Nikolay Dick. The Adventures of Peter's Galley

GALLEYS

Viktor Sergeevich Shitarev,
sea ​​captain

This type of sailing-rowing vessel traces its “ancestry” to the ships of ancient antiquity from the Mediterranean countries. Its development continued until the beginning of the 19th century. The galleys' "finest hour" came at the Battle of Lepanto on October 7, 1571, when 200 Christian galleys fought with 273 Turkish ones. Then the Christian fleet under the command of John of Austria completely defeated the enemy and liberated the eastern Mediterranean from Turkish rule. Galleys were military vessels and were the main striking force of the fleets of some coastal states. For example, in 1700 Venice had about 200 galleys and galleasses; in 1800, the French Mediterranean fleet consisted of 40 such ships. In the 18th century preference was given to 30-can galleys with a length of 60 m.

The first 16-can galley in Russia was built in the 60s of the 17th century. Dutch master D. Butler to protect merchant shipping on the Volga. In the era of Peter I, the construction of a galley fleet acquired a wide scope, while in European states interest in this type of military vessels had already begun to fade. Peter I, with his characteristic foresight, appreciated the positive qualities of galleys - their shallow draft, the ability to row regardless of wind direction, and good armament made them indispensable in shallow water at the mouths of the Don and other rivers, in the Sea of ​​Azov and in other theaters of combat. . The simplicity of the design was also captivating, which was especially valuable in the early days of creating the mighty Russian Fleet.

Beginning preparations for the second Azov campaign, Peter I paid great attention to the construction of a galley fleet. The 16-can galley "Admiral Lefort" ordered in Holland served as a model for Russian shipbuilders. It was delivered disassembled in 1694 to Moscow and assembled by the spring of 1696 in the village of Preobrazhenskoye near Moscow. (The vessel had a length of 38.1 m; width - 9.1 m; draft - 1.8 m). There they also established the production of galley parts, which were then sent to Voronezh. The matter was in dispute and by April 1696 the Azov fleet had a formation of galleys in the amount of 23 pennants, each of which was armed with three cannons of 3...5 pound caliber. The Principium gallery was commanded by Pyotr Alekseevich himself. During the siege of Azov in June 1696, the galley fleet showed itself very positively. Voronezh becomes the center for the construction of the Russian galley fleet.

There, in 1697, 17 galleys were laid down at once. Significantly improved by Russian craftsmen, they were more powerful than their Dutch predecessor. For comparison, here are their measurements: length 41.7...53 m; width 5.5...7.3 m; the depth of the interior is 1.8 ... 2.7 m. Mostly 20- and 24-gun galleys were built, armed with 21 - 27 cannons, three of them 6 - 12-pound caliber; the rest are falconets. The Baltic also turned out to be an ideal theater of combat for the galley fleet - skerries, shallow waters, etc. The importance of galleys in the Northern War is very high. Having made an ice campaign to Vyborg in 1710, the galley fleet took an active part in the siege of the fortress, which greatly contributed to the success of the Russian army.

The day of glory of the Russian galley fleet came on July 27, 1714, when 99 galleys under the command of Admiral General F.M. Apraksin won the first and convincing victory over the Swedish fleet in the Battle of Gangut. Taking advantage of the calm weather (in full view of the Swedish squadron), a detachment of 23 scampaveys under the command of Schoutbenacht Peter Mikhailov bypassed the Gangut Peninsula and ended up in Rilaks Fjord. After a three-hour battle, the Russians defeated a detachment of ships from Schoutbenacht Ehrenschild, capturing the 18-gun frigate Elephant, six galleys and three skerries. Galleys were successfully used as landing craft and took part in all landing operations of the Russian fleet in the period 1714 - 1720.

Another brilliant victory of the Russian galley fleet was won under the command of Prince M.M. Golitsyn on July 27, 1720 near the island of Grengam. On the Russian side, 61 galleys took part in the battle; they forced the Swedish fleet to withdraw to the cramped sea area and there they imposed their naval combat tactics on it. Four Swedish frigates were boarded and their flags lowered. 10,714 sailors took part in the battle on board the galleys, 23,970 cannon shots were fired at the Swedish ships, rich trophies were taken, including 104 guns that were armed with the Swedish frigates.

The construction of galleys for the Baltic Fleet began in February 1703 at the Olonets shipyard, on the banks of the Svir River, in Lodeynoye Pole. The governor of Ingria, a ship's apprentice, Alexander Danilovich Menshikov, paid a lot of attention to the formation of the Baltic Fleet, who, with an ax in his hands, learned the basics of shipbuilding at Dutch and English shipyards together with Pyotr Mikhailov. And, if Peter I was awarded a “shipmaster” patent for his success in teaching shipbuilding sciences, then Alexander Danilovich, unlike his comrades who studied with Peter I, who also received “shipmasters” patents, asked to be awarded a “shipmaster” patent apprentice" because he considered that the son of the royal groom, whom he was, was not worthy of the patent issued to the Sovereign. However, he was a very extraordinary man and his authority among shipbuilders, both domestic and foreign, was extremely high. And it must be said that in all respects A.D. Menshikov found the most rational, correct solutions.

Pyotr Alekseevich himself did not let shipbuilding in Lodeynoye Pole out of his sight. The construction of galleys was also established in St. Petersburg at the Galerny Yard, where the new Admiralty subsequently arose. The class of galleys, as combat units of the fleet, did not have a clear division by type, but some division still existed. For example, we know that on October 1, 1703, at the Olonets shipyard, master Yakov Kol laid down thirteen 10 - 12 can half-galleys. All of them were single-masted, 17.4 m long, 3.1 m wide, with posts - beams carried overboard, attached to special brackets - bucklers, with pin oarlocks - scarms.

Banks - seats for rowers - on Russian galleys were not placed perpendicular to the side, but at an angle of 81...82 degrees with an inclination towards the stern, according to the “scalocchio” system. “Steps” were made at each can so that the rowers could rest their feet on them. In Russia, soldiers of infantry regiments, civilians from among the “working people,” served as oarsmen in the galley fleet; among them there were also convicts, who were chained by their left legs to the steps. In addition to the rowers on each galley, depending on its size, there were 24 - 40 sailors, 9 - 14 officers and non-commissioned officers and 125 - 150 marines - the boarding team. Thus, the crew of the galley ranged from 150 to 500 people.

Among the gallery masters, Yuri Rusinov and Nikolai Muts, Greeks by nationality, were famous. With the advent of galleys, the vocabulary of Russian sailors was enriched with new terms. For example, a surface ram protruding forward from the stem was called a spyron; the superstructure covering the bow guns is the rambat; a light canopy at the stern of the galley - a tentalet. From the rambat to the tendalet, in the center plane of the ship there was a platform (between the banks of the rowers), called a curonian, and the guns located on it were called curonian. Under the Curonian there were various lockers. The foremast was called a trinket; mainmast - maistra; and the mizzen mast is a mezzanine.

When mentioning half-galleys, one cannot fail to mention one more type of these ships. This is, of course, a xebec, which received recognition from the pirates of North Africa, as it had good sailing speed. She had no equal in the Mediterranean. Shebeka had a deck length of 25...35 m and a developed sail of the lateen type. All three masts had triangular sails, but if the wind was favorable, the ship could also carry straight sails. One of the Algerian captains of the xebec said that his sailors do the work of three crews of a square-rigged vessel. With a slight jibe, yards with wide straight sails were installed on the foremast and mainmast. When sailing halfwind and close-hauled, straight sails were removed along with the yards, and long Latin ryu with triangular sails were installed in their place. If the wind increased to the point of a storm, then the long ryu with large sails was removed, and in their place short ryu, which carried small triangular sails, were put in place.

The bulk of the Russian galley fleet were medium galleys, they were called scampaways, they were 18-can (they had 18 cans). There were a few large galleys built according to the “French style”, which, as a rule, were used as flagships. For example, Admiral General F.M. Apraksin flew his flag on the 21-can galley "Natalya", built at the Olonets shipyard by Nikolai Muts in 1708. Its deck length was 53.3 m; width 7.6 m; interior depth 2.6 m; draft 1.2 m. The galley was armed with one 24-pound Curonian and two 12-pound running guns, and there were also 12 “bass on swivels” (here we are talking about 12 falconets). Each oar, 12 m long and weighing 80 kg, was “moved” by 5 people.

Prince M.M. Golitsyn flew his flag on the 22-can and 15-gun galley "Fivra", built in 1713 - 1714. the famous shipwright Yuri Antonovich Rusinov, and we already know how the Grengam battle ended. This galley had a length of 45 m, a width of 7.7 m. On banks 2.4 m long there were 5 oarsmen, who rowed with oars 12 m long and weighing about 80 kg. The Fivre had one 18-pounder, two 12-pounder and twelve 3-pounder guns (bass). The galley served until 1723, after which it was excluded from the lists of the fleet and dismantled.

The largest galley of the Peter the Great era is considered to be the 25-can three-masted "Dvina", built by the Italian shipwright Francesco Diponti according to the "Venetian style" in St. Petersburg in 1721. Its length was about 48.5 m, width with posts - 9.6 m, the oars had a length of 13.2 m and a mass of about 94 kg; 6 people rowed with each oar. The Dvina's armament consisted of one 24-pounder, two 12-pounder guns and twelve 3-pounder basses.

The so-called “horse galleys” also took part in the Northern War. These were purely landing ships, taking on board 25 - 40 horses with riders. They had a length of up to 42 m, a width of up to 10 m and a draft of up to 1.4 m. Their armament consisted of two 6-pounder and two 3-pounder guns. The last one built in Russia was a 21-bar horse-drawn galley in 1722 by master Francesco Diponti; which took 40 horses on board. The last 10-can galley for the Baltic Navy was launched in St. Petersburg in 1789, and for the Black Sea Fleet in Tavrov in 1790.

