Vagin Mercury 
(d. 1712)

Yakut Cossack, polar navigator. 
In 1711, Vagin, executing the order of the Siberian governor M.P. Gagarin, with 8 Cossacks went to explore the sea islands in the Laptev Sea north of the mouth of the Yana.The year before, Cossack Y. Permyakov, who reported to the Yakut office, saw them from Cape Saint Nose. 
Applying a new way of traveling on sea ice on dogs for those times, Vagin reached the Middle Island (Bolshoi Lyakhovsky), toured it and saw another island from the north coast. Lacking food, Vagin was forced to return to the mainland to Kataev cross between the mouth of the Khromy River and the Holy Nose. Here the detachment remained for the summer, since the path to Ust-Jansk was impassable due to the numerous lakes and marshes. The parking lot was very unfortunate. The water was saturated with salt, and people were thirsty. After the departure of the geese, hunger was added to thirst, they had to kill their own sled dogs, and when they were gone, they did not disdain with mice and "every kind of reptile". In spite of everything, Vagin did not give up his intention to return to the islands. However, most of his companions were set up differently. Seeing the intransigence of the boss, at night they attacked the sleeping Vagin, his son Mikhail and their faithful companion Ya. Permyakov and killed them. Having reached Yakutsk, the murderers said that the people who did not return died starvingly, but they did not believe them. Under torture, the criminals confessed to the crime. Two of them were executed, and the remaining "bits whip mercilessly" and exiled to the Sea of Okhotsk. 
The discovery of Vagin at that time was not recognized, and the islands remained nameless. 
The peninsula on the southern coast of the strait of Dmitry Laptev (Merkushin Strelka) is the place of death of Vagin. Named by Russian industrialists.

Cape on the island of Bolshaya Lyakhovsky, the north-western tip of the Kigilyakh peninsula. Named  by K.A. Vollosovich in 1906–1909. 
Mountain (Mercury) in the southeast of the island of the Bolshoy Lyakhovsky archipelago of the Novosibirsk Islands.