Yevfimiy Vasilyevich Putyatin | |
|---|---|
 Admiral Yevfimiy Putyatin | |
| Born | (1803-11-08)8 November 1803 |
| Died | 16 October 1883(1883-10-16) (aged 79) |
| Allegiance |  Russian Empire |
| Branch |  Imperial Russian Navy |
| Years of service | 1822–1861 |
| Rank | Admiral |
| Battles / wars | |
| Awards | Order of St. George Order of St. Vladimir Order of St. Stanislav Order of Saint Anna |
Yevfimiy Vasilyevich Putyatin (Russian:Евфи́мий Васи́льевич Путя́тин; 8 November 1803 – 16 October 1883), also known asEuphimius Putiatin,[1] was an admiral in theImperial Russian Navy. His diplomatic mission toJapan resulted in the signing of theTreaty of Shimoda in 1855, for which he was made a count. His mission toChina in 1858 resulted in the RussianTreaty of Tianjin.
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Putyatin was descended from a noble family inNovgorod. He entered theNaval Cadet Corps, graduating in 1822, and soon afterwards was appointed to the crew ofMikhail Petrovich Lazarev which circumnavigated the globe in a three-year voyage from 1822 to 1825. He subsequently participated in theBattle of Navarino during theGreek War of Independence on 20 October 1827 and was awarded theOrder of St. Vladimir, 4th degree. From 1828 to 1832, the participated in numerous missions in the Mediterranean and in the Baltic, and was awarded theOrder of St George, 4th class. In 1832, Admiral Lazarev assigned him to make soundings in theDardanelles andBosphorus straits. During theCaucasian War (1838–1839), he participated in numerous combat operations and was wounded in combat. After promotion to captain 1st rank, in 1841, he temporarily left military service to travel to England for the purchase of ships for theBlack Sea Fleet.
In 1842, Putyatin was asked byEmperor Nicholas I to lead an armed diplomatic mission toPersia. His main purpose was to strengthen trade via theCaspian Sea, which was plagued byTurkmen piracy. Putyatin established a base atAstrakhan, and subdued the pirates in a military campaign, following which he met withMuhammad Shah of Persia, whom he persuaded to lift trade restrictions, grant fishing rights and to permit steamship communications between Persia and theVolga River.
Following the successful completion of this mission, Putyatin developed a plan for an expedition to survey Russia's eastern maritime frontiers with China and Japan, with the main objective of finding suitable ports and mapping unknown coastal areas in the region, as well as the possibility of opening Japan to trade relations. The expedition was initially approved by Tsar Nicholas I in 1843, but was postponed due to concerns it would disrupt theKyakhta trade. In 1849, Putyatin became Adjutant-General in the entourage of the Emperor, and in the same year married a daughter of a British admiral. He was promoted to vice admiral in 1851.
In 1852, on learning of American plans to send CommodoreMatthew Perry in an attempt to open Japan for foreign trade, the Russian government revived Putyatin's proposal, which received support fromGrand Duke Konstantin Nikolayevich of Russia. The expedition included several notable Sinologists and a number of scientists and engineers, as well as the noted authorIvan Goncharov. The frigatePallada under the command ofIvan Unkovsky was selected as the flagship.Pallada departedKronstadt on 7 October 1852; however it became clear during the long voyage that the vessel was unsuited for the expedition, and the newer 52-gun frigateDiana was subsequently dispatched.
Putyatin arrived atNagasaki in Japan on 12 August 1853 – a month after the arrival of Perry atUraga, and it was not until September 9 (after considerable discussion) that theNagasaki bugyō agreed to accept the official letter Putyatin carried from Russian Foreign Minister CountKarl Nesselrode. During one of the shore visits, the Russian engineerAlexander Mozhaysky demonstrated a steam engine, which enabled Japanese inventorTanaka Hisashige toreverse engineer the device to create the first Japanesesteam locomotive. As negotiations were protracted by Japanese indecision and the distance from Nagasaki to the Shogun's court atEdo, Putyatin departed Nagasaki to survey the coasts of Korea and thePrimorsky Krai region of the Russian Far East. The frigate Diana arrived on July 11, 1854 with word of theCrimean War, and Putyatin transferred his flag to the newer vessel.
Returning to Nagasaki, Putyatin found that no progress had been made, and that theRoyal Navy had called on Nagasaki during his absence as part of a manhunt to destroy his vessel. He therefore decided to make good on his threat to sail for Edo itself. Putyatin arrived at the port ofShimoda on 22 November 1854, which had been opened to the Americans by theConvention of Kanagawa signed between the Japanese and the United States, and was permitted to start negotiations on 22 December; however on 23 December, the majorAnsei Tokai earthquake shook Japan and surroundings. A 7-meter-high tsunami destroyed much of Shimoda including Putiatin's ships, with exception ofDiana, which was badly damaged and sank soon afterwards at nearbyHeda. The Russian delegation now found itself stranded in Japan.
Negotiations continued, resulting in theTreaty of Shimoda on 7 February 1855, which opened the ports ofHakodate, Nagasaki and Shimoda to Russian vessels, permitted limited trading and the residence of a Russian consul, and fixed the border of Japan and Russia on theKurile Islands betweenUrup andIturup.[2]
In the meantime, the Russian sailors and technicians worked with Japanese carpenters to build a new vessel at Heda to enable the delegation to return to Russia. The schoonerHeda was launched on 14 April, and Putyatin returned to a hero's welcome inSt Petersburg, where he was made a Count, and appointed military governor ofKronstadt from 1856 to 1857.[3]
In 1857, Putyatin was dispatched to China in an attempt to establish a trade agreement; however, he had only limited success after failing twice to cross the border into China by land and by sea. He returned to Japan again in the same year to sign a follow-on accord to his previous agreement. In December, he was appointed commander of the Russian Pacific squadron, and flew his flag on the paddle-wheel steam corvetteAmerica, further exploring the coast ofAmur Bay. On 12 July 1858, he signed a trade agreement with China atTianjin and allowing for the access to the interior of China by Russian missionaries. On 7 August 1858 he signed theRusso-Japanese Treaty of Friendship and Commerce in Edo, which opened more ports in Japan to Russian trade.
After his return to Russia on 26 August 1858, Putyatin was promoted to admiral and was assigned as an attaché to London. He published a book on the subject of maritime training academies, and was appointed Minister of Education on 2 July 1861. While in this position, he conducted a number of reforms, including compulsory attendance at lectures.[citation needed]
More controversially, he decided to turn primary education over to the scope of theRussian Orthodox Church by decreeing that teachers needed to have graduated from a two-year seminary. This led to rioting at a number of cities, and Putyatin was relieved of his post on 6 January 1862. However, he was also made an honorary member of theRussian Academy of Sciences and a member of theState Council of Imperial Russia.[citation needed]
During his trip to London in 1845, Putyatin married Mary Knowles (1823-1879), whose father was a high-ranking naval official.[4] They had three sons and three daughters. On the death of his wife on 18 December 1879, Putyatin leftRussia for Paris. He was awarded theOrder of St Andrew in May 1883, and died in Paris five months later, aged 79.[citation needed]
Order of St George, 4th class (1830).png)
Order of St Vladimir, 3rd class (1846)
Order of St. Stanislav, 1st class (1850)
,Order of Saint Anna, 1st class (1853)_ribbon.svg)
Order of the White Eagle (1855)
Order of St. Alexander Nevsky (1858)
Order of St Andrew (1883)
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