Brusilov Georgy Lvovich - Russian Arctic Researcher: a short biography

At the beginning of the last century, one of the most important problems related to the study of the Arctic was the development of the Northern Sea Route, which made it possible to reduce to a minimum the route of navigation between the European part of our country and the Far East. Among those who gave their lives for the implementation of this program, was a Russian traveler Georgy Lvovich Brusilov (1884-1914), whose name has forever entered the history of Russian science.

A worthy scion of a glorious Russian family

The future explorer of the Arctic was born May 19, 1884 in Nikolayev in the family of an officer of the Russian fleet, the future admiral Lev Alekseevich Brusilov. Their surname occupies an honorable place in the national history, it is enough to recall that the native uncle of George Lvovich - Alexey Alekseevich - is known as the hero of the First World War, who headed the famous breakthrough of Russian troops.

Entering the Naval Cadet Corps in 1903, two years later the young man was promoted to midshipmen, and during the Russo-Japanese War he served on the ships of the Far Eastern Squadron. However, his true vocation was not a military path, but scientific research.

The first experience of scientific work

For the first time Brusilov George Lvovich found himself outside the Arctic Circle in 1910, becoming a participant in the hydrographic expedition, whose task was to develop the Northern Sea Route. At the disposal of scientists were two icebreakers "Taimyr" and "Vaigach". Moving from the east to the west along the coast of the Arctic Ocean, the expedition members collected a considerable amount of scientific data, thanks to which the Arctic was replenished with many unknown islands and straits. The monument to Georgy Lvovich's participation in this hard work was a beacon named after him, placed at Cape Dezhnev - the extreme mainland point of Russia and the whole of Eurasia.

Daring design

Publications of reports on the expeditions of such prominent foreign researchers as the Norwegians Raul Amundsen and Fridtjof Nansen, as well as the American Robert Piri and the Englishman Robert Scott, were met with great interest in Russia. Not wishing to give the palm of primacy in the development of the North to foreigners, and as a true Russian officer, heartbroken for the prestige of the state, GL. Brusilov, following the example of two other travelers G. Sedov and V. Rusanov, decided to organize his own expedition.

One of the most difficult problems on the way to the realization of the conceived project was, as is often the case, in the search for sources of its financing, since the funds were needed considerable and, personally, George Lvovich did not have them. However, a way out was found.

In 1912, taking official leave, Brusilov announced the creation of a joint-stock company whose profits were supposed to be extracted from the mammal hunting, which the members of the future expedition were supposed to attend in passing. Not finding a response among the general public, a bold enthusiast managed, nevertheless, to convince his relatives to become his shareholders.

The main investors were his uncle Boris Alekseevich Brusilov, a large Russian landowner, and his wife Countess Anna Nikolayevna, who donated 90,000 rubles to this very dubious project from the economic point of view, a huge sum for those times.

Problems on board the "Saint Anne"

Having thus solved the financial problem, Brusilov Georgy Lvovich went to England, where he bought a second-hand but very strong sailing-steam schooner. It was called "Blenkatra", but being under the Russian flag, it was immediately renamed in honor of the main investor of the expedition - Countess Anna Nikolaevna and named "Saint Anna".

From the St. Petersburg berth of the schooner "Saint Anna" departed on August 10, 1912 and headed towards the Barents Sea, where its first stop was planned near the small settlement of Alexandrovsk-on-Murmane (now the city of Polar). There the organizers of the expedition were waiting for the first serious trouble. When the ship was ashore, a significant part of the crew - several sailors, a ship's doctor and, worst of all, the navigator - refused to continue the voyage.

The situation was critical. Of all the remaining on board the vessel, only five people, not including Brusilov himself and the second navigator Albanov (his photo is published below), were professional sailors, and the doctor's obligations agreed to be fulfilled by the sister of mercy who happened to be with them. However, despite everything, on September 10, having a significant supply of food onboard, "Saint Anna" continued the journey.

