Creation of the navy under Peter 1. What kind of fleet was there before Peter I in Rus'

It showed that the Swedes cannot be defeated unless they create their own navy. The Swedish fleet at that time was considered the strongest in the Baltic. Peter I in the “Naval Regulations” wrote: “He who has a land army has one hand, and he who has a fleet has both hands.”

Therefore, along with the transformations in the army, the construction of a navy was intensively underway in the country.

One shipyard in Voronezh was not enough. By the will of Peter I, shipyards appeared in Arkhangelsk, Olonetsk and the new city of St. Petersburg. They were created on them galleys(rowing warships) and large sailing ships - frigates.

Since the time of Peter the Great, the Russian fleet has been famous for its discipline and mutual assistance. The ships were kept clean. A white flag with a blue cross fluttered at the stern. It was called St. Andrew's - in honor of the holy Apostle Andrew the First-Called. According to legend, this apostle came to the Slavic lands preaching Christianity. And today the Russian navy flies under this flag.

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HISTORY OF THE CREATION OF THE RUSSIAN FLEET BY PETER I

Peter I went down in history as a reformer, commander and naval commander, the first emperor of Russia. But his role in creating the fleet of the young empire is especially noticeable. Peter understood that without a fleet his country would not be able to enter the “club” of great powers. And he began to do his best to correct the situation. Thus, first the Azov Fleet appears, the historical significance of which is simply impossible to underestimate, and 7 years later, in 1703, the Baltic Fleet is created - the strongest naval unit of modern Russia.

It cannot be said that before Peter there were no attempts to create a naval force. There were, but they were very disorganized, unsystematic and, as a result, unsuccessful. Ivan the Terrible, for example, actively used the river fleet in his campaigns against the Kazan and Astrakhan khanates. Later, during the war with the Swedes of 1656-1661, the Moscow kingdom became concerned with building a full-fledged fleet capable of operating in the Baltic waters. Voivode Ordin-Nashchekin especially distinguished himself in its creation. But under the terms of the peace signed in 1661, the Russians had to destroy all ships and shipyards. Having failed in the north, Ordin-Nashchekin turned the attention of Emperor Alexei Mikhailovich to the south of the kingdom.

There it was decided to build a flotilla for the Caspian Sea and even began this ambitious project - in 1667-1668. The three-masted sailing ship "Eagle" was built, the "great-grandfather" of the Russian sailing fleet (displacement 250 tons, length 24.5 meters, width 6.5 meters). It had two decks, the artillery armament consisted of 22 guns, about the tests of which a note has been preserved:

« the guns were shot, and according to the shot, the guns were all intact and fit for the ship».

Unfortunately, the fate of the ship was tragic - it served little, and was later completely burned by Razin’s rebels right in the harbor. The creation of a real fleet had to be postponed for several decades.

A significant event for the entire Russian fleet happened in 1688 in the village of Izmailovo near Moscow. 16-year-old Peter found a small boat (6 meters long, 1 meter wide) in an old barn. This little boat was brought from England as a gift to Tsar Alexei. Peter subsequently wrote about the amazing find:

« It happened to us (in May 1688) to be in Izmailovo, in the flax yard and, walking through the barns, where the remains of things from the house of Nikita Ivanovich Romanov’s grandfather lay, between which I saw a foreign ship, I asked Franz (Timerman) [Peter’s Dutch teacher], what kind of ship is this? He said that it was an English bot. I asked: where is it used? He said that with ships - for riding and carriage. I asked again: what advantage does it have over our ships (I have seen it in a manner and strength better than ours)? He told me that he sails not only with the wind, but also against the wind; which word brought me into great surprise and supposedly incredible».

Having repaired the boat, Peter immediately took a short walk along the Yauza River. Later, the “grandfather of the Russian fleet” (as Peter himself called the boat) was moved to different places (Prosyanoye Lake, Pleshcheev Pond, Pereyaslav Lake), as the prince’s skill in shipping grew. He built a shipyard right on Lake Pereyaslavl and in 1692, in addition to the boat, two small frigates and three yachts sailed on the lake. The construction of the Amusement Flotilla was carried out by craftsmen under the leadership of the Dutchman Karsten Brant, who was hired by Peter’s father Alexei Mikhailovich to build the Caspian Fleet. It is interesting that for a long trip to the lake, Peter had to lie to his mother Natalya Kirillovna: “Where I asked my mother to go to the Trinity Monastery under the image of a promise.”

