Dr. Alexei Nallmov Moscow Slate University Russia Russia and the Seas: Economic-Geographic Essay with Special Reference to Eastern Seas Discovery, Perception, and Use As far as I am informed, the ongm of geographical names of different seas washing Russian shores already has been surveyed during one of the previous seminars. To my opinion, the toponimic (or pelagonomic) survey of this kind can be completed and amplified with the review of political reasons and economic-geographic circumstances of Russian expansion to Ihe seas during different periods of its history. Also the contemporary evaluation of economic potential of Russian sea-shore regions likewise the country strategy respect nearby seas and the World Ocean in general must be taken in mind for purposes of the present seminar devoted to Ihe East Sea! Sea of Japan. As Russian history shows, geographical discoveries and, in certain degree, origins of geographical names are strongly tied with development of the "inner" geography of Ihe country itself. Re-orientation of Russia in the surrounding space and evolution of geopolitical ideas were often determined by changes in regional proportions inside its territory. Since its ancient history Russia grew as a continental country. Maritime fringes of Russian plain (East-European plain) seemed hostile to each of consequently replaced national cores: Kievan Rus, Vladimir­ Suzdal' Kniazestvo (kingdom) and the Muscovy.' The drift of the core of I The only exception was Novgorod feudal republik in the North-West, independent from other Russian territories until QVI century, which grew as a hinterland of a trading river port, adjacent to the Baltic sea. 2 nation inside the continental territory led to location of Russian capital far away from the seas. Moscow, hide in the forested between Oka and Volga rivers for centuries had direct access by river roules only /0 one sea -- an illler-contillellial Caspian Sea-lAlre. In XVlllth century it was connected by system oj channels with Baltic Sea and only i" present age became a "port of five seas" after building several channels: Belomorsko-BoltiisklY (1933), Moscow-Volga (1937), Volgo-Don (1952) and reconstruction qf Volgo-Baltyiiskiy water roule (1964). As the seas surrounding near-by parts of mediaeval Russia were considered "foreign" by Russians, their names as usual had an ethnic origin and were taken from peoples, who settled and controlled access to their shores. For example, different parts of the contemporary Black Sea were called by Russians Skiffs, Khozar's, Rum's, Burgas', Cherkass' and Turkish Sea. Even Baltic Sea, well known by Novgorodian merchants who intensively traded with Hanseatic cities in Europe, was narned after ultramarine ethnos Variyajhskoie (Varangian) and later Sveiskoe (Swedish). Part of Arctic Ocean adjacent to Kola Peninsula firstly named by Novgorodian settlers Studionoie (Cold) Sea soon became for pomors - - their descendants Norman (or Murman) Sea after contacts with Scandinavian peoples. Thus, from five seas washing shores of European part of contemporary Russia (not considering Caspian Sea-Lake) only one -- the White Sea newer have had official or commom narne of foreign ethnos origin. Interesting hypothesis for explanation of this fact was proposed by professor Postnikov. He derives this pelagonim from the mystical land Be/ovodie -- country, free from invadors and kind of Heaven on the Earth, often mentioned in ancient Russian legends [I]. In fact, the White Sea, reached by Novgorodians in X - Xlth centuries, has been a unique "inner" 1 sea for Russia quitely safe for navigation and fishing until Peter The Great victories on the Baltics in the beginnings of XVllth century. Though, the White Sea name fignrally meaning "free" was opposed to other "foreign" nothern and north-western seas. At the same time, there ;s one more fact aboul White Sea interesting to men/ioll. Ruuion stale (at that time he Muscawy kingdom) "discovered" this sea for foreign trade after ship commanded by Richard Chancellor sent by so called "Society qf British merchants" entered in J553 the mouth f?f Northern Dllina river. Territorial growth of centralized Russian state scince the middle of XVlth century led the country to the shores of Arctic Ocean. Muscowites followed then routes of Novgorodian colonization in North-Eastern direction, and relatuvely soon -- just about 60 years after the first campaign of Ermak to West Siberia reached in 1639 shores of Pacific Ocean. At that time territories behind the Urals, especially their northern littoral fringes were sparcely populated and seemed quitely insignificant for Russians, who used for routes to the East N orth-Euporean and Great Siberian rivers and their afluents. Thus, in XVI - XVIIth centuries pclagonyms of river origin dominated for seas, washing Arctic shores of North-Eastern comer of European part of Russia and Siberia. Pechorskole more (Pechora Sea) was common name for eastern part of the modem Barents Sea. Kara Sea received its name from Kara river -- part of a water route through the Yugorsky Penninsula roundabout straits to the South of Novaya Zemlia. The inicial name for the £as/em part of Karo Sea -- Mangazeiskoye more desappeared qfter was abandoned MallgQzeia Use(f - fur trading center near Obskaya guha (Ob' bay). One l.?f the reasons for that was the fear of Moscow mlers lhal loreign traders could establish direct con/acls with the aboriginal tribes qf Nenez. 