Mikhail Lavrov Mikhail Lavrov Mikhail Andrianovich Lavrov () (1799–1882) was a Russian rear-admiral and Arctic explorer. Mikhail Lavrov was born on 13 September 1799 in the city of Arkhangelsk. He graduated from Cadets Corps in Saint Petersburg and served at the Baltic Fleet. He participated in the voyage of the cargo ship "Mezen" from Kronstadt to Arkhangelsk and back in 1819–1820. In 1821–1824, in the rank of senior officer, he participated in the expedition of Fyodor Litke on board of the brig "Novaya Zemlya", making description of coast line of Murmansk and Novaya Zemlya archipelago. In 1825–1827, he made a round-the-world voyage
Novaya Zemlya effect two full weeks prior to its calculated return. They were met with disbelief by the rest of the crew (who accused De Veer of having used the old Julian calendar instead of the Gregorian calendar introduced several years earlier), but on January 27 the Sun was seen by all "in his full roundnesse". For centuries the account was the source of skepticism, until in the 20th century the phenomenon was finally proven to be genuine. Apart from the image of the Sun, the Novaya Zemlya effect can also elevate the image of other objects above the horizon, such as coastlines