Background
Potanin, Grigorii was born on October 4, 1835 in Iamyshevskii near Pavlodar.
Potanin, Grigorii was born on October 4, 1835 in Iamyshevskii near Pavlodar.
Studied at Petersburg University, 1859-1862. Educated at the Omsk Cadet Corps, 1852. Studied at Petersburg University, 1859-1862.
After participating in student demonstrations, exiled to Siberia, 1861. As a member of a group demanding Siberian independence, arrested, imprisoned and exiled, 1865-1874. During his exile, took part in an expedition to the Central Asian mountains, 1863-1864.
In the 1870-1890s, explored completely unknown parts of Central Asia, Mongolia, Tibet and China. Later expeditions were undertaken with his wife, who took part in his research, and published reports. (She later died on one of the expeditions.) Collected geographical, botanical, zoological and ethnographical material.
Wrote on the history and folklore of the people of the region. Founded the Society for the Study of Siberia in Tomsk. One of the Tianshan’ mountain ranges and a large glacier on the Altai have been named after him.