Unknown facts about Nikolai Przhevalsky (9 photos). Who is Przhevalsky, and why is he famous? Russian traveler and naturalist Nikolai Mikhailovich Przhevalsky

Nikolai Przhevalsky and the subspecies of wild horse he discovered

April 12 (old style - March 31) marks the 178th anniversary of the birth of the famous traveler, explorer, geographer Nikolai Mikhailovich Przhevalsky. What most people know about him is that he led expeditions to Central Asia, and that a subspecies of wild horse was named in his honor. However, his biography contained much more interesting facts. For example, the fact that he won money for the first expedition playing cards, and another purpose of travel was military intelligence. Polish journalists even suggested that he was Stalin's real father.

On the left is Nikolai Przhevalsky hunting in the vicinity of the Otradnoe estate. On the right – Nikolai Przhevalsky, 1876

At one time, Nikolai Przhevalsky was fond of playing cards. A good visual memory often brought him success in the game, in addition, he had his own rules: never carry more than 500 rubles with you and always leave the table having won more than 1000. This is exactly what the “golden pheasant” (as the players called him) for legendary luck) and received money for the first expedition to Central Asia - he was a newcomer to the Geographical Society, and it was not possible to obtain funds in any other way. The winnings were big - 12,000. Przhevalsky knew how to stop in time and promised himself to never play for money again. Since then he hasn't even touched cards.

On this expedition in 1870-1873. Przhevalsky explored Mongolia, China and Tibet and found out that the Gobi is not a hill, as previously thought, but a depression with hilly terrain, and Nanshan is not a ridge, but a mountain system, and also discovered 7 large lakes and the Beishan Highlands. This expedition brought him world fame.

Central Asian researcher Nikolai Przhevalsky

At the age of 30, Przhevalsky was already a famous scientist and an enviable groom, but he called the marriage bond a “voluntary loop” and believed that in the desert “with absolute freedom and a job to your liking” you would be “a hundred times happier than in the gilded salons that you can buy.” marry by boy." Great traveler He remained a bachelor until the end of his days.

Przewalski's horse

In addition to scientific research tasks, Przhevalsky's expeditions allegedly had the purpose of military intelligence. And although science always remained in the foreground for the traveler himself, he was still an officer Russian army. Recently, many studies have appeared proving the fact that Przhevalsky was an intelligence officer and collected information not only for science, but also for the General Staff.

Przewalski's horse

Przhevalsky spent 11 years of his life on expeditions, covering 31 thousand km. The new subspecies of wild horses is not the only discovery of Przhevalsky, but it became the most famous due to the fact that it was named after the traveler. In addition, he discovered dozens of new species of animals, including the wild camel and the Tibetan bear (the researcher called it a “pisch-eater”), and also found 7 new genera and 218 species of plants.

Tibetan bear discovered by Przhevalsky

The most incredible legend associated with the name of Nikolai Przhevalsky was born in 1939, when a publication appeared in a Polish newspaper that the famous traveler was actually Stalin’s father. Allegedly, in 1878, Przhevalsky was in Georgia, where he met 22-year-old Ekaterina Dzhugashvili, and soon her son Joseph was born. Biographers immediately refuted these facts: at that time the researcher was in China. Nevertheless, this version had supporters who confirmed their guesses by the fact that during the reign of Stalin the glorification of the traveler began, a film was made about him and a medal was established in his name. But these facts cannot serve even as indirect confirmation of the truth of the guesses of Polish journalists.

Polish journalists called Przhevalsky the father of Stalin, primarily on the basis of external resemblance

In 1888, Przhevalsky assembled the largest expedition, which was supposed to last 2 years. But after two weeks of serious illness, the traveler died suddenly. Until recently, the cause of death in all sources was called typhoid fever, but modern experts have established a different diagnosis - lymphogranulomatosis.

Famous traveler Nikolai Przhevalsky

His last refuge was Karakol, a city named after Nikolai Mikhailovich Przhevalsky

Pochinkovsky district, Smolensk region. A memorial sign has been installed here.

Przhevalsky belonged to a noble family, coat of arms Bow: “Silver Bow and Arrow, turned upward on the Red Field,” granted for military exploits in the battle with Russian troops during the capture of Polotsk by the army of Stefan Batory.

A distant ancestor of Nikolai Mikhailovich was a warrior of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Karnila Anisimovich Perevalsky, a Cossack who distinguished himself in the Livonian War.

In any conditions, every day N. M. Przhevalsky led Personal diary, which formed the basis of his books. N. M. Przhevalsky had a brilliant writing gift, which he developed through persistent and systematic work.

N. M. Przhevalsky studied the territories of China, Mongolia and Tibet.

Scientific merits

Przhevalsky's greatest achievements are geographical and natural-historical research mountain system Kun-Lun, the ridges of Northern Tibet, the Lob-Nor and Kuku-Nor basins and the sources of the Yellow River. In addition, he discovered a number of new forms of animals: wild camel, Przewalski's horse, a number of new species of other mammals, and also collected huge zoological and botanical collections, containing many new forms, which were later described by specialists. The Academy of Sciences and scientific societies around the world welcomed Przhevalsky's discoveries. The British Royal Geographical Society called Nikolai Przhevalsky "the most outstanding traveler of the world." The St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences awarded Przhevalsky a medal with the inscription: “To the first explorer of the nature of Central Asia.”

Addresses in Karakol

Karizhensky House - Dzerzhinsky (Dzhamansariev) Street, 156.

Awards

Order of St. Stanislaus, 3rd class. (1866)
Order of St. Vladimir, 3rd class. (1881)
Austrian Order of Leopold, Knight's Cross (1874)
Large gold Constantine medal - the highest Imperial award (1868)
Small silver medal of the Russian Geographical Society for an article on the population of Primorye
Certificate of Honor from the International Geographical Congress in Paris
Gold Medal of the Paris Geographical Society (1876)
Order of the Academic Palms (France)
Large gold medal named after Alexander Humboldt (1878)
Royal Medal of the London Geographical Society (1879)
Vega Medal of the Stockholm Geographical Society
Grand Gold Medal of the Italian Geographical Society
Gold personalized medal with the inscription: “To the first explorer of the nature of Central Asia” of the Russian Academy of Sciences

Honorary titles

Honorary citizen of Smolensk (1881)
Corresponding Member of the Berlin Geographical Society
honorary member of the Imperial St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences (1878) and the Botanical Garden
honorary member of St. Petersburg University
honorary member of the St. Petersburg Society of Naturalists
honorary member of the Ural Society of Natural History Lovers
honorary member of the Russian Geographical Society
Honorary Doctor of Zoology, Moscow University
honorary member of the Vienna Geographical Society
honorary member of the Italian Geographical Society
honorary member of the Dresden Geographical Society
honorary member of the Moscow Society of Lovers of Natural History, Anthropology and Ethnography

Memory

Named in memory of the researcher:

1887 - Przhevalsky Ridge, discovered by him; glacier in Altai
Przhevalsky Mountains in Primorsky Krai
A cave near the city of Nakhodka and a rock massif in the Partizanskaya river basin
The city of Przhevalsk in - (The highest command of the Sovereign Emperor of March 11: Government Bulletin, 1889, No. 5) and - gg.
The village of Przhevalskoye in the Smolensk region, in which the traveler’s estate was located;
Przhevalsky Street in Moscow, Minsk, Irkutsk, Smolensk and other cities
Museum of Local Lore named after N. M. Przhevalsky (Przhevalsk)
Types of animals:
- Przewalski's horse ( Equus ferus przewalskii)
- Przewalski's pestle ( Eolagurus przewalskii)
- Przewalski's nuthatch ( Sitta przewalskii)
- Satyrid butterfly ( Hyponephene przewalskyi) Dubatolov, Sergeev et Zhdanko, 1994
Plant types:
- Przewalski's buzulnik (Ligularia przewalskii (Maxim.) Diels)
- zhuzgun Przhevalsky ( Calligonum przewalskii Losinsk.)
- Przewalski's cattail ( Typha przewalskii Skvortsov)
- Przewalski's sage ( Salvia przewalskii Maxim.)
- Przewalski's skullcap ( Scutellaria przewalskii Juz.)
Passenger motor ship of project 860 of the Amur River Shipping Company

