Success is the ability to endure one defeat after another without losing the will to win.

Winston Churchill

The end of the 17th century was marked by a great war that Turkey waged with the European powers. In 1683, the campaign of Sultan Mehmed IV to Vienna ended in complete defeat, the Austrian and Polish armies began to push the Turks from the lands they occupied, and the following year, Venice joined the anti-Turkish coalition. Russia entered the war in 1686 and at first the situation was not very successful for her. Prince Vasily Golitsyn twice went to fight the Crimea, but both times the army returned back to no avail, weakened by disease, lack of water and fodder, and not having won significant military victories. Peter I, after gaining full power in 1689, decided to change the focus of attention and focused on gaining access to the Sea of ​​Azov. To do this, it was decided to take control of the Turkish fortress of Azov, and lay the path of the troops to it along the Volga and Don, which made it possible to avoid water shortages. In the spring of 1695, an army of thirty thousand under the command of Patrick Gordon, Franz Lefort and Avtonom Golovin set out for Azov. The tsar participated in the campaign incognito, under the name of gunner Peter Alekseev.

The first siege of Azov, summer-autumn 1695. Miniature from the manuscript of P. Krekshin "History of Peter I"

Half a century before, the Russians had already taken Azov - in 1638, the Don and Zaporozhye Cossacks, with the material support of the Russian Tsar, besieged the fortress and captured it, after which they held it for several years, turning it into a center of lively trade between Russians, Turks and Iranians. They successfully survived the siege of the former owners of the fortress, but, realizing that the resources were running out and the fortifications were badly damaged, they were forced to leave it - they asked Moscow to take Azov under their protection by sending troops, but the tsar, who had previously vehemently denied to the Turks his involvement in the capture of the fortress, he did not resort to such open help, and Azov had to be left.

Over the past decades, the Turks have done a good job of modernizing the returned fortress: two rings of external fortifications were erected, stone walls were supplemented with a moat and a palisade. If Peter was counting on a quick victory, then this time it was clearly not going to be given to him.

In early June 1695, the Russian army came to Azov and set up a siege ring. The first artillery shelling of the fortress encouraged the besiegers - after a few volleys a fire broke out outside the walls, and the battery, commanded by Peter himself, who personally equipped the grenades and aimed the guns, was able to destroy one of the towers. However, it quickly became clear that the Turks did not panic at all - they quickly put out the fires, and restore the destruction. Reinforcements and supplies brought along the Sea of ​​Azov allowed the defenders of the fortress not to worry about the fact that they would be taken to starvation.

The approach to the fortress along the Don River was blocked by two stone towers (in the documents of that time they appear as "towers"), located a few kilometers from Azov. They stood opposite each other on opposite banks of the river and the thick chains stretched between them prevented ships from sailing along the river, and the guns installed in the towers reliably shot through the surrounding space, preventing the enemy from approaching. Anyone who wanted to besiege Azov would have to supply land, and bypassing the towers far, which, undoubtedly, would greatly delay the carts and lead to inconvenience.

That is why one of the goals that the Russian troops set for themselves was the capture of these towers. Two hundred volunteers went on the assault with the support of the Streltsy Regiment. An attempt to undermine the gates of one of the towers with a powder charge (“petard” in the then military terminology) was unsuccessful, but the attackers managed to get inside, expanding one of the loopholes with crowbars and hammers. As a result of a short but fierce battle, the tower was taken, and its guns were turned against the second tower. The Turks could not withstand the shelling and quickly left the second tower - the river supply route was free. The trophies of Russian soldiers were 32 guns, a large number of prisoners were captured. However, the capture of the towers, alas, was the biggest success of the Russian troops in this campaign - otherwise there was nothing to brag about.

The Turks were by no means limited to passively sitting behind the walls of Azov and correcting the damage caused to them - selected shooters with long-barreled guns fired at all Russians who dared to appear from the trenches in daylight, and groups of the besieged made regular sorties. One of them was carried out on the instructions of the defector Jacob Jansen, a Dutchman in Russian service, who pointed out to the Turks a weak spot in the Russian defense. The result of the raid was the loss of an entire artillery battery - some of the guns were captured and taken away by the Turks, the rest were disabled. Jansen was close to Peter and enjoyed his special disposition - it is not surprising that after such an insidious betrayal, the king became furious and vowed to take revenge on Judas.

