2 euro colored coin 2020 Estonia – 200th Anniversary of the Discovery of Antarctica

The first Russian Antarctic expedition of 1819-1821 under the leadership of Thaddeus Bellingshausen and Mikhail Lazarev in the waters of the Southern Ocean was intended to prove or disprove the assumption of the existence of the sixth continent – Antarctica. Under the command of Bellingshausen was the sloop “Vostok”, and Lazarev – the sloop “Mirny”, the number of the crew reached 190 people. Due to the extreme haste of equipment, it was not possible to assemble a scientific detachment, and almost all scientific observations, both in the field of geography and ethnography and natural science, were carried out by officers.

The Russian Antarctic expedition ended in complete success, becoming the second (after James Cook) to go around the entire Antarctic. Of the 751 days of the expedition, 527 were spent under sail. The team approached the shores of Antarctica 9 times, including four times at a distance 3-15 km … 28 objects were mapped to Antarctica, and 29 islands were discovered and named in the high southern latitudes and tropics.