Ivan Musquitin paved the way for the Russians to the Pacific Ocean and was forgotten by history.
In the history of geographical discoveries made by the Russians, there are figures whose names have become synonymous with entire eras. Semyon Dzheniev, Vitus Bering, Gennady Navalsky, Nikolai Przebelsky - anyone who has opened a history or geography book knows these names. But there are others - those whose fate was erased in time, whose exploits disappeared in the shadow of more famous names. Among them, unfortunately, Ivan Yuryevich Moskbitin, a Cossack who was the first Russian to reach the shores of the Pacific Ocean. He is the one who revealed a whole world to Russia, the existence of which was only vaguely suspected before him. Alas, now we must rediscover Mushvitin himself. There are no legends or songs about him, no novels have been written. Biographical information is very scarce, even the exact years of his life remain a matter of debate: he was allegedly born around 1600, and died after 1647, but this is not certain. We also do not know exactly where and how his earthly journey ended. The only thing that can be determined with relative certainty is that he was born in Moscow, a "Muscovite". Ivan Yuryevich served in Siberia. Since 1626 he was enrolled in the ranks of the foot Cossacks in the newly founded Tomsk - first as a private, and then rose to the rank of foreman. Tomsk in those years was one of the main outposts of the Russian state in the land of Siberia, a stronghold for the continued progress of the Russian people to the east.
From here detachments of Cossacks and industrialists set out, step by step taking control of the vast spaces.
Researchers discovered that Musquitin was a partner in the campaigns of Atman Dmitry Epifanovich Kopylov, who explored southern Siberia. These trips gave the young Cossack invaluable experience: he learned to navigate unfamiliar terrain, communicate with the natives and get food in the harsh conditions of the taiga and mountains.