Nicholas 2 launched. Emperor Nicholas I (battleship)

They did really serious things in tsarist times. It’s just that the Soviet government, for obvious reasons, did not consider it necessary to promote the exploits of the executed Tsar. Therefore, we have heard a lot about some Dnieper hydroelectric power station, but only narrow specialists know about similar projects of Nicholas II.

To correct the situation, an article “Major Russian projects of Nicholas II” was created on Rukspert. I'm posting it here. I recommend comparing the list of what was built with what was built under Yeltsin and Putin. Since inflation was taken into account when determining the size of projects, the comparison will be quite interesting.

If you are too lazy to compare, here is my conclusion: despite the impressive technological progress of the twentieth century, the difference between the economies of the Russian Empire and the Russian Federation is not as significant as it seemed to me until now.

(The cruiser "Rurik" with sailing rigs not yet removed in Nagasaki (Japan), 1890s)

Armored cruiser "Rurik"

The first in a line of the largest cruisers of its time, built by Russia to fight, in case of emergency, with British shipping in the far ocean zone. The ship became the last Russian cruiser to have sails, which, however, were soon dismantled. Named in honor of the ancient Russian prince - the founder of the Rurik dynasty. “Rurik” (and the “Russia” and “Gromoboy” that followed it) were built on the basis of having a range sufficient for direct passage from the Baltic to the Far East without the use of intermediate ports. Moreover, despite the low speed for a cruiser, the Rurik had powerful weapons and armor. It was assumed that this combination would make it possible to operate with almost impunity in distant seas and the Pacific Ocean, where the likelihood of running into a strong and fast enemy was minimal. The price for such versatility was a large displacement and, accordingly, a high cost of the ship. Laid down in May 1890, launched in October 1892, commissioned in October 1895. The cost of the ship was 7.6 million rubles in 1890 prices (which can be estimated at approximately 18 billion rubles in 2012 prices .).

The ship died heroically in August 1904 in the Battle of Ulsan, and later another armored cruiser was named by the same name.

(Cruiser "Russia" in the Vladivostok dock)

Armored cruiser "Russia"

The ship, which was a significantly improved version of the Rurik due to the use of the latest technical solutions at that time, became the strongest cruiser of its time, which contemporaries, not without reason, considered an outstanding achievement of domestic shipbuilding (for example, they spoke very flatteringly about the cruiser in their memoirs Grand Duke Kirill Vladimirovich, who was serving in the navy at that time). Laid down in November 1893, launched in April (May according to the new style) 1895, commissioned in September 1897. The exact cost of the ship could not be found, but judging by analogues, it could reach 10 million rubles in prices of those years (20 billion rubles in 2012 prices).

(Middle propeller and rudder of the cruiser "Thunderbolt")

Armored cruiser "Gromoboy"

The last in a series of long-range armored cruisers, the Gromoboy received better mechanisms and better armor protection compared to the Rossiya. At the same time, the displacement and cost increased again, but the enormous damage inflicted on the enemy by cruisers of this type during the Russo-Japanese War fully justified their construction, even taking into account the loss of the Rurik. Laid down in May 1898, launched in May 1899, commissioned in October 1900. The exact cost of the cruiser could not be found (except for certain cost items: hull - 4.1 million rubles; engine installation - 3.1 million rubles; armor 0.7 million rubles), but according to analogues it can be estimated at approximately 10 million rubles (18 billion rubles in 2012 prices)

Armored cruiser "Bayan"

The last cruiser of the shipbuilding program of 1895, later included in the united shipbuilding program “For the needs of the Far East.” Built in France with Russian weapons and individual components. Laid down in June 1899, launched in May 1900, entered service in January 1903. During the war, the ship proved to be the best among Russian cruisers of new designs, so later three more ships were built according to a slightly improved cruiser design. The cost of the project is 7.0 million rubles (12 billion rubles in 2012 prices).

(Diana-class cruiser "Aurora" in St. Petersburg, 2013)

1st rank armored cruisers of the Diana class

Cruisers of this type were intended for reconnaissance with the squadron, as well as combating enemy merchant shipping at a relatively short distance from their shores. They were built according to the shipbuilding program of 1895 specifically for the Pacific Ocean. The total cost of each ship was 6.4 million rubles (11 billion rubles in 2012 prices). A total of three ships of this type were built:
* "Pallada" - laid down in May 1897, launched in August 1899, commissioned in May 1901.
* "Diana" - laid down in May 1897, launched in October 1899, commissioned in December 1901.
* "Aurora" - laid down in May 1897, launched in May 1900, commissioned in June 1903, later in 1984-1987. underwent major reconstruction.

(Cruiser "Varyag" in pre-war livery)

1st rank armored cruiser "Varyag"

The cruiser was built in the USA with the aim of studying the best practices for building ships of this type in the world, as well as urgently strengthening forces in the Pacific Ocean, where Japan was also buying ships around the world. An additional factor in this case, apparently, was the fact that all the stocks of the St. Petersburg shipbuilding plants by this moment were busy with the construction of other ships. The weapons and some of the components were Russian. Laid down in 1898, launched on October 19, 1899, due to the wave of general strikes and labor strikes that were sweeping the United States at that time, handed over to the customer belatedly in September 1900, and actually put into operation in 1901. General the cost of the ship is 5.9 million rubles (11 billion rubles in 2012 prices).

Subsequently, he became famous throughout the world, having taken part in an unequal battle with the gunboat "Korean" with the Japanese squadron blocking it before the declaration of war in a neutral port.

