Georgy Nikolaevich Rybin (; April 18, 1901 in

Zharkent Jarkent (; ) is a city which serves as the administrative center of Panfilov District in Jetisu Region, southeastern Kazakhstan. It is located near the Usek River, not far from the Ili River. It is also right by the border with Xinjiang, China. T ...

– March 1, 1974 in

Leningrad 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 ...

), was a Russian hуdrographer; explorer of the Arctic seas and the

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by the countries of Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden, and the North European Plain, North and Central European Plain regions. It is the ...

Biography

Family and childhood

Georgy Rybin was born into the family of a hereditary

Cossack The Cossacks are a predominantly East Slavic Eastern Christian people originating in the Pontic–Caspian steppe of eastern Ukraine and southern Russia. Cossacks played an important role in defending the southern borders of Ukraine and Rus ...

officer. To help his family, which consisted of his parents and a younger sister, he began to work in the research team of the

dredging Dredging is the excavation of material from a water environment. Possible reasons for dredging include improving existing water features; reshaping land and water features to alter drainage, navigability, and commercial use; constructing d ...

works of the

Irtysh The Irtysh is a river in Russia, China, and Kazakhstan. It is the chief tributary of the Ob (river), Ob and is also the longest tributary in the world. The river's source lies in the Altai Mountains, Mongolian Altai in Dzungaria (the northern p ...

river in

Omsk Omsk (; , ) is the administrative center and largest types of inhabited localities in Russia, city of Omsk Oblast, Russia. It is situated in southwestern Siberia and has a population of over one million. Omsk is the third List of cities and tow ...

during his summers from 1917 to 1919.

Education and service

In 1919 he graduated from the First Omsk Men's gymnasium with a gold medal, and entered the Tomsk Technical Institute. However, the

Civil war A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

impeded his studies, and he was called to the

White Army The White Army, also known as the White Guard, the White Guardsmen, or simply the Whites, was a common collective name for the armed formations of the White movement and Anti-Sovietism, anti-Bolshevik governments during the Russian Civil War. T ...

of the

admiral 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 ...

, to the Cossack's hundred-man unit of the 3d army headquarter. In January 1920 Georgy fell ill with

typhus Typhus, also known as typhus fever, is a group of infectious diseases that include epidemic typhus, scrub typhus, and murine typhus. Common symptoms include fever, headache, and a rash. Typically these begin one to two weeks after exposu ...

, then with

relapsing fever Relapsing fever is a vector-borne disease caused by infection with certain bacteria in the genus '' Borrelia'', which is transmitted through the bites of lice, soft-bodied ticks (genus '' Ornithodoros''), or hard-bodied ticks (Genus Ixodes). ...

. In May 1920 he was called to the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...

as an infantry man, in Tiumen. In September 1920 he was detached to

Tomsk Tomsk (, ) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative center of Tomsk Oblast in Russia, on the Tom (river), Tom River. Population: Founded in 1604, Tomsk is one of the oldest cities in Siberia. It has six univers ...

to continue his studies in the Tomsk Technical Institute, but there were no more vacancies there. So, Rybin had to enter the Tomsk Land-use Technical School.

Survey in Ubekosibir

After the March 1921 trade contract between

RSFSR The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (Russian SFSR or RSFSR), previously known as the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic and the Russian Soviet Republic, and unofficially as Soviet Russia,Declaration of Rights of the labo ...

, the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, and

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

, the Kara Trade Expedition was organized under personal leadership of

V. I. 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 his death in 1924, and of ...

. After passing his exams, in summer of 1921 Georgy Rybin entered military service again in the Detached Hydrographic Party of the Ubekosibir (Убекосибирь, Siberian Department of Navigation Safety). He was a sounding steersman of the

survey vessel A survey vessel is any type of ship or boat that is used for underwater surveys, usually to collect data for mapping or planning underwater construction or mineral extraction. It is a type of research vessel, and may be designed for the pu ...

