Coastal defense battleship General Admiral Apraksin.

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In Russian history, this man, who was part of the inner circle of Peter the Great himself, is remembered both as a talented naval commander and as a competent manager. Fyodor Apraksin absolutely deservedly received the title of Admiral General and the position of President of the Admiralty Board. It is impossible to overestimate his services to the fatherland: he, along with the Tsar, took part in the creation of the Russian fleet. It was Fedor Apraksin who won a number of battles at sea and land that were of strategic importance. What was remarkable in the biography of the famous admiral general? Let's consider this issue in more detail.

Origin

The Apraksins have long occupied a privileged position in society. Sources first reliably mention them in the first half of the 17th century. Back in 1617, the ancestor and namesake of the naval commander Fyodor Apraksin was the clerk of the order of the Kazan Palace. In 1634, he served as clerk for Boris Lykov, who was the son-in-law of Tsar Mikhail Romanov. Fyodor Apraksin, being childless, died in 1636. But his brother Peter had offspring. We are talking about Vasily’s son Apraksin, who served the Tsar himself. It was in the family of Vasily Petrovich that the son Matvey appeared - the father of the eminent naval commander. Matvey Vasilyevich himself “served as governor” in Astrakhan. His family had three sons and a daughter. Pyotr Matveevich was in the service of the sovereign as a privy councilor, and then as a senator. Fyodor Matveyevich was an associate of Tsar Peter I, Andrei Matveyevich was a senior minister under the royalty. But the daughter Marfa Matveevna Apraksina became the legal wife of Tsar Fyodor Alekseevich. This marriage, to a certain extent, predetermined the careers of all the sons of Matvey Vasilyevich.

But, having become the second wife of the monarch, Marfa Matveevna Apraksina soon became a widow and lost her status as queen. But this did not stop her brothers from building a career in the government system.

He was born on November 27, 1661. From a young age Apraksin F.M. served as steward for Peter I. And it should be noted that he had worthy competitors. In particular, we are talking about Prince Fyodor Yuryevich Romadanovsky. He was also a nearby steward. And if Apraksin created amusing troops, then Romodanovsky was their generalissimo. After some time, the tsar became interested in “games of battle,” so the number of soldiers in the regiments formed specifically for the amusement of Peter I increased significantly. One way or another, the amusing troops became a serious step in reforming the Russian army, and Apraksin’s merit in this matter is obvious.

Voivode

However, Fyodor Matveyevich will receive even greater favor from the Tsar when he builds his first ship.

In 1692 he was appointed governor of Arkhangelsk. After some time, Apraksin would come up with the idea of ​​​​building a ship that could successfully carry out commercial affairs at sea. The Russian emperor was absolutely delighted with this idea and personally took part in the laying of the cannon frigate “St. Apostle Paul”. Apraksin F.M. devoted time to the improvement of the city. In particular, he strengthened the defense capability of Arkhangelsk and increased the territory of the Solombala shipyard. In just a few years of governorship in the “land of the European North,” he was able to raise the military and commercial shipbuilding industries to a new level of development. Moreover, he introduced the practice of sending Arkhangelsk ships abroad for commercial purposes.

New ranks

IN At the beginning of the 18th century, Fyodor Matveevich was assigned to manage affairs in the Admiralty Prikaz. In addition, he becomes the governor of Azov. Apraksin spends a lot of time in Voronezh, where he is working hard to create a fleet that would cruise the waters of the Sea of ​​​​Azov. He intended to build another shipyard at the mouth of the Voronezh River.

In Taganrog, Fyodor Matveevich planned to develop a harbor and build fortifications; in the village of Lipitsa, located on the right bank of the Oka, Apraksin planned to build a cannon casting plant. In Tavrov (Voronezh region), a state dignitary wanted to create an admiralty and develop docks. In the Sea of ​​Azov, he planned to begin hydrographic work. And all of his above endeavors were crowned with success.

President of the Admiralty Board

Naturally, the colossal work done by Apraksin does not go unnoticed by the main ruler of the Russian state. Peter I highly appreciates the merits of his steward. In 1707, Fyodor Matveevich was awarded the rank of admiral general and appointed to the post of president of the Admiralty Board. He is entrusted with personal command of the Baltic Sea flotilla and several military units on land.

Successes in military affairs

In 1708, Admiral General Apraksin led the Russian corps in Ingria, which prevented the Swedish army from capturing the “city on the Neva”, Kotlin and Kronshlot. Fyodor Matveevich was able to destroy Stromberg’s corps near the village of Rakobor (formerly Wesenberg).

Almost three weeks later, the President of the Admiralty College in the Gulf of Kapor defeated the Swedish troops led by Baron Liebecker. Naturally, such triumphant victories were celebrated at the highest level. Fyodor Apraksin was awarded the title of count and received the position of actual privy councilor. In addition, Peter I ordered the masters of the Mint to produce a silver medal depicting a bust-length portrait of the famous military leader and naval commander.

Triumphant victories continue

And then Fyodor Matveevich again distinguished himself on the battlefield. The commander, having 10 thousand soldiers in his arsenal, besieged Vyborg and took the fortress. For this operation he received an order as well as an award sword made of pure gold and decorated with diamonds. Then Apraksin was transferred to the Azov lands, where he destroyed previously erected fortifications and sold merchant ships. The fact is that Azov came under the jurisdiction of Turkey in 1711. Afterwards he spent some time in St. Petersburg, but already in 1712 he was appointed to command the infantry, which went on a campaign to return part of the Finnish lands. The commander conquered the territory, starting from Vyborg, where the monument to Fyodor Apraksin was inaugurated in 2010, and ending with Järvi-Koski. And soon after this, the steward of Peter the Great, commanding galleys at sea and infantry on land, was able to besiege Helsingfors (the capital of Finland). In the fall of 1713, Apraksin won a battle with the Swedes in the vicinity of the Pyalkan River. Of course, for this brilliant victory, the Admiral General could well have received another Order of St. Andrew the First-Called.

Gangut

But the winner's laurels were ahead. In 1714, the commander and head of the Admiralty Board was able to once again demonstrate to the enemy the strength and power of the Russian army.

We are talking about the famous naval battle with the Swedes, which unfolded at Cape Gangut. Apraksin had at his disposal 99 galleys and scampaways, which could accommodate a total of 15 thousand Russian soldiers. Fyodor Matveevich and his soldiers were supposed to provide access to the Aland Islands and the Abo area. However, the Swedish fleet under the command of Vice Admiral Vatrang tried to interfere with these plans, who ordered his soldiers to gain a foothold near the Gangut Peninsula. To minimize the chance of redeployment of Russian galleys through the previously created wooden flooring, located in a narrow part of the peninsula, the Swedes had to divide the flotilla into several parts. This was a strategic mistake, because by being separated, the enemy ships became more vulnerable to attack. Russian galleys were able to cross the peninsula from the sea and partially attack the ships of the enemy squadron. Some time later, a decisive confrontation between forces took place in the Rilaksfjord Strait. The Russian fleet turned out to be stronger and won. Entrance to the Gulf of Bothnia was free, and access to the Åland Islands was open. A few months later, the eastern lands located along the Gulf of Bothnia ceded to Russia. Almost all of Finland ended up in the hands of Emperor Peter I.

