July 23, 2021

Anchors Far Away


Anchors Far Away
This totally cool anchor is not from Kamchatka but also not too far away: its source is the Kaisei Maru Japanese sealing ship, sunk off Sitka, Alaska, in 1909. Amanda Shirnina

The proverbial cat dragged in, from the Kamchatka trash, two ship's anchors of historical value from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.

Uncovered and announced recently, the anchors were local residents' trash but the treasure of the Ministry of Culture. Museum workers treated the anchors with gun oil to try to preserve the metal. They were especially interested in maintaining the eighteenth-century remnant.

What was happening on the Kamchatka Peninsula in the eighteenth century? Probably lots of things, but historians note that Peter the Great sent expeditions there, it was mapped in 1720, and it was mapped even better in 1755. The first lengthy description of the peninsula was written in 1755 by explorer Stepan Krasheninnikov, An Account of the Land of Kamchatka.

These mappings and expeditions made it possible for the Russian-American Company to set up camp and the fur trade and launch an overseas empire into Alaska and get into fights over maritime territory with Americans and Canadians and Japanese and all manner of other things.

The earliest surviving anchors were built during the Bronze Age – about 3300 BCE to 1200 BCE – and were made of rocks. Experts assume that anchors prior to that were also made of rock.

You Might Also Like

The Shtandart

The Shtandart

On the banks of the Neva River’s northernmost curve, the wooden skeleton of a great frigate is slowly taking shape.
Raising the Shtandart
  • March 01, 2016

Raising the Shtandart

In the spring of 1703, Peter the Great oversaw the building of Russia’s first Baltic fleet flagship. In 1995, Vladimir Martus decided to build a replica.
Peter's Ship
  • March 01, 2016

Peter's Ship

Fifteen years after the new Shtandart launched, boat builders on Solovetsky created a replica of an even older ship: the first Russian naval ship built on Russian soil, in 1693.
Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of our Books

At the Circus
January 01, 2013

At the Circus

This wonderful novella by Alexander Kuprin tells the story of the wrestler Arbuzov and his battle against a renowned American wrestler. Rich in detail and characterization, At the Circus brims with excitement and life. You can smell the sawdust in the big top, see the vivid and colorful characters, sense the tension build as Arbuzov readies to face off against the American.

The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas
October 01, 2013

The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas

This exciting new trilogy by a Russian author – who has been compared to Orhan Pamuk and Umberto Eco – vividly recreates a lost world, yet its passions and characters are entirely relevant to the present day. Full of mystery, memorable characters, and non-stop adventure, The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas is a must read for lovers of historical fiction and international thrillers.

 
A Taste of Chekhov
December 24, 2022

A Taste of Chekhov

This compact volume is an introduction to the works of Chekhov the master storyteller, via nine stories spanning the last twenty years of his life.

How Russia Got That Way
September 20, 2025

How Russia Got That Way

A fast-paced crash course in Russian history, from Norsemen to Navalny, that explores the ways the Kremlin uses history to achieve its ends.

The Latchkey Murders
July 01, 2015

The Latchkey Murders

Senior Lieutenant Pavel Matyushkin is back on the case in this prequel to the popular mystery Murder at the Dacha, in which a serial killer is on the loose in Khrushchev’s Moscow...

Faith & Humor
December 01, 2011

Faith & Humor

A book that dares to explore the humanity of priests and pilgrims, saints and sinners, Faith & Humor has been both a runaway bestseller in Russia and the focus of heated controversy – as often happens when a thoughtful writer takes on sacred cows. The stories, aphorisms, anecdotes, dialogues and adventures in this volume comprise an encyclopedia of modern Russian Orthodoxy, and thereby of Russian life.

Murder at the Dacha
July 01, 2013

Murder at the Dacha

Senior Lieutenant Pavel Matyushkin has a problem. Several, actually. Not the least of them is the fact that a powerful Soviet boss has been murdered, and Matyushkin's surly commander has given him an unreasonably short time frame to close the case.

Stargorod: A Novel in Many Voices
May 01, 2013

Stargorod: A Novel in Many Voices

Stargorod is a mid-sized provincial city that exists only in Russian metaphorical space. It has its roots in Gogol, and Ilf and Petrov, and is a place far from Moscow, but close to Russian hearts. It is a place of mystery and normality, of provincial innocence and Black Earth wisdom. Strange, inexplicable things happen in Stargorod. So do good things. And bad things. A lot like life everywhere, one might say. Only with a heavy dose of vodka, longing and mystery.

About Us

Russian Life is a publication of a 30-year-young, award-winning publishing house that creates a bimonthly magazine, books, maps, and other products for Russophiles the world over.

Latest Posts

Our Contacts

Russian Life
73 Main Street, Suite 402
Montpelier VT 05602

802-223-4955