Lying between the East Siberian and Chukchi Seas, the history of Wrangel Island begins in 1824, when Ferdinand von Wrangel investigated reports of land north of the Chukotka Peninsula by the local Chukchi people. Though he never sighted the island, he did see birds flying north and assumed land was to be found in that direction.
Captain Henry Kellett (HMS Herald) may have been the first to sight the island in 1849, which he named Plover Island, but the position noted on his chart is not correct, so what was seen may have been a mirage. Sailing in the W.C. Talbot during a trading and exploring expedition, Eduard Dallmann claimed to have been the first to land on the island in 1866, but this claim has been widely disputed. The American whaler Thomas Long sailed along the island’s south coast in 1867, and gave Wrangel Island its name. In 1881, two American government ships searched the island for survivors of the ill-fated American Jeannette Expedition (1879-81).
The Vaygach was the first Russian vessel to visit the island (in September 1911, during the Arctic Ocean Hydrographic Expedition). A landing was made, in addition to the first circumnavigation and first accurate coastal survey, and Wrangel Island was claimed for Russia. In 1914, 17 survivors of Vilhjalmur Stefansson's Canadian Arctic Expedition (1913-18) landed on the island’s north coast. This temporary occupation was seen by Stefansson as basis for a territorial claim, and three white men and one Inuk girl (Ada Blackjack) were landed on the island in 1921. By June 1923, Blackjack was the only survivor of the group. She was rescued soon after by a relief expedition. A new party of colonists were left behind, composed of 12 Inuit, led by American trapper and prospector Charles Wells. Neither the Canadian, British or American governments were prepared to formally claim Wrangel Island, and in August 1924, the armed Soviet icebreaker Krasny Oktyabr’ (Red October) made a landing and claimed the island for the Soviet Union. The colonists were arrested and subsequently expelled.
By order of Namorsi Dalvosta (Наморси Дальвоста - Морские силы дальнего востока/Naval forces of the far east) No. 428 of July 1, 1924, a Special Hydrographic Expedition to Wrangel Island was created with the task of not only restoring state sovereignty there, but also carrying out all hydrological, geodetic and geophysical studies. The head of the navigation safety department Morsil Dalvosta B.V. became the head of the expedition. Davydov, commissioner - commissioner of the headquarters of Morsil Dalvost M.A. Dominikovsky, commander of the gunboat "Red October" (former icebreaker "Nadezhny") - head of the operational department of the headquarters of Morsil Dalvosta E.M. Voeikov. From the NKID of the USSR, G.D. was sent as an assistant to the head of the expedition. Krasinsky. On July 20, 1924, the expedition left the Golden Horn Bay and on August 20, the red flag of the USSR state flag was raised over the island, and on October 29 the expedition returned to Vladivostok.
December 12, 1924, after the report of B.V. Davydov, the Presidium of the Far Eastern Revolutionary Committee decided to establish a special badge and award it to all participants. Allegedly 85 of them were ordered according to the number of participants in the expedition (allegedly at least one duplicate badge is also known).
Badge was allegedly designed by the head of the hydrographic party of the expedition V.A. Gragaitis, a wonderful cartographer and a good artist. Badges were awarded in February 1925 very solemnly in the building of the provincial committee by the chairman of the Dalrevkom and the regional Executive Committee Yan Borisovich Gamarnik. He also signed the certificates for the badge. The badge got its name from the inscription on it.
Description of the badge "For the expedition to Wrangel Island".
A round wreath of ears of wheat with a red bow at the bottom, the ends of which stick out to the sides and have a triangular cut. An Admiralty anchor is superimposed on the wreath, the trend and horns with paws of which are intertwined with an anchor chain. In the center is a map of the Far Eastern seas, along the bluish-green field of which from Vladivostok through the La Perouse Strait, with a call to Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, and further through the Bering Strait, the expedition's cobweb stretches. It ends at Fr. Wrangel, on which a small red flag flutters. At the bottom of the card is the year: "1924".
