Page 49 - Журнал Sozvezdye Review - «СОЗВЕЗДИЕ» #36
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which the Prosecutor took for one. The ship he refers
          to as given to Kholmogorsky and Vazhsky Archbish-
          op Athanasius, with all gear and flags, was a river boat
          for sailing along the Nortehrn Dvina, that Peter I used
          in 1693 to reach Arkhangelsk from Vologda, whereas
          the first decree refers to “sovereign yacht Saint Peter”,
          on which the tsar first made sea voyages around the
          White Sea.
             Archangel Vice-Governor Peter Lodyzhensky ex-
          ecuted Pavel Yaguzhinsky’s order. The Saint Peter was
          laid up on the bank of the Povrakulka River, where it
          gradually went into decay without proper care.
             In 1726, the captain of the port of Arkhangelsk,
          Andrey Dioper, wrote a request to the Admiralty
          Board to allow him to repair and use the old yacht
          laid up in the Povrakulka River, as an inspection boat
          for arriving Russian and foreign merchant ships. The
          Admiralty Board allowed him to do so in the event the
          yacht was in serviceable condition. However, upon a
          closer examination by ship builder Nikifor Bazhenin,
          the yacht was found unserviceable. The port captain
          claimed he would be able to build a new boat by 1727.
             In August 1727, the newly built packet boat was
          handed over by Nikifor Bazhenin to the captain of
          the Arkhangelsk port, Andrey Dioper. Earlier, in May
          1727, Dioper asked the Admiralty Board to allow him
          “to remove ten small cannons from the dilapidated
          yacht in the Povrakulka River for installation on the
          newly built inspector ship...” His request was satisfied
          again, by Admiralty Board Order of June 20, 1727, but
          wasn’t implemented due to change of the port cap-
          tains.
             The next time they remembered about the yacht
          was in the following year, when the new captain, Jan
          Walront, who replaced Andrei Dioper, requested the
          Archangel provincial chancellery to transfer him for
          his packet boat all the remaining gears of the rotting
          Saint Peter. The request was not satisfied as the office
          was aware that the packet boat had been handed over   30 или 31 июля царь впервые
          by Nikifor Bazhenin to Andrey Dioper “with all prop-  вступил на борт «Святого
          er rigging”. According to a decree from the Admiralty
          Board of August 19, 1728, “...the yacht appearing, ac-  Петра» и поднял на нем русский
          cording to the testimony of Nikifor Bazhenin, rotten   триколор с золоченым двуглавым
          and unfit for repairs must be left where it is without   орлом. 4 августа Петр вышел
          interference.” In pursuance of that decree of the Ad-
          miralty Board, the yacht was left on the bank of the   на своем судне в море
          Povrakulka River. Its rigging was placed in a guarded   On July 30–31, the tsar boarded the
          barn. However, Jan Walront got that rigging anyway –   St. Peter and hoisted the Russian
          in June 1729, with the help of soldier Fyodor Mesh-
          cherinov, who was put by Walront to guard the yacht   tricolor with a gilded double-
          and the barn. All its rigging – guy lines, ropes, which   headed eagle. On August 4,
          went as caulking, four old sails, two anchors weighing   he went to sea
          seven poods and three pounds, the two-pood iron til-
          ler, 49 different parts, 23 yunfers (deadeyes), six mica
          windows and miscellaneous ironware – was used by
          Walront for the repair of his packet boat.    Strazhin, to have the yacht dismantled by 14 soldiers
             In the June of that year, Jan Walront filed another   under the supervision of ensign Semyon Bolshiy. On
          petition with Archangel provincial chancellery asking   November 30, 1729, St. Peter was completely disas-
          for the permission to burn the yacht and have its iron   sembled.
          used for covering his “inevitable Admiralty-imposed   The iron with a total weight of 29 poods, the 25
          costs.” The response stated that it had “no authority   poods of lead and “the sixty-three carved elements on
          to allow to burn the yacht...” and forwarded Walront’s   the bow and the stern” were placed in the barn “near
          request to the Admiralty Board. The response from it   the Povrakulka River under the seal of ensign Bol-
          reached Walront on October 6, 1729: “...since all ships   shiy.” The planks of the yacht’s hull and the entire hull
          belong to Admiralty’s jurisdiction and there is no ev-  kit were all rotten. On April 16, 1730, the disassembled   SOZVEZDYE #36
          idence of the yacht having been built with the prov-  property was handed over to new captain of Arkhan-
          ince’s money, the yacht be burned for unfitness and its   gelsk port, Peter Klaver.
          iron parts be given to the Admiralty...”         Such was the ending of Saint Peter’s life. Her ser-     история
             Having received that order, on November 13,   vice life of thirty years was followed by six years of       history
          1729 the Archangelprovincial chancellery issued an   lay-up until November 1729 as a living artifact of the
          instruction to the commandant of Archangel Garri-  domestic shipbuilding.
          son, Commandant General Vilim Fermor, to allocate   It is time to revive the memory of and the monu-
          soldiers to destroy the yacht under the command of   ment to this oldest naval vessel in Russia, which, ac-
          the chief officer. The Commandant followed the in-  cording to the will of Peter I, marked the start of the
          struction by ordering the colonel of Ustyug Regiment,   domestic shipbuilding.                                    47
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