Return to the capital

However, soon Fyodor Matveevich was suddenly recalled to the capital. The whole point is that the king learned that officials from the Admiral General’s inner circle were abusing their powers and stealing money from the treasury. During the reign of Peter I, embezzlement was a fairly common phenomenon, which was brutally suppressed by “special authorities.” But Apraksin himself, unlike other dignitaries, was not a greedy and selfish person; the state salary was quite enough for him to meet the needs of his family.

And investigators, indeed, did not find evidence that would indicate that the famous military leader was stealing government money. But Apraksin’s subordinates were caught in this. However, the tsar, who always remembered Fyodor Matveyevich’s services to the fatherland, did not strictly punish his steward and only ordered him to pay a fine.

"The Tsarevich's Case"

And at the same time, the Apraksins repeatedly proved their devotion to the sovereign. For example, we are talking about the story when the son of Tsar Alexei in 1716, without warning anyone, went to live in Austria. The emperor's son thus decided to demonstrate his rejection of the reforms and transformations of Peter I. Only diplomats Tolstoy and Rumyantsev managed to persuade Alexei to return to his homeland and apologize for his actions. Naturally, the sovereign wanted to teach the careless son a lesson and ordered him to be kept in the Peter and Paul Fortress until he came to his senses. However, Alexei neglected the interests of his fatherland and went to seek Austrian citizenship not alone, but in the company of like-minded people. By coincidence, Pyotr Matveevich Apraksin found himself in their circle. But investigators ultimately found no evidence of his guilt. However, this unpleasant incident with his brother was taken seriously by Fyodor Matveevich, who was a direct eyewitness to the Tsarevich’s interrogations. As a member of the investigative commission, the Admiral General, along with other dignitaries, signed the guilty verdict concerning the heir Alexei. The prince was sentenced to death.

Campaigns against Sweden and military operations in Persia

After the victorious battle at Gangut, the head of the Admiralty Board, managing the skerries of Stockholm, periodically cruised along the coastal territory of Sweden, destroying foreign ships and collecting tribute from the territory. King Frederick I was forced to compromise with Russia by signing the Nystad Peace Treaty, which was unfavorable for Sweden. And Fyodor Matveyevich received a high naval award (Kaiser flag).

In 1722, the military leader set out on a campaign against Persia. He personally led the Russian ships, plowing the expanses of the Caspian Sea. In 1723, Apraksin returned to his homeland and received command of the Baltic Fleet.

After the death of the great reformer

When Emperor Peter I died in 1725, his former steward continued to occupy a high position at court. In 1725, she herself awarded Apraksin the Order of St. Alexander Nevsky. Soon, the wife of Peter the Great transferred most of the state affairs to the jurisdiction of which Fyodor Matveyevich later entered. But the first violin in this governing body was played by Prince Alexander Menshikov. Meanwhile, Russian ships were gradually breaking down, and their modernization and maintenance required financial allocations, which, unfortunately, were allocated in insufficient quantities. Under such conditions, Apraksin began to go to sea less often, although the great victories of the Russian fleet were still fresh in his memory. Only in 1726 did the Admiral General agree to lead Russian ships to Revel in order to demonstrate the military power of Russia to the confronting England.

Decline of a career

When the emperor ascended the Russian throne, the Dolgorukovs began to manage state affairs in the country, who were somewhat aloof towards the Apraksins. Fyodor Matveevich decided to leave public service and settled in Moscow. Over the many years of being in power, Apraksin has amassed quite a large fortune. The steward of Peter I owned palaces and estates, owned huge lands, and possessed unique valuable things. Who got all this according to the will of the Admiral General? Since he had no children, Fyodor Apraksin divided everything he had acquired among his relatives, and he donated a luxurious home in St. Petersburg to Emperor Peter II. Apraksin died on November 10, 1728. The body of the state dignitary was buried on the territory of the Chrysostom Monastery in Moscow. The father of the President of the Admiralty Collegium is also buried there. Having left a major mark on Russian history and possessing such rare qualities as kindness, diligence, and truthfulness, he turned out to be one of the main assistants of Peter the Great in reforming the Russian state.

Upon returning to Kronstadt, Zinoviy Petrovich managed to spend a few days with his family: on May 14, 1896, he was appointed commander of the 16th naval crew, the coastal defense battleship "Pervenets" and head of the Artillery Training Team, and four days later he began a campaign in the new positions. The “Firstborn” itself, our first iron battleship (English-built), at one time served as a prototype for the creation of the “Kremlin” and was yesterday’s word of technology even in comparison with the “Vladimir Monomakh”.

A different matter was the 16th naval crew and the Artillery Training Team, which formed important links in the coastal (administrative) organization of the fleet. The assignment to lead them meant for Z. P. Rozhdestvensky a serious promotion: the 16th crew united the crews of several ships on the shore (including the Firstborn), and the Artillery Training Team, which received 320 recruits annually, was the only training team from 1884 a unit for training gunners, galvaners and artillery quartermasters, and partly (together with the Artillery officer class) and artillery officers for the entire fleet.

Every summer, students of the team and students of the class went sailing for four months on the ships of the Artillery Training Detachment (formed annually since 1869), which was under the command of one of the junior flagships (rear admirals) of the Baltic Fleet. In three campaigns - 1896, 1897 and 1898. Zinovy ​​Petrovich invariably commanded his veteran “Firstborn” as part of the Artillery Training Detachment and supervised the training of gunners of the entire Artillery Training Detachment. The nature of the detachment’s activities was well known to Rozhdestvensky from the “Kremlin” and has not changed much since then: parking in Revel, various exercises at anchor and almost daily shooting trips.

The composition of the Artillery Training Detachment was quite impressive. For example, during the 1897 campaign it consisted of the battleships “Pervenets”, “Kremlin”, “Admiral Lazarev”, the 1st rank cruiser “Admiral General”, the gunboat “Groza” and the mine cruiser “Voevoda” with a permanent staff of 65 officers and 730 lower ranks with 17 officers and 934 lower ranks - listeners and students. The ships conducted 456 firing exercises, expending 15,813 shells with a caliber of up to 280 mm, and 23,524 37 mm. cartridge and 1350 shells for 64 mm. Baranovsky landing guns. Each senior student at the commander's school fired an average of 36 3/4 shots from a 47 mm gun. caliber and above.

It must be said that Rozhdestvensky was rooting for the task assigned to him and considered it necessary to eliminate the shortcomings he saw in the training of officers and commanders. In a report dated September 25, 1897, addressed to the commander of the detachment, Zinovy ​​Petrovich rightly pointed out the “antiqueness” of the artillery of the ships, which had only five (!) rapid-fire guns of new systems that fired smokeless gunpowder: one 152 mm. and two 120 mm. and 75 mm. Kane's guns. The low elevation angle of outdated guns made it possible to conduct shooting training at distances from 7.5 to 12 kbt.

The regulations on the Artillery Training Detachment, published in 1883, according to Rozhdestvensky, did not take into account the elements of its vessels and types of guns, made low demands on commanders and battery officers, and said nothing about the artillery fire controller. Zinovy ​​Petrovich saw a way out of the situation by including “modern types of vessels” in the detachment with the exclusion of all “this junk.”

