Yakov Permyakov (russian: Яков Пермяков; died 1712) was a Russian seafarer, explorer,

merchant A merchant is a person who trades in commodities produced by other people, especially one who trades with foreign countries. Historically, a merchant is anyone who is involved in business or trade. Merchants have operated for as long as indust ...

, and

Cossack The Cossacks , es, cosaco , et, Kasakad, cazacii , fi, Kasakat, cazacii , french: cosaques , hu, kozákok, cazacii , it, cosacchi , orv, коза́ки, pl, Kozacy , pt, cossacos , ro, cazaci , russian: казаки́ or ...

. In 1710, while sailing from the

Lena River The Lena (russian: Ле́на, ; evn, Елюенэ, ''Eljune''; sah, Өлүөнэ, ''Ölüöne''; bua, Зүлхэ, ''Zülkhe''; mn, Зүлгэ, ''Zülge'') is the easternmost of the three great Siberian rivers that flow into the Arctic Ocean ...

to the

Kolyma River The Kolyma ( rus, Колыма, p=kəlɨˈma; sah, Халыма, translit=Khalyma) is a river in northeastern Siberia, whose basin covers parts of the Sakha Republic, Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, and Magadan Oblast of Russia. The Kolyma is froze ...

, Permyakov observed the silhouette of two unknown island groups in the sea. Those islands would later be called

Bolshoy Lyakhovsky Bolshoy Lyakhovsky Island (russian: Большой Ляховский остров), or Great Lyakhovsky, is the largest of the Lyakhovsky Islands belonging to the New Siberian Islands archipelago between the Laptev Sea and the East Siberian Se ...

and the

Medvyezhi Islands The Medvezhyi Islands, or Bear Islands (russian: Медве́жьи острова́; sah, Эhэлээх арыылар, ''Eheleex Arıılar'') is an uninhabited group of islands at the western end of the Kolyma Gulf of the East Siberian Sea. H ...

. In 1712, Permyakov and his companion Merkury Vagin crossed

Yana Bay Yana may refer to: Locations *Yana, Burma, a village in Hkamti Township in Hkamti District in the Sagaing Region of northwestern Burma *Yana, India, a village in the Uttara Kannada district of Karnataka, India * Yana, Nigeria, an administrative ca ...

from the mouth of the

Yana River The Yana ( rus, Я́на, p=ˈjanə; sah, Дьааҥы, ''Caañı'') is a river in Sakha in Russia, located between the Lena to the west and the Indigirka to the east. Course It is long, and its drainage basin covers . Including its longes ...

to Bolshoy Lyakhovsky over the ice and explored the then-unknown island. Permyakov and Vagin were murdered on the way back from their exploration by mutineering expedition members. The Cossacks took Permyakov's dead body down to the ice and set it on fire. No one knows what the rebellious Cossacks did with the ashes, but Yakov Permyakov's remains were never found.Н. Исанин. ''Морской энциклопедический справочник,'' Том 2. Ленинград 1986, стр. 76.

References

1712 deaths Russian murder victims Russian explorers Explorers of Asia Explorers of the Arctic New Siberian Islands Laptev Sea East Siberian Sea Year of birth unknown Russian merchants Male murder victims 18th-century businesspeople from the Russian Empire {{explorer-stub