Kamchatka expedition V.K. Arsenyev - a business trip to Kamchatka in 1918, undertaken by the researcher of the Far East Vladimir Arsenyev as the head of the device of immigrants of the Kamchatka land department [1] .
| Kamchatka expedition of V.K. Arsenyev | |
|---|---|
 | |
| A country |  RSFSR |
| start date | July 7, 1918 |
| expiration date | October 14, 1918 |
| Supervisor | Vladimir Klavdievich Arseniev |
| Progress | |
| Researched for suitability for settlement the Kamchatka River Valley | |
Content
Background
After returning from the Olgon-Gorinsky expedition, Arsenyev resigned as commissar for foreign affairs and returned to work at the Grodekov Museum and lectured at Khabarovsk People’s University.
In May 1918, the Resettlement Department invited Arsenyev to become the head of the upcoming two-month expedition to Kamchatka , the purpose of which was to study Kamchatka economically and to find suitable places for settlement. At the same time, Arsenyev, as usual, expected to use the expedition to carry out archaeological, geographical and ethnographic studies. In addition, on June 26, 1918, Arsenyev was appointed to the post of head of the device of immigrants of the newly organized Kamchatka Land Department.
Arsenyev’s assistants on the expedition were V. A. Shreiber and former Cossack General A. G. Savitsky. Before leaving, Arseniev handed over the museum's leadership to his friend, Khabarovsk ethnographer I. A. Lopatin [2] .
Preparatory phase
Expedition
In early July 1918, Arsenyev left for Vladivostok , and on July 7, on the Sishan steamer of the Voluntary Fleet, he went to the shores of Kamchatka. On the way, the ship went to Japanese Hakodate , where it stood for loading and repair for four days. On July 19, the ship entered Avacha Bay and arrived in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky [3] .
The next few days Arseniev spent preparing for the road and getting to know the city and its environs. Petropavlovsk, then resembling a village more than a city, and, in particular, its inhabitants, made a negative impression on Arsenyev [4] :
| ... The Bering Monument swayed and threatens to fall. On the monument of Glory, which is on the spit, a lot of extraneous entries were made with a pencil. Disrespect for the glory and memory of the dead . [...] Complete disappointment, corrupted population. People, as they say, are buried in money . Kamchatka is replete with money. The country supplies the population with everything in abundance without any efforts on its part, and this was the reason for their mental and spiritual impoverishment. The Kamchadals, leading the life of half-savages, have tens and hundreds of thousands in their hands, and the resettlement administration wants to provide this population with financial assistance as the poor. A woman who came to ask for assistance has on her feet a hundred-ruble shoes [5] . |
Upon his arrival, Arseniev arranged a meeting with the Kamchatka Committee and representatives of the Zavoykinsky Volost Committee, talking about the goals and objectives of his expedition. The route involved a survey of the Kamchatka river valley in order to study its suitability for settlement. At the same time, Arseniev planned to finish his work and return to Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky in late November or early December in order to be in time for the end of navigation to the last ship to Vladivostok [6] .
On August 2, 1918, Arsenyev, with assistants on the Komandor Bering ship, went to the village of Ust-Kamchatsk , located at the mouth of the Kamchatka River , and arrived there three days later. In Ust-Kamchatsk, Arseniev stayed with the owner of the local canning factory A. G. Dembi, with whom he later made friends. Demby suggested Arsenyev use his steam boat to sail up the Kamchatka River, which Arsenyev had to agree to because of the rather high cost of renting a boat from local businessmen.
In the next few days, Arseniev excavated near Ust-Kamchatsk, and then - near the village of Kamaki . On August 22, Arsenyev with satellites on a steam boat A. G. Demby set off up the Kamchatka River. Along the way, they visited the villages of Cherny Yar, Berezovy Yar, Nizhne-Kamchatskoye , Klyuchevskoye , Kresty, Kozyrevskoye , Schapino, Mashura, Kirganik and Milkovo .
In the village of Mashura, Arsenyev’s companion V.A. Shreiber suddenly wanted to stop traveling and return to Ust-Kamchatsk. According to the results of a survey of this section of the Kamchatka river valley, Arsenyev noted that there were no places convenient for settlers to settle. On September 7, participants reached the village of Milkovo. The river upstream was chalking, and so it was no longer possible to continue the boat trip. On September 11, Arsenyev with his satellites continued on their journey along with the baggage train, heading for Verkhne-Kamchatsky.
Passing the villages of Verkhne-Kamchatskoye, Sheromskoye and Pushchino , the travelers reached the Ganalsky pass. Throughout this stretch of the road everywhere there were places extremely favorable, according to Arsenyev, for agriculture. Not without adventures, having passed through the pass, travelers reached the village of Malki , and on September 22 they approached the village of Nachiki . Having passed the villages of Koryaki and Zavoyko , in the evening of September 26, Arseniev arrived in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. On October 6, Arseniev, on the Yakut ship, sailed back to Vladivostok, where he arrived a week later, on October 14 [7] .
Arsenyev’s Kamchatka expedition fully fulfilled all its goals: the Kamchatka river valley was thoroughly explored in a resettlement sense. The lands from the village of Milkovo to the village of Pushchino were deemed suitable for farming and, therefore, suitable for settlement.
For each of the 15 settlements visited, Arsenyev filled out the so-called “statistical sheets”, which are questionnaires for entering facts about the settlements: location, number of courtyards and residents, availability of schools, churches, and so on. As usual, during the expedition Arseniev collected a large number of ethnographic materials, carried out several archaeological excavations [8] .
Notes
- ↑ Khisamutdinov, 2005 , p. 130.
- ↑ Khisamutdinov, 2005 , p. 130-131.
- ↑ Tarasova, 1985 , p. 165.
- ↑ Khisamutdinov, 2005 , p. 132.
- ↑ Khisamutdinov, 2005 , p. 132-133.
- ↑ Khisamutdinov, 2005 , p. 133.
- ↑ Tarasova, 1985 , p. 166-173.
- ↑ Tarasova, 1985 , p. 170, 173-174.
Literature
- Azadovsky M.K.V.K. Arseniev. Critical and biographical essay. - M .: DETGIZ , 1956. - 80 p.
- Argudyaeva Yu.V. V.K. Arsenyev - traveler and ethnographer: Russian Amur and Primorye in the studies of V. K. Arsenyev: materials, comments. - Vladivostok: Far Eastern Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences , 2007 .-- 272 p. - ISBN 5-7442-1328-7 .
- Egorchev I.N. Unknown Arseniev. - Vladivostok: Publishing House of the Far Eastern University, 2016. - 164 p. - 1000 copies. - ISBN 978-5-906739-91-9 .
- Kabanov N.E. Vladimir Klavdievich Arseniev. The traveler and naturalist 1872-1930. - M .: Publishing House of the Moscow Society of Naturalists , 1947. - 95 p.
- Kuzmichev I.S. Writer Arsenyev: Personality and books. - L .: Soviet writer, 1977 .-- 236 p.
- Tarasova A.I. Vladimir Klavdievich Arsenyev. - M .: The main edition of the eastern literature of the publishing house "Science", 1985. - 344 p. - ( Russian travelers and orientalists ).
- Khisamutdinov A. A. I was accompanied by a lucky star ...: Vladimir Klavdievich Arsenyev (1872-1930). - Vladivostok: Dalnauka, 2005 .-- 256 s. - 1,500 copies - ISBN 5-8044-0568-3 .