Even an inveterate loser remembers that there is a horse named after Przhevalsky. But Nikolai Mikhailovich Przhevalsky is famous not only for the discovery of this wild horse. What is he famous for?

An honorary member of the Geographical Society of Russia, he conducted several expeditions to Central Asia, revealing previously unknown lands with their population, nature and fauna to the Russian and European scientific world.

Many species of birds, fish, mammals and lizards that were discovered during his travels are named in his honor. He was a true ascetic, which, according to his contemporaries, was so lacking at that time. He is placed on the same level as Marco Polo and Cook. His legacy still enjoys prestige in scientific circles.

Representative of the noble family

The scientist’s ancestor, the Cossack Kornilo Parovalsky, arrived to serve in Poland and changed his surname to Przhevalsky. Being a successful warrior, he received lands, a title and a coat of arms as a reward for winning battles. Descendants adopted the Catholic faith. But not everyone did this.

Kazimir Przhevalsky fled and converted to Orthodoxy. In Russia he was named Kuzma. His son Mikhail served in the Russian army and pacified the rebellious Poles in 1832. Four years later, due to poor health, he left the service and resigned. Mikhail moved to his father in the Smolensk region. Here he met a neighbor’s girl, Elena, from the wealthy Karetnikov family. Mikhail was not handsome, and besides, he had no money, but they had a mutual passion. The girl’s parents did not immediately agree to the marriage. Soon they had a son, Nikolai Przhevalsky (life: 1839-1888), a future traveler and explorer. It was in childhood that his love for travel began.

Childhood and youth

The first years of Nikolai Przhevalsky’s life were spent in Otradnoye, his mother’s estate. His surroundings did not seem to contribute in any way to spiritual development. Parents were conservative landowners and did not delve into the scientific trends of those times.

The father died early, and the mother, being of a strong nature, took control of the household into her own hands and ruled according to the old way of life. The second person after her on the estate was the nanny, Makarievna, kind to the “panic” and grumpy to the serfs. The latter were 105 souls, who provided a poor but well-fed life for the whole family.

Nikolai Przhevalsky grew up a real tomboy, for which his mother’s rods often ran through him. From the age of five, his uncle Pavel Alekseevich took over his education, who, having squandered his estate, received shelter from his sister. He instilled in Nikolai a love of hunting and nature, which later grew into a fiery passion.

From the age of eight, teachers from the seminary came to Nikolai. Mother wanted to send her son to the cadet corps, but she failed and had to go to the second grade of the gymnasium in the city of Smolensk. He graduated from high school at the age of sixteen. After a whole summer of hunting and fishing, in the fall, he was supposed to join the Polotsk regiment. During the service, the young man kept himself to himself. He devoted all his free time to studying zoology and botany and dreamed of traveling.

Preparing for the expedition

Przhevalsky's great desire to travel around Central Asia was not enough to convince the Geographical Society of Russia to help organize the expedition. Unfortunately, Nikolai Mikhailovich at that time did not yet have weight in scientific circles, and it was naive to count on the approval of the Society's Council.

Peter Semenov-Tyan-Shansky, as follows from Przhevalsky’s biography, advised him to go to the Ussuri region. Upon return, the discoverer will have a much better chance of convincing the Council to assemble an expedition. Which is exactly what happened. The result of the Ussuri trip was several works and discoveries in the field of botany and ornithology. All this elevated Przhevalsky in the eyes of scientists. Which they eloquently supported with an award - a silver medal of the Russian Geographical Society. Of course, the real recognition for Nikolai Mikhailovich was a trip to Central Asia.

First trip

The expedition, led by the Russian naturalist Przhevalsky, could not be easy. Beginning in 1870, it lasted three years. During this time, its participants covered at least eleven thousand kilometers. Later this expedition would be called the Mongolian expedition.

The following were explored: Lake Dalai-Nur, the Suma-Khodi and Yin-Shan ridges. The naturalist managed to refute the data of old Chinese sources, which claimed that the Yellow River has branches. The expedition members waited out the winter in Kalgan.

At the beginning of March 1872, from Kalgan we walked through the Alashan desert and, having reached the Nanshan ridges, moved to Lake Kukunar. Afterwards, Nikolai Mikhailovich walked along the Tsaidam Basin, crossed the Kunlun and reached the Yangtze River.

