Fyodor Andreyevich Matisen or Mathiesen (; , – 19 December 1921) was an officer of the

Russian Imperial 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 explorer. Matisen explored and mapped wide areas of the coast of the

Kara Sea The Kara Sea is a marginal sea, separated from the Barents Sea to the west by the Kara Strait and Novaya Zemlya, and from the Laptev Sea to the east by the Severnaya Zemlya archipelago. Ultimately the Kara, Barents and Laptev Seas are all ...

and the

Laptev Sea The Laptev Sea () is a marginal sea of the Arctic Ocean. It is located between the northern coast of Siberia, the Taimyr Peninsula, Severnaya Zemlya, and the New Siberian Islands. Its northern boundary passes from the Arctic Cape to a point with ...

in the Russian Arctic. He was a friend of

Alexander Kolchak Admiral Alexander Vasilyevich Kolchak (; – 7 February 1920) was a Russian navy officer and polar explorer who led the White movement in the Russian Civil War. As he assumed the title of Supreme Ruler of Russia in 1918, Kolchak headed a mili ...

and a member of the

Russian Geographical Society The Russian Geographical Society (), or RGO, is a learned society based in Saint Petersburg, Russia. It promotes geography, exploration and nature protection with research programs in fields including oceanography, ethnography, ecology and stati ...

and 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 ...

. After having been senior officer and second-in-command, Matisen became the captain of Polar ship '' Zarya'' during the last part of the Russian polar expedition of 1900–1902 led by Baron

Eduard von Toll Eduard Gustav Freiherr von Toll (; 1902), better known in Russia as Eduard Vasilyevich Toll and often referred to as Baron von Toll, was a Russian geologist and Arctic explorer. He is most notable for leading the Russian polar expedition of 1 ...

Early life and career

Fyodor Andreyevich Matisen graduated from the Naval Cadet Corps in 1897. Barely two years later, he took part in the 1899 Russian expedition to

Svalbard Svalbard ( , ), previously known as Spitsbergen or Spitzbergen, is a Norway, Norwegian archipelago that lies at the convergence of the Arctic Ocean with the Atlantic Ocean. North of continental Europe, mainland Europe, it lies about midway be ...

Russian polar expedition

Owing to the experience in polar exploration he acquired in Svalbard, Matisen was chosen for Baron

Eduard Gustav von Toll Eduard Gustav Freiherr von Toll (; 1902), better known in Russia as Eduard Vasilyevich Toll and often referred to as Baron von Toll, was a Russian geologist and Arctic explorer. He is most notable for leading the Russian polar expedition of 1 ...

's polar expedition on behalf of the

. He was named assistant to commander of Polar ship ''Zarya'' Nikolai Kolomeitsev. Matisen's friend Alexander Kolchak accompanied the expedition as third naval officer and hydrographer. All leading officers were from military background. During the first wintering of ''Zarya'' close to Taymyr Island, the disagreements between Toll and Kolomeitsev became unsurmountable.E. Toll. ''Die Russische Polarfahrt der ''Sarja'' 1900-1902 aus den hinterlassenen Tagebüchern von Baron Eduard Von Toll.'' Berlin 1909 Finally Baron von Toll sent Kolomeitsev away on a long sledge trip overland with the mission of organizing coal depots for the ship. When the former captain was gone Matisen was appointed by Toll as ''Zarya''s commander. In March, while ''Zarya'' was still stuck in ice, Matisen explored the

Nordenskiöld Archipelago The Nordenskiöld Archipelago or Nordenskjold Archipelago () is a large and complex cluster of about 90 islands in the eastern region of the Kara Sea. Its eastern limit lies west of the Taymyr Peninsula. The archipelago is part of the Taymyrsk ...

dogsled A dog sled or dog sleigh is a sled pulled by one or more sled dogs used to travel over ice and through snow, a practice known as mushing. Numerous types of sleds are used, depending on their function. They can be used for dog sled racing. Tradi ...

through the frozen sea as far as

Russky Island Russky Island () is an island in Peter the Great Gulf in the Sea of Japan, in Primorsky Krai, Russia. It is the largest island in the Eugénie Archipelago, separated from the Muravyov-Amursky Peninsula immediately to the north by the Eastern ...

. From there he swung SW, then south through another region of the large archipelago. On this trip Matisen could only survey parts of the coastlines of many of the Nordenskiöld islands, but on a subsequent trip in April he was able to make corrections to his previous survey by determining with accuracy the coordinates of at least one island in each of the groups in which he divided the archipelago. In total Matisen discovered and named about 40 islands of the Nordenskiöld group; he also arranged the archipelago into the following four main subgroups: Vilkitsky Islands, Pakhtusov Islands, Tsivolko Islands and Litke Islands.

William Barr William Pelham Barr (born May 23, 1950) is an American attorney who served as United States Attorney General, United States attorney general in the administration of President George H. W. Bush from 1991 to 1993 and again in the first adminis ...

, ''Baron Eduard von Toll's Last Expedition: The Russian Polar Expedition, 1900-1903'' After the thaw, Matisen led ''Zarya'' across the

to the

New Siberian Islands The New Siberian Islands (; ) are an archipelago in the Extreme North of Russia, to the north of the East Siberian coast between the Laptev Sea and the East Siberian Sea north of the Sakha (Yakutia) Republic, of whose Bulunsky District they ar ...

. The aim of Toll's expedition was to explore well the area north of the New Siberian Islands and eventually sail towards the Pole in order to find the elusive

Sannikov Land Sannikov Land (, ) was a phantom island in the Arctic Ocean. Its supposed existence became something of a myth in 19th-century Russia. History Yakov Sannikov and Matvei Gedenschtrom claimed to have seen the land mass during their 1809–1810 ca ...

