In 1648, a Russian expedition with seven boats and 90 men set out on the Arctic Ocean – above Siberia – to find rich lands to the east. The expedition would – in time – be led by Semyon Dezhnev – a Cossack. The Russians would be nearly killed due to storms, starvation, disease and hostile natives. But Dezhnev would survive – and go on to the first European to pass through the Bering Strait. He then spent 14 years exploring the northeast of Siberia – opening up the region for the Russian Empire.
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Sources
The Voyage of Semen Dezhnev in 1648: Bering’s precursor by R. H. Fisher – this is the only book about Dezhnev and is exhaustive. However, it’s a really hard read. It’s filled with old documents that are a slog to get through. It’s incredibly great information – but dense and not very entertaining.
For easier reads, I recommend the following sites:
- Wikipedia’s page on Dezhnev – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semyon_Dezhnev
- This English-language website on prominant Russians – https://russiapedia.rt.com/prominent-russians/exploring-russia/semyon-dezhnyov/index.html
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