First victories of the Russian fleet

The last Sunday of July traditionally marks the Navy Day in Russia. Rare publications featured in the Presidential Library’s collection Peter I (1672-1725) tell about the role of Peter the Great in the establishment of the Russian fleet.

“Any ruler with a land army has one hand. The ruler with a land army and a fleet has two hands”, the tsar-reformer believed. Peter the Great stayed true to his word. On October 30 (20, old style), 1696 the Boyar Duma adopted the decree of the young tsar on the establishment of regular fleet – Sea Vessels to Be. Three years later, Peter I approved the flag depicting Saint Andrew’s Cross as the main banner of the Russian Navy. It became an important event not only for the fleet, but also for the whole country. In the video lecture of the Presidential Library from the cycle Knowledge of Russia, Executive Secretary of the Heraldic Council of the President of the Russian Federation Gleb Kalashnikov says: “Flags were created because of the new times, navigation development, and not just any navigation, but the establishment of big fleets, fleets of large national states”. Peter I himself “made a sketch” of the flag. The tsar’s hand-drawn sketch is published in the book Colours of the Russian State National Flag (1910) by historian Peter Belavenets available on the Presidential Library’s portal.

The work of writer and translator Veniamin Bergman History of Peter the Great (1840) features a dialogue between young Peter with Rear Admiral Patrick Gordon: “Why do you need ships, Tsar”, Gordon asked, “when you don’t have seas?” “I’ll find the seas, once I have ships”, Peter answered. These wonderful words proved that since the very beginning shipbuilding wasn’t just an entertainment or a final destination for Peter. He saw it as a means to achieve another greater goal.

The biggest goal of Peter I was the greatness of Russia. In order to “open a window to Europe”, it wasn’t enough to simply reach the waters – it was necessary to “stand by the sea on a solid foot”. This took decades. In 1700-1721, the Great Northern War between Russia and Sweden for the access to the Baltic Sea took place. These years were a real test by battle for the young fleet, established by Peter I.

Russia gained its first victory in a sea battle on the Baltic Sea at the mouth of the Neva on May 18, 1703. Now, this day is considered to be the day of the establishment of the Baltic Fleet.

Historian Feodosiy Veselago describes the battle in detail in his work Brief information about the Russian sea battles over the two centuries from 1656 to 1856 (1871). After Peter I’s desperate assault and capture of the Nyenschantz fortress, located at the confluence of the Okhta with the Neva, the Swedish squadron appeared in the Gulf of Finland. On May 16, the 10-gun galiot Gedan and the 8-gun snauw Astrild anchored at the left shore of the Bolshaya Neva. At dawn on May 18, units of the Preobrazhensky and Semyonovsky Regiments under the command of Bombardier Captain Peter Mikhailov (Peter I) and Lieutenant Alexander Menshikov attacked the ships of the Swedish squadron on sloops, covered in fog and rain. A brutal boarding battle began, where 8 boats without any artillery armament fought against war ships. As a result, the enemy’s ships were captured.

For this victory, all participants of the battle were awarded medals with the inscription The Impossible is Possible: Swedes had weapons, admirals, skilled sailors, while Russians only had bravery of the soldiers, lead by their tsar…

In order to fully establish himself on the Neva’s shores, on May 27, 1703 Peter began a construction of the Peter and Paul Fortress on the Yanni-saari Island (Zayachy Island). So, St. Petersburg was founded, the future Russian capital and the first seaport in the Gulf of Finland. The fleet was actively built under the order of the tsar.

In only 10 years, Russian shipbuilders achieved such great success that Peter began the preparations for the decisive battle with the enemy. It took place on July 27 (August 7), 1714 in the bay north of the Hanko Peninsula.

Author of The Feats of Russian Admirals… (1900), Maria Lyalina writes in her book: “In the spring of 1714, two fleets, the ship one and the rowing one, were equipped in Kronstadt. Tsar Peter, who started his career as bombardier under the alias Peter Mikhailov and eventually got promoted to schout-bij-nacht (rear admiral), commanded the ship fleet, and Admiral-General Count Apraksin commanded the rowing fleet”. The power balance seemed advantageous for the Russian fleet: 100 galleys against 10 enemy’s ships. Nevertheless, Vladimir Goncharov points out in his book The Battle of Gangut on July 27, 1714 (1914): “numerical superiority of the Russians… was extremely weakened by the Swedes’ large-caliber artillery. Our weapons, located on various ships and mostly weighing one pound, could not compete with the enemy’s guns”. It was decided to go for a breakthrough past the squadron of the Royal Swedish fleet, but to do it in a way that allows to avoid the enemy’s weapons. Then, it was the time to fight the main forces of the enemy. The fierce battle lasted about three hours. Peter I himself fought alongside his sailors in the boarding battles and encouraged people… Swedes, already used to win in sea battles, desperately fought too, but soon it was obvious: the Russian sailors cannot be defeated. The Battle of Gangut became the first real triumph of the Russian fleet.

Also on July 27 (August 7, new style), but 6 years later, in 1720, the final sea battle of the Great Northern War took place near Granhamn Island. At dawn, the Swedish squadron unexpectedly closed on the Russian ships and began a mass fire from one and a half hundred weapons. Russian galleys retreated to the shallow waters, where, being more maneuverable, they were able to board four Swedish frigates. Marking this victory, the medal with the inscription Diligence and bravery surpass strength was minted.

On August 30 (September 10), 1721 the Russia-Sweden peace treaty was signed and ended the Great Northern War. The treaty concluded that Livonia (with Riga), Estland (with Reval and Narva), part of Karelia, Ingria (Izhov Land) and other territories were ceded to Russia. Emphasizing the importance of the fleet in the Great Northern War, Peter I ordered to put an inscription on the medals created to mark the victory over Swedes: The end of this war was reached only by the fleet, as it was impossible to do it on land.

After the glorious victory in the Great Northern War, Peter I was awarded the title of the Great, Father of His Country, Emperor of All the Russias by the Senate and the Most Holy Synod, the fleet was called Russian Imperial, and Russia, that became an Empire, in the words of Alexander Pushkin “came into Europe like a lowered ship accompanied by the sounds of an axe and the thunder of cannons” …