Kozlov Petr Kuzmich (1863-1935) - Russian traveler, explorer of Asia, one of the prominent participants in the Great Game. He was an honorary member of the Russian Geographical Society, a member of the Academy of Sciences of the Ukrainian SSR and one of the first biographers of Przhevalsky. Today we will get acquainted with the life and work of this outstanding person in more detail.
Childhood
Pyotr Kuzmich Kozlov, interesting facts from whose life we will consider today, was born on October 15, 1863 in the small town of Dukhovshchina, which belongs to the Smolensk province. The mother of the future traveler was constantly engaged in housekeeping. And my father was a small merchant. Parents paid little attention to their children and did not care at all about their education. Every year, Peter's father drove cattle from Ukraine for a we althy industrialist. When Peter grew up a little, he began to travel with his father. Perhaps it was during these trips that the boy first fell in love with distant wanderings.
Peter grew up almost independently of his family. From an early age, an inquisitive child fell in love with books. stories abouttraveling, the boy could read for days on end. Later, having become a famous person, Kozlov will be stingy with stories about his childhood, obviously due to the lack of vivid impressions.
Youth
At the age of 12, the boy was sent to a four-year school. After graduating at the age of 16, Peter began to serve in the office of the brewery, located 66 kilometers from his hometown. Uninteresting monotonous work did not satisfy the inquisitive energetic young man at all. He tried to educate himself and decided to enter the teacher's institute.
Shortly before that, various scientific institutions, geographical communities and topographical services of England, Germany, France, Japan and China began to actively explore Asia. Soon the Russian Geographical Society, founded in 1845, became active. The Great Game was moving from military confrontation to a scientific race. Even at the time when Kozlov was grazing horses in the Smolensk meadows, his countryman Nikolai Mikhailovich Przhevalsky was already on the pages of newspapers and magazines. Young people enthusiastically read the fascinating travel reports of the explorer, and many young men dreamed of repeating his exploits. Kozlov read about Przhevalsky with particular enthusiasm. Articles and books aroused in him a romantic love for Asia, and the personality of a traveler took on the appearance of a fairy-tale hero in Peter's imagination. However, the young man's chances of such a fate were, to put it mildly, small.
Meet Przewalski
By chance Kozlov Petr Kuzmich once met his idol. It happened in the summer1882 near Smolensk, in the town of Sloboda, where, after another expedition, the famous conqueror of Asia came to rest in his estate. Seeing a young man in the garden in the evening, Nikolai Mikhailovich decided to ask him what he was so passionate about. Turning around and seeing his idol in front of him, Peter was beside himself with happiness. Slightly taking a breath, he answered the scientist's question. It turns out that Kozlov was thinking that the stars he contemplated in Tibet seemed much brighter and that he was unlikely to ever see this personally. The future traveler answered Przhevalsky with such sincerity that he, without even thinking, invited him to his place for an interview.
Despite the difference in age and social status, the interlocutors turned out to be very close in spirit. The scientist decided to take his young friend under the patronage and lead him step by step into the world of professional travel. Sincere friendship began between Kozlov and Przhevalsky over time. Feeling that Peter was completely devoted to the cause, to which the scientist himself was sincerely devoted, he took upon himself the responsibility to take an active part in the life of the young man. In the autumn of 1882, Nikolai Mikhailovich invited a young friend to move to his home and take up accelerated training there. Life in the estate of an idol seemed like a fabulous dream for Kozlov. He was enveloped in the charm of fascinating tales of wandering life, as well as the grandeur and natural beauty of Asia. Then Peter firmly decided that he should become an ally of Przhevalsky. But first he neededget a full secondary education.
In January 1883 Kozlov Petr Kuzmich passed the exam for a full-fledged course of a real school. Then he had to do military service. The fact is that Nikolai Mikhailovich took only those who had a military education into his expeditionary group. He had several objective reasons for this, the main of which was the need to repel the armed attacks of the natives. After serving for three months, Pyotr Kuzmich was enlisted in the fourth expedition of Przhevalsky. The hero of our review remembered this event for the rest of his life.
First trip
The first trip of Kozlov as part of the Przhevalsky expedition took place in 1883. Her goal was to explore East Turkestan and North Tibet. This expedition became a wonderful practice for Kozlov. Under the guidance of an experienced mentor, he tempered a real researcher in himself. This was facilitated by the harsh nature of Central Asia and the struggle with the numerically superior local residents. The first trip was for a novice traveler, despite all his enthusiasm, very difficult. Due to the high humidity of the air, the researchers had to be in wet clothes most of the time. Weapons succumbed to corrosion, personal items quickly dampened, and plants collected for the herbarium were almost impossible to dry.
Under such conditions, Pyotr Kuzmich learned to visually survey rough terrain, determine heights and, most importantly, exploratory observation of nature, which involves the discovery of its main features. In addition, he got acquainted with the organization of an expeditionary campaign in an unfavorable climate. According to the traveler, the study of Central Asia has become for him a guiding thread that determines the entire course of his future life.