But the Naval Ministry of the emperor’s august uncle could not simply sacrifice “junk items.” Therefore, the only result of Rozhdestvensky’s report during the 1898 campaign was the temporary inclusion of relatively new coastal defense battleships of the Admiral Senyavin type into the detachment, and somewhat later - the battleship Admiral General Apraksin. As for Z.P. Rozhdestvensky himself, he firmly understood the need for every possible increase in the detachment’s naval strength with an increase in the number of firings of each gunner from all (!) types of guns available on the detachment. Whether it was right or not, time has shown, and we will touch on this important issue later.

The merits of Z. P. Rozhdestvensky during this period of time were noted with three medals - in memory of the reign of Emperor Alexander III, for his work on the first general census (1897) and in memory of the “Holy Coronation of Emperor Nicholas II”, and, most importantly, the highest award for staff officers - the Order of St. Vladimir, 3rd degree (1896). Starting from October 21, 1897, they began to pay him an annual monetary reward (540 rubles per year) for long-term command of ships of the first rank, and finally, on December 6, 1898, at the age of 49, he was promoted to rear admiral.

During the 1899 campaign, Rear Admiral Z. P. Rozhestvensky himself already commanded the Training Artillery Detachment, taking Lieutenant N. P. Kurosh as his flagship artillery officer. His flagship ship - “Firstborn” - was commanded by Captain 1st Rank Nikolai Ivanovich Nebogatoe, the same officer who in 1891 took over the clipper “Cruiser” from him and who was destined on May 14, 1905 to take command of the remnants of 2– th squadron of the Pacific Fleet.

In the summer of 1899, the cousin of Nicholas II, Lieutenant Grand Duke Kirill Vladimirovich, who, like his other relatives, alternated naval service with social entertainment and trips abroad, underwent practical training on the Admiral General.

This is what he later recalled about the Artillery Training Detachment: “I contemplated this quixotic flotilla with a mixed feeling of pity, awe and horror. These were the remains of our fleet, real museum exhibits that were of only archaeological interest... Despite the fact that I had to deal with a collection of outdated and heterogeneous vessels, I was able to learn a lot of useful things in the field of practical artillery and get to know the admiral, a stern man, better and straightforward, passionately devoted to his duty and possessed by an unyielding desire to overcome any obstacles ... "

Despite the subsequent events known to him - the Tsushima disaster, Kirill Vladimirovich retained the best opinion about Z.P. Rozhdestvensky and called him a “brilliant military man,” “a disgraced hero of one of the greatest battles in the history of the fleet,” called up in 1904–1905. command a “floating pile of scrap metal.”

In the same campaign, Z.P. Rozhdestvensky again temporarily received two relatively new ships into the detachment - the coastal defense battleships Admiral Senyavin and Admiral Ushakov (with hydraulic towers) and, finally, their brother - the battleship Admiral General Apraksin”, which had just passed tests and had 254 mm. electrically driven towers. Since this latter occupies a special place in the biography of our hero, it is necessary to say more about him. “Admiral General Apraksin” was built in 1894–1899. at the New Admiralty shipyard with the main mechanisms of the Franco-Russian plant, which manufactured them according to the drawings of the Models known to us, which built the mechanisms for the Admiral Ushakov.

"General-Admiral Apraksin" with a small displacement (4438 tons normal) was a relatively strong ship with 178 mm. side armor and three 254 mm. guns (two - in the bow turret and one - in the stern). The cost of the ship with weapons and supplies was about 4.5 million rubles.

In the summer of 1899, the battleship completed testing. On August 4, with about 320 tons of coal on board and supplies for the summer campaign, Admiral General Apraksin left Kronstadt. At noon the next day, the commander of the battleship, Captain 1st Rank V.V. Lindestrom, safely brought him into the Artillery Training Detachment. During his service in the Apraksin detachment, he went out shooting five times with officer class students and gunner students, using up 628 rounds of training 37-mm ammunition. trunks, as well as 9 - 254 mm. and 40 -120 mm. shells. The firing turned out to be quite troublesome for the senior artillery officer, Lieutenant F.V. Rimsky-Korsakov: on the fifth day, a cartridge case and a device for installing a training barrel in the aft turret burst, and on the sixth, the horizontal guidance of the bow turret failed. This malfunction was resolved within 24 hours at the private Wiegandt plant, which restored the broken teeth of the coupling for converting from manual to electric control.

On August 14, 1899, “Admiral General Apraksin” went to sea to sail to Copenhagen. A fresh wind foreshadowed a stormy voyage. The new ship, according to the review of V.V. Lindeström, showed “excellent seaworthiness” - in head seas only splashes flew onto the forecastle, and in head seas the pitching range did not exceed 10° on board. The machine worked properly, providing the environment! I sing speed 11.12 knots. when two boilers were put into operation. On the morning of May 16, the low-lying green shores of Denmark appeared on the horizon, and at 2 p.m. the Apraksin had already stood on its barrel in the harbor of Copenhagen, finding there the yacht Tsarevna, the boat Threatening, and the host ships Syuland and Dannebrog.

On August 22, Nicholas II and his family arrived in the Danish capital on the high-speed “Standart”. The Apraksin's anchorage in the capital of a friendly power was marked by numerous receptions and visits; non-commissioned officers and sailors were regularly sent ashore. According to tradition, the King of Denmark awarded the officers of Apraksin Knights of the Order of the Dannebrog.

On September 14, leaving the imperial yachts to cruise through European ports, the battleship left the hospitable kingdom and arrived in Kronstadt two days later. On September 21, he ended the campaign without disarming, in order to head to Libau after completion of the outfitting work. “Poltava” and “Sevastopol” were also going there, completing tests in a separate detachment of Rear Admiral F.I. Amosov.

Tuesday, November 12, 1899, scheduled for the Apraksin's departure to sea, began with fog and a gradual increase in northeast wind. Dissipated around 3 p.m. the fog allowed the navigator of the Apraksin, Lieutenant P.P. Durnovo, to determine the deviation along the alignment of the Kronstadt lights, and the commander V.V. Lindestrem to decide to follow the plan. Watching the barometer fall, Vladimir Vladimirovich hoped to take refuge in Revel, but he still had to get there.

By 20 o'clock the wind had increased to force 6, and soon reached the force of a storm, aggravated by negative air temperatures and blizzards. The battleship, covered with a layer of ice, walked blindly - out of sight of the islands and lighthouses. Mechanical and manual lags were not used due to the freezing of water and the danger of sending people to the poop; the speed was determined by the revolutions of the cars. At 20 o'clock. 45 min. the commander reduced the speed from 9 to 5.5 knots, intending to clarify the location by measuring the depth of the sea. Having not received definite results in this way, V.V. Lindeström and P.P. Durnovo considered themselves to be carried to the south and decided to decide on the lighthouse on the island. Gogland is the largest island in the center of the Gulf of Finland. In fact, “Apraksin” turned out to be much further north and at 3 o’clock. 30 min. November 13 at a speed of about 3 knots. jumped onto the sandbank off the high snow-covered southeastern coast of Gotland.