(Cruiser "Bogatyr")

1st rank armored cruisers of the Bogatyr type

The first ship of the series was built in Germany with Russian weapons and individual components. Subsequently, before the war, it was recognized as the most successful of all imported cruisers ordered as “samples” (“Askold”, “Varyag”, “Bayan”). As a result, three more cruisers were built in Russia according to this project (the fourth, which was supposed to be the second in the series, was not completed, as it died in a fire in a wooden boathouse at a low stage of completion). The cost of the lead cruiser was 5.509 million rubles (taking into account data on the cost of 1900 and inflation, this allows us to estimate its cost at almost exactly 10 billion rubles in 2012 prices), the cost of the rest amounted to 7.36 million rubles (13 billion rubles in prices 2012). A total of 4 ships were built, of which three were commissioned during this period:
* "Bogatyr" - laid down in December 1899, launched in January 1901, commissioned in August 1902.
* "Cahul" (later renamed "Memory of Mercury" and "Comintern") - laid down in August 1901, launched in May 1902, commissioned in 1905.
* "Oleg" - laid down in July 1902, launched in August 1903, commissioned in June 1904.

Seaports

Naval Base Port Arthur

(Panorama of Port Arthur in the first years of the 20th century - ships of the Pacific squadron are visible)

On March 15, 1898, an agreement was signed in Beijing, according to which the Kwantung Peninsula and the port-fortress of Port Arthur, which was very outdated by that time, located on it, were leased to Russia for 25 years with the right to connect this territory with the CER using a separate branch. Port Arthur was of strategic importance for two reasons: firstly, it was the first ice-free port on the Pacific Ocean available to the Russian Imperial Navy, and secondly, unlike Vladivostok and all other military ports of Russia at that time, it allowed the free exit of the fleet into the world's oceans. Also, great economic hopes were placed on the commercial port of Dalniy, which was founded nearby (which has now developed into the large metropolis of Dalian).

In the equipment of the base, the first stage of which was supposed to be finally put into operation in 1909, in 1901-1904. 11 million rubles were invested (20 billion rubles in 2012 prices) out of 14 required. At the same time, for the organization of its defense (construction of fortifications of the Port Arthur fortress) in 1900-1904. About 4.25 million rubles were spent, with the required 15 million rubles. Apparently, significant funds were also invested in the development of the city itself, since in 5 years its population increased from 7 to 51.5 thousand people.

Later in the war, the fortress withstood a six-month siege with honor - despite the unjustified softness of the commandant during negotiations on surrender, in general the defense of Port Arthur can be considered heroic; just remember the first-class fortresses in Europe, which were taken in much less time than the unfinished Port Arthur. As one of the participants in those events aptly noted, near Port Arthur, each Russian soldier “grabbed with five Japanese and killed two of them.” Paying tribute to the spirit of our soldiers, it should still be recognized that it is unlikely that they could have resisted a many times superior enemy if they had not had fortifications built before the war. And it is unknown whether Russia would have had to lose the entire Far East if Port Arthur had not held out long enough while troops were transported to the east along the unfinished Trans-Siberian Railway.

(Panorama of the Dalniy port under construction)

Further

A commercial port and city of the same name on territory leased from China, built from scratch near the Port Arthur naval base as part of the Chinese Eastern Railway (CER) project. Unfortunately, at that time the Minister of Finance managed to convince the country's leadership to cut military spending in favor of commercial ones, so by the beginning of the war with Japan in 1904, this port was practically rebuilt (and even began to be considered the most comfortable city in the Empire), while Much more necessary for the defense of the region, the Trans-Siberian Railway, the Chinese Eastern Railway and the naval base of Port Arthur were in a half-finished state. As a result, the port, which could later become one of the largest in the Pacific Ocean and bring huge profits to the country, went to the Japanese. By now it has become the Chinese city of Dalian with a population of more than 6 million people. The volume of investments in the project in 1898-1904. amounted, according to various sources, from 18.9 to 30 million rubles (34-54 billion rubles in 2012 prices). Apparently, the price range is due to the fact that the smaller amount only takes into account the costs of the Chinese Eastern Railway Company; the remaining amount may account for other investments in the city itself.

Port Alexandra III

The military port (sea fortress) in Libau (now Liepaja) was built since 1890, since this port was the only almost ice-free port of the Empire on the Baltic Sea, and the situation required the constant presence of ships of the Baltic Fleet in the World Ocean. The complexity of construction was due to the lack of a natural harbor, shallow water and low strength of the bottom soil, which is why the harbor had to be artificially deepened. The cost of the initial project was estimated at 15.55 million rubles in 1892 prices (about 40 billion rubles in 2012 prices). The bulk of this work has been completed. The port received its first ships in the fall of 1898. During the Russo-Japanese War, it served as a forward base for the Baltic Fleet, where the retrofitting of ships sailing to the Far East was carried out, as well as the repair of ships returning from voyages and the “screwdriver” assembly of imported submarines for the defense of Vladivostok .

Railways

These years accounted for one of two (along with the years of the First World War) railway construction in the country. Neither before nor after the reign of Nicholas II was such a pace of work observed in Russia - only for the period 1894-1904. 28 thousand kilometers of railways were built, i.e. on average 2.8 thousand kilometers per year, the volume of investments was estimated at 2.24 billion rubles, which is about 5 trillion rubles in 2012 prices. With the exception of the Great Siberian Road (Trans-Siberian), all projects in the section are presented in approximately chronological order of entry into operation.

Note by F.M. A brief list of railways built in the first half of the reign of Nicholas II takes 17 (!) pages, so due to LiveJournal restrictions I was forced to omit it. I recommend at least a quick look at it on the main page of the article:

There will be, for example, an impressive bridge across the Ob, the world's only marble station and the famous Trans-Siberian Railway, the total length of which in those years was more than 9 thousand miles.

Largest bridges

(Trinity Bridge in St. Petersburg at the beginning of the 20th century)

Trinity Bridge over the Neva, St. Petersburg

A drawbridge with a swing span across the Neva, designed in the modern style that was fashionable at that time. It was built on the site of a former floating bridge in 1897 and put into operation in 1903. Later, the drawbridge part of the bridge underwent major reconstruction in 1965-1967, after which the drawbridge became a lifting one. The cost of the project is 6.1 million rubles in prices of those years (11 billion rubles in 2012 prices).

