science

Nikolay Urvantsev

Nikolay Urvantsev is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Nikolay Urvantsev rather than just read about it. In short: Nikolay Nikolayevich Urvantsev (Russian: Никола́й Николáевич Урвáнцев; 29 January [O.S. 17 January] 1893 – 20 February 1985) was a Soviet geologist and explorer. He was born in the town of Lukoyanov in the Lukoyanovsky Uyezd of the Nizhny Novgorod Governorate of the Russian Empire to the family of a merchant.

Key takeaways

Nikolay Urvantsev belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
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Reproduce the core statement of Nikolay Urvantsev from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Nikolay Nikolayevich Urvantsev (Russian: Никола́й Николáевич Урвáнцев; 29 January [O.S. 17 January] 1893 – 20 February 1985) was a Soviet geologist and explorer. He was born in the town of Lukoyanov in the Lukoyanovsky Uyezd of the Nizhny Novgorod Governorate of the Russian Empire to the family of a merchant. He graduated from the Tomsk Engineering Institute in 1918. Urvantsev was among the discoverers of the Norilsk coal basin and Norilsk copper-nickel ore region in 1919-1922 and was among the founders of Norilsk town.

Overview

Career In 1922, while leading a geological expedition, Urvantsev found evidence of the mysteriously disappeared Amundsen's 1918 Arctic expedition crew members Peter Tessem and Paul Knutsen. Urvantsev recovered the mail and scientific data that the two ill-fated Norwegians had been carrying. The valuable documents were lying abandoned on the Kara Sea shore near the mouth of the Zeledeyeva River. In 1930-1932 Urvantsev, together with Georgy Ushakov, explored the Severnaya Zemlya archipelago where they discovered a number of islands. He published a book about the expedition, At the Severnaya Zemlya. He also explored other remote areas of Russia, Taimyr and Central Siberian Plateau. In 1933-34 the newly formed Glavsevmorput’ (Chief Administration of the Northern Sea Route) sent the steamer Pravda to Nordvik on the historical first oil exploration expedition to Northern Siberia. This venture was led by Nikolay Urvantsev who travelled on the Pravda along with his wife, Dr. Yelizaveta Ivanovna. She was the officer in charge of the medical care of the expedition. During the Stalinism era Urvantsev was several times wrongfully accused of wrecking. He was convicted and had to serve in Karlag (Karaganda labor camp system) and Norillag (Norilsk labor camp system). Urvantsev was fully exonerated in 1954. Until his death he worked as Chair of the Arctic Geology Department in the Scientific Research Institute of Arctic Geology (НИИГА, now All-Russian Scientific Research Institute of World Ocean Geology and Mineral Resources, VNII Okeanologiya, ВНИИ Океанология).

Awards and honors

He was the recipient of two Orders of Lenin and several medals and the honorary title of Honored Worker of Science. The USSR Geographical Society elected him an Honorary Member and awarded him the Great Gold Medal. The mineral Urvantsevite honors his name.

See also Komsomolskaya Pravda Islands Pronchishcheva Bay Nordvik (Laptev Sea) William Barr

References

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Nikolay Urvantsev

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Nikolay Urvantsev claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Nikolay Urvantsev before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Nikolay Urvantsev ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Nikolay Urvantsev

In research: Nikolay Urvantsev appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Nikolay Urvantsev in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Nikolay Urvantsev is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1893 births, 1985 deaths, 20th-century Russian explorers, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Nikolay Urvantsev outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Nikolay Urvantsev in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Nikolay Urvantsev means in your own words.
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Frequently asked questions

What is Nikolay Urvantsev in simple terms?

Why does Nikolay Urvantsev matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Nikolay Urvantsev?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Nikolay Urvantsev.