In 1689, the internal crisis was resolved - Princess Sophia was removed from power and tonsured as a nun. Peter actually became the ruler of an entire country. By this time, the idea of organizing a fleet had completely taken possession of the king. He worked diligently, studied everything that could be useful for the king-military leader - geometry, navigation, carpentry, cannon casting and other sciences. And all this time he did not abandon his passion for the fleet. But the lake was clearly not enough for the young king and he decided to go to Arkhangelsk, to the White Sea.

In 1693, the road from Moscow to Arkhangelsk took as much as 24 days - from July 6 to July 30, Peter was on the road. Despite his mother’s promise not to leave the shore, the young king broke it without any qualms of conscience. According to various sources, either on the first day of his arrival, or towards the end of the visit, he went out to sea on the 12-gun yacht “St. Peter” to escort Dutch and English merchant ships. This journey took 6 whole days and made a huge impression on the king.

In the same 1693, he built the first state shipyard in Arkhangelsk - Solombala. And he immediately laid down the 24-gun ship “St. Apostle Paul” there. This was not enough for Peter and he bought the 44-gun frigate “Holy Prophecy” in Holland. The trip to Arkhangelsk was an important milestone in the development of the young ruler’s hobbies. The real sea, foreign ships and sailors, the construction of the shipyard - all this made a strong impression. But it was time to return - after being absent for almost three months, on October 1 the tsar returned to Moscow.

However, in January 1694, Peter's mother dies. Of course, this was a strong emotional shock for the king. But already at this age he showed his nature - without indulging in excessive sadness, on May 1 Peter left for Arkhangelsk for the second time, at the beginning of the summer navigation. This time he was accompanied by soldiers of the Semenovsky and Preobrazhensky regiments, who, as planned by the sovereign, were to become sailors on his ships. Upon arrival, Peter personally supervised the armament of the St. Paul and inspected the frigate Holy Prophecy, which had arrived from Holland (both ships were later converted into merchant ships). In general, the tsar spent a lot of time “in the field” - he was constantly on ships, participated in repair and rigging work, and communicated with foreign sailors.

As part of a squadron of three ships ("St. Apostle Paul", "St. Prophecy" and "St. Peter"), Peter escorted the merchant squadron to the exit from the White Sea. Unfortunately, this trip did not go too well. During a fairly short passage, the shortage of naval officers became obvious - all of Peter’s associates were good for the Amusement Flotilla, but had difficulty sailing on real ships. If “Admiral” Romodanovsky and “Vice Admiral” Buturlin somehow coped with their duties, then “Rear Admiral” Gordon, only by luck, did not land the yacht “Svya” on the rocks that Peter."

On the same yacht, Peter decided to visit the Solovetsky Monastery, but on the way the ship was caught in a strong storm. Nowadays, there is a maritime museum on Bolshoi Solovetsky Island. . According to some sources, the priests persuaded the king to take communion in order to die with a clear conscience. But Peter only brushed aside the offer and took the helm of the yacht himself. Everything worked out well - after spending some time in Solovki, he returned to Arkhangelsk.

Upon returning to Arkhangelsk, Peter began arming and equipping the ship “Apostle Paul”, and after the arrival of the ship “St. Prophecy" took him under command and sailed in the White Sea to St. Nos in a squadron under the flag of Romodanovsky. Peter returned from his second trip to the White Sea with an indomitable desire to begin building the Russian fleet. Russia at that time owned two sea coasts - White Sea and Caspian.

It was natural to strive for White, which connected the country with England, Holland and other countries. Not everyone in Moscow understood these aspirations. Peter understood that a great country and its economy required access to the sea. He could not then fight for the return of the Baltic coast to Russia; a powerful power dominated there. And he turned his gaze to the south, to the Azov and Black Seas.

Russia was looking for access to the sea. It was decided to start from the south... In February 1695, Tsar Peter I ordered to gather an army to recapture the city of Azov at the mouth of the Don from the Turks. Under the name of the bombardier Pyotr Mikhailov, the tsar set off along with the first Western-style regiments: Preobrazhensky, Semenovsky and Lefortov. After a long siege, they decided to take the Azov fortress by storm. Many Russian soldiers and officers died, but the city could not be taken. The Turks brought fresh troops and food by sea. The first Azov campaign of 1695 ended ingloriously...