In the summer of the last year of the first expedition, having made his way through the Middle Gobi, Przhevalsky arrived in Urga (now the capital of Mongolia - Ulaanbaatar). At the beginning of autumn he returned from there to Kyakhta.

The results of the expedition included more than four thousand discovered plants, and many species of animals and reptiles were named in his honor. In addition, the Geographical Society awarded the traveler a gold medal, and he became a world celebrity.

Second trip

Having gained experience on his first trip, Nikolai Przhevalsky is planning a second expedition to Central Asia, on a larger scale. It was supposed to cover Tibet and Lhasa. Adjustments to shortening the route were made by Nikolai Mikhailovich’s failing health, as well as the worsening political relations with China.

The start of Nikolai Przhevalsky's expedition began in Kulja. Having crossed the mountain ranges of the Tien Shan, passing through the Tarim depression, he reaches the reed Przhevalsky writes in his writings that the length of the lake-swamp is one hundred kilometers and the width is about twenty kilometers. He is the second white explorer here after Marco Polo. In addition to geographical research, ethnographic research was also carried out. In particular, the life and beliefs of the Lobnor people were studied.

Third trip

Przhevalsky made his third - Tibetan - journey in 1879-1880. His detachment of thirteen people crossed the Khamiya desert, starting from the Nan Shan ridge.

The discoveries of Nikolai Mikhailovich Przhevalsky amazed the geographical community. The participants discovered two ridges called Humboldt and Ritter, which they explored in the northern part of Tibet. Several animals were discovered, including the Dzungarian horse, known to everyone from school textbooks, named after Przhevalsky. Although the scientist’s notes indicate that these horses had a local name. The Kirghiz called it kartag, and the Mongols called it tak.

Upon his return, Przhevalsky was awarded various honorary titles, awards and degrees. And then he retires from the bustle of the city in the village, where he begins to work on the materials collected during the expedition and presents the results in a book.

Fourth journey

Tibet again. The tireless explorer embarked on his fourth journey in 1883, which lasted until 1885. Here new adventures awaited him. He explored lakes Orin-Nur and Dzharin-Nur, the sources of the Yellow River, and the Tibetan ridges of Moscow, Columba and Russian. The collection of unknown species of fish, birds, reptiles, animals and plants has been expanded. Przhevalsky’s work biography was outlined in another book, which he wrote on the Sloboda estate.

Fifth journey

It would be foolish to be surprised that at almost fifty years old Nikolai Mikhailovich is embarking on a new expedition to Central Asia. Unfortunately, this is where Przhevalsky’s adventure-filled biography ends. On his last journey, he sailed along the Volga and Caspian Sea. Arriving in Krasnovodsk, he goes to Samarkand and Pishpek (Bishkek). From there - to Alma-Ata.

Death by negligence

In the fall of 1888, Nikolai Mikhailovich and his entire detachment arrived in Pishpek. Camels were recruited here. With his friend Roborovsky, they notice that there are a lot of pheasants in the area. The friends could not deny themselves the pleasure of stocking up on bird meat before departure. While hunting in the valley, he, already having a cold, drinks water from the river. And all winter in these places, the Kyrgyz suffered from typhus in droves. When preparing for the trip, Przhevalsky did not pay attention to changes in his health, saying that he had caught a cold before, and it would go away on its own.

Soon the temperature rose. On the night from the 15th to the 16th, he slept restlessly, and the next morning, as described in Przhevalsky’s biography, he was still able to leave the yurt in which he slept and shoot a vulture.

The Kirghiz grumbled, believing that this was a sacred bird. The next day the scientist did not get out of bed. The doctor who arrived from Karagol pronounced a verdict - typhoid fever. And on his deathbed, Przhevalsky showed unprecedented fortitude. He admitted to friends and fellow travelers that he was not afraid to die, since he had met the “bony one” more than once.

The last request was to bury him on the shore of Issyk-Kul. On October 20, 1888, Nikolai Mikhailovich’s life was cut short. A year later, a monument was erected at his grave: an eight-meter rock, composed of twenty-one stones, according to the number of years devoted to the traveler’s research and scientific activities, above which a bronze eagle rises.

Merits in science

Nikolai Przhevalsky's books describe his research into the geographical and natural history of the following objects:

• Kun-Lun - mountain system;
• ridges of Northern Tibet;
• the sources of the Yellow River;
• basins of Lob-Nor, Kuku-Nor.

