Mikhail Ivanovich Venyukov

At the age of thirteen, he was accepted into the Cadet Corps; in 1850 he graduated with the rank of artillery ensign in the Nobility Regiment.

In his diary Veniukov wrote: "My dream to be on the Cupid, which at that time represented a major political interest, was coming true."

Venyukov was entrusted with compiling topographic maps and analyzing military statistics to fully assess the political situation in the Far East with a view to its further settlement.

And on June 1, 1858, MI Venyukov and his companions—the hundredth Peshkov, the translator Maslennikov, the sergeant-officer Karmanov, the orderly and the eleven Cossacks, began their journey from Kazakevichevo, which is located next to the recently founded Khabarovka.

Arriving at the sea, Veniukov intended to continue his journey to the Vladimir post, but he had to return along his previous route, because the Chinese living near the mouth of the Zerkalnaya River (formerly known as Tadushu) had with threats blocked the way of the expedition.

The report gives the physical geography of the newly discovered region, presents the life of its extremely rare population and possible prospects for settlement and development.

Veniukov traveled extensively in North Africa, Madagascar, Zanzibar, South and Central America, Norway, and Italy.

Mikhail Ivanovich Venyukov died in Paris on July 17, 1901, and was buried, according to the will, next to the grave of Alexander Herzen in Nice.