Name: George Sedov

Age: 36 years

Place of Birth: Sedovo

A place of death: Rudolf Island

Activity: polar explorer, hydrographer

Family status: was married

Georgy Sedov - biography

Ships are named after Georgy Sedov, schools, the streets of our cities and many geographical objects. At the same time, the captain did not even reach that point of northern latitude, from which other conquerors of the North Pole only began their journey. He died after walking only two hundred kilometers towards the pole, which the same has long been discovered by others.

He lies tied to the sled. Exhausted, hungry dogs drag these sleds to the North Pole. Sedov is near death and already knows about it, but he is not going to retreat from his intended goal. He himself can no longer walk, so the sledges are driven by his two companions, who have long lost faith in the successful outcome of this crazy expedition. The Pole is still a few months away through the snowy desert, and fuel and food are already running out. Only a madman in these conditions would continue on his way forward. But all proposals to turn back are severely suppressed by the captain.

His companions begin to suspect that he has gone mad. In one hand, he convulsively clutches a compass, the arrow of which points strictly to the north, and in the other, a revolver, in case the sailors arbitrarily turn south. From time to time, the captain loses consciousness, and then a bad thought creeps into the heads of his companions: the captain’s body can be fed to the dogs, and then they themselves can safely return home ...

Biographers who are inclined to debunk the myths of the Soviet era describe the finale of Georgy Sedov's expedition to the North Pole in approximately this way. But what really happened in February 1914 at 82 degrees north latitude? And why did Sedov, and not the other "two captains" - Georgy Brusilov and Vladimir Rusanov, whose Arctic expeditions started simultaneously with Sedov's, but had even more tragic endings, remain a hero in history?

It is not difficult to answer the second question - the main factor in the glorification of Georgy Sedov in Soviet time was his proletarian origin. The future polar explorer was born into a poor and large family on the Krivaya Kosa farm (today it is the village of Sedovo), located on the shores of the Sea of ​​\u200b\u200bAzov.

Sedov's father was a fisherman, involving young sons in this business. Mother worked as a laundress for rich villagers. In addition to George, the family had eight more children. According to Sedov, their father drank heavily, beat his wife, and sometimes disappeared for years. To feed themselves, the children had to beg in neighboring villages and even steal.

Until the age of fourteen, Sedov was illiterate. This fact, as well as his "low" origin, he was never shy and even indicated it in his autobiography. When a parochial school was opened in Krivoy Kos, George begged his parents to let him study there and soon became one of the best students and even an unofficial teacher's assistant.

After graduating with a certificate of merit from three classes of school in two years, sixteen-year-old George entered the position of a housekeeper in one of the local offices, and soon became a clerk in a large store, where he received a good salary: 10 rubles a month. Former playmates looked at him with envy. But Sedov himself understood that this was only the beginning: “I served for a year, and the next I get a salary increase, my parents are delighted. But it was not there. Something new was born in my head: I want to study, study and study.

From one of the captains who delivered a load of salt to the store, Sedov learned that in Rostov-on-Don there are sailing classes where you can study for free, you only need to work as a sailor on a ship for a few months before that. He shared his plans with his parents, but they categorically refused to let him go “out there to trample”. And on a May night in 1894, Georgy, having pulled out his documents from his parent's chest, secretly runs to Rostov to become a sailor.

Two years later, he successfully passes the exam for a coastal navigation navigator, and a year later he receives a diploma as a long-distance navigation navigator. Now his main goal is scientific expeditions. But to be able to participate in them, you need to be a military man. And he goes to Sevastopol, where he enters military service. In 1901, he externally passed the final exams in the St. Petersburg Naval Cadet Corps and in the spring of 1902 entered the service in the Main Hydrographic Directorate at the Admiralty. And almost immediately he takes part in his first scientific expedition to the Novaya Zemlya region. Next year is a new journey. Now as an assistant to the head of the expedition to the Kara Sea region.

Then there was the Russo-Japanese War, during which Sedov commanded a destroyer in the Amur Bay. For participation in this war, he received the Order of St. Stanislaus, 3rd degree. In 1908, he studied the Caspian Sea, in 1909 he explored the mouth of the Kolyma, and in 1910, with his direct participation, the village of Olginsky on Novaya Zemlya was founded. In the same year, on the recommendation of Semenov-Tyan-Shansky, he was accepted into the Russian Geographical Society.

Georgy Sedov - biography of personal life

In 1910, Sedov got married and married Vera Valeryanovna Mai-Maevskaya, for whom every page of his future polar diaries was filled with love. But here comes a black streak in his previously brilliant career. Colleagues have always been dismissive of "this upstart from nowhere." Sedov joked that he was almost the only officer in the entire Russian fleet who did not have nobility. While he is on expeditions, this is not noticeable, but as soon as he returns to the capital, injections literally pour from all sides.

And, of course, he, the "hillbilly", cannot be forgiven for marrying the general's niece (Sedov's wife was the niece of General Mai-Maevsky, in the future - a prominent figure in the White movement). In the Admiralty, intrigues and undercover games begin around his person, as a result of which Senior Lieutenant Sedov is removed from the hydrographic expedition carefully prepared by him to the little-explored eastern seas of the Arctic and sent once again to the Caspian, studied far and wide, from where he writes to his wife:

“... Under the pressure of injustice and resentment, I can stop controlling myself and do something that will seriously affect our fate. Although I try with all my might to give room to prudence and paralyze obsessive thoughts of offense ... Now I won’t be able to go at all in the fleet, even if I were a golden man, but I’m not used to being offended and I don’t let anyone offend.

And then Georgy Sedov, driven by wounded pride, sets himself the main goal of his life: he decides to go to the North Pole. Nothing that the Americans Frederick Cook and Robert Peary have already been there. Sedov formulates his task in this way: the discovery of the North Pole by a Russian sailor.

In a memo sent on March 9, 1912 to his superiors at the Main Hydrographic Directorate, he writes: "We will prove to the whole world that the Russians are capable of this feat."

Sedov certainly wanted to sail in the summer of 1912. It is possible that pragmatic reasons were also involved here: in 1913, the tercentenary of the Romanov dynasty will be celebrated. The Russian flag at the North Pole will become a good gift sovereign. Needless to say, what opportunities this opens up! Yes, and ill-wishers with intriguers will calm down.

The expedition was prepared in a terrible hurry. Officials either promised state support or denied it. Heated discussions about the expediency of the expedition to the North Pole unfolded on the pages of the press. Journalist of "New Time" M.O. Menshikov wrote: “I don’t know Sedov, and no one knows. If this is a private enterprise, we wish it success, but if it is a national one, if the State Duma gives money, then other bosses, more respectable ones, must be found.

He was answered by a well-known explorer of the Arctic, General A.I. Varnek, under whose command Sedov sailed the Kara Sea: “One name is G.Ya. Sedov, whom I have known for a long time as a hardy and energetic researcher, gives me the right to hope that his enterprise, dear to the Russian national feeling, will be crowned with success... great danger among polar ice, my choice fell on him, and he carried out these assignments with full energy, the necessary caution and knowledge of the matter.

And yet, Sedov's idea did not find state support. A specially created commission came to the conclusion that Sedov's calculations were far from reality. Then he made an appeal to the public. With the support of the famous publisher Mikhail Suvorin, the Sedov Committee was created, which organized the collection of funds for the expedition. Among the donors were simple people, and famous people: the Norwegian polar explorer Fridtjof Nansen, the singer Fyodor Chaliapin .... Nicholas II himself allocated ten thousand rubles. But all the same, there was a catastrophic lack of money, and then Suvorin issued a loan to Sedov from his own funds, hoping to cover the costs through future exclusive reports.