The naturalist discovered many animals for the world, among which are the wild camel and the horse. All the botanical and zoological collections that the traveler collected were described by specialists. They contained many new forms of flora and fauna.

Nikolai Mikhailovich’s discoveries were valued not only in his homeland, their significance was recognized by academies and scientists all over the world. He is also considered one of the significant climatologists of the nineteenth century.

Researcher name in science

The name of the traveler Nikolai Przhevalsky was preserved not only in his works. Natural objects, a city, a village, streets, a gymnasium in Smolensk, and a museum are named after him.

Also, many representatives of flora and fauna bear his name:

• horse;
• pied - a sandy animal of the hamster family;
• nuthatch - bird;
• buzulnik is a herbaceous perennial plant of the aster family;
• sage;
• zhuzgun;
• skull cap

In memory of the traveler, monuments and busts were erected, medals and commemorative coins were established, and a film was made.

With his own life, he proved that a dream is worth striving for. Faith in your goals, hard work and perseverance can overcome many obstacles on the way to your desired goal. Such a distant place opened up its vastness to the Russian naturalist.

PRZHEVALSKY, NIKOLAY MIKHAILOVICH(1839 –1888) – Russian geographer, explorer of Central Asia, major general, honorary member of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences.

Born on March 31, 1839, in the village of Kimborovo, Smolensk province. in an impoverished family of a hereditary Belarusian nobleman, he was raised by his uncle, a passionate hunter, who instilled in his nephew an interest in nature and travel.

In 1855 he became a military man, graduated from the Academy of the General Staff in 1863. At the same time his first publication was published - Memories of a Hunter. In 1864, having taken the position of history teacher at the Warsaw cadet school, he became interested in descriptions of travels and discoveries, became acquainted with the zoology and botany of exotic countries, and made an attempt to write a new geography textbook. In 1866 he was assigned to the General Staff and assigned to the Siberian Military District.

In 1867 he came to St. Petersburg, where he met with the traveler P.P. Semenov-Tyan-Shansky. From 1867–1869 he was in the Ussuri region, reaching Lake Khanka (which was the wintering ground for many birds, which provided material for ornithological observations). Wrote several works about the Amur region, incl. Travel to the Ussuri region, was appointed in 1869 adjutant of the headquarters of the troops of the Amur region.

From 1870 - already in Mongolia, from where he reached Beijing, Lake Dalai Nor, explored the Suma-Khodi and Yin-Shan ridges, proved that the Yellow River does not have a branch, as previously thought based on Chinese sources. He passed through the Ala Shan desert and the Alashan Mountains, visited Tibet and the upper reaches of the Blue River (Mur-Usu), in 1873 he explored the Middle Gobi, reached Kyakhta, having covered 11 thousand versts in three years. In the trip report - Mongolia and the country of the Tunguts- described in detail the Gobi, Ordos and Alashani deserts, the highlands of Northern Tibet and the Tsaidam basin (discovered by him), for the first time he mapped more than 20 ridges, seven large and a number of small lakes on the map of Central Asia. The work brought the author the Gold Medal of the Paris Geographical Society. The Russian Geographical Society awarded him the Great Constantine Medal, awarded him the rank of lieutenant colonel and a lifelong pension of 600 rubles annually.

In 1876–1877, during the Second Central Asian Expedition (Lop Nor and Dzhungar), he discovered the Altyn-Tag ridge, proved that Lake Lop Nor was fresh and not salty (as previously believed), and made new observations of birds, which he described in an essay From Kulja beyond the Tien Shan and to Lob-Nor. In 1879–1880 he was already the leader of the Third Central Asian Expedition. With a detachment of 13 people, he descended the Urungu River, passed through the Hali oasis and (through the desert) to the Sa-Zheu oasis, passed the Nan Shan ridges and entered Tibet and from there to the Mur-Usu valley. The Tibetan government did not allow him into Khlassa (Lhasa), from which he was (after passing the Tan-La pass) 250 versts.