Pipeline transport

Kerosene pipeline Baku-Batum (first, second and third stages)

Under construction since 1897, the largest pipeline of its time, which was finally put into operation later in 1907, was put into operation in parts. The pipeline route ran directly along the tracks of the Transcaucasian Railway. During this period, the Mikhailovo - Batum section was put into operation (1900, 215 versts), extended in October 1903 to 240 versts and at the beginning of 1905 to 373 versts. Taking into account the total cost of the kerosene pipeline of 22 million rubles in technical prices years, with a length of 820 versts, the cost of the Mikhailovo - Batum section can be estimated at 5.7 million rubles (slightly more than 10 billion rubles in 2012 prices), while all sections commissioned at that time can be estimated at 10 million rubles in prices of those years (about 17 billion rubles in 2012 prices).

Oil fields

(Oil rigs in Baku at the beginning of the 20th century, colorized photo from a postcard of those years)

Development of the Baku Oil Region

During this period, there was an active development of oil production on the Absheron Peninsula (as they wrote then “on the Absheron”). From 1894 to 1904, the number of workers in the oil industry in Russia increased from 7 to 27 thousand people, of which 24.5 thousand worked in the fields and factories of the Baku oil region. Oil production from 1894 to 1901 increased from 311 to 672 million poods, which in 1901 accounted for 95% of Russian and more than half of world oil production. Only from 1898 to 1903, and only by English entrepreneurs, 60 million rubles were invested in the development of oil production in this area (about 107 billion rubles in 2012 prices).

(Blast furnace shop of Nadezhda Metallurgical Plant)

Metallurgy

Nadezhda Metallurgical Plant

The largest and most modern metallurgical plant in the Urals at that time (now the A.K. Serov Metallurgical Plant) was built together with the village of Nadezhdinsky plant in the Bogoslovsky mountain district (now the city of Serov, Sverdlovsk region) from May 1894, in January 1896 The first steel was produced in March 1896, the first railway rails were rolled in March 1896, and on September 15 of the same year the first batch of 8,000 tons of rails was delivered to the customer in Tyumen. The enterprise reached full capacity in 1898, and by 1905, rail production increased to 38 thousand tons per year. The plant had blast furnace, open-hearth, rolling (with mill 850) and service shops. Also, as part of the project, the Bogoslovsko-Sosvinskaya narrow-gauge (875 mm) railway with a total length of about 130 versts (140 km) was built. At first, the company was engaged in the production of rails for the Trans-Siberian Railway and roofing iron. In 1904-1906 A section rolling shop with mills 450 and 320 was put into operation. In 1900, the plant employed 3,300 people. It was not possible to find the exact cost of the plant, but judging by the cost of similar projects, we can talk about an amount of about 5-8 million rubles in prices of those years (12-20 billion rubles in 2012 prices).

Mechanical engineering

Most of even large factories of that time did not reach the level of 10 billion rubles in 2012 prices, and it is often almost impossible to find investment estimates for them. The projects below are among the largest in mechanical engineering of that time and can definitely be valued at no less than tens of billions of rubles in 2012 prices.

Technical re-equipment of the Obukhov steel plant in St. Petersburg

During these years, the plant was actively modernized, and very expensive equipment was installed - the largest open-hearth furnace in the country at that time, several large presses, etc. For example, a press installed in 1897 cost over a million rubles in prices of those years. In total, just one two-year re-equipment of the plant in the second half of the late 1890s for new orders from the Maritime Ministry required 7 million rubles of investment in the prices of those years (about 13 billion rubles in 2012 prices).

Technical re-equipment of the Putilov plant in St. Petersburg

The largest machine-building plant in Russia in 1900 in terms of production capacity and one of the largest in Europe (at the beginning of 1905, the plant employed 12,500 workers) in the 1890s. increased production several times, which implied an investment in production, apparently, of no less than 10 million rubles (20 billion rubles in 2012 prices).

Hydraulic engineering

Reconstruction of the Mariinskaya water system

The main canal system at that time between the Volga and the Baltic Sea, built in 1810 and passing along the Sheksna River, by the 1890s. completely exhausted its carrying capacity, so in 1890-1896. has undergone major reconstruction. During the work, the Belozersky Canal, which was part of the system, was deepened and expanded, enlarged locks were built, and double-chamber locks were replaced with single-chamber ones. All these measures made it possible to significantly reduce the passage time of ships through the system and increase the system’s navigation capacity from 500 thousand tons to 2 million tons. Later, in 1964, after a large-scale reconstruction, the Volga-Baltic Waterway passed along the Mariinsky system route. The cost of the project was 12.4 million rubles (about 27 billion rubles in 2012 prices).

Communications, telecommunications and data processing

Development of fixed telephone networks

At this time, fixed-line telephone communications were actively developing, both local communications, established since the early 1880s, and long-distance communications. Long-distance communication lines began to open after the St. Petersburg - Moscow telephone line, the fourth longest in the world at that time, was put into operation in December 1898. By January 1, 1905, 138,694 miles of telephone wires were used in telephone communication networks and 59,613 subscribers were served. For comparison, at the beginning of 1894, the length of telephone lines was only 26 thousand versts, i.e. five times less. By January 1, 1905, 10 long-distance and 1,296 local networks were in operation. Moreover, only the reconstruction of one Kyiv network in 1901-1904 cost 400 thousand rubles in prices of those years. Based on the fee for connecting to one of the private networks in 1902 at 750 rubles, even considering that only half of this amount went to create the network, the cost of the project can be estimated based on the number of subscribers at 22.4 million rubles in 1902 prices ( 39 billion rubles in 2012 prices).