But galleys in Russia were built not only for the navy. For example, in 1767, Kostroma shipbuilders built the 11-can galley "Tver" in Tver for the journey of Empress Catherine II along the Volga. It was a beautiful ship in all respects; it was not for nothing that Catherine II approved the coat of arms of the city of Kostroma with the image of the Tver galley on it. This is what the Danish envoy to Russia Asseburg wrote about the ship: “... There is no shortage of any of the three amenities that could only be had in the capital. On Her Majesty's galley, called "Tver", there is a complete room with a room like a hall, where she freely dines with twelve interlocutors".

Catherine II undertook this trip to get acquainted with the southeastern provinces of Russia. A flotilla of ten ships led by the Tver departed down the Volga River on May 2, 1767. It included three Tver-class galleys (to accommodate the royal retinue), but their decoration was more modest. The royal galley had a length of 39 m, a hull width of 5.75 m, a width with posts of 7.65 m, a freeboard height at the bow of 1 m, at the stern superstructure - 1.9 m, the elevation of the stern above the main plane was 7 m. The ship It was built from local wood and richly decorated with carvings and gilding. The four-meter spire of an openwork design was organically combined with the stem. The hull had a slight camber of the sides, the deck was made of especially high-quality pine boards.

The hull of the Tver galley was assembled so well that when examined 150 years after construction, only minor cracks from drying out were found in some of the boards. The grooves and joints of the hull and deck plating boards were fitted so carefully that they did not even require caulking; the plating was only painted dark green. Even traditional tarring was not required. The body parts were fastened with iron bolts and long nails (pin nails). The aft superstructure, counting from the transom, had a length of 15 m and a width of 5.3 m (at the transom), which increased towards the bow to 6 m. The superstructure housed the rest and reception apartments - spacious and bright rooms, decorated with special splendor, as well as eight cabins; all premises were allocated for Catherine II. In total, the superstructure had 34 windows with frames and window sashes (which could be lowered into special grooves), as well as four doors, one on each side, and two, carried to the sides, in the bow bulkhead. At the transom on the superstructure deck there was a flagpole and a socket for a lantern (taillight).

On the deck - from bow to stern there were three passages 1.1 m wide; one in the center plane and two on the sides. Between them there were two cockpits 12 m long and with a recess of 0.5 m in relation to the main deck. There were banks for rowers. On the deck of the bow superstructure there were foundations for eight guns intended for fireworks. The hold housed cabins for the royal retinue, illuminated by eight rectangular windows.

On July 1, 1767, the royal family arrived in Kazan, then, having completed the official part, headed to Simbirsk, from where Catherine II left for Moscow by land. After the empress's departure, four royal galleys returned to Kazan, where they were placed in storage at the local admiralty. In 1804, a decree came from St. Petersburg, which ordered the three galleys to be dismantled “due to disrepair”, and the Tver galley to be stored, “ without changing the appearance it had"When the Kazan Admiralty was abolished, "Tver" was transferred for storage to the Maritime Ministry, then to the Department of State Property, then - in the early 60s of the 19th century - to the Kazan city public administration.

In 1888, on the outskirts of the Admiralteyskaya Sloboda, a special pavilion was built - a boathouse, in which the Tver galley was installed. In 1918, it came under the jurisdiction of the museum department of the People's Commissariat for Education, and then the Tatar Republican Museum of Local Lore. This is what the famous Kazan art critic P.E. Kornilov wrote in his monograph about the galley: "... for a student of art and, in particular, wood carving, there is some interesting material on the Tver galley. The decorative treatment attracts attention. The subjects of the carving are mythological scenes personifying the water element... There is a curious national moment in this carving... The decorative decorations of the galley, without a doubt , are an example of the high skill of Russian woodcarvers".

Today, with great regret, we have to admit that this priceless monument of Russian shipbuilding art has been irretrievably lost by us. At the end of the 1960s, a fire destroyed both the pavilion and the galley...

I. IVANOV

Russian shipbuilding improved. The frigate "Mikhail Archangel" was superior to its predecessors in its seaworthiness and combat qualities.

The publication of the Naval Charter in Russia in 1720 seemed to sum up a certain result of the country's maritime history: in the shortest possible time, a powerful, first-class navy was created in the Baltic.

Peter used all the best that was in Western shipbuilding. But he first of all took into account the peculiarities of the Russian theater of war and navigation off the coast of the fatherland.

Peter's fleet differed from Western European fleets in that at first it consisted mainly of rowing ships, varying in size and artillery armament. Peter proceeded from the fact that such ships are simple to build, relatively easy to control, and are well used to support the ground army. Only after the Poltava victory in 1709 did the intensive construction of a battle fleet begin in Russia. Only he could provide the country with dominance in the Baltic Sea.

By the end of the reign of Peter I, the navy in the Baltic was the most powerful among the fleets of other powers. It had 48 battleships and frigates, 787 galleys and other vessels. The total number of teams reached 28,000 people.

Two-thirds of the ship's crews consisted of sailors and gunners. One third are naval boarding soldiers. Naval ranks were determined by the table of ranks approximately as follows: sailors of the 1st and 2nd articles, admiral general and admiral, vice admiral and rear admiral, captain-commander, captain, captain-lieutenant (captain-lieutenant), lieutenant (lieutenant) , ship's secretary and first officer rank - second lieutenant (non-commissioned lieutenant). The rank of midshipman, introduced in 1713, was equivalent to a non-commissioned officer. Since 1716, midshipmen appeared in the fleet. The officers did not yet have uniforms. The sailors were dressed according to the Dutch pattern: hat, short pants, stockings. The naval soldiers wore the uniforms of army regiments.

Already the first naval battles glorified the Russian fleet. Capture of the Swedish ships "Astrild" and "Gedan" on May 7, 1703.
From a painting by Blinov.

The basis of the fleet was made up of battleships. At that time, a ship of the line was considered a ship with square sails, which had at least 50 guns and could fight in a line. The first battleship of the Baltic Fleet was the ship "Vyborg", built in 1710 with the personal participation and leadership of Peter.

The famous Peter's galley.

Russian shipbuilders strived for uniformity in the construction of ships. Without it, the creation of well-managed squadrons that clearly coordinated their actions at sea was unthinkable.

The Admiralty Regulations approved a strict system of ranks for the naval fleet and determined the calibers of naval artillery with distribution across the decks of battleships.

Peter's regulations were followed almost without deviation in the Russian fleet until the second half of the 18th century.

The 100- and 90-gun ships were built with three decks - these were the largest battleships in size and the most powerful in terms of artillery armament. On such a ship the flagship had to hold its flag and decide the success of the battle with its artillery.

The first three-deck, 90-gun ship of the Baltic Fleet, Lesnoye, was launched in St. Petersburg in 1718.

Frigate "Ivan-Gorod" (1705)

The ship was built under the personal supervision of Peter. Improved sailing equipment was installed here: the mizzen yard was replaced by a gaff, and on the bowsprit and jib, instead of straight sails, there were three triangular jibs.

In 1723, the first 100-gun three-deck battleship “Peter I and Peter II” was laid down in St. Petersburg. The ship was built according to the drawings and with the participation of Peter. After his death, the ship was completed and launched on June 29, 1727. The ship was in service until 1752.

Frigate "Petersburg" (1704)

80-gun battleships were sometimes built with three-deck beshkants and a forecastle (the ship “St. Andrew”), and sometimes two-decks with quarterdecks, a forecastle and a quarterdeck.

74- and 64-gun battleships formed the basis of the battle fleet.

They were smaller than ships of the main ranks, armed with weaker artillery, but they were easier to control.

Their speed, good agility, and durable hull made them convenient for long sea crossings.

Model of the three-deck ship "St. Andrew" (1721)

The best linear 64-gun ship of Peter's fleet in terms of its seaworthiness was Ingermanland, built in 1715 in St. Petersburg under the leadership of the ship's master Cosenza and under the supervision of Peter. This is one of the king's favorite ships. In 1716, the ship took part in the campaign on the Baltic Sea under the flag of Peter I, who commanded the united Russian-English-Dutch-Danish fleet. During all subsequent campaigns in the Baltic of 1718, 1719 and 1721, Peter kept his vice-admiral's flag on this ship.

Frigates Peter's era were armed with 28-44 guns and were intended for reconnaissance and assistance to damaged battleships. They were supposed to repel enemy fireships.

Frigates also carried out messenger service and escorted merchant ships. All the ships we talked about had three masts and straight sails.

The next class of ships of Peter the Great's time was the shnyavs. They had two masts, 12-18 guns and were intended for reconnaissance.

Pramas - flat-bottomed 16-18-gun batteries of 18-pound caliber - were built to protect Kronstadt.

Buera had one mast and several small-caliber guns.

Bombardier ships were built to bombard coastal fortifications. Armament - one or two heavy mortars.

Tartans- light ships, had two masts with oblique sails and several small guns.

Brigantines- light ships, assigned for short-range reconnaissance and messenger service.

The Russian peasant was not thinking about the wealth of the serf owner when he erected an intricate network of elaborate decorations on the sterns of Peter’s ships. Then not only these ships raised the sails - the Predistination and the frigate Dumkart - Russia raised the sails. Which of the patriotic shipbuilders could not sympathize with this great idea of ​​​​renewing the native land - the idea of ​​\u200b\u200bgoing to sea!..

Fire ships- ships used to burn enemy ships were filled with flammable material. Fire ships had to approach enemy ships from the windward side so that the wind from them would throw fire onto the enemy ship. At the ends of the fireships' yards, hooks were attached, which were used when it was necessary to firmly attach the fireship to the hull of the attacked vessel. They usually equipped completely old, unsuitable ships as fireships.

Flutes or kicks, shmaki, shkuts- were cargo ships, but were armed with several small-caliber cannons, and in Peter’s times they were even included in the navy.

The military rowing fleet in the time of Peter consisted of galleys, half-galleys and small galleys called scampaways.

The first galleys of the Baltic Fleet had cannons placed both at the bow on a special platform and along the sides on a platform running above the banks. 18- or 24-pound cannons were placed on the bow of the galleys, and two 12-pound cannons on each side.

The floor of the galleys was equipped with 12-, 18- and 6-pounder guns.

By the end of the reign of Peter I, the Russian state had both powerful hands: the army and the navy, the glory of which spread across all seas and oceans.

