Ivan Vasilyev was a Russia

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 explorer and navigator of the Imperial Russian Navy

Imperial Russian Navy

The Imperial Russian Navy refers to the Tsarist fleets prior to the February Revolution.-First Romanovs:Under Tsar Mikhail Feodorovich, construction of the first three-masted ship, actually built within Russia, was completed in 1636. It was built in Balakhna by Danish shipbuilders from Holstein...

. He accompanied Leonty Andrianovich Gagemeister

Leonty Andrianovich Gagemeister

Ludwig August von Hagemeister was a Russian seafarer of Baltic German origin and explorer of the Pacific Ocean, Captain of the 1st rank.In 1806-1807, Hagemeister journeyed from Kronstadt to Russian America, crossing the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific Oceans in his ship Neva. In 1808–1809, he...

 on ship Neva to explore the coasts of Alaska

Alaska

Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...

 and the North Pacific in 1806.

Vasilyev explored the Alexander Archipelago

Alexander Archipelago

The Alexander Archipelago is a long archipelago, or group of islands, of North America off the southeastern coast of Alaska. It contains about 1,100 islands, which are the tops of the submerged coastal mountains that rise steeply from the Pacific Ocean. Deep channels and fjords separate the...

 and the many coastal Islands in the area. In 1809 he surveyed the western shore of Baranof Island

Baranof Island

Baranof Island, also sometimes called Baranov Island, Shee or Sitka Island, is an island in the northern Alexander Archipelago in the Alaska Panhandle, in Alaska. The name Baranof was given in 1805 by Imperial Russian Navy captain U. F. Lisianski to honor Alexander Andreyevich Baranov...

 and at an unknown date "died in the service."

Navigator Ivan Vasilyev should not be confused with explorer Mikhail Vasilyev, or with another Captain Vasiliev about whom Krusenstern

Adam Johann von Krusenstern

Adam Johann Ritter von Krusenstern , was an admiral and explorer, who led the first Russian circumnavigation of the globe.- Life :...

 says: It is much to be regretted that the hydrographic works of a naval officer, Vasilief, who was in the employment of the American Company, were lost... Provided with a sextant and chronometer and with much zeal and attachment for his profession, he had during his sojourn in our American colonies made a complete survey of all of the Aleutian Islands without having had specific instructions to do so. Unfortunately he was drowned in Okhotsk

Okhotsk

Okhotsk is an urban locality and a seaport at the mouth of the Okhota River on the Sea of Okhotsk, in Okhotsky District, Khabarovsk Krai, Russia. Population: 4,470 ;...

 harbor on his return from America to Russia, and what became of his precious papers and drawings is unknown...

Ivan Vasilyev's name is spelt as "Vasilief" in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, where he is also known as "Ivan Vasiliev the first", in order to differentiate him from other Russian

Russians

The Russian people are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Russia, speaking the Russian language and primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries....

 mariners and early explorers of Alaska also named "Vasilyev".

Vasilief Bank close to Sitka and Vasilief Rock in Kodiak Island

Kodiak Island

Kodiak Island is a large island on the south coast of the U.S. state of Alaska, separated from the Alaska mainland by the Shelikof Strait. The largest island in the Kodiak Archipelago, Kodiak Island is the second largest island in the United States and the 80th largest island in the world, with an...

 were named after him. There are other geographic features in the coast of Alaska and the Aleutians bearing the name "Vasilief", but it is not clear after which Vasilyev they were named.