Peter took the failure seriously, but did not think about retreat. It was difficult to take the seaside fortress without a navy. Thousands of “working people” began to flock to Voronezh from all over Russia. It was necessary to build shipyards, harvest and transport timber, twist ropes, sew sails and cast cannons.

They built shipyards, barns, and barracks. Two 36-gun ships, twenty-two galleys and four fire ships were laid down on the stocks. Everything was ready by spring. The second Azov campaign began. In May 1696, on the new 34-oar galley “Principium”, Peter appeared near Azov at the head of an entire flotilla, and the ground forces, replenished and rested, again besieged the fortress from land and built batteries at the mouth of the Don.

This time the Turks failed to fight back, although they defended desperately. The Russian fleet prevented the supply of ammunition and food to the besieged fortress. The Turks had to surrender. For the first time in the history of Russia, a brilliant victory was achieved with the help of the fleet. This happened on July 18, 1696. From that day on, free access to the Sea of Azov opened.

It was necessary to establish ourselves in the entire Sea of Azov, to move towards the Black Sea. And for this it was necessary to continue to create a fleet and build harbors, because, as Peter I said, “a harbor is the beginning and end of a fleet, without it, whether there is a fleet or not, it still does not exist.” On July 27, after the capture of Azov, Peter began to go around the coast in boats. As the legend says, on one of the capes, or, as they were called here, horns, fires were burning in the evening - then the shepherds were cooking food on the tagans. Here, on Taganrog, they decided to build a harbor (the future Taganrog) for Russia's first regular navy.

Later, in the preface to the Naval Regulations, Peter will write: “... the sovereigns of the navy who do not have only one hand have, but those who have a fleet have both!” Soon after the capture of Azov, on October 20, 1696, the Boyar Duma, at the suggestion of Peter, adopted a resolution: “There will be sea vessels!” This day is considered the birthday of the Russian Navy.

In 1697, Peter I volunteered at the Great Embassy to Holland to study shipbuilding and maritime affairs. He worked first in Saardam at a private shipyard, then in Amsterdam at the shipyard of the East India Company, where he participated in the construction of the ship from laying to completion and received a certificate of knowledge of naval architecture from the master Klass Paul. At the same time, the tsar greedily absorbed knowledge of various kinds, which in the future he used to carry out reforms in Russia.

In 1698, noticing that Dutch shipbuilders lacked theoretical knowledge and were more guided by experience and practice, Peter went to England and studied the theory of shipbuilding in Deptford. The future admiral sailed in the English fleet to the Isle of Wight, attended naval maneuvers organized in his honor, and visited museums, arsenals and other places that interested him. During the trip abroad, sailors and other specialists were hired into Russian service, including Vice Admiral Cornelius Kruys and Schoutbenacht (Rear Admiral) Rez, who set about putting the fleet administration in order.

European politics gave no reason to expect that Russia would receive support in the fight against Turkey for access to the southern seas. Nevertheless, the tsar continued the construction of the Azov fleet. Upon returning from a trip abroad, Pyotr Mikhailov, as the tsar called himself, accepted the title of shipmaster and began to receive a salary of 366 rubles a year. On November 19, 1698, he laid down a 58-gun ship in Voronezh. But still, the path to the wide, global sea spaces was difficult for Russian ships: the Kerch Strait was controlled by Turkey, as well as the Bosporus and Dardanelles - the straits connecting the Black and Mediterranean seas.

The main focus of the interests of the Russian sovereign changed, Peter I turned his attention to the Baltic. But there was already a strong fleet of the young and desperate Swedish king Charles XII who had just ascended the throne. Relying on the support of two other recognized maritime powers - England and Holland, he threatened not only his Baltic neighbors - Denmark and Poland, but also intended to capture Russian cities: Pskov, Novgorod and Arkhangelsk.

“The king dreams of only one war,” the French envoy wrote about Charles XII, “he was told too much about the exploits and campaigns of his ancestors. His heart and head are filled with this, and he considers himself invincible...” Such confidence was given to Charles by the possession not only of a fleet of 50 ships, but also of an army of 150,000, recruited from Swedish peasants who, in peacetime, lived on land received from the state . This army was superior in its fighting qualities to many Western European mercenary armies.