Galleys - large rowing boats with one row of oars. The name "galley" comes from the Greek word for "swordfish".The length of the galleys' oars ranged from 9 to 13.7 m, and the number of oars reached 5-7 people. The speed under the oars of the galleys reached 7 knots. The galley carried 2-3 masts (in some cases - 4 masts) with oblique or straight sails.

In the Russian fleet of the 18th century. large rowing ships were calledgalleys, half-galleys and scampaways.These ships had no fundamental differences. A number of authors believe that scampaways and half-galleys were smaller in size than galleys. In fact, the documents mention scampaways having b O larger than galleys. In various documents of Peter the Great’s time, the same ship was often called either a galley or a scampaway. That's whythe best historian of the Russian fleet F.F. Veselago in his reference book he combined them together.

The first 13 scampaways (according to other sources - half-galleys) were laid down on October 1, 1703. at the Olonets shipyard.

Since 1711, galleys have been built in Vyborg, since 1712 - in St. Petersburg, and since 1720 - in Abo. In total, over 200 galleys, half-galleys and scampaways were built during the war in the Baltic. Accurate records were not kept, and even the names of most of the galleys have not reached us, not to mention their tactical and technical characteristics.

Russian galleys (scampaveys, half-galleys) were built of three types - French, Venetian and Turkish "maniru".Most of the galleys were "Turkish maniru". Turkish galleys were distinguished by great speed and maneuverability, but worse seaworthiness, since they had low sides. In fresh weather in the Baltic, it was not recommended for Turkish manir galleys to sail. Only in the fall of 1714, 16 galleys (scampaways) of the “Turkish maniru” sank in a storm.

The “Turkish Maniru” galleys were keel ships with a long and narrow hull, which had a slight elevation above the water level. In front they had a slightly raised nasal protrusion, reminiscent of a ram. He called spiron. The front end of the yard (raine) was attached to it, holdingsail of the trinket (foremast) mast of a galley.Behind the spiron in the bow of the galleys there was platform , on which guns of the largest calibers were placed. The most powerful weapon stood in the center. In the middle of the galley, from bow to stern, there was another platform - the so-called Curonian , which served for the rapid movement of people along the galley and dragging cargo. It was covered with two tarred tarpaulins. From the bow to the stern superstructure to the left and right of the Curonian platform there were benches for rowers, called banks And. At the stern there was a superstructure-cabin, formed by wooden beams or arches, over which a tent was stretched - tendalet.

In 1710-1721 In Russia, 16-, 18- and 19-gauge galleys of Turkish proportions were built. Their length was 30-33.5 m, and their width was 5.3-5.6 m. The draft without load was 0.56-0.66 m, with load - 1.22-1.52 m.

The main engine of the galley was the oars.Their weight reached 90 kg, and their length was 13 m. From 3 to 5 rowers sat behind each oar, depending on the size of the galley. Experienced rowers made up to 25 strokes per minute, which allowed them to reach speeds of up to 6 knots.

The galleys also sailed relatively well. Usually they carried two masts with slanting sails.

Due to their design features, galleys could not have powerful artillery weapons. Only on the bow of the galley (on the platform) were one or three medium or large caliber cannons installed. The first Russian galleys had one 18-pounder or 24-pounder gun on the bow and two 12-pounder guns on either side, and half-galleys had one 12-pounder and two 6- or 8-pounder guns. By the end of the war, some large galleys had one 36-pounder and two 18-pounder guns mounted at the bow. In some cases, small mortars of 3-6 pound caliber were placed on the bow platform.

On the platform in the middle part of the hull, 2-pound and 3-pound guns were mounted on swivel mounts on the galleys. The two-pounder guns on galleys were often called bas.The cannons on the central platform were intended not only to fire at the enemy, but also to suppress rower riots.

In the first volume “History of domestic shipbuilding”states: "Thus, all eight galleys built according to the 1703 program were powerful warships and posed a serious threat to the Swedish fleet." There is no need to comment on such a passage. The weakest Swedish ship (50-gun) could smash a dozen of the largest galleys to smithereens.

Only small sailing ships could become prey for galleys, and with a large number of galleys - pram or frigate . When approaching an enemy ship, the attacking galleys fired a salvo from their bow guns. Then from the ends of the yards of both masts special "approachable anchors", with which the galley grappled with the enemy ship, and the galley crew landed on the enemy’s deck. However, as we will see, during the entire war with the Swedes, galleys were boarded in isolated cases. In our Baltic Fleet, galleys were mainly used as troop transports and landing craft.

In the Ottoman Empire, France, Venice, Sweden and other countries, rowers were usually convicts. By the way, and The word convict comes from the name of the rowing ship "Katorga". At first, this was the case on the first Russian galleys. So, in November 1704 Rear Admiral Botsiscompiled a list of all ranks required to staff galleys with teams. According to this list, each galley should contain 70 officers, constables, sailors and gunners, 150 boarding party soldiers and 250 slave rowers. But it soon became clear that hundreds of galleys would require tens of thousands of convicts. In battle, convicts pose a certain danger - at any moment they can start a riot or simply stop rowing. That's why Peter decided to replace convicts with soldiers of infantry regiments.

Slaves in the galleys spent the night between banks, as they say, at work places. Peter's soldiers spent the night like this only in exceptional cases. Russian galleys rarely went out to the open sea, but usually moved among the Finnish skerries, where they were inaccessible to the Swedish naval fleet. Therefore, in the evening the galleys moored to the shore, and most of the crew members spent the night on the shore.

In April 1714, the first three in Russia were launched at the Galernaya shipyard in St. Petersburghorse-drawn galleys (scampaways). Each such galley was intended to transport 25 horses. In the evenings or at daytime stops, horses were released to graze on the shore.

Thanks to Finland's rugged coastline, difficult terrain, and poor roads, galleys became the optimal means of transporting troops.

During the reign of Catherine II, on 25-can galleys there were 5-6 rowers per oar, on 22-can galleys - 5 rowers, on 20- and 16-can galleys - 4 rowers. On 20-can galleys there are only 160-200 oarsmen, on 16-can galleys - 128 rowers.

13 scampaways. Length along the keel is 17.4 m, along the deck - 22 m. Width 3.1 m. Draft 0.76 m. According to other sources, these are half-galleys. 1 mast. 10-12 beams. Laid down on October 1, 1703 at the Olonets shipyard, launched in 1704. Builder Ya. Col.

Galleys of the "St. Peter" type (7 units). 16 cans. Length 35-39.2 m. Width 4.9-6.7 m. Draft 1.1 m. 2 masts. Built at the Olonets shipyard.

"St. Peter". 19 guns. Laid down on July 29, 1703, launched on May 21, 1704. Dismantled before 1710.

"Golden Eagle". 19 guns. Laid down on October 22, 1703, launched on June 10, 1704. Dismantled before 1710.

"Saint Theodore Stratilates." 19 guns. Laid down on September 21, 1703, launched on June 18, 1704. Dismantled in Vyborg in 1711.

"Alexander the Great". 19 guns. Laid down on September 21, 1703, launched on July 25, 1704. Dismantled in Vyborg in 1711.

"Hope". 18 guns. Laid down on December 3, 1703, launched on May 24, 1705. Dismantled in Vyborg in 1711.

"Love". 18 guns. Laid down on October 1, 1703, launched on May 29, 1705. Dismantled in Vyborg in 1711.

"Faith". 18 guns. Laid down on October 22, 1704, launched on July 17, 1705.

"Natalia". 21 banks. Length 53.64 m. Beam at the bottom 3.66 m, at the top - 7.62 m. Draft 2.59 m. Laid down on February 8, 1708 at the Olonets shipyard.

Builder N. Muts.

Armament: I-24-pound cannon, 2-12-pound cannon, 12 bass on swivels.

Galleys of the "St. Anna" type ("St. Anna", "St. Alexander", "St. Feodor Stratilates"). 20 cans. Founded in 1710 on Vyborgskaya

Shipyards, launched in 1711. BuilderYu.A. Rusinov.

Armament: 1 - 12-pound cannon, 2-6-pound cannon.

13 scampaways. Laid down in 1710 at the Vyborg shipyard, launched in 1711. Armament: 1-6-pound cannon, 2-3-pound cannon, 4 falconets. Builder Yu.A. Rusinov.

50 scampaways. Laid down in October1712 at the Galerny yard in St. Petersburg, lowered in April - May 1713. Builder Yu.A. Rusinov.

Innumber:“Anshtura”, “Bardun”, “Brongo”, “Gaui”, “Gorisha”, “Gota”, “Ap”, “Carp”, “Crabby”, “Lomi”, “Moklets”, “Ritsa”, “Rumba” ", "Desk", "Poust".

30 scampaways. Laid down in September1713 at the Galerny Yard in St. Petersburg, launched in April 1714. Builder Yu.A. Rusinov.

30 Scampaway. Laid down on June 6, 1713 at the Galerny Yard in St. Petersburg, launched in April 1714. Builder N. Muts.

1 large half-galley. Laid down on October 15, 1713 at the Galerny Yard in St. Petersburg, launched in May 1714. Builder Yu.A. Rusinov.

"Walfish"("Whale" - Swiss). Former Swedish galley, captured during Battle of Gangut July 27, 1714 . Kept in memory of the Ganugt victory on the shore in Kronverkskaya harbor . By 1742, it had almost completely rotted and, by order of the Admiralty Board on August 27, 1742, it was dismantled.

"Geden"("Pike" - Swiss). A former Swedish galley, captured during the Battle of Gangut on July 27, 1714. It was kept in memory of the Gangut victory on the shore in Kronverk harbor. By 1742, it had almost completely rotted and, by order of the Admiralty Board of August 27, 1742, it was dismantled.

"Gripen"(“Griffin” - Swiss). A former Swedish galley, captured during the Battle of Gangut on July 27, 1714. It was kept in memory of the Gangut victory on the shore in Kronverk harbor. By 1742, it had almost completely rotted and, by order of the Admiralty Board of August 27, 1742, it was dismantled.

Armament: 2-6-pound and 10-3-pound cannons.

