Fyodor (or Fedor) Ivanovich Soimonov (; 1692 – 22 July 1780), Knight of the

Order of St. Alexander Nevsky The Imperial Order of Saint Alexander Nevsky was an order of chivalry of the Russian Empire first awarded on by Empress Catherine I of Russia. History The introduction of the Imperial Order of Saint Alexander Nevsky was envisioned by Emperor ...

, was a nautical

surveyor Surveying or land surveying is the technique, profession, art, and science of determining the terrestrial two-dimensional or three-dimensional positions of points and the distances and angles between them. These points are usually on the ...

of the

Imperial Russian Navy The Imperial Russian Navy () operated as the navy of the Russian Tsardom and later the Russian Empire from 1696 to 1917. Formally established in 1696, it lasted until being dissolved in the wake of the February Revolution and the declaration of ...

hydrographer Hydrography is the branch of applied sciences which deals with the measurement and description of the physical features of oceans, seas, coastal areas, lakes and rivers, as well as with the prediction of their change over time, for the primary ...

and pioneering explorer of the

Caspian Sea The Caspian Sea is the world's largest inland body of water, described as the List of lakes by area, world's largest lake and usually referred to as a full-fledged sea. An endorheic basin, it lies between Europe and Asia: east of the Caucasus, ...

who charted the until then little known body of water.Igor S. Zonn, Aleksey N Kosarev, Michael H. Glantz & Andrey G. Kostianoy, ''The Caspian Sea Encyclopedia'' Soimonov was an important contributor to the improvement of navigation along the

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

n coasts. As a

cartographer Cartography (; from , 'papyrus, sheet of paper, map'; and , 'write') is the study and practice of making and using maps. Combining science, aesthetics and technique, cartography builds on the premise that reality (or an imagined reality) can ...

he also mapped new territories in

Siberia Siberia ( ; , ) is an extensive geographical region comprising all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has formed a part of the sovereign territory of Russia and its predecessor states ...

and contributed to the development of farming in that region. As a military man he served in the Russian campaigns against

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

and against the

Safavid Empire The Guarded Domains of Iran, commonly called Safavid Iran, Safavid Persia or the Safavid Empire, was one of the largest and longest-lasting Iranian empires. It was ruled from 1501 to 1736 by the Safavid dynasty. It is often considered the begi ...

and the

Ottoman Turks The Ottoman Turks () were a Turkic peoples, Turkic ethnic group in Anatolia. Originally from Central Asia, they migrated to Anatolia in the 13th century and founded the Ottoman Empire, in which they remained socio-politically dominant for the e ...

Biography

Fyodor Soimonov was born into a noble family. He became a graduate of the

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

School of Navigation and went to the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

for training. Soimonov made the first thorough hydrographic survey of the

between 1719 and 1727, building up on the survey previously done by Karl Van Verden during Tsar

Peter the Great Peter I (, ; – ), better known as Peter the Great, was the Sovereign, Tsar and Grand Prince of all Russia, Tsar of all Russia from 1682 and the first Emperor of Russia, Emperor of all Russia from 1721 until his death in 1725. He reigned j ...

's drive for reform and modernization at the beginning of the 18th century. He led the Caspian Expedition that explored the coasts of the sea. As a result of the survey, Soimonov drew a set of maps of the Caspian for the ''Atlas of the Caspian Sea'' (''Atlas Kapiiskago Moria'') and wrote the ''Pilot of the Caspian Sea'', published in 1731 by the

Russian Academy of Sciences The Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS; ''Rossíyskaya akadémiya naúk'') consists of the national academy of Russia; a network of scientific research institutes from across the Russian Federation; and additional scientific and social units such ...

. These became the first comprehensive report and the first modern maps of the Caspian in history. Between 1730 and 1738 he was employed as a cartographer for the Russian Admiralty Board, which had been established in 1718 by

Peter I the Great Peter I (, ; – ), better known as Peter the Great, was the Tsar of all Russia from 1682 and the first Emperor of all Russia from 1721 until his death in 1725. He reigned jointly with his half-brother Ivan V until 1696. From this year, Pe ...