In honor of N. M. Przhevalsky:

A memorial sign was erected at his birthplace
A monument was erected at his grave in Pristan-Przhevalsk based on a drawing by A. A. Bilderling. A museum of the life and work of N. M. Przhevalsky was organized nearby
The monument was erected in 1892 by the Russian Geographical Society, according to the design of A. A. Bilderling, in the Alexander Garden in St. Petersburg. The sculptor of both monuments is I. N. Schroeder
The bust was installed in room 2109 of the Faculty of Geography of Moscow State University.
- the Medal named after N. M. Przhevalsky and the Przhevalsky Prize were established
- a gold medal named after Przhevalsky was established
- the historical and biographical film “Przhevalsky” was shot
- a series of Russian commemorative coins dedicated to N. M. Przhevalsky and his expeditions.

Postage stamps, coins, badges

Stamp of USSR 1113.jpg

Postage Stamp USSR, 1947

Quotes

“Basically, you have to be born a traveler.”
“The traveler has no memory” (about the need to keep a diary).
“Travel would lose half its charm if it were impossible to talk about it.”
“And the world is beautiful because you can travel.”

Bibliography

Przhevalsky N. M.
Przhevalsky N. M."Mongolia and the country of the Tanguts"

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Notes

Literature

In memory of Nikolai Mikhailovich Przhevalsky. St. Petersburg: Russian Geographical Society, 1889. 64 p.
List of generals by seniority. Corrected on September 1, 1888 - St. Petersburg. , 1888. - P. 761.
Dubrovin N. F. Nikolai Mikhailovich Przhevalsky. Biographical sketch. - St. Petersburg, 1890.
Engelgard M. N. N. M. Przhevalsky. His life and travels. - St. Petersburg, 1891.
Zelenin A.V. Travels of N. M. Przhevalsky. - St. Petersburg, 1900.
Kozlov P.K. Nikolai Mikhailovich Przhevalsky, the first explorer of the nature of Central Asia. - St. Petersburg, 1913.
Khmelnitsky S. I. Nikolai Mikhailovich Przhevalsky, 1839-1888. - L., 1950. (Life of remarkable people).
Murzaev E. M. N. M. Przhevalsky. - M.: Geographgiz, 1953. - 56 p. - (Wonderful geographers and travelers). - 100,000 copies.(region)
Gavrilenkov V. M. Russian traveler N. M. Przhevalsky / Artist D. Orlov. - M.: Moscow worker, 1974. - 144 p. - 50,000 copies.(region)
Yusov B.V. N. M. Przhevalsky. - M.: Education, 1985. - 96 p. - (People of science). - 250,000 copies.(region)
Nikolai Mikhailovich Przhevalsky // Baskhanov M.K. Russian military orientalists before 1917: Biobibliographical dictionary. M.: Eastern literature, 2005. pp. 193-196.
Gavrilenkova E. P. Unknown pages of the life of N.M. Przhevalsky. - Ed. 2nd, add. - Smolensk: Scroll, 2012. - 216 p. - 1000 copies.(region)
Baskhanov M.K.“The road to the depths of Asia was not laid out for us like a carpet”: a phenomenon of the era of Russian geographical generals // Russian study of Central Asia: historical and modern aspects. - St. Petersburg: Politekhnika-service, 2014. - pp. 297-318.

Reifield Donald. The Dream of Lhasa. The Life of Nikolai Przhevalsky, 1839-88, Explorer of Central Asia. London, Paul Elek, 1976.

An excerpt characterizing Przhevalsky, Nikolai Mikhailovich

Prince Andrei, saying this, looked even less like than before that Bolkonsky, who was lounging in Anna Pavlovna’s chair and, squinting through his teeth, spoke French phrases. His dry face was still trembling with the nervous animation of every muscle; the eyes, in which the fire of life had previously seemed extinguished, now shone with a radiant, bright shine. It was clear that the more lifeless he seemed in ordinary times, the more energetic he was in these moments of almost painful irritation.
“You don’t understand why I’m saying this,” he continued. – After all, this is a whole life story. You say Bonaparte and his career,” he said, although Pierre did not talk about Bonaparte. – You say Bonaparte; but Bonaparte, when he worked, walked step by step towards his goal, he was free, he had nothing but his goal - and he achieved it. But tie yourself to a woman, and like a shackled convict, you lose all freedom. And everything that you have in you of hope and strength, everything only weighs you down and torments you with remorse. Living rooms, gossip, balls, vanity, insignificance - this is a vicious circle from which I cannot escape. I am now going to war, to the greatest war that has ever happened, but I know nothing and am no good for anything. “Je suis tres aimable et tres caustique, [I am very sweet and very eater,” continued Prince Andrei, “and Anna Pavlovna listens to me.” And this stupid society, without which my wife and these women cannot live... If only you could know what it is toutes les femmes distinguees [all these women of good society] and women in general! My father is right. Selfishness, vanity, stupidity, insignificance in everything - these are women when they show everything as they are. If you look at them in the light, it seems that there is something, but nothing, nothing, nothing! Yes, don’t get married, my soul, don’t get married,” Prince Andrei finished.
“It’s funny to me,” said Pierre, “that you consider yourself incapable, that your life is a spoiled life.” You have everything, everything is ahead. And you…
He didn’t say you, but his tone already showed how highly he valued his friend and how much he expected from him in the future.
“How can he say that!” thought Pierre. Pierre considered Prince Andrei to be a model of all perfections precisely because Prince Andrei united to the highest degree all those qualities that Pierre did not have and which can be most closely expressed by the concept of willpower. Pierre was always amazed at Prince Andrei's ability to calmly deal with all kinds of people, his extraordinary memory, erudition (he read everything, knew everything, had an idea about everything) and most of all his ability to work and study. If Pierre was often struck by Andrei’s lack of ability for dreamy philosophizing (to which Pierre was especially prone), then in this he saw not a disadvantage, but a strength.
In the best, most friendly and simple relationships, flattery or praise is necessary, just as greasing is necessary for the wheels to keep them moving.
“Je suis un homme fini, [I am a finished man,” said Prince Andrei. - What can you say about me? Let’s talk about you,” he said, after a pause and smiling at his comforting thoughts.
This smile was reflected on Pierre’s face at the same instant.
– What can we say about me? - said Pierre, spreading his mouth into a carefree, cheerful smile. -What am I? Je suis un batard [I am an illegitimate son!] - And he suddenly blushed crimson. It was clear that he made a great effort to say this. – Sans nom, sans fortune... [No name, no fortune...] And well, that’s right... - But he didn’t say that’s right. – I’m free for now, and I feel good. I just don’t know what to start. I wanted to seriously consult with you.
Prince Andrei looked at him with kind eyes. But his glance, friendly and affectionate, still expressed the consciousness of his superiority.
– You are dear to me, especially because you are the only living person among our entire world. You feel good. Choose what you want; it does not matter. You will be good everywhere, but one thing: stop going to these Kuragins and leading this life. So it doesn’t suit you: all these carousings, and hussarism, and everything...
“Que voulez vous, mon cher,” said Pierre, shrugging his shoulders, “les femmes, mon cher, les femmes!” [What do you want, my dear, women, my dear, women!]
“I don’t understand,” Andrey answered. – Les femmes comme il faut, [Decent women] is another matter; but les femmes Kuragin, les femmes et le vin, [Kuragin’s women, women and wine,] I don’t understand!
Pierre lived with Prince Vasily Kuragin and took part in the wild life of his son Anatole, the same one who was going to be married to Prince Andrei’s sister for correction.
“You know what,” said Pierre, as if an unexpectedly happy thought had come to him, “seriously, I’ve been thinking about this for a long time.” With this life I can neither decide nor think about anything. My head hurts, I have no money. Today he called me, I won’t go.
- Give me your word of honor that you won’t travel?
- Honestly!