No.141. In 1922 Georgy left his studies and began his first officer's post as an interpreter of the 1st Ob pilot distance. Then he was a foreman on different survey vessels: "Iney", "Orlik", "Anna", "Priboy", "Toros", "Tsirkul". During this period, he discovered, documented, and photographed the skeleton of Peter Tessem, member of Amundsen's expedition aboard Maud. In 1925 Rybin was appointed

magnetic deviation Magnetic deviation is the error induced in a compass by ''local'' magnetic fields, which must be allowed for, along with magnetic declination, if accurate bearings are to be calculated. (More loosely, "magnetic deviation" is used by some to mean ...

chief of the

Ob River The Ob (; ) is a major river in Russia. It is in western Siberia, and with its tributary the Irtysh forms the world's seventh-longest river system, at . The Ob forms at the confluence of the Biya and Katun which have their origins in the Alta ...

basin. In 1927 he passed his exams and received an external degree from the Hydrographic college. In 1928 he passed his exams and received an external degree from th
Odessa Navigation College
and was qualified as a navigator. In 1930 Georgy finished the special courses of the commanding staff of the

Red Navy The Soviet Navy was the naval warfare uniform service branch of the Soviet Armed Forces. Often referred to as the Red Fleet, the Soviet Navy made up a large part of the Soviet Union's strategic planning in the event of a conflict with the opposi ...

at the oldest college in Russia – the Frunze Naval College (hydrographic class). He became the commander of survey vessel "Tsyrkul" at the

Yenisei The Yenisey or Yenisei ( ; , ) is the fifth-longest river system in the world, and the largest to drain into the Arctic Ocean. Rising in Mungaragiyn-gol in Mongolia, it follows a northerly course through Lake Baikal and the Krasnoyarsk Dam b ...

pilot distance of the Ubekosibir.

Service at Baltic

In 1933 the responsibility for navigation safety in the northern seas was transferred to GlavSevMorPut, and Rybin with all the hydrographers was moved to

. Here he was appointed chief foreman of the Ubekobalt (Baltic Department of the Navigation Safety); then, commander of HS "Ost"; then, HS group chief. In 1937 Georgy Rybin entered the Navy Academy – the highest Navy school in Russia which trains the staff for Navy headquarters.

War

He graduated in August 1941, when the

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the German Army (1935–1945), ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmac ...

was already close to

. He became the chief of the Mobile hydrographic group; then, in November, the deputy-chief of the Baltic hydrographic service. Georguy Ivanovich Zima was the chief of the Baltic hydrographic service. According to his son, Zima told to G. Rybin: "Time is difficult, it's impossible to trust to somebody. Only a cossack can trust to a cossack". Zima came from Kuban cossacks, Rybin from Siberian cossacks. During the

siege A siege () . is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition, or by well-prepared assault. Siege warfare (also called siegecrafts or poliorcetics) is a form of constant, low-intensity conflict charact ...

in 1942 Georgy suffered from

dystrophy Dystrophy is the degeneration of tissue, due to disease or malnutrition, most likely due to heredity. Types * Muscular dystrophy ** Duchenne muscular dystrophy ** Becker's muscular dystrophy ** Myotonic dystrophy * Reflex neurovascular dy ...

. The most important role of the hydrographers during the siege was the coordination of the artillery shooting. It consisted, first of all, of the precise positioning of the Navy batteries: ships, onshore, railway and anti-aircraft. After performing the batteries formulaires, the task was to position the enemy batteries. That task was performed by geodesical intersection of the flashes. One of the intersection points was located on top of the St Isaac Cathedral. In November 1941 Rybin was awarded a gold Swiss watch for the geodesical insurance of the artillery shooting. The watch can now be seen in the museum of the Head Department of the Navigation and Oceanography. In 1944, after reconquering Estonia, the Baltic hydrographic service was moved to

Tallinn Tallinn is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Estonia, most populous city of Estonia. Situated on a Tallinn Bay, bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, it has a population of (as of 2025) and ...

(Kreuzwaldi 13). Rybin and his family (wife and son) lived on the fourth floor of the same building. His daughter was born in 1946. His son studied at the Russian school in

Toompea Toompea (from , "Cathedral Hill") is a hill in the central part of Tallinn, the capital city of Estonia. The hill has an area of and is about 20–30 metres higher than the surrounding areas. Toompea is part of the medieval Tallinn Old Town, a ...

. The main task of the hydrographic service in 1944-1945 was the fastest putting the reconquered ports and navaids into operation. Thus, George Rybin with the mobile groups of the hydrographers, moved along the Baltic coast to south- west, took part in the East- Prussian operation and Konigsberg assault.