Now Sedov was leaving for the Pole as a debtor, and without a victory it was impossible for him to return. True, the hydrographic department, in which Sedov served, nevertheless went forward: he was granted a leave of absence for two years with the preservation of the content. Sedov made his last trip to his homeland, to Krivaya Kosa, to say goodbye to his elderly parents, brothers and sisters, and then went to Arkhangelsk, to equip the chartered ship "Holy Martyr Fock" and recruit a crew.

Sedov outlined the plan of his expedition in an interview with the Elisavetgradskiye Novosti newspaper dated July 10, 1912: “From Franz Josef Land, from the Teplitz Bay, where St. Fock" by August 15 of this year, I propose to head for the pole not earlier than March 1 next year, because until then night will reign there. I take with me 60 dogs, 4 skiffs loaded with tools, sleds, skis and provisions. I expect to go all the way from Joseph Land to the Pole in 83 days, making an average of 10 versts a day, and if everything goes smoothly, I will reach the Pole on May 26, 1913. I will stay there for a day or two and also put 83 days on the way back. Thus, with a favorable course of affairs, already on the 20th of August 1913, I will return to the members of the expedition that I left on Joseph Land and by the same time will come to Teplitz Bay and St. Foca.

Sedov intended to go to the Pole in a group of four. The rest of the expedition was to remain on Franz Josef Land for scientific work and wait for the return of the pole party. After a chaotic collection and a struggle with the port administration, which made demands one more absurd than the other (for example, refused to release the ship until the port of destination was named), the expedition left Arkhangelsk. It was already August 15th. Nearing the end of navigation. But on August 15, Sedov supposed to be already in Teplitz Bay. Plans fell apart before our eyes.

It was out of the question to reach Franz Josef Land this year. The Foka barely made it through the ice to Novaya Zemlya, where it stopped for the winter. On the way, in the village of Olginsky, founded several years ago by Sedov himself, five extra sailors were decommissioned from the ship. There were 17 people on board. In the course of the voyage, shortages of equipment were discovered, and many products were damaged. The caretaker and veterinarian Pavel Kushakov wrote in his diary: “We were looking all the time for lanterns, lamps - but we didn’t find anything. They also did not find a single kettle, not a single camping pan. Sedov says that all this was ordered, but, in all likelihood, not sent ... The corned beef turns out to be rotten, it cannot be eaten at all. When you cook it, there is such a putrid smell in the cabins that we all have to run away. The cod turned out to be rotten too.”

Most of the dogs, especially those bought in Arkhangelsk, were not adapted to the conditions of the Far North and soon died from the cold. Interestingly, the supplier of these dogs was a certain von Vyshimirsky, whose name Veniamin Kaverin took for the dishonest supplier of the expedition, Captain Tatarinov, in the novel "Two Captains".

During the wintering of 1912-1913, several sledge trips were made across Novaya Zemlya. Sedov himself, with the sailor Inyutin, circled the archipelago from the north in two months, filling in the last blank spots on his map. This expedition showed that the captain himself, and his companions, and even the remaining dogs are in excellent shape. If the Foka had managed to reach Franz Josef Land this year, the pole would no doubt have been conquered. But let's be realistic...

All other members of the expedition turned out to be realists as well. On August 21, 1913, the Saint Foka escaped from the ice captivity, but as soon as the ship entered the open water, the officers submitted a report to Sedov that they all considered it necessary to interrupt the expedition and head south. Sedov read it with a pale face, and then retired to his cabin.

With an incredible effort of will, he managed to peacefully suppress this "rebellion on the ship." "Saint Foka" continued its journey to the north, but this did not add to the sympathy of the team for Sedov. Soon the ship was again surrounded by ice, and on September 8, 1913, he stood for the second wintering at the southern tip of Franz Josef Land in the bay, which was called Tikhaya. To the pole - about a thousand kilometers. Too much...

The second wintering was much more severe than the first. From monotonous food, people began to get sick. Everyone's thoughts were only about a speedy return. And only one Sedov rushed further, to the north. But his health also deteriorated greatly. He did not leave his cabin for several days, remaining in bed. With the naked eye, it was clear that the captain was beginning to have scurvy. And the veterinarian Kushakov, Sedov's deputy for the economic department, kept repeating one thing: just a slight bronchitis and an exacerbation of rheumatism. It seemed that he specifically wanted to send Sedov off the ship in order to remain the sovereign master on it himself.

A gloomy atmosphere reigned in the winter hut. Even Sedov's closest friend, the artist Pi-negin, doubted the success of the campaign to the Pole. Here is what he wrote in his diary five days before parting with the captain: “Sedov's attempt is insane. Walk almost 2000 kilometers in five and a half months without intermediate depots with provisions designed for five months for people and two and a half for dogs? However, if Sedov were healthy, as he was last year, with such good fellows as Linnik and Pustomny, on tested dogs, he could reach a great latitude.

Sedov is a fanatic of achievements, unparalleledly persistent. It has a vital trait: the ability to adapt and find a way where another situation seems hopeless. We would not be especially worried about the fate of the leader - if he were completely healthy. His plans are always calculated for a feat; for a feat, strength is needed - now Sedov himself does not know their exact measure .. Everyone participates in the last training camp, but the majority cannot help but see what outcome can be expected. And yet no one can interfere with Sedov's decision to start a fight. There is something that organized our enterprise: this something is the will of Sedov.

It can only be countered by rebellion. But who will take the responsibility to assert that Sedov's forces do not correspond to his enterprise? Some of the members of the expedition even offered to tie Sedov or lock him up in a cabin, so as not to let him go to certain death. It was said that scientific observations and research carried out by members of the expedition during two winterings were in themselves excellent results, that a trip to the Pole was impossible under these conditions. In a one-on-one conversation, Pi-negin told Sedov about the mood in the team, that going further north was suicide, suggested that Sedov at least postpone the exit for a couple of weeks until he finally recovered. Sedov replied: "Of course, I see all the obstacles, but I believe in my star."

Some time after the death of Sedov, the geographer of the expedition, Vladimir Vize, reflecting on the reasons that prompted their captain to this suicidal campaign, wrote in his diary: “Sedov was quite clearly aware that his return to Russia without a serious attempt to reach the pole would be tantamount to moral death for him . There is no return to his homeland - his enemies are waiting there, who will close all doors in front of him and forever put an end to all dreams of the great work of a researcher, a sailor, and Sedov devoted his whole life to this work. Returning to Russia meant for Sedov to turn from a brave and honest sailor into a laughingstock for the "white bone".

Therefore, Sedov saw no other way out than to go to the Pole, even if it was tantamount to suicide. It was impossible to break this will, which chose the first between death and disgrace. So, on Sunday, February 2, 1914, Georgy Sedov, accompanied by two sailors - Grigory Linnik and Alexander Pustoshny - set off on three sleds to conquer the North Pole. The sailors were volunteers. What made them go along with Sedov towards certain death? Or was Sedov's moral strength so great that he not only believed in his own star, but also forced others to believe?! Even such grated rolls as Linnik.

