From the Battle of Gangut to the present day - the history of the Russian fleet in the Presidential Library collections

On the Navy Day in the Russian Federation, which will be celebrated on July 29, 2018, the Presidential Library provides users rare books and documents that captured the history of the Navy rich in events and exploits. The entire course of the development of the Russian Navy is presented in detail in such publications from the Presidential Library electronic collections as "Summary about Russian sea battles over the two centuries from 1656 to 1856", "Russian Imperial Fleet", "Brief History of the Russian Fleet", "From Sevastopol to Tsushima: memories; Russian Navy during the period from 1866 to 1906" and many others.

"The internal waterways of ancient Russia and seas, around it, contributed much to the rapid union of the Slavic tribes inhabiting it to one powerful state, - F. Veselago reflects on geopolitical prerequisites for the origin of the fleet in Russia in his "Brief History of the Russian Fleet" (1893). - In the absence of land roads, navigation along rivers and lakes represented the only possible mode of transportation for the inhabitants of ancient Russia, and this necessity contributed to the development of maritime qualities in the people to such an extent that, simultaneously with the founding of the Russian state, Slavic-Russian squads, on their small canoes, boldly swam the vast seas and collected prey from the rich capital of the Greek Empire and the blossoming shores of the Caspian Sea".     

In this same edition, the author makes a short excursus to the history of the fleet, starting from the first ships of the ancient Slavs and Varangians to the development of the fleet of the leading maritime powers of the XV-XVII century: Portugal, Spain, England. And then - the first mention of the victories of the military fleet of the Slavs: "The first sea march to Greece was accomplished by Kiev's militia of Ryurik's who appeared before Constantinople in 865, among 200 ships. Son of Svyatoslav, Vladimir, walked along the Volga against the Kama Bulgarians and conquered Greek Chersoneses". Retreating before the superiority of the Russians, the Greeks even began to call the Black Sea Russian.

Definitely, a large array of materials and documents in the "naval" collection of the Presidential Library is associated with the name of the founding father of Russia's regular navy Peter I. The publications "Grandfather of the Russian Fleet, the boat of Peter the Great. 1688-1872" (1871) and "Russian Navy" (1904) by Peter himself in a" handwritten note" illustrate a touching acquaintance with the boat on which the future emperor made his first voyage along the Moskva River". It happened that we were in Izmailovo and, walking along the granaries of the house of my grandfather Mikita Ivanovich Romanov, I saw a (boat) foreign ship. I asked the above motioned Franz, what kind of a ship it was, he answered that the boat is English. He asked where it was being used, he said that with ships for riding and waxing. I asked what advantage of our courts it has. He said that the boat sails not only in the wind, but also against the wind, which brought me a great surprise".    

Since that time, Peter "fell ill" with the maritime affairs. There was an intention to create a series of warships and it was clearly realized that without a strong fleet it would not be possible to create a strong Russia capable of repelling the claims of the enemies. The first Russian flotilla was built on time: in the summer of 1714, during the Great Northern War, the famous Battle of Gangut took place on the Baltic Sea - the first naval battle of the galley fleet. The only time in the history of Russia, the naval forces in the battle was directly led by the head of state himself - Emperor Peter I. The rarest details of this sea battle can be found in an electronic copy of the book by M. Lyalina "Feats of Russian admirals Pyotr Mikhailov, Spiridov, Ushakov, Senyavin, Heyden, Lazarev, Nakhimov and others" (1900), they are also interestingly interpreted by the video lecture "Knowledge about Russia". 300 years of Battle of Gangut; Navy Regulations of Peter the Great" – they are available on the Presidential Library portal.

The emergence of Russia as a sea power can be traced by the publication of the "Russian Imperial Fleet" (1913). On January 13 (24), 1720, Peter I approved the first Russian Navy Regulations, laying the legal basis for the Navy. Further, the "Draft of the Navy Regulations, with references and explanations" (1853) and "Navy Regulations" (1885) were adopted. Many of their statues continue to remain relevant to this day, which can be traced in the video lecture "The Navy Regulations of Peter the Great and the military legislation of Peter's time".   

The publication "The Russian Navy during the reign of Empress Catherine II from 1772 to 1783" notes the role of the fleet in strengthening Russia's position in the world and in expanding its territories: "The strengthening of shipbuilding, the adoption of measures to improve the fleet personnel, reinforced sailing with the accession of Empress Catherine II - all these measures taken in the first decade of the reign of the Empress to the revival of the Russian fleet that fell after the death of its founder, the Sovereign Peter I, continued in the next decade, and make this era for the Russian sailor more interesting. It was marked for the Russian fleet by many victories in the Mediterranean and the Black Seas, which had real consequences for them - the acquisition for Russia of the Sea of ​​Azov and the Crimea - a firm support for the possession of the Black Sea. All these acquisitions would be unthinkable without the assistance of the fleet".

The "navy" collection of the Presidential Library also includes the electronic collection "The Expedition of the Russian Fleet to the Shores of North America (1863-1864)", dedicated to the march in the 1860s of two Russian cruiser squadrons to the US shores. The documentary films included in the collection, in particular the “Russian Navy off the coast of America”, reveal the complex political conflict of those days: in essence, thanks to this campaign, the armed action of the coalition of European states against Russia was thwarted. In addition, the Russian fleet made a significant contribution to the fracture of the Civil War of the North and South, largely predetermining the victory of Abraham Lincoln and the creation of the United States of America. The electronic collection includes articles and reviews published in the national press from the moment of the event to the present, as well as an essay published by the US Naval Historical Foundation.

The Presidential Library collections are regularly enriched with new acquisitions on the history of the Russian fleet. Many of the materials received will be presented in September at the Day of Naval Knowledge in the Presidential Library.