Nikita Shalaurov

Nikita Shalaurov (Russian: Никита Шалауров) (? - 1764) was a merchant from Veliky Ustyug, Russia and an Arctic explorer.^[1]

Nikita Shalurov took part in the Arctic expedition of Afanasy Bakhov (1748-1749) as Bakhov's assistant. Then he took part in another polar expedition of Bakhov (1757-1760) as the leader's chief assistant. Later he organized his own expedition to discover new islands and the full passage to the Pacific Ocean (Northeast Passage).^[1][2] The expedition was the only Russian expedition in the few decades after the Great Northern Expedition by Vitus Bering. It was carried out by Nikita Shalaurov, a trader without government support.^[3]

Nikita Shalaurov's ship was named "Vera, Nadezhda i Lubov'" translating into Russian as Faith, Hope and Love. Shalaurov sailed from the Lena River,^[4] tried to sail east from the Kolyma River to the Bering Strait in 1762 but was foiled by ice; trying again in 1764, he and his party disappeared. The Chukchi later told of finding the expedition's wintering site littered with skeletons.^[5] Apparently Nikita Shalaurov together with his ship and the whole crew died in 1764.^[1]

An island in East Siberian Sea is named Mys Shalaurova translating as Cliff of Shalaurov after Nikita Sharaulov. A recent expedition in 2005 was formed to explore the island, named R0K.[1] The website features images and documentation of the 2005 expedition. A weather station is located on the island, and the weather conditions can be monitored through Wunderground.com.[2]

References

1. ^ ^{a b c} Biography (Russian)
2. ^ American Society of Polar Philatelists: Arctic Postal History 1675-1799
3. ^ Contexts - Geography - Northern Passage
4. ^ Beaufort Gyre Exploration Project
5. ^ Britttanica article

‹ Restriction of the usage of the template below (Lists of Russians) is being discussed. See templates for discussion to help reach a consensus.›

Persondata
Name	Shalaurov, Nikita
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth
Place of birth
Date of death
Place of death