Editing Zarya (polar ship) (section)

==History==
Toward the end of the 19th century, the [[Russian Academy of Sciences]] sought to build a general-purpose research vessel for long-term expeditions. The first such Russian ship—and, for a couple of decades, the only one—was ''Zarya''. In 1899, Baron [[Eduard Toll]], an Arctic explorer preparing to embark on a new polar voyage, bought a [[Norway|Norwegian]] three-masted [[barque]] called ''Harald Harfager'' (the nickname of a King of Norway) for the cost of 60,000 [[ruble]]s. Toll was helped in his choice by [[Fridtjof Nansen]], who recommended to use a ship similar to his ''[[Fram (ship)|Fram]]''. The ship had a displacement of 450 tonnes and a draught of 5 meters.

Renamed ''Zarya'', the ship was sent to the shipyard of [[Colin Archer]] in [[Larvik]] to be heavily modified in order to deal with the ice. Colin Archer, the renowned Norwegian shipbuilder, had designed and built [[Fridtjof Nansen|Fritdjof Nansen's]] ship ''[[Fram (ship)|Fram]]'', which in 1896 had returned unscathed from its long drift in the northern polar ocean during Nansen's "Farthest North" expedition, 1893–96. Archer had also fitted out [[SS Southern Cross (1886)|''Southern Cross'']] for the [[Southern Cross Expedition]] in 1897 to become a polar ship. Archer strengthened ''Zarja'' heavily with internal frames and beams and deckhouses were added and modified. The rig was changed to [[Barquentine|barkentine]] (square sail on foremast only). In October 1899 the ship was certified by Norwegian authorities for a three-year expedition in the Arctic.

===Russian Polar Expedition===
{{main|Russian polar expedition of 1900–1902}}
On June 21, 1900, ''Zarya'' left [[Saint Petersburg]] with a crew of 20. [[Nikolai Nikolaevich Kolomeitsev|N. N. Kolomeitsev]] was the commander of the ship. On July 24 she arrived at the harbour of Alexandrovsk on Murman (today [[Polyarny, Murmansk Oblast|Polyarny]]) and then continued toward the [[Kara Sea]]. ''Zarya'' made her first wintering trapped in the ice of a bay that Toll named after Colin Archer shipyard (Bukhta Kolin Archera) near [[Taymyr Island]]. The scientists spent 11 months researching the [[Nordenskiöld Archipelago]] and the [[Taymyr Peninsula]] coast. In the spring Kolomeitsev was sent on a long sledge trip by expedition leader Eduard Toll, and at this point second-in-command, [[Fyodor Andreyevich Matisen]] became the captain for the remaining part of the expedition. Member of the expedition was [[Aleksandr Kolchak]].

In August 1901 the ship headed across the [[Laptev Sea]] towards the [[New Siberian Islands]], searching for the legendary [[Sannikov Land]] (Zemlya Sannikova), but was soon blocked by floating [[pack ice]]. During 1902 the attempts to reach Sannikov Land continued while ''Zarya'' was trapped in fast ice. Leaving the ship, Baron Toll and three companions went in search of the elusive land, one of the main objects of the expedition. They vanished in November 1902 while travelling away from [[Bennett Island]] towards the south on loose ice floes.

Badly beaten by the ice, and beyond any hope of repair, ''Zarya'' was finally moored east of the [[River delta|delta]] of the river [[Lena River|Lena]], in the [[Tiksi Bay|Bay of Tiksi]] on the lee side of [[Brusneva Island]], never to leave the place again. Instead of the Russian flag, she flew the flag of the [[Neva Yacht Club]], the oldest yacht club in Russia, until she was stripped of all equipment and her hull was allowed to fill with water. Captain Matisen returned to [[Yakutsk]] and the remaining members of the expedition left for Saint Petersburg.
{|
|- valign="top"
|[[File:Zarya crew.JPG|350px|thumb|right|Crew of ''Zarya'']]
|[[Image:Nevskyflot1.png|thumb|280px|upright|Instead of the Russian flag, ''Zarya'' flew this flag of the Neva Yacht Club until her last moments. The flag of [[Finland]] is based on this flag.]] 
|}