It was already two o'clock in the morning when Pierre left his friend. It was a June night, a St. Petersburg night, a gloomless night. Pierre got into the cab with the intention of going home. But the closer he got, the more he felt it was impossible to fall asleep that night, which seemed more like evening or morning. It was visible in the distance through the empty streets. Dear Pierre remembered that that evening the usual gambling society was supposed to gather at Anatole Kuragin's place, after which there would usually be a drinking party, ending with one of Pierre's favorite amusements.
“It would be nice to go to Kuragin,” he thought.
But he immediately remembered his word of honor given to Prince Andrei not to visit Kuragin. But immediately, as happens with people called spineless, he so passionately wanted to once again experience this dissolute life so familiar to him that he decided to go. And immediately the thought occurred to him that this word meant nothing, because even before Prince Andrei, he also gave Prince Anatoly the word to be with him; Finally, he thought that all these honest words were such conventional things that had no definite meaning, especially if you realized that maybe tomorrow he would either die or something so extraordinary would happen to him that there would no longer be any honest , nor dishonest. This kind of reasoning, destroying all his decisions and assumptions, often came to Pierre. He went to Kuragin.
Having arrived at the porch of a large house near the horse guards barracks in which Anatole lived, he climbed onto the illuminated porch, onto the stairs, and entered the open door. There was no one in the hall; were lying around empty bottles, raincoats, galoshes; there was a smell of wine, and distant talking and shouting could be heard.
The game and dinner were already over, but the guests had not yet left. Pierre took off his cloak and entered the first room, where the remains of dinner were standing and one footman, thinking that no one was seeing him, was secretly finishing off unfinished glasses. From the third room you could hear fuss, laughter, screams of familiar voices and the roar of a bear.
About eight young people crowded anxiously around the open window. The three were busy with a young bear, which one was dragging on a chain, frightening the other with it.
- I'll give Stevens a hundred! - one shouted.
- Be careful not to support! - shouted another.
- I am for Dolokhov! - shouted the third. - Take them apart, Kuragin.
- Well, leave Mishka, there’s a bet here.
“One spirit, otherwise it’s lost,” shouted the fourth.
- Yakov, give me a bottle, Yakov! - shouted the owner himself, a tall handsome man standing in the middle of the crowd wearing only a thin shirt open at the middle of his chest. - Stop, gentlemen. Here he is Petrusha, dear friend,” he turned to Pierre.
Another voice of a short man with clear blue eyes, which was especially striking among all these drunken voices with its sober expression, shouted from the window: “Come here - settle the bet!” It was Dolokhov, a Semyonov officer, a famous gambler and brigand who lived with Anatole. Pierre smiled, looking around him cheerfully.
- I don’t understand anything. What's the matter?
- Wait, he's not drunk. Give me the bottle,” said Anatole and, taking a glass from the table, approached Pierre.
- First of all, drink.
Pierre began drinking glass after glass, looking from under his brows at the drunken guests who were again crowded at the window, and listening to their conversation. Anatole poured him wine and told him that Dolokhov was betting with the Englishman Stevens, a sailor who was here, that he, Dolokhov, would drink a bottle of rum while sitting on the third floor window with his legs hanging out.
- Well, drink it all! - said Anatole, handing the last glass to Pierre, - otherwise I won’t let you in!
“No, I don’t want to,” Pierre said, pushing Anatole away and went to the window.
Dolokhov held the Englishman’s hand and clearly, distinctly spelled out the terms of the bet, addressing mainly Anatole and Pierre.
Dolokhov was a man of average height, with curly hair and light blue eyes. He was about twenty-five years old. He did not wear a mustache, like all infantry officers, and his mouth, the most striking feature of his face, was completely visible. The lines of this mouth were remarkably finely curved. In the middle, the upper lip energetically dropped onto the strong lower lip like a sharp wedge, and something like two smiles constantly formed in the corners, one on each side; and all together, and especially in combination with a firm, insolent, intelligent gaze, it created such an impression that it was impossible not to notice this face. Dolokhov was a poor man, without any connections. And despite the fact that Anatole lived in tens of thousands, Dolokhov lived with him and managed to position himself in such a way that Anatole and everyone who knew them respected Dolokhov more than Anatole. Dolokhov played all the games and almost always won. No matter how much he drank, he never lost his clarity of mind. Both Kuragin and Dolokhov at that time were celebrities in the world of rakes and revelers in St. Petersburg.
A bottle of rum was brought; frame that did not allow one to sit on external slope the windows were broken out by two footmen, apparently in a hurry and timid from the advice and shouts of the surrounding gentlemen.
Anatole walked up to the window with his victorious look. He wanted to break something. He pushed the lackeys away and pulled the frame, but the frame did not give up. He broke the glass.
“Well, how are you, strong man,” he turned to Pierre.
Pierre took hold of the crossbars, pulled, and with a crash the oak frame turned out.
“Get out, otherwise they’ll think I’m holding on,” said Dolokhov.
“The Englishman is bragging... huh?... good?...” said Anatole.
“Okay,” said Pierre, looking at Dolokhov, who, taking a bottle of rum in his hands, was approaching the window from which the light of the sky and the morning and evening dawns merging on it could be seen.
Dolokhov, with a bottle of rum in his hand, jumped up onto the window. "Listen!"
he shouted, standing on the windowsill and turning into the room. Everyone fell silent.
- I bet (he spoke French so that an Englishman could understand him, and did not speak this language very well). I bet you fifty imperials, would you like a hundred? - he added, turning to the Englishman.
“No, fifty,” said the Englishman.
- Okay, for fifty imperials - that I will drink the entire bottle of rum without taking it from my mouth, I will drink it while sitting outside the window, right here (he bent down and showed the sloping ledge of the wall outside the window) and without holding on to anything... So? ...
“Very good,” said the Englishman.
Anatole turned to the Englishman and, taking him by the button of his tailcoat and looking down at him (the Englishman was short), began repeating to him the terms of the bet in English.
- Wait! - Dolokhov shouted, banging the bottle on the window to attract attention. - Wait, Kuragin; listen. If anyone does the same, then I pay one hundred imperials. Do you understand?
The Englishman nodded his head, not giving any indication as to whether he intended to accept this new bet or not. Anatole did not let go of the Englishman and, despite the fact that he nodded, letting him know that he understood everything, Anatole translated Dolokhov’s words to him in English. A young thin boy, a life hussar, who had lost that evening, climbed onto the window, leaned out and looked down.
“Uh!... uh!... uh!...” he said, looking out the window at the stone sidewalk.
- Attention! - Dolokhov shouted and pulled the officer from the window, who, entangled in his spurs, awkwardly jumped into the room.
Having placed the bottle on the windowsill so that it would be convenient to get it, Dolokhov carefully and quietly climbed out the window. Dropping his legs and leaning both hands on the edges of the window, he measured himself, sat down, lowered his hands, moved to the right, to the left and took out a bottle. Anatole brought two candles and put them on the windowsill, although it was already quite light. Dolokhov's back in a white shirt and his curly head were illuminated from both sides. Everyone crowded around the window. The Englishman stood in front. Pierre smiled and said nothing. One of those present, older than the others, with a frightened and angry face, suddenly moved forward and wanted to grab Dolokhov by the shirt.
- Gentlemen, this is nonsense; he will be killed to death,” said this more prudent man.
Anatole stopped him:
“Don’t touch it, you’ll scare him and he’ll kill himself.” Eh?... What then?... Eh?...
Dolokhov turned around, straightening himself and again spreading his arms.
“If anyone else bothers me,” he said, rarely letting words slip through his clenched and thin lips, “I’ll bring him down here now.” Well!…
Having said “well”!, he turned around again, let go of his hands, took the bottle and brought it to his mouth, threw his head back and threw it up free hand for an advantage. One of the footmen, who began to pick up the glass, stopped in a bent position, not taking his eyes off the window and Dolokhov’s back. Anatole stood straight, eyes open. The Englishman, his lips thrust forward, looked from the side. The one who stopped him ran to the corner of the room and lay down on the sofa facing the wall. Pierre covered his face, and a weak smile, forgotten, remained on his face, although it now expressed horror and fear. Everyone was silent. Pierre took his hands away from his eyes: Dolokhov was still sitting in the same position, only his head was bent back, so that the curly hair of the back of his head touched the collar of his shirt, and the hand with the bottle rose higher and higher, shuddering and making an effort. The bottle was apparently emptied and at the same time rose, bending its head. “What’s taking so long?” thought Pierre. It seemed to him that more than half an hour had passed. Suddenly Dolokhov made a backward movement with his back, and his hand trembled nervously; this shudder was enough to move the entire body sitting on the sloping slope. He shifted all over, and his hand and head trembled even more, making an effort. One hand rose to grab the window sill, but dropped again. Pierre closed his eyes again and told himself that he would never open them. Suddenly he felt that everything around him was moving. He looked: Dolokhov was standing on the windowsill, his face was pale and cheerful.
- Empty!
He threw the bottle to the Englishman, who deftly caught it. Dolokhov jumped from the window. He smelled strongly of rum.
- Great! Well done! So bet! Damn you completely! - they shouted from different sides.
The Englishman took out his wallet and counted out the money. Dolokhov frowned and was silent. Pierre jumped onto the window.
Gentlemen! Who wants to bet with me? “I’ll do the same,” he suddenly shouted. “And there’s no need for a bet, that’s what.” They told me to give him a bottle. I'll do it... tell me to give it.
- Let it go, let it go! – said Dolokhov, smiling.
- What you? crazy? Who will let you in? “Your head is spinning even on the stairs,” they spoke from different sides.
– I’ll drink it, give me a bottle of rum! - Pierre shouted, hitting the table with a decisive and drunken gesture, and climbed out the window.
They grabbed him by the arms; but he was so strong that he pushed the one who approached him far away.
“No, you can’t persuade him like that for anything,” said Anatole, “wait, I’ll deceive him.” Look, I bet you, but tomorrow, and now we're all going to hell.
“We’re going,” Pierre shouted, “we’re going!... And we’re taking Mishka with us...
And he grabbed the bear, and, hugging and lifting it, began to spin around the room with it.

