14th August, 1850 at Cape Kuegda was raised Russian flag

On the 14th of August, 1850 during the expedition to the Far East, led by naval officer Gennady Nevel'skoi, at Cape Kuegda was raised Russian flag and formed Nikolaev post. Geographic map shows that in our days at this place is the city of Nikolayev-on-Amur. Nevel declared accession of Sakhalin and Amur region to Russia.

It is known that at the end of XVI st. in the Amur and Transbaikal began to arrive Russian Cossacks, who founded a settlement there. This led to the conflict between Russia and China. With the conclusion of the Treaty of Nerchinsk disagreements were resolved, but the question of ownership of land in the lower reaches of the Amur River remained open.

In 1845 by order of the Emperor was organized an expedition to the mouth of the Amur River, the leadership of which was entrusted to Lieutenant Peter Gavrilov. The main goal of swimming was to determine whether it possible to pass into the Amur from the sea.

After studying the maps of that time and re-read the available literature, a naval officer Gennady Nevel believed that Cupid can access from the sea. In 1847 Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky was sent to the transport ship. Nevel was appointed to a captain on this ship. He planned to be in Petropavlovsk spring and over the summer period found the mouth of the Amur River.

On the 21st of August 1848 Nevel sailed from Kronstadt. Next, the ship followed the western route. In May 1849 ship "Baikal" has reached its destination. It is known that the summer navigation in the Sea of Okhotsk does not last long, Nevel under its responsibility decided to leave the expedition. On the 30th of May the ship came out of the Peter and Paul Bay and moved to the island of Sakhalin.

During the voyage Nevel guided map of Krusenstern: Sakhalin rounded the Cape of Mary and along its coast was in the Amur estuary. Follow the prompts of locals, he was able to make an important discovery: find the mouth of the Amur and prove that Sakhalin, which was considered to be a part of the peninsula, in fact, is an island. The modern topographic map shows that the width Strait that separates the island from the mainland is 7 km and is named the Strait of Nevelsky.

In 1850 Nevelsky instructed to establish winter quarters in the south-eastern shore of the Sea of Okhotsk. In the spring he went to a new expedition, and in June in the Gulf of Happiness founded the first Russian settlement. And then proceeded to Cape Kuegda where declared accession to the Russian Amur region.

At the end of 1850 Nevel arrived in St. Petersburg. A special act of the Committee regarded officer unprecedented audacity, as it was reported to the emperor himself. Nicholay I put the following resolution: "Where once raised the Russian flag, where he should not go down."