In the Footsteps of Vitus Bering (2018)

The Expedition: In the Footsteps of Vitus Bering is the English title of a documentary series in six parts which premiered on Danish television (DR-TV) in 2018. It is about the life and career of a Danish sailor who became an officer in the Russian navy: Vitus Bering (1681-1741).

The Russian Tsar Peter the Great hired Bering to lead a great expedition to the Far East. The purpose was double: 

(1) to map the eastern coast of the Russian Empire.
(2) to find out if Russia and America are connected by land or if they are separated by a body of water.

Here is some basic information about this film:

** Original Danish title: Ekspeditionen: På sporet af Vitus Bering 
** Run time: 6 x ca. 29 minutes = ca. 174 minutes

The five members of the Danish team:

** Cecilie Nielsen – historian, team leader
** Lasse Bøgeskov Andersson – producer

** Gennadi Govorukhin – field producer

** Sergei Roslyakov – interpreter

** Martin Neuert – cameraman

The television crew in Denmark:

** Narrator: Simon Munk Philipsen
** Editor: Thomas Winkel Ravn

** Sound editor: Gert Gregersen

** Historical drawings by Martin Sand Vallespir

The three Danish experts who are interviewed in the film:

** Orla Madsen – former archaeologist at the Museum in Horsens
** Morten Hahn-Pedersen – former director of the Museum in Esbjerg – now director of the Museum of Eastern Jutland

** Merete Bøge Pedersen – director of the Museum in Horsens

Vitus Bering was born in Horsens, a small town in Denmark, in 1681. As a young man, he left Denmark and became a sailor. He sailed the world on several Dutch ships.

In 1703 he was in Amsterdam looking for a new job. The Russian Tsar Peter the Great had established a recruiting office in this town. Bering entered this place and was hired. This is how he entered the service of the Russian Tsar. Bering was an officer in the Russian navy for the rest of his life.

He was in charge of the first Kamchatka expedition which began in 1725. The expedition was completed in 1730.

He was in charge of the second Kamchatka expedition which began in 1733. The expedition was ended in 1743 – two years after Bering’s death in 1741.

Several locations are named after Bering

** The Bering Strait which divides Russia and America
** The Bering Sea which is located south of the strait between Siberia and Alaska

** Bering Island (located east of the Kamchatka peninsula) where Bering died and where he was buried in 1741

In this film, the Danish team follows in the footsteps of Vitus Bering when he travelled in Siberia and sailed the Pacific Ocean. In the 18th century it was not easy to travel in this part of the world. It was difficult and dangerous. Bering survived the first expedition. He did not survive the second expedition.

Even today, with modern equipment, it takes a lot of preparation and stamina to travel in this part of the world and you can only do it when the weather is friendly towards you.

This is not a traditional film. The style is very relaxed. We see the members of the team in many situations: not only when they are exploring, but also when they are having dinner and when they are exchanging jokes with each other.

This film is a combination of four elements:

** The Danish team travelling in Siberia and sailing the Pacific Ocean
** Interviews with Russian experts who meet and assist the Danish team

** Interviews with three Danish experts

** Historical drawings which are used to illustrate the account when there are no contemporary images.

The combination of these four elements makes a good variation. It is informative and entertaining. This film about the life and career of Vitus Bering has an important story to tell and it is told in a great way. I think it deserves a rating of five stars.

PS # 1. The historical drama is available online (on the website of DR-TV) until May 2021.

PS # 2. For more information about the main character, see the following books:

** Bering: The Russian Discovery of America edited by Orcutt William Frost (2003)

** The Bering Strait Crossing by James A. Oliver (2006)

** Under Vitus Bering’s Command: New Perspectives on the Russian Kamchatka Expeditions edited by Natasha Okhotina Lind and Peter Ulf Møller (2002)

PS # 3. Vitus Bering’s right-hand man, his second in command, was also a Danish sailor: Martin Spangsberg (1696-1761). Sometimes his first name is given as Morten; sometimes his last name is given as Spangberg.

Martin Spangsberg was born in Esbjerg ca. 1696. He entered Russian service in 1720. He died in Kronstadt, a Russian naval station, in 1761. He survived Bering by 20 years.

Martin Spangsberg: A Danish Explorer in Russian Service is a documentary film which premiered in 2015. Director: Ole Olsson. Language: Danish. Run time: 31 minutes. It is available on You Tube.

The film is based on the following book: Martin Spangsberg: A Danish Explorer in Russian Service (2002).

PS # 4. The following book is only available in Danish: På Zarens befaling: Med Bering og Spangsberg i Sibirien og Stillehavet 1725-1743 by Morten Hahn-Pedersen (2018).

*****

 

On the left: a bust of Vitus Bering

On the right: a painting of Vitus Bering

Surprisingly there are no contemporary pictures of Vitus Bering. The bust and the painting are based on a post-mortem study of his skull and bones which were discovered and exhumed in 1991.

*****

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