4 Names for other seas washing Arctic shores of Siberia were: Lenskoe (Sea of Lena river; at the present Sea of Laptevykh, renamed in honour of officials of the Great Northern Expedition, cousins Dmitiy and Khariton Laptev'), Indigirskoie (of Indigirka river) and Kolymskoie (of Kolyma river), both later united under the name of the Eastern Siberian Sea. The origin of name of Okhotsk Sea of Pacific Ocean is related with the general tenn for river -- "okat" in the languge of the local people -­ Evenk and northern part of the modem Bering Sea was inicially called Anadyrskoie more after Anadyr river. Though, the tradition of giving "riverain" names for seas continued after Russians discovered Pacific ocean. In the list for the Drawing of Siberian land composed in 1672 also it is mentioned Amurskoe more, or the Sea of Arnur (there is no pass trough Amurskoe more to the Chinese kingdom) [2] . In some sources one more "sea" -- Penzhinskoe more (after Penzhina river) is shown, which is now Penzhiskaya Bay of Okhotsk Sea [3]. b,icial Russian names for Far-Eastern seas also reflect/he elhnogeography of the region. Another names for Okholskoe Sea were Trmgusskoe more (Tungus was a name used for Even and Evenk people) and Lamskoe more ("lam" means the sea in Evenk). The central fX1r1 of the Bering's sea was tlQllled Olutorskoe more after the name of Koryak's tribe. On the majority of Russian maps of Xvnth and first half of XVIIlth centuries all the aquatory to the East of recently conquested Russian shores is called Vostochnoe More-Akiyan (Eastern Sea-Ocean) or simply Akiyan (Ocean). Its southern part sometimes is called Yuzhnoe more (Southern Sea) or TlOploe more (Warm Sea) as opposed to "cold" Arctic sea. 5 !J we analyse, for emmple, the scetch map of Piotr Godunov from /667, we find thai on map. composed by lhe "data of eye.wilnl!ss'~ Kolyma and even Lena rivers jlow into the Eastern (Pacific) ocean. The way from Sludionoe more (Arclic Ocean) to Tioploe more (another name for Pacific Ocean) is shown as free; that means the composers of map knew the relUits qf Semen Dieznev expedition of 1648. II is obvious also dislOrtion in the real size of eastern terTi/ories: enormous North­ Eastern edge dominates and Ziemba Kitaiskaya (The Land qf China) seems very small. [4] After Russians discovered in the middle XVIIIth century America, the main aim for them became conquest of its Pacific shores and adjacent islands. [t is well known, that Russian discoverers advanced by American shore much more to the South, than by the Pacific funge of Eurasia. Fur trade with American tribes made trans-Pacific navigation much more important than cabotage in the Far-Eastern seas. Though, the image of aquatory of the modem Sea of Japan on Russian maps in XVlIlth century even after middle of XIXth century was often taken from the Western European cartographic sources. Most of them use the name of Eastern Ocean (as, for example, on the map of Adam Brand published in Holland in 1698: "Oceanus Orientalis") [5J. Only one source -- maps composed by librarian of Navigatskaya shkola (School of navigation) in Moscow Vasilii Kiprianov use the name of Western Ocean (to the west of Jedso (Japan) islands) [6]. Koreiskoe 1II0re (Korean Sea) between Korean penninsula and Japan (Nifon) islands appeared on Russian maps scince the end of XVlllth century. Probably, information about this part of Pacific Ocean was based on the descriptions composed by Jesuit missionaries in China and Manchzuria who travelled to the East by land through Moscow. Several descriptions of "The Great Tartaria" and so on lands are known, where, as usual, Korean Sea is mentioned. 6 Some ...colars consider thai the propper name of Korea came /0 Europe from Portugese larvellers alld thaI its origins are related with misrepresented dynasty name KogrlYe [7]. There were aslo propper Russian sources of infonnation, for instance the report of Russian envoy to Beijin Nikolay Sapfary (1678) and some Japanese captured in Kamtchatka and Pacific islands and brought to Moscow and Saint Petersburg. During XVIIIth century Russian interests in the Pacific were oriented mostly to the territories in its North-East. The Great Northern Expedition established by Peter the 1st and leaded during several years by the discoverer of Alaska captain-commander Vitus Bering realized research mostly in the seas of Arctic Ocean. Bul in spite of predominance of Russian activities in North America there were also tentatives to discover and colonize Pacific costs to the South.