Provision of Supplies to Russian Commercial Expeditions to Novaya Zemlya and Spitsbergen in the Second Half of the 18th–Early 19th Centuries

The problem of supplying Russian commercial expeditions to the Arctic in the second half of the 18th–early 19th centuries is examined. The areas of marine mammal hunting were archipelagos (Spitsbergen, Novaya Zemlya) and islands (Bear Island, Vaigach Island, and Kolguev Island). The hunt lasted from 6 to 18 or 24 months. The extreme natural and climatic conditions, isolation, and sparse population dictated the provision of the artels with food. An analysis of the sources made it possible to identify the main food groups, among which cereals predominated. The range of foods depended on the financial solvency of the organizers of the hunt. Thus, merchants and the White Sea Company supplied the hunters with meat and several fish species. Hunting and fishing were another source to replenish provisions.