"Laxen"("Salmon" - Swiss). A former Swedish galley, captured during the Battle of Gangut on July 27, 1714. It was kept in memory of the Gangut victory on the shore in Kronverk harbor. By 1742 it had almost completely rotted and, by order,

Admiralty colleagues and on the 27th of Shust, 1742, it was dismantled.

Armament: 2-6-pound and 10-3-pound cannons.

"Trana"(“Grey Crane” - Swiss). A former Swedish galley, captured during the Battle of Gangut on July 27, 1714. It was kept in memory of the Gangut victory on the shore in Kronverk harbor. By 1742, it had almost completely rotted and, by order of the Admiralty Board of August 27, 1742, it was dismantled.

"Ern"("Eagle" - Swiss). A former Swedish galley, captured during the Battle of Gangut on July 27, 1714. It was kept in memory of the Gangut victory on the shore in Kronverk harbor. By 1742, it had almost completely rotted and, by order of the Admiralty Board of August 27, 1742, it was dismantled.

Armament: 2-36-lb and 14-3-lb cannons.

7 large half-galleys . Laid down in October 1714 at the Galerny Yard in St. Petersburg, launched in April 1715. Builder Yu.A. Rusinov.

26small half-galleys. Laid down in October 1714 at the Galerny Yard in St. Petersburg, launched in May 1715.

7large half-galleys. Laid down on October 11, 1715 in October 1714 at the Galerny Yard in St. Petersburg, launched in May 1716.

14 small half-galleys. Laid down on October 11, 1715 at the Galerny Yard in St. Petersburg, launched in April - May 1716.

The documents contain the names of 23 half-galleys built in 1716 G. In Petersburg:“Anguzhiguli”, “Bavulo”, “Bachan”, “Cut”, “Dungelo”, “Boar”, “Kaporotsul”, “Spoonbill”, “Lobra”, “Salmon”, “Loch”, “Minulo”, “Walrus” ", "Neva", "Sturgeon", "Gudgeon", "Raina", "Sevryuga", "Nightingale", "Sterlet", "Hornus", "Shereshper", "Ekht".

20 galleys. Laid down in 1716 at the Galerny Yard in St. Petersburg, launched in 1717.

Including:“Anstiza”, “Dolphin”, “Kolomar”, “Columba”, “Laust”, “Raza”, “Svoilo”, “Sepa”, “Skobra”, “Folno”, “Shubra”.

Galleys “Bagulya”, “Dove”, “Zuy”, “Canary”, “Langvila”, “Eagle”, “Cod”, “Ferix”. Laid down at the Galerny Yard in St. Petersburg, launched in 1719.

20 galleys. Laid down at the Galerny yard in St. Petersburg, launched in 1720 G.

Including: “Victoria”, “Harbora”, “Constance”, “Consistency”, “Salmon”, “Dff”.

10 horse galleys. Laid down in Abo, launched in 1720.

There are names in the documents11 horse-drawn galleys built 1720G.:“Crow”, “Coccyx”, “Laruzet”, “Mushula”, “Pasarim”, “Pitsa”, “Kestrel”, “Repolov”, “Jay”, “Pike-perch”, “Duck”.

Horse-drawn galleys were intended to transport horses.

"Dvina". 15 guns. 25 cans. Length 48.5 m. Width 9.6 m. 3 masts. Built in St. Petersburg in 1721 "Venetian style" . Armament: 1-24-pound cannon, 2-12-pound cannon, 12-3-pound falconets.

Scampavea (half-galley) - a high-speed light military rowing galley of the 18th century. In the Russian fleet of Peter the Great's time it was used for reconnaissance, transportation of troops, landings and boarding battles in skerries, as well as for towing sailing ships in calm conditions.

Design

Translated from Italian “scampavea” means “running away from danger”, “elusive”. Borrowed from the Italians. It was a Venetian galley reduced by 30-40%.
The scampaways had a length of 36.6 - 39.6 m, a width of 4.8 - 5.5 m and a shallow draft. These ships were one- and two-masted, with slanting sails, had up to 18 pairs of oars and could accommodate up to 150 people. Their armament consisted of three to six 12-pounder cannons and 16-20 basses (1-2-pounder falconets).
Since the ship was not very large, 18 oars made it possible to move at high speed at that time. This provided the opportunity to break away from a more powerful enemy vessel that was catching up, as well as to quickly capture an enemy who had crossed the state border. If the wind was fair, triangular sails were used on two masts.

Combat use

In Russia, scampaways were built and used only during the reign of Emperor Peter I from 1700 to 1725.
The first Russian scampaway was built for the Baltic Fleet at the Olonets shipyard in 1703. In total, in the 1st quarter of the 18th century. About 300 scampaways were built. Russian scampaways were better suited for operations in the skerries of the Gulf of Finland than large Swedish ships, which played a certain role in Russia's victory over Sweden in the Northern War of 1700-1721.

On July 27 (August 7), 1714, the Russian fleet consisting of 99 galleys and half-galleys under the command of Admiral General Count F.M. Apraksin (the vanguard was commanded by Peter I) won the first major naval victory over the Swedes in the Battle of Gangut, and on July 27 (August 7 ) in 1720, 66 rowing ships under the command of General M.M. Golitsyn won an equally glorious victory off the island of Grengam.

The Adventures of Peter's Galley

Yuri Kushchevsky. New business in Russia! Launching of the galley "Principium" at the Voronezh shipyard on April 3, 1696.

Yes, Russia will not even create a single legend about our galley, which was personally built by Pyotr Alekseevich,” thought the young Tsar’s orderly, Alexander Kikin, as he fell asleep after yet another inspection of the construction of the galleys. - I foresee great glory for the first Russian frigate...

The rich and noble Kikin family had its roots in the ancestral Russian lands. Alexander’s grandfather, Pyotr Mikhailovich, a former prisoner of the Turkish fortress of Azov, for his services to the state was granted at the beginning of the 16th century a solid estate and the small village of Shchurov, located on the banks of the Oka, on the border of the Ryazan region and Muscovy. Father, Vasily Petrovich, steward of the sovereign Alexei Mikhailovich Romanov, glorified his name with a diplomatic mission in the Pereyaslav Rada and with the reunification of Ukraine with Russia. He, among other sovereign people, participated in a diplomatic mission that accepted Hetman Bohdan Khmelnitsky and Ukrainian lands under the sovereign's hand, fought with the Poles near Smolensk in the troops of governor Vasily Petrovich Sheremetyev and was awarded a commendable sovereign's letter for his service. Having married noblewoman Maria Mikhailovna, a representative of the noble Golokhvastov family, Vasily Petrovich settled in Moscow. The family had four sons - Peter, Ivan, Bartholomew and Alexander.

The youngest, Alexander Vasilyevich, was only two years older than the future Tsar Peter Alekseevich and from childhood grew up as a smart tomboy with a sharp mind, ingenuity and hard work. Through his mother, nee Golokhvastova, Alexander from childhood became close to the Naryshkins, relatives of the mother of the future Tsar Peter I. Using the patronage of the royal family, Alexander was a member of the royal mansions from his youth and managed to find an approach to one of the two future contenders for the royal throne - young Peter. At the age of 23, Alexander, at the behest of Pyotr Alekseevich, becomes the bombardier of the young Tsar’s amusing regiment. From that time on, their friendship began and a year later Pyotr Alekseevich took him as his orderly. It was from this time that the stormy military, diplomatic and political life of Alexander began, or, as Pyotr Alekseevich personally called him, Leksashki.

Young Peter, at the age of eighteen, liked Lexashkina’s intelligence and education, ability to keep his mouth shut, his agility and diligence. And now, having made him his orderly, he was sure that Lexashka would not only be a faithful executor of his will, but also a true friend. Pyotr Alekseevich demanded that Lexashka be constantly near him and rarely let him take a break from official affairs. Thus began their joint activity, which eventually turned into a tragedy.

Waking up in the morning, Alexander, with his characteristic agility, quickly got out of bed, washed his face with cold water and thought about his plans for the coming new day. He was used to always being near Peter, who planned the day ahead for him. But today the young king gave Lexashka a free day; there was nowhere to rush. Alexander gave orders to the servants to clean the upper room, and then sat down at the oak table and became thoughtful. It was time to reflect on the past few days.

Alexander took out a blank sheet of paper, took out a pen and ink and looked out the open window of his mansion. A new day was dawning outside the window, the pink sky was visible above the high fence, and the last events of his friendship with Pyotr Alekseevich surfaced in Lexashka’s memory...

Once young Peter told his friend about his acquaintance with Franz Timmerman, an expert in maritime affairs and astrolabe. Some details of Pyotr Alekseevich’s story surfaced in Lexashka’s memory:

“We happened to visit the Linen Yard in Izmailovo,” Pyotr Alekseevich told Lexashka then. - Walking through the old barns, where the remains of things from the house of Nikita Ivanovich Romanov’s grandfather lay, I saw a strange small foreign ship. Amazed by what I saw, I asked Franz what kind of ship this was? He explained that the ship was old, an ordinary English boat. Where can I use it, I asked. The unperturbed Timmerman calmly explained that such boots are used on ships and are used for driving on shallow water and transporting small loads or people in small quantities. I was even more surprised,” Pyotr Alekseevich recalled then, “and asked again: what advantage does this boat have over our courts?” And Franz explained to me that he sails not only with the wind, but also against it. Such words brought me into great surprise, and I was not slow in asking Timmerman: is there such a person in our vicinity who could repair it and show the course of the sea? Hearing these words, he immediately ordered Franz to find that man. A couple of days later,” said Pyotr Alekseevich, “Franz found the Dutchman Karstein Brant, who was called up under my father in the company of sea people to build sea vessels on the Caspian Sea. So, Brant repaired this old boat in a week, made a mast and sails, dragged it with his comrades to the Yauza and pointed out the river tack. A couple of days later, after frequently going out along the river in this boat, I saw that the boat did not always toss and turn well, rested against the banks and did not give in to the oars. I ordered Karsten to answer: what is the reason for the clumsiness of our bot? He said that the water was narrow for a boat to navigate through river water with ten people on board. Then I moved him to Prosyannaya Pond, but even there he found a little excitement, and the desire for swimming became more and more by the hour. I began to visit the house-serfs, where more water could be found; The servants told me about Lake Pereslavl. But I had to go to the lake, and my mother wouldn’t let me go. I had to bypass the queen with my mind and beg her to make a prayer trip to the Trinity Monastery. So I asked for permission, but in fact, I delivered my boat to Lake Pereslavl and made the exit through the vast water myself with my comrades.