Measures to rearm the army and navy

Replacing mass-produced types of weapons in the largest army in the world at that time easily qualified for the title of the largest projects of the era. During this period the following activities were carried out:

(Transbaikal Cossacks with rifles model 1891 (mosinki) during the Russo-Japanese War)

Re-equipment of the army with a three-line rifle of the 1891 model.
By the early 1890s, the Russian Imperial Army was armed with a single-shot large-caliber (10.67 mm) Berdan rifle No. 2 chambered for black powder. The impending transition to the use of smokeless gunpowder, reduced caliber and magazine loading was held back by the technical imperfections of the first samples of such weapons. However, by 1891, the Commission, to develop a sample of a small-caliber rifle, jointly modified Captain Mosin’s rifle to a state that satisfied the basic requirements. Officially, the weapon was called the “three-line rifle of the 1891 model”, but is still widely known under the abbreviated names “Mosinka” and “three-line”. After production of the rifle began in 1892, a project was actually launched to completely re-equip the army and navy with it and carbines based on it (that is, its shortened versions). The rearmament of the first-stage troops was completed in 1897, the rest of the army was almost completed by the end of 1901. Only to the French for an additional 500 thousand units. paid 12 million rubles (30 billion rubles in 2012), and in total by the end of the rearmament they produced 3,645,339 combat and 53,835 training rifles, i.e. in total the event can be valued at no less than 150 billion rubles in 2012 prices.

Re-equipment of first-stage field artillery batteries with rapid-firing three-inch guns

In February 1900, it was decided to order 1,500 three-inch (76 mm) guns of the latest system at that time to the Putilov plant, which successfully applied the patents it had purchased at that time for the most advanced technical solutions in the design of its guns. Later, instead of the 1900 model gun, the plant produced more advanced guns of the 1901 and 1902 model. As part of this order, it was planned to rearm “the entire field artillery of the Kwantung Region, the Amur and Vilna Military Districts, as well as most of the artillery of the Warsaw Military District and 2 artillery brigades of the St. Petersburg Military District.” The re-equipment of the first stage was practically completed by the end of 1902. “The total cash expenditure for the manufacture of the mentioned guns of the 1st stage with the material part was determined at approximately 33.75 million rubles. with the division of the necessary allocations: in 1900 - 6.5 million rubles, in 1901 - 9.25 million rubles. and in 1902 - 18 million rubles,” which is about 60 billion rubles in 2012 prices.

PS. If you notice any typo in the article, edit it directly on the project:

P.P.S.. The discussion about the importance of strong government with experts from the Rex news agency can be considered completed.

On May 24, 1900, Emperor Nicholas II launched one of the most legendary ships of the Russian fleet, the cruiser Aurora, amid salutes of fireworks.

The order for Diana-class cruisers was caused by the foreign policy situation that emerged at the end of the 19th century. The aggravated contradictions with England, which were soon resolved diplomatically, were replaced by the ever-increasing “German threat” in the Baltic. A new round of the naval arms race against the backdrop of a tense political situation led in 1895 to another adjustment to Russia’s twenty-year shipbuilding program, adopted in 1881. As part of the additions made to the program, three “carapace cruisers” were ordered, which later became Diana-class cruisers.

On June 23, 1896, the head of the Main Directorate of Shipbuilding and Supply (GUKiS), Vice Admiral V.P. Verkhovsky ordered work to begin on the construction of a “cruiser with a displacement of 6,630 tons” at the New Admiralty. like "Diana". This name of the new ship was preserved in official documents for almost a year, until Nicholas II decided to name the cruiser.

Direct work on the formation of the ship's hull began at the plant in the New Admiralty in September - October 1896. However, by this time, all the materials necessary for construction were not available, since the Admiralty Izhora Plant was overloaded with orders and was unable to cope with the production of a number of key elements. In this regard, the plant administration began to insist on increasing the work time. As a result, part of the order, by order of the head of GUKiS, was placed at the Aleksandrovsky Iron Foundry. The nascent cruiser was named personally by Emperor Nicholas II in April 1897. He ordered that the cruiser under construction be named “Aurora” in honor of the Roman goddess of dawn.

At 11:15 on May 24, 1900, in the presence of Emperor Nicholas II and both empresses, the ceremonial launching of the Aurora took place. Under the volleys of artillery salutes from the ships stationed on the Neva, the cruiser safely landed on the water. “As the ship left the boathouse, flags were raised on it, and on the mainmast the standard of His Majesty” was how the Neva magazine described the event. During the descent, on the upper deck of the ship, the guard of honor included a 78-year-old sailor who served on the frigate Aurora - the same 44-gun sailing ship that defended Petropavlovsk from the English squadron during the Crimean War. In addition, the descent was attended by a former officer of the famous frigate, and now Vice Admiral K.P. Pilkin.

The Aurora, without exaggeration, was one of the most advanced warships of its time. The new armored two-masted cruiser had a displacement of 6,731 tons, its length was 127 and its width was 16.8 meters. It had good artillery armament in the form of fourteen 152-mm guns, and in addition, it had a completely innovative air defense system at that time in the form of six 76-mm anti-aircraft guns.

The cruiser "Aurora" entered service as warships of the Russian Navy in 1903. The ship received its baptism of fire 5 years later in the Battle of Tsushima during the Russo-Japanese War, where it was seriously damaged and lost 15 crew members. The cruiser managed to escape from encirclement and go to Manila, where she remained disarmed until the end of the war. In 1906, the ship returned to the Baltic.

After repairs, the cruiser became part of the training detachment of the Naval Cadet Corps and made a number of voyages to the Atlantic and Indian Oceans, the Mediterranean Sea, to the shores of Africa, Thailand and Indonesia.

During the First World War, the ship carried out patrol duty in the Baltic Sea and at the end of 1916 arrived in Petrograd for repairs.

And on November 7, 1917, the cruiser Aurora fired a blank shot and gave the signal for the storming of the Winter Court and the beginning of the October coup.

On this day exactly 116 years ago, a great event took place that people would remember for many years to come, namely, the descent of the cruiser Aurora to the surface of the water. An armored two-masted ship with a displacement of 6.7 tons, a length of 127 meters and a width of more than 16 meters at that time was armed with 14 guns of 152 mm caliber and 6 anti-aircraft guns of 76 mm caliber. The cruiser was launched at the New Admiralty shipyard (St. Petersburg). The event dedicated to the ship's launch on its first voyage was personally attended by Empresses Alexandra Feodorovna and Maria Feodorovna, as well as Emperor Nicholas II, who initiated its launch. Speaking about this cruiser, which later became a symbol of the October Revolution, we should remember why such a powerful machine bears such a tender name - “Aurora”.

