vain, on January 1, 1828, he searched for the “Musgrav Islands,” shown on Krusenstern’s map at 6°12" and 159° 15" E. d. In November, Litke looked for islands (Colunas, Denster and St. Bartholomew), allegedly discovered by American sailors, but did not find any of them.

On November 26, the Senyavin approached the island of Yualan, the easternmost island of the Caroline Islands, where it anchored until December 22, conducting hydrographic work and measuring gravity. From here, "Senyavin" followed the south along the meridian of the island of Yualan and determined the position of the magnetic equator on this meridian.

Litke notes that while sailing in the Caroline Archipelago, he made it a rule to stay in one place at night under small sails, so as not to miss any new island in the dark. However, he deviated from this rule on the night of January 1-2 and, to my great surprise, at dawn I saw in front of me a land not shown on the map.

Soon the Senyavin approached the island, called by the locals Paynipeg [Ponape], but it was not possible to land due to the hostility of the islanders - they had to limit themselves to taking an inventory from the sea, which was completed on January 5.

The next two days were used to inventory the low-lying islands located near Ponape. This entire group was named the Senyavin Islands in honor of the venerable man, whose name our ship was decorated with.”

At the end of January, the expedition described several more groups of islands in the Caroline archipelago, including the Namonuito Islands.

Litke notes that these islands deserve attention “as the skeleton of a future large group of islands or one vast island, this place ... depicts the appearance of all the coral islands at the beginning. Whether due to its later origin, or perhaps because of its great vastness, it has lagged behind the others and does not yet form a whole closed circle of islands and reefs, but all the evidence for this is available. The bottom of the future lagoon... with a uniform depth of about 23 fathoms and shallow banks scattered throughout it already exists. On the windward edge... there are already several islands connected by reefs.” Litke further adds that if the opinion about the creation of coral islands by billions of tiny animals is true, “then the Namonuito group can serve over time - perhaps after millennia - as a measure of the success of these works...”

After calling at the island of Guam (Mariana Islands) to replenish provisions and measure gravity, Litke again returned to the Caroline Islands and continued to describe them.

On April 3, “Senyavin” turned north to the Bonin Islands, the instructions of which he was instructed to check the position of.

On April 20, the "Senyavin" anchored off these islands and from the English sailors who met him from the whaling ship "William" that was wrecked in 1826, he learned that in 1828 the English captain Beechey on the sloop "Blossom" put these islands exactly on the map and took them “into the possession of the British kingdom.”

On May 1, Litke headed for Kamchatka and on May 29 anchored in Petropavlovsk. Until late autumn, the expedition carried out work on an inventory of the shores of the Bering Sea. The return course of the Senyavin was again laid through the Caroline Islands, which made it possible to make several more small discoveries. Now F.P. Litke had the opportunity to say: “The Caroline Archipelago, which was previously considered very dangerous for navigation, will henceforth be safe on a par with the most famous places on the globe.” The Senyavin made its return journey through Manila and around the Cape of Good Hope. Gravity was measured on St. Helena Island.

The results of the Senyavin's voyage were very great. The expedition described 26 groups and individual islands and rediscovered 12 islands, including the Senyavin Islands. In addition, part of the Bonin Islands, little known at that time, was found and described. For all the places visited, maps, inventories and drawings were made, which formed a separate nautical atlas. The expedition also collected extensive material on sea currents, water and air temperatures, atmospheric pressure, etc. Magnetic observations and determinations of gravity were very valuable, as a result of which it was possible to significantly clarify ideas about the shape of the Earth.

Remarkable materials were also collected on zoology (more than one and a half thousand specimens of various animals), botany (herbarium), geology (330 rock samples), ethnography, etc.

Litke’s book, “A Voyage Around the World on the Sloop of War “Senyavin” in 1826-1829,” published in 1835, was awarded the Academy of Sciences’ highest award - the Demidov Prize, and F. P. Litke himself was elected a corresponding member of the Academy of Sciences. For his circumnavigation of the world, Litke was promoted to captain of the 1st rank.

Litke's achievements were highly appreciated by many prominent scientists and travelers of that time - J. S. Dumont-D'Urville, and especially. The great German naturalist saw in the young Litka one of the continuers of his work in the field of studying the “physics of the world.” Subsequently, Litke and Humboldt had a long-term friendship, as evidenced by their meaningful correspondence.

