Semyon Yanovsky

Career

Semyon attended the St. Petersburg Naval Institute and after graduating entered the service of the Russian-American Company in 1816. He acted as Ludwig von Hagemeister's second in command and the men were directed to New Archangel, reaching the settlement in late 1817.

Soon after being stationed there he began a romance with Irina, the daughter of chief manager Baranov. They were married after six weeks. Baranov was removed from his post in early 1818 by Hagemeister, who had been previously appointed as his successor without his knowledge. Hagemeister departed from Russian America during the same year, leaving Yanovsky as the acting chief manager of the RAC.

Yanovsky, like his predecessors, continually pressed for doctors to be employed in Russian America, the first arriving in 1820. Saint Herman was to have an influence upon Yanovsky, who despite saying he "was a liberal thinker tinged with anticlericalism" later became monk himself and wrote a biography of the priest. In 1819 Yanovsky ordered an expedition be sent to the Copper River. After receiving the reports of its officer upon their return, he concluded copper mining operations on the river would be too expensive. Informing his superiors the many costs that would be incurred from such ventures, Yanovsky influenced the company into not pursue further explorations in the area for the time being.

Matvey Ivanovich Muravyev replaced Yanovsky as chief manager in 1820.