The Presidential Library spotlights the Battle of Chesme

In 2021 the Russian fleet turns 325 years old. The Russian navy has won glorious victories more than once and one of them was the victory in the Battle of Chesme, which took place on July 5-7 (June 24-26 according to the old style) in 1770. More information about this battle is available on the Presidential Library's portal in the large-scale collection The House of Romanov. The Zemsky Sobor of 1613, which features historical research dedicated to the reign of Empress Catherine II.

The Battle of Chesme took place during the Russo-Turkish war of 1768-1774. The Russian squadron in the Chesma Bay in the Chios Strait of the Aegean Sea off the western coast of Turkey utterly defeated the enemy's much larger fleet.

In 1768 Turkey declared war on Russia. According to the author's abstract of Alexey Lebedev's dissertation Creation and operations of the Azov flotilla in the Russo-Turkish war of 1768-1774 (2009), "... monopoly domination in the Azov and, most importantly, the Black Seas, as well as the possession of Northern Black Sea Region and Crimea, were the most important strategic positions of Turkey, which the Ottoman Port was not going to concede". On the other hand, the author writes, “... the Russian-Turkish war of 1768–1774 was inevitable for Russia, because ... it became vital for it to achieve a solution to the Black Sea problem ... which consisted in gaining access to the Black Sea ... and eliminating the dependence of the Crimean Khanate on Turkey".

Russian troops won victories, and according to the historian, Major General Dmitry Buturlin in the book A picture of the wars between Russia and Turkey during the reign of Empress Catherine II and Emperor Alexander I (1829), "the Russian fleet triumphed no less than land armies".

The essay of the military historian Esper Zhelyabuzhsky Empress Catherine II and her famous associates (1874) says that "... our fleet won a victory over Turkish warships and burned them in the Chesme harbor; Greig, Spiridov and especially Alexey Orlov distinguished themselves in this matter. <...> A. Orlov received news that the entire Turkish fleet had gathered in the Archipelago under the command of the best sailor in Turkey, Gassan Pasha. Alec. Greig. decided to go to meet it, and on June 24, 1770, our squadrons saw the Turkish fleet ... Gassan Pasha had 16 battleships and frigates, and even several small ships. Our squadron consisted of only 9 battleships and 6 large and small frigates".

This inequality of power did not frighten the Russians. The writer and historian Sergei Glinka described this battle in his work Russian History (1823): “The large size of the Turkish fleet did not shake either the leader or his subordinates. The Russians unanimously exclaimed: let us die or win! The Russian ships lined up in battle formation. <…> A terrible fire continued for several hours on both sides. <…> Russians and Turks grabbed and struck each other. <...> Frightened Turks fled ... The broken Turkish fleet withdrew to the Chesmes pier ... This is how the memorable day of June 24, 1770 ended. <…>

Not losing time, the Russians set out on June 25 to attack the Turkish fleet at night, for which they began to prepare fire-ships, or incendiary ships.

On the night of June 26, Russian ships set out to burn the Turkish fleet. <…> Ships on fire, crowding each other, spread the flame, and flew into the air with a crash and noise. The sky, the waves of the sea and the coast, everything was engulfed in flames. The explosion of the Turkish ships shook the land and the sea. <...> Finally, dead silence spread where the large Turkish fleet recently appeared, costing millions and setting off for glory and victory! Everything died in a few hours..."

The Russian victors were generous to the vanquished - the author notes that "during ... the fire, the Russians, with the danger of their ships, tried to save the enemies devoured by the flames and waves", and emphasizes the role of Count Orlov in this: "Stretching out a helping hand to the injured enemies, the hero decorated with philanthropy a victory for which he was named Orlov-Chesmensky.

The significance of this brilliant naval victory was highly appreciated by Dmitry Buturlin in the aforementioned publication: “This great victory secured the Russians in the possession of the waters of the Archipelago and brought them the islands of Chios and Metelin. After that, until the end of the war, no Turkish fleet dared to oppose them".

The Empress awarded the naval commanders who led the squadron in this battle: Count Alexei Orlov - the Order of St. George 1st degree, Admiral Grigory Spiridov - the Order of Andrew the First-Called, Rear Admiral Samuel Greig - the Order of St. George 2nd degree.

In memory of this victory in the 1770s, according to the project of the architect Antonio Rinaldi, the marble Chesme obelisk was erected in the Palace Park in Gatchina, the Chesme Column was erected in the Catherine Park of Tsarskoe Selo and the Chesme Imperial Traveling Palace was erected in Petersburg with the ensemble of the Chesme Church of John the Baptist (now it is the corner of Gastello St. and Lensovet St.).