An anti-Swedish military Northern Alliance was created against Sweden in 1699. Each state of the anti-Swedish coalition had its own interests: the Danish king Frederick IV wanted to return the areas lost by his country in 1660 and 1689, in particular Schleswig (the area on the border of Denmark and Germany); Saxon Elector Augusta II, who was also the king of Poland, was attracted by the lands of Livonia and Estonia (the Baltic); Peter I sought not only to reach the sea, but also to return to Russia its ancestral territories with the cities of Korela, Koporye, Oreshek, Yam and Ivangorod, which went to Sweden by Treaty of Stolbov 1617

In May 1703, by order of Peter I, a fortress with six bastions was founded on the banks of the Neva, on the island of Yanni-Saari. They gave her the name Petropavlovskaya. Thousands of men, brought from all over Russia, standing waist-deep in water, with oak “women”, drove piles into the muddy bank. All the well thieves, by order of Peter, were also brought here to work. Hundreds of people lay down in the wet ground at the end of the world - they could not stand the work, and there was not enough bread. “They are very sick here, and many have died,” Peter wrote to Moscow, demanding that more people be sent. This is how the construction of St. Petersburg, the new capital of Russia, began.

The capital had to be protected from the Swedes... Not far from the mouth of the Neva, in the Gulf of Finland, lay an island Kotlin, overgrown with dense pine forest. Only close to it was it possible to go to the mouth of the Neva - in other places sandbanks were in the way. Soon construction of a new Russian fort began on the shallows south of Kotlin Island Kronshlot, part of the future naval fortress of Kronstadt. The instructions to the commandant of the fortress said: “Maintain this citadel with God’s help as long as it happens until the last man.”

A year later, the Swedes began to attack the new fortress, and on the coast too. Although all attacks were repulsed, it was still impossible to reliably defend St. Petersburg without ships. The axes clattered again and saws squealed. Shipyards arose on the banks of the Syas and Svir rivers, and then the Neva. The young Baltic Fleet grew rapidly. The first ship of the Baltic Fleet was built in 1703 - the 30-gun frigate "Standart".

In May 1703, commanding a detachment of boats with a landing party of the guard, Peter boarded the Swedish ships “Gedan” and “Astrild” standing at the mouth of the Neva, for which he was awarded the Order of St. Andrew the First-Called. Finding themselves without support, the garrison of the Nyenschanz fortress capitulated after the shelling. The entire course of the Neva was at Peter's disposal. In September, with the rank of captain, he brought the ship “Standart” from the Olonets shipyard to St. Petersburg.

By the end of 1705, it consisted of more than two dozen ships, frigates and galleys. Three hundred guns stood on their decks, still smelling of fresh forest, and two thousand two hundred crew members, sailors and gunners, were waiting for the order to set off. Tsar Peter appointed Vice Admiral Cornelius Cruys as commander of the fleet.

The struggle went on for a long time and not always with success! For more than twenty years, from 1700 to 1721, the Northern War raged between Sweden and the countries of the Northern Alliance. Taking advantage of the fact that Frederick IV set out with his main forces to recapture Schleswig, Charles XII, with the support of the Anglo-Dutch fleet, landed troops on the Danish island of Zealand and besieged Copenhagen. Threatening to burn the capital of Denmark, Charles XII forced Frederick IV to capitulate and withdraw from the Northern Alliance. This happened on August 7, 1700.

This war is divided by modern historians into two periods: the first - from the autumn of 1700 (the beginning of the siege of Narva) to the summer of 1709 (the Battle of Poltava); the second from mid-1709 to 1721 (conclusion of the Peace of Nystadt).

With the beginning of the Northern War, the Baltic Fleet also became necessary. In 1702-1704. the construction of ships began in several places at once: on the rivers Syas, Svir, Luga, Volkhov, Izhora. In addition to the seven frigates, 91 ships were built. At the end of 1704, the fortress created by Peter on Kotlin Island already had more than 70 guns. By 1710, the Baltic fleet already included 12 battleships. A strong fleet accelerated the capture of Vyborg, Riga, and Revel by Russian troops.

