In 1842, Putyatin was asked by
Emperor Nicholas I to lead an armed diplomatic mission to
Persia. His main purpose was to strengthen trade via the
Caspian Sea, which was plagued by
Turkmen piracy. Putyatin established a base at
Astrakhan, and subdued the pirates in a military campaign, following which he met with
Muhammad Shah of Persia, whom he persuaded to lift trade restrictions, grant fishing rights and to permit steamship communications between Persia and the
Volga River.
Expedition to Japan , 1853. , 1856. between Japan and Russia Following the successful completion of this mission, Putyatin developed a plan for an expedition to survey Russia's eastern maritime frontiers with China and Japan, with the main objective of finding suitable ports and mapping unknown coastal areas in the region, as well as the possibility of opening Japan to trade relations. The expedition was initially approved by Tsar Nicholas I in 1843, but was postponed due to concerns it would disrupt the
Kyakhta trade. In 1849, Putyatin became Adjutant-General in the entourage of the Emperor, and in the same year married a daughter of a British admiral. He was promoted to vice admiral in 1851. In 1852, on learning of American plans to send Commodore
Matthew Perry in an attempt to open Japan for foreign trade, the Russian government revived Putyatin's proposal, which received support from
Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolayevich of Russia. The expedition included several notable Sinologists and a number of scientists and engineers, as well as the noted author
Ivan Goncharov. The frigate
Pallada under the command of
Ivan Unkovsky was selected as the flagship.
Pallada departed
Kronstadt on 7 October 1852; however it became clear during the long voyage that the vessel was unsuited for the expedition, and the newer 52-gun frigate
Diana was subsequently dispatched. Putyatin arrived at
Nagasaki in Japan on 12 August 1853 – a month after the arrival of Perry at
Uraga, and it was not until September 9 (after considerable discussion) that the
Nagasaki bugyō agreed to accept the official letter Putyatin carried from Russian Foreign Minister Count
Karl Nesselrode. During one of the shore visits, the Russian engineer
Alexander Mozhaysky demonstrated a steam engine, which enabled Japanese inventor
Tanaka Hisashige to
reverse engineer the device to create the first Japanese
steam locomotive. As negotiations were protracted by Japanese indecision and the distance from Nagasaki to the Shogun's court at
Edo, Putyatin departed Nagasaki to survey the coasts of Korea and the
Primorsky Krai region of the Russian Far East. The frigate Diana arrived on July 11, 1854 with word of the
Crimean War, and Putyatin transferred his flag to the newer vessel. Returning to Nagasaki, Putyatin found that no progress had been made, and that the
Royal Navy had called on Nagasaki during his absence as part of a manhunt to destroy his vessel. He therefore decided to make good on his threat to sail for Edo itself. Putyatin arrived at the port of
Shimoda on 22 November 1854, which had been opened to the Americans by the
Convention of Kanagawa signed between the Japanese and the United States, and was permitted to start negotiations on 22 December; however on 23 December, the major
Ansei Tokai earthquake shook Japan and surroundings. A 7-meter-high tsunami destroyed much of Shimoda including Putiatin's ships, with exception of
Diana, which was badly damaged and sank soon afterwards at nearby
Heda. The Russian delegation now found itself stranded in Japan. Negotiations continued, resulting in the
Treaty of Shimoda on 7 February 1855, which opened the ports of
Hakodate, Nagasaki and Shimoda to Russian vessels, permitted limited trading and the residence of a Russian consul, and fixed the border of Japan and Russia on the
Kurile Islands between
Urup and
Iturup. In the meantime, the Russian sailors and technicians worked with Japanese carpenters to build a new vessel at Heda to enable the delegation to return to Russia. The schooner
Heda was launched on 14 April, and Putyatin returned to a hero's welcome in
St Petersburg, where he was made a Count, and appointed military governor of
Kronstadt from 1856 to 1857. In 1857, Putyatin was dispatched to China in an attempt to establish a trade agreement; however, he had only limited success after failing twice to cross the border into China by land and by sea. He returned to Japan again in the same year to sign a follow-on accord to his previous agreement. In December, he was appointed commander of the Russian Pacific squadron, and flew his flag on the paddle-wheel steam corvette
America, further exploring the coast of
Amur Bay. On 12 July 1858, he signed a trade agreement with China at
Tianjin and allowing for the access to the interior of China by Russian missionaries. On 7 August 1858 he signed the
Russo-Japanese Treaty of Friendship and Commerce in Edo, which opened more ports in Japan to Russian trade. ==Later years==