Here is what the Arkhangelsk newspaper wrote about Grigory Linnik, introducing to its readers the members of the expedition on the eve of its departure from Arkhangelsk: “G.V. Linnik - 26 years old, sailor, from the Poltava province, tall blond with weak vegetation; a man who has seen the sights. Linnik sailed the Black Sea and the Far East, visited Sakhalin, participated in a gold mining expedition to the Lena River, studied English and Chinese in the Far East. Passionate about travel. He is the only member of the expedition who knows the handling of draft dogs."

Alexander Pustotny was only 21 years old. Such in the Navy are called "salagas". He had just graduated from the pilot school in Arkhangelsk, and he had not yet had any special achievements in life, so the newspaper did not write anything about him. ... At ten in the morning, a prayer service was served on the ship, Sedov delivered a speech, during which he almost burst into tears. Many members of the team also shed tears. It is documented: “I am not as strong as I need to be and as I would like to be at this crucial moment ... But I ask: do not worry about our fate. If I am weak, my companions are strong.

We will not give in to polar nature for free. It is not the state of health that worries me most of all, but something else: a performance without the means I expected. Today is a great day for us and for Russia. But is it really necessary to go to the pole with such equipment? Instead of sixty dogs, we have twenty-four, the clothes are worn out, the provisions are exhausted by work on Novaya Zemlya, and we ourselves are not as strong in health as we should be. All this, of course, will not prevent us from fulfilling our duty. I believe that the pole party will return safely, and we, as a close family, happy with the consciousness of a fulfilled duty, will return to our homeland. I want to tell you not goodbye, but goodbye!”

The last photos were taken. The whole healthy team and officers followed the sledges for several miles, seeing off their captain, and soon three people and 24 dogs were left alone with white silence. And Sedov, and Linnik, and even the "salaga" Pustotny kept diaries during their short trip. It is these records that today are the only evidence of further tragedy.

The first few days passed more or less normally, despite the strong headwind, solid hummocks and temperatures below minus forty. During the trip to Novaya Zemlya a year ago, it was even worse! But soon Sedov began to suffer from shortness of breath, his gums were bleeding and his legs were swollen, he could not walk on his own. Still, it was scurvy. He had to be put in a sleeping bag and tied to a sled. At night, he was chilly, so the kerosene stove, designed for several minutes of work a day, burned constantly, and the fuel was consumed at a frantic pace. Linnik and Pustotny rubbed the patient's chest and legs with alcohol hourly.

It was supposed to replenish fuel supplies and heal the captain in Teplitz Bay, a bay on the island of Rudolf, where the Italian expedition of the Duke of Abruzzo had left a winter hut and some supplies a few years before. But it was still a few days to Teplitz Bay, and it’s not a fact that the Italians left exactly what they needed there, and Sedov was getting worse and worse every day. He began to lose consciousness, and the sailors began to bleed from their nose and throat from hard work. The first-aid kit given to them by “doctor” Kushakov contained only bandages, Vaseline, eye drops, and headache powder.

As a medicine, Sedov added a little cognac to his tea, which, according to a contract with suppliers, had to be drunk at the pole. But it didn't help much. Soon Sedov began to refuse food. It was no longer good enough. Linnik and Pustotny, at first with hints, and then more and more openly and persistently, began to offer Sedov to return back, but he stopped any talk of returning: “We are going strictly to the north. In Teplitz Bay I will get better in a week!” But when he lost consciousness, he muttered in delirium: “Everything is lost, everything is lost ...”

They haven't gone anywhere for the last three days. Sedov's agony began. He groaned terribly and almost never regained consciousness. On February 20, at about three o'clock in the afternoon, he uttered his last words: “My God, my God ... Linnik, support!” And he died in the arms of the latter. “Fear and pity, which at that moment took possession of me, will never be erased from my memory in my life,” Linnik later wrote in his diary. - Pitying in my soul a loved one, the second father - the boss, for about fifteen minutes I and the Void looked at each other in silence, then I took off my hat, crossed myself and, taking out a clean handkerchief, closed my boss's eyes.

Once in my life at that moment I did not know what to do or even feel, but I began to tremble with inexplicable fear. It was crazy to despair, and when the creepiness of the first impression gradually began to fade, I ordered the Wasteland to get fur suits for both of us and immediately put out the stove, as we were running out of kerosene. The sailors decided to return to the ship. Throwing two sleds right on the ice and most food and equipment (as you can see, the version of hunger disappears), they reached the nearest shore (it was Cape Auk on Rudolf Island) and buried the body of their captain, filling it with stones and putting a flag in the grave, which Sedov was going to hoist at the North Pole.

A cross made from Sedov's skis was placed over the grave. Two weeks later they came out to the St. Fock, frostbitten and barely alive. The last four days there was nothing to heat the tent, almost all the fuel was used up during the captain's illness. Of the 24 dogs, 14 survived. And even those were barely alive. It is terrible to imagine what would have happened to the expedition if, in accordance with the will of Sedov, it had continued to move towards the Pole ...

At the end of the winter, Foka returned to Arkhangelsk, however, for this it was necessary to burn all the deck superstructures. Linnik and Pustoshny were arrested on suspicion of killing Sedov, which is why rumors spread around Arkhangelsk that they had either eaten him themselves or fed him to dogs. But after conducting cross-examinations and studying Sedov's diary, the sailors were acquitted. However, everyone, including the capital's "Sedov Committee", did not care about Sedov's expedition: the First World War, and reports from the front ousted news from the newspaper editorials about both the death of Sedov and the return of "Saint Foka" ... Nobody needed the expedition's scientific materials either, and its property was sold at auction for a pittance. ...

In 1938, employees of the Soviet air base on Rudolf Island found the remains of skis, a flag, fur clothes, a hatchet-hammer and a flagpole. On the flagpole you could make out the words: “Polar Expedit. Sedow 1914". The captain's remains were nowhere to be found. Polar bears are to blame or is it the notorious "human factor", we will not know this anymore.

And the flagpole from the grave of Sedov still visited the North Pole. When on August 17, 1977, the Soviet nuclear-powered icebreaker Arktika reached the place where Sedov was so eager, the state flag of the USSR was installed there, mounted on a flagpole found at Cape Auk.

P.S. Starting to collect material for this article, I was almost sure of Sedov's insanity. How could it be possible not to notice the obvious things and so furiously go towards your death and, moreover, lead other people to their deaths? But as I studied documents and other people's memories of him, a powerful, calm and reliable bulk of this man stood up in front of me. A person faced with insurmountable circumstances. Not panicking, not compromising, but able to accept these insurmountable circumstances and even try to overcome them. So the captain, having met the deadly pressure of a white squall in the ocean, directs his ship directly towards the storm, because he simply has no other choice.

The name of Georgy Sedov is known to most Soviet travelers. The first Russian citizen who set a goal to conquer the North Pole immortalized his name in textbooks. A modest but ambitious village boy became famous all over the world, despite the tragic ending of the expedition he undertook.

Having traveled only 200 km in the direction of a given point, to which other pioneers had already reached at that time, the brave explorer died. But this act was noted as a feat. Geographical objects, ships, streets, educational institutions are named after Sedov today.

Childhood and youth

The biography of Georgy Sedov is interesting. The youngest son in a family with 9 children was born on May 5, 1877 on the Krivaya Kosa farm in the Donetsk region. The boy's father was a fisherman and did not always have the opportunity to feed his family. Mother worked as a laundress. Lack of money, father's drunkenness and spree, lasting for years, prompted George and his five brothers to be hired as workers by the local rich.

