Russian Early Geographic Exploration and Encounters in the North Pacific

This article examines the earliest Russian geographic and nautical exploration of the North Pacific and Japan’s Northern Territories and their importance within the context of global history, and also in comparison to similar research which Russians conducted in Central Asia. The author identifies some historically significant explorative expeditions and travelers from the Russian Empire to the region, and includes descriptions of their initial findings. It is argued that Russian early efforts to explore the area were somewhat haphazard and did not follow a clearly-orchestrated pattern or objective, which made explorations both infrequent and somewhat sporadic. There is also discussions of some of the outcomes of these explorations, which included cross-cultural encounters with both Japanese people and other peoples of the North Pacific, including the Kamchadals and the Ainu.