This is the story Lexashka remembered. He knew that it was then that a thirst for sea voyages arose in the soul of the young tsar, and a year later that tsar’s boat was called the “grandfather” of the Russian fleet.

Alexander Vasilyevich’s thoughts took him to the recent past, when he and Pyotr Alekseevich, who received permission from his mother, left for Arkhangelsk on July 4, 1693, where they arrived on the morning of July 30. This trip was also one of the reasons that prompted us to make a campaign against Azov and build the first Russian fleet. Lexashka recalled how during the trip he and young Peter witnessed the preparation of several Dutch and English merchant ships to go home from Arkhangelsk, and Peter then decided to take the opportunity and make his first sea voyage. On the Russian 12-gun yacht “St. Peter”, he and Pyotr Alekseevich joined the merchant caravan and escorted it quite far out to sea. Six days of sea travel lit a new “fire of maritime affairs” in Peter’s soul - he decides to stay in Arkhangelsk until the new trade fleet from Hamburg, expected by the beginning of autumn, arrives. Remaining in Arkhangelsk until the fall, Peter laid down the 24-gun ship “St. Apostle Paul” at the Solombala shipyard on September 18, 1693 and entrusted its construction to foreign shipbuilders - N. Vilim and J. Rance. In addition, Peter ordered the purchase of a 44-gun frigate from Holland called the Holy Prophecy.

Subsequent events in Alexander's memory lined up in a logical chain. After the death of his mother on January 28, 1694, the young heir seriously thought about the importance of the fleet for Russia. At the beginning of May, he again goes to Arkhangelsk, taking a friend with him, and makes a short but dangerous sea voyage on the yacht “St. Peter” to the Solovetsky Monastery. Having only three ships: two built in Arkhangelsk and one built by order of the young tsar in Holland and delivered to Arkhangelsk on the eve of Peter’s arrival, the tsar included them in the next foreign caravan, consisting of four Dutch and four English merchant ships and setting off for their homeland. Having escorted the foreigners to the exit from the White Sea, the three Russian ships returned to Arkhangelsk. The second serious trip to sea showed Peter that not only did he not have a fleet, but he also had no maritime specialists. Alexander himself witnessed that neither Vice Admiral Buturlin, commander of the ship "Apostle Pavel", nor Admiral Prince Fyodor Romodanovsky, commanding the frigate "Holy Prophecy", nor Rear Admiral Patrick Gordon knew maritime affairs. It was necessary to first learn maritime affairs, and then only begin to build our own - the Russian navy. Before leaving Arkhangelsk for Moscow, Peter orders a 32 oared galley from Holland to deliver it piece by piece to Arkhangelsk, and from there to the Volga and the Caspian Sea. It is this galley that in the future will be destined to become the model for the construction of the first 22 Russian ships, the Peter the Great galley “Principium”, which led the first Russian fleet under the flag of Lefort in the assault on Azov.

The autumn of 1694 passed for Peter in thinking not only about the “naval matter”, but also about his intentions to recapture the fortress of Azov from the Turks and gain access to the Azov and Black Seas. This idea appealed to Alexander, since since childhood he had wanted to look at that mysterious Turkish fortress that his grandfather had visited in the distant past.

The New Year 1695 was marked by the first Azov campaign of Pyotr Alekseevich. The unsuccessful campaign finally convinced the young king to create his own fleet. It was decided to make Voronezh the base of the fleet. The king chose this city not by chance: having visited it for the first time in 1694, he was surprised by the abundance of centuries-old forests suitable for building ships; I was also convinced that Lipetsk iron ore lay near the city; The Voronezh River flowed into the Don and during the flood had sufficient navigability, and the local population and the Don Cossacks, thanks to the sending of “Don holidays,” had experience in the construction of river ships.

All these events became the reason for the start of Pyotr Alekseevich’s preparations for naval construction during the preparation for the second Azov campaign. At the end of July, in the midst of preparations for the assault on Azov, Pyotr Alekseevich receives news from Moscow that a dismantled Dutch galley has arrived in Arkhangelsk. Delivered by water first to the Volga, in November of the same year, on twenty specially arranged logs, the galley departs for Moscow, to Preobrazhenskoye. Its length was 38.1 meters, width 9.1 meters, draft 1.8 meters. Such a ship can be classified as a half-galley, but in documents of that time, due to the lack of a clear distinction, it was called a galley.

Alexander recalled how he witnessed Peter Alekseevich writing a letter to Arkhangelsk Governor Fyodor Apraksin on November 30, 1695. The letter mentioned the “consultation” - the first plans for the construction of a military fleet: “with the consultation of the gentlemen generals, I ordered to make galleys for the future war, for which it is convenient for me to be the ship-timermans of all of you here, since they will forward this winter time to tuna, and here at that time, in the meantime, they can do great good for the war, and the stern and for the labor will be sufficiently paid, and by the time the ships depart they will be returned without detention, and thus reassure them, and give them carts, and food for the road, as well as foreigners who from now on, besides the Timermans, they will write about them, also carts and food, namely: the cabin boy and the Stirman, and as soon as possible they came here.” The provisions of the “consultation” immediately began to be implemented. Preobrazhenskoye was transformed into a shipyard for the construction of the first Russian fleet...

A sudden fuss outside the door made Alexander wake up from his memories. The door opened with a creak, and the service man said in a quiet voice:

Alexander Vasilyevich, the sovereign orders you to arrive at the shipyard.

“Well, now you’ve had a rest,” Alexander thought, getting up from the table and heading to the closet with clothes. Two hours later, in a light cart, he drove up to the gates of the shipyard, quickly got out of it and hurried to the construction site.

Among dozens of soldiers and hundreds of workers, among the bulky wooden “goats” supporting the galleys under construction, it was difficult to find the young king dressed in an ordinary peasant caftan.

What, Lexashka? Didn't I let you sleep? Don't blame me, brother, I need you. Today ten cartloads of logs were delivered, but it seems to me that they are rotten. Look, my friend, am I judging these logs correctly?

The Tsar quickly walked tens of meters, dragging Alexander and two guard soldiers with him, stepping over logs, chips and pieces of metal.

Glad, brother, here’s some new firewood,” Peter said loudly, his eyes sparkling and pointing to several carts with timber.

Look, what news,” Lexashka answered calmly, “we have all this frozen and damp forest going to our galleys.” I was surprised, sir, not great news.

Don’t be insolent to the Tsar, if it’s fashionable to contradict the Tsar! If I don’t see that you’re my friend, I’ll grab you by the Chubass and lock you up for a couple of hours in the cold. You stroke it and you immediately calm down!

Forgive me, sir, foolish slave. But wasn’t it you who taught me from childhood to always tell you the truth? “Don’t be angry for my peasant’s directness,” Lexashka mumbled, embarrassed and lowering his head.

Okay, don't be embarrassed! It’s for your directness that I love you, my faithful friend,” Peter continued in a softer voice. “I can see for myself that they are delivering rotten stuff to us.” What should we do if you and I, brother, have absolutely no time: a great battle awaits us! Go, you won’t be of any use to me today, you’ll only ruin my mood. Go home, you will be needed at noon, we will hold a council, we will choose the commanders of our fleet.

Peter smiled cheerfully, patted his orderly on the shoulder and gently nudged him in the side. Lexashka bowed again and took a couple of steps back from Peter. The king turned sharply and, with the same fast step, hurried to his previous place, accompanied by soldiers. “Yeah, it’s easy to say, “Go.” As soon as you leave, he will send for me again. I'd rather stay at the shipyard; time flies quickly, look, the sun will set,” Lexashka thought and turned in the opposite direction. Slowly walking through the construction site, Alexander carefully examined the 22 galleys under construction based on the model delivered from Arkhangelsk, and 4 fire ships. The galleys reached a length of 38 and a width of 9 meters, had two masts and from 28 to 36 oars. Alexander knew that the first builders of the fleet in Preobrazhensky were soldiers of the Semenovsky and Preobrazhensky regiments, as well as the Dutch hired by the merchant Hartmann. An expert in the “convict” case, F. Timmerman, was appointed chief surveyor; Tikhon Sternev was responsible for the supply of timber and “getting” people, and A. Krevet, the interpreter of the Ambassadorial Prikaz, settled with the foreigners the supplies of sailing and rigging.

Take care, master! We'll kill you!

The loud shout of a strong man, wrapped in a sheepskin coat and deftly managing a light firewood loaded with firewood, distracted Alexander from his thoughts. Stepping away from the road, Alexander again plunged into a continuous roar, in which the grinding of runners and the neighing of horses, the piercing creak of working saws, the dull knock of hundreds of axes and hammers, barely audible sad melodies of old Russian songs and soldiers' shouts were intertwined. The acrid black dust from the fires with warming resin, mixed with the December frost, completely sobered up the young man’s consciousness in a moment. Rarely did anyone call him master at the shipyard; More often, both soldiers and ordinary people affectionately called him “Lexander Vasilyevich,” knowing that Alexander had only recently become young Peter’s orderly. He walked through the crowds of working people and mountains of building material in the forests of several galleys and approached his own, recently named by Pyotr Alekseevich “Principium”. It was she, disassembled, that was the first to be delivered from abroad and became a model for the construction of other galleys. Among the forests enveloping the galley being assembled from many parts into a new ship unknown to Alexander, the Principium now seemed to him a terrible giant and a fabulous monster. "Mother of God! Blessed Virgin Mary! How is Pyotr Alekseevich going to carry this colossus across all of Mother Russia from Moscow to Voronezh? - thought the young man, raising his head high and examining the stern of the galley, as if he was seeing it for the first time. “Yes, no one has ever managed to do this before.”