The tsarist government and the fleet command assessed Litka’s merits differently. The scientist was more than once torn away from his research work, pestering him with current assignments. In 1830, Litke was the head of a training voyage of a detachment of ships in the Atlantic Ocean; Somewhat later, the scientist was sent to Danzig [Gdansk] to “...organize the unloading and reception of provisions ships supplying the Russian army.”

In 1833, a major turn took place in Litke’s life, which took him away from scientific activity for a long time: Nicholas I entrusted the scientist with the upbringing of his second son, Konstantin, a matter that required Litke’s daily presence with his august pupil.

In ten notebooks of diaries, which Litke’s biographer Academician Bezobrazov considers “the most significant and historically curious part of this scientist’s archive,” it is clear how this court life of a tutor weighed him down. “Why and why did fate tear me away from the work with which I became so familiar, seduced me from the field in which I had just begun to strive with honor... My service is in many ways contrary to my nature and spiritual needs.” Similar entries appear more than once in Litke’s diaries.

Then the scientist briefly secured for himself, citing family responsibilities, the right to spend part of his time at home. This immediately returned Litka to science and allowed him to write an article “On the tides in the Northern Great Ocean and the Arctic Sea.”

In 1835, Litke was promoted to rear admiral, in 1843 to vice admiral, and then he received the rank of admiral.

In 1845, Litke initiated the creation of the Russian Geographical Society, proposing to the Tsar to make his pupil Konstantin, who had already reached the age of 18, president of the Society. Litke was also the compiler of the first memorandum on the goals and objectives of the Society. Litke considered the main task of the Society to be “the collection and dissemination, both in Russia and beyond, of the most complete and reliable information about our fatherland”, in terms of geographical, statistical and ethnographic. Litke also set the goal of the Society to spread in our fatherland, along with thorough geographical information, taste and love for geography, statistics and ethnography.

Litke's speech at the first meeting of the Society, where he outlined his views on its tasks, became widely known. The Society's charter, drawn up by Litke, directly spoke of the need to study one's homeland. In the aforementioned speech, Litke, elected vice-president of the Society, said in particular: “Our fatherland, extending... in longitude... more than the semicircle of the Earth,... represents to us in itself a special part of the world, with all its characteristic features. such a huge extent of differences in climates, geognostic relationships, phenomena of organic nature, etc. with numerous tribes... etc. and let’s add, a part of the world that is still relatively little explored. Such very special conditions directly indicate that the main subject of the Russian Geographical Society should be the cultivation of the Geography of Russia..."

After the marriage of Konstantin's pupil, Litke was released from the palace. In 1850 he was appointed military governor and commander of the port of Revel.

In the war of 1853-1855. Litke participated as the main commander and military governor of the Kronstadt port. Litke’s plan for the defense of Kronstadt and the Russian coast of the Baltic served as one of the foundations for successful defense on this part of the front: the stronger Anglo-French fleet did not dare to approach the Russian coast.

During his years in Reval and Kronstadt, Litke retired from work at the Geographical Society, but after the end of the Crimean War he returned to St. Petersburg and was again elected vice-president of the Society. With the formal presence of only the “August President” - Grand Duke Constantine, this meant the actual leadership of all the complex and multifaceted activities of the Society. Litke remained in this post for another 16 years, during which the Society organized a number of brilliant expeditions. With the active help and guidance from Litke, such later famous expeditions as the expeditions of N. A. Severtsov, A. L. Chekanovsky, were prepared and carried out; the beginning of remarkable works was laid and the most interesting ethnographic and statistical studies were launched (V.I. Dal, D.P. Zhuravsky, I.S. Aksakov),

In this post, Litke proved himself to be an outstanding organizer of science, who contributed to the significant growth of scientific museums, significantly expanded the system of rewarding the best scientific research with prizes, and was able to cultivate and support in the Academy of Sciences, in the words of Academician Struve, “the spirit of pure and serious science.”

