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Imperial Russian Navy - Early History

In the matter of sea power, Imperial Russia was at a disadvantage through being obliged to maintain two separate navies - the Baltic fleet and the Black Sea fleet. This unusual condition came from closing the Dardanelles to Russian warships.

The history of the navy of Russia, as independent military service, runs from the period from the end of the 17th Century to the beginning of the 20th Century. Creation of regular fleet in Russia was caused by the imperative need of the country for overcoming of the territorial, political and cultural isolation, which on the boundary of 17-18th Centuries the main obstacle for the economic and social development of Russian state.

The role of fleet in the formation of national self-consciousness was great. Victories in Gangut, Grengame, Ezele, Chesme of Fidonisi, Kaliakrii, Navarine, Sinop became the object of national pride. The Russian people honor the memory of the outstanding naval commanders F.F.Ushakova, D.N.Senyavina, M.P. Lazarev, V.N.Kornilova, P.S.Nakhimova, N.G. Kuznetsov.

They period of the formation of the regular fleet of Russia its organizational and manning structure and the functions began in the early 18th Century. On 22 December, 1717, on the edict of Peter I an Admiralty-board was formed for daily management of fleet. On 20 September, 1802, the ministry of sea forces was formed, subsequently renamed into the sea ministry, which existed up to 1917.

The first constant group of forces (Azov fleet) was formed from the ships and ship, the built with winter 1695-1696 and was intended for the assistance to army in the campaign on the mastery of Turkish fortress Azov. On 30 October, 1696, the boyars' Duma for the idea of tsar Peter 1 adopted decision to "seagoing vessels to be...", which became the first law about the fleet and acknowledgement the official date of his base.

Permament groups of forces in the maritime theaters were added in proportion to the solution by the Russian state of the historical tasks connected with the acquisition of outputs into the world ocean, by the start of the country in the world economy and policy. In the Baltic region the fleet constantly existed from 18 May, 1703, Caspian flotilla from 15 November, 1722, and fleet in the Black sea from 13 May, 1783, on the north and Pacific Ocean the groups of the naval forces were created, as a rule, on the temporary basis or, without having obtained significant development, were periodically abolished.

In the course of northern war 1700-1721 were determined the basic tasks of the fleet, whose enumeration remained practically constant, namely: fight against the Navy of enemy, fight on sea communications, the defense of its coast from the sea direction, assistance to army in the coastal zones, inflicting impacts and the guarantee of invasion of the territory of enemy from the sea direction. The specific weight of these tasks changed in proportion to a change in the supplies and nature of armed struggle at sea. With respect to this they changed role and the place of separate it was ancestral the forces, which entered into the composition of fleet.

During the Seven Years' War, the Russian Fleet struck a decisive blow against Frederick the Great. At that time a large number of British officers, particularly Scotsmen, were in the Russian Navy. In 1757 Memel was bombarded and captured, and the coast of Prussia was blockaded. Prussia was seriously threatened when a large body of soldiers was put ashore. The Russian commissariat was inefficient, and the Russian troops were, at last, forced to withdraw. This ill-success did not, however, turn the Russians from their purpose, and during 1758-1760 they repeated their attempts to invade Prussia from the sea. At last, in 1761, they succeeded, and Oolberg was taken towards the close of the year. Frederick the Great's capital was thus menaced and his defeat seemed probable, when the Empress Elizabeth died. She was succeeded by Peter, who forthwith became the ally of the Prussian King for the purpose of making war on Sweden. The death of the Empress saved Prussia.

Russian naval prestige rested upon her wars with Sweden and Turkey in the 18th century. If the ambitions of Charles XII. had taken a naval rather than a military shape, the far wiser aspirations of Peter the Great would have been less quickly realised. It was a Sweden in her decadence that Russia successfully opposed at sea, and the seamen by whom Russian victories were won were largely drawn from the population of Swedish provinces. Moreover, the Russian navy of the eighteenth century owed its fighting efficiency mainly to British officers. The Turks were never a great naval nation, and the fighting in the Black Sea resolved itself principally into affairs of flotillas, while the victory of Tchesme was wholly due to the skill and gallantry of Scotchmen. At Navarino no serious demand was made upon the Russian squadron, and at Sinope the conditions were so unequal as to preclude deductions. The Russian navy has not shown marked enterprise, produced great naval commanders, or proved conspicuous in seamanlike ability. Nelson's aphorism, "Close with a Frenchman and outmanuver a Russian," expressively summe up the opinion of the greatest of admirals.