He carefully made his way through the scaffolding to the side of the galley and ran his hand along the frozen boards. “How long can such a galley, built from frozen boards, withstand? They had to be dried well, but apparently our Galias was not destined to live long. Nothing, another fate is prepared for him by the Lord God,” Alexander finished his thought out loud.

Don't spoil me, Alexander Vasilyevich! Inadvertently crushed by a log! Give up karma,” came the loud voice of one of the soldiers guarding about two dozen workers.

Alexander stepped aside, carefully stepping over the logs and planks scattered around the galley. After standing for a while in oblivion at a distance, he suddenly turned sharply and quickly hurried to the exit of the shipyard, skirting all kinds of fires and mountains of planks and with difficulty making his way through crowds of working people and soldiers.

Two hours later, he was already sitting in the hallway of the palace of the sick Lefort and was waiting for Pyotr Alekseevich for a meeting. It was dusk on December 14, 1695. A few minutes later, Avtonom Golovin, Patrick Gordon and three other noble boyars close to the tsar entered the chambers. Peter was the last to enter. He greeted Alexander and, frowning, ordered:

Stay alert, Alexander. We are having a serious conversation, don’t let anyone into Lefort’s bedchamber. The purpose of our meeting is to choose a generalissimo and an admiral. So at any moment I will need you too.

The Tsar slammed the door behind him and in the ensuing silence of the hallway, Alexander heard a lively conversation behind the door. It was impossible to hear the entire conversation, but the smart royal orderly guessed that Peter appointed his favorite sick General Lefort as admiral of the future fleet, who until his death in 1699 then signed his new double rank - general and admiral. Colonel Lima became vice admiral; Schoutbenacht (rear admiral) - Colonel de Lozier. The famous military leader Alexei Semyonovich Shein was appointed commander-in-chief of the Russian army, who for his successes in the Battle of Azov and the great victory over the Turks on June 28, 1696, would be personally declared generalissimo by Peter I.

The meeting ended after midnight. Pyotr Alekseevich asked Leksashka to personally conduct each of the meeting participants and handed over several sheets of paper covered in his own handwriting. Returning home late at night, Alexander realized from sheets of paper that Peter had already determined the list of captains of all 23 galleys. It was assumed that the command of the main galley "Principium" would be taken over by Peter, two galleys similar to it would be given to Admiral Lefort and Vice Admiral Lima, the captains of the remaining galleys would be appointed: Weide, Pristav, Bykovsky, F. Hotunskag, Grott, de Lozier , Y. Bruce, Inglis, Cuningham, Trubetskoy, Bulart, Gasenius, I. Khotunsky, Oleshev, Ushakov, Repnin, R. Bruce, Turlaville and Schmidt. From Peter's notes, Alexander guessed that it was supposed to install 6 guns on Schmidt's galleys, 5 on Trubetskoy's, 4 on Roman Bruce, Bykovsky, Kuningham, de Lima and Ivan Khotunsky's galleys, and three guns on the remaining galleys. It was supposed to appoint the princes of Cherkassky, Veliko-Gagin, Lobanov-Rostovsky and captain Leontyev as captains of the four branders.

February 1696 was approaching, and the time was approaching for the unfinished galleys and ships to be sent to Voronezh. After the death of his brother, Pyotr Alekseevich becomes the sole tsar of the Russian Empire and prepares for a trip to the Voronezh shipyard. Three days before the tsar’s arrival in Voronezh, by order of the tsar, Alexander sent Lukyan Vereshchagin from Moscow to Voronezh with the goal of quickly finding suitable housing for the sovereign and preparing the royal chambers. Later, Alexander learns that Lukyan picked up the yard of the clerk Matorin on the banks of the Voronezh River. This house, which served for several months as Peter’s home and the main center of maritime administration, would later receive the name “The Sovereign’s Tent on Voronezh.”

In mid-February, Pyotr Alekseevich with his orderly and a small military guard, almost light, set off in a small convoy to Voronezh, where he arrived on February 28. The tsar did not order a magnificent meeting to be held and came to the city under the name of Pyotr Alekseev, so as not to bring the “evil eye” upon himself. On the outskirts of the city, the royal convoy was met by steward Grigory Semenovich Titov, the chief manager for the procurement of building materials, and several construction workers, thereby emphasizing the importance of the royal mission. All together they proceeded to the new residence of the young king.

The farmstead consisted of two wooden upper rooms. The first featured a carved porch, then a spacious entryway and three rooms, one of which boasted an antique tiled stove. The second house was connected by a passageway to the first, and also featured a porch leading to three more small rooms of the second house. Before the arrival of the Tsar, the walls of the upper rooms were covered with inexpensive, but quite decent cloth, and ordinary wooden furniture was installed. The small yard contained a food cellar with a log floor, a hastily built bathhouse with a stove and two windows, and a small “cookhouse” for cooking. In front of the entrance to the courtyard, they set up a guardhouse and stationed two soldiers who guarded the courtyard around the clock in shifts from a detachment of ten armed soldiers. A small pier for small ships and plows was built very close to the courtyard.

Both Peter and Alexander liked these modest buildings. They were quite suitable for habitation, and the young tsar was not at all interested in the special amenities: he came to Voronezh to complete the construction of his fleet, and not to have fun. The main goal that the king remembered was the capture of Turkish Azov and, thereby, gaining access to the Sea of ​​​​Azov.

The next morning, Pyotr Alekseevich, accompanied by three artisans and one soldier, went to the shipyard, leaving Alexander at home to attend to his business. It turns out that the construction of large plows had been going on here for more than a month by order of Peter. The bulk of the working people at the shipyard in Voronezh were dragoons, archers, Cossacks and soldiers from the cities of the Belgorod category. The total number of people was expected to be about 27,000. At the same time, in Voronezh, Kozlov, Dobroy and Sokolsk, local residents and Don Cossacks were ordered to produce 1300 plows from 12 to 17 fathoms in length and from 2 and a half to 3 and a half in width, 300 boats and 100 rafts.

In reality, by the time of Peter Alekseevich’s arrival, only 1,259 plows were being built at four shipyards. Due to the difficult ascent along the Don against the current, dozens of plows broke or leaked, but given that plowing was a common occupation for residents of the Belogorodsky category who were directly involved in construction, the presence of forests on the coast made it possible to quickly restore or build new plows. As Peter was informed, by the end of February about 26,000 people had already been involved in the construction of the plows, while from 17 to 28 people participated in the construction of one plow. In reality, the number of workers was much smaller. According to the secret stories of the masters to Alexander, in Dobroye alone there were 1,229 people who did not start work; 1,878 people fled from work and during the delivery of the plows in Voronezh, 127 were sick, 17 died. The same situation, according to reports, passing through the hands of the orderly Pyotr Alekseevich, was observed in Sokolsk and Kozlov.

In a short time, the young man met many local artisans, learned for the first time who the Don Cossacks were, and became convinced of their love of freedom, ingenuity and devotion to their land. Sometimes he visited the simple homes of ordinary people, saw their difficult living conditions and was amazed at how these builders of the first Russian fleet, about whom legends would be made in the future, managed to maintain humanity, love for others, compassion and mercy in the most difficult conditions. Thousands of people formed a single living anthill, in which there was a place for family relationships, and sorrow, and joy, and incendiary Russian, Ukrainian and Cossack dances, and melodic Don melodies. But, possessing philanthropy, kindness and a sharp mind, Alexander Vasilyevich knew many by name, and treated both noble persons and officers and ordinary builders and Cossacks with equal respect. This helped him survive in these harsh conditions of hasty construction of the fleet far from family and friends. It was here, communicating with craftsmen, rereading dozens of petitions, decrees and orders, reviewing foreign drawings of various ships, that he enriched himself with both theoretical knowledge and practical skills of shipbuilding, and acquired diplomacy skills that were useful in his further career.

Tsar Peter immersed himself in construction from the first days, practically leading the entire process of building ships. It seemed that he had forgotten about his galleys. But Alexander constantly remembered the unfinished ships near Moscow and was especially worried about his galley. He did not yet know anything about the great ship procession overland through all of Russia, but he could guess about its grave consequences. Indeed, in the early spring of 1696, a dramatic overland procession of 27 ships with a large amount of building material, boards and logs began from Preobrazhenskoye to Voronezh. At the beginning of the journey, the main draft force was horses and oxen in villages near Moscow. By order of the young king, along the entire route of the caravan of ships, it was ordered to drive away serfs from the nearest villages, as well as deliver fugitive serfs and convicts. The proverb “hard labor” appeared precisely from these times, but initially it meant hard work in the construction of hard labor - this is what foreign galleys, unfamiliar to Russian ears, were sometimes called. And during the difficult journey across all of Russia, the proverb acquired a new connotation: “hard labor” is backbreaking, inhuman, and sometimes deadly work. Each galley and ship was accompanied by their captains (except for the sick Lefort), the ship's crew and soldiers, who partially acted as "draft force". The main burden fell on the shoulders of the serfs, the peasants, hundreds of horses and bulls, and dozens of carts with provisions. In inhumane conditions, through snow, frozen ground, and in some places through mud, for about a month, the convoy with the unfinished first Russian fleet moved through the whole of Russia from the Moscow region to Voronezh.

Finally, the convoy with galleys and ships reached Voronezh. Pyotr Alekseevich and Lexashka personally met the ship captains. From constant lack of sleep, worries and thoughts about his galley, twenty-six-year-old Alexander Vasilyevich looked much older than his years, which prompted Pyotr Alekseevich to now jokingly call him “grandfather,” knowing that Lexashka was only two years older than him.

The unfinished ships were immediately placed in the scaffolding and their hasty assembly continued. But here it turned out that there was no ash suitable for galley oars in the vicinity of Voronezh. Alexander personally made sure that ash was among the logs that Peter ordered additionally from the Tula and Venev districts. Ash was delivered three weeks later, among three thousand logs of special tree species.

