RUSSIA: On this day: 2 February

On February 2, 1701, Emperor Peter I ordered the building of six battleships in Ladoga, and in doing so started the development of the Baltic fleet.

When, in 1682, Peter I ascended the throne, he decided to make Russia a maritime power. It was a hard task. In 1617, under the terms of Stolbovsky Peace Treaty, Russia ceded the Baltic Coast to Sweden and remained with only one seaport – Archangelsk. The loss of outlets to the Baltic Sea slowed down the development of Russian international trade.

In 1695, Peter started a war against Turkey with the attack on the Azov Fortress – a Turkish seaport on the Sea of Azov. Russian forces could not encircle the fortress and block the ways to it without a fleet - Turkish ships freely delivered food, troops and ammunition to the besieged. After a long besiegement, July 9, 1695 – October 2, 1695, Peter withdrew the forces from Azov.

On October 30, 1695, the Boyars’ Duma, the council of aristocracy, passed the first Russian law about a fleet - “Let the sea vessels be”, and the building of the ships started in Voronezh, Moscow and several other cities. Peter had to invite shipbuilders from Holland and England because no one in Russia had the necessary experience. In spring 1696, the fleet was ready, and on July 22, 1696, Azov, after attacks from the sea and from land, surrendered to Russia. Peter I, as captain of one of the ships, had took part in those attacks.

1697-1698 Peter I spent in Europe, participating incognito in the so-called “Great Embassy”. In Europe, Peter worked as a carpenter at the shipyard in Saardam (Holland) and studied shipbuilding in Amsterdam and in England. He wanted to know this science in detail, as if he needed to build the ships by himself.

In 1700, Russia concluded a truce with Turkey and declared war on Sweden to gain an outlet to the Baltic Sea. Peter founded the shipyards on the banks of Ladoga, rivers Syas, Volhov and Svir. The first victory of the Baltic fleet took place at the beginning of May 1703, when 60 boats in seven flotillas, headed by Peter I, forced their way past the Swedish fortress of Nienshanz and entered the mouth of the Neva River. On May 12, after 10 days of besiegement, the fortress surrendered to Russian forces.

On May 18, 1703, a squadron of thirty boats under the command of Peter himself defeated the Swedish ships “Gedan” and “Astrild” at the mouth of the Neva. It was one of the greatest battles in that war. All the participants of the battle were decorated with gold and silver medals bearing the inscription “The impossible is possible”. On this day Russians celebrate the birthday of the Baltic Fleet.

One of the greatest victories of the Baltic Fleet is the victory in battle near Gangut Peninsula on 26-27 July, 1714. 99 Russian rowing ships under the command of Peter I defeated a Swedish squadron consisting mostly of sailing ships. On 26 July, when there was no wind and the Swedish ships had no ability to move; Russian forces blocked the enemy in the bay, and on July 27 boarded the Swedish flagship “Elephant”. The other ships surrendered. The commander of the squadron, Admiral Erensheld, tried to flee, but was caught and imprisoned.

In 1721, Sweden signed a peace treaty with Russia and gave up the Baltic coast. Russia became a maritime power. At the end of the war, the Baltic Fleet consisted of more then 600 battle vessels and a developed system of shipyards.

Until the middle of the 20th Century, the Baltic Fleet had been the strongest maritime force of Russian Navy, but then lost its importance due to the development of the ocean fleet. Nowadays, the Baltic Fleet is the main training base for the Russian Navy.