Page 65 - Журнал Sozvezdye Review - «СОЗВЕЗДИЕ» #37

From Voronezh to Arkhangelsk trict. For the first time even, that works made use of the
resources of the Orthodox Church, which had previous-
It was that voyage of 1694 that Emperor Alexander ly been exempt from duties for construction purposes.
III referred to in his reply to Voronezh Governor at the In 1696, after the victorious liberation of the Azov
end of the 19th century. Voronezh Governor sought rec- coast from the Turks, the tsar ordered to lay a new port,
ognition of his county as the first to have constructed Taganrog, which became Russia’s first naval base in
warships for the Russian navy. The Emperor replied as its southern parts. But, despite all diplomatic efforts,
follows: “Before Voronezh launched, on April 2, 1696, Taganrog fleet never sailed farther than the shallow
its first three gallivats, Principium, St. Mark and St. coast of the Sea of Azov: the Strait of Kerch was blocked
Mathew, the shipyard of Solombala had laid down, in for passage by the Russian ships. Tsar Peter I left for his
1963, the 24-gun warship ordered by the tsar. And by Grand Embassy – the trip to Western European coun-
the time that warship made its maiden voyage in the tries to explore achievements in the field of science, mil-
early 1694, the tsar had sailed aboard the yacht St. Peter itary training and shipbuilding.
to the Solovetsky Monastery. When Santa Profeetie was During those years, some of the best ships were built
bought from Holland, it joined St. Peter and St. Paul for in Voronezh under the leadership of foreigner Elizarius
the tsar’s 1694 voyage to cape Svyatoy Nos. That voy- Ysbrants. Enjoying special favors from the court, Ys-
age was through the ocean and therefore had a much brants hosted the young tsar at his home in German
greater meaning as marking the birth of the Russian Sloboda in Moscow in the early 1690s. He was a purvey-
Fleet than the flotilla in Voronezh and its operations or to the royal court and owned two gun and powder
on the Don River.” factories near Moscow. Realizing the futility of the ship-
In 1694, the tsar ordered from Holland a 32-oar gal- building in Voronezh, from where larger ships could
livat as a model to copy the design from. Delivered to never make it to the ocean via the Don River, in 1699
Arkhangelsk in 1695, it was disassembled to further Ysbrants appealed to the tsar to allow him to run ship-
transportation to the village of Preobrazhenskoye – the yards in Arkhangelsk, much to satisfaction of the tsar. SOZVEZDYE #37
yard for the construction of the Russian gallivats and Following tsar’s orders, Ysbrants laid, in 1700 in Sol-
fire ships. That yard used crews of foreign and Russian ombala, six fleuts – large merchant ships. The tsar origi-
carpenters it hired from Arkhangelsk. The place cho- nally planned to have five fleuts, but since the harvested история
sen for the final assembly of those first twenty-two gal- wood was enough for six, they built one more. Five of
livats, four fire-ships and two more vessels in the win- them were set afloat on May 27, 1701 for completion. history
ter of 1695–1696, was near Voronezh. There began the A description has survived of Solombala shipyard,
history of the Azov Fleet. made in 1701 by Dutch traveler Cornelis de Bruijn: “It’s
The construction of those early naval and transport a wonderful place the tsar has chosen for a shipyard…
ships for the Don and Azov flotillas used the crews of northwest of Arkhangelsk, half an hour away; it has a
Arkhangelsk, Kholmogory and the entire Dvinsky Dis- nice scenery and is located off the road. All incoming 63