Nikolay Vasilyevich Komarov (russian: Никола́й Васи́льевич Комаро́в; 1831 - after 1875) was a

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

junior commissioned officer (''

praporshchik ( rus, Пра́порщик, 3=ˈprapərɕːɪk, ) is a rank used by the Russian Armed Forces and a number of former communist states. The rank is a non-commissioned officer's and is equivalent to in navies. It is usually equivalent to Warrant ...

'') who is commonly considered to be the founder of the city of

Vladivostok Vladivostok ( rus, Владивосто́к, a=Владивосток.ogg, p=vɫədʲɪvɐˈstok) is the largest city and the administrative center of Primorsky Krai, Russia. The city is located around the Golden Horn Bay on the Sea of Japan, c ...

. Little is known about Komarov's youth. He was born in the village of Komarovo,

Tobolsk Governorate Tobolsk Governorate (russian: Тобольская губерния) was an administrative division (a '' guberniya'') of the Russian Empire, Russian Republic and RSFSR located in the Ural Mountains and Siberia. It existed from 1796 to 1920; its ...

(now part of

Tyumen Tyumen ( ; rus, Тюмень, p=tʲʉˈmʲenʲ, a=Ru-Tyumen.ogg) is the administrative center and largest city of Tyumen Oblast, Russia. It is situated just east of the Ural Mountains, along the Tura River. Fueled by the Russian oil and gas in ...

) into a family of government peasants and graduated from Omsk Army Commissioned Officers College, after which he was assigned to a company sent to the

Far East The ''Far East'' was a European term to refer to the geographical regions that includes East and Southeast Asia as well as the Russian Far East to a lesser extent. South Asia is sometimes also included for economic and cultural reasons. The ter ...

to build new outposts. In 1858, his company was quartered in Khabarovsk, in 1859—in Sofiysk, and in 1860—in

Nikolayevsk-on-Amur Nikolayevsk-on-Amur (russian: Никола́евск-на-Аму́ре, translit=Nikoláyevsk-na-Amúrye) is a town in Khabarovsk Krai, Russia located on the Amur River close to its liman in the Pacific Ocean. Population: Geography The town is ...

. On June 20 (July 2 Gregorian style), 1860, the military supply ship ''Manchzhur'' under the command of Captain-Lieutenant Alexey Shefner called at the

Golden Horn Bay Zolotoy Rog (russian: Золотой Рог) or the Golden Horn Bay, is a sheltered horn-shaped bay of the Sea of Japan, located in coastal Primorsky Krai within the Russian Far East. Vladivostok, that lies on the hills at the head of the bay, ...

to establish an outpost called Vladivostok. Komarov with twenty-eight soldiers and two non-commissioned officers under his command started construction of military barracks, an officers' house, a kitchen, a warehouse, and a bathhouse. This date is now considered the official date of Vladivostok's founding. On the following day, Komarov was appointed a commanding officer of Vladivostok's garrison, but a year later was relieved from duty for theft and alcoholism (according to Major Khitrovo, who visited Vladivostok with inspections, Komarov often fraternized and drank with soldiers). He was replaced by Yevgeny Burachok, an officer who had to disembark in Vladivostok from the clipper ''Razboynik'' for medical reasons. Komarov was soon transferred to the

Ussuri River The Ussuri or Wusuli (russian: Уссури; ) is a river that runs through Khabarovsk and Primorsky Krais, Russia and the southeast region of Northeast China. It rises in the Sikhote-Alin mountain range, flowing north and forming part of the S ...

. He retired in 1875 in the rank of '' poruchik'' (

First Lieutenant First lieutenant is a commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces; in some forces, it is an appointment. The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations, but in most forces it is sub-divided into a ...

) (according to other sources—in the rank of Captain-Engineer). A street in central Vladivostok (Komarovskaya St.) was named after Nikolay Komarov in 1860. The street was renamed Borodinskaya and later—Geologov, but in 1985 it was again renamed after Komarov (Praporshchik Komarov St.).

References

*Primorsky Public State Library. ''Primoriana'', CD-ROM encyclopedia. 2001. Entry o
Nikolay Komarov
* (Valery Markov. ''Hello, Vladivostok!''. Far Eastern Book House, 1988.

{{DEFAULTSORT:Komarov, Nikolay Vasilyevich 1831 births Year of death unknown People from Tyumen People from Tyumensky Uyezd Military personnel of the Russian Empire 19th-century military personnel from the Russian Empire Military personnel from Vladivostok