In 1883–1885 the fourth expedition to Central Asia took place. Its 21 participants, including botanist V.I. Roborovsky and geographer P.K. Kozlov, walked and drove a total of more than 30 thousand miles. Moving from Kyakhta along the old route through Urga, we reached the Tibetan Plateau, continuing our exploration of the sources of the Yellow River and the watershed between the Yellow and Blue Rivers. During the expedition, Przhevalsky reached Karakol, having covered 7 thousand miles without roads in two years. On the northern border of Tibet, he discovered a mountainous country about which Europe knew nothing, described the sources of the Yellow River, discovered new lakes, calling them “Russian” and “Expeditions”.

His last work was published in 1888 From Kyakhta to the sources of the Yellow River. In the same year, his fifth expedition reached the village. Karakol, the description of which ended the previous one. Here, near the eastern shore of Issyk-Kul, Przhevalsky fell ill with typhoid fever and died on October 20, 1888, and was buried here. On his grave, as he bequeathed, the modest inscription “Traveller N.M. Przhevalsky” was engraved. Przhevalsky's scientific reports contain vivid descriptions of nature, relief, climate, rivers, lakes, vegetation and wildlife. He established the direction of the main ridges of Central Asia, discovered new ones, and clarified the boundaries of the Tibetan Plateau (where Przhevalsky was the first European to reach these regions). The extensive zoological (7.5 thousand specimens of mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, fish), botanical (herbarium - 15 thousand specimens, including 218 new species and 7 genera) and mineralogical collections he collected are a source of pride. domestic museums.

In 1891, on the recommendation of the Russian Geographical Society, the N.M. Przhevalsky Prize was established, as well as a silver medal, and in 1946 - a gold medal. Monuments to the traveler were erected in St. Petersburg and Przhevalsk. A city (formerly Karakol), a ridge in the Kunlun system, a glacier in Altai, and a number of plant and animal species are named after him. The traveler discovered a wild camel and, in 1879, a species of wild horse that received its name (Equus Przevalskii). According to the description of N.M. Przhevalsky himself, it differs “from the domestic one in its short standing mane, lack of bangs, tail, the base of which is covered with short hair, as well as a larger head.”

Lev Pushkarev, Natalya Pushkareva

Date of birth: March 31 (April 12) 1839
Date of death: October 20, 1888
Place of birth: Russian Empire

Nikolai Mikhailovich Przhevalsky Doctor of Geographical Sciences, naturalist, explorer, traveler and writer. Also Nikolai Przhevalsky Major General, known as a member of the Academy of Sciences of St. Petersburg.

The future traveler was born into a small noble family in the village of Kimbirovo in the Smolensk province and is a descendant of a Zaporozhye Cossack.

In order to avoid ridicule regarding the date of birth - the first of April, Nikolai always indicated the date 1 day earlier. Due to the death of his father, his uncle raised the child. They also instilled a passion for travel and hunting.

Immediately after graduating from high school in Smolensk, Nikolai began serving in an infantry regiment. A year later, studies began at the General Staff Academy. Despite the attention of the entire public on the impressive, tall young man, he behaved separately.

After excellent graduation from the Academy, he became a teacher at the Junker School in Warsaw. While teaching geography, he instilled in his students a love of truth. He recognized the only law - justice.

The beginning of research expeditions. After his appointment and service in East Siberia, the young geographer returned to the city of St. Petersburg, where a meeting took place with Semenov-Tyan-Shansky. She helped organize the expedition. Within 2 years, a large ornithological collection of the Ussuri region was collected.

The researcher's work was awarded a silver medal from the Geographical Society. Przhevalsky spent three winter months in the city of Nikolaevsk-on-Amur with the rank of senior adjutant.

In his spare time he enjoyed hunting and playing cards, and numerous victories were achieved thanks to his amazing memory. Winning big money was the last game of cards.

All expeditions were carried out in the central region of Asia. The first objects of attention were Tibet, Mongolia and China. The first conclusions concerned the Gobi, which was previously considered a hill, but turned out to be a depression with a hilly topography. And Nanshan is a mountain system.

His discoveries of 7 large lakes, the Tsaidam Basin, the Beishan Highlands and the three Kunlun ridges brought him worldwide fame. The results of his activities brought the author the Great Constantine Medal.

There were also discoveries on the 2nd expedition. The Altyntag Mountains became such an object. For the first time he described the rivers Konchedarya and Tarim, which at that time filled Lake Lop Nor. The lake has not survived to this day. The northern edge of the Tibetan Plateau was clarified, which moved as much as 300 km.