The cruiser was named in honor of the 44th gun frigate of the same name, which provided the defense of Petropavlovsk during the Crimean War. The ship managed to withstand the English squadron, which was almost twice as strong. The cruiser, named after the frigate and led by a 71-year-old captain who served on the Aurora for most of his life, later also repeatedly contributed to the Russian army in confronting enemy troops - in 1903, the Aurora officially entered service as warships. The first battle in which the ship took part took place five years later during the Russo-Japanese War. Unfortunately, the cruiser's baptism of fire came at a cost to itself - the side of the ship was significantly damaged, and in addition, 15 members of its crew were killed in the battle. Nevertheless, “Aurora” managed to leave the “hot spot” and go to Manila - here it remained disarmed until the very end of the war.

In 1906, the Aurora returned to the Baltic. After repairs, the ship was transferred to the ranks of the Naval Cadet Corps fleet, where it was a member of the training detachment for a long time. During the years of her stay there, the Aurora managed to make a number of voyages, from the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea, Thailand and Indonesia. During the First World War, the ship was sent to serve in the Baltic Sea, where it remained until 1916 and its return to Petrograd. After undergoing another repair, the Aurora stood in the port of its hometown until a blank shot from its cannon gave the signal for the beginning of the October Revolution. This happened on November 7, 1917. Subsequently, the cruiser took part in the Civil and Great Patriotic Wars. The Aurora set out on its last voyage a few years after the end of the Second World War - on November 17, 1948, the cruiser was moored in St. Petersburg for eternal mooring.

It is worth noting that even after the end of its “career” the cruiser was used by students of the Leningrad Nakhimov School. Later it was turned into a museum, and after some time - a branch of the Central Naval Museum. To this day, the status of the cruiser has still not changed, except that it is now officially recognized as an object of cultural heritage of Russia. In 1992, a canvas of the St. Andrew's Naval Corps appeared on the Aurora flagpole. Relatively recently, in September 2014, the ship was sent to Kronstadt to undergo the next stage of repair work. They are promised to be completed this year, after which the Aurora, a symbol of the Great October Revolution, will again be moored in St. Petersburg for eternal mooring. It should be recalled that the cruiser "Aurora" was designed according to the type of a similar ship "Diana". The order for the construction of such ships was due to the unfavorable foreign policy situation that was observed at the end of the 19th century. Initially, the Russian Empire was agitated by contradictions with England, but later they were resolved diplomatically. Immediately the “German threat” from the Baltic Sea began to increase. All this resulted in a complete adjustment of the shipbuilding program, which had been created over the course of 20 years, and the order of three cruisers, one of which was later named Aurora.

The construction of the vessel was carried out by the Baltic Shipyard. The company’s specialists were chosen to carry out the work, since only they were able to provide ready-made drawings and designs for future ships within a month. They were based on the English cruiser Talbot with a displacement of 6,000 tons. For about a year, all the details and technical characteristics of the future vessel were discussed, and only then its construction began. The ships "Diana" and "Pallada" went through each stage of construction simultaneously, but the "Aurora" was always behind schedule. That is why some historians argue that the ship can be considered not part of the project to create cruisers, but its separate addition.

The main event in the history of the cruiser Aurora is considered to be a blank shot, which became the signal for the storming of the Winter Palace during the Great October Socialist Revolution.

Much less is known about the main military event in the cruiser’s history—Aurora’s participation in the tragic Battle of Tsushima for the Russian fleet.

The Aurora is undoubtedly a lucky ship. The cruiser, whose technical characteristics were significantly inferior to the most modern ships of that time, not only managed to survive the battle, but also avoided the shameful participation of lowering the flag in front of the victorious enemy.

The ship, which was launched on May 24, 1900 in the presence of the Emperor Nicholas II and empresses Maria Feodorovna And Alexandra Fedorovna, was accepted into the Russian fleet in June 1903 and by the time the Russo-Japanese War began it was one of the newest.

The newest, but by no means the most advanced. The problems with the Aurora began at the design stage and never ended. The deadlines for the construction of the vessel were repeatedly missed, and when it came to testing, the engineers clutched their heads from the huge number of shortcomings and shortcomings. Due to the overload of state-owned shipyards in St. Petersburg, where the construction of the Aurora was underway, work on its construction was carried out in a hurry and at the same time with a lack of workers.

The Aurora's engines and boilers turned out to be unreliable, the cruiser never reached its planned speed, and there were many questions about the ship's armament.

© blackseafleet-21.com / The first Russian warship - the frigate "Eagle".
© Public Domain
Peter Pickart
The ship "Lefort". Unknown artist
I.K. Aivazovsky. "Wreck of a Ship"
K.V. Krugovikhin “The wreck of the ship “Ingermanland” on August 30, 1842 off the coast of Norway,” 1843.
I. K. Aivazovsky “The Ship “The Twelve Apostles.” 1897
© Public Domain
© Public Domain / “Varyag” after the battle of 1904. A list to the left side is visible.
© Public Domain
© Public Domain / Explosion "Korean".
© Public Domain
© Shutterstock.com
© Public Domain
© Public Domain
© RIA Novosti
© Public Domain
© RIA Novosti
© RIA Novosti
©Commons.wikimedia.org
© RIA Novosti
© RIA Novosti
© RIA Novosti
© RIA Novosti

First trip

Testing of the cruiser continued at the beginning of 1903, and a lot of time was still needed to bring the Aurora to fruition, but it was not there. The aggravated situation in the Far East required the immediate strengthening of the Pacific squadron, for which a special detachment of ships was formed in the Baltic. The Navy Ministry intended to include the Aurora in this detachment, for which it was ordered to complete the tests as soon as possible.

On June 16, 1903, the Aurora officially became part of the Russian Imperial Navy and was almost immediately included in the rear admiral's detachment Virenius, focusing on the Mediterranean Sea for the fastest route to Port Arthur.

September 25, 1903 "Aurora" under the command of captain 1st rank Sukhotin left the Great Kronstadt roadstead, going to join Virenius’s detachment.

