Mikhail Levashev
Encyclopedia
Mikhail D. Levashev (c. 1738–1774-76) was a Russia
n explorer and Lieutenant of the Imperial Russian Navy
. After Vitus Bering
's 1741 tragic venture he was, together with Peter Kuzmich Krenitzin, among the first to conduct an expedition to Alaska
and the Aleutians.
Levashev was sent by Russian Empress Catherine II, as main assistant of expedition leader Krenitzin, to explore the northern parts of the Pacific Ocean and particularly the area around the Bering strait
on four ships. Levashev was the commander of ship St. Paul, while Krenitzin was in command of the St. Catherine. Krenitzin and Levashev surveyed the eastern part of the Aleutian island chain. In 1768-69 Levashef wintered in a natural harbor in Unalaska. The following year, after resuming their explorations, both ships wintered in Kamchatka.
Certain geographic features of the Alaskan coast, like Avatanak
and Akutan Island
were named by Krenitzin and Levashev in the maps that were subsequently published.
On July 4, 1770, when Krenitzin drowned, Levashef assumed command of the Russian expedition fleet and returned to St. Petersburg, where he arrived on October 22, 1771.
Port Levashef, the harbor in Unalaska where Levashev had wintered his first year in the Northern Pacific was named in honor of this early Russian explorer by Lieutenant Gavril Sarychev
.
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n explorer and Lieutenant of the Imperial Russian Navy
Imperial Russian Navy
The Imperial Russian Navy refers to the Tsarist fleets prior to the February Revolution.-First Romanovs:Under Tsar Mikhail Feodorovich, construction of the first three-masted ship, actually built within Russia, was completed in 1636. It was built in Balakhna by Danish shipbuilders from Holstein...
. After Vitus Bering
Vitus Bering
Vitus Jonassen Bering Vitus Jonassen Bering Vitus Jonassen Bering (also, less correNavy]], a captain-komandor known among the Russian sailors as Ivan Ivanovich. He is noted for being the first European to discover Alaska and its Aleutian Islands...
's 1741 tragic venture he was, together with Peter Kuzmich Krenitzin, among the first to conduct an expedition to Alaska
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
and the Aleutians.
Levashev was sent by Russian Empress Catherine II, as main assistant of expedition leader Krenitzin, to explore the northern parts of the Pacific Ocean and particularly the area around the Bering strait
Bering Strait
The Bering Strait , known to natives as Imakpik, is a sea strait between Cape Dezhnev, Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, Russia, the easternmost point of the Asian continent and Cape Prince of Wales, Alaska, USA, the westernmost point of the North American continent, with latitude of about 65°40'N,...
on four ships. Levashev was the commander of ship St. Paul, while Krenitzin was in command of the St. Catherine. Krenitzin and Levashev surveyed the eastern part of the Aleutian island chain. In 1768-69 Levashef wintered in a natural harbor in Unalaska. The following year, after resuming their explorations, both ships wintered in Kamchatka.
Certain geographic features of the Alaskan coast, like Avatanak
Avatanak Island
Avatanak Island is the second-largest of the Krenitzin Islands, a subgroup of the Fox Islands in the eastern Aleutian Islands in the U.S. state of Alaska. It lies southeast of Akun Island, across the Avatanak Strait...
and Akutan Island
Akutan Island
Akutan Island is an island in the Fox Islands group of the eastern Aleutian Islands in the U.S. state of Alaska. The island is approximately 18 mi in length. It contains the Mount Akutan volcano, which had a major lava eruption in 1979...
were named by Krenitzin and Levashev in the maps that were subsequently published.
On July 4, 1770, when Krenitzin drowned, Levashef assumed command of the Russian expedition fleet and returned to St. Petersburg, where he arrived on October 22, 1771.
Port Levashef, the harbor in Unalaska where Levashev had wintered his first year in the Northern Pacific was named in honor of this early Russian explorer by Lieutenant Gavril Sarychev
Gavril Sarychev
Gavril Andreyevich Sarychev , spelt "Sarichef" in the United States, was a Russian navigator, hydrographer, admiral and Honorable Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences in Saint Petersburg.Sarychev started his career in the Imperial Russian Navy in 1775...
.