My Moskvitin: How a Forgotten Cossack Opened the Pacific Ocean to Russia
The untold story of Ivan Yuryevich Moskvitin, the first Russian to reach the Pacific Ocean in 1639
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Introduction: The Man Who Wasn't There
His name was absent from textbooks for decades. No portraits, no exact dates of life - only sparse lines in archival records and legends of Siberian old-timers. Ivan Yuryevich Moskvitin, a foot Cossack from Tomsk, achieved the impossible: with a detachment of 31 men, he crossed the unexplored expanses of Eastern Siberia and in 1639 became the first Russian to reach the Pacific Ocean. His feat became the foundation of Russia's Pacific epic, but he himself faded into obscurity. Only in the 1980s did historian Boris Polevoy restore fragments of the explorer's biography, returning to the nation its Columbus 1 5 .
The Forgotten Explorer
For centuries, Moskvitin's achievements were overshadowed by later explorers like Dezhnev and Khabarov, until archival research in the 20th century revealed his pioneering role.
Key Date
October 1 (11), 1639 - The day Moskvitin's detachment reached the Pacific Ocean near the mouth of the Ulya River, on the Feast of the Protection of the Mother of God.
Context: The Russian Breakthrough Eastward
In just half a century after Yermak's campaign (1582), the Russians overcame enormous distances:
Expansion Tempo
By 1632, key outposts were established: Tobolsk (1587), Mangazeya (1600), Yeniseysk (1619), Yakutsk (1632), creating a support network for eastward movement 1 .
Motivation
"Yasak" (fur tribute), the search for silver and new arable land drove Cossacks and merchants eastward 5 .
European Competition
Spaniard Balboa reached the Pacific in 1513, Magellan crossed it in 1520. Russia was behind but preparing for a breakthrough 1 .
The rapid eastward expansion of Russia in the 16th-17th centuries
Key Discovery: The 1645 Interrogation Records
A sensational find in the archive of the Siberian Prikaz - the protocol of Moskvitin's interrogation and his commander Dmitry Kopylov - became a "time machine" that allowed reconstruction of the campaign. Discovered in the 1950s and studied in detail by historian Boris Polevoy, the document debunked myths and provided exact coordinates of the feat 2 .
Methodology of Documentary Detective Work
Archival Search
The document was found in a "scatter" of unprocessed files of the Central State Archive of Ancient Acts (now RGADA) 2 .
Critical Analysis
Historian Nikolay Tsimmer corrected predecessors' errors (e.g., dating of Butalsky Ostrog's foundation) by cross-referencing with other sources 2 .
Ethnolinguistics
Deciphering terms ("lamuts", "Chirkola") through Evenki language dictionaries 5 .
| Date | Event | Significance |
|---|---|---|
| May 1639 | Departure from Butalsky Ostrog on a plank boat | Start of expedition |
| August 1639 | Crossing the Dzhugdzhur Range | First Russian crossing of Dzhugdzhur |
| October 1, 1639 | Reaching the Sea of Okhotsk at Ulya River | First Russian contact with Pacific |
| October 1639 | Voyage to Okhota River mouth | First Russian maritime voyage in Far East |
| Spring 1640 | Expedition to Amur | Collection of data about "silver mountain" |
Breakthrough to the Ocean: How It Happened
1. Secret Mission: In Search of Silver
In summer 1638, Evenki shaman Tomkoni (of the Lalagir clan) told ataman Kopylov sensational news:
"Near the sea there is a mountain with silver ore... and those people have fields and many horses" 5 .
For Russia, urgently needing silver and grain, this became a strategic goal. Kopylov assigned Moskvitin to reconnaissance, equipping a detachment of Tomsk and Krasnoyarsk Cossacks 5 .
| People | Self-name | Russian name | Information provided |
|---|---|---|---|
| Evens of Okhotsk coast | Even | "Lamuts" (from "lama") | Path to sea, name of Amur |
| Lower Amur Nanai | Natki | "Natki", "onatyrki" | Legends of "silver mountain Odzhal" |
| Sakhalin Ainu | Ainu | "Bearded people" | Data about Sakhalin |
3. "Land and Sea"
The Explorer's Scientific Toolkit
| Item/Technology | Function | Modern Equivalent |
|---|---|---|
| Plank boat | Transporting cargo along major rivers | River catamaran |
| Budarka | Light vessel for upper river reaches | Inflatable kayak |
| "Palma" (large knife) | Weapon, tool for clearing path | Machete |
| Yasak book | Accounting for fur tribute from local clans | Ethnographic journal |
| "Lamut guides" | Even guides | Local experts |
Reconstruction of a koch, the type of ship built by Moskvitin's detachment
Innovations of Siberian Explorers
The Cossacks developed unique technologies for Arctic navigation, including the koch - a small, sturdy vessel capable of navigating both rivers and coastal seas. Its egg-shaped hull helped resist ice pressure, making it crucial for Arctic exploration.
Not Just Silver: The Meaning of the Feat
Geopolitics
Foundation of Okhotsk (1647) and advance to Kamchatka were direct consequences of the campaign 1 .
Ethnography
First descriptions of 12 Far Eastern peoples, including Nivkhs and Ainu 5 .
Cartography
Moskvitin's sketches formed the basis of Konstantin Ivanov's maps (1642) - first Russian depictions of the Far East 7 .
The irony of fate: the legendary "silver mountain Odzhal" (now Mount Odzhal near Lake Bolon) turned out to have no silver. But Moskvitin found something greater - Russia's oceanic future 5 .
Epilogue: Return from Oblivion
In 1989, on the 350th anniversary of the campaign, commemorative meetings were held in Kutana (site of Butalsky Ostrog), Vladivostok and Leningrad. A river in Yakutia was named after Moskvitin. And in 2017, near the village of Arka in Okhotsk district, a stele was erected: "Here began Russia on the Pacific Ocean" 5 .
My Moskvitin
is not a bronze hero, but a man of flesh and blood. A forgotten soldier of empire whose will and passion for the unknown gifted us an entire ocean. His legacy - not just kilometers of coastline, but a lesson: great things are often done by the hands of "small" people.
The Sea of Okhotsk region where Moskvitin made his historic landing