Vassili Poyarkov
Encyclopedia
Vassili Danilovich Poyarkov (Василий Данилович Поярков in Russian
, ? - after 1668) was the first Russian explorer of the Amur region.
The Russian expansion into Siberia began with the conquest of the Khanate of Sibir in 1582. By 1643 they reached the Pacific at Okhotsk
. East of the Yenisei River
there was little land fit for agriculture, except Dauria, the land between the Stanovoy Mountains and the Amur River which was nominally controlled by China. Poyarkov was sent to explore this land.
In 1640 he was in Yakutsk as pismenyy golova (roughly, in charge of records and correspondence). In June of 1643, Poyarkov with 133 men started out from Yakutsk
. They were sent by the voevoda of Yakutsk, Peter Golovin. Having no idea of the proper route, Poyarkov traveled up the rivers Lena
, Aldan
, Uchur, Gonam. Delayed by 64 portages, it was early winter before he reached the Stanovoy watershed. Leaving 49 men to overwinter, he pushed south over the mountains in December to reach the upper Zeya River
in Daur country, where he found a land of farmers with domestic animals, proper houses and Chinese trade goods who paid tribute to the Manchus who were just starting their conquest of China. He built a winter fort near the mouth of the Umelkan river. To extract supplies from the natives, he employed excessive brutality, thereby provoking their hostility and making supplies harder to get. His men survived on a diet of pine bark, stolen food, stray forest animals and native captives whom they cannibalized.
By the spring of 1644 only forty of his men were left alive. Joined now by the overwintering party, they pushed down the Zeya to the Amur. Their reputation having preceded them, they had to fight their way down the Amur through numerous ambushes. By fall they reached the Gilyak country at the mouth of the Amur. With so many enemies behind him, Poyarkov thought it unwise to return by the same route. That winter they built boats and the next spring worked their way up the Sea of Okhotsk
coast to the Ulia River and spent the next winter in the huts that had been built by Ivan Moskvitin
six years earlier. The next spring, they followed Moskvitin's route along the Maya River
back to Yakutsk, arriving almost exactly three years after they left.
Like so many men who helped conquer Siberia, Poyarkov received no reward. His rough ways had made enemies even among his own men. The voevoda of Yakutsk sent him to Moscow for trial and an unknown fate. Whatever the authorities thought of Poyarkov himself, they were happy with the information he supplied. The next Russian expedition to the Amur was led by Yerofei Khabarov in 1650. See also Russian-Manchu border conflicts
.
Russian language
Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...
, ? - after 1668) was the first Russian explorer of the Amur region.
The Russian expansion into Siberia began with the conquest of the Khanate of Sibir in 1582. By 1643 they reached the Pacific at 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 ;...
. East of the Yenisei River
Yenisei River
Yenisei , also written as Yenisey, is the largest river system flowing to the Arctic Ocean. It is the central of the three great Siberian rivers that flow into the Arctic Ocean...
there was little land fit for agriculture, except Dauria, the land between the Stanovoy Mountains and the Amur River which was nominally controlled by China. Poyarkov was sent to explore this land.
In 1640 he was in Yakutsk as pismenyy golova (roughly, in charge of records and correspondence). In June of 1643, Poyarkov with 133 men started out from 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...
. They were sent by the voevoda of Yakutsk, Peter Golovin. Having no idea of the proper route, Poyarkov traveled up the rivers Lena
Lena River
The Lena is the easternmost of the three great Siberian rivers that flow into the Arctic Ocean . It is the 11th longest river in the world and has the 9th largest watershed...
, Aldan
Aldan River
The Aldan River is the second-longest tributary of the Lena River in the Sakha Republic in eastern Siberia. The river is 2,273 km long, of which around 1,600 km is navigable. It was part of the River Route to Okhotsk...
, Uchur, Gonam. Delayed by 64 portages, it was early winter before he reached the Stanovoy watershed. Leaving 49 men to overwinter, he pushed south over the mountains in December to reach the upper Zeya River
Zeya River
Zeya River , 1,242 km long, is a northern tributary of the Amur River. It rises in the Tokiysky Stanovik mountain ridge, a part of the Stanovoy Range. The first Russian to enter the area was Vassili Poyarkov....
in Daur country, where he found a land of farmers with domestic animals, proper houses and Chinese trade goods who paid tribute to the Manchus who were just starting their conquest of China. He built a winter fort near the mouth of the Umelkan river. To extract supplies from the natives, he employed excessive brutality, thereby provoking their hostility and making supplies harder to get. His men survived on a diet of pine bark, stolen food, stray forest animals and native captives whom they cannibalized.
By the spring of 1644 only forty of his men were left alive. Joined now by the overwintering party, they pushed down the Zeya to the Amur. Their reputation having preceded them, they had to fight their way down the Amur through numerous ambushes. By fall they reached the Gilyak country at the mouth of the Amur. With so many enemies behind him, Poyarkov thought it unwise to return by the same route. That winter they built boats and the next spring worked their way up the Sea of Okhotsk
Sea of Okhotsk
The Sea of Okhotsk is a marginal sea of the western Pacific Ocean, lying between the Kamchatka Peninsula on the east, the Kuril Islands on the southeast, the island of Hokkaidō to the far south, the island of Sakhalin along the west, and a long stretch of eastern Siberian coast along the west and...
coast to the Ulia River and spent the next winter in the huts that had been built by Ivan Moskvitin
Ivan Moskvitin
Ivan Yuryevich Moskvitin was a Russian explorer, presumably a native of Moscow, who led a Russian reconnaissance party to the Pacific Ocean, becoming the first Russian to reach the Sea of Okhotsk....
six years earlier. The next spring, they followed Moskvitin's route along the Maya River
Maya River
Maya River is a river in Khabarovsk Krai and Sakha, Russia. It is a right tributary of the Aldan River of the Lena basin. The length of the river is 1053 km. The area of its basin 171,000 km². The Maya River freezes up in late October and stays under the ice until May. The Yudoma River is one of...
back to Yakutsk, arriving almost exactly three years after they left.
Like so many men who helped conquer Siberia, Poyarkov received no reward. His rough ways had made enemies even among his own men. The voevoda of Yakutsk sent him to Moscow for trial and an unknown fate. Whatever the authorities thought of Poyarkov himself, they were happy with the information he supplied. The next Russian expedition to the Amur was led by Yerofei Khabarov in 1650. See also Russian-Manchu border conflicts
Russian-Manchu border conflicts
The Russian–Manchu border conflicts were a series of intermittent skirmishes between the Manchus and the Cossacks in which the Cossacks tried and failed to gain the land north of the Amur River...
.
Sources
- W. Bruce Lincoln, 'The Conquest of a Continent', 1994