The blow seemed soft to the commander, and the ship’s position was not at first hopeless. However, an attempt to refloat in full reverse failed, and an hour later water appeared in the bow stoker, which was quickly rising. The ship tilted 10° to the left side and, in the excitement, hit the bottom hard against the ground. B.V. Lindeström, thinking about saving people, decided to take the team ashore. Communication with the island on which local residents had gathered was established with the help of two lifelines supplied from the fortress. By 15 o'clock the crossing of people was successfully completed, having previously stopped the steam raised after the accident in two aft and auxiliary boilers.

We learned about the accident of a new coastal defense battleship in St. Petersburg from a telegram from the commander of the cruiser Admiral Nakhimov, who, during the transition from Kronstadt to Revel, noticed distress signals sent by Apraksin. The head of the Naval Ministry, Vice Admiral P. P. Tyrtov, immediately ordered the battleship Poltava to be sent to Gogland from Kronstadt, and the Admiral Ushakov from Libau, providing them with plasters and materials for rescue work. Rear Admiral F.I. Amosov, who held the flag on Poltava, was appointed to lead the latter. In addition to warships, the icebreaker Ermak, the steamer Moguchiy, 2 rescue steamers of the private Revel rescue society and divers from the Kronstadt school of the Maritime Department “Admiral Ushakov” did not reach Gogland - returned to Libau due to a breakdown of the steering gear. .

On the morning of November 15, F.I. Amosov arrived at Apraksin, who, not sharing the initial optimism of V.V. Lindeström (“with immediate help, the battleship will be removed”), found the situation extremely “dangerous” and dependent on the weather. Fortunately, the Ermak could provide the fight against ice, but the telegraph to maintain communication with St. Petersburg was available only in Kotka, which made it difficult to quickly manage the work.

The problem of organizing communication was solved with the help of an outstanding invention of the late 19th century. - radio. With the report of the MTK dated December 10, 1899, Vice Admiral I.M. Dikov and acting. O. The chief mine inspector, Rear Admiral K. S. Osteletsky, was offered to contact Fr. Gogland with the mainland using the “wireless telegraph” invented by A. S. Popov. During experiments in the 1899 campaign on the Black Sea, by extending the antenna using a kite, it was possible to achieve a 16-mile communication range. The manager of the ministry on the same day imposed a resolution: “We can try, I agree...” A. S. Popov himself, his assistant P. N. Rybkin, captain 2nd rank G. I. Zalevsky and Lieutenant A. A. Remmert. On Gogland and on the island. Kutsalo to Kotka began the construction of masts for installing antennas.

By that time, it became clear that “Apraksin,” in the apt expression of F.I. Amosov, literally “climbed into a pile of stones.” The top of a huge stone and an 8-ton granite boulder got stuck in the hull of the battleship, forming a hole with an area of ​​about 27 m2 to the left of the vertical keel in the area of ​​frames 12–23. Through it, the bow cartridge magazine of Baranovsky’s guns, the mine magazine, the turret compartment, the cruise chamber and the 254 mm bomb magazine were filled with water. turrets, the entire bow compartment to the armored deck. Three other stones caused smaller destruction of the bottom. In total, the ship took in more than 700 tons of water, which could not be pumped out without sealing the holes. Stones stuck in the bottom made it difficult to move the Apraksin from its place. The accident received a wide public response and caused a flood of proposals to save the battleship, which poured into the Navy Ministry.

All rescue work was carried out under the general leadership and control of the head of the ministry, Admiral P. P. Tyrtov, who involved the famous admirals I. M. Dikov, V. P. Verkhovsky and S. O. Makarov, chief inspectors from MTK N, in this most important matter E. Kuteinikova, A. S. Krotkova, N. G. Nozikova. Direct participation in the rescue work under the leadership of F. I. Amosov was taken by the commander of the battleship V. V. Lindestrem, the junior assistants of the shipbuilder P. P. Belyankin and E. S. Politovsky, the representative of the Revel Rescue Society von Franken and the index of the New Admiralty of Olympiev, who knew well ship. The divers working in the icy water were led by Lieutenants M.F. Shultz and A.K. Nebolsin. It was decided to remove the upper part of the large stone using explosions, unload the battleship, which at the time of the accident had a displacement of 4515 tons, if possible, seal the hole, pump out the water and, using pontoons, pull the battleship off the shoal.

Attempts to refloat the Apraksin by order of Rear Admiral Amosov were made twice: on November 26 (the icebreaker Ermak plus the full reverse of the Apraksin) and December 9 (the same plus the steamships Meteor and Helios). After a thorough examination of the hull and the large rock, it became clear to the divers that these attempts were doomed to failure.

The struggle with rocks that lasted until the freeze-up and the failure of attempts to move the Apraksin from its place with tugboats led P. P. Tyrtov to the decision to postpone its refloating until the spring of next year. F.I. Amosov with the Poltava and the majority of the crew of the emergency ship was recalled to Kronstadt. To ensure the work, 36 sailors were left with the boatswain Ivan Safonov. The danger of destruction of the Apraksin by a pile of ice was avoided with the help of the Ermak and the strengthening of the ice fields around the battleship. On January 25, 1900, the chairman of the MTK, Vice Admiral I.M. Dikov, read an urgent telegram from Kotka: “Gotland telegram received without wires by telephone, the front stone was removed.” Having reported it to P.P. Tyrtov, Ivan Mikhailovich received instructions to report the contents to the editorial offices of Novoye Vremya and Government Gazette: this was the first radiogram in history transmitted over a distance of more than 40 miles.

By this time, under the spire of the Admiralty, the idea had matured to entrust further work to save the battleship to a specially appointed energetic flagship. The choice fell on Z.P. Rozhdestvensky. On January 22, 1900, the head of the Main School F.K. Lvelan addressed the latter with a letter:

“Dear sir, Zinovy ​​Petrovich.

Following the order of His Imperial Highness the Admiral General, the head of the Naval Ministry entrusts Your Excellency with monitoring and directing the progress of work to remove the battleship "General Admiral Apraksin" from the rocks, why should you go to Gogland Island on the "Ermak", departing there in a few days from Revel..."

Let us recall that in the winter months the officers and admirals of the Baltic Fleet, bound (except for Libau) by ice, felt relatively free: the greatest “troubles” were caused by the drill exercises of the naval crews, but at the same time there was enough time left for visits to the Officers’ Naval Assembly in Kronstadt and balls in St. Petersburg And suddenly an emergency order fell upon Z. P. Rozhdestvensky...

And Zinovy ​​Petrovich did not make a mistake. In his characteristic manner, on January 31, 1900, without even visiting the emergency “Apraksin,” he reported to the head of the Main General Staff (from Revel) about “complete disorder” in all, without exception, measures to save the battleship. In his opinion, explosions of stones posed a threat to the strength of the bulkheads, drainage equipment could not cope with pumping out water, the bow section was not lightened, and supplies were supplied to the work site without proper accounting. “The team on Gogland is demoralized, and I (appointed as the manager of the Naval Ministry to correct the matter) am sitting idle in Revel,” he concluded his report.

Obviously, this style of work allowed Z.P. Rozhesgvensky to create a reputation as a principled boss and clearly highlight his merits in achieving the ultimate success of any enterprise. But, we must give him his due, Zinovy ​​Petrovich himself developed vigorous activity in advance. After reviewing the documents, he demanded that steel cables, diving jackets, air hoses and other materials be sent to Gogland as soon as possible, began searching for high-performance drainage pumps, and consulted with leading experts about the best way to save the battleship.

