Great Northern Expedition

Lore & Background

The expedition was conceived by Russian emperor Peter the Great, who hoped for the 18th-century Russian Navy to map a Northern Sea Route from Europe to the Pacific. The main organizer and leader was Vitus Bering, a Danish-born Russian captain who had led the earlier First Kamchatka Expedition (1725 to 1731). The expedition was sponsored by the Admiralty College in Saint Petersburg and financed entirely by the Russian state, costing an estimated 1.5 million rubles, equal to roughly one-sixth of state income in 1724.

Reader's Guide

The Great Northern Expedition's significance lies in its comprehensive mapping of the Arctic coast of Siberia and much of the Arctic coast of North America, which greatly reduced 'white areas' on maps. It included the European discovery of Alaska, the Aleutian Islands, the Commander Islands, and Bering Island, as well as detailed cartographic assessment of the northern and north-eastern coast of Russia and the Kuril Islands. The expedition proved that no large landmass existed in the North Pacific and that no economically viable Northeast Passage existed. Its findings also included ethnographic, historic, and scientific research into Siberia and Kamchatka. The academic component, led by professors from the Russian Academy of Sciences, contributed to botany, zoology, mineralogy, geography, history, and astronomy. The expedition's legacy includes the foundation for future Russian claims in the North Pacific and a vast increase in European knowledge of the region.

Did You Know?

• The expedition included over 3,000 people directly or indirectly involved, making it one of the largest expeditions in history.
• It was conceived by Peter the Great and carried out under Empresses Anna and Elizabeth.
• The expedition proved that no economically viable Northeast Passage existed.
• Its cost was 1.5 million rubles, equal to roughly one-sixth of state income in 1724.