Engraving by Adrian Schkhonebek "The Siege of Azov in 1696"

After a month of siege, seeing that the situation was developing into a stalemate, Peter decided to storm. It was planned to start it by blowing up the wall, but either the digging was done incorrectly, or the mine was laid in it in the wrong place - the wall was almost not damaged, but several dozen people from among those prepared for the attack, including several high-ranking officers, were killed and wounded by shrapnel . The assault bogged down, the total losses of the Russians amounted to more than one and a half thousand people. The second attempt took place almost two months later and went noticeably better - the Preobrazhensky and Semyonovsky regiments, as well as the Don Cossacks, broke into the fortress. However, the breakthrough was not supported by the rest of the troops, and the Turks managed to push the attackers out of the fortifications. At the military council on September 27, it was decided to curtail the siege - leaving a garrison of three thousand archers in the captured towers, renamed the city of Novosergievsk, Peter returned to Moscow.

Engraving "View of Voronezh and the shipyard in 1702" from Nikolai Ustryalov's book "History of the reign of Peter the Great" - in 1696, when ships of the Azov fleet were being built in Voronezh, the area looked almost the same

Peter realized that the capture of Azov required much better preparation, and first of all, a strong fleet that could ensure the blockade of the fortress from the sea. A large-scale construction of warships was launched and in less than six months a quite serious flotilla was created: about two dozen galleys (the exact number varies from 19 to 23 depending on the source), two frigates (although their participation in the subsequent second Azov campaign has not been confirmed documented - at least one of them, "Apostle Peter", was in the process of being completed during the siege) and a significant number of small watercraft, including four or five firewalls.

The second defect that they intended to correct was the insufficient number of troops. This time it was decided to come under the walls of Azov with a truly mighty army. It was announced that the serfs who voluntarily entered the soldiers, at the end of their service life, receive freedom - this contributed to a massive influx of recruits. The land army reached seventy thousand bayonets - twice as many as in the first campaign. Aleksey Shein was appointed to command her, in the first campaign he commanded the Preobrazhensky and Semyonovsky regiments. The fleet was commanded by Franz Lefort. The tsar again participated incognito, as the captain of the galley "Principum" Pyotr Alekseev.

Ships of the Azov Fleet, engraving from the book of Johann-Georg Korb "Diary of a Journey to the Moscow State"

On May 16, 1696, Azov was besieged again, and a letter was sent to the garrison demanding surrender, which the garrison ignored. The Turks did not expect such a quick return of the seemingly defeated enemy, so during the winter they did not take any measures to restore the fortifications destroyed by artillery fire during the final assault, and did not even bury the trenches dug by the Russian troops. The Russians quickly, without meeting any resistance, took up their old positions and prepared for the second round. On May 27, the fleet entered the Sea of ​​Azov and set up a blockade of the fortress. The Turkish squadron, which came to the rescue of Azov, did not dare to join the battle, seeing how the Russian ships were deployed in combat formation.

Fragment of the diorama by Arseny Chernyshov "The capture of the Turkish fortress of Azov by the troops of Peter I in 1696"

The Turks tried, following the example of last year's campaign, to make attacks, but this time the Russians were ready for this, and they had noticeably more forces, so the attacks were not successful. It was also not possible to conduct intensive fire on the positions of the besiegers - the supply of gunpowder, lead and cores by sea was not to be expected, and their supply in the fortress itself was rather small.

Engraving by Adrian Schkhonebek "Azov Fleet near Azov"

For a long time and carefully, the besiegers were preparing for the assault - an embankment was erected in front of the walls with positions for artillery and passages for the attackers. The assault itself was scheduled for July 22, but the Cossacks, tired of excavation and longing for valiant fun, arbitrarily launched an attack on the fortress on the seventeenth, and they even managed to break through the line of fortifications and sit in two bastions. Attempts to go further came across heavy fire from the Turks, who, for the sake of such a thing, realizing that the situation was critical, scraped out the last stocks of gunpowder from the warehouses, and instead of bullets they loaded guns with coins chopped into pieces. Seeing that it was pointless to command the Cossacks to retreat, and it was impossible to leave them to the mercy of fate, Peter ordered a general assault. Two days later, after fierce fighting and continuous shelling, the fortress capitulated. With joy, Peter agreed to the most honorable and mild conditions - the Turks were left with all the weapons, except for heavy ones, and they even offered ships for evacuation. The only condition on which the tsar adamantly insisted was the extradition of the traitor Jacob Jansen. This is what was done.

