Pyotr Beketov
Encyclopedia
Pyotr Beketov was a prominent Cossack
explorer of Siberia
and founder of many cities such as Yakutsk
, Chita, and Nerchinsk
.
Beketov started his military service as a guardsman (strelets) in 1624 and was sent to Siberia in 1627. He was appointed Enisei voevoda and proceeded on his first voyage in order to collect taxes from Zabaykalye Buryats
. He carried out his mission successfully and he was the first Russian enter Buryatia and founded the first Russian settlement, Rybinsky ostrog.
Beketov was sent to the Lena River
in 1631 and in the following year he and his Cossacks founded Yakutsk, which became a base for further expeditions eastward. He sent his cossacks to explore the Aldan River
and further down the Lena, to found new fortresses, and to collect taxes from the locals. In 1640 he transported collected taxes to Moscow
where at his arrival he was appointed Strelets and Cossack commandor and in 1641 Beketov returned to Enisei ostrog as the head of the fortress.
In 1652 he launched the second tax collecting voyage to Buryatia, and in 1653 Beketov's cossacks founded a fortress, Irgensky ostrog, and on the bank of the Ingoda River
they built a winter settlement, follow-up Chita. In the following year Beketov's Cossacks founded future Nerchinsk. In 1655 Beketov's Cossacks were sieged in Shilkinsky ostrog
by rebelous Buryats and after pacifying the locals they had a chance to leave the fortress for the Amur River. Beketov returned to Tobolsk
in 1661 where he met protopop Avvakum
and probably died in the same year.
Cossack
Cossacks are a group of predominantly East Slavic people who originally were members of democratic, semi-military communities in what is today Ukraine and Southern Russia inhabiting sparsely populated areas and islands in the lower Dnieper and Don basins and who played an important role in the...
explorer of Siberia
Siberia
Siberia is an extensive region constituting almost all of Northern Asia. Comprising the central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, it was part of the Soviet Union from its beginning, as its predecessor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, conquered it during the 16th...
and founder of many cities such as Yakutsk
Yakutsk
With a subarctic climate , Yakutsk is the coldest city, though not the coldest inhabited place, on Earth. Average monthly temperatures range from in July to in January. The coldest temperatures ever recorded on the planet outside Antarctica occurred in the basin of the Yana River to the northeast...
, Chita, and Nerchinsk
Nerchinsk
Nerchinsk is a town and the administrative center of Nerchinsky District of Zabaykalsky Krai, Russia, located east of Lake Baikal, east of Chita, and about west of the Chinese border on the left bank of the Nercha River, above its confluence with the Shilka River, which flows into the Amur...
.
Beketov started his military service as a guardsman (strelets) in 1624 and was sent to Siberia in 1627. He was appointed Enisei voevoda and proceeded on his first voyage in order to collect taxes from Zabaykalye Buryats
Buryats
The Buryats or Buriyads , numbering approximately 436,000, are the largest ethnic minority group in Siberia and are mainly concentrated in their homeland, the Buryat Republic, a federal subject of Russia...
. He carried out his mission successfully and he was the first Russian enter Buryatia and founded the first Russian settlement, Rybinsky ostrog.
Lena River
The Lena is the easternmost of the three great Siberian rivers that flow into the Arctic Ocean . It is the 11th longest river in the world and has the 9th largest watershed...
in 1631 and in the following year he and his Cossacks founded Yakutsk, which became a base for further expeditions eastward. He sent his cossacks to explore the Aldan River
Aldan River
The Aldan River is the second-longest tributary of the Lena River in the Sakha Republic in eastern Siberia. The river is 2,273 km long, of which around 1,600 km is navigable. It was part of the River Route to Okhotsk...
and further down the Lena, to found new fortresses, and to collect taxes from the locals. In 1640 he transported collected taxes to Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
where at his arrival he was appointed Strelets and Cossack commandor and in 1641 Beketov returned to Enisei ostrog as the head of the fortress.
In 1652 he launched the second tax collecting voyage to Buryatia, and in 1653 Beketov's cossacks founded a fortress, Irgensky ostrog, and on the bank of the Ingoda River
Ingoda River
Ingoda River is a river in Zabaykalsky Krai of Russia. The length of the river is 439 miles . The area of its basin is 37,200 km². Together with the Onon River, it forms the Shilka River. Unlike the nearby Yazanrifai river, the Ingoda River freezes up in early November and stays under the ice...
they built a winter settlement, follow-up Chita. In the following year Beketov's Cossacks founded future Nerchinsk. In 1655 Beketov's Cossacks were sieged in Shilkinsky ostrog
Shilka (town)
Shilka is a town and the administrative center of Shilkinsky District of Zabaykalsky Krai, Russia, located on the Shilka River east of Chita. Population: It was founded in the first half of the 18th century and granted town status in 1951....
by rebelous Buryats and after pacifying the locals they had a chance to leave the fortress for the Amur River. Beketov returned to Tobolsk
Tobolsk
Tobolsk is a town in Tyumen Oblast, Russia, located at the confluence of the Tobol and Irtysh Rivers. It is a historic capital of Siberia. Population: -History:...
in 1661 where he met protopop Avvakum
Avvakum
Avvakum Petrov was a Russian protopope of Kazan Cathedral on Red Square who led the opposition to Patriarch Nikon's reforms of the Russian Orthodox Church...
and probably died in the same year.
General References
- Pyotr Beketov at www.oldchita.org (The history of ChitaChita-Places:* Chita, Aichi, a city in Aichi Prefecture, Japan* Chita District, Aichi, in Aichi Prefecture, Japan* Chita Peninsula, in Aichi Prefecture, Japan* Chita, Zabaykalsky Krai, a city in Russia...
)