Prince Vasily fulfilled the promise made at the evening at Anna Pavlovna's to Princess Drubetskaya, who asked him about her only son Boris. He was reported to the sovereign, and, unlike others, he was transferred to the Semenovsky Guard Regiment as an ensign. But Boris was never appointed as an adjutant or under Kutuzov, despite all the efforts and machinations of Anna Mikhailovna. Soon after Anna Pavlovna's evening, Anna Mikhailovna returned to Moscow, straight to her rich relatives Rostov, with whom she stayed in Moscow and with whom her beloved Borenka, who had just been promoted to the army and was immediately transferred to guards ensigns, had been raised and lived for years since childhood. The Guard had already left St. Petersburg on August 10, and the son, who remained in Moscow for uniforms, was supposed to catch up with her on the road to Radzivilov.
The Rostovs had a birthday girl, Natalya, a mother and a younger daughter. In the morning, without ceasing, trains drove up and drove off, bringing congratulators to the big city, all of Moscow famous house Countess Rostova on Povarskaya. The countess with her beautiful eldest daughter and guests, who never ceased replacing one another, were sitting in the living room.
The Countess was a woman with an oriental type of thin face, about forty-five years old, apparently exhausted by children, of whom she had twelve. The slowness of her movements and speech, resulting from weakness of strength, gave her a significant appearance that inspired respect. Princess Anna Mikhailovna Drubetskaya, like a domestic person, sat right there, helping in the matter of receiving and engaging in conversation with the guests. The youth were in the back rooms, not finding it necessary to participate in receiving visits. The Count met and saw off the guests, inviting everyone to dinner.
“I am very, very grateful to you, ma chere or mon cher [my dear or my dear] (ma chere or mon cher he said to everyone without exception, without the slightest shade, both above and below him) for himself and for the dear birthday girls . Look, come and have lunch. You will offend me, mon cher. I sincerely ask you on behalf of the whole family, ma chere.” He spoke these words with the same expression on his full, cheerful, clean-shaven face and with an equally strong handshake and repeated short bows to everyone, without exception or change. Having seen off one guest, the count returned to whoever was still in the living room; having pulled up his chairs and with the air of a man who loves and knows how to live, with his legs spread gallantly and his hands on his knees, he swayed significantly, offered guesses about the weather, consulted about health, sometimes in Russian, sometimes in very bad but self-confident French, and again with the air of a tired but firm man in the performance of his duties, he went to see him off, straightening the sparse gray hair on his bald head, and again called for dinner. Sometimes, returning from the hallway, he walked through the flower and waiter's room into a large marble hall, where a table for eighty couverts was being set, and, looking at the waiters wearing silver and porcelain, arranging tables and unrolling damask tablecloths, he called to him Dmitry Vasilyevich, a nobleman, who was taking care of all his affairs, and said: “Well, well, Mitenka, make sure everything is fine. “Well, well,” he said, looking around with pleasure at the huge spread-out table. – The main thing is serving. This and that...” And he left, sighing complacently, back into the living room.
- Marya Lvovna Karagina with her daughter! – the huge countess’s footman reported in a bass voice as he entered the living room door.
The Countess thought and sniffed from a golden snuffbox with a portrait of her husband.
“These visits tormented me,” she said. - Well, I’ll take her last one. Very prim. “Beg,” she said to the footman in a sad voice, as if she was saying: “Well, finish it off!”
A tall, plump, proudly looking lady with a round-faced, smiling daughter, rustling with their dresses, entered the living room.
“Chere comtesse, il y a si longtemps... elle a ete alitee la pauvre enfant... au bal des Razoumowsky... et la comtesse Apraksine... j"ai ete si heureuse..." [Dear Countess, how long ago... she should have been in bed, poor child... at the Razumovskys' ball... and Countess Apraksina... was so happy...] lively women's voices were heard, interrupting one another and merging with the noise of dresses and the moving of chairs. That conversation began, which is started just enough so that at the first pause you get up and rustle with dresses. , say: “Je suis bien charmee; la sante de maman... et la comtesse Apraksine” [I am delighted; mother’s health... and Countess Apraksina] and, again rustling with dresses, go into the hallway, put on a fur coat or a cloak and leave. about the main city news of that time - about the illness of the famous rich and handsome man of Catherine's time, old Count Bezukhy, and about his illegitimate son Pierre, who behaved so indecently at an evening with Anna Pavlovna Scherer.
“I really feel sorry for the poor count,” said the guest, “his health is already bad, and now this grief from his son will kill him!”
- What's happened? - asked the countess, as if not knowing what the guest was talking about, although she had already heard the reason for Count Bezukhy’s grief fifteen times.
- This is the current upbringing! “Even abroad,” said the guest, “this young man was left to his own devices, and now in St. Petersburg, they say, he did such horrors that he was expelled from there with the police.
- Tell! - said the countess.
“He chose his acquaintances poorly,” Princess Anna Mikhailovna intervened. - The son of Prince Vasily, he and Dolokhov alone, they say, God knows what they were doing. And both were hurt. Dolokhov was demoted to the ranks of soldiers, and Bezukhy’s son was exiled to Moscow. Anatoly Kuragin - his father somehow hushed him up. But they did deport me from St. Petersburg.
- What the hell did they do? – asked the Countess.
“These are perfect robbers, especially Dolokhov,” said the guest. - He is the son of Marya Ivanovna Dolokhova, such a respectable lady, so what? You can imagine: the three of them found a bear somewhere, put it in a carriage and took it to the actresses. The police came running to calm them down. They caught the policeman and tied him back to back to the bear and let the bear into the Moika; the bear is swimming, and the policeman is on him.
“The policeman’s figure is good, ma chere,” shouted the count, dying of laughter.
- Oh, what a horror! What's there to laugh about, Count?
But the ladies couldn’t help but laugh themselves.
“They saved this unfortunate man by force,” the guest continued. “And it’s the son of Count Kirill Vladimirovich Bezukhov who is playing so cleverly!” – she added. “They said he was so well-mannered and smart.” This is where all my upbringing abroad has led me. I hope that no one will accept him here, despite his wealth. They wanted to introduce him to me. I resolutely refused: I have daughters.
- Why do you say that this young man is so rich? - asked the countess, bending down from the girls, who immediately pretended not to listen. - After all, he only has illegitimate children. It seems... Pierre is also illegal.
The guest waved her hand.
“He has twenty illegal ones, I think.”
Princess Anna Mikhailovna intervened in the conversation, apparently wanting to show off her connections and her knowledge of all social circumstances.
“That’s the thing,” she said significantly and also in a half-whisper. – The reputation of Count Kirill Vladimirovich is known... He lost count of his children, but this Pierre was beloved.
“How good the old man was,” said the countess, “even last year!” I have never seen a more beautiful man.
“Now he’s changed a lot,” said Anna Mikhailovna. “So I wanted to say,” she continued, “through his wife, Prince Vasily is the direct heir to the entire estate, but his father loved Pierre very much, was involved in his upbringing and wrote to the sovereign... so no one knows if he dies (he is so bad that they are waiting for it) every minute, and Lorrain came from St. Petersburg), who will get this huge fortune, Pierre or Prince Vasily. Forty thousand souls and millions. I know this very well, because Prince Vasily himself told me this. And Kirill Vladimirovich is my second cousin on my mother’s side. “He baptized Borya,” she added, as if not attributing any significance to this circumstance.