The Russian navy was reorganised in the time of Paul (1797), who took the title of Admiral-General, and showed a warm interest in naval affairs. It was composed of 12 ships of the line with 100 guns each, 36 with 74 guns, 12 with 66 -guns, and, in addition, 45 frigates. This action of Paul was primarily directed against England ; less activity was shown when Alexander came into power ; for, from the beginning and during the greater part of his reign, he sought the support of England, paying special attention to the land-forces and not taking any great interest in the fleet.

In 1817 the construction of steam vessels in Russia was first begun. At the end of 1825, the Russian navy was in the following position. The Baltic Fleet, for the most part in a very poor state, numbered 5 ships of the line, 10 frigates, and 15-20 smaller ships nominally fit for service ; the Black Sea Fleet, which was in a relatively better condition, possessed the following vessels regarded as fit for service : 10 ships of the line, 6 frigates, 12 smaller vessels ; the Caspian flotilla numbered 5 small war vessels and 6 transports ; the entire Okhotsk, or Pacific, flotilla consisted of 7 transport vessels.

Nicholas I, whose political views were hostile to Turkey and England and who was stimulated by the easy victory at Navarino (1827), directed special attention to the fleet and built a number of new war-ships, by 1830 the Baltic Fleet numbered 28 ships of the line and 17 frigates, the Black Sea Fleet 11 ships of the line and 8 frigates ; however, the efficiency of the greater part of these vessels, particularly of the ships of the line, was more than doubtful ; and the nautical skill of the crews, and especially of the officers, left much to be desired.

After the Crimean War - 1855-1875

The Russian command of the Black Sea was not actually asserted till the Turkish war of 1827-28, and twenty-seven years later Russian sea-power in these waters was shattered by the Crimean War, not to be fully restored until the great naval movement of 1882 began to take effect.

With the war of 1854-55 the era of the wooden ship and the smooth-bore gun practically ended. The success of the armourclad floating batteries employed by the French at Kinburn in October 1855 led to the conversion of the Napoleon into La Gloire in 1859, and Great Britain followed in 1861 with the Warrior, built entirely in iron. The American War, and the memorable action of the Monitor and Merrimac in Hampton Roads, gave a fresh turn to the design of warships, which by a chequered process of evolution led to the 20,000-ton steel battle-ships of the Great War.

This vital change, which conferred immediate potential advantage upon Great Britain, entailed great difficulties in Russia. Some wooden screw vessels were built after the Crimean War, and the Sebastopol and Petropaulovski were converted into armourclad frigates. Ten monitors were ordered in 1863, when Western intervention on behalf of Poland seemed probable. Between 1860 and 1875 five sea-going armourclads, the largest being the Peter the Great, of 8,750 tons, and twenty armoured coast-defence vessels, ranging from the Admiral Spiridoff, of 3,740 tons, to the Ooragan, of 1,410 tons, were launched for the Baltic fleet. During the same period the Novgorod, of 2,700 tons, and the Admiral Popoff, of 3,590 tons, were launched at Nicolaiefi" for the Black Sea squadron. The reconstruction of the Russian fleet thus for a time proceeded slowly, and coast-defence craft predominated.

On October 29th, 1870, when Germany and France were in the throes of a great conflict, Prince Gortchakoff s note demanding the abrogation of Clause II. of the Treaty of Paris was presented to Europe. The Black Sea Conference was assembled, and, as a result of the deliberations concluded on March 13th, 1871, all restrictions on Russian naval activity in the Black Sea were formally removed. In this country the repudiation of the famous clause was widely regarded as a gross breach of faith, and a blow delivered against the sanctity of all treaties. Russia, said Lord Stratheden and Campbell in the House of Lords, has "openly proclaimed defiance of international engagements." The philosophic historian of the future will probably adopt other views, and will deride the idea of the professional diplomatist that a great nation could be expected to indefinitely acquiesce in the artificial restrictions sought to be imposed by the Treaty of Paris.

Russia was not conquered in 1854-55, had during a century and a half made enormous sacrifices in order to secure freedom of action in the Black Sea, and felt justified in reasserting that freedom as soon as she felt ready to accept the risk of war.

After the Russo-Japanese war came the creation on 7 April, 1906, of the Sea General Staff provided the organs of combat (operational) control of forces VMF. In this chapter of Russian fleet stood such well-known naval commanders as Peter 1, P.V.Chichagov, IR Of grigorovich, N.G.Kuznetsov, S.G.Gorshkov.