A second North Pole outpost (SP-2) was established in 1950, and until the late 1980s, the USSR operated at least two SP stations at any given time. Afanasyev, Vasily Burkhanov, Mikhail Somov, Alexei Treshnikov, Boris Koshechkin, and others, came to the forefront. ![]() A new generation of researchers, including A.A. Soviet polar exploration resumed after World War II. There was, of course, an ugly underside to Soviet achievement in the Arctic: Not only was much Soviet polar work characterized by inefficiency and periodic mishaps, both major and minor, but it was closely linked to the steady expansion of forced labor in the GULAG system. In 1941 the Soviets also accomplished the first airplane landing at the Pole of Relative Inaccessibility. This was also an era of spectacular public triumphs, including the rescue of Umberto Nobile and the crew of the dirigible Italia (1928) participation in the Arctic flight of the airship Graf Zeppelin (1931) the Sibiryakov' s first single-season crossing of the Northeast Passage (1932) the airlift of the Chelyuskin' s crew and passengers, who survived two months on the Arctic ice after their ship sank (1933 –1934) the flights of Valery Chkalov and Mikhail Gromov over the North Pole on their way to the United States (1937) the first airplane landing at the North Pole (1937) and the establishment of the first research outpost at the North Pole, the SP-1, under the leadership of Ivan Papanin (1937 –1938). The USSR made impressive headway during the 1920s and 1930s in building an economic and transportational infrastructure in the polar regions. Prominent Arctic scientists included Vladimir Vize, Georgy Ushakov, and Rudolf Samoilovich of the VAI, as well as Otto Shmidt, head of GUSMP. Under the Soviet regime, polar exploration and development fell to agencies such as the All-Union Arctic Institute (VAI) and, after 1932, the Main Administration of the Northern Sea Route (GUSMP). In 1914 –1915, Boris Vilkitsky completed the second traversal of the Northeast Passage. By contrast, in 1914, Yan Nagursky became the first pilot successfully to fly an airplane above the Arctic Circle. Early twentieth-century expeditions under Ernst Toll, Vladimir Rusanov, Georgy Brusilov, and Georgy Sedov ended in tragedy. Admiral Stepan Makarov formed a Russian icebreaker fleet, while naval officer Alexander Kolchak, later famous as a White commander during the Russian civil war, explored the Arctic. ![]() The latter sponsored the first successful crossing of the Northeast Passage: Adolf Erik Nordenskjold's 1878 –1879 voyage in the Vega.ĭuring the late 1800s and early 1900s, as international audiences thrilled to the daring exploits of explorers like Peary and Scott, Russian polar work focused on scientific, commercial, and military concerns. Key figures from this period include Fyodor Rozmyslov (d.1771), Vasily Chichagov (1726 –1809), Matvei Gedenshtrom (1780 –1843), Academy of Sciences president Fyodor Litke (1797 –1882), and Alexander Sibiryakov (1844 –1893). ![]() The colonization of Alaska and incorporation of the Russian-American Company (1799) necessitated greater familiarity with the Arctic. Afterward, the Admiralty and Academy of Sciences sponsored many voyages and expeditions, surveying or exploring Spitsbergen, Novaya Zemlya, the New Siberian Islands, Wrangel Island, and Franz Josef Land. On behalf of the Russian government, Danish captain Vitus Bering, with Alexei Chirikov as his second-in-command, launched his Kamchatka (1728 –1730) and Great Northern (1733 –1749) expeditions. Scientific and exploratory work got underway during the 1700s and 1800s. Further settlement was tied to the foundation of religious communities (such as the Solovetsky Monastery, built in 1435) demand for furs and precious metals the search for the Northeast Passage (in Russian, the Northern Sea Route) the establishment of ports such as Arkhangelsk (1584) and Russia's eastward expansion into Siberia during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Russian migration to the Arctic coast began during the eleventh century. ![]() After 1956, the USSR became an important force in Antarctic research. Interest heightened after 1920, as the USSR transformed itself into a key player in North polar exploration. Actual exploration began during the eighteenth century and continued, although Russia took little part in the classic race for the North and South poles. From its earliest days, Russia was concerned with Arctic settlement and development.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |