Inhabitant of the Commander Islands. Territory - Commander. Fauna of the Commander Islands

The Commander Islands are four islands lost not far from Kamchatka, which have a large number of unique features that distinguish them from a number of other similar objects. The Commander Islands are the only piece of land left by Russia from Alaska, because they are part of the island arc of the Aleutian Islands, even though the nearest one is almost 400 km away. They were first discovered during the second Kamchatka expedition in 1741 under the command of Vitus Bering, and the largest of them, on which the great Russian traveler is buried, is named after him.

Despite the fact that the islands lie in the far north, they are a paradise for lovers of everything new and unusual. There is no scorching sun and sea beaches here, but there are treasures of a completely different kind here: natural nature, unique animals and plants, as well as the preserved culture of the Aleutian peoples.

Nayushka Bay, Bering Island

Reserve

Despite its remoteness from industrial centers, after the discovery by human hands, natural resources were literally sucked from the islands at an astronomical speed. In the 19th century, people did not care about the preservation of natural resources, not at all caring about their replenishment, which almost led to the extinction of many species in these parts. First of all, this applies to marine animals, such as killer whales, fur seals, and furs were also mined in huge volumes. Only after many species were on the verge of complete destruction, people slightly moderated their ardor in the development of the northern wealth.

For the first time, they started talking about the creation of a protected area in the 20th century, in 1958 a thirty-kilometer prohibited zone for fishing around the archipelago was created. However, a lot of time passed before the creation of the reserve and it was created only in April 1993. Man finally began to restore what he almost destroyed.

The fauna of the islands is very rich, and is represented primarily by birds and mammals, more than 40 species of which are listed in the Red Book of Russia. The most representative species on the islands is the fur seal, the population of which is more than 200 thousand individuals, and the most unique local inhabitants are whales, the diversity of which includes 21 species.

one of the most eastern churches in Russia - the church of St. Nicholas

aborigines

Aborigines? And are they even on these islands, because until the beginning of the 19th century they were uninhabited. In those distant times, the Commander Islands belonged to the Russian-American Colonial Company (RCA), and due to their remoteness, they began to develop rather late. The first temporary settlements began to appear only 60 years after their discovery, and they consisted of only a couple of dozen hunters. In such a remote area, people did not want to go, even if it promised great benefits. However, the times were quite wild and greedy for profit, the leaders of the colonial companies, put the indigenous peoples not much higher than animals. According to this principle, the leaders of the RCA also acted, deciding that if the Russians did not want to go to the commanders, then it was necessary to settle the “locals” there.
In the first half, the Aleutian Islands and Alaska belonged to Russia, and the local peoples of the Aleuts and Creoles were the best suited for the mission of developing the islands, and in 1825 the first batches of Eskimos from the Aleutian Islands arrived on the island, and a year later there were more than a hundred of them.
However, the leadership of the RCA did not stop there, because the development of these places promised big profits, and began to allow their former employees, whose contracts were ending, to settle here. And thus, by the mid-60s of the 19th century, the population exceeded 600 people, of which no more than 10% were Russians.
However, along with the rapid development of industry, the development of remote northern regions became less and less profitable, and the maintenance of the RCA did not bring significant dividends to the treasury, and in 1867 Alaska and the Aluetsky Islands were sold to the United States. Is it funny to say that, for example, the mail went to Alaska for more than three months. By the beginning of the 20th century, the colony was becoming more and more desolated, and there was no need to talk about development. Local residents lived exclusively by subsistence farming, fishing and hunting.

A second life was breathed into these parts by the coming Soviet power. A state farm was organized on the islands, and local residents received greater rights for self-government. However, there was another side to the coin in the approach of the Soviets, namely the gradual fading of the spiritual and cultural heritage of the ancestors, which began to revive only in the last two decades. The local population speaks Russian and also adopted Orthodoxy, and much of the heritage of their ancestors has been lost and is being recreated almost from scratch.

The Aluets can be safely called the natives of the Commander Islands, because they carried and preserved the traditions of the peoples of the Aluet Islands and Alaska. However, they themselves called themselves somewhat differently: Saksinnan and Unangan, and even their current name appeared in the process of mixing Creoles, Russians and other small nationalities.

Preobrazhenskaya Bay, Medny Island Commander Islands

The village of Nikolskoe

The capital of the Commander Islands is the only village called Nikolskoye, which is a small port town where people live by crafts and the extraction of gifts of nature. The population of Nikolsky is only 600 people, however, more is not needed in this region to maintain the natural balance and preserve nature. Most of The population is made up of Aleuts, this is the only place in Russia where they live. Until 2009, the population was rapidly decreasing, but in the last 5 years it has gone up again.

There are very few attractions in the village itself. As elsewhere, there is a museum of local lore, where you can learn in detail about the history of the development of the archipelagos, about local peoples and their traditions, about local crafts.

Where is. How to get there and what to see

There is only one way to get to the islands, from Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. The best option is to visit the islands as part of a tourist group with a guide, since there are no hotels or inns here. It’s not the best to go here on your own the best way, in view of the wild nature in these places and large areas of protected areas.

The first and most important thing for which it is worth going to the Islands is a unique, preserved nature. The presence of a person here is practically not felt, because the population does not even reach a thousand. Nature has collected everything on the islands: beautiful views, natural attractions and very interesting animals, for example, if you're lucky, you can see a whale and admire the size of the largest mammal.

Also on the islands you can get acquainted with the unique northern culture, which has been recreated in recent years. A cultural center of the Aleuts was built here, where you can see dances and dresses and the history of the people. There is also a local history museum here, which contains many exhibits that tell about this region.

But pity the most important distinguishing feature rest on the Commanders, this is a complete detachment from civilization. Being alone in nature is much easier here than anywhere else on earth.

GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE COMMANDER ISLANDS

Commander Islands is an archipelago of four islands in the southwestern part of the Bering Sea of the Pacific Ocean. Administratively, they are part of the Aleutsky District of the Kamchatka Territory of Russia. The islands are named after the navigator Commander Vitus Bering, who discovered them in 1741. On the largest of them, Bering Island, there is a navigator's grave. The Commander Islands are a place of mixing of Russian and Aleutian cultures. They have great potential for the development of northern tourism.

The first Europeans to visit the Commander Islands are considered to be members of the Second Kamchatka Expedition, who in 1741 crashed near Bering Island. Copper Island was discovered by the industrialist Emelyan Basov, who gave it this name.

Publications about the natural resources of the islands began to appear from the end of the 18th century.

The Commander Islands are the western tip of the Aleutian island arc and are separated from the Aleutian Islands by the Near Strait, about 370 km wide. The total area of the archipelago is 1848 km². It is located on the border of the Pacific Ocean and the Bering Sea, 200 km east of the Kamchatka Peninsula, from which it is separated by the Kamchatka Strait. Bering and Medny Islands are separated by the Admiral Kuznetsov Strait.

Cape Tolstoy, Bering Island Commander Islands

The archipelago includes:

Major islands:

Bering
Copper
Small islands and rocks:

around Bering Island:
Toporkov
Arius Stone
Aleut stone
Stone Nadvodny (Emelyanovsky)
Stone Half (Half)
Sivuchy Stone
around Medny Island:
beaver stones
Waxmouth Stone
Kekur Ship Post
Sivuchy Stone
Sivuchy Stone East

as well as a number of nameless rocks.

the village of Nikolskoye - the capital of the Commander Islands

Geology and relief
The islands are composed mainly of basalts and andesites. Like the neighboring regions of the Far East, the archipelago is prone to strong earthquakes. The relief of the islands is mountainous. Max Height up to 751 m. The coastline is rocky, slightly indented.

Climate
The climate is oceanic with cool summers and mild winters. The average temperature in August is +10 °C, in February -4 °C. Absolute minimums are observed in February. They are −18 °C for about. Bering and -24 °C for about. Copper. The highest temperatures were recorded in August: +23 °C for about. Bering and +24 °C for about. Copper. Average annual temperatures are positive and amount to +2.1 °C for about. Bering, +2.8 °C for about. Copper. Precipitation falls up to 500 mm per year. The ocean waters around the islands do not freeze.

Flora
Forb and grass-forb meadows and mountain-tundra vegetation predominate; tall forests are absent. In the valleys, especially on about. Bering, floodplain thickets of willows are common, reaching a height of 3.5 m (the valley of the Polovina river). There are associations with the participation of mountain ash elderberry, shrub birch, wild rose, juniper, oval-leaved blueberry, golden rhododendron, etc. Large-grass contains sweet hogweed, reed grass, silkworm (Kamchatka meadowsweet), aconite and some other species.

Commander Islands - the remains of a sea whale

Fauna
The terrestrial fauna is quite poor and is represented by only 6 species of mammals, of which the only native species is the blue fox, represented on the islands by two subspecies (Bering and Mednov). Other mammals are introduced: gray rat, house mouse, red-backed vole, American mink and reindeer. Attempts to acclimatize the reindeer have been made repeatedly since 1882; the current population numbers 1200-1500 heads. The fauna of marine mammals is most clearly represented on the islands - in the waters surrounding the islands, the sea lion, fur seal, sea otter, island anthur seal and many species of cetaceans live: sperm whale, killer whale, beaked whale, dolphins, porpoises, minke whale, sei whale, fin whale, humpback whale, Japanese whale, etc. There are numerous rookeries and bird colonies.

the village of Nikolskoye in a winter blizzard

Economic activity
The population (Russians, Aleuts and Russian Creoles) is mainly engaged in marine fisheries, as well as the normalized slaughter of fur seals, breeding blue fox.
In 1993, the Commander State Reserve was founded on the islands.

Administratively, the islands make up the Aleutian region.
The village of Nikolskoe on about. Beringa is the only settlement on the islands. The population according to the 2010 census is 676 people.

Sphinx rock, Bering Island

THE COMMANDER ISLANDS - WHY ARE THEY SO UNIQUE?

Historical aspect:
Currently, the Commander Islands are better known as Bering Island and Medny Island. This small archipelago played an exceptional role in the fate of the Second Kamchatka Expedition, when in 1741 it went to the North Pacific Ocean in search of a strait separating two continents: Asia and America.

After the discovery of the American continent and the Aleutian Islands, the ship, led by the head of the expedition, Vitus Bering, crashed near an unknown island. After a hard winter on a desert island and the death of Captain-Commander Bering, the islands in his memory and honor were named Commander Islands.

Ethnic and archaeological aspects:
After the discovery of new lands inhabited by aboriginal inhabitants, the islands and coasts began to be intensively developed by Russian fishing expeditions.
They resettled part of the Aleuts from the islands of Atka and Attu (Aleutian Islands) to the previously uninhabited Commander Islands to hunt sea animals (sea otter, fur seal, arctic fox). It happened at the beginning of the 19th century. The aboriginal population intensively mixed with the Russian and other peoples for decades. Thus, a kind of Creole ethnic group was formed on the Commanders. In terms of their linguistic and cultural traditions, this diaspora of a Creole character is extremely original and unique. The unique cemetery of people on Medny Island serves as a cultural heritage of this ethnic group and a memory of the past. In the same context, the memorial complex in Komandor Bay (Bering Island), where the graves of Vitus Bering and his comrades are located, the archaeological excavations of the winter camp of his team, and memorial structures of later years are also presented.
At present, the population of the Aleutian population is concentrated in the only village of Nikolskoye on Bering Island and is no more than 600 in number.
This is the only area of compact residence of the Aleuts in Russia.

fur seal rookery Commander Islands

Biological (biodiversity) aspect:
As is well known, the water area of the North Pacific Ocean (between Russia and the USA) is one of the most biologically productive areas of our planet. But only on the Commander Islands this unique situation is fully represented. The main reason for this lies in the unique originality and combinations of geological hydrological factors. Ice cover never forms around the Commander Islands due to the powerful influence of warm sea currents from the Sea of Japan. Also, not far from the islands, giant and very active underwater volcanoes were discovered. All this together formed the most favorable physical environment for the rapid development of zoo- and phytoplankton, which form an ideal environment for the development of other, higher level organisms in the ecosystem. Therefore, in the coastal part of the island we find an incredible and richest variety of marine algae in the world. Their biomass is also huge.
The coastal waters of the islands also serve as a place of successful reproduction for many species of invertebrates and fish.
In addition, geographically, the Commander Islands are the point that connects two continents - Asia and America. This factor has formed an amazing combination and combination of flora and fauna of both continents in such a small area.
The islands are important elements on the migration routes and are home to more than 21 species of cetaceans, fur seals, sea lions, sea otters, true seals and 189 bird species.
The vegetative, tundra biocenoses are also completely original.
Many of these animal and plant species have become rare and are on the verge of extinction.

killer whales near Bering Island

Ecological and environmental aspects:
The history of the development of the Commander Islands, as well as the entire water area of the Bering Sea, is full of drama and predatory maximalism on the part of man. Within 27 years after the discovery of the islands, the Steller's Cow was destroyed. By the beginning of the 18th century, sea otters, fur seals and sea lions were on the verge of extinction.
Since 1958, the USSR government has introduced a strict ban on fishing in a 30-mile zone around the islands. This ban is preserved to this day, which made it possible to preserve benthic biocenoses in a more or less natural state. In fact, this is the only water area in the North Pacific Ocean not affected by the destructive influence of the industrial industry.
In 1993, a natural reserve of federal significance was organized on the Commander Islands. At the end of 2002, he was given the status - "Biosphere Reserve" under the control of UNESCO.
All these efforts to preserve the ecosystem of the islands, especially at the present time, are extremely important for the peoples of Russia, the USA, Korea, Japan, China and Canada.
That is why, especially at official meetings between the US and Russian government delegations, the key role of the Commander for the preservation and understanding of the development of the Bering Sea ecosystem as a whole was repeatedly noted.
Human aspect and spiritual perception:
In the last 10 years, the Commander Islands have become more and more accessible to people seeking and enjoying the beauties of wildlife. Ecological excursions for all people of the region have become more and more accessible.
Among the thousands of tourists there is not one who would be disappointed (USA, Germany, France, Italy, Japan, Russia, Switzerland, South Africa).
The beauty of nature is so beneficial and divinely influential that many and many strive to return and take an active part in the preservation of this unique corner of the Earth, given to us everything from God and forever!

His Holiness Patriarch Kirill on the Islands (blessing of babies)

WHY ARE THE COMMANDER ISLANDS STILL IN DANGER?

Against the backdrop of threatening and rapid declines in the populations of sea otters, sea lions, some species of whales, native populations of arctic foxes and fish, the general concern for maintaining a stable balance of the Bering Sea ecosystem is growing in all countries.
These facts show quite clearly to everyone that the moment has come when the natural ecosystem of the sea is degrading uncontrollably. These processes may be irreversible.
That is why the Commander Islands, having unique natural features and a consistently increasing social status for the conservation of sustainable biodiversity, could play a key role in understanding most of the negative trends in the Bering Sea.
Moreover, islands and protected water areas could become a source of restoration of natural resources and ecosystem components.
Meanwhile, the factor of illegal fishing for fish and invertebrates, sea otters and fur seals, on the Commanders has increased dramatically. All this is happening in the context of a severe political and political crisis. economic system former USSR.
The Russian government is not able to provide full funding and protection of the Commander Islands and the reserve.
Over the past 10 years, violations of fishing legislation by the Japanese and Russian fishing fleets have increased dramatically.
All this threatens with an irreparable loss of almost the last corner of the natural ecosystem of the Bering Sea, and makes all sane people show great will and aspiration to protect the island biocenoses.
The ideas of creating international research monitoring stations, model systems for sustainable development and joint protection have taken on a real shape in recent years.

winter hut, Bering Island

BERING ISLAND
Bering Island is the largest island in the Commander Islands. It is located to the east of the Kamchatka Peninsula, from which it is separated by the Kamchatka Strait, which connects the Bering Sea and the Pacific Ocean. Administratively, the island is part of the Aleutsky District of the Kamchatka Territory of Russia. On the island is the grave of Vitus Bering
Bering Island is located several tens of kilometers from Medny Island, from which it is separated by the Admiral Kuznetsov Strait. The island is about 90 km long and 24 km wide. Geographic coordinates 55°00′ s. sh. 166°15′ E d. (G) (O).
Bering Island, like all the Commander Islands, is located on an underwater ridge stretching from Alaska. The chain of the Aleutian Islands is located on the same ridge.
There is only one settlement on the island - the village of Nikolskoye with a population of 752 inhabitants (2005, according to the 2002 census - 808 people), of which about 300 are Aleuts.

KOMANDORSKY RESERVE
The Commander State Reserve was established on April 23, 1993. Located on the Commander Islands, it includes 4 large islands - Medny, Bering, Ariy Kamen and Toporkov, more than 60 small islands and the adjacent waters of the Bering Sea and the Pacific Ocean.

The Commander Islands - located in the northern part of the Pacific Ocean, are part of the Aleutian island arc and represent the peaks of the western part of the grandiose underwater volcanic ridge, the highest point is Mount Steller (755 m). The area is 3,648,679 hectares, including 3,463,300 hectares - the sea area, plots - 2.

Represented by 383 species and 37 subspecies of vascular plants. The islands are the eastern border of the distribution of 93 plant species and the western border of 10 species. There are many rare, including endemic species of flora and fauna for this territory. It has relatively mild winters and cool summers. The average duration of the frost-free period is 127-140 days. Live: fish - 250 species. The Commander Islands are a place of mass nesting of seabirds, 213 species including extinct ones, mammals - 25 species. Large rookeries of marine mammals, about 300 thousand individuals of marine animals are concentrated along the coastline of the islands.
In the "Red Book of the RSFSR" are included: from plants - a sea half, slippers real and Yatabe, lobaria pulmonary; from mammals - the commander's arctic fox; from birds - Canadian goose, white goose, Bering sandpiper, Pacific guillemot, Aleutian tern, etc. The following are included in the Red Book of the International Union for Conservation of Nature: from mammals - sea otter, commander's belt-toothed, antur (island seal), minke whale; of birds - bald eagle, gyrfalcon, peregrine falcon.
On the territory of the reserve there are objects of historical and cultural heritage:
Campsite of the expedition of Vitus Bering in 1741-1742. with Bering's grave.

the grave of the legendary commander - Vitus Bering

VITUS BERING
Vitus Jonassen Bering (Dan. Vitus Jonassen Bering; also Ivan Ivanovich Bering; August 12, 1681, Horsens, Denmark - December 8 (19), 1741. Bering Island, Russia) - navigator, officer of the Russian fleet, captain-commander. Danish by origin.

In 1725-1730 and 1733-1741 he led the First and Second Kamchatka Expeditions. He passed through the strait between Chukotka and Alaska (later the Bering Strait), reached North America and discovered a number of islands in the Aleutian ridge.

An island, a strait and a sea in the north Pacific Ocean, as well as the Commander Islands, are named after Bering. In archeology, the northeastern part of Siberia, Chukotka and Alaska (which are now considered to have been previously connected by a strip of land) is often referred to by the general term Beringia.

The first Kamchatka expedition traveled from St. Petersburg to Okhotsk for two years, from January 1725 to January 1727 - through Siberia, on horseback, on foot, on river boats. After wintering here, the expedition transported equipment in boats and dog sleds to the mouth of the Kamchatka River on the eastern coast of the peninsula, where by the summer of 1728 the construction of the St. Gabriel". In July-August 1728, the ship rose to the north, and then to the northeast along the mainland. During the voyage, Karaginsky Bay with an island, Krest Bay, Provideniya Bay, Anadyr Bay and St. Lawrence Island were mapped.
The expedition, as it turned out later, went through the (Bering) Strait into the Chukchi Sea (while the North American coast was not found), after which it turned back, since Bering considered the task completed: it was shown that the Asian and North American coasts do not connect.

medal in honor of Bering

In 1729, Bering rounded Kamchatka from the south, revealing the Kamchatka Bay and the Avacha Bay, and returned to St. Petersburg through Okhotsk and all of Russia.
Thus, in two years, the Bering expedition - the first marine scientific expedition in Russia - made an instrumental survey of the western coast of the sea, which would later be given the name of the discoverer, over a distance of more than 3500 km. Bering completed the discovery of the northeast coast of Asia, and the map compiled by him together with his subordinates, as experts note, was later used by all Western European cartographers when depicting the northeast of Asia.

In 1874, representatives of the Russian-American Company placed a wooden cross approximately at the place where the grave of the great navigator was supposed to be. Later, local researchers erected the current monument - two stone rectangles superimposed on each other, covered with a cast-iron slab on top. The headstone is crowned with an iron cross 3.5 m high.
In 1991, the 250th anniversary of the voyage of Bering and Chirikov to the northwestern coast of America was celebrated. International Society Undersea world”and the club“ Adventure ”by Dmitry Shparo, together with the Institute of Archeology of the USSR Academy of Sciences, organized an expedition to Bering Island with the involvement of Danish researchers. At the same time, the “Memory of the Baltic” society formed an underwater archaeological detachment. The main objectives of the expedition were the comprehensive study and preservation of the historical and cultural heritage of the Commander Islands, the search for the grave of Bering, underwater archaeological work to search for the anchors of the St. Peter" in the Komandor Bay.
The expedition discovered the graves of Vitus Bering and five other sailors. The remains were transported to Moscow, where they were examined by forensic doctors, who managed to reconstruct Bering's appearance. As Danish and Russian historians have established, the canonical portrait of Commander Vitus Bering, published in all textbooks and reference books, actually belongs to his own uncle - the full namesake of the navigator, the Danish court poet, after whom Vitus got his name. No traces of scurvy were found on Bering's teeth, which led to the assumption that Bering died from some other disease. The following year, the navigator's remains were returned to burial on the Commander Islands and reburied.

production of pink salmon by the local population

COMMANDER ALEUTS
Until 1825, there was no permanent population on the Commander Islands. On the island of Bering and on the island of Medny, the Russian-American Company (RAC) imported replacement parties of Russian industrialists (miners) to extract furs from sea cats and beavers (sea otters). The first artel was landed on Medny Island in 1805, it consisted of 13 people. This group of sea hunters lingered on the islands for a long time. Other artels were also imported, some of whose members were married to Aleut women. Documents dated 1819 show that 15 people (temporary settlement) lived in the south of Medny Island at that time, and 30 people lived in the north of Bering Island.

Then both islands were part of the Athinsky department of the R.A.K. By decision of the Head Office, the head of the department, Mershenin, organized in 1825 the delivery of the first batch of Aleuts with families from Atkha Island to Bering Island. In 1826, another batch of Aleuts and Creoles were resettled from the islands of Attu and Atha.
Together with the first Russian artels, the imported natives of the Aleutian Islands and the Creoles became the first permanent residents of the present Aleutian region of the Kamchatka region. In 1827, 110 people lived on Bering Island (Russians - 17, Aleuts - 24, Creoles - 13; women - 21 Aleuts, 35 Creoles). In subsequent years, Russian pensioners (whose contracts with R.A.K. ended) and workers brought from Kamchatka, the Fox and Andreyanovsky Islands, Kodiak Island, Sitka and California settled on the islands. Among them were the Eskimos, several Indians, individual representatives of different peoples of Russia, including the indigenous inhabitants of Kamchatka - Kamchadals and Ainu.

After the sale of Russian America and the Aleutian Islands, the Commander Islands went to the Petropavlovsk District. A feature of life on the islands is isolation from the outside world and the islands themselves from each other. In 1879 (B. Dybovsky), 168 people lived on both islands of the Aleuts (including 100 on Medny Island), a total of 332 Creoles, among the rest there were 10 percent of Russians and other nationalities. Considering that the Creoles spoke Russian and adhered to the national traditions of their mothers, scientists attribute the majority of their population to the Aleuts.

The history of the study of the Aleuts begins with the discovery in 1741 of the Aleutian Islands by the Great Northern (Second Kamchatka) Expedition (1733 - 1743).
The features of the life of the Commander Aleuts were determined by the isolation of the islands. Until 1867, their population worked for the Russian-American Company: they harvested furs, meat and fat from marine animals, preserving the traditional culture. The main place was occupied by hunting for marine animals from a canoe and the extraction of seals on land.

The predatory exploitation of the fisheries by American and Russian companies led to the impoverishment of the local population, undermining the foundations of traditional culture. At the end of the 19th century, population growth slowed down, illness and alcohol led to an increase in mortality. By the twenties of the XX century, the impoverishment of the Commander Aleuts reached its limit.
After the end of the civil war in the Far East, the restoration of the destroyed economy on the islands began, the development of agriculture, cattle breeding, fish and sea fur trade. The process of the revival of the Aleuts included the creation of a fur farm in 1925, the allocation of the Commander Islands to the Aleutian National Region in 1928, the participation of the people in governance, the training of national intelligentsia and technical specialists. Since 1935, the population growth has begun. At the same time, the process of dispersion of the Aleuts, their settling on the mainland, is developing.

Since 1969, the Aleuts have mainly lived in the village of Nikolskoye. In terms of lifestyle and social structure, they do not differ from the visiting population. The number of interethnic marriages has increased.
The Aleut settlements were located on the sea coast, often at the mouths of rivers and consisted of 2-4 large semi-dugouts (ulagams). High, open places were chosen so that from there it was convenient to observe the course of marine animals and the approach of enemies. Semi-dugouts were built from a fin, and on top they were covered with dry grass, skins and turf. Several quadrangular openings were left in the roof for entry, climbed there along a log with notches. The dwelling accommodated from 10 to 40 families. Inside, bunks were built along the walls. Each family lived on its part of the bunks, separated from each other by poles and curtains. Utensils were stored under the bunks. In the summer they moved to separate light buildings. In the 19th century, the traditional semi-dugout changed: the walls and roof, made of poles and boards, were lined with turf. At the top was a hatch for lighting, on the side - an exit through a small canopy. Dwellings were illuminated with fat lamps, sometimes stoves were installed. Along with traditional utensils, they used imported factory-made utensils.

The traditional clothing was a parka - long deaf (without a slit in front) clothing made from the fur of a fur seal, sea otter, bird skins. A kamleyka was worn over it - deaf waterproof clothing made from the intestines of marine animals with sleeves, a deaf closed collar and a hood (a prototype of a European windbreaker). The edges of the hood and sleeves were tightened with laces. Parkas and kamleikas were decorated with embroidered stripes and fringes. Traditional fishing jackets with hoods made of sea lion guts and throats, and sealskin trousers have been preserved. Men's and women's clothing completely matched in cut and decorations. A new type of clothing also appeared - brodni - trousers made of sea lion throats, to which waterproof torbasas were sewn - soft skins of sea animals. Shoes - torbasa - soft boots made from the skin of marine animals. In everyday life they wore Russian clothes.

Fishing headdresses were wooden hats of a conical shape (for toyon leaders) or without a top with a very elongated front part (for ordinary hunters), richly decorated with polychrome painting, carved bone, feathers, sea lion mustaches. They were put on the hood of a kamlika. Such hats were hollowed out from a single piece of wood, then steamed out, giving the desired shape, and painted in bright colors, creating a fancy ornament. From the sides and back they were decorated with carved walrus tusk plates, engraved with a geometric ornament, into which paint was rubbed. A bone figurine of a bird or animal was attached to the top of the back plate, which also served as the top of the hat. Sea lion whiskers up to 50 centimeters long were inserted into the side holes of the plate. Their number depended on the owner's hunting skill and testified to the number of walruses caught. These hats were worn only by men.

Festive and ceremonial headdresses were hats of various shapes made of leather and bird skins with decorations, leather bands with patterned seams. An integral part of the festive decorations are necklaces, bracelets and anklets, inserts and pendants in the holes made in the lips and near the lips, as well as in the nose, along the edges of the auricle and in the earlobe. They were made from bone, stone, wooden and slate sticks, feathers, sea lion whiskers, grass and plant roots. The Aleuts tattooed and painted their face and body, but with the beginning of contacts with the Russians, this tradition began to weaken.

Fishing began at the end of April. They fished from spring to autumn. In mid-July, they hunted birds with the help of throwing spears (shatin) and a throwing projectile (bola) - a bunch of belts with stone or bone weights at the ends. Having untwisted, the bolas were thrown into the flock and the bird entangled in the belts became the prey of the hunter. They were also caught in bird markets with a large net on a long pole (chirucha), as well as with nets. In winter, seals hunted from the shore. The sea beaver (sea otter) was hunted in the open sea with the help of a harpoon (throwing a spear on a long rope), sea lions and walruses - on rookeries, seals were lured ashore by a decoy - an inflated seal skin, imitating the cry of a female, whales were hunted with a spear, the tip of which smeared with poison aconite. After 2-3 days, the sea threw the carcass of the animal ashore. Harpoons and spears were thrown with the help of spear throwers - wooden planks 50-70 cm long with a longitudinal groove, finger grooves at one end and a bone stop at the other. Bows, arrows and guns were also known.

Meat and fish were eaten raw, fried or boiled. For the future, they stocked up mainly dried fish and whale oil. The latter was kept in bubbles from the stomachs of marine animals.
An important role in sea hunting was played by a canoe - a wooden, flat-bottomed frame boat covered with sea lion or seal skin and a kayak - a closed leather boat with a wooden frame and a hatch hole where the hunter sat down. They controlled it with a two-bladed oar (a prototype of a sports kayak). With the advent of firearms, two-key kayaks began to be made (during firing, the second rower had to maintain balance).

Some elements not characteristic of the mainland culture of the Aleuts also spread: for example, on about. Bering, sledges (sledges) with dog teams appeared, on Medny Island - short, wide skis lined with seal skins.
From stone, men made knives, axes, arrowheads and spearheads, vessels for cooking, fat lamps with moss wicks for lighting and heating the home. Women sewed, embroidered clothes, made covers for canoes, wove mats and baskets. The pekulka, a wide short and slightly curved knife, was a female universal tool of labor. The needles were made from bird bones.
By the middle of the 18th century, the population of each island or group of islands represented an independent territorial association with its own self-name and dialect. Presumably, these were tribes consisting of tribal communities - associations of persons related by blood relations and the name of a common ancestor. The tribal group was headed by a leader (toyon), he either received power by inheritance or was elected. His duties included trade and political relations, court cases, protection of sea animal rookeries, and control over other lands. As a military head, the leader had economic advantages only after military campaigns and trade deals; in everyday economic activities, he was entitled to an equal share with everyone. In addition to the leader, the tribal group was headed by a council of elders. There are references in the literature to the existence of ancestral communal houses for meetings and celebrations.

The Aleuts had slaves (kalga) - mostly prisoners of war. The slave participated in the normal economic activities of the group, in wars. For courage or for good work, he could be released.
Traditional social norms associated with the remnants of group marriage were preserved - ancient form marriage, when a group of men were considered potential husbands of a group of women and matrilineal norms (from Latin mater - mother and linea - line: maternal kinship accounts); cross-cousin marriages (from English cross - cross and French cusin - cousin: marriages to cousins \u200b\u200band sisters are a relic of a group marriage concluded between members of two clans); polygamy and polyandry, avunculat (from lat. avunculus - mother's brother), - the custom of maternal uncle patronage in relation to nephews; hospitable hetaerism (the custom according to which the husband provided his wife for the night to the guest).
In the nineteenth century tribal communities broke up. With the adoption of Christianity by the middle of the nineteenth century. basically the dowry (a ransom for the wife) and the work for the wife that replaced it (the husband lived in the family of the wife's parents for 1-2 years and helped to run the household) disappeared, as well as polygamy, polyandry and hospitable hetaerism. At the same time, the ceremonies of matchmaking and weddings spread.

spiritual culture
Traditional beliefs are characterized by animism (from Latin anima, animus - soul, spirit) - ideas about the soul as a life force and the existence of good and evil spirits and their influence on human life. The spirits of ancestors were revered, whose images made of stone, bone, wood and Iptian skins were inherited as personal amulets. Protective spirits were depicted by wooden masks that were worn during ritual dances. Among the Aleuts, shamanism was widespread, in the mythology of which there were ideas about different worlds. The shaman costume, like that of some peoples of Siberia, symbolized a bird. In addition to shamanism, there was also hunting magic (from the Greek mageia - witchcraft, sorcery), which consisted in the rituals of summoning the beast, in special hunting prohibitions and wearing amulets that protected the owner.

The dead were buried in a sitting position. Family burials were placed in small depressions among the rocks. There they also put the tools of the deceased, weapons, dishes, ritual masks and personal amulets (objects with supernatural, magical properties). Noble people were buried together with slaves in caves, a painted pillar was placed at the entrance or the bodies of the deceased were hung in baskets between two pillars. The dead were embalmed.
One of the main holidays - the winter solstice - was accompanied by dances, dramatic performances of hunting scenes and mythological scenes, and distribution of gifts. The rites that preceded the hunting season were famous for pantomime and dancing to the accompaniment of singing and tambourine. The performers wore special headdresses and wooden masks.
At the end of the 18th century, the Aleuts, having experienced a strong influence of Russian culture, were converted to Orthodoxy. Schooling and bilingualism spread. Religious books appeared, translated into the Aleut language. It is characteristic that some of the natives became missionaries.

The writing of the Aleutian language, created by Bishop of Kamchatka, Aleutian and Commander Innokenty (Veniaminov), who was also a prominent ethnographer and linguist, did not spread to the Commander Islands.
The written language was not created on the Commanders even in Soviet times, although there were prerequisites for this: the alphabet was approved, and the "Aleutian-Russian, Russian-Aleutian Dictionary" was published (E. Golovko).

There are fairy tales, heroic epic (narration), or heroic tales, stories about ancient customs, everyday stories, songs, sayings and riddles.
Most fairy tales are based on mythological plots. The most common were myths about the spirits of animal patrons and etiological (concerning the causes of various phenomena) legends about the initial immortality of people, about the origin of people from a dog that fell from the sky, etc.
The heroic epos includes legends about the ancestors, about the fight against cannibals, about the resettlement of people from the mainland to the islands, stories about the campaigns of the eastern groups of the Aleuts to the west, about blood feuds that led to cruel wars, etc. Everyday stories tell about trips to fishing, travel ; legends - about runaway Aleuts hiding from Russians in caves, about distant travels; satirical stories - about a hunter who died from gluttony inside a whale. Many plots reflect traditional family and kinship relationships: about the infidelity of a husband or a jealous wife, about the cohabitation of a hero with his cousin's wife, about hostile relations between a son-in-law and a brother-in-law (wife's brother), etc.

At the holidays, men, to the sound of a tambourine, sang the exploits of their ancestors, daring in fishing, dexterity in managing a canoe. During games, ritual actions and performance of fairy tales, they sang to the accompaniment of a multi-stringed plucked sword-shaped zither (chacha), which was later replaced by a guitar.
Despite a very strong assimilation, the Aleuts have retained their genetic structure, and science recognizes them as Aleuts. Worse with culture: with the death of the language (fewer and fewer of its speakers), many national customs and traditions have been lost, oral folk art - folklore - is dying out.
The Aleutian intelligentsia, old-timers are doing everything possible to revive and preserve the national culture. For these purposes, a small people in the district center - the village of Nikolsky - created two dance and folklore groups - Unangan and Chiyan.

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SOURCE OF INFORMATION AND PHOTO:
Team Nomads
http://beringisland.ru
http://www.kamchatsky-krai.ru
http://rus-globus.ru/kamchatka/321-komandorskie-ostrova
http://www.photosight.ru/
photo by D. Utkin,
Krasheninnikov S.P. Description of the land of Kamchatka. - P .: Academy of Sciences, 1755.
Marakov S. V. Nature and wildlife Commander / S. V. Marakov; Rep. ed. Dr. Biol. sciences, prof. A. G. Tomilin; USSR Academy of Sciences. — M.: Nauka, 1972. — 185, p. — (General scientific popular publications). — 25,000 copies. (reg.)
Pasenyuk L. M. I go along the Commanders. - M.: Soviet Russia, 1974. - 284, p. - (On the Russian land). — 50,000 copies. (reg.)
Mochalova O. A., Yakubov V. V. Flora of the Commander Islands. - Vladivostok: Biology and Soil Institute FEB RAS, 2004. - 120 p.

In 1733, the ships "Saint Paul" and "Saint Peter" under the leadership of Alexei Chirikov and Vitus Bering set off on the Second Kamchatka Expedition. Sailors were looking for a cheap trade route to North America through the northern seas and to find islands in this part of the Pacific Ocean.

In 1741, Vitus Bering reached the western shores of the Commander Archipelago. The travelers decided to return to the mainland, but the ship was thrown onto one of the islands. Vitus Bering died here from starvation and disease, today the island is named after the traveler.

The expedition members returned to the mainland a year later. And a year later, the development of the commander's lands began. Emelyan Basov was the first to go to the archipelago. In 1743, on one of the islands, he discovered native copper. The island was named Copper.

Toporkov Island was named after the puffin bird with unusual plumage and an orange beak resembling an axe. The smallest island, Ariy Kamen, was named after the murre bird, which lives here in large colonies and forms a "bird market".

Population of the Commander Islands

After the discovery of the Commander Archipelago, Russian hunters temporarily settled on the islands, who came here for fur trade. In 1825–1826, families of Aleuts and Creoles were brought to the Commanders from the islands of Atkha and Attu. They became the first permanent residents of the Commander Islands. In subsequent years, the Eskimos, Indians, Russians, Kamchadals and Ainu settled on the islands.

Flora and fauna of the Commander Islands

In 1993, on the territory of the Commander Islands, the Commander Reserve was created in order to preserve and study the nature of the archipelago. Today, nesting sites of rare bird species, large rookeries of marine mammals, and a unique population of blue fox are under the protection of the reserve.

Some representatives of the island flora and fauna are listed in the Red Book. Animals include northern sea otters and toothed whales, peregrine falcons and Steineger seals, gyrfalcons and Mednovsky blue foxes.

Under state protection are also historical and archaeological monuments of the 18th-19th centuries: the remains of an ancient Aleutian cemetery of the 19th century, a tombstone on the grave of the famous Russian scientist Alexander Chersky, Steller's arch, traces of the site of the Second Kamchatka Expedition of Vitus Bering.

Reserve

Despite its remoteness from industrial centers, after the discovery by human hands, natural resources were literally sucked from the islands at an astronomical speed. In the 19th century, people did not care about the preservation of natural resources, not at all thinking about replenishing them, which almost led to the extinction of many species in these parts. First of all, this applies to marine animals, such as killer whales, fur seals, and furs were also mined in huge volumes. Only after many species were on the verge of complete destruction, people slightly moderated their ardor in the development of the northern wealth.

The fauna of the islands is very rich, and is represented primarily by birds and mammals, more than 40 species of which are listed in the Red Book of Russia. The most representative species on the islands is the fur seal, the population of which is more than 200 thousand individuals, and the most unique local residents are the whales, the diversity of which includes 21 species.

aborigines

Aborigines? And are they even on these islands, because until the beginning of the 19th century they were uninhabited. In those distant times, the Commander Islands belonged to the Russian-American Colonial Company (RCA), and due to their remoteness, they began to develop rather late. The first temporary settlements began to appear only 60 years after their discovery, and they consisted of only a couple of dozen hunters. In such a remote area, people did not want to go, even if it promised great benefits. However, the times were quite wild and greedy for profit, the leaders of the colonial companies, put the indigenous peoples not much higher than animals. According to this principle, the leaders of the RCA also acted, deciding that if the Russians did not want to go to the commanders, then it was necessary to settle the “locals” there. In the first half of the 19th century, the Aleutian Islands and Alaska belonged to Russia, and the local peoples of the Aleuts and Creoles were the best suited for the mission of developing the islands, and in 1825 the first batches of Eskimos from the Aleutian Islands arrived on the island, and a year later there were more than a hundred of them. . However, the leadership of the RCA did not stop there, because the development of these places promised big profits, and began to allow their former employees, whose contracts were ending, to settle here. And thus, by the mid-60s of the 19th century, the population exceeded 600 people, of which no more than 10% were Russians. However, along with the rapid development of industry, the development of remote northern regions became less and less profitable, and the maintenance of the RCA did not bring significant dividends to the treasury, and in 1867 Alaska and the Aluetsky Islands were sold to the United States. Is it funny to say that, for example, the mail went to Alaska for more than three months. By the beginning of the 20th century, the colony was becoming more and more desolated, and there was no need to talk about development. Local residents lived exclusively by subsistence farming, fishing and hunting.

The village of Nikolskoe

The capital of the Commander Islands is the only village called Nikolskoye, which is a small port town where people live by crafts and the extraction of gifts of nature. The population of Nikolsky is only 600 people, however, more is not needed in this region to maintain the natural balance and preserve nature. Most of the population are Aleuts, this is the only place in Russia where they live. Until 2009, the population was rapidly decreasing, but in the last 5 years it has gone up again.

How to get there and what to see

There is only one way to get to the islands from Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. The best option is to visit the islands as part of a tourist group with a guide, since there are no hotels or inns here. Going here on your own is not the best option, in view of the wildlife in these places and large areas of protected areas.

But perhaps the most important distinguishing feature of recreation on the Commanders is complete detachment from civilization. Being alone in nature is much easier here than anywhere else on earth.

Russia is amazing not only with world-famous beauties and monuments. The main asset of our country is its vast expanses, the ability to travel in places where there are no crowds of tourists. One of such remote corners is the Commander Islands. It is quite difficult to find them on the map right away, and you can get here only from Kamchatka, on a small plane flying once a week, and even then only in case of good weather, which happens infrequently here. And yet, despite all the difficulties, this region is worth seeing!

Commander Islands: geographical location

Commanders are located off the eastern coast of Kamchatka in the Bering Sea, in the geological sense they are a continuation of the archipelago formally consists of a large number of land areas surrounded by water, but only four of them can be called fully islands: Medny, Bering, Ariy Kamen and Toporkov. Otherwise, the Commander Islands are rocks sticking out of the water (they are also called stones), unsuitable for human life. There are ten such stones in total, but these are only those that have their own names, because there are dozens of nameless cliffs in the adjacent waters. The relief of the Commanders is mostly mountainous, with insignificant flat zones and very sparse vegetation characteristic of tundra regions. But there are also small fresh rivers and lakes, berries and cereals grow here.

Climatic features

Since the archipelago is located in the cold Bering Sea, the weather here is very capricious and harsh. It is not for nothing that the Commander Islands are called the land of winds and fogs! The climate in the region is rainy and windy, while the weather can change several times a day and differ from island to island. Summers are usually cool, up to 15 degrees Celsius (for the entire observation period, the maximum temperature was 24 degrees), winters are cold, with temperatures down to -24 degrees, which, together with the piercing wind blowing from the Pacific Ocean, creates very difficult conditions for local residents. . Despite such weather, the ocean does not freeze in winter.

Attractions in Commander Islands

Commanders are not at all the place where you can come to look at city life. There is only one settlement on the archipelago - the village of Nikolskoye, and the population of all the islands does not reach even a thousand people. But we can say with confidence that these places are a natural pantry. There are no large centers here, industry is not developed, and people coexist peacefully with nature. Back in 1993, a biosphere reserve was opened on the archipelago, and today it has about four hundred species and forty subspecies of vascular plants. There are also unique endemic species of fish, birds and animals.

Ethnographic objects

The Commander Islands also have a number of historical sights. It was here, at Cape Commander, that the ship "Saint Peter" of the Kamchatka expedition, led by the well-known associate of Emperor Peter the Great, Vitus Bering, anchored. As conceived by the ruler, he had to find an isthmus or strait, which is a natural border between two continents. The crew of the ship was forced to stay here for a long nine months and all this time to fight for survival. Vitus Bering himself could not stand the adversity - he was buried on one of the islands. Later, a subsequent expedition found the grave, a memorial cross was erected on it, and the land area was named after the famous traveler and captain. It is worth warning those who are going to come to the Commander Islands and want to personally see the grave of a Dane who served the Russian sovereign that the memorial can be easily confused with an ordinary memorial cross erected nearby.

What else is interesting about the history of the Commander Islands? Vacationers are invited to view the houses that were built by American sailors at the beginning of the 20th century. They, like Russian sailors, came to these places for fish and marine animals, because every year the paths of sea otters, seals, whales pass here, so there is something to profit from.

Flora and fauna

Every year the Commander Islands become the object of ornithological expeditions. The fact is that dozens of species of sea birds nest on the archipelago, as well as arrange rookeries and raise offspring of certain species of marine mammals. A variety of representatives of birds flock to the islands, and their hubbub spreads over the surface of the ocean for hundreds of meters around. There are unique ones here. These are the Commander Arctic Fox, the Aleutian Tern, the Pulmonary Lobaria, and others. The brightest (in every sense of the word) representatives of the local fauna are rightfully puffins, also called commander's parrots. Against the background of dull, landscapes, their colors are especially bright. In honor of these birds, one of the largest islands in the archipelago was named Toporkov.

Types of tourism

The village of Nikolskoye is the "capital" of the Commanders and, as already noted, the only settlement on the archipelago. This is a place where the Aleuts live compactly - a people who settled the Commander Islands even before the arrival of the Russians. Tourism here is aimed specifically at studying the native traditions and life of the indigenous people, although they have long since (at the beginning of the 19th century) adopted Russian culture and Orthodoxy. For visitors, performances are arranged in Nikolskoye: Aleuts dress in national clothes made of skins and play musical instruments made from animal body parts. Everyone can try on beads made of shells, look at hunting tools and household items of the islanders.

A disappearing culture

Modern commanders live in exactly the same way as their ancestors - fur and sea trade. But, unfortunately, a sad trend has been noticed lately: the number of native speakers of the Aleutian language decreases naturally every year, traditions are lost and replaced by modern ones, the local population ceases to pass on the folklore treasures of their people to the younger generations. Therefore, it is worth hurrying to visit the Commander Islands in order to still have time to catch the real native island culture.

Aleutian Museum of Local Lore

This is the main center of the scientific life of the archipelago. Here is one of the eleven remaining skeletons of the sea cow in the world, which lived on the Commanders before they became a fishing place: the animals were exterminated in just forty years. They did not have the means to fight for existence, and therefore they could not survive. According to various expeditions, they weighed up to two hundred pounds, and their body length reached nine meters.

S. Paseniuk Art Museum

In Nikolskoye there is a private museum on the Far East - Sergei Pasenyuk. Here are collected all kinds of exhibits from the places where he visited. On all souvenir and printed products dedicated to the Commanders, one can see sketches and photographs of Paseniuk, demonstrating either an index post with a seal skull at the top - a symbol of the islands; then the statue “Running on the Waves”, depicting an angel who brings light to the ships at sea.

Hard-to-reach Commanders

What else can you do while traveling through the archipelago, except for the contemplation of the bewitching beauties of the ocean and wildlife? It is difficult to find an answer to this question. There are no other vacation options on the Commander Islands. Here you can hardly get acquainted with exotic and colorful cuisine, because all products are imported from Kamchatka. The maximum that you can count on is to buy a few kilograms of red caviar or the meat of some pinniped animal at a relatively low price. There is also no elementary tourist infrastructure in the archipelago, so visitors do not stay here for more than one or two days. Travelers live either in self-brought tents or in dilapidated houses. The Commander Islands are a border zone, and this should not be forgotten. There is a fairly strict access control. In addition, this is for the most part a nature reserve, so boats and ships are not allowed to sail here without permission. So diving is out of the question. And the weather, I must say, is not conducive.

Finally

Komandory is a place for those who are attracted by really real wild nature without any civilization around. These are inhospitable and inaccessible islands, but still they are beautiful! The seething ocean, rolling on the rocks with its mighty waves; thousands of birds and sea animals - all this makes desperate wanderers feel like Robinsons, real pioneers. Undoubtedly, a trip to the Commander Islands will remain in the memory of everyone who has spent at least a few hours here for a lifetime.