Many ridges were discovered during the third expedition. Among them are Kunlun, Nanshan, Bokalyktag and Tangla. The last two belong to the Tibetan Plateau. The sources of the Yangtze and Yellow River, as well as Lake Kukunor, were filmed.

For Nikolai, the fourth expedition was quite difficult, which was associated with a painful illness. Despite this, he walked almost two thousand kilometers. On his way, he revealed to the world many lakes and mountain ranges related to Kunlun. Marked the outline of the Tsaidam Valley. He first determined the existence of Pobeda Peak, more than half a century before its discovery.

Starting a new journey, Przhevalsky had a presentiment that he would never return home. In Karakol, his condition worsened and a few days later the life of the unrestrained traveler was cut short.

During his not too long life, the greatest explorer devoted 11 years to expeditions. The working routes he covered amount to 31.5 thousand kilometers. More than 7,500 exhibits are included in zoological collections.

New animals were discovered: Przewalski's horse, wild camel, pika-eater bear and others. 218 species, as well as 7 genera of flora representatives were described for the first time. The herbarium collected during expeditions represents specimens of 16,000 plants.

The Geographical Society of Russia introduced a prize and a silver medal named after. Przhevalsky, and 50 years later - a gold medal. Monuments in his honor were erected in St. Petersburg and near the grave.

Achievements of Nikolai Przhevalsky:

Many geographical discoveries;
Collection of zoological collections;
Discovery of unknown species of representatives of the animal and plant world;
Recognized as an honorary doctor of science and member of scientific institutions.

Dates from the biography of Nikolai Przhevalsky:

03/31/1839 birth;
1846 father died;
1855 graduation from high school and beginning of military service;
1860 made a scientific report;
1866assigned to service in Siberia;
1867 returned to St. Petersburg;
1867-1869 exploration of the Ussuri region;
1870-1873 exploration of Tibet, Mongolia and China;
1876-1877 second expedition;
1879-1880 third expedition;
1883-1885 fourth expedition and second trip to Tibet;
1886 received the rank of major general;
1888 went on his last trip;
Died on October 20, 1888.

Interesting facts of Nikolai Przhevalsky:

The discoveries are known throughout the world;
His report was seen by the world a hundred years after it was written;
And in our time, prizes and medals named after Przhevalsky are given out;
The unrestrained traveler foresaw the end of his exciting life, but still went on his last trip.

Russian traveler Nikolai Mikhailovich Przhevalsky went down in history as a tireless explorer of Central Asia, who discovered previously unexplored lands with their unique nature, population and original culture to the Western world. Nikolai Mikhailovich has several expeditions to Central Asia and the Ussuri region.

short biography

The future naturalist was born on April 12, 1839 in the village of Kimborovo, Smolensk region. The Przhevalsky family belonged to an old noble family, and had its own coat of arms, bestowed for their valor during military battles.

After graduating from high school, Nikolai began serving in the Ryazan Infantry Regiment, where he received the rank of officer. Unlike most of his colleagues, he spent all his free time not in idle revelry, but in hunting, collecting herbariums, and studying ornithology.

Rice. 1. Nikolai Mikhailovich Przhevalsky.

After serving for five years, Przhevalsky continued his education at the Academy of the General Staff, where he closely studied the works of outstanding geographers. For excellent studies, the capable student was elected a full member of the Geographical Society.

Having joined the Warsaw Junker School as a teacher of geography and history, Przhevalsky simultaneously studied botany, zoology, and even compiled a textbook on geography.

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Getting to know the Ussuri region

Przhevalsky always dreamed of traveling to distant countries, about which he read so much in books. Soon he was presented with such an opportunity - in 1867, a promising specialist was sent to the Ussuri region for two years to study the local flora and fauna.

Having arrived at the place, Przhevalsky began to study the nature of Ussuri in earnest. During his exploration of the southern region, he covered more than a thousand miles in just three months: the naturalist approached the task entrusted to him very responsibly and tirelessly carried out observations.

Rice. 2. Ussuri region.

During his expedition to the Ussuri region, Przhevalsky managed to collect about three hundred species of plants and produce the same number of stuffed birds. Moreover, many of the exhibits he collected were discovered for the first time.

Traveling in Central Asia

Przhevalsky's famous travels in Central Asia began in 1870, when the Russian Geographical Society appointed the researcher as head of the first expedition.