Two red ribbons are placed around the circumference. The slogan "Proletarians of all countries unite!" is written on the top, and "For the expedition to Wrangel Island" is written on the bottom. In place of the eye of the anchor, there is a red five-pointed star with a ray notch under the enamel and a hammer and sickle.
/Приказом Наморси Дальвоста № 428 от 1 июля 1924 г. была создана Особая гидрографическая экспедиция на остров Врангеля с задачей не только восстановить там государственный суверенитет, но и произвести все гидрологические, геодезические и геофизические исследования. Начальником экспедиции стал начальник управления безопасности кораблевождения Морсил Дальвоста Б.В. Давыдов, комиссаром — комиссар штаба Морсил Дальвоста М.А. Доминиковский, командиром канонерской лодки "Красный Октябрь" (б. ледокол "Надежный") — начальник оперативного отдела штаба Морсил Дальвоста Е.М. Воейков. От НКИД СССР помощником начальника экспедиции был прислан Г.Д. Красинский. 20 июля 1924 г. экспедиция вышла из бухты Золотой Рог и уже 20 августа над островом было поднято красное полотнище государственного флага СССР, а 29 октября экспедиция вернулась во Владивосток.
12 декабря 1924 г., после доклада Б.В. Давыдова, президиум Дальневосточного революционного комитета постановил учредить особый знак и наградить им всех участников. В этих же документах указывается, что заказано их было 85 штук по количеству участников экспедиции.
Автором эскиза знака, по всей видимости, был начальник гидрографической партии экспедиции В.А. Грагайтис, замечательный картограф и неплохой художник. Это предположение высказали контр-адмирал В.К. Бубнов и капитан 1-го ранга И.Т. Кольбягин, оба — участники похода. Прямое подтверждение этому дала дочь Грагайтиса А.В. Куприянова, ссылаясь на рассказ отца и неоднократные подтверждения матери.
Вручались знаки в феврале 1925 г. очень торжественно в здании губкома председателем Дальревкома и краевого Исполкома Я.Б. Гамарником. Он же подписал и удостоверения к знаку. Наименование знак получил по надписи на нем/.
Captain Henry Kellett (HMS Herald) may have been the first to sight the island in 1849, which he named Plover Island, but the position noted on his chart is not correct, so what was seen may have been a mirage. Sailing in the W.C. Talbot during a trading and exploring expedition, Eduard Dallmann claimed to have been the first to land on the island in 1866, but this claim has been widely disputed. The American whaler Thomas Long sailed along the island’s south coast in 1867, and gave Wrangel Island its name. In 1881, two American government ships searched the island for survivors of the ill-fated American Jeannette Expedition (1879-81).
The Vaygach was the first Russian vessel to visit the island (in September 1911, during the Arctic Ocean Hydrographic Expedition). A landing was made, in addition to the first circumnavigation and first accurate coastal survey, and Wrangel Island was claimed for Russia. In 1914, 17 survivors of Vilhjalmur Stefansson's Canadian Arctic Expedition (1913-18) landed on the island’s north coast. This temporary occupation was seen by Stefansson as basis for a territorial claim, and three white men and one Inuk girl (Ada Blackjack) were landed on the island in 1921. By June 1923, Blackjack was the only survivor of the group. She was rescued soon after by a relief expedition. A new party of colonists were left behind, composed of 12 Inuit, led by American trapper and prospector Charles Wells. Neither the Canadian, British or American governments were prepared to formally claim Wrangel Island, and in August 1924, the armed Soviet icebreaker Krasny Oktyabr’ (Red October) made a landing and claimed the island for the Soviet Union. The colonists were arrested and subsequently expelled.