Having reached the age of 75 in 1873, Litke handed over the leadership of the Society to the young P. P. Semenov, who, upon his election as vice-president, gave a wonderful speech about Litke’s services to geography. P. P. Semenov said: “There was a time when Fyodor Petrovich, still full of youthful strength, imbued with a love of geographical science and a thirst for discovering unknown countries, led his ship for the first time into the inhospitable polar seas and, breaking through the icy outskirts four times, discovered and conquered for science the cold coasts of that Earth, which only before his exploration had the right to be called New Earth.”

Speaking about Litke’s circumnavigation of the world on the Senyavin, P. P. Semenov emphasized that “Fyodor Petrovich’s research and discoveries in the Bering Sea, the Aleutian ridge, on the coast of Kamchatka, Chukotka and America... gained him great fame throughout the scientific world "

Almost complete loss of vision and hearing forced Litke to leave the presidency three months before his death. On August 8, 1882 he died.

Litke's name appears on the world map in 17 places. This name is given to: the strait between the islands of Karaginsky and Kamchatka, islands in the Bay of St. Lawrence, an island in the Gulf of Mutny, islands in the Nordenskiöld archipelago, a bank in the White Sea, an island on Franz Josef Land, capes on the Aleutian Islands, on Wrangel Island, in the Bering Sea strait, on the southwestern shore of the Sea of ​​Okhotsk and on the northwestern shore of the Amur Bay, lip, bay, mountain, peninsula and cape on Novaya Zemlya, current in the Barents Sea. Back in 1872, the Council of the Russian Geographical Society established the Litke gold medal, awarded for outstanding work in the field of geography. An ice cutter bearing the glorious name of F. P. Litke sailed in the seas of the Soviet Arctic.

Litke was an honorary member of a number of Geographical Societies (in London, Antwerp, etc.). Maritime Academy, Kharkov and Dorpat universities, corresponding member of the Paris Academy of Sciences.

Bibliography

1. Biographical dictionary of figures in natural science and technology. T. 1. – Moscow: State. scientific publishing house "Big Soviet Encyclopedia", 1958. - 548 p.

Zubov N. N. Fedor Petrovich Litke / N. N. Zubov // Domestic physical geographers and travelers. – Moscow: State educational and pedagogical publishing house of the Ministry of Education of the RSFSR, 1959. – P. 204-213.

Private bussiness

Fedor Petrovich Litke(1797 - 1882) was the son of state councilor Peter Litke. His mother died on his birthday. The father soon married for the second time. At the age of six, Fyodor Litke was sent to Meyer's private boarding school. When he turned eleven, his father died, and his stepmother refused to pay for her stepson’s education. Then the boy was taken into his house by his maternal uncle, member of the State Council Fyodor Engel. The boy did not receive a systematic education, but read books enthusiastically. Since 1811, he often visited Kronstadt, where his sister lived, who became the wife of captain of the second rank Ivan Sulmenev. Under his influence, Fyodor Litke decided to become a military sailor. Sulmenev invited teachers, under whose guidance Fedor mastered the basics of mathematics and navigation and was able to pass the exam, becoming a midshipman. He served in a detachment of gunboats commanded by Sulmenev and in 1812 he was promoted to midshipman for his participation in the battles of Danzig.

On the recommendation of Sulmenev, Fedor Litke was included in the round-the-world expedition on the sloop "Kamchatka" under the command of Vasily Golovnin. According to Fyodor Litke, he returned from the voyage “a real sailor, a sailor of the Golovin school.” After returning, he was sent to serve in Arkhangelsk. Soon, on the recommendation of Golovin, young Litka was entrusted with the leadership of an expedition heading to the Arctic Ocean. Litke made four expeditions, the results of which were described by him in the essay “Four-time journey to the Arctic Ocean, made by order of Emperor Alexander I on the military brig “Novaya Zemlya” in 1821, 1822, 1823 and 1824 of the fleet by Lieutenant-Commander Fyodor Litke.” The book was soon translated into German and became famous among European geographers and naval officers.

