Dmitry Pavlutsky
Encyclopedia
Dmitry Ivanovich Pavlutsky (died 21 March 1747) was a Russia
n polar explorer and leader of military expeditions in Chukotka
, best known for his battles against the indigenous Chukchi people
.
As early as 1641, Russian explorers came into contact with the Chukchi. The Russians did not show much interest in the region until the late 17th century, when the potential wealth gained from reaching North America became known. However, expeditions to the Bering Strait
were often attacked by the indigenous peoples inhabiting the region.
In 1725 Tsar
Peter the Great ordered a Russian military expedition to conquer the Chukchi; however, the expedition failed and its commander, Major Afanasy Shestakov (Афанасий Шестаков) was killed. Another expedition was ordered in 1731, this time led by Major Pavlutsky, who became feared by the Chukchi for his brutal punitive expeditions, using destructive tactics such wholesale slaughter, the burning of villages, driving off reindeer, and capturing women and children.
The Koryaks
and Yukagirs eventually pledged loyalty to the Russian Empire
and asked for protection against the Chukchi. In 1747, Major Pavlutsky received word that Koryaks were being raided by Chukchi warriors. Pavlutsky's regiment, along with the his Koryak allies, were outnumbered and defeated in March 1747, in a battle reminiscent of the Battle of the Little Bighorn
. Pavlutsky, wearing iron chain mail
armor, was able to escape the field unhurt but was surrounded on a small hill near Anadyr
(now called Major Hill) and killed. His head was reportedly cut off and kept by the Chukchi for years afterward. Pavlutsky's body is buried in Yakutsk
.
By 1750 it had become clear the Chukchi would be difficult to conquer. Saint Petersburg
changed tactics, making formal peace with them in 1778. The Chukchi entered into peaceful trade with the Russians, and from 1788 onward there was an annual trade fair on the lower Kolyma
. Although the Russian Empire declared the whole of Siberia subdued by the late 18th century, the Chukchi refused to accept Russian overlordship until the 20th century.
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n polar explorer and leader of military expeditions in Chukotka
Chukotka Autonomous Okrug
Chukotka Autonomous Okrug , or Chukotka , is a federal subject of Russia located in the Russian Far East.Chukotka has a population of 53,824 according to the 2002 Census, and a surface area of . The principal town and the administrative center is Anadyr...
, best known for his battles against the indigenous Chukchi people
Chukchi people
The Chukchi, or Chukchee , ) are an indigenous people inhabiting the Chukchi Peninsula and the shores of the Chukchi Sea and the Bering Sea region of the Arctic Ocean within the Russian Federation. They speak the Chukchi language...
.
As early as 1641, Russian explorers came into contact with the Chukchi. The Russians did not show much interest in the region until the late 17th century, when the potential wealth gained from reaching North America became known. However, expeditions to the Bering Strait
Bering Strait
The Bering Strait , known to natives as Imakpik, is a sea strait between Cape Dezhnev, Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, Russia, the easternmost point of the Asian continent and Cape Prince of Wales, Alaska, USA, the westernmost point of the North American continent, with latitude of about 65°40'N,...
were often attacked by the indigenous peoples inhabiting the region.
In 1725 Tsar
Tsar
Tsar is a title used to designate certain European Slavic monarchs or supreme rulers. As a system of government in the Tsardom of Russia and Russian Empire, it is known as Tsarist autocracy, or Tsarism...
Peter the Great ordered a Russian military expedition to conquer the Chukchi; however, the expedition failed and its commander, Major Afanasy Shestakov (Афанасий Шестаков) was killed. Another expedition was ordered in 1731, this time led by Major Pavlutsky, who became feared by the Chukchi for his brutal punitive expeditions, using destructive tactics such wholesale slaughter, the burning of villages, driving off reindeer, and capturing women and children.
The Koryaks
Koryaks
Koryaks are an indigenous people of Kamchatka Krai in the Russian Far East, who inhabit the coastlands of the Bering Sea to the south of the Anadyr basin and the country to the immediate north of the Kamchatka Peninsula, the southernmost limit of their range being Tigilsk. They are akin to the...
and Yukagirs eventually pledged loyalty to the Russian Empire
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
and asked for protection against the Chukchi. In 1747, Major Pavlutsky received word that Koryaks were being raided by Chukchi warriors. Pavlutsky's regiment, along with the his Koryak allies, were outnumbered and defeated in March 1747, in a battle reminiscent of the Battle of the Little Bighorn
Battle of the Little Bighorn
The Battle of the Little Bighorn, also known as Custer's Last Stand and, by the Indians involved, as the Battle of the Greasy Grass, was an armed engagement between combined forces of Lakota, Northern Cheyenne and Arapaho people against the 7th Cavalry Regiment of the United States Army...
. Pavlutsky, wearing iron chain mail
Chain Mail
"Chain Mail" is a single by Mancunian band James, released in March 1986 by Sire Records, the first after the band defected from Factory Records. The record was released in two different versions, as 7" single and 12" EP, with different artworks by John Carroll and, confusingly, under different...
armor, was able to escape the field unhurt but was surrounded on a small hill near Anadyr
Anadyr (town)
Anadyr is a port town and the administrative centre of Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, the extreme north-eastern region of Russia. It is at the mouth of the Anadyr River, on the tip of the southern promontory that sticks out into Anadyrskiy Liman...
(now called Major Hill) and killed. His head was reportedly cut off and kept by the Chukchi for years afterward. Pavlutsky's body is buried in Yakutsk
Yakutsk
With a subarctic climate , Yakutsk is the coldest city, though not the coldest inhabited place, on Earth. Average monthly temperatures range from in July to in January. The coldest temperatures ever recorded on the planet outside Antarctica occurred in the basin of the Yana River to the northeast...
.
By 1750 it had become clear the Chukchi would be difficult to conquer. Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...
changed tactics, making formal peace with them in 1778. The Chukchi entered into peaceful trade with the Russians, and from 1788 onward there was an annual trade fair on the lower Kolyma
Kolyma
The Kolyma region is located in the far north-eastern area of Russia in what is commonly known as Siberia but is actually part of the Russian Far East. It is bounded by the East Siberian Sea and the Arctic Ocean in the north and the Sea of Okhotsk to the south...
. Although the Russian Empire declared the whole of Siberia subdued by the late 18th century, the Chukchi refused to accept Russian overlordship until the 20th century.