PRZHEVALSKY, NIKOLAY MIKHAILOVICH(1839 –1888) – Russian geographer, explorer of Central Asia, major general, honorary member of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences.

Born on March 31, 1839, in the village of Kimborovo, Smolensk province. in an impoverished family of a hereditary Belarusian nobleman, he was raised by his uncle, a passionate hunter, who instilled in his nephew an interest in nature and travel.

In 1855 he became a military man, graduated from the Academy of the General Staff in 1863. At the same time his first publication was published - Memories of a Hunter. In 1864, having taken the position of history teacher at the Warsaw cadet school, he became interested in descriptions of travels and discoveries, became acquainted with the zoology and botany of exotic countries, and made an attempt to write a new geography textbook. In 1866 he was assigned to the General Staff and assigned to the Siberian Military District.

In 1867 he came to St. Petersburg, where he met with the traveler P.P. Semenov-Tyan-Shansky. From 1867–1869 he was in the Ussuri region, reaching Lake Khanka (which was the wintering ground for many birds, which provided material for ornithological observations). Wrote several works about the Amur region, incl. Travel to the Ussuri region, was appointed in 1869 adjutant of the headquarters of the troops of the Amur region.

From 1870 - already in Mongolia, from where he reached Beijing, Lake Dalai-Nor, explored the Suma-Khodi and Yin-Shan ridges, proved that the Yellow River does not have a branch, as previously thought on the basis Chinese sources. He passed through the Ala Shan desert and the Alashan Mountains, visited Tibet and the upper reaches of the Blue River (Mur-Usu), in 1873 he explored the Middle Gobi, reached Kyakhta, having covered 11 thousand versts in three years. In the trip report - Mongolia and the country of the Tunguts- described in detail the Gobi, Ordos and Alashani deserts, the highlands of Northern Tibet and the Tsaidam basin (discovered by him), for the first time he mapped more than 20 ridges, seven large and a number of small lakes on the map of Central Asia. The work brought the author the Gold Medal of the Paris Geographical Society. Russian geographical society awarded him the Great Constantine Medal, achieved the rank of lieutenant colonel and a lifelong pension of 600 rubles annually.

In 1876–1877, during the Second Central Asian Expedition (Lop Nor and Dzhungar), he discovered the Altyn-Tag ridge, proved that Lake Lop Nor was fresh and not salty (as previously believed), and made new observations of birds, which he described in an essay From Kulja beyond the Tien Shan and to Lob-Nor. In 1879–1880 he was already the leader of the Third Central Asian Expedition. With a detachment of 13 people, he descended the Urungu River, passed through the Hali oasis and (through the desert) to the Sa-Zheu oasis, passed the Nan Shan ridges and entered Tibet and from there to the Mur-Usu valley. The Tibetan government did not allow him into Khlassa (Lhasa), from which he was (after passing the Tan-La pass) 250 versts.

In 1883–1885 the fourth expedition to Central Asia took place. Its 21 participants, including botanist V.I. Roborovsky and geographer P.K. Kozlov, walked and drove a total of more than 30 thousand miles. Moving from Kyakhta along the old route through Urga, we reached the Tibetan Plateau, continuing our exploration of the sources of the Yellow River and the watershed between the Yellow and Blue Rivers. During the expedition, Przhevalsky reached Karakol, having covered 7 thousand miles without roads in two years. On the northern border of Tibet, he discovered a mountainous country about which Europe knew nothing, described the sources of the Yellow River, discovered new lakes, calling them “Russian” and “Expeditions”.

His last work was published in 1888 From Kyakhta to the sources of the Yellow River. In the same year, his fifth expedition reached the village. Karakol, the description of which ended the previous one. Here, near the eastern shore of Issyk-Kul, Przhevalsky fell ill with typhoid fever and died on October 20, 1888, and was buried here. On his grave, as he bequeathed, the modest inscription “Traveller N.M. Przhevalsky” was engraved. Przhevalsky's scientific reports contain vivid descriptions of nature, relief, climate, rivers, lakes, vegetation and wildlife. He established the direction of the main ridges of Central Asia, discovered new ones, and clarified the boundaries of the Tibetan Plateau (where Przhevalsky was the first European to reach these regions). The extensive zoological (7.5 thousand specimens of mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, fish), botanical (herbarium - 15 thousand specimens, including 218 new species and 7 genera) and mineralogical collections he collected are a source of pride. domestic museums.

In 1891, on the recommendation of the Russian Geographical Society, the N.M. Przhevalsky Prize was established, as well as a silver medal, and in 1946 - a gold medal. Monuments to the traveler were erected in St. Petersburg and Przhevalsk. A city (formerly Karakol), a ridge in the Kunlun system, a glacier in Altai, and a number of plant and animal species are named after him. The traveler discovered a wild camel and, in 1879, a species of wild horse that received its name (Equus Przevalskii). According to the description of N.M. Przhevalsky himself, it differs “from the domestic one in its short standing mane, lack of bangs, tail, the base of which is covered with short hair, as well as a larger head.”