Children worked for pennies, getting their own food. There was no need to talk about getting an education in such a situation. Sedov learned to read only at the age of 14. This happened due to the decision of the parents to send the teenager to the parochial school, recently opened in the village. It was there that his extraordinary abilities were revealed.

After 2 years, Georgy had a certificate of merit in his hands, issued for the development of a 3-year program. The guy learned to read and write, but this did not contribute to his development. No one canceled the need to work hard and hard. At first he was a key keeper in an office, then a clerk in a store.

In life, prospects were outlined, but they were not enough for George. Reading became an outlet for Sedov. Having learned about various states and countries, he cherished the dream of becoming a sea captain. His idea was not to the liking of his parents, and more like a fantasy. Perseverance helped achieve the goal.

In 1894, secretly from his relatives, the guy went to Rostov-on-Don to enroll in seafaring courses. Anyone who had previously worked as a sailor could receive an education on them for free.

The first ship on which the young man went to sea was the steamer Trud, which sailed along the Azov and Black Seas. So Georgy Sedov got his first experience of walking on a ship. After 2 years, he passed the exam for a coastal navigator, and a year later he became a long-distance navigator. Now he dreamed of expeditions.

Participation in such projects required military service. To do this, Sedov went to Sevastopol and in 1901 passed the final exams in the Naval Cadet Corps as an external student. Getting a specialized education instilled confidence in a talented young man. He acquired the necessary skills on the ships "Berezan" and "Sultan".

Expeditions and scientific activity

Since 1902, Georgy Sedov worked as a hydrograph in the administration of the Admiralty. The received rank of lieutenant, as well as a cover letter from Rear Admiral Anatoly Drizhenko, inspector of seafaring courses, played a role. Now the way to research activities was opened.

In the same year, the forwarder became a member of a trip to the Arctic Ocean, visited the Vaigach Islands. The soul of a novice researcher longed for discoveries and the study of geography in practice. In April of the same year, on the Pakhtusov ship, Sedov explored the shores of Novaya Zemlya and the Kara Sea.

Acquaintance with the captain of the ship "America" ​​Anthony Fiala provoked the idea of ​​\u200b\u200bconquering the North Pole. The Russo-Japanese War became an obstacle to overcoming new latitudes. Service in the Siberian flotilla and participation in hostilities took a long time.

At the end of the battles, Sedov turned out to be an assistant to the pilot in the fortress in Nikolaevsk-on-Amur. For another 2 years, Sedov was in the Pacific Ocean, doing scientific activity. Thanks to this, the articles “The Northern Ocean Route” and “The Significance of the Northern Ocean Route for Russia” saw the light.

In 1908, Sedov participated in an expedition to the Caspian Sea, and in 1909 he studied the mouth of the Kolyma River. His research work was evaluated by the Academy of Sciences. Georgy Sedov was recognized as a member of the Russian Geographical Society.

A native of an ordinary Russian village, he received the Order of St. Stanislav, 3rd degree, as a reward for merit. His contribution to the optimization of navigation on the Amur was appreciated by the higher authorities. During this period, Lieutenant Georgy Sedov became the spouse of Vera Mai-Maevskaya. social status wives from high society opened the door to the world for a naval sailor.

A biased attitude was now seen by Sedov from any interlocutor, because it seemed to him that those around him neglected his origin. The pride of a man suffered more and more often and thus provoked rash actions and adventures.

The adventure that Sedov ventured into was a journey to conquer the North Pole. Since 1912, preparations have been made for the expedition. Sedov could not be the discoverer, since at that time two American travelers had already visited this point. The trip became a challenge to himself and to society, which, in the opinion of the forwarder, did not want to accept it.

In 1913, it was planned to hold a number of ceremonial events in honor of the 300th anniversary of the Romanov dynasty. Sedov considered the installation of the Russian flag at the extreme point of the North an ideal gift to the sovereign. In order to win fame and prestige, one had to hurry: there was little time left to conquer the icy lands.

Georgy Sedov with the crew of the research vessel

Sedov began to seek funding for the project through the Main Hydrographic Directorate and the Council of Ministers. The request was denied. Haste, lack of technical resources and proper training made scientists and officials doubt Sedov's idea. He regarded it as arrogance.

Sports interest has replaced the zeal for research activities. The energetic adventurer appealed to the public through the Novoye Vremya newspaper and received the necessary financial assistance. Even the emperor donated 10 thousand rubles to the project, which amounted to 20% of all contributions.

Georgy Sedov at the North Pole

Georgy Sedov purchased the Saint Great Martyr Foka sailing and steam vessel and hastily started repairs. The hydrograph was accompanied by geographer Vladimir Vize and explorer Georgy Brusilov. Gathering a crew became a problem, as was finding sled dogs. The place of the latter was taken by the Arkhangelsk mongrels caught in the city. The small carrying capacity of the schooner regulated the restriction on food supplies.

On August 14, 1912, the ship left the port of Arkhangelsk and set off to sea. For 2 years the crew resisted the waves and wintered among the ice in the polar night. The first wintering took place near Novaya Zemlya. Travelers made maps and described the coast they saw.

The results of the research were sent to the Geographical Society of St. Petersburg along with a request for reinforcements in the form of provisions. Every day the living conditions became more and more severe. The lack of radio communication made the position of the sailors disastrous. Supplies were not sent to travelers, as they were considered dead.

The second wintering took place off the coast of Franz Josef Land in the Quiet Bay. During this period, the team began to suffer from scurvy. In February 1914, the infected Sedov, with two sailors, made a sortie in an attempt to reach the North Pole and died during the campaign.

Personal life

In 1910, Georgy Sedov married the general's niece, Vera Mai-Maevskaya. Love broke out between the young people, but in society it was rumored that the position of the wife was convenient for Sedov. His career at this point began to decline, and the assumption seemed plausible.

The researcher was one of the few officers who did not have nobility. Any appearance in the world was associated with mentions of this. A happy personal life was overshadowed by intrigues in the service. He seemed to be deliberately removed from interesting projects and tasks. Instead of an expedition to the unexplored eastern seas of the Arctic, the lieutenant was sent to the explored Caspian.

Death

Georgy Sedov met the last hours of his life by storming the North Pole. On February 2, 1914, he went out in his direction with a dog team and two escorts. Weakened by scurvy, Sedov felt a deterioration in his health, but did not give up. The researcher's plans for overcoming included 2 thousand km. Of these, only 200 km were covered.

According to the official version, the cause of death of the scientist was scurvy. Historians doubt what became of Sedov's body. According to one of the assumptions, he was buried in the ice, marking the grave with a cross made of skis. According to the second, the corpse of the commander was fed to hungry dogs so that they would not weaken and deliver the sailors back to the ship.

Memory

Now photos of the traveler and hydrograph Georgy Sedov are placed on the pages of textbooks. The achievements of the researcher were appreciated during his lifetime. The son of a simple fisherman became the owner of several awards, received the title of member of the Russian Geographical and Astronomical Society. Interesting Facts described by him formed the basis of Russian geography.

In honor of Georgy Sedov, an archipelago and a village, a glacier and a cape, an island in the Barents Sea, a cape in Antarctica, a peak and 2 bays on Novaya Zemlya are named. The embankment in Arkhangelsk, the nautical school in Rostov-on-Don and the streets in Soviet cities bear his name. In honor of the researcher, a hydrographic icebreaker, an icebreaking steamer and an Aeroflot aircraft were named.

