Australian Dictionary of Biography

  • Tip: searches only the name field
  • Tip: Use double quotes to search for a phrase

Browse by:

Cultural Advice

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people should be aware that this website contains names, images, and voices of deceased persons.

In addition, some articles contain terms or views that were acceptable within mainstream Australian culture in the period in which they were written, but may no longer be considered appropriate.

These articles do not necessarily reflect the views of The Australian National University.

Older articles are being reviewed with a view to bringing them into line with contemporary values but the original text will remain available for historical context.

Mikhail Petrovich Lazarev (1788–1851)

by C. M. Hotimsky

This article was published:

Mikhail Lazarev, n.d.

Mikhail Lazarev, n.d.

Mikhail Petrovich Lazarev (1788-1851), admiral and explorer, graduated from the Russian Naval Academy in 1803 and volunteered for further training service with the British navy. During the next five years Lazarev took part in voyages in the North and Mediterranean Seas, Pacific, Atlantic and Indian Oceans. On his return to Russia he took part in a battle against the Anglo-Swedish fleet in the Baltic, and in 1812 saw service in the brig Phoenix during its attack on Danzig. Between 1813 and 1816 he was in command of the Suvorov of the Russian-American Co. on a voyage around the world, in the course of which in 1814 he called at Port Jackson, and proceeding north from Sydney discovered and named the Suvorov group of islands. In 1819 he was appointed to command the Mirny, the second ship of the Russian Antarctic Expedition under the leadership of Captain F. F. Bellingshausen in the Vostok. This expedition twice visited Port Jackson.

In 1822-25 Lazarev was in command on another round-the-world voyage in the Kreiser, with his brother Andrei in the Ladoga. They called at Hobart Town in 1823, and Andrei published an account of this voyage in 1832. In 1827 in command of the Azov, Mikhail Lazarev served with great distinction in the battle of Navarino. In 1833 he was promoted vice-admiral and appointed commander-in-chief of the Black Sea Fleet. He died in April 1851 in Vienna, where he was undergoing medical treatment.

Select Bibliography

  • A. Lazarev, Plavanie Vokrug Sveta na Shliupe Ladoga (St Petersburg, 1832)
  • N. Ivashnitsov, Obozrenie Russkikh Krugosvetnykh Puteshestvii (St Petersburg, 1850)
  • A. V. Sokolov and E. G. Kushnarev, Tri krugosvetnykh Plavaniia M. P. Lazareva (Moscow, 1951)
  • M. P. Lazarev, Dokumenty, ed A. A. Samarov, vol 1 (Moscow, 1952)
  • C. M. Hotimsky, Russkie v Avstralii (Melb, 1957)
  • N. N. Baranovskii et al., Otechestvennye Fiziko-geografy i Puteshestvenniki (Moscow, 1959)
  • Hobart Town Gazette, 31 May, 7, 14, 21 June 1823.

Citation details

C. M. Hotimsky, 'Lazarev, Mikhail Petrovich (1788–1851)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/lazarev-mikhail-petrovich-2342/text3053, published first in hardcopy 1967, accessed online 20 April 2024.

This article was published in hardcopy in Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 2, (Melbourne University Press), 1967

View the front pages for Volume 2

© Copyright Australian Dictionary of Biography, 2006-2024

Mikhail Lazarev, n.d.

Mikhail Lazarev, n.d.

Life Summary [details]

Birth

1788

Death

April, 1851 (aged ~ 63)
Vienna, Austria

Cultural Heritage

Includes subject's nationality; their parents' nationality; the countries in which they spent a significant part of their childhood, and their self-identity.

Occupation