The article is devoted to the First Polar expedition of the beginning of the twentieth century under the auspices of the Imperial Academy of Sciences. The article contains some information about the financing of the expedition. It is noted that the President of the Imperial Academy of Sciences, Grand Duke Konstantin Romanov, played an important role in the organization. The authors have considered this topic on the basis of archival materials stored at the St. Petersburg branch of the Archive of the Academy of Sciences. It is concluded that the scientific-practical results of the First Russian Polar Expedition were high. The expedition laid the foundation for a comprehensive study of the Arctic seas and land.