The cruiser Aurora during trials on June 14, 1903. Photo: Commons.wikimedia.org

During this campaign, the Aurora encountered a lot of technical malfunctions, including further problems with the vehicles, which caused extreme dissatisfaction among the command. While in Suez, the crew was forced to fix problems with the steering gear. In Djibouti, on January 31, 1904, the Aurora received the news of the outbreak of war with Japan, and on February 2, the highest order to return to Russia.

The Aurora reached the Russian military base in Libau on April 5, 1904, where its first campaign ended.

The Aurora's ship's chaplain died from "friendly fire"

The military situation for Russia was developing unfavorably, and the Russian command decided to form the Second Pacific Squadron, which was to pass through three oceans and change the situation in the naval theater of military operations.

At Aurora, work was carried out to eliminate technical deficiencies and strengthen weapons. Captain 1st Rank became the new commander of the Aurora Evgeny Egoriev.

On October 2, 1904, the Second Pacific Squadron, in four separate echelons, left Libau to proceed to the Far East. "Aurora" led the third echelon of ships consisting of the destroyers "Bezuprechny" and "Bodriy", the icebreaker "Ermak", the transports "Anadyr", "Kamchatka" and "Malaya". On October 7, the Russian ships were divided into small detachments. "Aurora" ended up in the 4th detachment under the command of Rear Admiral Oscar Enquist and was supposed to move together with the cruiser “Dmitry Donskoy” and the transport “Kamchatka”.

The tension that reigned on Russian ships led to the fact that in the North Sea, off the coast of Great Britain, the Russian squadron mistook fishing ships for enemy destroyers. In the ensuing chaos, Russian sailors fired not only at the fishermen, but also at each other.

As a result of such “friendly fire,” the Aurora was damaged, and the ship’s chaplain father Anastasy was mortally wounded.

Record holders for loading coal

The further hike was quite calm. The team on the Aurora was united, which was greatly facilitated by its commander.

Senior ship's officer doctor Kravchenko wrote in his diary: “The first impression of the Aurora is the most favorable. The crew is cheerful, vigorous, looks straight into the eyes, and not from under their brows, does not walk on the deck, but flies straight, carrying out orders. It's good to see all this. At first I was struck by the abundance of coal. There is a lot of it on the upper deck, and even more in the battery deck; three quarters of the wardroom are littered with it. The stuffiness is therefore unbearable, but the officers do not even think of losing heart and not only do not complain about the inconvenience, but, on the contrary, proudly informs me that until now their cruiser has been the first in loading, received the first bonuses and is generally in very good standing with the admiral.”

Leisure on the Aurora was provided by an amateur theater troupe of sailors and officers, whose performances were highly valued by sailors from other ships.

The Aurora crew was also very strong in the matter of loading coal. So, on November 3, 1300 tons of coal were loaded onto the Aurora in unbearable heat at a rate of 71 tons per hour, which was the best result in the entire squadron. And in the last days of December 1904, with a new fuel load, the Aurora sailors broke their own record, showing a result of 84.8 tons of coal per hour.

If the mood of the crew and its preparation did not cause alarm in Captain Yegoriev, then the same could not be said about the ship itself. The infirmary and operating room were so poorly constructed that they were completely unusable in the tropics. It was necessary to adapt new premises and arrange possible protection for them from artillery fire. All provisions were concentrated in almost one place, and therefore, if this part of the ship were flooded, 600 people would be left without food. Much of this kind had to be corrected. On the upper deck, it was necessary to construct protection from the masts from wooden fragments from spare Bullivin anti-mine nets and traverses from the same nets with sailor's bunks to protect the servants of the guns. The internal wooden shields of the sides were broken and removed, which could produce a lot of fragments,” wrote the commander of the Aurora in March 1905, when the meeting with the enemy was already approaching.

The captain of the Aurora was one of the first to die

On May 1, 1905, the Second Pacific Squadron, after some reorganization and brief preparations, left the shores of Annam and headed for Vladivostok. "Aurora" took its place on the right outer side of the column of transports in the wake of the cruiser "Oleg". On May 10, in complete calm, the last coal loading took place; coal was accepted with the expectation of having a reserve at the entrance to the Korean Strait, which should have been enough to reach Vladivostok. Soon after the separation of the transports, the cruisers Oleg, Aurora, Dmitry Donskoy and Vladimir Monomakh, together with the third armored detachment, formed the left wake column.

On the night of May 14, 1905, the Russian squadron entered the Korean Strait, where Japanese ships were already waiting for it.

For the Aurora, the Battle of Tsushima began with a firefight with Japanese ships at 11:14. At the beginning of the battle, the Aurora supported the cruiser Vladimir Monomakh with fire, which was exchanging fire with the Japanese reconnaissance cruiser Izumi, forcing the latter to retreat.

With the appearance of the third and fourth Japanese detachments, which launched an attack on Russian transports, the Aurora, which was covering the transport ships, found itself under heavy enemy fire. The cruiser received the first damage.

But it was really hard for the crew of the Aurora around three o’clock in the afternoon, when the Japanese ships managed to come within close range and put the Russian cruisers under crossfire. The damage followed one after another; as a result of one of the hits, a fire started dangerously close to the bomb magazine, fraught with an explosion of ammunition. It was only thanks to the dedication of the Aurora sailors that the disaster was averted.

At 15:12, a 75-mm shell hit the front bridge ladder. Its fragments and debris from the ladder fell through the viewing slot into the wheelhouse and, reflected from its dome, scattered in different directions, injuring everyone in the wheelhouse. The commander of the Aurora, captain 1st rank Evgeny Romanovich Egoriev, received a fatal wound to the head and died soon after. One of the senior officers took command of the ship.

The crew did not drop the honor of the flag

Twenty minutes later, the Aurora barely dodged an enemy torpedo. The hit by a 203-mm Japanese shell caused holes, which resulted in the flooding of the bow torpedo tube compartment.

Despite the losses and damage, the Aurora continued to fight. The ship's flag was knocked down by shrapnel six times, but Russian sailors put it back in place.