On August 14, 1826, Litke was appointed head of a new round-the-world expedition, which included two sloops: the Moller, under the command of Lieutenant-Commander Stanyukovich, and the Senyavin, under the command of Litke himself. The voyage lasted three years. Upon his return - on September 4, 1829 - Litke was, as a special distinction, promoted through the rank of captain of the 1st rank. A description of this journey was published in 1834-1836 in Russian and French under the title: “A journey around the world, made by order of Emperor Nicholas I on the sloop of war “Senyavin” in 1826, 1827, 1828 and 1829.” fleet captain Fedor Litke."

In 1829, Litke was awarded the Order of St. George, 4th class, “for his impeccable service in officer ranks during 18 six-month naval campaigns.” In the same year he was elected corresponding member of the Academy of Sciences.

In the spring and summer of 1830, Litke led the voyage of senior midshipmen to the shores of Iceland, from there to Brest and back to Kronstadt. On February 1, 1832, Litke was appointed aide-de-camp, and on November 3 of the same year he was appointed to serve under the Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolaevich, who was assigned to serve in the navy by his father, Emperor Nicholas I. In 1835, Litka was awarded the rank of rear admiral. In 1836 he received the Demidov Prize for describing his travels,

In 1842, Fyodor Litke became adjutant general, and in 1843 - vice admiral. In 1850, he was appointed chief commander of the port of Revel and military governor of Revel. In 1852 he was awarded the Order of St. Alexander.

During the Crimean War of 1853-1856, Litke organized the defense of the Gulf of Finland from the superior forces of the Anglo-French squadron, for which he received the rank of full admiral and was appointed a member of the State Council.

On February 23, 1864, Fyodor Litke was appointed president of the Academy of Sciences and left this post only a few months before his death, when he became completely blind. On October 28, 1866, by the highest decree, Litke was elevated to the dignity of a count of the Russian Empire by his descendants “in commemoration of the special Royal favor and in expression of gratitude for his long-term, diligent and useful service, which gained him European fame in the scientific world, as well as for his constant devotion , proven by him in the performance of special important duties, entrusted to him with the highest confidence.”

What is he famous for?

An outstanding navigator who completed two trips around the world and led one of them, Fyodor Litke was at the same time a major scientist who made significant contributions to several areas of physical geography.

In 1833, he published “Experiments on a constant pendulum, carried out while traveling around the world on the sloop of war Senyavin.” Later, based on the materials he collected, Professor Lenz created the work “On the inclination and voltage of the magnetic needle according to Litke’s observations,” and Professor Gelshtrem - “On Litke’s barometric and sympiesometric observations and on heat in tropical climates.” Fyodor Litka himself also owns the works “On the ebb and flow of the tides in the Northern Arctic Ocean”, “Report in. book Konstantin Nikolaevich about the expedition to the Sea of ​​Azov” and others.

In 1845, Litke became one of the founding members of the Russian Geographical Society - he developed the society's charter and took the post of its vice-president (Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolaevich became president).

What you need to know

During his circumnavigation of the world on the Senyavin sloop, Fedor Litke described the coast of Kamchatka north of Avachinskaya Bay to the north. He also described the previously unknown Karaginsky Islands, Matvey Island and the coast of Chukotka. The Caroline Islands were explored in detail, within which Litke discovered a group of islands that he called the Senyavin Islands (now part of the Federated States of Micronesia).

Direct speech

“The second expedition accomplished much more than the first. The highest authorities were pleased with our labors, and according to his proposal, all those who participated in them were awarded the favor of the monarchs. But despite all this, much still remained unfulfilled. The coast of Lapland required a new and detailed inventory, since in 1822 only some of the main anchorages and harbors could be described; the intermediate coast, where several more good harbors could have been found, was either not examined at all, or examined superficially. The part of the coast, stretching from the Kola Bay west to the border, remained completely undescribed; All that was known about it was that it was depicted completely incorrectly on all maps, that the so-called Fisherman’s Island (Fischer Eilant) was a peninsula protruding into the sea much further and in a completely different form, etc. There were also several points on the Novaya Zemlya side dubious and unknown. After comparing our map with the navigation map of the Dutch sailors, located in the Great Atlas, Blau turned out to be between the longitude of the cape, which we took for Cape Zhelaniya, and the longitude of the Barents Cape of this name, a difference of up to 15 degrees. Such an error in the definition of Barents seemed completely impossible, especially since the difference in the position of other points was very small; and from this the suspicion was revived whether it was another cape, for example, Nassau, that we mistook for Cape Zhelaniya. Although the inventory of navigator Rozmyslov there was no particular reason to suspect infidelity; It was desirable to use a new dimension of the Matochkin Ball to remove this rather important point in the geography of Novaya Zemlya once and for all from doubt. The southern coast of Novaya Zemlya was still completely unknown. Even less so is the eastern shore, which, however, there was little hope of describing on a seaworthy vessel. The position of the islands of Vaigach and Kolguev was not determined. Finally, the longitude of Kanin Nos required a new check. To fulfill all this, it was ordered to send me on the same brig.”

