Peter the Great and Russia’s Growing Interest in the Exploration of the Pacific Ocean, 1711–1722

This article discusses the reasons for the Russian government’s interest in the exploration of the Pacific frontiers in the early eighteenth century. The authors pay special attention to the expeditions organised before the First Kamchatka expedition. Those expeditions were organised by I. M. Evreinov, F. F. Luzhin, I. Kozyrevsky, Ya. A. Yelchin, and others. The authors clarify which expeditions were organised at the personal order of Peter the Great and study them in the context of the international situation. Special attention is paid to the debatable aspects of the orders of Peter the Great regarding the expeditions of Evreinov and Luzhin. The article is relevant because of the growing attention of researchers to the history of the Far East and the Pacific Ocean. Referring to new materials, the authors revise the opinion existing in the literature on the spontaneity of Peter the Great’s decision to explore the Pacific Ocean. The article provides information on different categories of the Russian population and the diversity of the Russian regions that took part in the exploration of the Pacific. The article demonstrates how the expeditions of 1711 and 1722 contributed to strengthening Russia’s position in the Far East. The authors employ an interdisciplinary approach, using the latest achievements in historical studies, traditional methods (comparative, genetic, the history of state and law) and new approaches (microhistory, historical psychology, the history of everyday life, historical anthropology, and ethnohistory). The study’s main results are the analysis of the projects and direct activities of Russian expeditions to America in the early eighteenth century. The authors also reveal the reasons for government interest in the eastern borders of Russia, which consisted of the country’s imperial status and its international position.