19th-century Russian fleet commander and explorer
Admiral
Mikhail Petrovich Lazarev
(
Russian
:
Михаил Петрович Лазарев
; 14 November [
O.S.
3 November] 1788 – 23 April [
O.S.
11 April] 1851
) was a Russian
fleet
commander
and an
explorer
.
Education and early career
[
edit
]
Lazarev was born in
Vladimir
city, a
scion
of the old
Russian nobility
from the Vladimir province.
[2]
In 1800, he enrolled in
Russia
's Naval College. Three years later he was sent to the
British
Royal Navy
, where he would stay for a continuous five-year navigation. From 1808 to 1813, Lazarev served in the
Baltic Fleet
. He took part in the
Russo-Swedish War of 1808?1809
and
Patriotic War of 1812
.
Career as an explorer
[
edit
]
Lazarev first
circumnavigated
the
globe
in 1813?1816, aboard the vessel
Suvorov
; the expedition began at
Kronstadt
and reached
Alaska
. During this voyage, Lazarev discovered the
Suvorov Atoll
.
As a commander of the ship
Mirny
and
Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen
's deputy on his
world cruise in 1819?1821
(Bellingshausen commanded
Vostok
), Lazarev took part in the discovery of
Antarctica
and numerous islands. On 28 January 1820 the expedition discovered the Antarctic mainland, approaching the Antarctic coast at the coordinates
69°21′28″S
2°14′50″W
/
69.35778°S 2.24722°W
/
-69.35778; -2.24722
and seeing ice-fields there.
In 1822?1825, Lazarev circumnavigated the globe for the third time on his
frigate
Kreyser
, conducting broad research in the fields of
meteorology
and
ethnography
.
Wartime commands
[
edit
]
In 1826, Lazarev became commander of the ship
Azov
, which would sail to the
Mediterranean Sea
as the flagship of the First Mediterranean Squadron under command of Admiral
Login Petrovich Geiden
and participated in the
Battle of Navarino
in 1827. Lazarev received the
rank
of
rear admiral
for his excellence during the battle.
In 1828?1829, he was in charge of the
Dardanelles
blockade
. In 1830, Lazarev returned to Kronstadt and became a commander of naval units of the Baltic Fleet. Two years later, he was made
Chief of Staff
of the
Black Sea Fleet
. In February?June 1833, Lazarev led a Russian squadron to the
Bosporus
and signed the
Treaty of Hunkar ?skelesi
with the
Ottoman Empire
. In 1833, Lazarev was appointed Commander of the Black Sea Fleet, the Black Sea ports, and also military governor of
Sevastopol
and
Nikolayev
.
Influence and legacy
[
edit
]
Admiral Lazarev exercised great influence both in technical matters and as a mentor to younger officers. He advocated the building of a
steam-powered
fleet, but Russia's technical and economic backwardness hindered his plans. He tutored a number of Russian fleet commanders, including
Pavel Nakhimov
(1802-1855),
Vladimir Alexeyevich Kornilov
(1806-1854),
Vladimir Istomin
(1810-1855), and
Grigory Butakov
(1820-1882).
An
atoll
in the
Pacific Ocean
, capes in the
Amur Liman
and on the
Unimak Island
, a former island in the
Aral Sea
, a
bay
[
citation needed
]
and a
port
in the
Sea of Japan
,
bay
and
sea
in the
South Ocean
, a
settlement
near
Sochi
and other locations bear Lazarev's name.
Russian and Soviet navies had ships named after the admiral:
Lazarev is buried with his disciples Nakhimov, Kornilov and Istomin in the
Admirals' Burial Vault
in Sevastopol.
[3]
A
minor planet
3660 Lazarev
, discovered by
Soviet
astronomer
Nikolai Stepanovich Chernykh
in 1978, is named after him.
[4]
Honours and awards
[
edit
]
References and notes
[
edit
]
- ^
V.V. Rummel, V.V. Golubtsov,
Rodoslovnyi sbornik russkikh dvorianskikh familii
, vol. 1, Sankt Petersburg, 1886, p. 504. The Russian noble family Lazarevs shall not be confused with the Armenian family Lazariants who russified their surname from Lazariants into Lazarevs.
- ^
Melvin, Mungo (2017).
Sevastopol's Wars: Crimea from Potemkin to Putin
. Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 117.
ISBN
9781472822277
.
- ^
Schmadel, Lutz D. (2003).
Dictionary of Minor Planet Names
(5th ed.). New York: Springer Verlag. p. 308.
ISBN
3-540-00238-3
.
- ^
"The Most Honourable Order of the Bath"
.
Tallinn Museum
. 4 April 2020
. Retrieved
31 July
2020
.
External links
[
edit
]
Media related to
Mikhail Petrovich Lazarev
at Wikimedia Commons
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