After war

In 1945 the

Baltic fleet The Baltic Fleet () is the Naval fleet, fleet of the Russian Navy in the Baltic Sea. Established 18 May 1703, under Tsar Peter the Great as part of the Imperial Russian Navy, the Baltic Fleet is the oldest Russian fleet. In 1918, the fleet w ...

was divided into 4th fleet, with the main base in

Pillau Baltiysk ( ); ; Old Prussian: ''Pillawa''; ; ; is a seaport town and the administrative center of Baltiysky District in Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia, located on the northern part of the Vistula Spit, on the shore of the Strait of Baltiysk separ ...

, and 8th fleet, with the main base in

. Rybin was appointed the Chief of the 4th fleet hydrographic service, and moved to

Königsberg Königsberg (; ; ; ; ; ; , ) is the historic Germany, German and Prussian name of the city now called Kaliningrad, Russia. The city was founded in 1255 on the site of the small Old Prussians, Old Prussian settlement ''Twangste'' by the Teuton ...

. He entered the

CPSU The Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU),. Abbreviated in Russian as КПСС, ''KPSS''. at some points known as the Russian Communist Party (RCP), All-Union Communist Party and Bolshevik Party, and sometimes referred to as the Soviet ...

. With his family, he lived in a cottage, and used the

Horch Horch () was a German car manufacturer, which traced its roots to several companies founded in the late 19th and early 20th century by August Horch. It is one of the predecessors of the present day Audi company, which itself resulted from the ...

car with a sailor as a driver. The main task of the hydrographers in that period was

minesweeping Minesweeping is the practice of removing explosive naval mines, usually by a specially designed ship called a minesweeper using various measures to either capture or detonate the mines, but sometimes also with an aircraft made for that purpos ...

. In 1947 Georgy Rybin moved to Leningrad where he was appointed the professor of geodesy and hydrography at the Naval college named after Frunze - the eldest existing high school in Russia, in former times- one of the most privileged. Georgy Rybin was the model of a Russian officer - always polite, smart, accurate. He used to start the dance parties with the first tour of waltz.

Memory

Rybin-yaha (1923)Sergey V Popov "Autographs on the charts"- Arkhangelsk, 1990 - a river, flowing into the Gulf of Ob,

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 ...

( Mouth 69º01' N 72º31’ Е). Rybin was the first person to put the river on the charts (Russian charts 15337, 13335). '
Rybin seamount
(1999)- a seamount in the Atlantic Ocean (31°47'2N, 12°49'4W), north-west of the

Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; ) or Canaries are an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean and the southernmost Autonomous communities of Spain, Autonomous Community of Spain. They are located in the northwest of Africa, with the closest point to the cont ...

, with a minimum depth of 412 meters compared to the surrounding depths of 2800–3600 meters.The relative height of the seamount is 2788 meters. In 1999, the Commission for Geographical names of the

International Hydrographic Organization The International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) (French: ''Organisation Hydrographique Internationale'') is an intergovernmental organization representing hydrography. the IHO comprised 102 member states. A principal aim of the IHO is to ...

and the Intergovernmental Oceanographic committee named an underwater mount with the smallest depth of 412 meters and the relative height of 2700 meters after Georgy – Rybin seamount. The mount was discovered in 1979 by the Baltic Oceanographic expedition of the Russian navy.

Notes

References

Сергей Владимирович Попов. Выходные данные:, Архангельск, Северо-Западное книжное издательство, 1990 http://www.polarpost.ru/Library/Popov-avtograph/text-avtograf_na_karte-17.html ↑ Трибуц В.Ф. "Балтийцы сражаются" Воениздат, 1985 http://militera.lib.ru/memo/russian/tributz_vf/index.html {{DEFAULTSORT:Rybin, Georgy 1901 births 1974 deaths People from Almaty Region People from Semirechye Oblast Soviet Cossacks Soviet hydrographers Soviet explorers Explorers of Asia Explorers of Siberia Soviet polar explorers Soviet Navy officers People of the Russian Civil War Soviet military personnel of World War II Recipients of the Order of Lenin Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner Recipients of the Order of the Patriotic War, 1st class Recipients of the Order of the Red Star