Brusilov Expedition
Encyclopedia
The Brusilov Expedition was a Russian maritime expedition to the Arctic led by Captain Georgy Brusilov
, which set out in 1912 to explore and map a route from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific via a northeast passage known as the Northern Sea Route
. The expedition was ill-planned and ill-executed by Brusilov, and disappeared without trace. Earlier searches were unsuccessful, and its fate was not known until 2010.
The expedition set out from Alexandrovsk
on August 28, 1912, so late in the summer that in October the Saint Anna became locked in the polar ice of the Kara Sea
off the Yamal Peninsula
. Supplies were abundant, and officers and crew prepared themselves for wintering over, hoping to be freed in the following year's thaw.
However, during 1913 the sea remained completely frozen. By early 1914 the Svyataya Anna
had drifted far north in lazy zigzags with the Arctic ice. In the summer that year she reached 83° of latitude, NW of Franz Josef Land
, and had no chance to be freed in 1914 either. To make matters worse, captain and crew had succumbed to scurvy
.
Navigator and second-in-command Valerian Albanov
, believing that their position was hopeless, requested permission from Captain Brusilov to be relieved from his duties as second-in-command in order to leave the ship and attempt to return to civilization on foot. Albanov hoped to reach Eva Island
in Hvidtenland
, the northeastermost island of Franz Josef Land. He used Fridtjof Nansen
's inaccurate map, full of dotted lines where the archipelago was still unexplored. After a gruesome ordeal, Albanov and Alexander Konrad
, one of the crewmen of the Svyataya Anna
, finally made it back to Russia. They were the only two survivors. One of the members of the expedition was the second Russian woman to go to the Arctic, Yerminia Zhdanko, a 22-year-old nurse and daughter of a general who was a hero in the Russo-Japanese War
.
The Svyataya Anna
was never seen again. She may have sunk, crushed by the polar ice. It was though she may have been carried by the polar ice drift until she broke free on the other side of the Arctic (like the Fram
), but this seems unlikely now that items have been found on Franz Josef Land.
In 1914-15 Otto Sverdrup
led a search-and-rescue expedition aboard ship Eklips in the Kara Sea
on behalf of the Russian Imperial Navy. He aimed to find two missing arctic expeditions, those of Captain Brusilov
on the Svyataya Anna and Vladimir Rusanov
on the Gerkules, but found no trace of either expedition.
Valerian Albanov made repeated requests to Arctic explorer and Admiral Alexander Kolchak to launch a search expedition for the Svyataya Anna
. In December 1919 Albanov traveled to Omsk
to confer with Kolchak, but the political turmoil in Russia at the time made a relief mission impossible, and the fate of the expedition was unknown until 2010.
Explorers announced in 2010 that they had found the bones of a crew-member of Brusilov's expedition. Later in 2010, a crew-member's logbook and various other artifacts were found, also on Franz Josef Land.
Georgy Brusilov
Georgy Lvovich Brusilov or Hryhoriy Brusylov was a Ukrainian Russian naval officer of the Imperial Russian Navy and an Arctic explorer...
, which set out in 1912 to explore and map a route from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific via a northeast passage known as the Northern Sea Route
Northern Sea Route
The Northern Sea Route is a shipping lane officially defined by Russian legislation from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean specifically running along the Russian Arctic coast from Murmansk on the Barents Sea, along Siberia, to the Bering Strait and Far East. The entire route lies in Arctic...
. The expedition was ill-planned and ill-executed by Brusilov, and disappeared without trace. Earlier searches were unsuccessful, and its fate was not known until 2010.
The expedition set out from Alexandrovsk
Alexandrovsk
Alexandrovsk may refer to:*Alexandrovsk, Murmansk Oblast, a closed administrative-territorial formation in Murmansk Oblast**Alexandrovsk Urban Okrug, the municipal formation which it is incorporated as...
on August 28, 1912, so late in the summer that in October the Saint Anna became locked in the polar ice of the Kara Sea
Kara Sea
The Kara Sea is part of the Arctic Ocean north of Siberia. It is separated from the Barents Sea to the west by the Kara Strait and Novaya Zemlya, and the Laptev Sea to the east by the Severnaya Zemlya....
off the Yamal Peninsula
Yamal Peninsula
The Yamal Peninsula , located in Yamal-Nenets autonomous district of northwest Siberia, Russia, extends roughly 700 km and is bordered principally by the Kara Sea, Baydaratskaya Bay on the west, and by the Gulf of Ob on the east...
. Supplies were abundant, and officers and crew prepared themselves for wintering over, hoping to be freed in the following year's thaw.
However, during 1913 the sea remained completely frozen. By early 1914 the Svyataya Anna
Svyataya Anna
The ship Svyataya Anna , named after Saint Anne, was the Philomel-class gunvessel HMS Newport launched in England in 1867. She was sold in 1881 and renamed Pandora II. She was purchased again in about 1890 and renamed Blencathra, taking part in expeditions to the north coast of Russia...
had drifted far north in lazy zigzags with the Arctic ice. In the summer that year she reached 83° of latitude, NW of Franz Josef Land
Franz Josef Land
Franz Josef Land, Franz Joseph Land, or Francis Joseph's Land is an archipelago located in the far north of Russia. It is found in the Arctic Ocean north of Novaya Zemlya and east of Svalbard, and is administered by Arkhangelsk Oblast. Franz Josef Land consists of 191 ice-covered islands with a...
, and had no chance to be freed in 1914 either. To make matters worse, captain and crew had succumbed to scurvy
Scurvy
Scurvy is a disease resulting from a deficiency of vitamin C, which is required for the synthesis of collagen in humans. The chemical name for vitamin C, ascorbic acid, is derived from the Latin name of scurvy, scorbutus, which also provides the adjective scorbutic...