Lev Pushkarev, Natalya Pushkareva

Nikolai Mikhailovich Przhevalsky (1839-1888) is one of the greatest Russian geographers and travelers. Born in March 1839, in the village of Kimbolovo, in the Smolensk region. The parents of the future traveler were small landowners. Nikolai Przhevalsky studied at the Smolensk gymnasium, after which he entered service in the Ryazan Infantry Regiment with the rank of non-commissioned officer. Having served and gained basic military experience, Przhevalsky entered the General Staff Academy, where he wrote a number of intelligent geographical works, for which he was accepted into the ranks of the Russian Geographical Society. The time he graduated from the Academy fell during the period of the rebellion, in the suppression of which Przhevalsky himself took part. Participation in suppression Polish uprising forced Nikolai Mikhailovich to stay in Poland. Przhevalsky also taught geography at the Polish cadet school. The great geographer devoted his free time to gambling - hunting and playing cards. As Przhevalsky’s contemporaries noted, he had a phenomenal memory, which is probably why he was so lucky in cards.

Przhevalsky devoted 11 years of his life to long expeditions. In particular, he led a two-year expedition to the Ussuri region (1867-1869), and in the period from 1870 to 1885 he conducted four expeditions to Central Asia.

The first expedition to the Central Asian region lasted three years from 1870 to 1873 and was devoted to the exploration of Mongolia, China and Tibet. Przhevalsky collected scientific evidence that the Gobi is not a plateau, but is a depression with hilly terrain, and that the Nanshan Mountains are not a ridge, but a mountain system. Przhevalsky is responsible for the discovery of the Beishan Highlands, the Tsaidam Basin, three ridges in Kunlun, as well as seven large lakes. During his second expedition to the region (1876-1877), Przhevalsky discovered the Altyntag Mountains and for the first time described the now dry Lake Lop Nor and the Tarim and Konchedarya rivers that feed it. Thanks to Przhevalsky's research, the border of the Tibetan plateau was revised and moved more than 300 km to the north. In the third expedition to Central Asia, which took place in 1879-1880. Przhevalsky identified several ridges in Nanshan, Kunlun and Tibet, described Lake Kukunor, as well as the upper reaches of the great rivers of China, the Yellow River and the Yangtze. Despite his illness, Przhevalsky organized a fourth expedition to Tibet in 1883-1885, during which he discovered a number of new lakes, ridges and basins.

Nikolai Mikhailovich Przhevalsky and his companions before the last expedition (www.nasledie-rus.ru)

The total length of Przhevalsky's expedition routes is 31,500 kilometers. The result of Przhevalsky's expeditions was rich zoological collections, which included about 7,500 exhibits. Przhevalsky was responsible for the discovery of several species of animals: a wild camel, a pika-eating bear, a wild horse, later named after the researcher himself (Przhevalsky's horse). The herbariums of Przhevalsky's expeditions number about 16,000 flora specimens (1,700 species, 218 of which were described by science for the first time). Przhevalsky’s mineralogical collections are also striking in their richness. The outstanding scientist was awarded the highest awards of several geographical societies, became an honorary member of 24 scientific institutes around the world, as well as an honorary citizen of his native Smolensk and the capital St. Petersburg. In 1891, the Russian Geographical Society established a silver medal and the Przhevalsky Prize. The name of the great Russian scientist who made a huge contribution to the study of Central Asia and the world geographical science in general, until recently, it was known as the city of Przhevalsk (Kyrgyzstan), but was renamed to suit the ideological costs of the era of the parade of sovereignties in the CIS. Name N.M. Przhevalsky continues to bear the mountain range, the Altai glacier, as well as some species of animals and plants.

Nikolai Mikhailovich Przhevalsky (1839-1888)

The famous Russian traveler Nikolai Mikhailovich Przhevalsky was the first explorer of the nature of Central Asia. He had an amazing ability to observe, was able to collect large and varied geographical and natural scientific material and connect it together using the comparative method. He was the largest representative of comparative physical geography, which originated in the first half of the 19th century.

Nikolai Mikhailovich Przhevalsky was born on April 12, 1839 in the village of Kimborovo, Smolensk province, into a poor family. When he was six years old, he lost his father. He was raised by his mother, an intelligent and strict woman. She gave her son wide freedom, allowing him to leave the house in any weather and wander through the forest and swamps. Her influence on her son was very great. Nikolai Mikhailovich forever retained a tender affection for her, as well as for his nanny Olga Makarevna.

Since childhood, N. M. Przhevalsky became addicted to hunting. He retained this passion throughout his life. Hunting strengthened his already healthy body, developed in him a love of nature, observation, patience and endurance. His favorite books were descriptions of travel, stories about the habits of animals and birds, and various geographical books. He read a lot and remembered what he read down to the smallest detail. Often, comrades, testing his memory, took a book familiar to him, read one or two lines on any page, and then Przhevalsky spoke entire pages by heart.

After graduating from the Smolensk gymnasium, a sixteen-year-old young man during Crimean War entered the army as a private. In 1861, he began studying at the Military Academy, after which he was sent back to the Polotsk Regiment, where he had served before. At the Academy, N. M. Przhevalsky compiled the “Military Statistical Review of the Amur Region,” which was highly appreciated by the Russian Geographical Society and served as the basis for his election as a member of the Society in 1864. His entire life and activities were subsequently connected with this Society.

WITH early years N. M. Przhevalsky dreamed of traveling. When he managed to escape from the regiment in Big city- Warsaw and becoming a teacher at a military school, he used all his strength and resources to prepare for travel. For himself, he established the strictest regime: he worked a lot in the university zoological museum, botanical garden and in the library. His reference books at that time were: works by K. Ritter on Asia, “Pictures of Nature” by A. Humboldt, different descriptions Russian travelers to Asia, publications of the Russian Geographical Society, books on zoology, especially ornithology (about birds).

N. M. Przhevalsky took his teaching responsibilities very seriously, prepared thoroughly for his classes, and presented the subject in an interesting and exciting way. He wrote a textbook on general geography. His book, scientifically and vividly written, was used in its time great success in military and civilian educational institutions and was published in several editions.

At the beginning of 1867, N. M. Przhevalsky moved from Warsaw to St. Petersburg and presented his plan for traveling to Central Asia to the Russian Geographical Society. The plan did not receive support. He was given only letters of recommendation to his superiors Eastern Siberia. Here he managed to get a business trip to the Ussuri region, which had recently been annexed to Russia. In the instructions, N. M. Przhevalsky was instructed to inspect the location of the troops, collect information about the number and condition of Russian, Manchu and Korean settlements, explore the routes leading to the borders, correct and supplement the route map. In addition, it was allowed to “carry out any scientific research.” Setting off on this expedition in the spring of 1867, he wrote to his friend: “...I am going to the Amur, from there to the Ussuri River, Lake Khanka and to the shores of the Great Ocean, to the borders of Korea. Yes! I have had an enviable lot and It’s a difficult task to explore areas, most of which have not yet been trodden by an educated European. Moreover, this will be my first announcement of myself to the scientific world, therefore, I need to work hard.”

As a result of his Ussuri expedition, N. M. Przhevalsky gave good geographical description the edges. In the economy of Primorye, he emphasized the discrepancy between the richest natural resources and their insignificant use. He was especially attracted by the Khanka steppes with their fertile soils, extensive pastures and a huge wealth of fish and poultry.