In 1706, Peter I was promoted to captain-commander. On November 30, 1707, he laid down in St. Petersburg the 16-gun Liset, which he launched in 1708. From October 29, 1708, by decree of Admiral Count Apraksin, Pyotr Alekseevich began to receive salaries of a commander of 600 rubles, a ship master of 1200 rubles rubles From February 14 to May 27, 1709, he was at shipbuilding in Voronezh, surveyed the Azov ports, sailed on a brigantine in the Sea of Azov, and on April 7 launched in Voronezh 2 ships he built: the 50-gun Lastka and the 80-gun Old Eagle "

Although many different ships and galleys were built for Russian sailors, it was still far from the Swedish fleet. However, little by little, Russian troops, with the help of the fleet, recaptured Narva, Vyborg, Riga and Revel from the Swedes, and finally, in July 1713, Helsingfors. The Swedes did not have a single stronghold left in the Gulf of Finland. In July 1714, the Russian fleet defeated the Swedes in the Gangut naval battle, defeating and capturing a detachment of Swedish ships.

The next stage of sharp intensification in the construction of new ships occurs in 1711-1713. Russian shipyards were already building powerful 52- and even 60-gun ships. In 1714, the Russian fleet won a major naval victory over the Swedes off the Gangut Peninsula (Hanko) on July 27. The victory allowed the Russian fleet to control the Åland skerries and the coast. In an effort to transfer the war to enemy territory, the Russian Tsar increased the number of powerful battleships and skerry fleet. The final approval in the Baltic Sea can be timed to coincide with the victory at Grengam on July 27, 1720. By the end of the war, Russia had 29 battleships, 6 frigates, 208 galleys and other vessels in the Baltic.

In 1705, recruitment began specifically for the fleet. Subsequently, until 1715, there were 5 sets, approximately 1-1.5 thousand people each. However, the complete recruitment of the fleet became a reality only starting in 1718. The first naval school was organized back in 1698 in Azov. In 1701, a school of “mathematical and navigational” sciences was opened in Moscow, training personnel for both the army and the navy. At first it was designed for 200, and from 1701 - already for 500 people. In 1715, the St. Petersburg Naval Academy for Officer Personnel began to operate. In 1716, the so-called midshipman company was organized.

In 1718, the royal vice admiral commanded the vanguard of the fleet of Apraksin F.M. sailing in the Gulf of Finland. On July 15, the completed 90-gun ship Lesnoye was launched in St. Petersburg. In 1719, the Tsar commanded the Baltic Fleet; the fleet sailed to Aland, where it remained for almost two months. In this and the previous years, Peter worked diligently on drawing up maritime regulations, sometimes working 14 hours a day.

Swedish senators tried to persuade their king Charles XII to make peace with Russia. However, Karl did not want to listen to anything. “At least all of Sweden would disappear,” he said, “and there would be no peace!” We had to again announce a new mobilization throughout Sweden...

The young Baltic Fleet won many more victories over the Swedes, and in 1721 the Swedes were forced to sign the Treaty of Nystadt. According to this agreement, the following were transferred to Russia: Ingermanland, on whose lands St. Petersburg arose, Estland with the city of Revel, Livonia with Riga and part of Karelia with Vyborg and Kexholm.

In honor of the Peace of Nystadt, Peter ordered large celebrations to be held, first in the fall in St. Petersburg, and then in the winter of 1722 in Moscow. An unusual procession passed through the streets of Moscow: many large models of ships, placed on sled runners, moved towards the Kremlin.

Peter I himself, who led this procession, sat on the flagship model. And in the Kremlin he was met by an old friend. On a pedestal decorated with paintings and inscriptions stood the “Grandfather of the Russian Fleet” - an old English ship, on which the young Russian Tsar sailed along the Yauza, and all the “ships” saluted the “grandfather”...

By the end of the reign of Peter I, the Russian navy was one of the most powerful in Europe. It consisted of 34 battleships, 9 frigates, 17 galleys and 26 ships of other types (Korobkov N.M. “Russian Fleet in the Seven Years’ War”, M., 1946). There were up to 30 thousand people in its ranks. St. Petersburg, Kronstadt, Revel, Arkhangelsk - these are the main ports and bases of his stay.

It is clear that without the work of many, many specialists, it would be impossible to create a fleet capable of defeating the age-old sailors of the Swedes. But it is equally obvious that it would have been impossible to accomplish this great undertaking in such a short period of time in history without the enthusiasm of young Peter the Great, who fell in love with maritime affairs, fully realized its importance for the state and forced those close to him to also become its enthusiasts.
Tsar Peter became a rare example of a man who had full power, but acted not so much through coercion as through personal example, especially in the field of maritime affairs. The fleet he created is a worthy monument to the reformer.

