Mikhail Venyukov (June 23, 1832 – July 16, 1901) was a Russian geographer and Major General. Biography Mikhail Venyukov was born in the village of Nikitino Pronsky district of Ryazan province (now Korablin district of the Ryazan region). 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. Venyukov attended St. Petersburg University, entered the Academy of the General Staff, graduating in 1856. In early May 1857 lieutenant Venyukov as a senior adjutant arrived at the headquarters of the troops of Eastern Siberia. Governor-General N. N. Muraviev invited Venyukov to go with him to the Amur. 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. In St. Petersburg, he met with GI Nevelskim. On the instructions of Governor-General Veniukov, there was a land expedition along the Ussuri River. In connection with this, Nevelskoy provided the future traveler with valuable information about the Lower Amur and Ussuri regions. In February 1858, MI Venyukov, then in Irkutsk, began preparations for his first expedition: through Ussuri, and through the Sikhote-Alin to the ocean. 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. The 26-year-old officer walked more than 700 km from the mouth of the Ussuri to the pass through the Sikhote-Alin. 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. During the trip he wrote an expeditionary report "Description of the Ussuri River and the lands east of it to the sea". 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. Personal circumstances forced Mikhail Ivanovich to leave Siberia. In March 1859 Veniukov spoke in St. Petersburg at the