Fyodor
SOIMONOV

“Firstly, don’t be too jealous; secondly, a daring truth can be quite tortuous; and, thirdly, when you tell the truth in high society, this will cause you to lose your friends.” *

“The navy has already perished through the preponderance of various papers; one is no longer able to see people, ships and heroic feats: only the papers are floating above the masts. The unthinkable has happened: Bureaucracy has attacked the navy and defeated it.”

“The state profits from a teeming population within its confines. This is conducive to foreign and domestic commerce.”

After graduating from the Moscow School of Mathematics and Navigation Sciences, the young Fyodor Soimonov was included in a group of “overseas” students who were sent abroad to continue their education there. Tsar Peter the Great formulated this task in the following way: “Study navigation in winter, sail the high seas aboard warships and train in summer and study with the prospect of becoming naval officers.”

Soimonov learned Dutch, German and Latin languages. He also excelled in seamanship and received the rank of midshipman. After returning back home, he passed an exam, became a warrant officer and was posted to the ship Ingermanland plying the waters of the Baltic Sea. Only 17 out of 48 midshipmen who took their exam in the presence of the Russian Emperor managed to pass it.

In 1719, Lieutenant Soimonov was ordered by Peter the Great to be redeployed to the Caspian Sea and to establish a reliable commercial route that would link Moscow with the Central Asian heartland. A year later, he described the western and southern coasts of the Caspian Sea with his comrades, including Senior Lieutenant Karl Werden, Vasily Urusov and topographer Alexander Kozhin.

According to Soimonov’s calculations, California “may presumably be located not far from Kamchatka.” Therefore he predicted the existence of what is now called the Bering Strait.

Soimonov served as the Governor of Siberia. His humane management focused on regional needs and prioritised active anti-bribery efforts. He insisted on peaceful relations with the local population.

Navigator, hydrographer and statesman Fyodor Soimonov lived for almost 100 years and became the symbol of educational ambitions.

* The information is based on the accounts of the person featuring in this section as well as accounts of their family members, acquaintances and colleagues