Russia and China. The year 1839 found him and his brother transferred to Novoselenginsk, where he chose to remain; dying there in 1855. Despite the harsh conditions, he painted numerous portraits of his fellow Decembrists, the family members who had followed them there and local villagers; at first in watercolor, later in oils. At the end of his term, he spent 1841 in Irkutsk, doing portraits of government officials. He was also engaged as a cobbler, lathe operator and watchmaker. In that capacity, he developed a design for a high-precision chronometer based on a "new system" which he never revealed. During the Crimean War, he designed a gun lock. He also made meteorological and astronomical observations, created an irrigation system, bred sheep, found a new coal deposit and collected Buryat folk tales. In 1973, the playwright wrote a drama about Bestuzhev called Гражданин России (A Citizen of Russia). The 1990 feature-length film, (No Foreign Land) is based on his life in Siberia. It was directed by and stars as Bestuzhev. Available writings Mark Azadovsky (ed.), Воспоминания Бестужевых (memoirs), "Literary Monuments" series, USSR Academy of Sciences, 1951, reissued 2005 (896 pgs.) S. F. Koval (ed.), Сочинения и письма, (writings and letters), Decembrist Memorial Museum, Irkutsk, 2003 Bayr Dugarov (ed.), Гусиное озеро: статьи, очерк (Goose Lake; ethnographic writings), Buryat Publishing House, 1991 Опыт истории Российского флота (History of the Russian Navy), Admiral Makarov National University of Shipbuilding, 1961 Selected portraits References Further reading Ilya Silberstein, Художник-декабрист Николай Бестужев (Artist-Decembrist, Nikolay Bestuzhev), Изобразительное искусство, 1988 External links Selected writings of Bestuzhev online @ Lib.ru "Классика" Another brief biography @ ViewMap Nikolay Bestuzhev @ 360Baikal 1791 births 1855 deaths Painters from the Russian Empire Portrait painters Watercolorists Decembrists Imperial Russian Navy personnel Naval historians Writers from the Russian Empire Memoirists from the Russian Empire Internal exiles from the Russian Empire Inventors from the Russian Empire Ethnographers from the Russian Empire Recipients of the Order of St. Vladimir 19th-century memoirists Prisoners of Shlisselburg fortress Prisoners of the Peter and Paul Fortress Military personnel from Saint Petersburg Naval Cadet Corps alumni