September 4, 1930
In Vladivostok A 57-year-old man died of pneumonia Vladimir Arsenyev — geographer and writer. Researcher The Far East and taiga, military orientalist. Author of "Dersu Uzala."
The beauty of life lies in sharp contrasts
During the day, in sunlight, we see only the Earth, at night we see the whole world
How little a person needs and how elastic the concept of comfort is!
Born in 1872 St. Petersburg. His father, a descendant of Tver serfs, rose to the rank of manager of the Moscow Ring Railway.
In my youth, I went on my first expeditions along the Tosna River with my uncle. Petersburg. Following the example of their inspirations, the traveling officers Przhevalsky и Nevelskoy — chose a military career. In 1892, he entered the St. Petersburg Infantry Cadet School, and after graduating, he served for several years in Poland.
In 1900, he applied for a transfer to the then-barely explored Far East—to the Vladivostok Fortress Infantry Regiment. During expeditions, he initially mapped the areas assigned by military commanders, and in his spare time, he described the flora and fauna, archaeology, and ethnography of the area.
During the Russo-Japanese War of 1904–1905, he participated in reconnaissance operations and received awards for them. After the war's defeat, he became more active in exploring the Far East at the behest of the authorities.
In the 1910s, as a special assignment officer for the Amur Governor-General, he led several secret expeditions to combat the Honghuzi (Chinese bandits), migrants, and poachers.
In 1917, after the February Revolution, he was appointed Commissioner for Native Affairs Amur region under the Provisional Government.
During the Civil War, he lost almost all his relatives - his father, mother, sisters and brother - they were shot by bandits in search of profit.
He remained in the Far East, studying the taiga and indigenous peoples - the Udege, Taz, Oroch, and Nanai.
Every Korean fanza exudes homeliness, hard work, and you can see the care and desire to make life better, but these troglodytes have it written all over their faces: I'll steal something, I'll leave, and damn this place - I won't remember it.
(about the life of Russian and Korean peasants in the village of Ulike)
Some expeditions were deadly.
I died of starvation four times. Once they ate my skin, another time they stuffed my stomach with seaweed and ate shells. The last hunger strike was the most terrible. It lasted 21 days. We ate my beloved dog, Alpa, in a fit of hunger and thus saved ourselves from death. I drowned three times, and was attacked twice by wild animals (a tiger and a bear). And nothing!
He wrote several books based on the diaries he kept during expeditions. The main character in them is the Nanai hunter Dersu Uzala.
Then the Chinese arrived, followed by the Russians. Life became harder and harder with each passing year. Then the Koreans arrived. The forests began to burn; the sable retreated, and all other game became less common. And now the Japanese had appeared on the seashore. How could they continue to live?
He spent many years working on the monograph "The Land of Udege," considering it his life's work. He died of pneumonia, which he contracted during an expedition to the lower Amur River: the nearly completed manuscript was lost, never seeing the light of day.
When my dream came true and I set off for the Far East, my heart skipped a beat with joy. I had found myself in a primeval and untouched land, with a different nature and a different people. Looking back, I see that I was lucky.
Soon after his death, the now-deceased Arsenyev was considered the head of Japanese intelligence in Russia. In 1931, the Vladivostok newspaper Krasnoye Znamya published an article entitled "Arsenyev as an Exponent of Great Power Chauvinism." It claimed the scientist defended the interests of the "Russian bourgeoisie" and showed "not the slightest desire to master the method of dialectical materialism."
In 1937, his second wife, Margarita, was arrested: she and a group of other researchers were accused of counterrevolutionary activities allegedly directed by Arsenyev. A year later, she was executed, and their daughter was sentenced to 10 years in a labor camp.
In 1939, Arsenyev’s first family—his ex-wife and son with their family—was exiled to Altai.
