Kamchatka was, like much of arctic Siberia & North America, originally sparsely inhabited by native tribes. In the 16th century, spurred by tales of a land of fire, rich in fish & furs, Kamchatka was claimed by Muscovite Russia. Two settlements of Cossacks were built in 1697 as fur trading posts.
The peninsula was mapped during Vitus Bering's expedition to explore the Far East of Russia and reach North America. In 1740, Bering reached Avacha Bay and laid the cornerstone for the settlement of Petropavlovsk—named after his two ships St.Peter & St.Paul. One year later, Petropavlovsk would be the settlement survivors of his expedition would reach with news of his death & discovery of Alaska as well as remaining artifacts...including the "finest fur in the world" (sea otter) from Alaska which would later spurn Russian interest in North America. Petropavlovsk grew into a main stopping point for travelers to the Russian Far East, the Kuril Islands, and North America.
In 1854, during the Crimean War, a joint Anglo-French naval fleet bombarded Petropavlovsk in what became the heroic defense of the city in which 988 men with just 68 guns defended against 6 ships with 206 cannons and 2,540 French and British troops. Unfortunately the Russians realized the city was a liability and when more invaders came one year later, the city was abandoned and proceeded to be burnt. With the sale of the Kurils to Japan and Alaska to the US, the peninsula waned in importance. Following World War II, it was deemed a military zone and placed off limits to Russians (except residents, of course) until 1989 and foreigners until 1991.
The peninsula hosts the largest Russian nuclear submarine pen & submarine construction yard. The only notable event since Petropavlovsk's defense in 1854 was the shootdown of KAL Flight 007 in 1983 after drifting off course and flying over sensitive military areas on Kamchatka, resulting in one of the most tense moments in the Cold War during the early-80s.
The Most Frequently Asked Travel Questions about Kamchatka
Where To Stay & Best Hotels in Kamchatka - updated May 2024
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Kamchatka Travel Guide from Wikitravel. Many thanks to all Wikitravel contributors. Text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0, images are available under various licenses, see each image for details.
