It is hard to say if Peter the Great was more enthusiastic about creating a great naval fleet or about building the city that would bear his name. Certainly the location of the new city of St. Petersburg would help serve the purpose of Peter’s navy. Almost as soon as the foundation for the city had been laid, shipbuilding began in the city. The city’s first inhabitants included mariners, fortification specialists and shipbuilders. Peter did not let the creation of this new city subside his first passion. If anything Peter’s ambitions to build a new port city were fueled by his love of ships. St. Petersburg was the city in which Russia’s first marine maps and atlases were published. Peter had craftsmen and engineers brought over from Europe to help him create vessels for his fleet. He also sent Russians over to Europe to be educated in various boating related crafts. The first ships created in the city were built at makeshift shipyards. These were temporary operations until a more permanent shipyard could be built for the city. The first shipbuilding enterprise of St Petersburg was the Admiralteiskie Verfi Shipyards founded by Peter I in 1704 as the basic shipyard of the Baltic Navy. This shipyard would come to be more commonly known as The Admiralty. The building was protected by a line of fortifications including moats and bastions to help protect from enemy attack. The building served as both a naval dockyard and as the Navy Ministry. In 1719 a spire would be added to the top of the Admiralty building. The golden spire was a ship and was said to be the emblem of the city. Many of the parts used to build ships in St. Petersburg were sent in from foreign countries. The location of the city made the shipments of these parts much easier. In 1709 Russia defeated the Swedes in Poltava, which was far from the sea. The first ship built in St. Petersburg was named the Poltava. It was designed by Peter the Great and Feodosy Sklyaev. The Poltava was followed by the even larger Saint Catherine, Shlisselburg, Narva and Ingermanland. In 1711 a gun casting yard was created in St. Petersburg to help implement the war ships with their armory needs. While some ships were used as merchant vessels and for exploration the majority of the ships served the navy’s purposes. The new gun casting yard was crucial to the rapid expanse of the navy. After a crew of Russian ships won a battle with a Swedish ship in the open sea, Holland and England decided to become allies with Russia. This alliance ended with the death of Sweden’s king, Charles XII. England was worried that Russia would have a monopoly on the Baltic, so they decided to back Sweden. Peter the Great oversaw the creation of a number of naval institutions in St. Petersburg. These new institutions created included the Navy Office, Petersburg Civil Shipyard, Admiralty Hospital, Naval Academy, Admiralties Board an a Navy Archive. Peter’s contributions to Russia’s navy cannot simply be summed up by listing the boats and buildings he created. A Russian fleet was his dream and he used everything in his power to see its success. Just before the death of Peter the Great a “secret vessel” was created. It was a prototype for a submarine.
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- Peter the Great's Early Shipbuilding
- Russian Navy After Peter
- Bibliography
Course Home Page: "St. Petersburg: Miracle. Mystery. Authority!"
This course was created by an undergraduate student at St. Lawrence University. last update: May 1, 2003