Vladimir Atlasov
Vladimir Vasilyevich Atlasov or Otlasov (
Atlasova
volcano are named after him.
Biography
Atlasov was born in
Golygina River area, from which he was able to see Atlasov Island. Here he met the first Ainu and managed to kill fifty of them. Returning north to the Icha, he sent a party of men over the mountains to build an ostrog
at Verkhnekamchatsk on the upper Kamchatka. Here he decided to return to Anadyrsk, either under pressure of his men or because he was running short of gunpowder and lead.
He reached Anadyrsk in July 1699 and wrote a report. He reached Yakutsk in June 1700 and in February 1701 reached Moscow where he presented his report. He was promoted to
Angara River
in 1701 he met and plundered a merchant's boat loaded with Chinese goods. For this he and his men were thrown in jail. Kamchatka became increasingly disorderly and in 1707 Atlasov was released and sent to Kamchatka to restore order. On the journey his methods were so rough that most of his men sent a letter of protest to Yakutsk. He pacified the natives to some degree, but in December 1707 his own cossacks revolted and imprisoned him. He escaped (from Verkhnekamchatsk) and went downriver to Nizhnekamchatsk, but the local commander refused to step aside and give him command. What he did for the next four years is uncertain. In January 1711 he was murdered in his sleep by another band of mutineers.
References
- George V. Lantseff and Richard A. Price, 'Eastward to Empire', 1973
- Russian historians about Vladimir Atlasov by N.V. Tolkacheva (in Russian)
See also
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| National | |