It is very difficult to overestimate the merits of the great traveler, because during all four expeditions in Central Asia he made many important discoveries:

• Przhevalsky became the first white man who managed to penetrate deep into Northern Tibet, to the headwaters of the great Yangtze and Yellow Rivers, and thoroughly explore these territories.
• He presented detailed descriptions of the Alashani, Ordos and Gobi deserts, and the highlands of Northern Tibet.
• Updated maps of Central Asia, on which previously unknown ridges, large and small lakes were plotted.
• Explored the mysterious Lake Lop Nor - a muddy freshwater lake that changed its location.
• Discovered the lower reaches of the Tarim and the Altyntag ridge.
• He discovered an entire mountainous country - Kunlun, the existence of which no one in Europe even knew.
• He filmed several thousand kilometers of his journey through the regions of Central Asia.

During his expeditions, Przhevalsky collected an impressive herbarium - more than 1,500 different species, as well as large collections of various animals of Central Asia. He discovered new species, which later received his name: rhododendron, split-tail, lizard, wild horse.

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Nikolai Mikhailovich Przhevalsky(March 31, 1839, village of Kimborovo, Smolensk province - October 20, 1888, Karakol) - Russian traveler and naturalist. Undertook several expeditions to Central Asia. In 1878 he was elected an honorary member of the Academy of Sciences. Major General (since 1886).

Born on April 12, 1839 in the village of Kimborovo in the family of retired lieutenant Mikhail Kuzmich Przhevalsky. The place where the village of Kimborovo was located is located four kilometers from the village of Murygino, Pochinkovsky district, Smolensk region. A memorial sign has been installed here.

Przhevalsky belonged to a noble family that had the coat of arms “Silver Bow and Arrow, turned upward on the Red Field,” granted for military exploits in the battle with Russian troops during the capture of Polotsk by the army of Stefan Batory.

A distant ancestor of Nikolai Mikhailovich was a warrior of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Karnil Perevalsky, a Cossack who distinguished himself in the Livonian War.

After completing a course at the Smolensk gymnasium in 1855, Przhevalsky became a non-commissioned officer in the Ryazan infantry regiment in Moscow; Having received an officer rank, he transferred to the 28th Polotsk Infantry Regiment. Then he entered the General Staff School. At this time, his first works appeared: “Memoirs of a Hunter” and “Military Statistical Review of the Amur Region,” for which in 1864 he was elected a full member of the Imperial Russian Geographical Society. After graduating from the Academy, he volunteered for Poland to participate in the suppression of the Polish uprising. Subsequently occupying the position of teacher of history and geography at the Warsaw Junker School, Przhevalsky studied the epic of African travels and discoveries, became acquainted with zoology and botany, and compiled a geography textbook published in Beijing.

Since 1867, he made expeditions throughout the Ussuri region and Central Asia. Having completed the processing of the fourth trip, Przhevalsky was preparing for the fifth. In 1888, he moved through Samarkand to the Russian-Chinese border, where, while hunting in the valley of the Kara-Balta River, after drinking river water, he became infected with typhoid fever. On the way to Karakol, Przhevalsky felt ill, and upon arrival in Karakol he fell completely ill. A few days later he died. He was buried on the shore of Lake Issyk-Kul. Fulfilling the last will of the deceased, they chose a flat place for his ashes, on the eastern steep shore of the lake, between the mouths of the Karakol and Karasuu rivers, 12 km from the city of Karakol. Due to the hardness of the soil, soldiers and Cossacks dug the grave for two days; two coffins: one wooden and the other iron - for the outside.

Travel and research activities

In 1867, Przhevalsky received a business trip to the Ussuri region. Along the Ussuri River he reached the village of Busse, then to Lake Khanka, which served as a station during bird migration and provided him with material for ornithological observations. In winter, he explored the South Ussuri region, covering 1,060 versts (about 1,100 km) in three months. In the spring of 1868, he again went to Lake Khanka, then pacified Chinese robbers in Manchuria, for which he was appointed senior adjutant of the headquarters of the troops of the Amur region. The results of his first trip were the essays “On the Foreign Population in the Southern Part of the Amur Region” and “Travel to the Ussuri Region.”

