The first Baltic Navy frigate ‘Standard’ is laid

On March 24 (April 4), 1703 in Olonetsk shipyard on the river of Svir’ (lake of  Ladoga region) Vybe Herens, a shipwright from Amsterdam laid the first Russian sailing military ship of Baltic Navy, the frigate ‘Standard’.

The name "Standard" was given in honor of discovering by Russia of a new trade route through the Baltic Sea. The name of the "Standard" was given to the ships of the Russian Navy until 1917, the last of which was the imperial yacht. The frigate’s length was 25.5 m, its width – 6.8 m, the average draught – 2.6 m. The crew numbered 120 men. On the battery deck and on the upper deck stood 28 cannons of 8, 6 and 3 pounds calibre.

During the frigate construction the Russian forces fought stubbornly to access the Gulf of Finland. On May 1 (12), 1703 the Swedish fortress of Nyenschantz, situated near the Neva mouth and opening the access to Baltic Sea, was taken by storm. Due to this fact the tsar’s color (‘standard’ in Russian) was corrected: the double-headed eagle held in its claws and beaks four, not three, maps with the outlines of the White, Caspian, Azov and Baltic Seas. In honor of this event the frigate was called ‘Standard’.

The frigate was launched on August 22 (September 3), 1703. The following month it was transferred to St.-Petersburg. At the time ‘Standard’, a relatively small ship, represented the strongest fighting force of the Baltic Sea: it was the only ship supplied with eight and six-pound guns (the previous ones had only three-pounds canons).

‘Standard’ took part in the Northern war and had served for 20 years. In 1725 under the Admiralty decree the decayed ship was put ashore near Kronverk embankment as a maritime relic. However in 1728 under the decree of Catherine I the frigate was demolished ‘due to putridity’ and its armament was given over to the new built ships. Catherine planned to restore the frigate one day but her project ws not realized.

Peter’s ‘Standard’ was revived only three centuries later. In 1994-1999 by the archive materials there was reconstituted the precise copy of the frigate.

According to the layout of the ‘Standart’, it was to be separated into two zones: historical and contemporary. Above the gun deck were located a steering wheel and a gear, and all the decorations; all masts, steeples, guns, ladders and hatches were made with the best possible approximation to the historical versions. The task was conducted by the efforts of devotees of navy history led by Vladimir Martus’ and historian Victor Krainyukov.

After 5 years of work on September 4, 1999 ‘Standard’ was solemnly launched from ‘Peter’s Admiralty’ shipyard and in June of 2000 it set out on its first voyage. The itinerary imitated the one of the Grand Embassy including those cities and countries which Peter I visited over three hundred years ago.

Today ‘Standard’ makes distant sea voyages as a training sailing vessel with a crew of young people on board. During the last years it has been the central personage of the restored traditional summer holiday of school graduates called ‘Scarlet sails’.

Lit.: История петровского фрегата «Штандарт» [Электронный ресурс] // Проект «Штандарт». 2010. URL: http://www.shtandart.ru/frigate/history/ancient/; Рождение регулярного Балтийского флота // Васильев А. М. История Отечественного судостроения. Т. 1. СПб., 1994.; Строительство русского флота // Широкорад А. Б. Северные войны России. М., 2001.; То же [Электронный ресурс].URL: http://militera.lib.ru/h/shirokorad1/4_09.html; Фрегат «Штандарт». Россия, Санкт-Петербург // Морской клуб. Ежемесячный историко-культурный морской альманах. 1999. Сентябрь. № 7 (27); Чернышёв А. А. Российский парусный флот. Справочник. М., 1997. Т. 1.

Based on the Presidential Library’s materials:

Веселаго Ф. Ф. Список русских военных судов с 1668 по 1860 год. СПб., 1872. С. 74-75;

Веселаго Ф. Ф. Краткая история Русского флота: Вып. 1-2. СПб., 1893.