On the 300th Anniversary of D. G. Messerschmidt’s Expedition to Siberia

The article is dedicated to the 300th anniversary of the first Siberian expedition under the leadership of the German naturalist Daniel Gottlieb Messerschmidt from its be- ginning in 1720 to its completion in 1727. We have described the stages of the expedition through Khakassia, Tuva, the Western Sayan, Cisbaikalia and Transbaikalia and the key re- sults of the research. The article evaluated scientist’s contribution to various fields of natural science.