Homecoming
Returning home after a 2-year expedition, Kozlov Petr Kuzmich continued to actively develop in the chosen direction. He replenished the baggage of his knowledge in the field of natural science, ethnography and astronomy. Almost before being sent on the next expedition, Pyotr Kuzmich was promoted to officer, having graduated from the St. Petersburg Military School.
Second Expedition
In the autumn of 1888, Kozlov set off on his second journey under the guidance of Przhevalsky. But at the very beginning of the expedition, near Mount Karakol, not far from Lake Issyk-Kul, the great explorer N. M. Przhevalsky fell seriously ill and soon died. According to the traveler's dying request, he was buried on the shore of Lake Issyk-Kul.
The expedition was resumed next autumn. Colonel M. V. Pevtsov was appointed its leader. The latter took command with dignity, although he understood that he would not be able to fully replace Przhevalsky. In this regard, it was decided to shorten the route, limiting the study of Chinese Turkestan, Dzungaria and the northern part of the Tibetan Plateau. Despite the fact that the expedition turned out to be truncated, its participants managed to collect a very voluminous historical and geographical material, a significant share of which belonged to Pyotr Kozlov,engaged mainly in the study of East Turkestan.
Third Expedition
Kozlov's next trip took place in 1893. This time, the research campaign was led by V. I. Roborovsky, who once served as Przhevalsky's senior assistant. The purpose of this trip was to explore the northeastern corner of Tibet and the Nian Shan mountain range. On this trip, Pyotr Kuzmich made independent surveys of the surroundings. Sometimes he had to walk alone up to 1000 kilometers. At the same time, he collected the lion's share of the zoological collection of this expedition. When V. I. Roborovsky halfway began to complain about his he alth, Kozlov was entrusted with the leadership of the expedition. He successfully coped with the task and brought the matter to the end. Returning to his homeland, the researcher presented a report, which he en titled with the words “Report of the assistant to the head of the expedition P. K. Kozlov.”
First independent expedition
In 1899, the traveler first acted as the head of the expedition. The aim of the participants was to get acquainted with Mongolia and Tibet. 18 people took part in the campaign, of which only 4 researchers, all the rest were convoys. The route began at the Altai postal station, located near the Mongolian border. Then it ran through the Mongolian Altai, Central Gobi and Kam - practically unexplored regions of the eastern side of the Tibetan Plateau.
While conducting research along the upper reaches of the Yellow River, Mekong and Yangtze Jiang, the expeditionaries have repeatedly encountered natural obstacles and aggressionnatives. Nevertheless, they managed to collect unique orographic, geological, climatic, zoological and botanical materials. The travelers also shed light on the life of little-known Eastern Tibetan tribes.
The Russian explorer of Mongolia, who led the expedition, personally made a detailed description of various natural objects, including: Lake Kukunor, lying at an altitude of 3200 meters and having a circumference of 385 kilometers; the sources of the Yalongjiang and Mekong rivers, as well as a couple of ridges of the Kunlun system, which were previously unknown to science. In addition, Kozlov made brilliant essays on the life of the population and the economy of Central Asia. Among them, the description of the rituals of the Qaidam Mongols stands out.
From the Mongol-Tibetan expedition, Kozlov brought an abundant collection of flora and fauna from the explored territories. During the trip, he often had to deal with armed detachments of local residents, whose number reached 300 people. Due to the fact that the campaign dragged on for almost two years, a rumor reached Petersburg about its complete failure and death. But this could not be allowed by Kozlov Pyotr Kuzmich. The books "Mongolia and Kam" and "Kam and the way back" described this journey in detail. For such a productive expedition, Kozlov received a gold medal from the Russian Geographical Society. So the Great Game got another bright player.
Mongol-Sichuan expedition
In 1907, an honorary member of the Russian Geographical Society went on his fifth trip. This time the route ran from Kyakhta to Ulaanbaatar, then to the middle and southern regions of Mongolia, the Kukunor region and, finally, to the northwest of Sichuan. The most significant discovery was the discovery in the Gobi desert of the remains of the dead city of Khara-Khoto, which were covered with sand. During the excavations of the city, a library of two thousand books was found, the lion's share of which was written in the language of the Xi-Xia state, which later turned out to be the Tangut language. This discovery was exceptional, because no museum in the world has such a large collection of Tungut books. Finds from Khara-Khoto play an important historical and cultural role, as they clearly depict different aspects of the life and culture of the ancient state of Xi-Xia.
Expedition members collected extensive ethnographic material about the Mongolian and Tibetan peoples. They paid special attention to Chinese antiquity and the Buddhist cult. Many zoological and botanical materials were also collected. A special find of the researchers was a collection of woodcuts for printing books and images, which were used centuries before the first printing in Europe.
In addition, the world's only collection of paper banknotes of the 13th-14th centuries was found at Khara-Khoto. Also, the excavations of Khara-Khoto brought a lot of all kinds of figurines, cult figurines and several hundred Buddhist images on silk, wood, paper and linen. All this came to the museums of the Academy of Sciences and Emperor Alexander III.
After discovering and scrutinizing the dead city, the expeditiongot acquainted with Lake Kukunor, and then the little-known territory of Amdo, located in the bend of the Yellow River.
