The Most Famous
EXPLORERS from Russia
This page contains a list of the greatest Russian Explorers. The pantheon dataset contains 498 Explorers, 32 of which were born in Russia. This makes Russia the birth place of the 5th most number of Explorers behind France, and United States.
Top 10
The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary Russian Explorers of all time. This list of famous Russian Explorers is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity. Visit the rankings page to view the entire list of Russian Explorers.
1. Nikolay Przhevalsky (1839 - 1888)
With an HPI of 63.90, Nikolay Przhevalsky is the most famous Russian Explorer. His biography has been translated into 52 different languages on wikipedia.
Nikolay Mikhaylovich Przhevalsky (or Prjevalsky; 12 April [O.S. 31 March] 1839 – 1 November [O.S. 20 October] 1888) was a Russian spy and a renowned explorer of Central and East Asia. Although he never reached his ultimate goal, the city of Lhasa in Tibet, he still travelled through regions then unknown to Westerners, such as northern Tibet (modern Tibet Autonomous Region), Amdo (now Qinghai) and Dzungaria (now northern Xinjiang). He contributed substantially to European knowledge of Central Asian geography. Przhevalsky described several species previously unknown to European science, such as Przewalski's horse, Przewalski's gazelle, and the wild Bactrian camel, all of which are now endangered. He was also a mentor of the explorer Pyotr Kozlov.
2. Ferdinand von Wrangel (1797 - 1870)
With an HPI of 61.33, Ferdinand von Wrangel is the 2nd most famous Russian Explorer. His biography has been translated into 47 different languages.
Baron Ferdinand Friedrich Georg Ludwig von Wrangel (Russian: Барон Фердинанд Петрович Врангель, tr. Ferdinand Petrovich Vrangel'; 9 January 1797 [O.S. 29 December 1796] – 6 June [O.S. 25 May] 1870) was a Russia German (Baltic German) explorer and officer in the Imperial Russian Navy, Honorable Member of the Saint Petersburg Academy of Sciences, and a founder of the Russian Geographic Society. He is best known as the chief manager of the Russian-American Company and governor of the Russian settlements in present-day Alaska. In English texts, Wrangel is sometimes spelled Vrangel, a transliteration from Russian, which more closely represents its pronunciation in German, or Wrangell.
3. Semyon Dezhnev (1605 - 1673)
With an HPI of 60.66, Semyon Dezhnev is the 3rd most famous Russian Explorer. His biography has been translated into 39 different languages.
Semyon Ivanovich Dezhnyov (Russian: Семён Ива́нович Дежнёв, IPA: [sʲɪˈmʲɵn ɨˈvanəvʲɪdʑ dʲɪʐˈnʲɵf]; sometimes spelled Dezhnev; c. March 7, 1605 – 1673) was a Russian explorer of Siberia and the first European to sail through the Bering Strait, 80 years before Vitus Bering did. In 1648 he sailed from the Kolyma River on the Arctic Ocean to the Anadyr River on the Pacific. His exploit was forgotten for almost a hundred years and Bering is usually given credit for discovering the strait that bears his name.
4. Afanasy Nikitin (1500 - 1475)
With an HPI of 59.20, Afanasy Nikitin is the 4th most famous Russian Explorer. His biography has been translated into 39 different languages.
Afanasy Nikitin (Russian: Афанасий Никитин; died 1475) was a Russian merchant from Tver and one of the first Europeans (after Niccolò de' Conti) to travel to and document his visit to India. He described his trip in a narrative known as A Journey Beyond the Three Seas (Khozheniye za tri morya).
5. Vladimir Arsenyev (1872 - 1930)
With an HPI of 58.74, Vladimir Arsenyev is the 5th most famous Russian Explorer. His biography has been translated into 35 different languages.
Vladimir Klavdiyevich Arsenyev, (Russian: Влади́мир Кла́вдиевич Арсе́ньев; 10 September 1872 – 4 September 1930) was a Russian explorer of the Far East who recounted his travels in a series of books—Po Ussuriyskomu krayu (По Уссурийскому краю, "Along the Ussuri land," 1921) and Dersu Uzala (Дерсу Узала, "Dersu Uzala," 1923)—telling of his military journeys to the Ussuri basin with Dersu Uzala, a native hunter, from 1902 to 1907. He was the first to describe numerous species of Siberian flora and the lifestyles of the local ethnic groups.
6. Mikhail Lazarev (1788 - 1851)
With an HPI of 57.88, Mikhail Lazarev is the 6th most famous Russian Explorer. His biography has been translated into 41 different languages.
Admiral Mikhail Petrovich Lazarev (Russian: Михаил Петрович Лазарев; 14 November [O.S. 3 November] 1788 – 23 April [O.S. 11 April] 1851) was a Russian fleet commander and an explorer.
7. Nikolai Rezanov (1764 - 1807)
With an HPI of 56.02, Nikolai Rezanov is the 7th most famous Russian Explorer. His biography has been translated into 27 different languages.
Nikolai Petrovich Rezanov (Russian: Николай Петрович Резанов, 28 March [O.S. 8 April] 1764 – 13 March [O.S. 1 March] 1807), a Russian nobleman and statesman, promoted the project of Russian colonization of Alaska and California to three successive Emperors of All Russia—Catherine the Great, Paul, and Aleksander I. Aleksander I commissioned Rezanov as Russian ambassador to Japan (1804) with the aim of concluding a commercial treaty. In order to get to his post he was appointed co-commander of the First Russian circumnavigation (1803-1806), led by Adam Johann von Krusenstern. Rezanov left the expedition in 1805 when it returned to Kamchatka after visiting Japan (1804-1805). Rezanov wrote a lexicon of the Japanese language and several other works, which are preserved in the library of the Saint Petersburg Academy of Sciences, of which he was a member. Rezanov's greatest legacy proved the founding of the Russian-American Company in 1799.
