Pale Sofia

Oceania in the minds of the Russian intelligentsia

ЮГО-ВОСТОЧНАЯ АЗИЯ: АКТУАЛЬНЫЕ ПРОБЛЕМЫ РАЗВИТИЯ, 2019, №4(45), 187-194

 
Annotation: The first scientific information about Oceania in Russia appeared at the beginning of the 19th century, after the first round-the-world voyage in Russian history under the command of I.F. Kruzenshtern and Yu.F. Lisyansky (1802-1806). During the voyage, maps of New Guinea, Fiji, Tonga, Samoa, Tahiti, the Marquesas Islands and the Torres Strait area were compiled. But the maps were printed almost two decades later, in 1823. Such a delay is explained by the fact that at that time the islands in the Pacific Ocean did not represent any interest for Russia: firstly, due to their remoteness from the Russian trade sea routes, and secondly, because of the unwillingness to upset the delicate balance in relations with the colonial powers - Great Britain, France, Germany and the USA, which in the 19th century actively strengthened their positions in the Pacific Ocean.

Keywords: Oceania, Russia, expedition, Pavel Bakhmetev, Nikolai Nikolaevich Miklukho-Maklai, Nikolai Nikolaevich Mishutushkin, V.M. Golovnin, Nikolai Konstantinovich Sudzilovskiy