The latter's opinion was far from clear. Many of them considered the ship's position hopeless. It was assumed that with the onset of spring, the hull of the Apraksin would be broken by the movement of ice that had thawed from the shore, and then completely destroyed by stormy weather.

Rozhdestvensky himself, apparently, did not share such views, “... the only means are pontoons,” he wrote a few days after his appointment to the head of the GMSH, “because by the calculations of the committee (MTK. - V.G.) it is impossible to determine which bulkheads will be squeezed out, when, when pulled off, the nose comes into the water.”

It was not easy with the pontoons: at first one Swedish company was ready to supply them, but the Kronstadt port was also ready, from where S. O. Makarov reported on the need for preliminary drawings using the Apraksin model, which had previously been manufactured (on Makarov’s instructions) in the Experimental Pool of the Maritime Department. Makarov, being the senior boss for Rozhdestvensky, directly indicated the transportation of the model to the island. Gogland for a detailed development of a method for removing the armadillo.

Zinovy ​​Petrovich did not neglect the advice of his boss and “rival” and implemented all of them (or almost all) with the enormous help of “Ermak”, on which he arrived on the island in early February 1900. Gotland. Here he found a battleship stuck in the ice, abandoned, as mentioned above, by most of the crew.

“The ship was in unimaginable disorder in all parts without exception,” Zinovy ​​Petrovich later recalled. - One ship’s boiler was working to power the rescue society’s mechanisms, pumping water from the sea overboard. All the other boilers, all the mechanisms, all the small engines were abandoned, covered with rust and... debris, and in some places flooded. Clinkets, doors, necks with skewed seals were covered with dirt and did not fulfill their purpose. Every day brought new destruction and new losses for the treasury: those who wanted to cut down the shields, tore off the lining without any need and without any results. Various small things were removed, boiler fittings, pressure gauges, machine rubricators, small motors... all this was dumped in heaps on the shore, covered with snow and little by little stolen. Apart from the divers and a few stokers, none of the lower ranks were assigned to useful work. The masses of port workers languished in idleness...”

Naturally, the admiral who arrived on Gotland had to start with the most important thing - with the organization of service. Already on the first day of his stay at Apraksin, he demanded that “statements of all things and materials, as well as those seconded, indicating the work assigned to each of them” be drawn up, and appointed those responsible for maintaining working documentation. At the same time, he established control over the strength and direction of the wind, the height of the water and the draft of the battleship. He demanded that a schedule of work for which the team was supposed to be assigned be presented to him daily for approval.

At the same time, people remained his main concern. So, in an order dated February 10, Zinovy ​​Petrovich wrote: “In view of the extremely difficult living and working conditions on the island of Gogland and due to the extreme insufficiency of the required portion of greens, in order to preserve the strength and health of people, I propose to henceforth add one pound of potatoes per day per person to the daily portion. I ask the commander to order stricter supervision over food preparation...

Failure to comply with these rules until now was the reason for the very poor quality of the food that ended up in people’s tanks.”

It should be noted here that Z.P. Rozhdestvensky proved himself to be a strong supporter and example of an orderly style of leadership in Gogland. Despite the relatively small number of participants in the rescue of Apraksin, he, like many admirals of that time, considered it necessary to issue orders with appropriate conclusions and instructions on every occasion. Neither the radio station on Gogland nor the smallest issues of organizing service on the damaged battleship escaped his attention.

“The Hogland wireless telegraph station serves goals, the seriousness of which requires the appropriate attitude of all involved in the matter,” wrote Z. P. Rozhdestvensky in one of his orders. - It has come to my attention that telegraph operators are leaving the station before a certain time... I strictly prohibit negotiations between telegraph operators that are not related to the service... Lieutenant Yakovlev should have constant monitoring of the fulfillment of these requirements, but at the same time take every possible care that telegraph operators do not suffer deprivation if possible . Report their needs to me directly.”

Leaving for Kronstadt for two weeks at the end of February, Zinoviy Petrovich drew up the most detailed order for the commander of Apraksin, which can be called an order for all occasions. It determined the amount of coal in each pit, the order of its consumption, and even the minimum distance from the side of the battleship at which garbage was allowed to be dumped.

Drawing attention to the fact that divers were overtired during daily work, Rozhdestvensky, regardless of the lack of time, ordered diving descents to be carried out every other day. Instructing his subordinates before installing the dead anchor, he wrote: “... we must hurry to complete the work, as long as haste does not come at the expense of accuracy: if time does not allow us to complete all the work before the first movement of the ice, then we can only be reproached for lack of management.

If the chain is broken because its immersion was not sufficiently controlled, then we will rightly be accused of dishonesty.”

Rozhdestvensky’s daily orders attract attention with their sharpness and expressiveness. They clearly show Zinovy ​​Petrovich’s intolerance towards the slightest manifestations of indiscipline and lack of performance. “March 17, 1900. Today, from 5 3/4 in the morning, I did not find an officer with the party working at the rope on the ice... The same... officer was supposed to be present at 4 1/4 in the morning at the breakfast of the lower ranks... but was not present. This time I limit myself to reminding you that my orders were not followed, and I suggest that the commander of the battleship take measures to ensure that this does not happen again in the future.”

“March 17, 1900. Today, overnight, the ice broke near the place where the work was being carried out... At 6 o’clock in the morning, the officer on duty, whom I called to the work site, told me that someone had already reported to him about the ice drift, and nothing more. I ask the commander of the battleship... to strictly establish that the movement of the ice should be observed not by a random “someone”, but by an indispensable watch... On my orders, an ice boat was to be sent to the people working near the ropes. It took half an hour to dig it out from under the snow and... pick out the snow and ice that filled the boat itself. Someone should see to it that the boat is stored at least with the keel up.”

“March 29, 1900 Today the team’s lunch consisted of stinking, greasy slop. This means that the officer on duty did not ensure that the boiler was properly cleaned and that the provisions themselves were thoroughly washed from decomposition products and the dirt covering them. I ask the commander of the battleship to establish supervision over the performance of this officer’s official duties.”

It must be said that initially Rozhdestvensky doubted the independence of his closest technical assistants - engineers Belyankin, Goladmiev and Politovsky. However, he soon changed his mind, and in 1904 he even elected Politovsky as the flagship naval engineer of his headquarters. The undoubted merit of Zinovy ​​Petrovich was also the fact that he attracted the Bureau for Soil Research, which belonged to the mining engineer Voislav, to participate in the rescue of the battleship. The Bureau sent technicians to Apraksin with two machines equipped with diamond drills for drilling holes in granite stones. The explosion of dynamite in the pits turned out to be harmless to the ship. Upon completion of the work, Vojislav even refused the reward. The Naval Ministry, expressing gratitude to him for his selflessness, paid 1,197 rubles. in the form of compensation for equipment breakdowns and maintenance of technicians.

To save the Apraksin, in the end, the only possible solution was taken: removing the stones on which the ship was sitting, sealing the holes and, with the help of the Ermak, pulling the battleship into clean water. This work required both stable communication with Kronstadt and St. Petersburg, and regular delivery of food and logistics supplies to the island. The icebreaker Ermak provided invaluable assistance to Apraksin. Repeatedly breaking through the continuous hummocky ice, he delivered to the island everything necessary to continue work and maintain the life of the battleship’s crew. In the icebreaker's workshop, drills and drills were made for destroying stone.