N. M. Przhevalsky colorfully, in all its charm and originality, showed geographical features Ussuri region. He noticed, among other things, a characteristic feature of nature Far East: “junction” of southern and northern plant and animal forms. N. M. Przhevalsky writes: “It’s somehow strange for an unaccustomed eye to see such a mixture of forms of the north and south that collide here both in the flora and fauna. Particularly striking is the view of a spruce entwined with grapes, or a cork tree and Walnut, growing next to cedar and fir. A hunting dog will find you a bear or a sable, but right next to you you can meet a tiger, not inferior in size and strength to the inhabitant of the jungles of Bengal."

N. M. Przhevalsky considered the Ussuri trip as a preliminary reconnaissance before his complex expeditions to Central Asia. It secured his reputation as an experienced traveler and explorer. Soon after this, he began to seek permission to travel to the northern outskirts of China and the eastern parts of southern Mongolia.

N. M. Przhevalsky defines the main tasks of his first trip to China - to Mongolia and the country of the Tanguts: “Physico-geographical, as well as special zoological research on mammals and birds were the main subject of our studies; ethnographic research was carried out whenever possible.” During this expedition (1870-1873) 11,800 kilometers were covered. Based on eye surveys of the route traveled, a map was compiled on 22 sheets on a scale of 1:420,000. Meteorological and magnetic observations were made daily, and rich zoological and botanical collections were collected. The diary of N. M. Przhevalsky contained valuable records of physical, geographical and ethnographic observations. Science for the first time received accurate information about the hydrographic system of Kuku-nora, the northern heights of the Tibetan Plateau. Based on the materials of N.M. Przhevalsky, it was possible to significantly clarify the map of Asia.

At the end of the expedition, the famous traveler wrote: “Our journey is over! Its success exceeded even the hopes that we had... Being poor in terms of material resources, we only ensured the success of our business through a series of constant successes. Many times it hung by a thread, but happy fate rescued us and gave us the opportunity to make a feasible exploration of the least known and most inaccessible countries of inner Asia."

This expedition strengthened the fame of N. M. Przhevalsky as a first-class researcher. The Russian, English and German editions of the book “Mongolia and the Country of the Tanguts” quickly became familiar to everyone scientific world, and this work received the highest praise. Long before the completion of processing the materials from the Mongolian journey, N. M. Przhevalsky began to prepare for a new expedition. In May 1876, he left Moscow to go to Gulja, and from there to the Tien Shan, to Lop Nor and further to the Himalayas. Having reached the Tarim River, the expedition of 9 people headed down its course to Lop-nor. To the south of Lob-Nor, N.M. Przhevalsky discovered the huge Altyn-Dag ridge and examined it under difficult conditions. He notes that the discovery of this ridge sheds light on many historical events, since the ancient road from Khotan to China went “through wells” to Lop-nor. During a long stop at Lob-Nor, astronomical determinations of the main points and photography of the lake were made. In addition, ornithological observations were made. The discovery of Altyndag by N. M. Przhevalsky was recognized by all geographers of the world as the largest geographical discovery. It established the exact northern border of the Tibetan Plateau. Tibet turned out to be 300 kilometers further north than previously thought.

The expedition failed to get into Tibet. This was prevented by the illness of the leader and a number of members of the expedition and especially the worsening of Russian-Chinese relations. N. M. Przhevalsky wrote a very brief report on his second trip to Central Asia. Some of the materials from this expedition were later included in the description of the fourth trip. IN Soviet time Some previously unpublished materials related to the Lopnor journey were discovered in the archives of the Russian Geographical Society.

At the beginning of 1879, N.M. Przhevalsky set off on a new, third, journey to Central Asia. The expedition went from Zaisan to the Hami oasis. From here, through the inhospitable desert and the Nan Shan ridges that lay along the way, the travelers climbed to the Tibetan Plateau. Nikolai Mikhailovich described his first impressions as follows: “It was as if we were entering another world, in which, first of all, we were struck by the abundance of large animals that had little or almost no fear of humans. Not far from our camp, herds of kulans grazed, wild yaks lay and walked alone, in a graceful Orongo males stood in a pose; small antelopes - adas - were jumping like rubber balls." After difficult treks, in November 1879 the travelers reached a pass over the Tan-la ridge. 250 kilometers from the capital of Tibet, Lhassa, near the village of Naichu, the travelers were detained by Tibetan officials. After lengthy negotiations with representatives of the Tibetan authorities, N.M. Przhevalsky had to turn back. After this, the expedition until July 1880 explored the upper reaches of the Huang He, Kuku Nor and eastern Nan Shan.

“The success of my three previous trips to Central Asia, the vast areas that remained unknown there, the desire to continue, as far as I could, my cherished task, and finally, the temptation of a free wandering life - all this pushed me, after finishing the report on my third expedition, to set out on a new journey,” writes N. M. Przhevalsky in his book about his fourth journey through Central Asia.

This expedition was more crowded and more richly furnished than all previous ones. The expedition explored the sources of the Huang He and the watershed between the Huang He and the Yangtze. These areas, from a geographic point of view, were completely unknown at that time not only in Europe, but also in China, and were only approximately indicated on maps. N. M. Przhevalsky rightly considered the achievement and study of the origins of the Huang He as the solution to an “important geographical problem.” Then N. M. Przhevalsky discovered some ridges unknown to Europeans and without local names. He gave them names: Columbus Ridge, Moscow Ridge, Russian Ridge. N. M. Przhevalsky gave the name “Kremlin” to the top of the Moscow ridge. To the south of the Columbus and Russian ridges, N. M. Przhevalsky noticed a “vast snow ridge” and called it “Mysterious.” Subsequently, by decision of the Council of the Russian Geographical Society, this ridge was named after N. M. Przhevalsky.

Having explored the northern part of the Tibetan plateau, the expedition came to Lob-nor and Tarim. Then the travelers went to Cherchen and further to Keria, from here through Khotan and Aksu to Karakol to Lake Issyk-Kul. Geographically, this was Przhevalsky's most fruitful journey.

Neither honors, nor fame, nor certain material security could keep the passionate traveler in place. In March 1888, he completed the description of the fourth trip, and the next month he already had permission and money for a new expedition to Lhassa. In October he arrived in Karakol. Here the entire expedition was staffed and the caravan was prepared for the journey. But N. M. Przhevalsky did not have to go further: on November 1, 1888, in the arms of his employees, he died of typhus. Nikolai Mikhailovich demanded from his employees not to spare “neither strength, nor health, nor life itself, if necessary, in order to complete ... a high-profile task and serve them both for science and for the glory of our dear fatherland.” He himself always served as an example of selfless devotion to duty. Before his death, Nikolai Mikhailovich said: “I ask you not to forget one thing, that they certainly bury me on the shores of Issyk-Kul, in a marching expedition uniform...”.

His companions chose a flat, beautiful place for the grave on the shore of Issyk-Kul, on a cliff, overlooking the lake and the immediate surroundings. A monument was later built on the grave from large blocks of local marble with the inscription: “Nikolai Mikhailovich Przhevalsky, born March 31, 1839, died October 20, 1888. The first explorer of the nature of Central Asia” (dates are indicated in the Old Style).

The space of Central Asia, in which N.M. Przhevalsky traveled, is located between 32 and 48° north latitude and 78 and 117° east longitude. From north to south it stretches for more than 1000 kilometers and from west to east about 4000 kilometers. The routes of Przhevalsky's expedition in this vast space constitute a real network. His caravans traveled over 30,000 kilometers.

N.M. Przhevalsky considered physical-geographical descriptions and route surveys to be the most important part of the program of all his travels. He paved and mapped many thousands of kilometers of new routes unknown to anyone before him. To do this, he took a survey, determined 63 points astronomically, and made several hundred determinations of heights above sea level.

N. M. Przhevalsky carried out the filming himself. He always rode ahead of the caravan with a small notebook in his hands, where he wrote down everything that interested him. Upon arrival at the bivouac, N.M. Przhevalsky transferred what was recorded onto a clean tablet.

