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A navigable strait between Sakhalin and the mainland was discovered
On July 22 (August 3), 1849 Gennady Nevelskoy discovered a navigable strait between Sakhalin and the mainland.
Before the research carried out by G. I. Nevelskoy, many people had a mistaken belief that the outlet of the Amur River was not navigable, and Sakhalin was a peninsula. No attention was given to the fact that on S. P. Krasheninnikov’s map published in 1755 and Sychyov’s map of 1802 Sakhalin was shown as an island. Foreign navigators, such as J. F. Lapérouse and W. R. Broughton, who could not travel to the north by the Tartar Strait (the former in 1787 and the latter in 1796) because of the shallow end they had encountered and therefore identified Sakhalin as a peninsula, were considered to be more trustworthy. Adam Johann von Krusenstern, who also failed to find the mouth of the Amur and pass from the north to the south by the Tatar Strait in 1805, supported the geographical inaccuracy. Meanwhile, the issue of navigation of the Amur River arose more and more often in connection with the trade with China. In 1846, the Russian-American Company undertook the exploration of the mouth of the Amur River and the Tatar Strait. As a result of the research work, Nicholas I received a report from the second lieutenant (‘podporuchik’) Alexander Gavrilov, who commanded the brig Konstantin, which read that the Amur River was shallow and thus not important to Russia, and Sakhalin was a peninsula. The tsar adopted a resolution to give up the issue of the Amur, as it was a useless river. The government lost interest in the problems of the Amur River, Sakhalin and the Amur territory.
In 1848, the Americans took an interest in the coast of the Sea of Okhotsk and intended to build their whaling bases there. In 1849, 154 American ships entered the Sea of Okhotsk. It became clear that it was necessary to consolidate the Russian influence on this coast as soon as possible. Gennady Nevelskoy could make an appointment as commander of the military vessel Baikal, which was under construction. The ship was supposed to deliver cargo to Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, and then stay for the guard service in the Sea of Okhotsk. Nevelskoy also asked for permission from the Chief of the Main Naval Staff to go to Sakhalin and conduct research at the mouth of the Amur River after the delivery of the cargo. Due to the exceptional energy of G. I. Nevelskoy and his assistant, Lieutenant P. V. Kazakevich, the construction of Baikal was completed several months ahead of time. Nevelskoy left the port of Kronstadt ahead of schedule to use extra time for exploring the Amur estuary. On May 30 (June 11), having delivered the cargo and taken on ballast, he put out to sea. On June 12 (24) he saw the eastern coast of Sakhalin. On June 27 (July 9) he approached the Golovachyov Cape on the northwestern coast of Sakhalin, and began the survey and measurement. Kazakevich reached the mouth of the Amur on a boat, and Nevelskoy sailed on three boats and a canoe from the north to the mouth of the Amur River - the places that Lapérouse and Broughton reached from the south. It happened on July 22 (August 3), 1849. Thus, it was proved that the outlet of the Amur was navigable and Sakhalin was an island, not a peninsula. The addition to the discovery of the navigable strait between Sakhalin and the mainland were the fairways found by Russian sailors. Via these fairways vessels could enter the mouth of the Amur both from the north and south. On August 8 (20), Nevelskoy sailed to the north and made a detailed description of Shchastya Bay (Bay of Happiness) and St. Nicholas Bay on his way. On September 3 (15) he arrived at Ayan. Baikal was thought to be wrecked by that time. It was there, in Ayan, that Nevelskoy received the instructions approved by Nicholas I to do what had been already done - to go to the Amur estuary to check Gavrilov’s survey. On September 4 (16), a courier was sent to St. Petersburg to deliver a report on the results of the work conducted by Nevelskoy. When this report "reached St. Petersburg, it was regarded with distrust, particularly by Count Nesselrode and Admiral Wrangel, who was in charge of the affairs of the North-American Company". G. I. Nevelskoy with his wife Yekaterina Ivanovna and his companions N. Boshnyak, D. Orlov, and N. Rudanovsky made two more expeditions to the Far East in order to develop the Amur territory and Sakhalin and search for more convenient sites for ship wintering.
The Amur expedition had a great influence on the fate of the Russian Far East, including Sakhalin. Research carried out on board Baikal in 1849 refuted the idea that Sakhalin was a peninsula and proved that the Amur River was navigable. Over five years members of the Amur expedition studied in detail the Lower Amur basin, began a topographical survey of that area, collected valuable information about the population, flora and fauna of the Amur territory and Primorye, their inland water and land routes. For the first time, officers of the expedition correctly mapped the mainland and Sakhalin coasts of the Tatar Strait, and corrected inaccuracies and mistakes made by foreign navigators of the late 18th century. The results of the research included the discovery of coal deposits in Sakhalin and the description of the coast. First maps of the southern and middle parts of the island were made and meteorological observations were begun. Officers of the expedition held a census of the indigenous people of Sakhalin - the Nivkh and the Ainu, thus initiating the study of their everyday life, language and culture. The Amur expedition prompted further scientific research, settlement and economic development of the Amur territory, Primorye and Sakhalin.
Lit.: Невельской Г. И. Подвиги русских морских офицеров на крайнем Востоке России, 1849–1855. Хабаровск, 1969. С. 106–107; Маркин В. Исторические портреты. М., 2006. С. 336; Высоков М. С. Экспедиция Г. И. Невельского к устью Амура и Сахалину // История Сахалина и Курильских островов с древнейших времен до начала XXI столетия. Южно-Сахалинск, 2008. С. 346–354.
Based on the Presidential Library’s materials:
Sakhalin Region: pages of history: [digital collection];
The materials were provided by the Sakhalin Regional Research Library