Even with a quick glance at the map of Russia, it is not difficult to notice that most of its borders (almost 63%) lie on seas and oceans. Therefore, it is not surprising that our ancestors have long been sailors, but the true history of the Russian fleet goes back a little more than three centuries and is associated with the name of Peter I.

At the origins of Russian navigation

To be fair, it should be noted that the beginning of the history of the Russian fleet dates back to the times of the founder of the Romanov dynasty, Emperor Mikhail Fedorovich. Under him, the first large three-masted ship “Frederik”, created according to the Western model, appeared in the country. However, during a campaign in Persia, it ran aground in the coastal waters of the Caspian Sea, and then was pulled ashore and died, plundered by local residents. After such an inglorious debut, Russian sailors carried out several very successful military operations, but they won solely due to personal courage, since they had to go to sea on their grandfather’s galleys.

The construction of ships that met the requirements of that ancient era is associated with the name of Peter the Great. In the history of the Russian fleet, he is rightfully considered one of the key figures. Immediately after the Second Azov Campaign, in which the Russian ground forces were supported by two battleships, four fire ships (a ship designed to set fire to enemy ships), as well as a large number of galleys and plows, the sovereign began to create a regular fleet.

It is generally accepted that the history of the Russian fleet begins on October 20 (30), 1696, when the Boyar Duma, having discussed the report submitted by Peter I, decided to begin the construction of ships at the Voronezh shipyard. This date became his official birthday.

War for access to the Baltic Sea

A powerful incentive for the creation of domestic military courts was Russia's participation in the Northern War (1700-1721) with Sweden. During this period, the Baltic Fleet began to actively develop. At the beginning of the war, ships were built mainly at shipyards established at the mouths of the Luga, Olonka and Syasi rivers. But then the center of Russian shipbuilding moved to St. Petersburg. The main naval base of the Baltic Fleet was also created there. Somewhat later, ships began to be stationed at the berths of Kronstadt, Vyborg, Gelsinfors, Abo and Revel.

During the Northern War, the history of the Russian navy is connected with the creation of sailing ships of various types. They were intended both to protect the coasts conquered from the Swedes, and to carry out long voyages associated with attacks on the enemy’s sea routes of communication.

However, there were not enough domestically produced ships to carry out such a wide range of combat missions, and they had to be purchased abroad. To solve the problem, new shipyards were created by sovereign decree, the work of which was carried out under the guidance of foreign specialists specially sent to Russia for this purpose.

The results of Peter I's activities in creating a fleet

In the last year of the reign of Peter I (1725), the Russian fleet was already a formidable force. Suffice it to say that it included 130 combat sailing ships of various types, as well as 77 auxiliary ships. Such powerful potential put Russia on a par with the leading maritime powers of the world.

During the same period, a new and in many ways advanced layer of Russian nobles who became naval officers was created and finally took shape. These were very literate people, many of whom were trained abroad, from where they returned as qualified specialists. The disciplines they studied included: navigation, navigation, mathematics, physics, astronomy, as well as the theory and practice of naval battles.

Decline and new rise of the Russian fleet

However, such a successful period in the history of the Russian navy ended with the death of Peter I. If in 1726, thanks to the previous inertia, one ship was still laid down, then in the next 4 years no work was carried out. The previously built ships deteriorated and became unusable. As a result, by 1730, when Anna Ioannovna ascended the Russian throne, the once powerful Russian fleet consisted of only 50 ships, of which only a third were capable of going to sea.

Despite all the negative aspects of Anna Ioannovna’s reign, researchers note her significant contribution to the history of the creation of the Russian fleet. Having barely settled into the role of ruler of one of the largest states in the world, she became preoccupied with the revival of its naval forces. In 1732, by her decree, a Commission was created to develop and implement maritime reform. It included the best naval commanders of that time.

In parallel with this, work was carried out to reconstruct old and create new shipyards. As a result, during the ten-year period of Anna Ioannovna’s reign, about 150 ships were launched, of which almost a hundred were built in Arkhangelsk, a city that received the status of a leading center of domestic shipbuilding.