The icebreaker was subordinate to the Ministry of Finance, and each of its access to Gotland was achieved by Rozhdestvensky with considerable difficulty.

In addition, almost every day I had to deal with various misunderstandings with the rescue society, with GUKiS and other authorities, not to mention the commander of the ship V.V. Lindestrem, who was aware of his involuntary guilt in the disaster and, to a certain extent, suffered from moral the oppression of Z.P. Rozhdestvensky with his energy and numerous orders.

By the beginning of April 1900, in conditions of a relatively harsh winter, it was possible to deal with the stones, temporarily seal some of the holes and unload the battleship with approximately 500 tons. On April 8, “Ermak” made an unsuccessful attempt to pull the ship 2 fathoms - the length of the lane created in solid ice. Three days later, the attempt was repeated, flooding the aft compartments of the Apraksin and helping the Ermak with steam and coastal manual spiers. The battleship finally got underway and by evening, with its own engines put into operation, moved 12 meters back from the stone ridge.

On April 13, along the canal laid by Ermak, he crossed into the harbor near Gogland, and on April 22, he safely moored in Aspa near Kotka. Up to 300 tons of water remained in the battleship’s hull, which was continuously pumped out by turbines. With only 120 tons of coal and no artillery (except for turret guns), ammunition, provisions and most supplies, the draft at the bow and stern was 5.9 m each.

On May 6, the Admiral General Apraksin, accompanied by the cruiser Asia and two rescue ships of the Revel Society, arrived in Kronstadt, where it was soon placed for repairs at the Konstantinovsky dock, and on May 15 ended the protracted campaign. P. P. Tyrtov congratulated V. V. Lindeström on the completion of a arduous epic and thanked all participants in the work, especially Z. P. Rozhdestvensky.

Repair of damage to the battleship using the funds of the Kronstadt port, completed in 1901, cost the treasury more than 175 thousand rubles, not counting the cost of rescue work.

The Apraksin accident showed the weakness of the Maritime Department’s rescue equipment, which was forced to resort to improvisation and the involvement of other public and private organizations. Assessing their contribution to the rescue of the ship, Z. P. Rozhdestvensky pointed out that without the Ermak the battleship would have been in disastrous condition, and without the help of the Revel Rescue Society it would have sank back in November 1899. In difficult winter conditions, much, as always, was decided dedication to work and enterprise, characteristic of Russians in extreme situations.

The commission to investigate the circumstances of the accident did not find any crime in the actions of the commander and navigational officer of the battleship. The former navigator of the Apraksin, P.P. Durnovo, brilliantly rehabilitated himself in the Battle of Tsushima, leading his crippled destroyer Bravy to Vladivostok, adhering to the coast of Japan.

Two important circumstances should be noted here. First: the rescue of the battleship caused a great public outcry and contributed to the growth of the authority and fame of Z. P. Rozhdestvensky not only in naval circles, but also among people far from the fleet, and also, which was especially important, at court. A telegram about the refloating of the ship (April 11) was received in Kronstadt just before a theatrical performance, which was staged by a local charitable society at the Maritime Assembly. “The telegram was read publicly before the performance,” wrote S. O. Makarov (chief commander of the Kronstadt port) about this event, “and the whole hall resounded with a friendly “Hurray” on the occasion of receiving the good news. It was, indeed, a red egg for a bright holiday.”

In connection with the successful completion of the rescue work, Zinovy ​​Petrovich received a whole heap of congratulatory telegrams. In particular, from the naval authorities:

“I congratulate you and all your employees... on a brilliant success, completing five months of work. This success brought joy to the fleet and all sympathizers. I sincerely thank you, and your Excellency in particular, for your stewardship and energy. Tyrtov (ministry manager - V.G.).”

“On behalf of the Kronstadt sailors, I congratulate you on your skillful execution of a risky task. Makarov."

From civilian, military and fellow sailors:

“Today I read about the successful removal of Apraksin. Please convey enthusiastic greetings and congratulations to the hero admiral. Prince Lvov” (future head of the provisional government in 1917 - V.G.).

"Hooray! Baron Kaulbars” (Lieutenant General of the Russian Army - V.G.).

“Congratulations on your success, Birilev always believed in you” (junior flagship of the Baltic Fleet - V.G.).

“Please accept my sincere congratulations on the successful removal of Apraksin. With all our hearts we wish you brilliant success in the future. Kochkin" (? - V. G.).

And finally: “We cordially congratulate you on your successfully completed assignment... Alexander” (Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich, son-in-law and personal friend of Nicholas II, captain of the 2nd rank, who, by the way, was a senior officer of “Apraksin” in the 1899 campaign until his return to Kronstadt from Denmark).

The second circumstance is connected with the icebreaker "Ermak", the personal life and relationship of Z. P. Rozhestvensky and S. O. Makarov "Ermak", this is a real miracle of technology and a kind of symbol of man's breakthrough with the future, which appeared on the eve of the 20th century, had many opponents and in the process of its creation was influenced by many skeptics. Among them were the envious and ill-wisher of S. O. Makarov, Rear Admiral A. A. Birilev (senior in age, but, alas, not in rank), known to us A. E. Konkevich, a number of other persons, and... . P. Rozhdestvensky.

Of these, Zinovy ​​Petrovich occupied a special position - he was closely acquainted and even friendly with S. O. Makarov’s wife, Kapitolina Nikolaevna, who, for obvious reasons, experienced some inconvenience from living together with her “restless husband.” Without touching on personal relationships, which require special delicacy and are not the topic of our story, it should be noted that during the rescue work on Gogland, Rozhdestvensky changed his attitude towards the icebreaker. The first evidence of this is a letter from S. O. Makarov dated February 1, 1900 to the commander of the Ermak, his special confidant, friend and, in the real meaning of the word, student - captain 2nd rank M. P. Vasiliev: “ ...When Rozhdestvensky came to Witte to ask for “Ermak,” he said with pride: “Who would now save the people swept out to sea?” (rescue of 50 fishermen in January 1900 - V.G.). Avelan told me all this. Rozhdestvensky was against this when the construction of the icebreaker began. I kept telling my wife to advise me against this matter. I don’t know how he will feel about the icebreaker. He is a generally unfaithful and extremely changeable person. I didn’t enter into any conversations about “Ermak” with him...”

Upon completion of the rescue work, Z. P. Rozhestvensky did not fail to note the merits of the icebreaker in a telegram to S. O. Makarov from Aspe: “Apraksin” owes its salvation to “Ermak” and its valiant commander, captain 2nd rank Vasiliev. In an impenetrable snowstorm, an armadillo, wrapped in chains stretched out into a string, steel and hemp cables attaching one thousand five hundred square feet of plasters, walked for seven hours in the Ermak stream of ice fields between individual blocks of hummock formation and a channel punched in solid ice, and not one the chain, not a single cable was cut by the ice..."