. Soimonov led the Russian Admiralty Board between 1739 and 1740, publishing (''An extract of the art of navigation. Of the sciences belonging to navigation, composed in questions and answers for the benefit and safety of seafarers'') (St Petersburg, 1739). In 1740 Soimonov fell from grace after having been accused of conspiring against Empress

Anna of Russia Anna Ioannovna (; ), also russified as Anna Ivanovna and sometimes anglicized as Anne, served as regent of the Duchy of Courland and Semigallia from 1711 until 1730 and then ruled as Empress of Russia from 1730 to 1740. Much of her administratio ...

's lover

Ernst Johann von Biron Ernst Johann von Biron (; ; ) was the duke of Courland and Semigallia from 1737 to 1740 and again from 1763 to 1769. He was also briefly the regent of the Russian Empire in 1740. Early years Biron was born as Ernst Johann von Bühren in Ka ...

. He was exiled to

Okhotsk Okhotsk ( rus, Охотск, p=ɐˈxotsk) is an urban locality (a work settlement) and the administrative center of Okhotsky District of Khabarovsk Krai, Russia, located at the mouth of the Okhota River on the Sea of Okhotsk. Population: ...

, the main Russian base on the Pacific coast at that time, where he was condemned to live as a serf. He regained freedom in 1749 under Empress

Elizabeth of Russia Elizabeth or Elizaveta Petrovna (; ) was Empress of Russia from 1741 until her death in 1762. She remains one of the most popular List of Russian rulers, Russian monarchs because of her decision not to execute a single person during her reign, ...

's rule and went back to his estate in Moscow where he kept a low profile until 1753, when he was appointed to lead the

Nerchinsk Nerchinsk (; , ''Nershüü''; , ''Nerchüü''; mnc, m=, v=Nibcu, a=Nibqu) is a town and the administrative center of Nerchinsky District in Zabaykalsky Krai, Russia, located on the left bank of the Nercha River, above its confluence with th ...

Expedition and was sent to map the then little explored area of the

Amur River The Amur River () or Heilong River ( zh, s=黑龙江) is a perennial river in Northeast Asia, forming the natural border between the Russian Far East and Northeast China (historically the Outer and Inner Manchuria). The Amur ''proper'' is ...

and its tributaries. He made the cartography of the Shilka, which was partly in Chinese territory, but was turned back when he reached its confluence with the Argun. As a result of these explorations he published the ''Atlas of Nerchinsk''. Soimonov was the governor of the

Siberia Governorate Siberia Governorate () was an administrative-territorial unit ('' guberniya'') of the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, which existed from 1708 until 1782. Its seat was in Tobolsk (initially spelt as ''Tobolesk''). The governorate was ...

between 1757 and 1763. During his tenure he earned a reputation as a competent administrator, fighting against corruption and pushing for the development of the vast region. From 1764 to 1766 he became a senator and Empress Catherine's chief counsellor for Siberian affairs. He accelerated the development of agriculture, establishing regulations for the allotment of land for farming and also publishing scientific works such as ''An Outline of Crops Growing in Siberia''. Under Catherine the Great, Soimonov also implemented the vision of the state by monitoring the advancement of Russian nautical schools. His task was meant to facilitate scientific exploration and geographic coverage of the new Russian territories by better preparing Russian captains and crews for shipping on the open seas.Henner Kropp, ''Halfway around the World''. p. 15 In 1766 he retired from active service owing to ill-health. He died in 1780 and was buried at the Vysotsky Monastery in

Serpukhov Serpukhov ( rus, Серпухов, p=ˈsʲerpʊxəf) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city in Moscow Oblast, Russia, located at the confluence of the Oka River, Oka and the Nara (Oka), Nara Rivers, 99 kilometers (62 miles) south fro ...

References

External links

Caspian Sea Biodiversity
{{DEFAULTSORT:Soimonov, Fyodor 1692 births 1780 deaths History of the Caspian Sea Cartographers from the Russian Empire 18th-century explorers from the Russian Empire People of the Russo-Persian Wars

Biography

See also

References

External links