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Celestial of Przhevalskiy.
How to Trek the Tien-Shan in Kyrgyzstan.
"Accepting with а reverential feeling such а flattering award which is more valuable for, те as it is granted by the scientist of the society whose fruitful activity embraces the vast countries оf the same Asian continent, I request you, sir, to convey to the members оf the Royal Geographical Society in London ту sincere gratitude for such а high appreciation оf my research in little known countries оf Central Asia"
Przhevalskiy Nikolay Mikhailovitch.
Climbing tour in Kyrgyzstan.
In November 1883 Przhevalskiy initiated his fourth travel. Except Roborovskiy V.I he took as his assistant 20 year old freelance Kozlov Petr Kuzmich who earlier worked as а clerk in а brewery and in whom Przhevalskiy discovered а true researcher.
From Kyahty the expedition made its way to Dzun by May 1884 through the road already surveyed twice. They went down to the depth of Asian deserts having only one ally, brevity; the rest was against them: both the nature and people.
They were walking оn the quicksand of Тarim and Alashan, swamps of Tsaidam and Tibet, huge mountain ranges the gorges through which lie оn height beyond the clouds. Тhеу lived for two year as wild people under the open sky in tents or yurts and had to endure the heat of 40С or awful desert storms.
Apart from this they had to endure an unfriendly attitude and sometimes even open hostility of the local people. They were attacked twice by the tanguts in Tibet, constantly cheated by Mongols Тsaidam and the Chinese authorities treated them hostilely. However nothing could stop them: neither the difficulties of wild nature nor obstacles from the hostilely attuned people.
This expedition fulfilled its mission till the end: they reached and studied those places of Central Asia the major part of which we not stepped yet by any European. The expedition ended in Karakol town оn the 7 November in 1885.
Over 2 years the expedition surveyed 7815 km of extremely difficult road. " ... а free roaming life is sweet and dear to heart. As before and now as well it is pretty and painful to part with it, may be for long time only if not forever" - wrote in his diary Nickolay Mikhailovich.
Upon return to Petersburg Przhevalskiy N .М. got the title of Major-General. Wherever he appeared he was met with admiration, everywhere he was invited to read lectures: in the General Headquarters, City Council, Academy of General Headquarters.
Interest in the travel of Przhevalskiy used to increase time after time. His friends and acquaintance also pursued him and presence in Petersburg very soon was burdensome for Nickolay Mikhailovich.
Не wrote to Lushnikov А.М.: "I am still in Piter and feel myself totally unhappy; without saying about various lectured and official events, I cannot just walk a hundred meters in the street now people recognize me and start writing sundry stories with sundry interrogation, greeting and so on.
I am sincerely grateful for your letter and congratulations. However the talks about General’s wife are likely to remain without fulfillment… I left many offspring in Central Asia... of course not in literary but in figurative sense: Lobnor, Kuku-Nor, Tibet and so on… these are my offspring”.
On 29 December 1886, the day of solemn annual meeting of the Imperial Academy of Science, Przhevalskiy was awarded а golden medal made in his honor. The obverse side of the medal demonstrates a portrait of the traveller with the inscription around "То Nickolay Mikhailovich Przhevalskiy.
The Imperial Academy оf Science", and оn the reverse side "То the first researcher оf nature оf Central 1886" surrounded with laurels. Secretary of the Academy Veselovskiy KS. said: "There аге happy names that аге enough to pronounce so that to generate in listeners' minds an imagination оf something great and well-known, Such а name is Przhevalskiy ...
The name of Przhevalskiy from now on will be a synonym of fearlessness and energy in struggling with the nature and people, and of selfless devotion to science”.
Being strongly impressed by this speech Przhevalskiy used to repeat: "Неге а brilliant obituary is ready for me, now I know what people will say about me after my death...”. In 1988 the last creation of Przhevalskiy was published: "The fourth travel to Central Asia. From Kyahty to the headwaters of the Yellow river, survey оf the northern surrounding оf Tibet and way through Lobnor over the basin оf Tibet".
Authority:
«N.M.Przhevalskiy.Issy-Kul memorial complex. Writers Ploskih V., Mambetov D. Bishkek «KRSU». 2005.