5 facts about Alexandra Potanina, the first Russian female explorer of Central Asia 

1. From a priest’s wife to a traveler

Alexandra Lavrskaya was destined to lead an ordinary, quiet life. She was educated at home and, after the death of her priest father, was supposed to marry his successor. She managed to avoid this arranged marriage and spent eight years working as a governess at the Nizhny Novgorod Diocesan School for Girls.

In 1872, while travelling to visit her brother, who had been exiled to the Vologda region, she met the love of her life – political exile Grigory Potanin.

Four years later, they embarked on their first expedition together, traveling through northwestern Mongolia. The couple would go on to make four expeditions across Eastern Siberia, Mongolia, Tibet and China.

Potanina seriously prepared for her long journeys: she read books on geography, studied English and French, took painting lessons from Ivan Shishkin and, following his advice, carefully assembled a supply of paints to take with her on the road.

2. She was unafraid of hardships

She was described as “an indefatigable traveler, ready to endure any hardship”. She could spend an entire day in the saddle alongside men, sleep in a communal yurt on thin mats and would never complain about the cold, clouds of mosquitoes or icy river water.

She took care of all the practical matters of expedition life – from doing the laundry to managing the budget – while also collecting herbarium specimens and making sketches of plants, animals and rock formations.

Having a woman on an expedition could sometimes have a remarkable effect. When all the men were arrested near the Buddhist monastery of Shara-Sume and she was left alone, she found the strength and courage to appeal to the local authorities and secure the release of her husband and his companions.

3. She was an independent researcher

She paid particular attention to the everyday life of local peoples – something earlier explorers had largely neglected. She studied their beliefs and customs and recorded legends and oral traditions.

Potanina was interested in shamanic rituals and described in detail in her notes how Uriankhai shamans – as the Tuvans were then called – conducted their ‘kamlanie’ or shamanic ceremonies. She was also the first to translate shamanic songs into Russian.

In total, she wrote nearly 20 works, including ethnographic studies and travel essays based on her expeditions.

Potanina was able to gain access to places that were off-limits to men. She was invited to meet the wives of Mongolian princes and Chinese officials and carefully studied their everyday lives. At crucial moments, her ability to establish a rapport with women and children helped resolve difficult situations.

4. One of the first women admitted to the Russian Geographical Society

In 1886, she was awarded a medal by the Imperial Russian Geographical Society for her book ‘The Buryats’ – the first detailed account of their way of life, customs and beliefs. She joked that she had received the award “for doing the laundry”.

A year later, she became an associate member of the society.

5. She died on an expedition

Despite her remarkable strength of character, Alexandra had been in poor health since childhood. Her fourth expedition would be her last.

In late October 1892, the Potanins set out from Kyakhta for China with a group of other researchers. In Beijing, Alexandra began to feel ill, but decided to continue the journey. On the outskirts of Tibet, she suffered a stroke. Barely back on her feet, she continued as best she could, painting local landscapes.

Her husband decided to take her back to Russia, but she suffered a second stroke that left her paralyzed. The intrepid explorer died on the journey home, on September 19, 1893.