From the book “Four-time voyage to the Arctic Ocean, made by order of Emperor Alexander I on the military brig “Novaya Zemlya” in 1821, 1822, 1823 and 1824 of the fleet by Lieutenant-Commander Fyodor Litke”

“Litke’s extensive knowledge in the field of natural sciences was generally expressed in the fact that he excellently made many observations that did not have an essential connection with his journey, but were very important for resolving certain scientific questions. His observations of a permanent magnet are especially remarkable - such experiments determine the compression of the globe, an element whose exact knowledge is very important for various geodetic works and for the most accurate study of some complex movements in the solar system; Litke’s experiments and observations are among the best in their field.”

Nikolay Chechulin

“I had no intention of writing a complete biography of me. The purpose of this note is to convey to my children the information that is available about the past of our family, and to present an outline of the first half of my life, from which they can see how an orphan, in the first years of his youth, was almost abandoned, without any protection, maybe with with the help of God, through your own labors, make your way in life and leave your descendants a good, untarnished name.”

From the autobiography of Fyodor Litke.

7 facts about Fedor Litka

• The Litke family traces its history back to Johann Philipp Litke (?—1771/1772), a master of philosophy who studied physics and theology, a man of versatile knowledge. He was invited to Russia during the reign of Anna Ioannovna as rector of the academic gymnasium in St. Petersburg and rector of the Petrishule school. Fyodor Petrovich Litke was his grandson.
• Litka came up with the idea of ​​the first recording “tide gauge” (1839), built and installed in 1841 on the shores of the Arctic and Pacific oceans.
• In the late 1870s, during disputes between Germany and Spain over the Caroline Islands, decisions were based on descriptions made by Litke during his trip around the world.
• The diaries of Fyodor Litke, which he kept from 1832 to 1868, occupy eleven volumes in manuscript.
• Fyodor Litke's son Konstantin also became a famous navigator.
• A cape, a peninsula, a mountain, and a bay on Novaya Zemlya are named after Fyodor Litke; cape in Chukotka; islands in the Franz Josef Land archipelago, Baydaratskaya Bay, the Nordenskiöld archipelago, the strait between Kamchatka and Karaginsky Island, as well as a crater on the far side of the Moon
• The Russian Geographical Society awards the medal named after Fyodor Litke.

Materials about Fedor Litka

About his stay on one of the Coraline Islands, Litke wrote: “...Our three-week stay on Yualan not only did not cost a single drop of human blood, but... we could leave the good islanders with the same incomplete information about the action of our firearms, which they consider intended only for killing birds... I don’t know if a similar example can be found in the chronicles of early trips to the South Sea” (F. P. Litke. Voyage around the world on the sloop of war “Senyavin” in 1826-1829).

In the first half of the 19th century. Russian navigators made more than 20 trips around the world, which significantly exceeded the number of such expeditions undertaken by the British and French combined. And some Russian sailors circumnavigated the world twice or thrice. In the first Russian circumnavigation of the world, the midshipman on Kruzenshtern’s sloop “Nadezhda” was Bellingshausen, who after some time would be the first to approach the shores of Antarctica. O. Kotzebue made his first voyage on the same ship, and subsequently led two round-the-world voyages: in 1815-1818 and in 1823-1826.

In 1817, Vasily Mikhailovich Golovnin, who had already completed a circumnavigation of the world on the sloop “Diana”, which had become legendary, set out on his second circumnavigation. To be included in the team of the famous navigator was considered a great honor. On the recommendation of Captain 2nd Rank I. S. Sulmenev, later an admiral, Golovnin took his pupil, 19-year-old midshipman Fyodor Litke, on board the ship as the head of the hydrographic service, 19-year-old midshipman Fyodor Litke, who had already managed to take part in naval battles with the French and earn an order.