. However, ''Zarya'' was trapped in fast ice and was unlikely to be freed that winter. Leaving the ship, Toll and three companions went in search of Sannikov Land on foot and kayaks. They vanished in November 1902 while travelling away from

Bennett Island Bennett Island (; ) is the largest of the De Long Islands in the northern part of the East Siberian Sea in North Asia. The area of this island is approximately and it has a tombolo at its eastern end. The highest point of the island is high Mo ...

towards the south on loose ice floes. The ''Zarya'' was able to set sail only on 11 August 1902; it headed straight towards Bennett Island but was unable to approach the island on account of the ice. Finally Captain Matisen abandoned the attempt and sailed towards the

Lena Lena or LENA may refer to: Places * Léna Department, a department of Houet Province in Burkina Faso * Lena, Manitoba, an unincorporated community located in Killarney-Turtle Mountain municipality in Manitoba, Canada * Lena, Norway, a village in ...

river delta. Baron von Toll and his party were never found. Despite this tragedy, the expedition was not a failure. Many important oceanographic investigations were carried out, so that the study of data continued until 1917 and remained uncompleted. Besides, the Expedition plotted about 200 new geographical names on the map of the Arctic region. After exploring the mouths of the

Lena River The Lena is a river in the Russian Far East and is the easternmost river of the three great rivers of Siberia which flow into the Arctic Ocean, the others being Ob (river), Ob and Yenisey. The Lena River is long and has a capacious drainage basi ...

, Matisen left a badly leaking ''Zarya'' to sink at

Tiksi Bay Tiksi Bay (, ''Bukhta Tiksi'') is a bay of the Laptev Sea that cuts into the northern part of the Sakha Republic, Russia. History This bay was first surveyed by Russian Arctic explorer Dmitry Laptev in 1739. It was then called "Gorely Bay". The na ...

, close to the Lena delta. On 6 August 1903, after forwarding all scientific equipment to

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

, the ship was stripped and its hull was allowed to fill with water. Matisen lowered the flag of the

Neva Yacht Club The Neva Yacht Club (Yacht-club Neva or simply Club Neva) is a yacht club, sailing club located in Saint Petersburg, Russia, close to the Neva River. It was founded in 1718 and was re-established as a club in 1958. It claims to be the first and o ...

for the last time and left ''Zarya''. Matisen returned to

Yakutsk Yakutsk ( ) is the capital and largest city of Sakha, Russia, located about south of the Arctic Circle. Fueled by the mining industry, Yakutsk has become one of Russia's most rapidly growing regional cities, with a population of 355,443 at the ...

on board ship ''Lena'' with Captain Yershevskiy. Apparently ''Zarya''s remains still lie close to

Brusneva Island Brusneva Island (, Ostrov Brusneva), is a small island in the Laptev Sea. It is located off the eastern side of the Lena delta in the Tiksi Bay, only 5 km ENE of Tiksi. Its length is 2.3 km and its maximum breadth less than 1 km. T ...

at Bukhta Tiksi.

Later life

In 1904–1905, Matisen saw active service in the

Russo-Japanese War The Russo-Japanese War (8 February 1904 – 5 September 1905) was fought between the Russian Empire and the Empire of Japan over rival imperial ambitions in Manchuria and the Korean Empire. The major land battles of the war were fought on the ...

. He was a senior navigator on cruiser Zhemchug which was rushed to Tsushima to assist the Russian fleet. He took part in the

Battle of Tsushima The Battle of Tsushima (, ''Tsusimskoye srazheniye''), also known in Japan as the , was the final naval battle of the Russo-Japanese War, fought on 27–28 May 1905 in the Tsushima Strait. A devastating defeat for the Imperial Russian Navy, the ...

.Матисен Фёдор Андреевич (1872–1921)
At the time of the

Russian Revolution The Russian Revolution was a period of Political revolution (Trotskyism), political and social revolution, social change in Russian Empire, Russia, starting in 1917. This period saw Russia Dissolution of the Russian Empire, abolish its mona ...

of 1917 when the Russian fleet virtually ceased to exist, Matisen left Russia like many of his naval colleagues. He served as a hydrographer in the British

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

for a period of time, but opted to return to Russia and went to

Vladivostok Vladivostok ( ; , ) is the largest city and the administrative center of Primorsky Krai and the capital of the Far Eastern Federal District of Russia. It is located around the Zolotoy Rog, Golden Horn Bay on the Sea of Japan, covering an area o ...

in 1919. During a journey to the

Far Eastern Republic The Far Eastern Republic ( rus, Дальневосточная Республика, Dal'nevostochnaya Respublika, p=dəlʲnʲɪvɐˈstotɕnəjə rʲɪsˈpublʲɪkə, links=yes; ), sometimes called the Chita Republic (, ), was a nominally indep ...

, Matisen contracted typhus. He became severely ill and was sent to a military hospital in Irkutsk where he died in December 1921.

Posthumous honors

Matisen was awarded the

Order of St. Vladimir The Imperial Order of Saint Prince Vladimir () was an Imperial Russian order established on by Empress Catherine II in memory of the deeds of Saint Vladimir, the Grand Prince and the Baptizer of the Kievan Rus'. Grades The order had four ...

for his lifelong work in hydrography. One of the two major channels separating the groups of the Nordenskiöld Archipelago has been named "Matisen Strait" (the other one is named after

Lenin Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov ( 187021 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin, was a Russian revolutionary, politician and political theorist. He was the first head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 until Death and state funeral of ...

). A "Dmitriy Ovtsyn" class coastal survey ship was named ''Fyodor Matisen'' by the

USSR The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

government in 1976.USSR Navy
/ref>

References

External links