The note of the retired corporal Gregory Sheikin

The article is the first publication of the «Note» by Corporal Gregory G. Sheikin, one of the most important sources about the history of Chukotka in the third quarter of the 18 th century. The document and another documents of «Materials on Russian history» are preserved in the «Fund of counts Vorontsovs» in the Academic and historical archive of the St. Petersburg Institute of History of Russian Academy of Sciences (fund 36). According to the date of writing, this document was selected for the fund by the main collector of the future archive, the Russian Chancellor Alexander R. Vorontsov (1741-1805). This memoir was written in 1781. The document should have been published, according to its remarks, in 1789. As this document is written much later the events there were the errata memoris (memory errors), mostly confusions in dates of the events. The friend of Corporal G. Sheikin, the retired soldier of Anadyrsk’ “party” Nicephor B. Melnikov, confirmed some details of G. Sheikin’s story. Little is known about the author, who was firstly the soldier, later Corporal. The grenadier of Tobolsk Infantry Regiment G. Scheikin was sent with the new commander of fort, the second-major Ivan S. Shmalev, to Anadyrsk fort in 1753. The author tells about his service in Anadyrsk fort from 1753 to 1765. In the memoirs there are ethnographic and historical information about the Chukchi and some details on the another peoples of Eastern Siberia, Lamut, Koryak, Yukagir, and Anaoul. The description is based on G. Sheikin’s own observations and on the stories of veterans from Anadyrsk. In particular, G. Scheikin remembers the negotiations between I. Shmalev and the Chukchi on the Anadyr river, the Chukchi’s raid to Yukagirs in 1756, the famine in Anadyrsk in 1759, the activities of Lieutenant Colonel Friedrich Plenisner on the demolition of Anadyrsk fort.