On the sloop "Kamchatka", which was preparing to sail around the world, a wonderful company gathered - the future of the Russian fleet. Litke met here with volunteer Fyodor Matyushkin, a former lyceum student and classmate of Pushkin, a future admiral and senator, and junior watch officer Ferdinand Wrangel, later a famous Arctic explorer and admiral. The team also included a very young midshipman, Theopempt Lutkovsky, who would first become interested in the ideas of the Decembrists, and then become a rear admiral and naval writer. During the two-year voyage, "Kamchatka" crossed the Atlantic from north to south, rounded Cape Horn, reached Kamchatka through the Pacific Ocean, visited Russian America, Hawaii, the Marianas and the Moluccas, then crossed the Indian Ocean and, having gone around Africa, on September 5, 1819. returned to Kronstadt.

In 1821, on the recommendation of Golovnin, Litke, who had already become a lieutenant, was appointed head of the Arctic expedition on the brig Novaya Zemlya. The expedition explored the Murmansk coast, the western coast of Novaya Zemlya, the Matochkin Shar Strait, and the northern coast of Kolguev Island. Astronomical observations were carried out. Having processed the expedition materials, Litke published the book “Four-time voyages to the Arctic Ocean on the military brig “Novaya Zemlya” in 1821-1824.” This work was translated into several languages ​​and brought the author well-deserved recognition in the scientific world. The maps compiled by the expedition served sailors for a century.

In 1826, Lieutenant-Commander Litke, who at that time was not yet 29 years old, took command of the Senyavin sloop, built specifically for the new circumnavigation of the world. In August of the same year, the ship left Kronstadt, accompanied by the second sloop Moller, commanded by M. N. Stanyukovich (father of the famous writer). According to the instructions, the expedition was to make an inventory of the shores of the Okhotsk and Bering Seas, as well as the Shantar Islands and carry out research in Russian America. In winter, she had to conduct scientific research in the tropics.

Stanyukovich's sloop turned out to be much faster than the Senyavin (for some reason, in most Russian round-the-world expeditions, pairs were made up of ships with significantly different performance characteristics), and the second had to constantly catch up with the first, mainly at anchorages in ports. Almost immediately the ships separated and then sailed mostly separately.

After stops in Copenhagen, Portsmouth and Tenerife, the Senyavin crossed the Atlantic and at the end of December arrived in Rio de Janeiro, where the Moller was already docked. In January 1827, the sloops headed together to Cape Horn. Having rounded it, they fell into a fierce storm - one of those that, it seems, specially awaits ships entering the Pacific Ocean - and again lost each other. In search of the Moller, Litke went to Concepcion Bay and then to Valparaiso. Here the ships met, but Stanyukovich was already leaving for Kamchatka, in transit through the Hawaiian Islands.

Litke stayed in Valparaiso. There he carried out magnetic and astronomical observations, and the expedition's naturalists made excursions around the area and collected collections. At the beginning of April, "Senyavin" set off for Alaska. We reached Novoarkhangelsk on June 11 and stayed there for more than a month, repairing the sloop, collecting collections, and doing ethnographic research. The expedition then explored the Pribilof Islands and took photographs of St. Matthew Island. In mid-September, the Senyavin arrived in Kamchatka, where the expedition remained until October 29, awaiting mail, exploring the surrounding area.

Moving south, Litke reached the Caroline Islands at the end of November. At the very beginning of 1828, the expedition discovered a hitherto unknown part of this huge archipelago, naming it the Senyavin Islands in honor of its ship. The sloop then visited Guam and the other Mariana Islands. Hydrographic work was constantly carried out; Litke, in addition, carried out astronomical, magnetic and gravimetric measurements. On the islands, naturalists continued to expand their collections. At the end of March, the sloop sailed north to the Bonin (Ogasawara) Islands. The sailors examined them and picked up two Englishmen who had been shipwrecked. At the beginning of May, Litke headed for Kamchatka.

