Vladimir Atlasov
Encyclopedia
Vladimir Vasilyevich Atlasov or Otlasov ' onMouseout='HidePop("80930")' href="/topics/Veliky_Ustyug">Veliky Ustyug
between 1661 and 1664—died in 1711) was a Siberian Cossack who was the first Russian to explore the Kamchatka Peninsula
. Atlasov Island
, an uninhabited volcanic island off the southern tip of Kamchatka, is named after him.
For background see Russian conquest of Siberia
, Siberian River Routes
and Kamchatka Peninsula
.
He is first heard of around 1682 collecting Yasak
on the Aldan River
and one of the Uda Rivers. In 1695 the voyevoda of Yakutsk appointed him prikazshchik of Anadyrsk
. The Russians here had heard reports of a 'Kamchatka River' to the south and were already collecting yasak on the headwaters of the rivers that flow south toward Kamchatka. At least one of them had followed the Penzhina River to the Sea of Okhotsk. In 1696 he sent Luka Morozko south to explore. Morozko got as far south as the Tegil River on the west side of the peninsula and returned with some 'mysterious writings', apparently from a wrecked Japanese ship. In 1697 Atlasov set off south with 65 serving-men
and 60 Yukaghir
s. Travelling on reindeer, they reached the mouth of the Penzhina River. He went down the west coast for two weeks and then crossed to the east coast. (Lantzeff has this as February 1697 on the Olyutorsky Gulf
, but the Russian wiki has him leaving in the spring of 1697 and the Olyutorsky Gulf is rather far to the northeast). He left Morzoko to explore the east side and returned to the west side, but Morozko had to be recalled to deal with a Yukaghir mutiny (at the Palana River
). Going south to the Tegil River, he heard reports of the Kamchatka River and recrossed the Central Range to the Kamchatka where he met the Itelmens
for the first time. He made an alliance with one clan and went downriver and burned a village of their enemies. Returning, he learned that some Koryaks had stolen his reindeer. He chased them, killed about 150 and retrieved his reindeer. Continuing down the west side he reached the Icha River where he rescued or captured a Japanese sailor
who had been shipwrecked. Further south he reached the Golygina River
area, from which he was able to see Atlasov Island
. Here he met the first Ainu
and managed to kill fifty of them. Returning north to the Icha, he sent a party of men over the mountains to build an ostrog
at Verkhnekamchatsk on the upper Kamchatka. Here he decided to return to Anadyrsk, either under pressure of his men or because he was running short of gunpowder and lead.
He reached Anadyrsk in July 1699 and wrote a report. He was in Yakutsk in June 1700 and in February 1701 he reached Moscow where he presented his report. He was promoted to Golova and sent back to administer Kamchatka. On the Angara River
in 1701 he met and plundered a merchant's boat loaded with Chinese goods. For this he and his men were thrown in jail. Kamchatka became increasingly disorderly and in 1707 Atlasov was released and sent to Kamchatka to restore order. On the journey his methods were so rough that most of his men sent a letter of protest to Yakutsk. He pacified the natives to some degree, but in December 1707 his own cossacks revolted and imprisoned him. He escaped (from Verkhnekamchatsk) and went downriver to Nizhnekamchatsk, but the local commander refused to step aside and give him command. What he did for the next four years is uncertain. In January 1711 he was murdered in his sleep by another band of mutineers.
Veliky Ustyug
Veliky Ustyug is a town in the northeast of Vologda Oblast, Russia, located at the confluence of the Sukhona and Yug Rivers. Administratively, it is incorporated as a town of oblast significance . It also serves as the administrative center of Velikoustyugsky District, by which it is completely...
between 1661 and 1664—died in 1711) was a Siberian Cossack who was the first Russian to explore the Kamchatka Peninsula
Kamchatka Peninsula
The Kamchatka Peninsula is a peninsula in the Russian Far East, with an area of . It lies between the Pacific Ocean to the east and the Sea of Okhotsk to the west...
. Atlasov Island
Atlasov Island
Atlasov Island, known in Russian as Ostrov Atlasova , or in Japanese as Araido , is the northernmost island and volcano and also the highest volcano of the Kuril islands, part of the Sakhalin Oblast in Russia. The Russian name is sometimes rendered in English as Atlasova Island...
, an uninhabited volcanic island off the southern tip of Kamchatka, is named after him.
For background see Russian conquest of Siberia
Russian conquest of Siberia
The Russian conquest of Siberia took place in the 16th and 17th centuries, when the Siberian Khanate had become a loose political structure of vassalages which were becoming undermined by the activities of Russian explorers who, though numerically outnumbered, pressured the various family-based...
, Siberian River Routes
Siberian River Routes
Siberian River Routes were the main ways of communication in the Russian Siberia before the 1730s, when roads began to be built. The rivers also were of primary importance in the process of Russian exploration and colonisation of vast Siberian territories...
and Kamchatka Peninsula
Kamchatka Peninsula
The Kamchatka Peninsula is a peninsula in the Russian Far East, with an area of . It lies between the Pacific Ocean to the east and the Sea of Okhotsk to the west...
.
He is first heard of around 1682 collecting Yasak
Yasak
Yasak or yasaq, sometimes iasak, is a Turkic word for "tribute" that was used in Imperial Russia to designate fur tribute exacted from the indigenous peoples of Siberia.- Origin :...
on the Aldan River
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...
and one of the Uda Rivers. In 1695 the voyevoda of Yakutsk appointed him prikazshchik of Anadyrsk
Anadyrsk
thumb|Anadyrsk was on the east-west part of the Anadyr River at the point where it swings northAnadyrsk was an important Russian ostrog in far northeastern Siberia from 1649 to 1764...