In 1974, Boris Grigoriev made a film of the same name about Georgy Sedov, in which Igor Ledogorov played the main role.

Georgy Yakovlevich Sedov

Sedov Georgy Yakovlevich (1877-1914), Russian hydrographer, polar explorer. In 1912 he organized an expedition to the North Pole on the ship "St. Foca. Wintered on Nov. Land and Franz Josef Land. Tried to reach the Pole by dog ​​sled. Died near Fr. Rudolf.

Sedov Georgy Yakovlevich (1877-1914) - Russian military sailor, sea navigator, explorer of the Arctic.

In 1902-1903. participated in a hydrographic expedition to the North. Arctic Ocean. During the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905. commanded a destroyer. In 1909, he was the head of the expedition for the inventory of the Krestovaya Guba on Novaya Zemlya. In 1912, Mr.. put forward a draft sledge expedition to the North. Pole, but the tsarist government refused to finance it, and it was organized with private funds. On August 14 (27), 1912, the ship "Foka" left Arkhangelsk and stopped at Novaya Zemlya for the winter due to impenetrable ice. The expedition approached Franz Josef Land only in August 1913 and again wintered in Tikhaya Bay due to the lack of coal. On February 2 (15), 1914, G. Ya. Sedov, who fell ill with scurvy, with two sailors on three dog sleds, went to the North. pole. The expedition was terminated due to the death of G. Ya. Sedov, who did not reach Fr. Rudolf, where he was buried.

Orlov A.S., Georgiev N.G., Georgiev V.A. Historical dictionary. 2nd ed. M., 2012, p. 464.

Sedov Georgy Yakovlevich - polar explorer. In 1912 he organized an expedition to the North Pole on the ship "Saint Foka". Wintered on Novaya Zemlya and Franz Josef Land. Tried to reach the Pole by dog ​​sled. He died near Rudolf Island.

Sedov was born into the family of an Azov fisherman. Until the age of fourteen, he was illiterate, and then, in two years, he finished a three-year parochial school and ... ran away from home.

At twenty-one, Sedov received a diploma as a sea navigator, at twenty-four he passed the exam externally and was promoted to lieutenant in the Admiralty, sent to the hydrographic expedition of the Arctic Ocean. In expeditionary voyages he brilliantly proved himself.

During the Russo-Japanese War, he commanded destroyer No. 48, which was on guard duty in the Amur Bay. And in 1906 he was appointed assistant pilot of the Nikolaev-on-Amur fortress.

In 1908-1910, Sedov worked on an expedition to the Caspian Sea, then conducted a survey of the mouth of the river in Kolyma, and mapped Krestovaya Guba on Novaya Zemlya, where the Olginsky settlement was founded.

In 1912, he came up with the idea of ​​the First Russian Expedition to the North Pole: "...Amundsen wants to leave the honor of discovery for Norway and the North Pole at all costs. He wants to go in 1913, and we will go this year and prove to the whole world that the Russians are capable of this feat ... "Sedov was supported. He was granted a two-year leave with pay, from captains in the Admiralty, he was transferred to the fleet with the rank of senior lieutenant. However, soon a specially created commission under the Hydrographic Department sharply and in many respects rightly criticized the expedition plan. By 1912, Sedov had worked a lot and successfully in the North, but he did not know the winter Arctic, he had no experience of moving on drifting ice. This is where all the failures of his plan came from. In addition, in an effort to "get ahead" of Amundsen, Georgy Yakovlevich scheduled the expedition to leave on July 1. There was clearly not enough time for preparation.

At the end of May, Sedov prepared a new, revised plan for the expedition. But it also raised many questions. The commission rejected Sedov's plans. The emperor granted 10 thousand rubles, but the government refused to allocate money for the expedition.

A committee was set up to raise funds for the expedition, headed by newspaper publishers. On July 10, we managed to charter the ship "Saint Martyr Fock".

"Saint Foka", the ship of the Sedov expedition.

On August 27, at the Cathedral Pier of Arkhangelsk - a solemn farewell, a prayer service, champagne is pouring ...

According to the plan, "Fok" was supposed to deliver the Sedov detachment to Franz Josef Land and return to Arkhangelsk. However, due to the late exit, the plan failed. The ship was iced over off the northwestern coast of Novaya Zemlya.

This wintering was not easy: only the polar detachment was provided with warm clothes, many "little things" were missing. Due to the haste during the collection, no one even knew what was taken. Suppliers deceived Sedov - corned beef turned out to be rotten, like cod.

However, Sedov did not lose courage and even thought about going to the Pole from Novaya Zemlya. The members of the expedition carried out various observations and made several sledge trips, significantly refining the map of Novaya Zemlya. Sedov traveled about seven hundred kilometers with a survey and for the first time mapped the northern coast of the archipelago.

At the beginning of summer, five people, led by Captain N.P. Zakharov, went south to get to the nearest camp, and from there to Arkhangelsk. The ship was running out of coal. Sedov hoped that as early as the summer of 1913 the committee would be able to ensure the delivery of coal and other supplies to Franz Josef Land.

When Foka did not return in 1912, voices were heard in Russia calling for the organization of a rescue expedition. After all, there was no radio station on the Fok, and his fate remained unknown. They assumed the worst.

Sedov was determined at all costs to continue sailing to the shores of Franz Josef Land and from there to go to the pole. But the summer passed, and the ice still kept the ship in captivity, which during the winter Sedov renamed in honor of the editor of the Novoye Vremya newspaper. Now the ship was called "Mikhail Suvorin".

The expedition officers considered reaching Franz Josef Land very unlikely and urged Sedov to turn back. But Sedov led the ship forward! Tacked in heavy ice, burned logs, boards, old boxes in the furnace. And yet they made it through! For the second wintering, the ship stopped in Tikhaya Bay on Hooker Island. The polar night was approaching. Living conditions were extremely difficult. The rooms were barely heated, there was ice in the cabins, and blankets often froze to the bulkheads in the morning. Many products are already out of stock. In the selection of food rations, the haste in preparation and Sedov's lack of experience also affected.

Almost everyone was sick: the gums were bleeding, many complained of shortness of breath, of strange "rheumatic" pains, some could hardly move on swollen legs.

Despite everything, Sedov continued to prepare for the pole campaign. The exit was scheduled for February 15, 1914. Together with Sedov there were two sailors - G. Linnik and A. Pustoshny.

From Sedov's diary: "... We saw for the first time above the mountains the sweet, dear sun. Oh, how beautiful and good it is! At the sight of it, the whole world turned upside down in us. Hello to you, the most wonderful miracle of nature! tent, sick, dejected, at 82 ° north latitude! "The sailors buried Sedov on Rudolf Island, the northernmost island of our northernmost archipelago. Instead of a coffin - two canvas bags, at the head - a cross made of skis. They put a flag in the grave, which Sedov dreamed of hoisting at the pole.

On March 9, Linnik and Pustoshny set off on the return journey. There were 14 dogs in the team. Kerosene - for 5 brews. Saving fuel, they ate frozen fat, drank instead of tea cold water melting the snow with your breath. Five days later, the kerosene ran out.

In the evening, everyone gathered together. They read Sedov's diary, then Linnik talked about last days Serov.