They stayed in Petropavlovsk for three weeks, and in mid-June Litke’s second northern campaign began. "Senyavin" carried out hydrographic research in the Bering Sea. Moving north, the expedition determined the coordinates of points on the Kamchatka coast, described Karaginsky Island, then headed to the Bering Strait and determined the coordinates of Cape Vostochny (now Cape Dezhnev). Work on the inventory of the southern coast of Chukotka had to be interrupted due to unfavorable weather. At the end of September, Senyavin returned to Kamchatka, and a month later, together with Moller, he entered the Pacific Ocean.

In early November, the ships were again separated by a storm. The agreed meeting place was in Manila. Before moving to the Philippines, Litke decided to once again visit the Caroline Islands. And again successfully: he managed to discover several coral atolls. After this, he headed west and approached Manila on December 31st. "Moller" was already there. In mid-January 1829, the sloops moved home, passed through the Sunda Strait and on February 11 ended up in the Indian Ocean. Then their paths diverged again: “Moller” went to South Africa, and “Senyavin” to St. Helena Island. There, at the end of April, the sloops were reunited, and on June 30 they reached Le Havre together. From here Stanyukovich headed straight for Kronstadt, and Litke also went to England to check the instruments at the Greenwich Observatory.

Finally, on August 25, 1829, the Senyavin arrived at the Kronstadt roadstead. He was greeted with a cannon salute. Immediately after his return, Litke was promoted to captain of the 1st rank.

This expedition, which lasted three years, became one of the most fruitful in the history of navigation, and not only Russian. 12 islands were discovered, the Asian coast of the Bering Sea and a number of islands were explored over a considerable distance, a wealth of materials on oceanography, biology, and ethnography were collected, and an atlas of several dozen maps and plans was compiled. Litke's experiments with a constant pendulum aroused great interest among physicists, as a result of which the magnitude of the Earth's polar compression was determined, and measurements of the magnetic declination at various points in the world's oceans. In 1835-1836 Litke published the three-volume Voyage Around the World on the Sloop of War Senyavin in 1826-1829, translated into several languages. It was awarded the academic Demidov Prize, and Litke was elected a corresponding member of the Academy of Sciences.

However, Litke's trip on the Senyavin was his last - against his own will. In 1832, Emperor Nicholas I appointed an officer and scientist as the tutor of his second son, Constantine. Litke remained at court as a teacher for 16 years. He was not happy about this highest mercy, but he did not dare to disobey. It was during these years that Fyodor Petrovich Litke became one of the founders of the Russian Geographical Society (along with the sailor Wrangel and academicians Arsenyev and Baer) and was elected its vice-chairman, while Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolaevich, a student of Litke, became the honorary chairman. By the way, he was an intelligent naval officer and rose to the rank of admiral, played a prominent role in carrying out liberal reforms in Russia, and in 1861 became chairman of the State Council. Not a bad upbringing.

In 1850-1857 There was a break in Litke's geographical activities. At this time he was the commander of the port of Revel, and then of Kronstadt. The organization of the defense of the Gulf of Finland from the British and French during the Crimean War (1854-1855) fell on his shoulders. For the brilliant performance of this task, Litke received the rank of admiral and was appointed a member of the State Council, and in 1866 received the title of count. In 1857, Litke was again elected vice-chairman of the Society; his deputy was Pyotr Petrovich Semyonov-Tyan-Shansky. The achievements of domestic geography are largely related to the activities of the Society and, not least, to the ability of Litke and his successors to attract talented young people to their enterprises. In 1864, Litke took over as president of the Academy of Sciences and, at the same time, continued to lead the Geographical Society until 1873.

FIGURES AND FACTS

Main character

Fyodor Petrovich Litke, Russian navigator, geographer

Other characters

Sailors V. M. Golovnin, M. N. Stanyukovich, F. P. Wrangel; Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolaevich; geographers K. I. Arsenyev, K. M. Behr, P. P. Semenov-Tyan-Shansky

Time of action

Route

Around the world from east to west

Goals

Description of the Far Eastern coast of Russia, research in Russian America and in the tropical region of the Pacific Ocean

Meaning

The Asian coast of the Bering Sea was explored, a wealth of scientific materials were collected, the magnitude of the Earth's polar compression was determined, 12 islands were discovered