23 Facts About Nikolai Kolomeitsev

Nikolai Kolomeitsev was born in the village of Pokrovka in the Kherson Governorate of the Russian Empire in 1867.

Nikolai Kolomeitsev entered military service in 1884 and graduated as an officer of the Imperial Russian Navy in 1887.

Nikolai Kolomeitsev took part in an expedition to the Yenisei Gulf led by L Dobrotvorskiy, which gave him expertise on sailing in arctic waters.

Nikolai Kolomeitsev was commander of the ship and his second-in-command was Fyodor Andreyevich Matisen, who had taken part in a previous exploratory trip to Svalbard.

Nikolai Kolomeitsev supervised the fitting out of the Zarya in Larvik, Norway, and the expedition sailed from Saint Petersburg on 7 July 1900.

Soon there was friction between Toll and Nikolai Kolomeitsev concerning treatment of the crew.

Therefore, both men were getting on each other's nerves, Nikolai Kolomeitsev interpreted Toll's attitude as undermining his authority as commander.

Nikolai Kolomeitsev sent him on a mission to organize coal depots for the Zarya on Dixon and Golchikha, as well as to bring the expedition's mail to Dudinka.

Toll could not hide his relief at seeing Nikolai Kolomeitsev depart, but these dangerous trips without even a proper map nearly got Nikolai Kolomeitsev and Rastorguyev killed.

Apparently, Nikolai Kolomeitsev was one of the few supporters of Imperial Russia in the expedition.

Nikolai Kolomeitsev wrote two books about his journey with the Russian Polar Expedition; one of them was published in 1901 by the Imperial Naval Academy and the other in 1902 by the Imperial Geographical Society.

In 1902 Nikolai Kolomeitsev commanded the icebreaker Yermak, one of the world's first true icebreakers.

Nikolai Kolomeitsev was promoted to the rank of junior captain on 6 December 1904.

Nikolai Kolomeitsev became a hero during the battle when he brought his boat alongside the burning flagship Knyaz Suvorov.

Nikolai Kolomeitsev rescued Admiral Zinovi Petrovich Rozhestvenski, wounded in the head by a shell from his burning and sinking battleship, as well as part of the crew.

Nikolai Kolomeitsev, severely wounded, was captured by the Japanese with the crews of Dmitri Donskoy, Buinyi and Oslabya on Dagelet Island.

Nikolai Kolomeitsev graduated from the Naval Maritime Academy of Sciences in 1908, he was assigned command of the cruiser Almaz and was promoted to full captain on 6 December 1909.

On 6 December 1913 Nikolai Kolomeitsev was promoted to the rank of Rear admiral.

Nikolai Kolomeitsev retired from active duty on 6 October 1917 with the rank of Vice admiral.

Nikolai Kolomeitsev escaped in 1918 and fled over the ice to Finland.

Nikolai Kolomeitsev served as vice-chairman of the Union Knights of St George in France.

Nikolai Kolomeitsev died in Paris in 1944 after he was run over by a United States Army truck.

Since he was a war hero, and despite his support of the White movement, Nikolai Kolomeitsev was honored by the USSR regime.