Formation of the Black Sea Fleet

A new page in the history of the Russian fleet opened in the second half of the 18th century, and the impetus for this was the policy of Catherine II, whose goal was to establish dominance in the Black Sea. During the years of her reign, Russia became a participant in two Russian-Turkish wars (1768-1774 and 1787-1791), during which a significant burden fell on military sailors. The first victory in Russian history by the Russian fleet, won far from its native shores, dates back to the same period.

In June 1770, the squadron under the command of Admiral Spiridonov defeated the Turkish fleet in the Battle of Chesme, thereby securing priority in the Aegean Sea. As a result of the joint actions of the ships of the Azov and Black Sea squadrons, Russia won a number of victories over the fleet of the Ottoman Empire, and gained control over the coast of the Sea of Azov and a significant section of the Black Sea coastal strip. Their consequence was the annexation of Crimea to Russia, carried out in 1783 by the troops of Prince Potemkin with the support of the navy.

At the turn of the century

At the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries, the Russian navy ranked third in the world in size and power, only slightly inferior to the naval forces of Great Britain and France. During this period, it included the Baltic and Black Sea fleets, as well as three independent flotillas - the Caspian, Okhotsk and White Sea. An important event in the history of the Russian fleet was the creation in 1802 of the Ministry of Naval Forces, which took over its centralized management.

Problems of the fleet in the first half of the 19th century

A negative role in the further development of the Russian fleet was played by its significant economic lag behind Western European countries, observed in the first half of the 19th century. This was clearly evident during the Crimean War (1853-1856).

Despite the large number of personnel - 91 thousand people, which was a very high figure at that time - the Russian naval forces could not ensure the security of the shores of the Motherland, since the entire material and technical base of the fleet required modernization. World progress moved inexorably forward, and in the vast seas the sailing fleet was replaced by ships equipped with steam engines - armadillos, monitors and floating batteries.

However, even with all the negative factors, Russian sailors won a number of brilliant victories during the Crimean War. This is, first of all, the Battle of Sinop in November 1853, as well as numerous military operations to repel enemy forces during the defense of Sevastopol.

Measures to modernize the Russian fleet

Tsar Alexander II, who ascended the Russian throne in 1855, realizing the need for a radical restructuring of the Russian fleet, made every effort to modernize it and bring it into line with the demands of the time. In the history of the Russian navy, his reign was marked by the creation of a large number of first-class warships, which were not inferior in technical terms to the best foreign models.

This was a whole series of ships designed both to perform tasks in coastal waters and in remote parts of the world's oceans. Most of them were equipped with thick armor and powerful artillery weapons. The most famous of them was the battleship "Peter the Great", whose crew covered themselves with glory in many naval battles.

The tragedy of the Russo-Japanese War

The sadly memorable Russian-Japanese War (1904-1905) became a tragic page in the history of the fleet. Despite the heroism of Russian sailors shown during the defense of Port Arthur and attempts to break its blockade, a significant preponderance of forces was on the enemy’s side. The Tsushima naval battle also ended in major failure, in which the Pacific Fleet squadron under the command of Admiral Rozhdestvensky was defeated and was almost completely destroyed by Japanese naval forces.

After the inglorious end of the Russo-Japanese War, the Russian fleet lost much of its former power, and in subsequent years there was a process of its revival, which, despite all the efforts of the military department, was not completed by the beginning of the First World War.

Russian Navy during the First World War

After Russia began active hostilities as part of the Entente, its main adversary in the Baltic became Germany, whose fleet was more powerful both in number and in technical equipment. In view of this, Russian sailors were forced to limit their actions to the defense of the coastline and individual operations to intercept enemy transport ships.

On the Black Sea during the First World War, Russia again met with its long-time enemy - the fleet of the Ottoman Empire. When planning military operations, Turkish Admiral Souchon relied heavily on his two most advanced German-made cruisers, Breslau and Goeben. However, both of them, having received serious damage during a collision with the Russian squadron, were forced to retreat to the Bosphorus. As a result, by December 1915, Russia controlled the entire Black Sea.

The period of the Civil War was marked by the legendary Ice Campaign of the ships of the Baltic Fleet from Finland, where they were blocked after the signing of the Brest-Litovsk Peace, shameful for Russia, to Kronstadt. It was carried out in March ─ April 1918, when the Gulf of Finland was still covered with ice, and allowed the country to save 235 ships, as well as a large amount of military equipment.