In an ice captivity

A week later, reaching the Kara Sea, the ship faced a continuous ice strip, which they managed to advance through for ten days, using narrow passages and polynyas. But then, completely clamped with ice, the polar explorers lost further control over the ship. Thus, on October 10, 1912, their almost two-year drift began. By the will of the wind and currents, the vessel, frozen in ice, instead of the planned course in the eastern direction, moved to the north and northwest.

In June of the following year 1913 the ship was just north of Novaya Zemlya, and ahead of it was clearly visible the ice-free area of the sea, but all efforts to break through to it were in vain, and the inevitability of the second wintering became evident. Six months later the ship was taken to the Franz Josef Land area.

On the brink of death

By this time, in spite of the fact that the supply of foodstuffs was partially replenished by hunting, every day there was clearly a lack of them. Above the crew hung a threat of hunger. Simultaneously, the fuel that the Brusilov expedition used for heating and cooking was over.

In the current situation, it was decided to leave the ship to the entire crew and try to walk on ice to reach the inhabited earth. The very same Brusilov Georgy Lvovich stayed on the "Saint Anne". What made him take this disastrous decision for himself remains unknown. Perhaps, as a Russian officer, and therefore a man of honor, he could not bear the disgrace associated with unpaid debts to investors. Perhaps, he was tormented by the consciousness that by his actions he had called to death, the people who followed him. In any case, the crew went on the road without it.

Tragedy of the crew of "Saint Anne"

Undoubtedly, the attempt to reach the habitable part of the coast was doomed to failure in advance and was considered by its participants as the only remaining chance. Since Brusilov's expedition originally did not involve pedestrian crossings, no proper equipment was prepared for them. As a result, kayaks, sledges and fur garments had to be made by themselves, without having the necessary experience and skill at the same time.

However, there was no other way out, and on April 23, 1914 the crew left the ship. Biography Brusilova, in fact, on this dramatic episode and breaks, since no one else has ever seen him alive. As for the other members of the expedition, the fate of most of them was not less tragic.

Infinite path among the ice

Having carried out the corresponding astronomical observations and comparing their results with the maps at their disposal, the polar explorers determined that they had to pass 160 km to the nearest settlement. However, on the way they were razed to the side by drifting ice, and as a result, this distance increased two and a half times.

In addition, the complexity of the transition and extremely inadequate food exacerbated the situation, since only a small amount of biscuits remained of all the former reserves, which was clearly insufficient to replenish the energy consumed.

As a result, almost all of those who left the ship died on the way. By the will of fate, only the navigators Albanov and the sailor Conrad headed the group. They, frostbitten and barely alive from exhaustion, picked up the ship "Saint Fock", included in the expedition G.Ya. Sedov.

Unsuccessful searches

As a result of the fact that by the beginning of 1914 three Russian polar expeditions were missing - G.Ya. Sedova, V.A. Rusanova, and the one led by Georgy Brusilov, the case received such a serious resonance in the society that an instruction about the immediate organization of searches was given directly by the Cabinet of Ministers. Thanks to this in a month, four search vessels went to sea.

By that time, the Arctic on the map was presented in sufficient detail, which made it possible to systematically survey the sites of the most probable stay of the disappeared polar explorers. In addition, for the first time in the history of the world, polar aviation was involved in the rescue operation. The seaplane Farman MF.11, piloted by pilot Ian Nagursky, daily performed flights over the coast of Novaya Zemlya and adjacent areas.

The search continued for three years and was interrupted only in connection with the political events of 1917. Discover the schooner "Saint Anna" or, at least, what was left of her, failed. Only much later, in 2010, the leadership of the Onega Pomorye National Park organized an expedition to Franz Josef Land, which managed to discover human remains, apparently belonging to one of the members of the Albanov group.

Afterword

Despite the tragic outcome of the trip, Brusilov Georgiy Lvovich, whose brief biography formed the basis of this article, made a definite contribution to the study of the Arctic. Thanks to the materials transferred to the Academy of Sciences by the surviving Albanians, it was possible to systematize the existing data on coastal currents to a considerable extent, to clarify the boundary of the continental shelf, and to map the underwater trough called "Saint Anna".