8. Aleksandra Potanina (1843 - 1893)
With an HPI of 55.86, Aleksandra Potanina is the 8th most famous Russian Explorer. Her biography has been translated into 17 different languages.
Aleksandra Potanina (1843–1893), was an explorer from the Russian Empire. She was married to Grigory Potanin. One of the craters of Venus is named after her.
9. Alexander Andreyevich Baranov (1746 - 1819)
With an HPI of 55.75, Alexander Andreyevich Baranov is the 9th most famous Russian Explorer. His biography has been translated into 26 different languages.
Alexander Andreyevich Baranov (Russian: Александр Андреевич Баранов; 3 February [O.S. 14 February] 1747 – 16 April [O.S. 28 April] 1819), sometimes spelled Aleksandr or Alexandr and Baranof, was a Russian trader and merchant, who worked for some time in Siberia. He was recruited by the Shelikhov-Golikov Company for trading in Russian America, beginning in 1790 with a five-year contract as manager of the outpost. He continued to serve past the end date of his contract. In 1799 Baranov was promoted, appointed by the recently chartered Russian-American Company as Chief Manager, effectively the first governor of Russian America. He served until 1818. This was the early colonial period of expansion of settlements. He founded Pavlovskaya (Kodiak) and later New Archangel (Sitka), Russian colonies that were bases of the company in present-day Alaska. In addition, he oversaw the expansion of the lucrative fur trade with Alaska Natives. He engaged in brutal tactics to extract wealth from Alaska. He demanded tribute in the forms of furs from native peoples, a practice known as Yasak. To enforce the demands for tribute, he took hostages and demanded furs in exchange for release of hostages. He continued to support his Russian wife and children, who had moved from Siberia back to live near St. Petersburg. In Pavlovskaya, Baranov took an Aleut woman as mistress and had three mixed-race children with her. After learning that his wife had died in 1807 in Russia, he married his mistress, legitimizing their children. In 1817 Irina, his oldest daughter born in Alaska, married Semyon Yanovsky, a Russian naval officer. Late in 1818, Yanovsky was appointed as Chief Manager and successor to Baranov. That year Baranov departed to sail back to Russia, but he died in April 1819 and was buried at sea.
10. Vasily Tatishchev (1686 - 1750)
With an HPI of 55.43, Vasily Tatishchev is the 10th most famous Russian Explorer. His biography has been translated into 33 different languages.
Vasily Nikitich Tatishchev (sometimes spelt Tatischev; Russian: Васи́лий Ники́тич Тати́щев, IPA: [vɐˈsʲilʲɪj nʲɪˈkʲitʲɪtɕ tɐˈtʲiɕːɪf]; 19 April 1686 – 15 July 1750) was a statesman, historian, philosopher, and ethnographer in the Russian Empire. He is known as the author of a book on Russian history titled The History of Russia (Russian: История Российская, romanized: Istoriya Rossiyskaya), posthumously published in 1767. Throughout this work, he advocates the idea that autocracy is the perfect form of government for Russia. He also founded three cities in the Russian Empire: Stavropol-on-Volga (now known as Tolyatti), Yekaterinburg, and Perm. Tatishchev often did not cite his sources, which required later critical historians to find out where he got his information from. After several sources were discovered, the texts of Tatishchev which remained unaccounted for (such as the alleged Ioachim Chronicle, which has never been found) became known as "Tatishchev information" (Russian: Татищевские известия, romanized: Tatishchevskiye izvestiya), which is not to be trusted until it is supported by another extant source.
People
Pantheon has 34 people classified as Russian explorers born between 1500 and 1939. Of these 34, 1 (2.94%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living Russian explorers include Irina Solovyova. The most famous deceased Russian explorers include Nikolay Przhevalsky, Ferdinand von Wrangel, and Semyon Dezhnev. As of April 2024, 1 new Russian explorers have been added to Pantheon including Valerian Albanov.
Living Russian Explorers
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Deceased Russian Explorers
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Nikolay Przhevalsky
1839 - 1888
HPI: 63.90
Ferdinand von Wrangel
1797 - 1870
HPI: 61.33
Semyon Dezhnev
1605 - 1673
HPI: 60.66
Afanasy Nikitin
1500 - 1475
HPI: 59.20
Vladimir Arsenyev
1872 - 1930
HPI: 58.74
Mikhail Lazarev
1788 - 1851
HPI: 57.88
Nikolai Rezanov
1764 - 1807
HPI: 56.02
Aleksandra Potanina
1843 - 1893
HPI: 55.86
Alexander Andreyevich Baranov
1746 - 1819
HPI: 55.75
Vasily Tatishchev
1686 - 1750
HPI: 55.43
Yerofey Khabarov
1603 - 1671
HPI: 54.24
Grigory Shelikhov
1747 - 1795
HPI: 52.95
Newly Added Russian Explorers (2024)
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Overlapping Lives
Which Explorers were alive at the same time? This visualization shows the lifespans of the 23 most globally memorable Explorers since 1700.