He had the rare ability to describe the areas he traversed with unusual accuracy. Thanks to him, the map of Central Asia has changed significantly in all its parts. Science has been enriched with concepts about the orography of Mongolia, northern Tibet, the region of the sources of the Huang He, and Eastern Turkestan. After the hypsometric observations of N.M. Przhevalsky, the relief of a huge country began to emerge. New mountain ranges appeared on the map to replace many of the mythical mountains marked on ancient Chinese maps.

N. M. Przhevalsky crossed the northern border of Tibet - Kuen-lun - in three places. Before him, these mountains were shown on maps as a straight line. He showed that these mountains are divided into a number of separate ridges. On the maps of Asia before the travels of N. M. Przhevalsky, the mountains that make up the southern fence of Tsaidam did not appear. These mountains were first explored by N. M. Przhevalsky. He gave names to individual ridges, for example, Marco Polo ridge, Columbus ridge. These names appear on all modern maps of Asia. In the western part of Tibet, he discovered and named individual ridges of the Nan Shan mountain system (Humboldt Ridge, Ritter Ridge). The geographical map firmly preserves the names associated with the activities of the first scientific explorer of Central Asia.

Before N. M. Przhevalsky’s travels to Central Asia, absolutely nothing was known about its climate. He was the first to give alive and vivid description seasons and general characteristics climate of the countries he visited. Day after day, carefully, for many years, he carried out systematic meteorological observations. N. M. Przhevalsky provided valuable materials for judging the spread of the humid, rainy monsoon of Asia to the north and west and the border of its two main regions - Indian and Chinese, or East Asian. Based on his observations, general average temperatures for Central Asia were established for the first time. They turned out to be 17.5° lower than expected.

N. M. Przhevalsky conducted his scientific research, starting with the first Ussuri and including the subsequent four large trips to Central Asia, according to a single program. “In the foreground,” he writes, “of course, there should be purely geographical research, then natural-historical and ethnographic. The latter... are very difficult to collect in passing... In addition, for us there was too much work in other fields scientific research, so ethnographic observations for this reason could not be carried out with the desired completeness."

The greatest expert on Asian vegetation, Academician V.L. Komarov, emphasizes that there is no branch of natural science to which the research of N.M. Przhevalsky would not make an outstanding contribution. His expeditions discovered a completely new world of animals and plants.

All works of N. M. Przhevalsky bear the stamp of exceptional scientific integrity. He writes only about what he saw himself. His travel diaries amaze with their pedantry and accuracy of entries. From a fresh memory, regularly, according to a certain system, he writes down everything he sees. The travel diary of N. M. Przhevalsky includes: a general diary, meteorological observations, lists of collected birds, eggs, mammals, mollusks, plants, rocks, etc., general, ethnographic notes, zoological and astronomical observations.

The thoroughness and accuracy of the travel notes made it possible for their author to later short time complete complete processing of materials.

The merits of N. M. Przhevalsky were recognized during his lifetime in Russia and abroad. Twenty-four scientific institutions of Russia and Western Europe elected him as an honorary member. N. M. Przhevalsky was an honorary member of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Moscow University awarded him the degree of honorary doctor of zoology. The city of Smolensk elected him an honorary citizen. Foreign geographical societies awarded N. M. Przhevalsky their awards: the Swedish - the highest award - the Vega medal, the Berlin - the Humboldt medal, the Paris and London - gold medals, and the French Ministry of Education - the Palm of the Academy. The London Geographical Society, awarding him its highest award in 1879, noted that his journey surpasses everything that has taken place since the time of Marco Polo (13th century). It was noted that N. M. Przhevalsky was prompted to desperate and dangerous travels by his passion for nature, and to this passion he managed to instill all the virtues of a geographer and the happiest and bravest explorer of unknown countries. N. M. Przhevalsky walked tens of thousands of kilometers in difficult conditions, did not undress or wash for weeks, and repeatedly his life was in immediate danger. But all this never once shook his cheerful state and efficiency. He persistently and persistently walked towards his goal.

The personal qualities of N. M. Przhevalsky ensured the success of his expedition. He selected his employees from simple, unpampered, enterprising people and treated people of the “noble breed” with great distrust. He himself did not disdain any menial work. His discipline during the expedition was strict, without pomp and lordship. His assistants - V.I. Roborovsky and P.K. Kozlov - subsequently became famous independent travelers. Many satellites took part in two or three expeditions, and the Buryats Dondok Irinchinov conducted four expeditions together with N. M. Przhevalsky.

The scientific results of N. M. Przhevalsky’s travels are enormous and multifaceted. With his travels, he covered vast areas, collected rich scientific collections, made extensive research and geographical discoveries, processed the results and summed up the results. He donated the various scientific collections he collected to scientific institutions in Russia: ornithological and zoological to the Academy of Sciences, botanical to the Botanical Garden.

The fascinating descriptions of the travels of N. M. Przhevalsky are at the same time strictly scientific. His books are among the best geographical works. These are brilliant results of the activities of the great traveler. His works contain subtle artistic descriptions of many of the birds and wild animals, plants, landscapes and natural phenomena of Asia. These descriptions became classic and were included in special works on zoology, botany, and geography.

N. M. Przhevalsky considered the preparation of a detailed report on the expedition to be the most important matter. Returning from the expedition, he took advantage of every opportunity to work on the report, even at random stops. N. M. Przhevalsky began a new expedition only after the book about the previous one was published. He wrote over two thousand printed pages about his travels. All his works, upon their publication in Russian, immediately appeared in translations in foreign languages abroad. It happened that editions of N. M. Przhevalsky’s works sold out faster abroad than in Russia.

N. M. Przhevalsky had no rivals in enterprise, energy, determination, and resourcefulness. He literally yearned for unknown countries. Central Asia attracted him with its unexplored nature. No difficulties frightened him. Based on the overall results of his work, N. M. Przhevalsky took one of the most honorable places among famous travelers of all times and peoples. His work is an exceptional example of a steady pursuit of his goal and a talented execution of his task.

Nikolai Mikhailovich Przhevalsky’s fearlessness, selfless love of science, perseverance, determination and organization make him similar to the people of our era.

The main works of N. M. Przhevalsky: Notes on General Geography, Warsaw, 1867 (2nd ed., 1870); Travel in the Ussuri region 1867-1869, St. Petersburg, 1870 (new edition, Moscow, 1937); Mongolia and the country of the Tanguts; Three-year journey in Eastern mountainous Asia, St. Petersburg, 1875 (vol. I), 1876 (vol. II); From Kulja to the Tien Shan and to Lob-nor, "News of the Russian Geographical Society", 1877, No. 5; Third trip to Central Asia, St. Petersburg, 1883; Fourth trip to Central Asia, St. Petersburg, 1888.

About N. M. Przhevalsky:Dubrovin N. F., Nikolai Mikhailovich Przhevalsky, Biographical sketch, St. Petersburg. 1890; Zelenin A.V., Travels of N. M. Przhevalsky, St. Petersburg, 1901 (parts 1 and 2); Kozlov P.K., The great Russian traveler N. M. Przhevalsky. Life and Travels, L., 1929; Komarov V. L., Botanical routes of the most important Russian expeditions to Central Asia, vol. 1; Routes of N. M. Przhevalsky, "Proceedings of the Main Botanical Garden", Pg., 1920, v. 34, issue. 1; The great Russian geographer Przhevalsky. To the centenary of the birth of 1839-1939. Sat. articles. Editor M. G. Kadek, ed. Moscow state University, 1939; Berg L.S., Essays on Russian history geographical discoveries, M.-L., 1946; His, All-Union Geographical Society for a Hundred Years, M.-L., 1946.