In 1872, Przhevalsky made his first trip to Central Asia. From Beijing he moved to the northern shore of Lake Dalai Nor, then, after resting in Kalgan, he explored the Suma-Khodi and Yin-Shan ridges, as well as the course of the Yellow River (Huang He), showing that it does not have a branch, as previously thought on the basis Chinese sources; Having passed through the Ala Shan desert and the Alashan Mountains, he returned to Kalgan, having traveled 3,500 versts (about 3,700 kilometers) in 10 months. In 1872, he moved to Lake Kuku-Nor, intending to penetrate the Tibetan Plateau, then through the Tsaidam Desert he reached the upper reaches of the Blue River (Mur-Usu). After an unsuccessful attempt to cross Tibet, in 1873, through the central part of the Gobi, Przhevalsky returned to Kyakhta through Urga. The result of the trip was the essay “Mongolia and the Country of the Tanguts.” Over the course of three years, Przhevalsky walked 11,000 versts (about 11,700 km).

In 1876, Przhevalsky undertook a second journey from Kulja to the Ili River, through the Tien Shan and the Tarim River to Lake Lob-Nor, to the south of which he discovered the Altyn-Tag ridge; he spent the spring of 1877 on Lob-Nor, watching the migration of birds and doing ornithological research, and then returned to Gulja through Kurla and Yuldus. The illness forced him to stay in Russia longer than planned, during which time he wrote and published the work “From Kulja to the Tien Shan and to Lob-Nor.”

In 1879, he set out from the city of Zaisan on his third journey at the head of a detachment of 13 people. Along the Urungu River through the Hami oasis and through the desert to the Sa-Zheu oasis, through the Nan Shan ridges into Tibet, and reached the valley of the Blue River (Mur-Usu). The Tibetan government did not want to let Przhevalsky into Lhasa, and the local population was so excited that Przhevalsky, having crossed the Tang-La pass and being only 250 miles from Lhasa, was forced to return to Urga. Returning to Russia in 1881, Przhevalsky gave a description of his third trip. He described a new species of horse, previously unknown to science, later named in his honor (Equus przewalskii).

In 1883, he undertook a fourth voyage, leading a detachment of 21 people. From Kyakhta he moved through Urga along the old route to the Tibetan Plateau, explored the sources of the Yellow River and the watershed between the Yellow and Blue Rivers, and from there he went through Tsaidam to Lob-Nor and to the city of Karakol (Przhevalsk). The journey ended only in 1886.

In any conditions, every day N.M. Przhevalsky kept a personal diary, which formed the basis of his books. N. M. Przhevalsky had a brilliant writing gift, which he developed through persistent and systematic work.

Scientific merits

Przhevalsky's greatest achievements are the geographical and natural-historical study of the Kun-Lun mountain system, the ridges of Northern Tibet, the Lob-Nor and Kuku-Nor basins and the sources of the Yellow River. In addition, he discovered a number of new forms of animals: the wild camel, Przewalski's horse, the Himalayan bear, a number of new species of other mammals, and also collected huge zoological and botanical collections, containing many new forms, which were later described by specialists. The Academy of Sciences and scientific societies around the world welcomed Przhevalsky's discoveries. The British Royal Geographical Society named Nikolai Przhevalsky “the most outstanding traveler” in the world. The St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences awarded Przhevalsky a medal with the inscription: “To the first explorer of the nature of Central Asia.”

According to A.I. Voeikov, Przhevalsky was one of the largest climatologists of the 19th century.

Personality

In adulthood, N. M. Przhevalsky was absolutely indifferent to ranks, titles and awards and was equally partial to live research work. The traveler's passion was hunting, and he himself was a brilliant shooter.

Being a well-educated naturalist, Przhevalsky was at the same time a born traveler-wanderer, who preferred the lonely steppe life to all the benefits of civilization. Thanks to his persistent, decisive character, he overcame the opposition of Chinese officials and the resistance of local residents, which sometimes reached open attacks and skirmishes.

Family

Brother Vladimir is a famous Moscow lawyer. Brother Evgeniy is a famous mathematician.

Addresses in St. Petersburg

• 1881-2014 - furnished rooms I. Ts. Loshevich - Stolyarny Lane, 6

Addresses in the Moscow region

• 1882-2014 - Estate in the village. Konstantinovo, Domodedovo urban district, Moscow region

The first mention of the village of Konstantinovo dates back to the 16th century; until the mid-17th century it belonged to the famous boyar family of the Golovins. The estate changed a large number of owners, among them Prince Romodanovsky, Count Mikhail Gavrilovich Golovkin, Colonel Lopukhin, Tatishchev, and finally, under Ivan Fedorovich Pokhvisnev, the estate ensemble that has survived to this day was created.