Pyotr Alekseevich remains in the city until the beginning of May. He personally worked on the construction of the ships, which arrived in mid-March, and was involved in their equipment and crewing. The construction of the royal galley “Principium” and which became the “mother” of the Russian navy was carried out by the Vologda carpenter Osip Shcheka with 24 assistants and the Nizhny Novgorod master Yakov Ivanov with 8 workers. Peter did not pay much attention to his galley, but Alexander Kikin personally supervised all the construction work on this galley in every free moment.

At the end of March, Voivode A.S. Shein, appointed commander-in-chief of the ground forces, arrived in Voronezh. In fact, Peter himself supervised the entire construction. His closest assistants were T.N. Streshnev, F. Timmerman with his assistant Andrei Krevet and, of course, A.S. Shein. During April, Russian troops gathered in Voronezh, foreigners arrived: shipbuilding engineers and officers.

And finally, the fleet was ready. It consisted of three caravans, led by three flagships under the general direction of Admiral General Lefort on a Dutch galley. For Vice Admiral Lim and Schoutbenacht Loeser, the flagship ships were the Apostle Peter and the Apostle Paul. Peter's galley was simply called "His Majesty" or "Kumandera". The 36-gun sailing-rowing frigate “Apostle Peter” was built according to the drawings and with the participation of a skilled master of galley buildings, the Dane Gustav Meyer, who later became the commander of the second similar 36-gun ship “Apostle Paul”. The length of the frigate is 34.4 meters, width is 7.6 meters. The ship was flat-bottomed; the sides in the upper part of the hull tumbled inward; The quarterdeck was open, and on the cut-off forecastle there were platforms for accommodating the boarding crew. It had three masts with topmasts and a bowsprit with a vertical jib. The fore and main sails were made up of lower sails and topsails. The mizzen mast had only the mizzen. In addition, there were 15 pairs of oars in case of calm and for maneuver. Watching the construction, Alexander proudly noted that these two frigates were the first Russian warships. But he immediately caught himself thinking that his galley “Principium” was still superior and it was to her that he gave the palm of the Russian fleet.

Observing Alexander's personal interest in the construction of the royal galley, Pyotr Alekseevich once stated:

Alexander Vasilyevich, I see your special zeal for our galley. Apparently the blood of your ancestors calls to your heart.

You understood correctly, my lord. Since childhood, I dreamed of recapturing Turkish Azov, which captured my grandfather and only with God’s mercy was he destined to escape from this fortress that was hated by our family.

Commendable, my friend. I remember the merits of your ancestors. You know what, I don’t really need your services these days; take the construction of our galley under your personal supervision. I see that it is she who is destined to capture this Turkish city. Yes, take special care of the selection of the team and the supply of provisions.

It pleases my heart to accept this decree from you, my lord. I will do everything I can, whatever my strength is enough for, as you command.

Okay, so we agreed.

Igor Radionov. Galley "Principium"

After this conversation, at the end of March, Alexander moved to the Principium and completely immersed himself in the work of personally inspecting the construction of the galley. In the first days of his stay on the galley, Alexander approved on behalf of Peter 27 sailors - Preobrazhensky, personally known to Peter Alekseevich and having shipboard experience. Gavrila Menshikov, a future famous Russian shipbuilder, is confirmed as boatswain, constable Gavrilo Kobylin, subconstable Ivan Werner. The selection of the team by the royal orderly was carried out so successfully that among the sailors who participated in the assault on Azov were Sklyaev and Sinyavin, well-known in future naval battles of the Russian fleet, the ship-timerman of the Preobrazhensky regiment Lukyan Vereshchagin, Danila Novitsky, who later rose to the rank of captain-lieutenant of the Russian fleet , Vasily Korchmin is a future artillery engineer and inventor of military missiles.

Observing the construction, Alexander paid special attention to the correct installation of the main cordel with a single halyard and the main cordel with a double halyard, behind the ropes with blocks and balls holding two oblique sails. There was not enough time, the construction had not yet been completed, but Alexander hurried the team to launch the galley into the water. Examining with his master's eye the cabins, the deck and the places for the oars, he perfectly understood that such a ship could not house the future Russian fleet: the cabin was divided into three parts, one of which was larger than the others and was intended for the captain: there was almost no possibility of moving around the deck , the cramped space for oars almost did not allow working at full capacity. But even such a ship was considered pride for Peter, because it was entirely made from domestic material and in his native land. “Even if everything is imperfect, our galley is the first Russian,” the royal orderly reassured himself.

On April 2, the first three galleys were launched - the Principium, St. Mark and St. Matthew. Over the next week, the rest were lowered, except for Lefort's galley, which was lowered a little later. Due to illness, Lefort arrived in Voronezh only on April 16. From the beginning of April, the plows began to be equipped with cannons, shells and provisions, and the ship's personnel were also selected. On April 20, General Gordon's large plow with the usual 11 plows departed from the shipyard, but stopped near Voronezh to wait for Shein. On April 21, Generalissimo Alexei Semyonovich Shein, recently proclaimed Peter, entered a specially built plow resembling a galley. Struga was so large that many actually considered it to be a galley: it had two sails, three cabins, a storage room and more than twenty oars.

On April 23, a transport flotilla with troops and cargo began to descend along the Don to Azov. On April 26, the ship “Apostle Peter” was launched; the frigate “Apostle Paul” went to sea only in early May 1696 at the height of the assault on Azov. Unfinished ships and galleys were completed during military operations.

Finally, all the preparatory work for the assault on Azov was ready. Foot troops approached the fortress, but Alexander was busy with the command of his galley and could not know how military operations were taking place near the walls of the fortress. On May 3, 1696, a detachment of eight galleys, led by Peter the Great's galley Principium, set out from Voronezh. On the same day, Peter, under the name of Peter Alekseev, asks Alexander to write down a dictation letter to clerk Andrei Vinnius in Moscow: “Today, with eight galleys, we set off on our way, where I was appointed commander by the Admiral.”

In the first days of the voyage, carried out mostly under sail and almost non-stop, Peter himself drew up rules of 15 articles, announced under the name of the decree on galleys on May 8. Alexander closely followed the actions of the sovereign. He was excited and in a special state of excitement. Watching the sailors and oarmen, constantly looking at the coastal area outside the galley, Pyotr Alekseevich either recited some chapters of the future historical document out loud, or quickly wrote something down in his travel diary. Alexander managed to hear and write down some paragraphs, just in case:

"§1. When the leader of the caravan wants to drop anchor on the day, then the cannon will be fired three times, one after the other, and then the other captains, having arrived at the first penal servitude, should drop the anchor at such a distance so as not to harm each other, but not far from each other do not stop being punished for any guilt by a ruble...

§2. If at night he also wants to drop anchor, then with the three shots described above, put a lantern on the main mast, and then other captains must commit against the first article under the same prohibition...

§5. Under great prohibition, we command you not to lag behind each other in the procession and to sail in your own places, both with sails and oars, since for the common benefit, the punishment for the crime is three rubles...

§15. And if in battle someone leaves his comrade or goes out of place, he will be punished with death, unless there is a legitimate reason that led him to this...”

The servant, devoted to his patron, listened attentively to the sovereign, who did not pay any attention to him. He understood that this was not disdain for his old friend, but special concentration before the upcoming battle. A couple of days later, news reaches the Principium that Lefort is leaving Voronezh on May 4 on a plow specially built for the sick admiral; a week later, Vice Admiral Lim's galley with 7 other galleys followed him, on May 17 - captain Prince Trubetskoy with 7 galleys, on May 24 - de Lazier's galley with 4 branders. Each of the ships flew tricolor Russian flags, first used back in 1693 on the White Sea.

The first detachment of galleys under the command of Peter passed Verkhny-Kurman-Yar on May 12, Nizhny-Kurman-Yar on May 13, passed Semikarokor and Razdora on May 14, Manych on May 15 and finally arrived in Cherkassk - the capital of the Don Army.

As the galley moved down the Don, the nature of the coast gradually changed from forest to hilly steppe, overgrown in places with dense tall bushes. Sometimes from the side of the galley one could see small villages and single buildings, herds grazing on the spring grass, horses or livestock. Near towns and large villages, wooden piers could be seen, with fishermen and ship people scurrying about. For the city young man, all this was a wonder, and he looked at the coast with curiosity, feeling how hard his heart was beating. “What a mysterious land of the Don Cossacks it is,” the young orderly thought with delight.

The Cossacks were already waiting for the royal galley. A motley and noisy crowd filled the entire coast. People joyfully greeted Peter's fleet with shouts and single shots. Having boarded the royal galley, military ataman Frol Minaev reported to the king that on May 3 he had sent village foreman Leonty Pozdnev with 250 Cossacks on light Cossack plows to the Sea of ​​Azov “to fish over the enemy fleet.”

Well done, my faithful Cossacks! - Peter exclaimed. - There is no doubt about your loyalty to the king. We'll wait for news.

On May 17, Pozdnev’s Cossacks arrived back in Cherkasy, he was invited to the royal galley, where he immediately reported to Peter:

With our cunning and ingenuity, we, our Sovereign Father, decided to hang out in the coastal reeds and follow the Turk. After standing on the seaside for two days, on the third day we saw two Turkish ships heading towards Azov. Having attacked them, our Cossacks threw Turkish hand grenades onto the ships, shot from rifles and tried to cut through them with axes in order to get inside. But that was not the case, there was no way to climb them, due to the height of the sides. Repelled by cannon shots and then stones thrown from ships, we retreated with the loss of 4 wounded people, of whom one died. The ships remained in the same place.

You have done a great job! - Peter exclaimed. “We shouldn’t give them time to come to their senses, we need to hurry,” Pyotr Alekseevich continued excitedly. - Come on, Alexander Vasilyevich, run to General Gordon, and give him my order - to be at my galley in the morning ready to urgently sail to Novosergeevskaya.