. The Russians here had heard reports of a 'Kamchatka River' to the south and were already collecting yasak on the headwaters of the rivers that flow south toward Kamchatka. At least one of them had followed the Penzhina River to the Sea of Okhotsk. In 1696 he sent Luka Morozko south to explore. Morozko got as far south as the Tegil River on the west side of the peninsula and returned with some 'mysterious writings', apparently from a wrecked Japanese ship. In 1697 Atlasov set off south with 65 serving-men
Service class people
Service class people were persons bound by obligations of service, especially military service, to the Muscovite Russian state.In early Siberia, service-men and promyshleniks were the two main classes of the Russian population. Service-men were nominally servants of the tsar, had certain legal...
and 60 Yukaghir
Yukaghir
The Yukaghir, or Yukagirs , деткиль ) are a people in East Siberia, living in the basin of the Kolyma River.-Region:The Tundra Yukaghirs live in the Lower Kolyma region in the Sakha Republic; the Taiga Yukaghirs in the Upper Kolyma region in the Sakha Republic and in Srednekansky District of...
s. Travelling on reindeer, they reached the mouth of the Penzhina River. He went down the west coast for two weeks and then crossed to the east coast. (Lantzeff has this as February 1697 on the Olyutorsky Gulf
Olyutorsky Gulf
The Olyutorsky Bay is a gulf or bay of the Bering Sea in the northern part of Kamchatka Krai, Russia.It is bounded on the west by the Govena Peninsula which separates it from Korfa Bay and on the east by the Olyutorsky Peninsula. It extends roughly 83 km inland and is 228 km at its...
, but the Russian wiki has him leaving in the spring of 1697 and the Olyutorsky Gulf is rather far to the northeast). He left Morzoko to explore the east side and returned to the west side, but Morozko had to be recalled to deal with a Yukaghir mutiny (at the Palana River
Palana River
Palana River is a west-flowing river on the west side of the upper Kamchatka Peninsula, Russia. The town of Palana is here.Jurassic radiolarians have been found near the mouth of the river....
). Going south to the Tegil River, he heard reports of the Kamchatka River and recrossed the Central Range to the Kamchatka where he met the Itelmens
Itelmens
The Itelmen, sometimes known as Kamchadal, are an ethnic group who are the original inhabitants living on the Kamchatka Peninsula in Russia. The Itelmen language is distantly related to Chukchi and Koryak, forming the Chukotko-Kamchatkan language family, but it is now virtually extinct, the vast...
for the first time. He made an alliance with one clan and went downriver and burned a village of their enemies. Returning, he learned that some Koryaks had stolen his reindeer. He chased them, killed about 150 and retrieved his reindeer. Continuing down the west side he reached the Icha River where he rescued or captured a Japanese sailor
Dembei
Dembei was a Japanese castaway who, through Vladimir Atlasov, provided Russia with some of its first knowledge of Japan. He was a fisherman who, along with a number of others, had been caught in a storm; they found their way to Kamchatka, where Dembei was found by Atlasov in 1701 or 1702. Despite...
who had been shipwrecked. Further south he reached the Golygina River
Golygina River
The Golygina River is a river on the southwest coast of the Kamchatka Peninsula. A Russian expedition under Vladimir Atlasov first reached it in the last decade of the seventeenth century....
area, from which he was able to see Atlasov Island
Atlasov Island
Atlasov Island, known in Russian as Ostrov Atlasova , or in Japanese as Araido , is the northernmost island and volcano and also the highest volcano of the Kuril islands, part of the Sakhalin Oblast in Russia. The Russian name is sometimes rendered in English as Atlasova Island...
. Here he met the first Ainu
Ainu people
The , also called Aynu, Aino , and in historical texts Ezo , are indigenous people or groups in Japan and Russia. Historically they spoke the Ainu language and related varieties and lived in Hokkaidō, the Kuril Islands, and much of Sakhalin...
and managed to kill fifty of them. Returning north to the Icha, he sent a party of men over the mountains to build an ostrog
Ostrog
Ostrog may refer to:* Ostrog, Slovenia, a settlement in Šentjernej municipality in Slovenia* Ostrog monastery, a Serbian Orthodox Christian monastery in Montenegro* Ostroh, a historic town in Ukraine* Ostrog, a Russian term for a small fortress...
at Verkhnekamchatsk on the upper Kamchatka. Here he decided to return to Anadyrsk, either under pressure of his men or because he was running short of gunpowder and lead.
He reached Anadyrsk in July 1699 and wrote a report. He was in Yakutsk in June 1700 and in February 1701 he reached Moscow where he presented his report. He was promoted to Golova and sent back to administer Kamchatka. On the Angara River
Angara River
The Angara River is a long river in Irkutsk Oblast and Krasnoyarsk Krai, south-east Siberia, Russia. It is the only river flowing out of Lake Baikal, and is the headwater tributary of the Yenisei River....
in 1701 he met and plundered a merchant's boat loaded with Chinese goods. For this he and his men were thrown in jail. Kamchatka became increasingly disorderly and in 1707 Atlasov was released and sent to Kamchatka to restore order. On the journey his methods were so rough that most of his men sent a letter of protest to Yakutsk. He pacified the natives to some degree, but in December 1707 his own cossacks revolted and imprisoned him. He escaped (from Verkhnekamchatsk) and went downriver to Nizhnekamchatsk, but the local commander refused to step aside and give him command. What he did for the next four years is uncertain. In January 1711 he was murdered in his sleep by another band of mutineers.