In 1882, the estate came into the possession of the brother of the famous Russian traveler and geographer Nikolai Mikhailovich Przhevalsky. The family owned the estate until 1917.

In 1905, Przhevalsky’s widow, Sofia Alexandrovna, drew up an insurance policy for an estate in Podolsk district, 4 miles from Domodedovo station near the village of Konstantinovo. In addition to a detailed inventory of buildings and their assessment, the insurance file had a plan of the estate, which showed all the estate's residential, non-residential, and outbuildings, as well as a pond with a dam, a landscape park and a formal garden. The main house was described in sufficient detail: “... stone, one-story with a mezzanine, mezzanines and a basement under vaults, covered with iron, with a stone terrace on columns...”, “... the house was heated by 10 Dutch tiled stoves...”. During the restoration of the manor complex in 1990, data from this particular document were used.

Now the estate is in a deplorable state - in many places the plaster has fallen off, exposing the wooden frame. Some of the windows were broken and filled with pieces of plywood. On weekends, the gate is locked, but on the left side of the estate there are a couple of passages in a dilapidated wire fence.

Addresses in Karakol

• Karizhensky House - Dzerzhinsky (Dzhamansariev) Street, 156.

Awards

• Order of St. Stanislaus, 3rd class. (1866);
• Order of St. Vladimir, 3rd class. (1881);
• Austrian Order of Leopold, Knight's Cross (1874).

• Large gold Constantine medal - the highest award of the Imperial Russian Geographical Society (1868)
• Small silver medal of the Russian Geographical Society for an article on the population of Primorye
• Certificate of Honor from the International Geographical Congress in Paris
• Gold Medal of the Paris Geographical Society
• Order of the Academic Palms (France)
• Great Alexander Humboldt Gold Medal of the Berlin Geographical Society
• Royal Medal of the London Geographical Society (1879)
• Vega Medal of the Stockholm Geographical Society
• Grand Gold Medal of the Italian Geographical Society
• Gold personalized medal with the inscription: “To the first explorer of the nature of Central Asia” of the Russian Academy of Sciences

Honorary titles

• Honorary citizen of Smolensk (1881)
• Honorary Citizen of St. Petersburg
• Corresponding Member of the Berlin Geographical Society
• honorary member of the Imperial St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences (1878) and the Botanical Garden
• honorary member of St. Petersburg University
• honorary member of the St. Petersburg Society of Naturalists
• honorary member of the Ural Society of Natural History Lovers
• honorary member of the Russian Geographical Society
• Honorary Doctor of Zoology, Moscow University
• honorary member of the Vienna Geographical Society
• honorary member of the Italian Geographical Society
• honorary member of the Dresden Geographical Society
• honorary member of the Moscow Society of Lovers of Natural History, Anthropology and Ethnography

Memory

• Named in memory of the researcher:
  • geographical objects: Przhevalsky Ridge, discovered by him; glacier in Altai, etc.;
  • a number of species of animals and plants, including Przewalski's horse, Przewalski's pied, Przewalski's buzulnik;
  • the city of Karakol, in Kyrgyzstan, from 1889 to 1922 and from 1939 to 1992 bore the name Przhevalsk;
  • the village of Przhevalskoye in the Smolensk region, in which the traveler’s estate was located;
  • Przhevalsky streets in Moscow, Minsk, Irkutsk, Smolensk and other cities;
  • gymnasium named after N. M. Przhevalsky, Smolensk;
  • in the Primorsky Territory, a mountain system was named in honor of N. M. Przhevalsky - the Przhevalsky Mountains, a cave near the city of Nakhodka and a rock massif in the Partizanskaya River basin.
  • passenger motor ship of project 860 of the Amur River Shipping Company.

Nikolai Mikhailovich Przhevalsky - quotes

“Basically, you have to be born a traveler.”

“The traveler has no memory” (about the need to keep a diary).

“Travel would lose half its charm if it were impossible to talk about it.”

“And the world is beautiful because you can travel.”

In Central Asia, I left a lot of offspring - not in the literal sense, of course, but figuratively: Lop Nor, Kukunar, Tibet and so on - these are my brainchildren.