The surrender of Azov, in the center of the composition you can see the extradition of the traitor Jacob Jansen by the Turks. Miniature from the manuscript of P. Krekshin "History of Peter I"

The trophies amounted to about a hundred cannons and mortars, there was nothing more valuable either from a military or from any other point of view in the fortress. Yes, and she herself was very badly damaged during the siege and assault, so that to bring her into a state suitable for military use, a lot of effort and money would have to be spent. This, as well as the lack of a harbor in Azov for basing large ships, determined the further fate of the fortress - it was not used, making the city of Taganrog the center of the Russian military presence on Azov, the construction of which began in 1698.

Sketch of the medal "On the capture of Azov"

The Azov campaigns were the first major military and political success of the young tsar. They demonstrated to both his subjects and foreign colleagues the qualities of Peter, which determined his further successes - perseverance, determination and, most importantly, the ability to return and take revenge after failures.

The battleship "Azov", named after Peter's victory. Glorified in the battle of Navarino, awarded the St. George banner. Painting by Christopher Wilhelm Eckersberg “Russian battleship “Azov”, standing on the roads in Helsingor”

Back in the distant XV century, the troops of the Ottoman Empire captured the city of Azov for the first time. To avoid the raids of the Don Cossack flotillas on the Crimea and Northern Anatolia, the Turks immediately built a fortress on this site. Movement down the Don and access to the sea turned out to be closed for Russia for several centuries. Meanwhile, Azov was an important transit point on the silk caravan route to China.

False Dmitry I planned to strike at Azov and expel the Turks from the mouth of the Don. For these purposes, the tsar launched the construction of ships on the Vorona River (at its confluence with the Don). In addition, the Yelets border fortress was fortified. False Dmitry considered it as a support base for the upcoming campaign. Siege and field artillery were sent to the fortress from Moscow, and warehouses with a large amount of military equipment and food were also created in it.

But the campaign, planned for the summer of 1606, was never destined to take place due to the overthrow and murder of the false king in May of that year.

A convenient moment for the capture of Azov presented itself in 1637 during the reign of Mikhail Fedorovich. Cossack intelligence reported on the war that had begun between the Ottoman Turks and Persia. The troops of the Crimean Khan left to fight on the side of the Ottomans. The Cossacks immediately decided to act. Having dug under the fortress walls, they blew them up and burst into the city through the breach. The Turks, who returned from the war in 1641, began to liberate the fortress. By order of the Sultan, 30 thousand Turks, 70 galleys, as well as 40 thousand soldiers from the army of the Crimean Khan arrived in the city. 5.5 thousand Cossacks defended against this bulk of Azov, who successfully repelled 24 enemy assaults. In the midst of the battles, the Cossacks sent a dispatch to Mikhail Fedorovich with a request to take Azov under their authority. However, the Zemsky Sobor, convened in 1642, did not express unity on this issue. It was clear that Russia would have to wage a difficult war with Turkey and the Crimea, but there were no forces for this. The Cossacks were forced to leave Azov, but first they destroyed all the fortifications. The Turks rebuilt and fortified the fortress. Just above Azov, on the Don, two stone towers were built, and guns were mounted on them. Three iron chains were strung between the towers across the river. Now even access to the fortress was closed.

The following attempts to recapture the fortress were made during the reign of Peter the Great. In the spring of 1695, the Russian army under the command of the tsarist generals F.Ya. Lefort and A.M. Golovina went to Azov. Two assaults were unsuccessful and were repulsed by the Turks, who constantly brought ammunition by sea.

One of the reasons for the failure was the betrayal of the Dutch gunner Jacob Jansen, who defected to the Turks.