From this trip, the Russian explorer of Mongolia once again brought the richest collection of plants and animals, among which were new species and even genera. The scientist outlined the results of the trip in the book "Mongolia and Amdo and the dead city of Khara-Khoto", published only in 1923.
Protection of the reserve
In 1910, the traveler was awarded large gold medals from the English and Italian Geographical Societies. When Russia began to participate in the First World War, Colonel Kozlov expressed a desire to join the ranks of the army in the field. He was refused and sent to Irkutsk as the head of an expedition to procure livestock for the army.
At the end of the October Revolution, at the end of 1917, the researcher of Mongolia, China and Tibet, who at that time was already a major general, was sent to the Askania-Nova reserve in the Tauride province. The purpose of the trip is to take measures to protect the protected steppe area and the local zoo. Sparing no energy, the scientist did everything possible to secure the unique monument of nature. In October 1918, he reported to the Minister of Public Education that Askania-Nova had been saved and its most valuable lands remained unharmed. For further protection of the reserve, he asked to be transferred to the Academy of Sciences of Ukraine and given the opportunity to recruit 15-20 volunteers. At the same time, Kozlov asked for 20 rifles, sabers and revolvers, as well as the required number of cartridges for them, to be provided under his personal responsibility. At the end of 1918year, during a particularly difficult period of the Civil War, thanks to the efforts of Major General Kozlov, almost 500 people worked in the reserve.
New expedition
In 1922, the Soviet leadership decided to organize an expedition to Central Asia, headed by 60-year-old Kozlov Pyotr Kuzmich. The traveler's wife, ornithologist Elizaveta Vladimirovna, for the first time kept her husband company on the expedition. Despite his considerable age, the traveler was full of strength and excitement. During his sixth trip, which lasted from 1923 to 1926, the scientist explored a relatively small part of Northern Mongolia, as well as the upper basin of the Selenga River.
Once again, the traveler received significant scientific results. In the mountains of the Noin-Ula system, he discovered a little more than 200 cemeteries and excavated them. As it turned out, it was a Hunnic burial 2000 years old. This archaeological discovery has become one of the greatest in the twentieth century. The scientist, together with his associates, found many objects of ancient culture, thanks to which one can get a comprehensive picture of the economy and life of the Huns in the period: II century BC. e. - 1st century A. D. e. Among them was an extensive collection of artistically executed carpets and fabrics from the time of the Greco-Bactrian kingdom, which existed from the 3rd century BC. e. to the 2nd century AD e. in the north of modern Iran, in Afghanistan and northwest India.
At the top of Mount Ihe-Bodo, located in the Mongolian Altai, at an altitude of about 3000 meters, travelers discovered an ancient khanmausoleum.
However, the most significant discovery of the sixth expedition of Kozlov was the discovery in the mountains of eastern Khangai of the tomb of 13 generations of the descendants of Genghis Khan. The researcher became the first European who was received by the ruler of Tibet. From him, Kozlov received a special pass, which had to be presented to the mountain guard guarding the approaches to the Tibetan capital Lhasa. However, the British prevented Russian scientists from entering Lhasa. A participant in the Great Game, Pyotr Kozlov, never got to this city. He published a report on the sixth expedition in the book Journey to Mongolia. 1923-1926"
Further activities
At seventy, Kozlov Petr Kuzmich, whose discoveries were gaining more and more fame, did not leave dreams of long trips. In particular, he planned to go to the Issyk-Kul lake in order to once again bow to the grave of his teacher and enjoy the local beauties. But the sixth journey of the explorer was the last. After him, he lived a quiet life as a pensioner in Leningrad and Kyiv. However, he spent most of his time with his wife, in a small log house in the village of Strechno (50 kilometers from Staraya Russa).
Wherever the traveler settled, he quickly became popular among the neighboring youth. In order to convey his experience to curious young people, the researcher organized circles of young naturalists, traveled around the country with lectures, and published his works and stories. The whole scientific world knew who Kozlov Pyotr Kuzmich was. Discoveries in Eurasia gave him recognition in all circles. In 1928, the Ukrainian Academy of Sciences elected himactual member. And the Russian Geographical Society presented him with a medal named after N. M. Przhevalsky. Among the researchers of Central Asia of the XX century, the Russian scientist occupies a special place.
Pyotr Kuzmich Kozlov died on September 26, 1935 from heart sclerosis. He was buried at the Smolensk Lutheran cemetery.
Property
The glacier of the Tabyn-Bogdo-Ola Ridge was named in honor of Kozlov. In 1936, in honor of the 100th anniversary of the traveler, his name was given to the school of the town of Dukhovshchina, in which the scientist began to comprehend the world. In 1988, the traveler's apartment museum was opened in St. Petersburg.
Pyotr Kuzmich Kozlov, whose brief biography has come to an end, not only lived in an era of great discoveries, but also created it personally. He completed the liquidation of the "white spot" on the map of Asia begun by Przhevalsky. But at the beginning of Kozlov's journey, the whole world was against him.