Pointer

The reserve is divided into zones with varying degrees of protection. In the center there is an inviolable territory, but ecological tourism, some types of traditional craft and limited economic activity are allowed in the buffer zone.

The Commander Islands is the only place on the planet where the sea cow (Hydrodamalis gigas) lived many years ago - an animal of the siren squad, exterminated by man.

Until 1819, the Commander Islands remained practically uninhabited. Then Aleuts, Kodiaks, Kurils and Kamchadals were resettled here from Kamchatka.

One of the bays in the southern part of Bering Island is called Bobrovaya. The fact is that in former times there were abundant sea beavers - sea otters. Like sea cows, they were practically exterminated. Fortunately, a small population of sea otters survived near Medny Island, from where they were able to return to Bobrovaya Bay.

These amazing animals are also called Kamchatka beavers, or sea otters. Sea otters are one of the few animals, with the exception of primates, that use tools. How does this happen? Since the diet of sea otters consists mainly of shellfish, crabs and sea urchins, which have a fairly hard shell, animals often use sharp stones as a can opener to open them.

The beauty of the Commander Islands is harsh and not everyone will like it. However, there were even more people wishing to visit this region than one might expect. Pictured is Medny Island

general information

Full name: Komandorsky State Natural Biosphere Reserve named after V.I. S. V. Markova.
IUCN category: la (strict natural reserve).
Date of foundation: April 23, 1993.
Region: Kamchatka region, Aleutsky district.
Area: 3 648679 ha.
Terrain: mountainous.
Climate: subarctic.
Official site: http://komandorsky.ru/.
Email: [email protected], [email protected]

History

The Commander Islands got their name in honor of Captain-Commander Vitus Bering. In the 18th century, the leader of two Kamchatka expeditions, Vitus Bering, together with members of the crew of the St. Peter packet boat, bravely fought for life for nine months, but still died of scurvy. In memory of this, a large iron cross and a tombstone were installed in Bering Bay.

During the years of Tsarist Russia, the Commander Islands were one of the main suppliers of furs. Fur fever almost completely killed fur seals and sea otters; only at the end of the 19th century were some restrictions on fishing introduced, and in 1911 the extraction of fur seals was completely banned. During the Soviet period, the authorities became more attentive to the natural resources of the Commanders, banning fishing around the islands in 1958. In 1980, a reserve was created, which 13 years later was transformed into the State Natural Reserve of Federal Importance Komandorsky. Since 2002, the Commander Reserve has been part of the UNESCO World Network of Biosphere Reserves.

Vegetable world

The flora of the reserve includes 383 species of higher vascular plants and 158 species of algae. Interestingly, the eastern border of the distribution of 93 plant species passes through the Commander Islands. There are absolutely no forests here. At any height and at any point of the Commanders, the same type of landscape prevails - the tundra. Occasionally there are thickets of shrub willows (Salix alaxensis) and mountain ash (Sorbus sambucifolia). Under the shrubs grow Swedish sod (Chamaeperic lymenum suecicum), black crowberry (Empetrurn nigrum), lying luazeleria (Loiseleuria procumbens), Aleutian and blue phyllodoce (Phyllodoce aleutica and P. caerulea).

Among the forbs in the reserve, you can often find anemone anemone (Anemone narcissiflora), viviparous serpentine (Bistorta vivipara), three-leafed coptis (Coptis trifolia), wintering horsetail (Equisetum hyemale), winding meadow grass (Lerchenfeldia flexuosa), meringia lateral flower (Moehringia lateriflora), false gravilate marigold (Parageum calthifolium).

The graceful multi-flowered anemone suffers greatly because of its own beauty. The flowers of this plant are often cut off for bouquets, despite the fact that it is poisonous.

There are also other shrubs here: Siberian juniper (Juniperus sibirica), edible honeysuckle (Lonicera caerulea) and dogrose (Rosa amblyotis).

Long-awned sedge (Carex macrochaeta), spiny sedge (Dactylorhiza aristata), field horsetail (Equisetum arvense), downy-flowered geranium (Geranium erianthum), bristly iris (Iris setosa), winding meadow grass (Lerchenfeldia flexuosa), pseudogravilate marigold leaf (Parageum calthifolium) grow in the meadows ), soft-flowered bluegrass (Poa malacantha).

As you have already noticed, several types of horsetails grow in the Commander Reserve. Translated from the Latin "horsetail" means "horse tail". Indeed, the shoot of an adult plant looks like a fluffy tail of a horse.

Animal world

The fauna of the Commander Islands includes 25 species of mammals, 213 species of birds and 25 species of fish. There are only six species of land mammals. These are the Mednovian blue fox (Alopex lagopus semenovi), gray rat (Rattus norvegicus), house mouse (Mus mus-culus), red-backed vole (Clethrionomys rutilus), American mink (Neovison vison) and reindeer (Rangifer tarandus).

The reserve has protected large rookeries of marine animals: sea lions (Eumetopias jubatus), which are listed in the Red Book of Russia, and northern fur seals (Callorhinus ursinus). Fur seals and sea lions often form joint rookeries, or haulouts, - clusters of many thousands on the coast.

Since the main part of the reserve falls on the water area, the majority of the fauna lives in the water. These are the commander's belt-toothed whale (Mesoplodon stenegeri), the humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae), the northern blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus) and others.

A rare endemic population of the Commander (Mednovsky) blue fox (Alopex lagopus semenovi), or polar fox, is also protected on the Commanders. The life of these animals is not easy, full of dangers and desperate struggle. About 40% of blue fox puppies die. Some fall off the cliffs, others fall prey to larger predators.

About a million birds, which belong to 19 species, constantly nest on the Commander Islands. Most of all here are fulmars (Fulmarus glacialis), slender-billed guillemots (Uria aalge), common guillemots (Cepphus grylle), piatkoks (Fratercula corniculata) and puffins (Lunda cirrhata). Silly people got their name for their gullibility: they are practically not afraid of a person. But hatchets, or puffins, are named so because of the peculiar shape of the beak, reminiscent of a hatchet. They are also called sea parrots. The fact is that during the mating season, the already unusual color of these birds becomes even more outlandish. In search of food, puffins can dive to a depth of 10 m and remain under water for up to two minutes. These birds catch fish without releasing the ones already caught, and can simultaneously hold up to 10-12 fish in their beak.

Reserve mode

The Commander Islands are very popular among tourists. Due to the harsh specifics of the nature of these places, the most favorable months for visiting the Commander Reserve are July, August and September. Today, two ecological routes have been developed in the reserve: "Introduction to the flora and fauna of Bering Island" and "The Aleutian Trail of Medny Island". You can get a separate pass to visit the rookeries of marine mammals.

How to get there

There are three ways to get to the Commander Islands: by plane, helicopter or by sea. The distance from Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky to Bering Island is 735 km. Sea tours to Komandory are organized constantly. More detailed information can be obtained from the management of the reserve.

Where to stay

You can stay overnight in the village of Nikolskoe. Often the organizers of water tours on the Commanders offer tourists accommodation for the night in the cabins of ships.