An archipelago and an island, a cape and a peak, a strait, two bays, two bays are named after Sedov ... The village of Sedov (formerly Krivaya Kosa), where he was born and where the museum of Georgy Yakovlevich Sedov is open, is named after him. There is Sedova Street in Moscow and in many other cities and towns. Ships have been named after Sedov. Thus, the drift of the icebreaking ship "Georgy Sedov", which lasted 812 days, which crossed the Arctic Ocean, entered the history of polar travel.

Site materials used http://100top.ru/encyclopedia/

Georgy Sedov reads in the cabin of the ship "Holy Martyr Fock" off the coast of Novaya Zemlya.
Expedition to the North Pole. 1912
The author of the photo is unknown. The original is kept in the Russian Geographical Society.

Literature:

Belsky P. Three missing polar expeditions. "Around the World" No. 29, July 27, 1914, pp. 454-456.

"He was dying, squeezing the true compass ...".

Georgy Sedov, son of an Azov fisherman

Among the famous Russian navigators, the hydrographer and polar explorer Georgy Yakovlevich Sedov (1877-1914) is somehow less noticeable, or something. What is to blame, why the posthumous glory of the pioneer heroes develops differently - God knows. Maybe because he passed away as a very young man, at the turn of thirty-seven.

Georgy Yakovlevich Sedov

His, though somewhat adventurous, but high and beautiful, ambitious plan to conquer the North Pole and establish the superiority of Russia on it inspired many by 1912. Unfortunately he couldn't come true.

Land and family

Georgy Sedov was born on April 23 (May 5), 1877 in the family of an Azov fisherman, on the Krivaya Kosa farm (Region of the Don Army, now the village of Sedovo in the Novoazovsky district of the Donetsk region).

The family had four sons: Mikhail, Ivan, Vasily and George, as well as five daughters: Melania, Avdotya, Ekaterina, Maria and Anna. Father, Yakov Evteevich Sedov, was from the Poltava province and was engaged in fishing and sawing wood. When he went on a drinking binge, sometimes disappearing for a long time, he drank away his property and the Sedov family lived from hand to mouth, therefore, from the age of seven, little Yerka was forced to fish, go to day labor in the field. It became very bad to live after the father left the family for three years. Mother, Natalya Stepanovna, hired a day laborer ...

Until the age of fourteen, George was illiterate, but when his father returned, the young man completed all three classes of the parish school in two years and ran away from home.

Rear Admiral Alexander Kirillovich Drizhenko, an inspector of seafaring classes, helped Sedov to prepare for the exam in the Marine Corps, who sent the former student the program of the Marine Corps and literature, and also provided him with a letter of recommendation to his brother - F. K. Drizhenko.

Fedor Kirillovich Drizhenko

In 1901, Sedov appeared with a letter of recommendation to F. K. Drizhenko. N.V. Pinegin recalled: The scientist received Sedov affectionately and even forced him to settle in his house until he could enter the service. Drizhenko and his friend hydrographer Varnek helped overcome the obstacles that arose during the hassle of allowing a peasant son to take an exam for the course of the Naval Corps. Sedov said that his friends and patrons first achieved some kind of preliminary test ... He passed the official exam brilliantly and was promoted to lieutenant in the Admiralty ... On the advice of Drizhenko, Sedov entered the service in the Main Hydrographic Department.

Biographers claim that back in 1903 he first thought about reaching the North Pole, when he met members of the American Ziegler-Fiala expedition in Arkhangelsk.

Ziegler expedition

During the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905. G. Sedov commanded the destroyer No. 48, which was on guard duty in the Amur Bay. And in 1906 he became an assistant to the pilot of the Nikolaev-on-Amur fortress.

In 1908-1910. Sedov worked on an expedition to the Caspian Sea, then conducted a survey of the mouth of the river in Kolyma, and mapped Krestovaya Guba on Novaya Zemlya.

In the summer of 1910, before the expedition to Novaya Zemlya, Georgy Sedov married the niece of General VZ Mai-Maevsky, the ballerina of the Imperial Mariinsky Theater Vera Valeryanovna Mai-Maevskaya.

G.Ya.'s wedding Sedov

The navigator's wife recalled that, after returning from Novaya Zemlya, Sedov was obsessed with the idea of ​​a polar expedition. But again he was sent to the Caspian. And only on March 9 (22), 1912, he submitted a memorandum to the head of the Main Hydrographic Directorate, Lieutenant General A. I. Vilkitsky: “Hot impulses among the Russian people for the discovery of the North Pole were manifested even in the time of Lomonosov and have not faded to this day. Amundsen wants at all costs to leave the honor of discovery behind Norway and the North Pole. He wants to go to 1913, and we will go this year and prove to the whole world that the Russians are capable of this feat ... "

Andrei Ippolitovich Vilkitsky

“The blizzard roars like a bear again…”

Sedov was bold and patriotic. In 1912 he came up with the idea of ​​the First Russian Expedition to the North Pole. And although by this time the Americans Frederick Cook (1908) and Robert Peary (1909) had already visited the North Pole, the newspapers enthusiastically accepted the idea of ​​the first Russian expedition to the North Pole.

Frederick Albert Cook

Robert Edwin Peary

Sedov was supported by the head of the Main Hydrographic Department A. I. Vilkitsky, the Minister of Marine of Russia I. K. Grigorovich. Emperor Nicholas II was sympathetic to the plan of the expedition. Sedov was granted a two-year leave with pay, from captains in the Admiralty, he was transferred to the fleet with the rank of senior lieutenant.

G.Ya. Sedov

However, his bold project, which seemed to be addressed to the upcoming 300th anniversary of the Romanov dynasty in 1913, was justifiably and thoroughly criticized by a special commission under the Hydrographic Department. Sedov's Arctic winter experience was low, he had no experience of moving on drifting ice.

Expedition plan and its financing

Initially, the expedition involved government funding.

Having considered the plan presented by Sedov to reach the North Pole, the commission of the Main Hydrographic Department rejected it because of its absolute fantasy and unreality, and refused to allocate funds, although the commission included many specialists who were very sympathetic towards G. Ya. Sedov (for example, A. I. Varnek) and even F. K. Drizhenko, who openly patronized him.

A request for the allocation of 50 thousand rubles, sent to the State Duma on the initiative of the Russian National Party, was also refused.

With the support of F.K. Drizhenko, Sedov was granted a leave of absence for two years from preservation of content.

Sedov, with the active support of the Novoye Vremya newspaper and its co-owner M. A. Suvorin, organized the collection of voluntary donations for the needs of the expedition.

Mikhail Alekseevich Suvorin

Numerous publications in Novoye Vremya caused a great public outcry in Russia. A private contribution - in the amount of 10 thousand rubles - was also made by Emperor Nicholas II. Suvorin gave the expedition money on credit.

Expedition preparation

Much of the ordered equipment was not ready on time ... A team was hastily recruited, there were few professional sailors in it. Food was hastily purchased, and the Arkhangelsk merchants took advantage of the haste and slipped poor-quality products. Hastily in Arkhangelsk, dogs were bought at a greatly inflated price - simple mongrels. Fortunately, a pack of beautiful sled dogs, purchased in advance in Western Siberia, arrived in time.

Before the expedition left, some of its participants pointed out to Sedov the inappropriateness of including corned beef in the list of the main foodstuffs of the expedition. But Sedov was a stubborn man and did not refuse corned beef, referring to the fact that corned beef was always used in the navy and hydrographic expeditions.