Using the instructions of Jansen, the Turks made a sortie, captured nine Russian field guns and damaged the siege guns. The Russian command was forced to lift the siege and retreat. But the main reason for the failure was the lack of a regular fleet. The shipbuilding campaign began. A disassembled 32-oared galley, a wooden rowing vessel, was brought from Holland. According to her model, in the village of Preobrazhenskoye near Moscow, the best artisans made parts for another 22 galleys. Parts of the galleys were transported to Voronezh and the first domestic 22 warships were assembled. In addition to the galleys, two ships were also built: the Apostle Paul and the Apostle Peter. Each of these ships was armed with 36 guns. By the spring of 1696, Russia had about 30 warships and a significant number of vehicles. The fleet was built on the Voronezh River at its confluence with the Don. In the spring of 1696, the Russian fleet blocked the Turkish fortress from the sea. Enemy ships did not dare to make a breakthrough. The Russian army under the command of governor Alexei Shein laid siege to the fortress from land. For the first time, the domestic navy acted with the troops of the land army. In the middle of 1696, the Turkish garrison decided to surrender. The first big victory of the Russian army and navy was won. For the capture of Azov, the boyar Shein became the first Russian governor to be awarded the title of generalissimo. In order to consolidate Russian positions on the Sea of ​​Azov, the Taganrog fortress was built.

Jean-Marc Nattier. "Portrait of Peter I". 1717. Fragment

RIA News"

But already in 1711, Azov had to be returned. At the height of the Northern War, Turkey declared war on Russia. On the Prut River, the Turkish army surrounded the Russian troops. Only by returning Azov to Turkey and destroying Taganrog, Russia achieved a truce.

Russia was able to win revenge in the confrontation with Turkey in the Sea of ​​\u200b\u200bAzov in the reign of Empress Anna Ioannovna. The Russian-Turkish war of 1735-1739 became a logical continuation of the traditions of Peter's foreign policy. It became a new stage in the advance of Russia to the south and was the first major war after the death of Peter I. In the spring of 1736, the self-confident Field Marshal Munnich described the "general plan of the war" in a letter to Duke Biron. In 1736, the military leader appointed the capture of Azov, in 1737 - the Crimea, in 1738 - Moldavia and Wallachia, and in 1739 and Constantinople (Istanbul). But the main merit in the capture of Azov belongs to Field Marshal P.P. Lassi and Vice Admiral P.P. Bradal. The assault on the fortress began on June 17. However, it was preceded by a long shelling, which was carried out by 46 siege guns. The fortress was so badly destroyed by artillery fire that it didn’t even come to a general assault. The Turkish garrison, having lost hope for a successful outcome of the defense, threw out the white flag on June 19, 1736. And on June 20, Pasha Mustafa Aga of Azov handed over the keys to the city to Count Lassi.

In 1740, following the results of the Belgrade peace, Azov finally became part of Russia.

The engraving dedicated to the capture of Azov, created shortly after the end of the war, fully reflects the scope of the siege itself. The engraving depicts many cannons, a continuous line of fortifications and a grandiose explosion inside the fortress from a Russian bomb, which led to the surrender of the fortress garrison.

On July 2, 1736, in the Cathedral of St. Peter and Paul in St. Petersburg, in honor of the capture of Azov, the following lines were heard: “And so the Almighty God help this enemy city, from which All-Russian borders and subjects only great grievances and sensual ruins happened, and which from the treacherous Turks in 1711, due to the circumstances of that time, was torn off from the Russian State, to the eternal security of the All-Russian borders there and the subjects of the glorious arms of Her Imperial Majesty, still attached to the Russian Empire, for which may he, Almighty God, be glory and thanksgiving forever and ever” .

Thanks to the capture of Azov, Russian troops opened their way to the Sea of ​​Azov. However, this was only the beginning of the glorious Russian victories in the Black Sea region. The Sea of ​​\u200b\u200bAzov is inland and closed by the Kerch Strait, and the Crimean Tatars lived in Kerch - the main allies of the Turks. Beyond Kerch, there was another inland sea - the Black Sea, closed by the Bosporus Strait, where the main Turkish stronghold - Istanbul was located. These victories were only to be won by Russia.