The history of the great victories of the Russian army and navy during the Great Patriotic War was widely covered in the Soviet press and is the subject of close public attention these days. And this is no coincidence. Suffice it to say that among the sailors of the Baltic Fleet alone, over 100 thousand people were awarded orders and medals, and 138 were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, many of them posthumously. That is why one of the most popular holidays today is Russian Fleet Day. The history of the country's naval forces continues with the advent of the era of democratic reforms and reaches a new level.

Modern historiography connects the creation of the Russian fleet with the name of Peter the Great. At the same time, if you carefully study the chronicles, it turns out that the military fleet appeared in Rus' much earlier than the beginning of the 18th century.

Pre-Petrine fleet

According to modern historians, the Russian fleet began with the phrase: “There will be a Russian fleet!”, uttered by Peter I in the Boyar Duma on October 30, 1696. However, this statement is nothing more than a myth.

Russian military history has preserved to us a description of many glorious feats performed by Russian sailors in pre-Petrine times. The most amazing thing is that even the British, who cannot be suspected of loving the Russian fleet, claimed that it was older than their own. The historian of the British naval forces, Admiral Fred Thomas Jane, repeatedly noted in his works: “The Russian fleet, which is considered a relatively late institution founded by Peter the Great, actually has a greater right to antiquity than the British fleet.”

Oddly enough, the admiral was absolutely right. The first written evidence of the existence of the British fleet dates back to 870-901. By this time, Russian navigators had been defending their interests in the Black and Baltic Seas for many years.

Ivan groznyj

One can list for a long time the successes of Russian sailors in the pre-Petrine era, among which there were truly impressive victories. One of them dates back to 1559. At this time, Ivan the Terrible took Kazan and defeated the Astrakhan Khanate. It was the turn of Crimea, which was under the patronage of the Turkish Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent.

In the middle of the 16th century, his army and navy were considered the undisputed masters of the Black Sea. However, the Russian Tsar had a different opinion on this matter. On his orders, steward Danila Adashev built shipyards at the mouth of the Dnieper. Using them, experienced carpenters quickly built a flotilla of warships that outwardly resembled European frigates.

Each ship could move both under sail and with oars, accommodating up to fifty crew members on board. Having gone to sea, the Russian ships gave battle to the Turkish squadron and won it. About ten Turkish ships were sunk and two were captured.

For three weeks, the Russian landing force ruled the Crimea, freeing Russian hostages taken into slavery by the Tatars. It seemed that the Crimean Khanate would be finished once and for all, but Ivan the Terrible recalled Adashev’s eight-thousand-strong corps, transferring it to the Baltic Sea.

Alexey "The Quietest"

History has not preserved to this day the description of the naval victories of the steward of Ivan the Terrible on the Baltic Sea. Nevertheless, a hundred years later, after the appearance of Russian ships in the waters of the Northern Sea, they remained its undisputed masters.

In the spring of 1656, Alexei Mikhailovich Romanov gave the order to liberate part of the Baltic coast from the mouth of the Neva to Riga from the Swedes. Russian sailors could fulfill this order only if they had warships in no way inferior to the Swedish fleet, considered the best in the world. It is noteworthy that while admonishing the Russian sailors, Patriarch Nikon had no doubt at all about their absolute victory. In a conversation with the naval commander Pyotr Potemkin, he noted: “Go beyond the Sveisky (Swedish) line, to the Varangian Sea, to Stekolna (Stockholm) and beyond.”

With these words, Nikon actually invited Potemkin to storm the capital of one of the most militarily powerful states of those years. Obviously, he had every reason to believe that the Russian fleet would be able to cope with the task. This is practically what happened. On July 22, 1656, Peter Potemkin's thousandth corps entered the Gulf of Finland.

Luck was with the Russian sailors. After a short battle, having sunk a Swedish galley, Russian troops captured the island of Kotlin. Reporting on the completion of the combat mission, Potemkin wrote to the Tsar: “They took the half-ship (galley) and beat the Svei people, and captain Irek Dalsfir, and the outfit (guns), and the banners, and on Kotlin Island the Latvian villages were carved out and burned.”

Unfortunately, this military operation did not develop: an order came from Moscow to retreat. However, in the light of the above facts, it becomes quite obvious that the Russian fleet really existed in pre-Petrine times. In addition, it was quite modern and had the opportunity to win brilliant victories over the flotillas of the largest naval powers of those years.