Was Zinovy ​​Petrovich aware of some ambiguity in his position regarding “Ermak” and its creator S. O. Makarov? This question can probably be answered in the affirmative. But, as happened and happens with many people making a career, the consciousness of being wrong did not cause Rozhestvensky any special remorse. To his credit, it should be noted that he turned out to be very scrupulous about rewards for saving the battleship. The fact is that the State Musical School considered it possible in its own way to revise the lists of persons presented by Rozhdestvensky for promotion. Thus, the Order of St. Stanislav was refused to be awarded to two mechanical engineers of the icebreaker “Ermak”, the amount of monetary reward to Rozhdestvensky’s closest assistant, Captain 2nd Rank Bergstresser was significantly reduced, and the commander of the battleship “Poltava” was completely bypassed with the award.

After several unsuccessful attempts to restore justice, the indignant Zinovy ​​Petrovich turned to S. O. Makarov: “Since I have already had the good fortune to receive the highest gratitude, declared both in the order and personally to me by the Emperor, I have the honor to humbly ask for Your Excellency’s petition, so that out of the 1,500 rubles assigned to me as a reward... 500 rubles were added to the reward of captain 2nd rank Bergstresser, and a thousand were given as a reward to the commander of the battleship "Poltava" who was omitted from the reward list ... "

Justice was then restored, and Z.P. Rozhdestvensky, with a calm soul, returned to his immediate responsibilities as command of the Artillery Training Detachment, which in May 1900 was preparing to begin its next campaign.

On November 13, 1899, the battleship of the Russian fleet, Admiral General Apraksin, crashed in the Baltic Sea. The news of this immediately filled the pages of the capital's newspapers; letters from readers with projects for a rescue operation poured into the Admiralty. Meanwhile, December came, the rescuers had to work in the most difficult conditions: to pull a huge ship out of the freezing sea, and winter underwater work, as we know, is a dangerous business.

IT'S STORMING AT SEA
Captain 1st Rank Vladimir Vladimirovich Lindestrom pulled his jacket tighter and left the wheelhouse of his battleship Admiral General Apraksin. The weather was not a gift - a thick fog fell on the sea, in addition it was noticeably stormy - but for the Baltic in mid-November this was nothing surprising.

By evening it got worse. The storm got serious, reaching force six, and a blizzard arose. Crew members sought refuge in the ship's premises, reluctantly following orders and instructions related to going on deck. The cabin was covered with snow, and the navigator, Lieutenant Durnovo, was steering the ship blindly.
Lindeström decided to go to Revel - there was no point in returning to the base, in Kronstadt. By evening, having measured the depth of the sea, Durnovo realized that they had been carried south. We decided to navigate by the lighthouse of one of the largest islands in the Gulf of Finland, Gogland, which was located somewhere nearby.

Suddenly, a red light flashed straight ahead - Lindeström and Durnovo decided that it was an oncoming ship and performed an evasive maneuver. As a result, at 3.30 am the crew felt a soft push on the bottom of the battleship. The red light turned out to be not a ship, but just the lighthouse the captain was looking for.
A huge ship ran aground off the southeastern coast of Gogland. There was no panic - firstly, Lindeström's team was disciplined, and secondly, it was not so easy to break through the powerful side plates, and the blow was not strong. And, after all, Gogland is not in the center of the Pacific Ocean, but in the Baltic Sea, where dozens of ships pass every day.
An attempt to get out on our own only worsened the situation: the ship, without budging, began to fall onto the left side, and water poured into the hold. The ship's pumps could not cope with the load, and the crew was tired. At 15 o'clock Lindeström realized that the situation was much more serious than he had expected, and it was impossible to save the ship. All that remained was to save the crew: the full crew was transported to the shore, where the sailors were already met by local residents who had gathered to watch the accident.
However, the “Admiral General Apraksin” did not completely drown - it was simply too large to sink to the bottom in such a shallow place - and rose quite noticeably above the surface of the water.

Captain Lindeström proposed freezing the water around the ship with carbon dioxide, cutting a trench to the bow and freeing it, and then cutting a dock in the ice floe, where repairs could be made immediately.

RESCUE OPERATION PROJECTS
In the evening of the same day, the ship was discovered from the cruiser Admiral Nakhimov, which conveyed the news of what had happened to St. Petersburg.
The next day, the battleships Poltava and Sevastopol arrived at the scene of the accident, bringing divers, engineers and the materials necessary to seal the holes. Another day later, the icebreaker "Ermak" arrived - the weather was deteriorating every day, the sea was freezing.
Engineers determined that the battleship had pierced the bottom in several places, the largest hole was 27 square meters in size, through this gap more than 700 tons of water penetrated inside, flooding the entire bow compartment.

News of the accident immediately filled the front pages of all the capital's newspapers, and letters from readers with rescue projects poured into the Admiralty. Among the trivial proposals to “pull” the battleship off the ground, having previously equipped it with powerful pumps that would immediately pump out the water and keep the ship afloat, there were also very extraordinary ones.
For example, lift a ship above a stone using a lever welded from rails.

FOR THE FIRST TIME ON RADIO
The headquarters rejected all these ideas, deciding that it was best to destroy the rock with underwater explosions. However, the situation was aggravated by the fact that the nearest telegraph was only in the city of Kotka (Finland), and the rescuers had no operational communication with the headquarters.

It was then that we remembered one enthusiast from the Russian Physicochemical Society - now every schoolchild knows his name - this is Alexander Stepanovich Popov.
Back in the spring of 1897, he established radio communication between the transport "Europe" and the cruiser "Africa", but the radiotelegraph he developed did not interest the naval authorities. Now the attitude of the Admiralty had changed radically, and Popov happily agreed to help in the operation.
It was decided to build stations on Gogland itself, a kilometer from the battleship, and on the island of Kutsalo, not far from Kotka. No one could give guarantees of success - until now, radio transmissions had been carried out at a distance not exceeding 30 km, but here, in bad weather conditions, it was necessary to transmit a signal over as much as 47 km! But neither at headquarters nor in the rescue camp itself had any desire to retreat.

Experienced officers A.I. were given to help Popov. Zalevsky and A.A. Remmert. In the most difficult conditions, on the same steamer "Ermak" the necessary equipment was delivered to the deployment sites.

Icebreaker "Ermak" rescues the battleship "Admiral General Apraksin" from ice captivity, 1899, Gulf of Finland

They wanted to address the first radiogram to the imperial family, but a tragic incident prevented this.
On January 24 at 9 a.m., rescuers received a telegram from the Chief of the Main Naval Staff, Vice Admiral F.K. Avelana: “9 hours. Gogland. From St. Petersburg to the commander of the icebreaker "Ermak". Near Lavensari, an ice floe with fifty fishermen broke off. Provide immediate assistance in rescuing these people. One hundred and eighty-six, Avelan.” "Ermak" went on a search, which was crowned with success the very next day. So, thanks to radio, 27 people were saved from certain death.

RESCUE OF THE BATTLESHIP
Because of the winter, rescue work was suspended, but then they had to make up for it by leaps and bounds; the spring ice drift threatened to simply crush the unlucky battleship. Already at the very beginning of the spring of 1900, the head of rescue operations, Rear Admiral Z.P. Rozhdestvensky asked the headquarters on the radio to order powerful electric drills to fight the rock. The huge 8-ton granite monolith was split in less than a month. People worked day and night, and on April 24, 1900, they began the final stage of the operation - pulling the battleship with tugs, which was not at all difficult - the rescuers, seasoned by difficulties, coped with it on the same day.
The operation to rescue the Admiral General Apraksin was an impressive victory for Russian sailors and engineers. A.S. Popov received the highest gratitude and a huge amount of 33 thousand rubles in remuneration. The special commission completely acquitted Captain Lindeström and navigator Durnovo, without finding any corpus delicti in their actions.
Many participants in the operation later glorified their names with exploits in the name of the Motherland.

