- Vasily Zavoyko
Vasily Stepanovich Zavoyko ( _ru. Василий Степанович Завойко; 1809-1898) was an
admiral in theRussia n navy. [http://www.cultinfo.ru/fulltext/1/001/007/040/40550.htm Article "Zavoyko"] in theBrockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary ru icon] [http://www.cultinfo.ru/fulltext/1/001/007/040/40551.htm Article "Zavoyko (addendum)"] in theBrockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary ru icon] Born to a noble family ofPoltava Governorate , in 1827 he took part in theBattle of Navarino , and in 1835-1838 he twice circumnavigated the Earth.In 1840 he became an employee of the
Russian-American Company and soon became the manager of theOkhotsk port. He deduced that the port was inconvenient for trade, as it was too far from theLena River basin and advocated transfer of the Company port toAyan . During his exploration Zavoyko discovered theestuary of theAmur river. Zavoyko's reports about the potential importance of the river led to the 1846 expedition to study Amur and ultimately to the incorporation of the modernPrimorsky Krai to Russia.In 1850, he was appointed governor of
Kamchatka and the commander of the port of Petropavlovsk. Under Zavoyko's governorship, Kamchatka expanded to include awharf ,foundry , and a new armybarracks . Zavoyko also encouraged agricultural expansion, urging each household to sustain itself withpotato farming. These efforts, however, did little to improve the region's low economic and cultural standards. cite web| last = Ivashchenko| first = Sergei| title = Kamchadal| publisher = KAMCHADAL International Sled Dog Race Inc.| date = 2003| url = http://www.kamchadal.com/Frame-5-kamchatkahistorypage5.html?refresh=1161662472561| accessdate = 2007-04-10 ]In 1854, during the
Crimean War , Zavoyko led the successful defence against theSiege of Petropavlovsk by the allied British-French troops commanded by Rear AdmiralsDavid Price andFevrier de Point . Zavoyko managed to repel the superior allied forces and even captured the British banner.In the winter of 1855, Zavoyko was in charge of the transfer the main Russian Pacific naval base from Petropavlovsk to the Amur estuary. The fleet managed to make its way through despite the frozen seas and the superior enemy fleet awaiting them near the Amur inflow. In two months sailors built the
Nikolayevsk-on-Amur city that served as the base for the fleet.In 1856, Zavoyko returned to
Saint Petersburg , where he served as the Naval "General-Auditor".Notes
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