The 20th century was marked by a burst of activity among the country’s scientific circles, and little-known territories were mapped. At that time, the Far Eastern region was sparsely populated and almost completely unexplored. After this region was finally secured to the Russian Empire, scientific expeditions began to be sent here to study and examine these hard-to-reach places. Przhevalsky, Venyukov, Ivanov—and of course? Arsenyev. Vladimir Klavdievich Arsenyev was a famous figure in the history of research in the Far East. His main specialization was topography, but besides that, he was interested in ethnography, zoology, botany, and literature. “Dersu Uzala,” “Along the Ussuri Region,” and “In the Mountains of Sikhote-Alin” brought him no less fame than his scientific endeavors.
Vladimir Klavdievich Arsenyev is the most famous Russian in the history of Far Eastern exploration. He easily found a common language with representatives of indigenous peoples. “The White Captain” — many peoples rightly called Arsenyev; his respectful attitude toward the culture, traditions, and customs of the aboriginal inhabitants earned him a good reputation across the entire Far East. Perhaps that is why he so easily found guides for his journeys among the Golds, the Tungus, and the Chinese. In the extremely difficult expedition described in this book, he was helped by the Chinese man Zhang Bao. A vast territory had to be studied and described in less than two years—filled with dangers, disappointments, and losses.