Abstract
The article presents an analysis of historiography devoted to the biography of J. Broeckell, an engineer who in 1697 supervised the construction of the first shipping canal, which was supposed to connect the Volga and the Don through their tributaries Kamyshinka and Ilovlya. The analysis showed that despite the fact that in the XVIII-XX centuries many sources containing reliable information about the activities of J. Broeckell in Russia were introduced into scientific circulation, the authors of works on the history of the construction of the Volga-Don Canal were based mainly not on these sources, but on the book by Englishman John Perry "The State Russia under the present tsar", who led the construction work on Kamyshinka in 1698-1702. In the course of the research, it was possible to establish the main biographical information about Johann Broeckell before his arrival in Russia, to clarify the circumstances of his admission to the tsarist service. Analysis of a wide range of published and archival data allowed us to prove that in 1696 J. Broeckell took part in the Azov campaign, was engaged in the construction of earthworks after the capture of the city by Russian troops. In 1697, under his leadership the canal between the tributaries of the Volga and Don Kamyshinka and Ilovlya was begun to built. At the beginning of 1698, apparently realizing that he would not be able to successfully complete the construction of the canal, J. Broeckell left Russia. At the end of 1698, he was captured by Russian troops while trying to transfer to the service of the Turks.
Published Version
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