Alexander quickly got ready, landed on one of the ships standing near the royal galley, and went to Patrick Gordon. In the evening of the same day, he conveyed the king's instructions personally to Patrick Gordon and returned to the Principium. Early in the morning the general was already with Peter and they decided that the royal galley, at the head of eight other galleys and galleys and a Turkish galley captured last 1695, wintering in Cherkassk, with a thousand Cossacks on their plows would go out to the Turkish ships, and Gordon was ordered to occupy island at the source of the Kalancha River. That's what they decided on. The general hurried to his galley, and Peter ordered Alexander to convey the decree to the ataman Frol Minaev for collection. Surprisingly, a noisy band of Cossacks, dressed in bright caftans and hung with sabers and blades, according to the instructions of their esauls, quickly loaded into 40 plows and sailed downstream. They were followed by a small caravan of ships, which by midday caught up with Gordon's boat. Peter had to go to the general’s ship, and Alexander hastened to shake hands with the sovereign.

Don't be afraid of me, Alexander Vasilyevich. Tea, I’m not our “grandfather”, but you. “But I still have a lot of agility left,” said Peter, smiling quickly, pushing away the orderly’s hand. - Wait for me on Galias.

Half an hour later, Pyotr Alekseevich returned to the galley and the Principium continued down the Don. By the morning of May 19, Alexander was awakened by loud cannonade. Frightened and hastily dressed, he rushed to the stern and realized that it was the ground forces of General Pyotr Ivanovich Gordon who were greeting the royal galley with a salute from the recently captured Turkish Kalanches, which had come under the rule of the Russian army. Pyotr Alekseevich gives the order to the crew to lower the sails and anchors.

Having gone down to the shore, the king hurried to his ships, leaving Alexander with a small number of sailors on the galley. The orderly spent the rest of the evening on the galley, not realizing that Pyotr Alekseevich, on one of the Cossack boats, went on reconnaissance to the Azov seaside and saw 13 Turkish ships anchored. Returning to the Principium, the Tsar decides to take the galleys up the channels and the Don to Novosergievsk, a fortified base of Russian ships above Azov. The Cossacks who remained in the ambush continued to observe the actions of the Turks. Late in the evening, Ataman Minyaev, having discovered a Turkish landing force heading from ships to Azov, decided to attack 13 Turkish tanks with shells and food and 11 armed schools covering them. The sudden onslaught of the Cossacks took the Turks by surprise and almost all of the tumbas were captured in a boarding battle. The Don Cossacks loaded supplies and 27 captured Turks onto one of the Turkish ships, and burned nine others. The Turks fled in panic. During the retreat, three tumbas nevertheless broke through to Azov. By morning, the Turkish fleet began to hastily weigh anchor. Two ships did not have time to raise sails, and the Cossacks attacked them. The Turks sank one of the ships themselves, the second was captured and burned by the Cossacks. Others, taking advantage of the fresh wind, fled. This was the only naval battle in the Azov campaign.

On May 20, Cossack boats with captured equipment and prisoners sailed to Novosergeevsk and were greeted with fireworks. One morning a secret Cossack mission came to the Principium and presented the Tsar with an old chest filled with Turkish gold and gilded items as a gift. Peter realized that this was a gift from the Cossack chieftains and coldly greeted the secret mission. It was clear from everything that this gift was not to the liking of Pyotr Alekseevich.

Dispose of this good according to your intentions, Alexander Vasilyevich. “Don’t talk to the team - you can never bribe the Russian Tsar with anything,” Peter explained to his orderly in a comradely manner. The faithful servant did this: he put jewelry in several hiding places in Peter’s room and in his cabin and did not tell anyone about them. In the future, the sovereign forgot about the Turkish treasure, and Alexander kept this secret for the rest of his life.

A week later, the fireworks were repeated on the occasion of the arrival of Generalissimo Alexei Shein and Admiral General Franz Lefort to the troops. On May 27, Russian ships entered the Sea of ​​Azov along the Kalancha and Kutyurma channels, bypassing Azov. On June 2, Vice Admiral George Lim's detachment with seven galleys joined the fleet. Ten days later, the galley of Schoutbenacht Karl Loeser and four fire ships appeared. Now the entire fleet located across the bay blocked the path from the sea to besieged Azov. On June 14, the Turkish fleet, consisting of six ships and seventeen galleys, anchored in sight of the Russian fleet. The confrontation lasted two weeks, but on June 28 the Turks risked landing troops to help surrounded Azov, but were stopped by Russian galleys. The Turks did not dare to engage in battle, hastily set sail and went to sea. In the following days, Alexander and Peter only watched the assault on Azov from telescopes. The young man’s heart beat wildly in his chest: his dream had finally come true - the Turkish fortress that he had hated since childhood fell under the onslaught of the Russian army. On July 19, the day the Turks surrendered the Azov fortress, the fleet entered the mouth of the Don and, with a cannon salute, anchored near the walls of the defeated fortress.

Andrey Tron. Capture of the Azov fortress

Vivat, Azov! Vivat, Russian fleet! - Peter shouted enthusiastically, standing on the karma of his galley. - Glory to our soldier, who achieved victory in this battle! Then he turned to Alexander and asked loudly:

What, brother, do you like to look at the walls of a Turkish fortress?

Yes, my lord, a great victory for Russian weapons,” the orderly answered embarrassedly, not expecting Peter to address him specifically at such a solemn moment.

Well, my dear friend, now you too will see your grandfather’s dungeon,” Peter continued in a quieter voice, tilting his head towards his old friend.

From these words, the heart fluttered in the young man’s chest with special force. “Here it is, the enemy Azov. To spite the arrogant Turk, we recaptured him. This is our city now, ours is Russian,” the orderly whispered and peered at the destroyed fortress walls. Approaching the shore, the Principium slowly moored to the pier. Crowds of soldiers, Great Russians and officers, and city merchants greeted the victorious Tsar with delight. Alexander lost sight of Peter for a while, but was not upset by this, knowing that the sovereign had no time for him now. Taking advantage of the moment, with a group of soldiers and sailors from the galley, they hurried to the ramparts of the defeated fortress. There were shell fragments, smoking firebrands, logs and some kind of boards, woven baskets, bricks and weapons lying everywhere. Dozens of corpses of Turkish and Russian soldiers could be seen on the ramparts. The depressing picture of a defeated and destroyed city was etched in Alexander’s memory for many years.

Pyotr Alekseevich did not stay long in Azov. Two days later, the Principium set off back up the Don to Voronezh. Arriving in Voronezh, the tsar and his generals hurried to Moscow for the celebrations organized in honor of the victories of Peter the Great in the second Azov campaign. Alexander Vasilyevich, carried away by new events, temporarily forgot about his galley. A dizzying political and official career awaited him, raising a simple royal orderly to the heights of the most famous personalities of the era of Peter I. On October 20, 1696, he took part in a Moscow meeting that decided to settle 3,000 families from the lower cities of the Don region and the Volga region in Azov. It was decided to keep the garrison in the city in the amount of 3,000 people from Moscow archers and city soldiers, as well as 400 cavalry people. In 1697, Kikin went to Holland as part of the Great Embassy, ​​where he studied shipbuilding. Returning to Russia, in 1703 - 1704 he worked as a mast maker at the Voronezh and Olonets shipyards, in 1706 he commanded a small detachment, and then completely transferred to the sovereign service in Moscow and St. Petersburg.

Russian fleet near Azov. 17th century engraving.

The further fate of the first Russian galley was completely different from that of its owners. A month later, the Principium was again lowered along the Don to Azov, where it became part of the first Azov flotilla. Prince Pyotr Grigorievich Lvov, appointed head of the Azov fortress on August 16, 1696, gave preference to the royal galley in the Azov fleet. Many sailors who participated in the second Azov campaign of Peter I remained in service for several more years, maintaining the galley in good condition. Alexey Grigoryevich Prozorovsky, who replaced Lvov, allowed the gallery to go into the Don Arm, pursuing purely economic goals. When the city was governed from April 12, 1699 by Prince Stepan Bogdanovich Saltykov, they began to forget about the royal galley, and the crew of sailors gradually fled.

The former royal orderly, Alexander Vasilyevich Kikin, once again had a chance to meet his favorite galley. During this time, his brother, Landrichter Pyotr Vasilyevich, rose to the position of Tambov ruler and carried out a number of important functions in the Azov province with the help of his office. The fact is that the recaptured Turkish fortress from 1709 until its surrender to the Turks again at the end of 1710 was formally the center of the Azov province. In Azov in 1709 - 1711 there was only a governor, whose powers extended to the nearby set of towns of the Izyum regiment and the fortresses located near Azov. The Azov administration was supported by the income of the Tambov province and it is no wonder that Pyotr Vasilyevich had influence in Azov administrative circles. At the request of his brother, in 1710, Alexander Vasilyevich, already as a famous shipbuilder and expert in maritime affairs, was invited to join a special commission to audit the Azov fleet. Hard times were coming again for both Azov and Russia. During this time, the Russian fleet was updated with dozens of new ships, Turkey again laid claim to Azov, and the maritime department urgently needed to audit the outdated Azov fleet.

That’s when Alexander Vasilyevich remembered the Turkish treasure that he had hidden with his own hands on the royal galley. Carrying out an inspection of the ships, the commission came to the conclusion that the legendary ships “Apostle Peter” and “Apostle Paul” of the Principium galley and Admiral Lefort, among many other galleys and plows, had become unusable due to complete rot in the stern and could not be repaired. It was decided to dismantle some of them and sell others to the Turks before the surrender of the city. No matter how much Alexander Vasilyevich searched for the Turkish treasure in the old royal galley, he failed. Only in one of his hiding places did he find several gold coins and ladles, which he hastened to hide in the pockets of his clothes. Apparently, the sailors themselves, anticipating the imminent death of the first Russian galley, carried out a secret search and partial destruction of it. But it was not possible to prove this and find the perpetrators.

What an inglorious end to Peter’s great ship,” he whispered, casting a farewell glance at the dilapidated galley. - And who would have thought that this galley, built by Peter himself, would so quickly disappear under the heavy weight of history.

Leaving Azov, Alexander Kikin took one last look at the old fortress walls, took a deep breath and thought. In Moscow, the glory of a future diplomat and politician and an equally inglorious tragic end awaited him. But that's a completely different story.

From the book by Dick N.F. Legends of the Quiet Don: stories and tales. /N.F. Dick. - Rostov n/d: Phoenix, 2012. - 349 p.).