At about half past four in the evening, the Russian cruisers found themselves covered from Japanese fire by a column of Russian battleships, which gave the Aurora crew time to catch their breath.

The artillery battle finally ended around seven in the evening. The defeat of the Russian squadron was obvious. The surviving ships did not maintain their overall formation and control; the remaining part of the squadron left the battlefield, literally in all directions.

By the evening of May 14, its commander Evgeny Yegoriev, as well as nine sailors, died on the Aurora. Five more sailors died from their wounds. 8 officers and 74 lower ranks were injured.

By ten in the evening, Admiral Enquist’s cruising detachment consisted of three ships - in addition to the Aurora, they were Oleg and Zhemchug. In the dark, Japanese destroyers tried to attack Russian ships, and Aurora had to evade Japanese torpedoes more than ten times during the night of May 14-15.

Admiral Enquist He tried several times to turn the cruisers towards Vladivostok, but the Japanese blocked the way, and the naval commander no longer believed in the possibility of a breakthrough.

The dead were buried at sea

As a result, the cruisers headed southwest, leaving the Korean Strait and breaking away from the enemy destroyers.

The night was hot for the Aurora doctors: those who, in the heat of battle, did not pay attention to their wounds, flocked to the infirmary. Those remaining in the ranks were engaged in minor repairs, awaiting new attacks by the Japanese.

During the Battle of Tsushima, the Aurora fired 303 152 mm, 1282 75 mm and 320 37 mm shells at the enemy.

At noon on May 15, Admiral Enquist and his headquarters moved to the Aurora, taking command of the cruiser that had lost its commander. At about four o'clock in the afternoon, the sailors who died and died from wounds were buried at sea; Captain Yegoryev's body was going to be buried on the shore.

Two hours later, a military squadron was spotted from the Aurora, which was initially mistaken for Japanese, but the ships turned out to be American - the Philippine port of Manila was under US control. On the same day, the Aurora and other Russian ships dropped anchor in the port of Manila.

Damage to the Aurora received in the Battle of Tsushima. Photo: Commons.wikimedia.org

Hostages of Manila

The United States officially took a neutral position in the Russo-Japanese War, but secretly expressed support for Japan. Therefore, on May 24, the American Admiral Tran received a directive from Washington - Russian ships must either disarm or leave the port within 24 hours.

Admiral Enquist requested St. Petersburg and received the following response: “In view of the need to repair the damage, I authorize you to give an undertaking to the American government not to participate in hostilities. Nikolai."

In this situation, this decision was the only correct one - the damaged Russian ships could no longer change the situation that arose after the defeat at Tsushima. The war was coming to a disappointing conclusion for Russia, and it was already pointless to demand new sacrifices from the sailors.

On May 26, 1905, the Aurora crew gave the American administration a subscription not to participate in further hostilities, and the gun locks were removed from the cruiser and handed over to the American arsenal. The war for the crews of Russian ships is over.

40 wounded from the Aurora were sent to an American hospital. A few days later, hired local workers began repairing the cruiser.

Return

The longer the forced stay in Manila continued, the more discipline on the Aurora fell. News of revolutionary unrest in Russia caused unrest among the lower ranks, which the officers, with difficulty, managed to calm down.

Repairs to the Aurora were completed in August 1905, shortly before the peace treaty between Russia and Japan was signed in Portsmouth. Russian ships began preparing to return home. A captain of the 2nd rank was appointed as the new commander of the Aurora. Barsch.

On October 10, 1905, after the final approval of the Russian-Japanese treaty by the parties, official Washington lifted all restrictions on the actions of Russian ships.

On the morning of October 15, the Aurora, as part of a detachment of ships that were ordered to return to the Baltic, headed for Russia.

The return journey was also long. The Aurora celebrated New Year 1906 in the Red Sea, where it received orders to proceed to Russia on its own. At the same time, 83 sailors from the cruiser "Oleg" who were subject to demobilization came on board. After this, the Aurora turned into a real “demobilization cruiser” - from the crew of the Aurora itself, about 300 lower ranks had to be demobilized upon returning to Russia.

At the beginning of February 1906, while staying in Cherbourg, France, an incident occurred that prophetically indicated the future glory of the Aurora as a ship of the revolution. The French police received information that the ship's crew had purchased a batch of revolvers for revolutionaries in Russia. The search on the Aurora, however, did not yield any results, and the cruiser continued its journey home.

On February 19, 1906, the Aurora dropped anchor in the port of Libau, completing the longest military campaign in its history, which lasted 458 days.

On March 10, 1906, after the dismissal of all sailors subject to demobilization, just over 150 people remained in the cruiser’s crew. Aurora was transferred to the fleet reserve.

There were 11 and a half years left before the main shot of the cruiser...

Under Nicholas II, the newest promising branches of the military were born, which became the main forces of the wars of the future: aviation, submarine fleet, aircraft carriers, automatic weapons, armored vehicles and much more.

Of course, each of these areas has undergone evolution. One generation of aircraft or submarines was replaced by another, and modern combat units resemble Nikolaev’s only remotely. However, Nikolai managed not only to realize the development of promising areas, but also to create combat units that were decades ahead of their time.

We will talk about the technology of the future created by Nikolai in this article.

Bars project submarine

The most numerous serial submarine of the Nikolaev era.

The last boat of this type was withdrawn from the fleet only in 1955. Already in the Nuclear Age!

Participated in two world wars!

(Imperial submarine "Panther" of the "Bars" project as part of the Soviet Navy)

The technologies of the Nicholas era were certainly ahead of their time. Just imagine: in 1915, a submarine with 12 torpedo tubes (caliber 457 mm), heavy machine guns, and two artillery mounts).

These boats made their name in the First World War. For example, just one Wolf boat was able to capture and sink three German ships in one day - an unprecedented success.

(The submarine "Wolf" sinks the German ship "Hera". 1916)

The last boat of this type remained in the fleet until 1955, surviving not only its creators, but also several subsequent eras.

Sevastopol-class battleships

Like the boats of the Bars series, these ships went through two world wars.

