May 5: Birthday of Georgy Sedov, an Arctic explorer from a fishing village
Georgy Sedov was born on May 5, 1877, in the fishing village of Krivaya Kosa on the shores of the Sea of Azov. The son of a fisherman who had sailed from childhood, he became one of Russia's most famous polar explorers—and died before reaching the North Pole.
From a fishing village to polar expeditions
From the age of eight, Sedov went to sea with his fisherman father. At 17, he fled to Rostov-on-Don, where maritime classes had opened for young men of all social classes. Admission required three months' experience on a seagoing vessel—and Sedov slept in barrels with vagrants in the port until he persuaded the captain of a cargo steamer to take him on a voyage. He demonstrated such diligence on board that after two months, he was allowed to take the helm.
In 1902, he graduated from the Naval Corps in St. Petersburg as an external student and set off to explore the straits near Novaya Zemlya. It was then that he first considered a voyage to the North Pole, but the Russo-Japanese War disrupted his plans. He returned to the Arctic only in 1909, exploring the mouth of the Kolyma River and its maritime approaches.
"We will prove that Russians are also capable of this feat."
In 1912, Sedov announced a voyage to the North Pole. The Americans had been there four years earlier, but Sedov wanted to beat the Norwegian Amundsen, who was planning his own expedition for 1913. The date was no coincidence: reaching the pole was planned for the 300th anniversary of the Romanov dynasty.
The Navy Department deemed the plan fanciful and refused funding. Sedov raised the money through donations.
He [Amundsen] wants to go in 1913, and we will go this year and prove to the whole world that Russians are also capable of this feat.
Haste, mongrels and rotten food
Preparations for the expedition proceeded in a terrible rush. In July 1912, Sedov chartered two vessels: one had a leak in the hull, the other had no radio operator (the Naval Ministry refused to provide one, and they didn't have time to hire one, so the equipment was ultimately unloaded in Arkhangelsk). Of the 85 sled dogs, only 35 were specially purchased—the rest were caught right off the streets of Arkhangelsk.
Part of the team, seeing the chaos of preparations, abandoned the expedition. New members were hastily recruited. Expedition member Vladimir Vize later recalled:
The crew was hastily assembled, with few professional sailors among them. Food was hastily purchased, and Arkhangelsk merchants took advantage of the rush to slip in substandard food.
Due to delays, the expedition wintered near Novaya Zemlya. A second wintering took place near Franz Josef Land: food and fuel were in short supply, the interiors were barely heated, and were covered in ice.
"Shine a light, my sun, there, in the homeland"
On February 15, 1914, Sedov—already ill with scurvy and bronchitis—set out for the North Pole with two sailors and three dog sleds. They were about 1000 kilometers from their destination. Within a week, his legs had given out. He ordered them to tie him to the sled and continue on: he feared returning to St. Petersburg "with nothing"—debted and disgraced.
On March 5, 1914, 36-year-old Georgy Sedov died. He was buried on the northernmost island of the Franz Josef Archipelago, 900 kilometers from the North Pole. His last diary entry, made at the end of February, reads:
Shine, sun, there, in our homeland, how hard it is for us here on the ice
Naval Minister Ivan Grigorovich responded to Sedov's death with the words: "It's a shame that scoundrel didn't come back. I would have brought him to justice."
What remains of the expedition
By August 1914, the surviving members of the expedition had reached shore. The ship's furniture, deck superstructures, and bulkheads had to be chopped down for firewood.
The expedition failed to achieve its goal. However, it brought back valuable scientific data: observations of Arctic weather, ice drift, climate, and currents. A map was also included of the northern part of Novaya Zemlya and a route through the archipelago.