By order of Namorsi Dalvosta (Наморси Дальвоста - Морские силы дальнего востока/Naval forces of the far east) No. 428 of July 1, 1924, a Special Hydrographic Expedition to Wrangel Island was created with the task of not only restoring state sovereignty there, but also carrying out all hydrological, geodetic and geophysical studies. The head of the navigation safety department Morsil Dalvosta B.V. became the head of the expedition. Davydov, commissioner - commissioner of the headquarters of Morsil Dalvost M.A. Dominikovsky, commander of the gunboat "Red October" (former icebreaker "Nadezhny") - head of the operational department of the headquarters of Morsil Dalvosta E.M. Voeikov. From the NKID of the USSR, G.D. was sent as an assistant to the head of the expedition. Krasinsky. On July 20, 1924, the expedition left the Golden Horn Bay and on August 20, the red flag of the USSR state flag was raised over the island, and on October 29 the expedition returned to Vladivostok.
December 12, 1924, after the report of B.V. Davydov, the Presidium of the Far Eastern Revolutionary Committee decided to establish a special badge and award it to all participants. Allegedly 85 of them were ordered according to the number of participants in the expedition (allegedly at least one duplicate badge is also known).
Badge was allegedly designed by the head of the hydrographic party of the expedition V.A. Gragaitis, a wonderful cartographer and a good artist. Badges were awarded in February 1925 very solemnly in the building of the provincial committee by the chairman of the Dalrevkom and the regional Executive Committee Yan Borisovich Gamarnik. He also signed the certificates for the badge. The badge got its name from the inscription on it.
Description of the badge "For the expedition to Wrangel Island".
A round wreath of ears of wheat with a red bow at the bottom, the ends of which stick out to the sides and have a triangular cut. An Admiralty anchor is superimposed on the wreath, the trend and horns with paws of which are intertwined with an anchor chain. In the center is a map of the Far Eastern seas, along the bluish-green field of which from Vladivostok through the La Perouse Strait, with a call to Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, and further through the Bering Strait, the expedition's cobweb stretches. It ends at Fr. Wrangel, on which a small red flag flutters. At the bottom of the card is the year: "1924".
Two red ribbons are placed around the circumference. The slogan "Proletarians of all countries unite!" is written on the top, and "For the expedition to Wrangel Island" is written on the bottom. In place of the eye of the anchor, there is a red five-pointed star with a ray notch under the enamel and a hammer and sickle.
/Приказом Наморси Дальвоста № 428 от 1 июля 1924 г. была создана Особая гидрографическая экспедиция на остров Врангеля с задачей не только восстановить там государственный суверенитет, но и произвести все гидрологические, геодезические и геофизические исследования. Начальником экспедиции стал начальник управления безопасности кораблевождения Морсил Дальвоста Б.В. Давыдов, комиссаром — комиссар штаба Морсил Дальвоста М.А. Доминиковский, командиром канонерской лодки "Красный Октябрь" (б. ледокол "Надежный") — начальник оперативного отдела штаба Морсил Дальвоста Е.М. Воейков. От НКИД СССР помощником начальника экспедиции был прислан Г.Д. Красинский. 20 июля 1924 г. экспедиция вышла из бухты Золотой Рог и уже 20 августа над островом было поднято красное полотнище государственного флага СССР, а 29 октября экспедиция вернулась во Владивосток.
12 декабря 1924 г., после доклада Б.В. Давыдова, президиум Дальневосточного революционного комитета постановил учредить особый знак и наградить им всех участников. В этих же документах указывается, что заказано их было 85 штук по количеству участников экспедиции.
Автором эскиза знака, по всей видимости, был начальник гидрографической партии экспедиции В.А. Грагайтис, замечательный картограф и неплохой художник. Это предположение высказали контр-адмирал В.К. Бубнов и капитан 1-го ранга И.Т. Кольбягин, оба — участники похода. Прямое подтверждение этому дала дочь Грагайтиса А.В. Куприянова, ссылаясь на рассказ отца и неоднократные подтверждения матери.
Вручались знаки в феврале 1925 г. очень торжественно в здании губкома председателем Дальревкома и краевого Исполкома Я.Б. Гамарником. Он же подписал и удостоверения к знаку. Наименование знак получил по надписи на нем/.