PLATON CHIKHACHEV: NEW TOUCHES TO THE PORTRAIT OF AN OUTSTANDING RUSSIAN GEOGRAPHER

The way of life of the outstanding Russian geographer, traveler, humanist, one of the initiators of creation and the founders of the Russian Imperial geographical society, honorary member of the St. Petersburg Mineralogical Society and one of the first successful climbers in the world Platon Aleksandrovich Chikhachev was bright, full of discoveries, adventures, tragic episodes, public recognition and oblivion. He was born in 1812, was on military service from 1828 to 1831, traveled to North and South America in 1835–1837, and in 1840– 1845 to Europe and Russia, where he took part in the creation of the Imperial geographical society. At the very beginning of his life, being a 16-years-old officer, he participated in 3 wars, later in the famous Khiva campaign of 1839–1840, and in the Crimean war in 1855. In 1856, he married and went to Europe. He died in Versailles in 1892, and was buried in Nice at the Russian cemetery. After retiring from the army in 1833, he devoted himself to travelling to Europe and the New World. He became the first Russian who in the early 19th century crossed Mexico from the East to the western coast of the Pacific Ocean; made a dangerous crossing on horseback in South America – from Chile through the Andes and pampas of Argentina reached Buenos Aires. Platon Chikhachev first conquered the mountain peaks – Pichincha volcano in Ecuador and Aneto peak, the highest point of the Pyrenees, and became one of the first climbers in Europe. The article adds new data to the well-known features of the biography of a guard officer, scientist, and traveler: little-known episodes of life, including those related to his stay in the homeland; it is clarified the sequence of events and the chronicle of the life of a scientist and traveler based on primary sources. The facts of Platon Chikhachev’s routes were specified, and contribution to the development of national and world geography was assessed.

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