.
Navigator and second-in-command Valerian Albanov
Valerian Albanov
Valerian Ivanovich Albanov was a Russian navigator, best known for being one of only two survivors of the ill-fated Brusilov expedition of 1912.-Biography:...
, believing that their position was hopeless, requested permission from Captain Brusilov to be relieved from his duties as second-in-command in order to leave the ship and attempt to return to civilization on foot. Albanov hoped to reach Eva Island
Eva Island
Eva Island or Eva-Liv Island is the northeasternmost island in Franz Josef Land, Russian Arctic.Eva Island is roughly rabbit-shaped and its surface is . The highest point of the island is ....
in Hvidtenland
Belaya Zemlya
Belaya Zemlya is a group of three cold, glaciated islands. It is a geographical subgroup of Franz Josef Land, Russian Federation.Belaya Zemlya is separated from the main Franz Josef group by a broad strait known as Proliv Severo Vostochnyy....
, the northeastermost island of Franz Josef Land. He used Fridtjof Nansen
Fridtjof Nansen
Fridtjof Wedel-Jarlsberg Nansen was a Norwegian explorer, scientist, diplomat, humanitarian and Nobel Peace Prize laureate. In his youth a champion skier and ice skater, he led the team that made the first crossing of the Greenland interior in 1888, and won international fame after reaching a...
's inaccurate map, full of dotted lines where the archipelago was still unexplored. After a gruesome ordeal, Albanov and Alexander Konrad
Alexander Konrad
Alexander Eduardovich Konrad was a Russian sailor. Along with Valerian Albanov, he was one of the only two survivors, and the only surviving sailor of the ill-fated Brusilov expedition.-Biography:...
, one of the crewmen of the Svyataya Anna
Svyataya Anna
The ship Svyataya Anna , named after Saint Anne, was the Philomel-class gunvessel HMS Newport launched in England in 1867. She was sold in 1881 and renamed Pandora II. She was purchased again in about 1890 and renamed Blencathra, taking part in expeditions to the north coast of Russia...
, finally made it back to Russia. They were the only two survivors. One of the members of the expedition was the second Russian woman to go to the Arctic, Yerminia Zhdanko, a 22-year-old nurse and daughter of a general who was a hero in the Russo-Japanese War
Russo-Japanese War
The Russo-Japanese War was "the first great war of the 20th century." It grew out of rival imperial ambitions of the Russian Empire and Japanese Empire over Manchuria and Korea...
.
The Svyataya Anna
Svyataya Anna
The ship Svyataya Anna , named after Saint Anne, was the Philomel-class gunvessel HMS Newport launched in England in 1867. She was sold in 1881 and renamed Pandora II. She was purchased again in about 1890 and renamed Blencathra, taking part in expeditions to the north coast of Russia...
was never seen again. She may have sunk, crushed by the polar ice. It was though she may have been carried by the polar ice drift until she broke free on the other side of the Arctic (like the Fram
Fram
Fram is a ship that was used in expeditions of the Arctic and Antarctic regions by the Norwegian explorers Fridtjof Nansen, Otto Sverdrup, Oscar Wisting, and Roald Amundsen between 1893 and 1912...
), but this seems unlikely now that items have been found on Franz Josef Land.
In 1914-15 Otto Sverdrup
Otto Sverdrup
Otto Neumann Knoph Sverdrup was a Norwegian sailor and Arctic explorer.-Early and personal life:...
led a search-and-rescue expedition aboard ship Eklips in the Kara Sea
Kara Sea
The Kara Sea is part of the Arctic Ocean north of Siberia. It is separated from the Barents Sea to the west by the Kara Strait and Novaya Zemlya, and the Laptev Sea to the east by the Severnaya Zemlya....
on behalf of the Russian Imperial Navy. He aimed to find two missing arctic expeditions, those of Captain Brusilov
Brusilov
Brusilov , or Brusilova , is a Russian last name and may refer to:People:* Aleksei Brusilov , a Russian cavalry general* Georgy Brusilov , a Russian naval officer and Arctic explorer...
on the Svyataya Anna and Vladimir Rusanov
Vladimir Rusanov
Vladimir Alexandrovich Rusanov was an experienced Russian geologist who specialized in the Arctic.In 1909–1911 V. A. Rusanov carried out explorations in Novaya Zemlya. He was helped by Tyko Vylka, his guide, who later became the Chairman of the Novaya Zemlya Soviet.In 1912 Rusanov had been...
on the Gerkules, but found no trace of either expedition.
Valerian Albanov made repeated requests to Arctic explorer and Admiral Alexander Kolchak to launch a search expedition for the Svyataya Anna
Svyataya Anna
The ship Svyataya Anna , named after Saint Anne, was the Philomel-class gunvessel HMS Newport launched in England in 1867. She was sold in 1881 and renamed Pandora II. She was purchased again in about 1890 and renamed Blencathra, taking part in expeditions to the north coast of Russia...
. In December 1919 Albanov traveled to Omsk
Omsk
-History:The wooden fort of Omsk was erected in 1716 to protect the expanding Russian frontier along the Ishim and the Irtysh rivers against the Kyrgyz nomads of the Steppes...
to confer with Kolchak, but the political turmoil in Russia at the time made a relief mission impossible, and the fate of the expedition was unknown until 2010.
Explorers announced in 2010 that they had found the bones of a crew-member of Brusilov's expedition. Later in 2010, a crew-member's logbook and various other artifacts were found, also on Franz Josef Land.