The Presidential Library marking Navy Day

On the last Sunday of July, Russia celebrates Navy Day. This year, the celebration falls on July 30.

The digital collections of the Presidential Library illustrate rare publications on the history of the national fleet. One has an opportunity to learn about most of them worldwide on the institution’s portal.

The idea to annually honor the Russian fleet belongs to Peter I. Documents and materials from the collection of the Presidential Library Peter I (1672-1725) tell about the emperor's role in the formation of the fleet. The first Russian warship appeared during the reign of Peter the Great's father, Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, who planned to create a fleet on the Caspian Sea. The construction of ships is associated with the village of Dedinovo on the Oka River, where in 1668 a military 22-gun ship Oryol was built to protect Russian maritime trade. Pyotr Alekseevich embodied the idea of his father. Peter I not only became the founder of the Navy of the Russian Empire, he also became the author of the Naval Charter - a document that sets out the basic laws relating to all aspects of naval life.

The main milestones in the development of the Russian fleet are available in the Chronological Index of the Most Important Events in the History of the Russian Navy (1946). The Russian fleet has many glorious victories and discoveries: in July 1696, the capture of the Turkish fortress of Azov and access to the Sea of Azov, in May 1702, the foundation of the first shipyard of the Baltic Fleet near Ladoga and the laying of the first warships on it. Then the construction of the Admiralty according to the drawings of Peter I, the first launch of the ship in 1706, and in April 1720 - the publication of the first Russian maritime charter drawn up by Peter I. The foundation in 1778 of the city of Kherson - the first shipyard of the Black Sea Fleet, and in May 1783 - Sevastopol, which became the main base of the Black Sea Fleet.

Gradually, Russia turned into the largest maritime power. In 1798, schools of naval architecture were created in St. Petersburg and Nikolaev. The Russian ships Nadezhda and Neva under the command of Krusenstern and Lisyansky leave for the first round-the-world voyage. Another collection of the library tells about the appearance of a squadron of the navy of the Russian Empire off the coast of the North American United States in 1863: Expedition of the Russian fleet to the shores of North America (1863-1864).

Historically St. Petersburg is at the center of the most important events related to the Russian fleet. It was here at the Byrd plant in 1877 that the first Russian destroyers were built. The Dolphin submarine left the workshops of the Baltic Shipbuilding Plant in 1903.

After the revolution of 1917, a resolution of the Council of People's Commissars was issued on the organization of the socialist workers' and peasants' Red Fleet. A new era is dawning in the naval history of Russia. Courses are being established in the country to train fleet commanders. In March 1919, the first issue of the Red Baltic Fleet newspaper was published. In 1920, the Military Flotillas of the northwestern region of the Black Sea, as well as the Azov Flotilla, were formed as part of three detachments - Mariupol, Donskoy and Temryuk. In March 1921, the Tenth Congress of the Bolsheviks passed a special resolution on the revival and strengthening of the Red Navy. In 1939, by the Decree of the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR, the annual celebration of the Navy Day of the USSR was established.

Courage and heroism were shown by Russian sailors during the Great Patriotic War. One of the films of the Presidential Library is dedicated to the young cadets from the island of Valaam, who participated in the battles on the Nevsky Piglet and the defence of the crossing over Ladoga along the Road of Life in 1941-1942.

During the difficult war years for the country, the Russian Navy acquired a “female face”. The Presidential Library features a declassified document of the State Defence Committee dated May 5, 1942 On the mobilization of Komsomol girls and non-Komsomol volunteers in the Navy.

In the post-war period, until the collapse of the Soviet Union, naval parades were held regularly. Since 2017, in accordance with the decree of the President of Russia, the main naval parade has been held in St. Petersburg. The sailors of the Baltic, Black Sea, Northern, Pacific fleets and the Caspian flotilla join it.

The Presidential Library’s portal features thematic collections Sevastopol - the city of Russia's maritime glory and Kronstadt - the city of Russia's maritime glory. They combine archival documents, research, essays, photographs and other materials that spotlight the historical past of sea ports that are strategically important for the navy.