Figurin, Alexey Evdokimovich

Alexey Evdokimovich Figurin (1793, Rostov, Yaroslavl Province - October 22, 1851, St. Petersburg) - Russian physician, surgeon and traveler, Arctic explorer, ethnographer, scientific writer, translator.

Born in the family of a priest. In 1815, he graduated from the course of sciences at the St. Petersburg Medical and Surgical Academy and received a 2nd grade doctor at the end of his studies, then he entered the service at the Sveaborg Maritime Hospital. In 1820, having passed the preliminary examination for the post of medical surgeon, he went around the world as a doctor on an expedition equipped under the command of Lieutenant P.F. Anjou to describe the northeastern shores of Siberia and the Arctic Ocean. In the spring of 1821 he reached the Lena River Delta, from this point he reached the Stolbovoy Island by sled, and then to the Kotelny Island, writing descriptions of its northern and western shores, after which he returned to Yana. In February - April 1823, stepping out of the mouth of this river, he composed descriptions of the Vasilyevsky and Semenovsky islands, reaching the northern tip of Belkovsky island, after which he again visited Kotelny and returned to Yana ^[1] .

Figurin collected rich scientific material, mainly on the natural history and ethnography of the countries he visited; part of this material was printed in the Notes, published by the Admiralty Department (1825, volume V) under the heading "Extract from the notes of the medical surgeon Figurin, conducted during the inventory of the coast of northeast Siberia"; one of the islands discovered by the expedition was named after him. For his work on the expedition he was awarded the Order of St. Vladimir of the 4th degree and was elected to the Imperial Free Economic Society and the Society of Russian Doctors. In 1825 he was appointed a doctor at the St. Petersburg Maritime Hospital, in 1827 he moved to the Maritime Hospital in Kronstadt as "chief physician." Later, he was a medical inspector of the St. Petersburg port and a senior adviser to the department of official medical supplies of the Ministry of the Interior. He died in the capital, was buried in the Smolensk Orthodox cemetery.

Figurin's scientific works concern surgery, gynecology, cutaneous diseases, ophthalmology and other disciplines. A four-year stay in Siberia and close acquaintance with the Yakuts gave him the opportunity to learn the life, customs and language of this people and to collect extensive material for compiling his "Yakut-Russian dictionary". In addition, Figurin translated the Gospel of Matthew and the Creed into Yakut. In the "Siberian Herald" for 1823, "Comments of the medical surgeon Figurin on various subjects of natural history and physics, perpetrated in Ustyansk and its environs in 1822, were printed."