Georgy Alexeyevich Ushakov (; – 3 December 1963) was a Soviet explorer of the Arctic.
Ushakov was one of the leaders of the 1930–1932 expedition that surveyed Severnaya Zemlya and established that it was an archipelago. He received the degree of Doctor of Geographic Sciences in 1950.
Career
In 1926, Ushakov founded the first Soviet settlement on Wrangel Island, now known as Ushakovskoye, and served as its head for three years. In 1930–1932, Ushakov headed the Severnaya Zemlya expedition and established a polar station called Остров Домашний (Domashniy Island).Biography of G. A. Ushakov at Polar World.
In 1929 and 1930 icebreaker Sedov carried groups of scientists to Franz Josef Land and later to former Emperor Nicholas II Land, the last major piece of unsurveyed territory in the Soviet Arctic. In 1926 the Presidium of the Central Executive Committee of the USSR renamed the still incompletely explored territory Severnaya Zemlya (Northern Land). Ushakov, geologist Nikolay Urvantsev, surveyor Sergei Zhuravlev, and radio operator Vasily Khodov surveyed and mapped Severnaya Zemlya during a 1930–1932 expedition. Geographic features of the territory were named after communist organizations, events, and personalities. About the bleakness of Severnaya Zemlya Ushakov wrote:
In 1935, Ushakov led the first Soviet high-latitude expedition on an icebreaker Sadko. The cruises of the Sadko went farther north than most; in 1935 and 1936 the last unexplored areas in the northern Kara Sea were examined and the little Ushakov Island was discovered. In 1937 the ship was caught in the ice with two others and forced to winter in the Laptev Sea, adding valuable winter observations to the usual summer ones.
From 1932 to 1936, Ushakov worked at the Chief Directorate of the Northern Sea Route (Главное Управление Северного Морского Пути). He then worked at the Chief Directorate of the Hydrometeorological Service of the USSR from 1936 to 1940 and at the Soviet Academy of Sciences from 1940 to 1958.
Ushakov died in Moscow and was buried on Domashniy Island in Severnaya Zemlya.
Honours Mountains in Antarctica, a spit and a cape on Wrangel Island, and a river on October Revolution Island are named after Ushakov. Ushakov Island in the Russian Arctic also bears his name. Medals Ushakov received the Order of Lenin, the Order of the Red Banner of Labour, the Order of the Red Star, and other medals. References
External links Role of Georgiy Alekseevich Ushakov in development of Russian oceanology The Russian Arctic