Unfortunately, its “main participant”, the armadillo himself, is not one of them. After repairs, he carried out quiet service in the Baltic in the Training Artillery Detachment, where he did not show himself in the best way: his new commander, Captain 1st Rank N.G. Lishin complained that the battleship's hull was "loose" in an accident in 1899 and was leaking water.
In 1904, the ship went to reinforce the Pacific squadron in the Russo-Japanese War, but even there it failed to distinguish itself - during the Battle of Tsushima, the same Lishin surrendered the battleship without a fight. And then for another 10 years under the name "Okinoshima" she was a Japanese training ship.

But few people remember or do not want to remember this. After all, it was with the battleship “Admiral General Apraksin” that one of the most complex and brilliant rescue operations of the Russian Empire was associated.

Admiral General Apraksin (Okinoshima [沖ノ島]) is a coastal defense battleship of the Imperial Russian and Japanese Imperial Fleets. In the Russian fleet it was named after F. M. Apraksin.

In the Japanese fleet it was named after the city of Okinoshima. Laid down at the New Admiralty in St. Petersburg on May 20, 1895 as part of the enhanced shipbuilding program adopted in 1890. It was built according to the design of the battleship Admiral Ushakov, becoming the third ship of this type.

In February 1895, it became clear that Admiral General Apraksin was severely overloaded: the draft exceeded the design by 0.3 meters. As a measure to reduce overload, shipbuilder D.V. Svortsov proposed abandoning the turret installation and reducing the thickness of the entire side armor. His proposal was rejected and the Marine Technical Committee decided to reduce the number of main caliber guns to three.

By the beginning of 1896, the Apraksin’s hull readiness had been brought to 54.5%. The ship was launched on April 30, 1896, and the first test drive took place in the fall of 1897. During testing of the new battleship, poor quality of hull work was noted.

Pre-war service

On August 14, 1899, Admiral General Apraksin set sail to sail to Copenhagen. At this time, Nicholas II visited the capital of Denmark. On September 14, the battleship left foreign waters and arrived in Kronstadt two days later. On September 21, he ended the campaign without disarming, in order to head to Libau after completion of the outfitting work.

On November 12, 1899, “Admiral General Apraksin” left Kronstadt for the winter in Libau and at 3 o’clock in the morning, during a strong snowstorm, jumped onto the rocks at the southern tip of the island of Gogland. An attempt to refloat on our own failed, and an hour later water appeared in the bow stoker, which was quickly rising. In December, the ship that suffered an accident was captured in ice, and only the icebreaker Ermak maintained communication with it.
At the end of January 1900, Rear Admiral Z.P. Rozhdestvensky was appointed head of the rescue work on Gogland, who brought mining specialists to participate in the rescue of the ship. Only after the successful completion of the demolition work did Ermak manage to remove the battleship from the rocks on April 11, 1900.
Repair of damage to the battleship using funds from the Kronstadt port, completed in 1901, cost the treasury more than 175 thousand rubles, not counting the cost of rescue work.

“Admiral General Apraksin” spent the campaigns of 1902-1904 in the Training Artillery Detachment, taking part in exercises and maneuvers. In November 1904, Admiral General Apraksin, together with Admiral Ushakov and Admiral Senyavin, was assigned to a separate detachment of ships of the future Third Pacific Squadron for immediate passage to the Far East - to strengthen the Second Pacific Squadron.

Campaign of 1904 and transition to the Far East

The battleship began a new campaign on December 22, 1904. During preparations for the cruise, a wireless telegraph station of the Slyabi-Arco system, two Barr and Struda rangefinders (on the fore-mars and on the stern bridge), Perepelkin optical sights for 254-mm and 120-mm guns, two of the latter were replaced with new ones due to the large “execution”. The ship's officer corps was partially renewed, but the ship's commander, N. G. Lishin, remained at his post.

On February 2, 1905, “Admiral General Apraksin”, as part of a separate detachment of Rear Admiral N.I. Nebogatov, left Libau for the Far East. Together with the detachment, the battleship made a long journey to the Tsushima Strait, where, as part of the Second Pacific Squadron, it took part in the Battle of Tsushima.

Battle of Tsushima

By 6 a.m. on May 14, the Russian squadron, maintaining night marching formation, increased its speed from 6 to 9 knots. The left column of ships was led by “Emperor Nicholas I” under the flag of Admiral N.I. Nebogatov, followed by “Admiral General Apraksin”, “Admiral Senyavin” and “Admiral Ushakov”. The bow turret of the Apraksin was commanded by Lieutenant P. O. Shishko, the stern one by Lieutenant S. L. Trukhachev.

In the first phase of the battle, “Admiral General Apraksin” tried to shoot at “Mikasa” from a distance of 56 cables, but soon its senior artilleryman, Lieutenant G.N. Taube, with the permission of the commander, transferred fire to “Nissin”.
At 16 o'clock the battleship began to receive hits: a 203-mm shell from the cruisers of Vice Admiral H. Kamimura's squadron hit the aft turret at the embrasure of a 254-mm gun, the explosion of the shell lifted the roof and made it difficult for the turret to rotate, although it did not penetrate the armor. Shell fragments killed one and wounded several gunners, and the tower commander, Lieutenant S.L. Trukhachev, was shell-shocked, but remained at his post. A 120-mm shell hit the wardroom.
Another shell of unknown caliber demolished the gaff, and fragments of others disabled the wireless telegraph antenna network. In total, 2 people were killed and 10 wounded on Apraksin.
During the night, the battleship repelled the attacks of Japanese destroyers and managed to keep up with the main forces of N.I. Nebogatov’s detachment. In total, on May 14 and on the night of May 15, the battleship fired up to 153 254 mm shells and up to 460 120 mm shells.

The officers and crew of the battleship, according to historians and eyewitnesses, were ready to fight to the last and die. One of the gunners of the battleship, without waiting for orders, fired a sighting shot from the gun, but the fire was stopped due to the fact that the surrender signal went up on the Emperor Nicholas I.
All ships of the detachment followed the admiral's signal (except for the cruiser "Emerald", which managed to escape from the enemy) and soon the Japanese prize teams were landed on them. Shortly before this, on the orders of Lieutenant Taube, the gunners threw the locks of small guns and sights overboard. "Apraksin" with the prize crew was sent to the Japanese port.

As part of the Japanese fleet

Quickly commissioned and renamed Okinoshima, the ship took part in the capture of Sakhalin by Japanese troops. After the war, the battleship was assigned to Sasebo as a training ship.
At the beginning of the First World War, she was used to take part in the capture of Qingdao (as part of the second division of coastal defense battleships of the second squadron), and then until 1915 she performed patrol functions, and was later partially disarmed and used as a floating barracks for cadets. “Okinoshima” was deleted from the lists in 1926 (according to other sources, in 1922). Then it was a block and in 1939 dismantled for metal.