To destroy this ship, on April 4, 1942, the Germans scrambled 33 aircraft simultaneously, but to no avail.

One of the 4 main caliber towers of the battleship "Sevastopol" of the "Sevastopol" series

(In total, the ship had 28 large-caliber guns installed)

The flagship of the Sevastopol Series took part in the battles with the Nazis in the Crimea. The ship was a formidable weapon. Here are the results of just one battle: on November 8, 1941, the battleship took part in hostilities near Sevastopol for the first time. The ship opened fire on the enemy's battle formations. The battleship destroyed 13 tanks, 8 guns, 4 tractors, 37 vehicles with military cargo and up to half a battalion of infantry.

The ship also took part in repelling 21 enemy air attacks, shooting down 3 aircraft; As a result of effective measures taken by the fleet command and personally by the commander of the Black Sea squadron, the ship did not receive a single serious damage.

(Launching of Sevastopol. 1911.)

"Ermak". The world's first Arctic-class icebreaker.

Technologies that were ahead of their time were not limited to the military sphere. Under Nicholas II, the world's first Arctic-class icebreaker was created, which served for more than half a century. It survived both the creators and the era of Lenin and the era of Stalin.

Painting by M. G. Platunov “The first polar voyage of the icebreaker Ermak”

The ship was mobilized and used for military purposes in two world wars.

On November 14, 1914, the icebreaker was enlisted in the Baltic Fleet and escorted ships and vessels in the Gulf of Finland. When German troops approached Revel in February 1918, the icebreaker removed all ships capable of moving from the port and brought them to Helsingfors. Soon, on a voyage from Helsingfors to Kronstadt, Ermak, together with other icebreakers, carried 211 warships, auxiliary and merchant ships through the Gulf of Finland. The leader of the campaign and at the same time the namorsi of the Baltic Fleet, caperang Shchastny, thereby saved the entire combat core of the Baltic Fleet. For participation in the “ice campaign” “Ermak” was awarded the honorary revolutionary Red Banner of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee. Shchastny, as was usual in the Soviet Union, was shot as a sign of gratitude.

On October 4, 1941, Ermak was mobilized again. It was equipped with two 102 mm, four 76 mm guns, four 45 mm anti-aircraft guns, and four machine guns. He participated in the evacuation of the garrison of the Hanko Peninsula and the islands of the Gulf of Finland, escorted ships to fire at enemy positions, and brought submarines to combat positions.

In June 1944, the icebreaker was disarmed and returned to the Main Directorate of the Northern Sea Route.

In 1955, in July-September, a caravan of ships led by the cruiser Admiral Senyavin sailed along the Northern Sea Route (the caravan included the cruiser Dmitry Pozharsky, 10 submarines and about 15 civilian vessels).

In 1963, the icebreaker was decommissioned. Despite numerous requests to preserve the world's first icebreaker as a museum, the Bolsheviks did not want to leave the powerful legacy of Nicholas II and the ship was cut into metal.

Large caliber howitzers

The largest artillery caliber of the Soviet Army in the Great Patriotic War was the Tsarist 305-mm howitzer model 1915.

These howitzers beat the Germans in 2 world wars. Under the Tsar, at least 40 units of such howitzers were produced.

These howitzers were used in the Second World War, for example during the capture of Koenigsberg.

Army and divisional guns

In the Great Patriotic War, more than at least 16,280 guns of the tsarist army of the 1902-1910 model were used, which underwent some modernization.

76 mm gun mod. 1902. 4350 units

76-mm mountain gun mod. 1909. 1121 units

122-mm howitzer model 1909. 900 units

122 mm howitzer model 1910. 5,900 units

152 mm howitzer model 1909. 2,600 units

107-mm gun model 1910. 863 units

152 mm siege gun model 1910. 546 units

In total, during the Great Patriotic War the USSR had at its disposal 141,000 guns of various types, of which 16,280 were Nikolaev. (11.5%)

Flak

In 1913, the project of weapons against air targets was approved by the Main Artillery Directorate, and in 1914 it was transferred for direct development to the Putilov plant.

At the end of 1914, four prototypes of the 76-mm anti-aircraft gun were manufactured.

In February 1915 they were successfully tested at the Petrograd test site.

The developers did not yet know that in less than a year, from scratch, they had created a weapon that would be used for more than half a century.

They immediately decided to give the anti-aircraft gun a movable base and developed the Russo-Balt Series T armored car specifically for it.

In the early summer of 1915, the first armored vehicles armed with these weapons went to the front.

On June 17, 1915, repelling a raid by nine German aircraft, anti-aircraft gunners shot down two of them, opening the count of enemy aircraft destroyed by Russian anti-aircraft artillery

During the Great Patriotic War, tsarist anti-aircraft guns were used to fight the Nazis.

76-mm cannon of the 1915 model, installed as a monument to Soviet paratroopers who participated in the Battle of Crimea in the Great Patriotic War.

Volkhov submarine rescuer.

Nikolai's artillery, ships and submarines were ahead of their time by half a century, and participated in two world wars, but there are examples of technologies that were ahead of their time for an even longer period.

Nikolaev submarine rescuer “Volkhov” IS STILL PERFORMING TASKS! OVER A CENTURY!

In 1922, the ship was renamed "Commune". The ship still bears this name.

In service for over 100 years!

Launching. During the descent, Princess Romanova broke champagne on the hull.

The first time the rescue ship was used by a combat crew was in the summer of 1917, when it lifted the submarine AG-15 in the Åland skerries.

The first combat recovery of the sunken boat "Unicorn" took place on September 24, 1917 by a rescue ship from a depth of 13.5 meters.

"Volkhov" took part in the revolution and civil war, the deck of this warship was washed in the blood of tsarist naval officers who were put to death on board.

During the Great Patriotic War she served in the Baltic Fleet.

Now it is part of the Russian Black Sea Fleet.

The military equipment of Nicholas II served the Motherland in two World Wars. The technologies of Tsarist Russia were ahead of their time. In addition to dozens of world records set during the reign of the Tsar, these combat units also break records in terms of service life.