The Presidential Library marking the birthday of the outstanding Russian navigator Ivan Krusenstern

Adam Johann was the name given at birth to the man who glorified the Russian fleet for centuries, but under a different name. On November 19, 1770, the famous navigator Ivan Fedorovich Krusenstern was born. The collections of the Presidential Library contain a lot of materials dedicated to him - historical documents, studies, atlases, maps and much more.
Adam Johann von Krusenstern was born on November 19, 1770 in Estonia into a poor noble family.

According to history, the teachers were not mistaken: having graduated early from the Naval Corps three years later due to the war with the Swedes in the position of “midshipman” (as having not completed the full course of study), in 1790 Ivan Fedorovich already held the rank of lieutenant - a rapid career for that time. And he was not yet 20 years old.

In 1793, 22-year-old Lieutenant Ivan Krusenstern went to “learn maritime affairs in a real way” to England among the best young officers. Among them were Lisyansky, Golovnin, Bellingshausen and others, who later became famous captains and brought a lot of benefit to their Fatherland.

On English ships, Ivan Fedorovich went on voyages to the shores of North America, the Antilles, India and even South China, but increasingly thought about his own expedition.
Krusenstern drew up the first project for a circumnavigation of the world upon his return to his homeland in 1799. The navigator proposed regularly sending ships to the northern part of the Pacific Ocean to protect our colonies and supply them with everything they needed.

The Presidential Library's portal features the album Around the World with Krusenstern (2005). This unique publication was compiled and donated to the library by a descendant of the elder brother of the famous navigator Alexei Krusenstern. The book is an illustrated chronicle of the events of the first Russian circumnavigation of the world. The album includes engravings published at the beginning of the 19th century, as well as never-before-published drawings from various archives, “commented” with fragments from the diaries of expedition participants. Observations and notes by Ivan Krusenstern himself, captain-lieutenants Makar Ratmanov and Yuri Lisyansky, lieutenant Ermolai Levenshtern, chamberlain, ambassador to Japan Nikolai Rezanov, clerk of the Russian-American company Fyodor Shemelin and others. Sometimes they complement and sometimes contradict each other, creating a three-dimensional picture of a dangerous but exciting voyage.

Nadezhda and Neva returned from their trip around the world three years later. The result of this campaign is significant: Russian sailors accomplished several tasks that were most important for the country in particular and the world in general. Among the most important are the most extensive oceanographic, natural science, ethnographic, and linguistic studies, which are still a source of important information for scientists, as well as the first experience of long-distance sea voyages, which opened a series of round-the-world sea voyages in the first half of the 19th century.

For the last 16 years of service, Krusenstern was the director of the Naval Cadet Corps, paving new paths in this field as well. Under him, new subjects were introduced, the library was expanded, and with the permission of the emperor, a special officer class was established for the most capable cadets. Having received the opportunity to work in this direction, Krusenstern glorified the Russian fleet with a number of “precious works that were recognized by the entire educated world as worthy of full attention”. The Russian fleet has now received domestic educational literature, which is still used today.

Krusenstern's contemporaries and followers valued him for his enormous contribution to world science, but no less for his outstanding human qualities. This was confirmed by the fundraising for a monument erected on the Neva embankment opposite the Naval Cadet Corps in honor of the 100th anniversary of Kruzenshtern’s birth. According to reviews of sailors of different generations, this is the best monument to the Russian naval commander. Ivan Fedorovich Krusenstern seemed to have returned to his native Naval Corps and today stands on the shore, as if seeing off new graduates of the corps - Russian sailors.