The most significant chapters of history of the Russian Navy — in the digital sources of the Presidential Library

Day of the Navy of the Russian Federation is celebrated on July 30, 2017. There are dozens of various sources telling as about a coming into being and a development of the fleet in Russia, so about the most important events that forever inscribed the names of Russian seamen into the history of world navigation, in the Presidential Library stock. Among these pieces are the digital copies of documents, rare books, encyclopedias, studies, biographies, albums, periodicals, converted into electronic format documentaries and much more.

The first Slavic allusions of naval fleet’s prototype date back to the 1st century: “The first sea expedition to Greece was accomplished by seized Kiev Rurik's troops, who in 865 appeared before Constantinople aboard 200 vessels. Then the princes Oleg, Igor and Svyatoslav committed successful campaigns to Greece, conquering the Danube Bulgaria and temporarily gaining a foothold in there. Son of Svyatoslav, Vladimir, went along the Volga River against the Kama Bulgarians and conquered Chersonese from the Greeks, according to released in 1893 work of F. F. Veselago entitled A brief history of the Russian fleet. He notes: “These sails, accompanied by ruining the shores and a seizure of rich prey, terrified coastal residents, and a recognition of the Russian domination of the Black Sea by the Greek was expressed by naming this marine waters the Russian Sea.”

During the reign of Mikhail Fyedorovich — the founder of the Romanov dynasty — the first attempt was made to lay down a real warship based on the European model, armed with guns. It was not built for military campaigns, rather than for the protection of cargo fleet, but “putting out to the Caspian Sea, “Friderik” fell there near the shoreline of Dagestan.”

During the reign of Aleksey Mikhailovich, the second attempt to create a military force at sea was committed, F. F. Veselago writes, “at the request of one Persian merchant company that wanted to ship Persian goods to Western Europe through Russia, and our government, for a certain reward, was obliged to deliver and to protect these cargoes during a travel. To this end, in the palace village of Dedinovo in 1667 the ship “Orel” (lit. eagle) was laid down and, in addition, a yacht, a boat and two quarter boats.” A bad luck also came to this fleet: “The final point they reached was Astrakhan, where the “Orel” was burned by a bandit Stenka Razin, while its crew scattered in all directions,” — according to A brief history of the Russian fleet.

In an electronic copy of the 1904-year edition of The Russian Navy could be found one unique document — “A copy of an autographic note of the Emperor Peter the Great about discovering of the boat and the first sailings of His Majesty.” A reader can literally see with his own eyes how the history of the Russian fleet began: “…it happened that we were in Izmaylovo… and walking along the barns with some stuff from the house of Grandfather Mikita Ivanovich Romanov, among which I saw a foreign ship. I asked the aforementioned Franz, what kind of ship is this, he said, that this boat is English. I asked, where it is used, he said that for the ships’ needs, for riding and waxes. I… asked… what advantage it has comparing with others. He told me that the bot goes… on sails as down the wind, so windward, which surprised me a lot, — Peter writes. — Aforementioned Franz found the Dutchman and Karsten Brandt, who during my father’s was called up along with other seamen to make sea-going vessels on the Caspian Sea, he repaired that boat and made masts and sails…” There is a digital copy of the 1871-year edition of “The Grandfather of the Russian Fleet, a boat of Peter the Great. 1688-1872” in the Presidential Library stock, which tells the history of this ship in full.

Apart from becoming the founding father of the Navy of the Russian Empire, Peter I

also came out as the author of the Naval Statute, a document that sets out the basic laws regulating all aspects of naval life. The digitized copies of several editions of the Statute from 1778, 1853 and 1885 years could be found on the Presidential Library website. “All fleet ranks at any times and in any circumstances must behave in such a way as to maintain the honor of the name of Russian and the dignity of the Russian flag,” — stated in the “General duties of the fleet ranks” section of the Statute. Along with this, there is a public video lecturing by the candidate of historical sciences, associate professor of the Historical Faculty of St. Petersburg State University Nicolay Georgiyevich Rogulin focused on Peter’s the Great Naval Statute and the military legislation of Peter’s epoch.

The history of the Russian Navy is presented in detail in such publications from the electronic fund of the Presidential Library as A brief information about Russian sea battles over the two centuries from 1656 to 1856 by F. F. Veselago of 1871, The Russian fleet during the reign of Empress Catherine II from 1772 up to 1783 by A. S. Krotkov of 1889, To the recent events. T. 1: The modern fleet by A. G. Avchinnikov in 1905, the collected works on The Russian Imperial Fleet of 1915, the memoirs of Vice-Admiral A. G. von Niedermiller From Sevastopol to Tsushima: memories; Russian Navy during the period from 1866 up to 1906 of 1930, and many others.

Dedicated to a sail in the 1860 of two Russian cruiser squadrons to the shores of the United States electronic collection entitled The Expedition of the Russian Fleet to the Shores of North America (1863-1864) is worth mentioning. Included in the selection documentaries produced by the Presidential Library tell about one of the bright and interesting chapters of history of the relations between the two countries. Owing to this naval campaign, a military engagement of the coalition of European states against Russia was disrupted. In addition, the Russian fleet significantly contributed into into the outcome of the Civil War between the North and the South, largely predetermining a victory of Abraham Lincoln and a creation of the United States of America. The digital collection includes separate articles and reviews published in the domestic press from the same moment of the event up to the present, as well as an essay released by the US Naval Historical Foundation.