Last night, Predrag Kuzmanovski’s book *Captain Stevan Vukotić* was presented at the Tivat Museum and Gallery. The book—which chronicles the life of the first seafarer from the Bay of Kotor (Boka) and the first South Slav to circumnavigate the globe—premiered last night to coincide with the anniversary of the event: on July 10, 1826, the Russian research vessel *Predpriyatie*, with Vukotić serving as a navigation officer, returned to the port of Kronstadt after its voyage around the world. The ship had been launched on May 7 and had set sail on July 28, 1823. The audience was welcomed by the director of the Tivat Museum and Gallery, who also moderated the evening. She emphasized: "It is a great honor to highlight yet another name among the many seafaring figures from the Bay of Kotor who left an indelible mark; the scope of his legacy and the places he visited are truly extraordinary. At one point, he headed to Russia—driven by the events surrounding Napoleon, the French, and the whirlwinds of war in the early 19th century—and ultimately left a profound legacy."
The exhibition’s creator, Predrag Kuzmanovski, noted: “I found archival material in Russia—in St. Petersburg—including Captain Kotzebue’s diary, which provided us with details about the voyage itself. Since he was one of our own—hailing from Grbalj—people here are interested in his origins and lineage; we managed to identify his father and uncover the reasons why he had to leave our region. These were the fundamental factors that drove me to research Captain Stevan Vukotić.”
