The Russian polar expedition of 1900–1902 was commissioned by the Saint Petersburg Academy of Sciences to study the Arctic Ocean north of New Siberian Islands and search for the legendary Sannikov Land.

One of the key members of the expedition was Alexander Kolchak, then a young researcher and lieutenant of the Russian Navy, and later a provisional ruler of Russia during the civil war period.

[2] Upon returning from the New Siberian Islands in 1893, Toll began a vigorous campaign for a marine expedition to the area, which included a detailed presentation to the Academy of Sciences.

He convinced the Academy to explore the areas east of Taymyr Island and the potential sea route to the Bering Strait, arguing that Americans were pursuing the same goal and should not be given priority.

[3] The project was delayed due to its high costs, and only on 31 December 1899 was approved by Nicholas II, who also appointed Toll as the expedition chief.

[1] According to the final plan, after surveying New Siberian Islands the expedition was to sail eastward, circumnavigate the Cape Dezhnev and arrive in Vladivostok.

While it was being fixed in Tallinn, Toll left the ship, crossed the gulf, and went by train to Oslo to consult with Nansen, and then to Bergen to meet Zarya.

In Tromsø, while the crew was waiting for the coal resupply from England, there were two major incidents: Malygin got arrested after a drunken brawl, and Semyashkin contracted a venereal disease and was found unfit for his duties by Dr.

Their command styles were very different: Toll longed for comradeship and treated sailors as equals, while Kolomeitsev tried to keep a distance from the men and imposed harsh punishments for unruly behavior.

On the morning of 12 July the expedition took onboard 60 sled dogs and two mushers Peter Strizhev and Stepan Rastorguyev,[1][14] Malygin's and Semyashkin's replacements.

Contrary to Nordenskiöld and Nansen, who managed to pass Cape Chelyuskin before wintering, Toll failed to reach eastern Taymyr.

[1] The prevailing south-westerly winds drives into the ocean the warm waters of large Siberian rivers, which in turn brings heavy icefields back towards the shore.

To save time, Toll planned to get to the East Taymyr through tundra on dog sleds, crossing Cape Chelyuskin in the spring of 1901.

He decided to organize such resupply before the polar night, and on 10 October, together with Kolchak, Nosov and Rastorguyev, left Zarya on two heavily loaded sleds.

Shortly before heading back to the base, Toll saw a partridge and a reindeer moving south, (he assumed) from a more northern land.

[19] Meanwhile, Toll nearly got Kolomeitsev and Rastorguyev killed by thrice sending them into snowstorms to the mouth of Taymyr River and the settlements of Dixon and Golchikha, without a proper map available.

The pair crossed the Nordenskiöld Archipelago from south to north; on reaching the 77° mark, they turned to the west, and then returned due to the perceived shortage of dog food.

Matisen was very close to discovering Maly Taymyr Island, for which he only had to travel extra 150 kilometers north-east from the northernmost point of his journey, and some 200 km north he could find Severnaya Zemlya.

The expedition decided to continue the food-science experiment inadvertently started by Toll, keeping some of his cans in the original storage conditions and to be reexamined in 1980, 2000 and 2050.

[25] A brutal storm hit the ship on the night of 29 August, flooding the quarterdeck with icy water and overturning a huge wooden table in the messdeck.

[26] On 3 September Zarya entered Nerpichye Bay and tried to break through to a parking lot in a small harbor that was protected by a shallow from incoming icefields.

While running from hot banya to cool down in snow, a common practice of the time, Kolchak got inflammation of the periosteum accompanied by a high fever.

On the continent, Toll learned that Rastorguyev, who was supposed to rejoin Zarya, went to Chukotka with an American expedition, signing a lucrative contract.

[34] Previously, in early February Toll received a note from the Academy of Sciences instructing him to limit the expedition to explorations of New Siberian Islands and terminate it in the mouth of the Lena.

When the polar day ended on 31 July, the ship was nearby the Lyakhovsky Islands, and on 3 August it was returned to the wintering location.

[36] By 23 August the ship ran low on coal, and would not make a return journey even if it managed to reach Bennett, which was some 90 miles away.

[37] Meanwhile, the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences asked merchant A. I. Gromova, the owner of polar steamship Lena, to rescue the main part of the expedition and offered her the ownership of Zarya in return.

When it became clear that the Zarya would not be coming, the group was already low on ammunition, with only 30 shotgun rounds found at the shelter, and the reindeer had already left the island.

[42] Kolchak failed to find any traces of the men on Bennett or New Siberia Islands, and assumed they met their fates while navigating between them.

[30] Scientific results of the expedition covered meteorology, oceanography, terrestrial magnetism, glaciology, physical geography, botany, geology, paleontology, ethnology and aurora observations.