The composition of the expedition

The final officers of the expedition were as follows:

G. Ya. Sedov - leader of the expedition

· Nikolai Petrovich Zakharov - the captain of the schooner.

Nikolai Maksimovich Sakharov - navigator.

· Janis Zanders (in some publications his Latvian name is Russified as Ivan Andreevich Zander) and Martins Zanders (Martyn Andreevich Zander) - the first mechanic and the second mechanic, brothers.

The ship was running out of coal. Sedov hoped that as early as the summer of 1913, the Committee for equipping expeditions to the North Pole and for the study of the Russian polar countries would be able to ensure the delivery of coal and other supplies to Franz Josef Land.

Meanwhile, when St. Foka, deprived of radio communications, did not return to the mainland in 1912, calls were immediately made in Russia for organizing a rescue expedition.

"Ice will solve the problem"

Must have been inspired by this thought of Nansen, which once struck him, Sedov was determined to continue sailing to the shores of Franz Josef Land at all costs and from there to go to the pole. But the summer passed, and the ship was still in ice captivity. It should be noted that by that time Sedov had renamed the ship "Mikhail Suvorin", in honor of the editor of the Novoye Vremya newspaper. Perhaps the ideologist of the expedition secretly hoped that the name change would change the fate of the ship.

When in September 1913 an east wind blew, and the ship, along with the ice, was carried away from the shore. The officers, exhausted by illness, starvation, severe weather conditions and truly hopelessness, immediately announced an ultimatum, almost a riot, urging Sedov to turn back.

But the head of the expedition refused and for several days practically did not leave the captain's bridge.

G.Ya. Sedov on the captain's bridge "St. Focks"

They maneuvered in heavy ice, burned logs, boards, old boxes in the firebox. And yet they got through. “It took a lot of work for the old decrepit ship to get to these latitudes, especially since on the way we met so much ice that no other expedition seems to have met ...” For the second wintering, the ship stopped in Tikhaya Bay on Hooker Island.

quiet bay

The polar night was approaching. Living conditions were extremely difficult this time. The rooms were barely heated, there was ice in the cabins, and blankets often froze to the bulkheads in the morning. Many products are already out of stock.

Rarely was it possible to obtain fresh meat. It was the turn of the half-rotten corned beef.

And if the first wintering went relatively well, then almost everyone in Tikhaya Bay was ill. Georgy Yakovlevich himself sometimes did not leave the cabin for whole days. “My legs are completely broken by rheumatism,” we read in his diary day after day. “I am still weak, coughing desperately ... I am experiencing some kind of painful condition ... Again my legs have caught a cold, again my shins hurt ... "

Despite the illness, despite the fact that even in the first winter most of the sled dogs died, Sedov continued to prepare for the pole campaign. Perhaps no one, with the exception of Sedov himself, no longer believed that there was a chance of success. The exit to the Pole was scheduled for February 2 (15), 1914.

With Sedov, two sailors went to the Pole - Grigory Vasilievich Linnik and Alexander Matveevich Pustoshny, a musher.

A.M. Pustoshny and G.V. Linnik

Georgy Yakovlevich Sedov

On the way south, the Mikhail Suvorin experienced a severe shortage of fuel for the steam engine. The crew had to chop furniture, deck superstructures and even bulkheads of the ship for firewood. The ship reached the Rynda fishing camp on Murman on August 15, 1914 in a dilapidated state. The members of the expedition made the further journey to Arkhangelsk on the regular passenger steamer "Emperor Nicholas II" - at the expense of the captain of the steamer, since none of the polar explorers had money. Upon their return to Arkhangelsk, sailors Linnik and Pustoshny were suspected of killing Sedov, but after an investigation they were released.

On August 23, 1914, a memorial service for the deceased G. Ya. Sedov was served in the Cathedral of the Transfiguration of the Savior of the All Guards, which was attended by his widow V. V. Sedova and Lieutenant General F. K. Drizhenko.

Sedov's last diary entries

Sunday, February 2 Mass was served at 10 o'clock. They read my orders, spoke speeches ... I, the doctor and many others shed tears.

Tuesday, 4 February. Today I take 4 dogs into the tent for the night: “Short”, “Boy”, “Pirate” and “Pan”. The wind is blowing all the time, it literally burns the face, and look, it will freeze your cheeks. Frost 36°. Wind is also very sensitive to dogs in the face; despite the work, they still freeze on the way, and there is nothing to say in the parking lot.

Saturday, February 15 I am terribly sick with disease. Violent bronchitis, sore throat and swollen legs. Lying all the time in a bag, a real martyr.

And this entry, made, as we now understand, shortly before his death, is piercing in its appeal to the sun:

Sunday, February 16 I'm sick as hell and I'm not good for anything. Today again they will rub my legs with alcohol. I eat only one compote and water, the soul does not take anything else. Of course, I would eat an egg, sour cream, fried chicken, even a cup of sauerkraut. But where is all this? We saw for the first time the sweet, native sun above the mountains. Oh, how beautiful and good it is! At the sight of him in us, the whole world turned upside down. Hello, most wonderful miracle of nature! Shine on our relatives at home, how we huddle in a tent, like sick, dejected, under 82 ° C latitude.

In the light of the tragedy, the last letter of the polar hero to his wife, Vera Mai-Maevskaya, will not leave the reader indifferent: “Dear, dear Verusya! ... In the event of my death, take care of yourself in the Maritime Department. Your icon and some of my things will be handed over to you ... So. Farewell, dear, I kiss you tightly, - your loving George.

Search for Sedov's expedition

By 1914, three Russian Arctic expeditions at once: G. Ya. Sedov, G. L. Brusilov and V. A. Rusanov were considered missing. On January 18, 1914, the Council of Ministers instructed the Naval Ministry to undertake a search for them. The Main Hydrographic Department organized several search expeditions.

Sverdrup reindeer under the leadership of N. A. Begichev.

Freed from the ice, the Eclipse reached the island of Solitude and in the fall of 1915 raised the Russian flag on it.

In memory of a pioneer

Today Sedovo is an urban-type settlement in the Novoazovsky district of the Donetsk region on Krivoy Kos, located 58 km from the famous Mariupol station. The settlement was founded in 1750 and until 1940 it was called Krivaya Kosa. The Soviet government, in perpetuating the memory of the famous native of this village (now its population is no more than 2,500 people), gave him the name of Sedov.

Let's take a quote from an article by Elena Buevich from Cherkassy "From the Crooked Spit to the North Pole" to help: "Small, dryish in the south, all in squat low-growing acacias, the village of Sedovo in September seems almost asleep. Along the wide, dusty road, an almost summer breeze drives the sign of a stormy holiday season - some kind of candy wrapper. Along the route - transparent, lifeless skeletons of metal structures. Quite recently, awnings were stretched here, music was playing in cafes, kebabs were blushing, and at lunchtime crowds of beachgoers with children and inflatable circles under their arm looked in here in search of catering benefits.

Now Sedovo is calm, empty and a little sad. But the traveler who came to the village in the fall, as well as anywhere else on earth, has something to see.

For example, the local museum over the sea, conceived in the form of a ship. In fact, it is the best monument of all to the feat of the pioneer of the Arctic, the legendary Georgy Yakovlevich Sedov. Yes, it is in honor of him that the Donetsk farm Krivaya Kosa was renamed. Here, in 1877, the famous Sedov was born, then simply Zhorka "Gray".

