LAZAREV MIKHAIL - Russian traveler, naval commander

[Anatol]

Mikhail Petrovich Lazarev was born in the Vladimir province, far from the seas, on November 14, 1788, in the family of the ruler of the Vladimir governorate. From childhood, Mikhail dreamed of the profession of a sailor, of the endless sea and ocean spaces. His dreams began to come true in 1800, when he, along with two brothers, was assigned to the Naval Cadet Corps in St. Petersburg. In May 1803, he received the rank of midshipman and, among the best graduates of the corps, was sent to the Royal Navy of Great Britain, where he studied naval science as a volunteer for five years. Until 1808, he gained experience by sailing on various ships in the Mediterranean and North Seas, in the Atlantic and Indian Oceans.
After returning to Russia, he was promoted to midshipman and sent to serve in the Baltic Fleet, where he happened to participate in the Russian-Swedish (1808-1809) and Patriotic (1812) wars. In 1811, for his valor, he was promoted to lieutenant.
In 1813, Lazarev was appointed commander of the newly built sloop "Suvorov", owned by the Russian-American Company, and sent on a round-the-world voyage to study the possibility of regular sea communication between St. Petersburg and Alaska. During this difficult voyage, which lasted until 1816, Lazarev showed his experience and commanding skills, the task was completed, along the way, sketches were made and the coordinates of significant sections of the coast of Australia, South and North America were clarified. During the voyage, an atoll was also discovered, which received the name of Suvorov Atoll, on which the National Park on the Cook Islands was created in 1978.
This was the first, but not the last circumnavigation of Lazarev. Already in 1819, commanding the sloop «Mirny» as part of a round-the-world Antarctic expedition under the command of Captain 2nd Rank Faddey Faddeevich Bellingshausen, he set sail for the South Pole. During this expedition, a new continent was discovered - Antarctica and several islands. The voyage ended in 1821, for participation in the expedition Lazarev received the military rank of captain of the second rank and was appointed to command the frigate "Cruiser", on which he made the third circumnavigation in 1822-1825.
After all these round-the-world travels, Lazarev's rapid career as a naval commander begins. Already in 1826, he was appointed commander of the «Azov» ship, on which he took part in the Navarino battle against the Turkish-Egyptian fleet. For his services in this battle, Lazarev was promoted to Rear Admiral. Subsequently, Lazarev occupied high military posts and in 1834 became commander of the Black Sea Fleet, since 1843 - admiral. In this post, he did a lot for the fleet and ports of Russia. He is one of the founders of the city of Novorossiysk. Mikhail Petrovich died in 1851 in Vienna, but was buried in the city of Sevastopol.
The merits of Mikhail Petrovich Lazarev to the Fatherland and the world community are so great that islands, bays, streets and squares are named after him. Numerous monuments have been erected to him in Russia and Ukraine.
Russian Antarctica. Novolazarevskaya station 2020; 4x 30r.
Russian Antarctica. Mirny station 2020; 4х30r.
PMR 2019; [P].
Dixon 1994; 3000.
Source: https://tochka-na-karte.ru/content/Znam ... ovich.html.