The current historical museum of Sedov is small, but full. How scrupulously and with what love the local exhibits were collected around the world! For example, a part of the plating and forging of the ship "Saint Martyr Fok", which took the expedition to the Pole, or a shovel found at the site of Sedov's death on Rudolf Island.

Historical Museum G.Ya. Sedov in his homeland in the village of Sedovo

And the items that were used in the Sedov family! She lived in a small daubed house under a reed roof (the layout shows): here is a net for catching fish, dishes, and a little further under the glass - the children's alphabet of those distant years, darkened from time to time. There is a map of Sedov's polar expedition to the North Pole, copies of invoices for voluntary donations for the purchase of dogs and food - the expedition was collected by all of Russia.

Nowadays, the archipelago and the island, the cape and the peak, the strait, two bays, two bays are named after Sedov ... Reference books report that the village of Sedovo, the hydrographic icebreaker Georgy Sedov, the icebreaking steamer Georgy Sedov and the bark are named after Georgy Sedov. Sedov, Rostov-on-Don of the Order of the Badge of Honor Nautical School, a glacier and a cape on Hooker Island (Franz Josef Land archipelago), an island in the Barents Sea, a cape in Antarctica, two bays and a peak on Novaya Zemlya, as well as streets in Dnepropetrovsk, Zaporozhye, Murmansk, Kazan, Kiev, Lipetsk, Moscow, Novosibirsk, Perm, Rostov-on-Don, St. Petersburg, Sevastopol, Severodvinsk, Tula, Kamyshin, Sedovo, Novoazovsk, avenue in Yekaterinburg.

Georgy Sedov became one of the prototypes of Ivan Tatarinov in the famous novel "Two Captains" by writer Veniamin Kaverin. While working on the novel, Kaverin consulted Nikolai Pinegin, Sedov's cousin, on geography and learned from him a lot of information from the biography of the pioneer, which was included in the novel.

A feature historical-biographical film "Georgy Sedov" was also shot (script by S. Nagorny, director B. Grigoriev, starring I. Ledogorov; Gorky Film Studio, 1974). Ships have been named after Sedov.

It turns out that the polar explorer Sedov, who overshadows today's Russian polar expeditions with his name and spirit, continues his aspiration to the North and his stay there. The drift of the hydrographic icebreaker Georgy Sedov, which lasted 812 days, crossed the Arctic Ocean, entered the history of polar travel.

monument in Rostov-on-Don

“The Russian people must bring a little money for this national, holy cause, and I bring my life,” wrote Sedov.

In 2003, earth was brought to the grave of the researcher from the place of his father's house. So "Georgy Sedov united the astronomical pole of the Earth and his native village with an invisible connection."

Many of us read Benjamin's novel as children. Kaverina "Two captains ". But few know. That the literary character - Captain Tatarinov - had a real prototype - Georgy Yakovlevich Sedov. What kind of person is this? This is our article.

George was born $5$ May $1877$ in the family of a simple fisherman from the Sea of ​​Azov, from the village of Krivaya Kosa. There were nine children in their family. The father, in order to feed his family, went to work and disappeared for many years. So the seven-year-old Yerka (as his family called him) had to fish, go to work (day labor) in the field.

Until the age of fourteen, the boy was illiterate. But when his father returned from his earnings, in two years Georgy successfully graduated from a three-year rural parish school and ... ran away from home. He was attracted to distant lands. He traveled a lot in Russia.

Remark 1

At twenty-one, Georgy Sedov received a diploma as a sea navigator. And at twenty-four he passed the exam externally, and was promoted by order to lieutenant in the Admiralty.

First polar explorations

After being promoted to lieutenant, Sedov was sent to his first hydrographic expedition of the Arctic Ocean. In these expeditionary voyages, the young officer proved himself and showed himself brilliantly. Georgy Yakovlevich soon becomes the first assistant to the head of the expedition. Some of Sedov's biographers claim that back in $1903, Georgy Yakovlevich first thought about reaching the Pole. He then met in Arkhangelsk with the members of the American polar expedition Ziegler-Fiala, who were striving for the Pole.

The outbreak of the Russo-Japanese War prevented these plans. Sedov is transferred to the Far East. He commands a small destroyer No. 48, which carries out an important watch in the Amur Bay.

But the war does not prevent Sedov from doing science. in the newspaper "Ussuri life" the young hydrographer presents his articles in which he tirelessly emphasizes the importance of the Northern Ocean Route for the development of Russia.

Post-war activities of Sedov

In $1908-1910, Georgy Yakovlevich worked on an expedition to study the Caspian Sea, then conducted research on the mouth of the river in Kalyma. On Novaya Zemlya, he mapped the Cross Lip. Then he was again sent for hydrographic work in the Caspian.

Only in March $1912$, Sedov again managed to submit a memorandum to the head of the Main Hydrographic Department, Lieutenant General A.I. Vilkitsky. In it, he justifies the need to send a Russian expedition to conquer the North Pole. The idea was supported by many scientists and approved by the king. But a specially created commission sharply, but in many respects rightly, criticized the plan of the expedition. Despite some experience in the North, Georgy Yakovlevich did not know the winter Arctic and made a number of mistakes when drawing up the plan for organizing the expedition.

At the end of May, Sedov had already prepared a new, revised plan for the expedition. But even in the new plan there were unrealistic figures (daily rations for people and dogs, the load on each dog and on a person) and the timing of the expedition. However, Sedov believed in his own strength and the strength of the Russian people. The commission again rejected Sedov's plans, and the government refused to allocate money for the expedition.

Polar expedition of Sedov

The government did not give money. Then Sedov announces the subscription through the newspapers. People make voluntary contributions to the expedition. They donate as much as they can.

In July, volunteer scientists managed to charter a small vessel, the St. Foka. At the end of August, the ship leaves Arkhangelsk. The ship was supposed to deliver the expedition to the Franz Josef Land archipelago. But the ship was covered with ice off the northwestern shores of Novaya Zemlya. The detachment stayed for the winter. The hasty preparation of the expedition had an effect. There were not enough warm clothes. Suppliers provided rotten provisions.

Despite the difficulties, the detachment carried out scientific observations of the ocean, and the map of Novaya Zemlya was updated. The detachment was in distress. The ship was running out of coal. At the beginning of the summer of $1913$, five members of the team, led by the captain of the ship, N.P. Zakharov left on foot to the south to get to the nearest camp of reindeer herders, and from there to Arkhangelsk.

Sedov thought that help will come in the summer of $1913$ to Novaya Zemlya. But the weather has changed. The ship, along with the ice, was carried far from the shore. The second wintering took place in Tikhaya Bay on Hooker Island. A harsh polar night was approaching. Living conditions this time were extremely difficult. Among the team began scurvy. But Sedov himself continued to believe in success and set his sights on conquering the Pole. $2$ February $1914$ Sedov and two sailors set out on a polar expedition. Sedov died on Rudolf Island, at $82°$ north latitude. A flag was placed in the grave of the brave traveler, which Sedov dreamed of hoisting at the Pole, and a cross made of skis was placed at the head.

Bays and gulfs, a strait and a cape, an archipelago and an island are named after Georgy Yakovlevich Sedov. Streets and ships bear his name. The history of prominent polar travels includes the heroic drift of the Georgy Sedov steamship, which lasted $812$ a day.

Remark 2

short but bright life brave researcher served as an example of purposefulness and selfless devotion to science. In addition, it serves as a warning against hasty plans and preparations. The Arctic does not tolerate neglect.