320 years ago, on July 29, 1696, the Russian army took the Turkish fortress of Azov. The entire course of the Don became free for Russian ships. However, it was not completely possible to “cut through a window” in the Black Sea region; in order to complete the job, it was necessary to capture Kerch (ancient Russian Korchevo), a city on the shores of the Kerch Strait, for a free exit from the Sea of ​​\u200b\u200bAzov to the Black Sea. With a more radical solution to the problem - to destroy the Crimean Khanate and seize the Crimean peninsula. And for this you need a fleet.

The Azov campaigns in practice showed the importance of artillery and fleet for warfare. And Peter drew conclusions from this, he cannot be denied organizational skills and strategic thinking. On October 20, 1696, the Boyar Duma proclaims "Sea ships to be ...". An extensive program of military shipbuilding of 52 (later 77) ships is being approved.

background

At the turn of the 17th-18th centuries, navies began to play an increasingly important role. It was difficult to get the status of a great power without ships. Hundreds and thousands of ships were already cutting through sea and ocean expanses, new sea routes were being mastered, trade was developing rapidly, new ports and shipyards were being built. International trade went beyond the sea basins - the Mediterranean, Baltic, North Seas. Huge colonial empires appeared, whose power was kept mainly due to strong fleets.

During this period, the first places in terms of the power of the fleets were occupied by England and Holland. In these countries, the revolutions cleared the way (and in a very bloody way) for capitalist development. Spain, Portugal, France, Venice, the Ottoman Empire, Denmark and Sweden also had strong fleets. All these states had a vast sea coast, long-standing traditions of navigation. A number of states created colonial empires - Spain, Portugal, or they were building them at full speed - England, Holland, France. The resources of the conquered territories gave a powerful impetus to the development of western predators.

The Russian state was in a different position. Our state was the heir to ancient maritime traditions. Linking the emergence of the Russian fleet with the border of the era of Peter I is a clear mistake. During the period of the Old Russian state, the Black Sea was called the Russian Sea, as it was controlled by the Rus-Russians, and the Baltic Sea was the Varangian Sea - the Varangians-Rus controlled it long before the heyday of the German Hansa (the Hansa itself was created on the basis of Slavic cities and their trade relations). Russian princes built fleets of hundreds and thousands of ships when they went to Tsargrad-Constantinople. But by this period, Russia-Russia was pushed deep into the continent. In the northwest, access to the Baltic Sea was blocked by Sweden. The Kingdom of the Swedes at that time became a powerful empire with a professional army and a strong navy. The Swedes seized Russian lands along the shores of the Gulf of Finland, controlled a significant part of the southern Baltic, turning the Baltic Sea into a "Swedish lake".

Only on the coast of the White Sea, hundreds of kilometers from the main economic centers of Russia, did we have the port of Arkhangelsk. It provided limited opportunities for maritime trade - it was remote, and in winter navigation was interrupted due to the harshness of the climate. Astrakhan provided Russia with economic ties only with Persia and the region of Central Asia. The Russians began to explore Siberia, but it took more than one century for the waters of the Pacific Ocean to be used for communications with other countries and regions.

Access to the Black Sea was closed by the Crimean Khanate (a vassal of Porta) and the Ottoman Empire. Turks and Crimean Tatars held in their hands the entire northern coast of the Black Sea, with the mouths of the Danube, Dniester, Southern Bug, Dnieper, Don, Kuban. Moreover, Russia had historical rights to part of these territories - they were part of the Old Russian state. One of the military strongholds on these lands was the Turkish fortress of Azov, located at the confluence of the Don River into the Sea of ​​Azov.

The Ottomans, relying on numerous fortresses, outposts in the Northern Black Sea region and the Crimean horde, not only kept the southern Russian lands under their control, but also planned to expand their zone of influence. Although the Ottoman Empire experienced a serious internal crisis by the end of the 17th century, it was still a powerful state with a huge military, economic and demographic potential. Its possessions stretched from Gibraltar to the Balkans, from the northern coast of the Black Sea to the Persian Gulf and the Indian Ocean. The Porte's army was considered one of the strongest and most numerous in the world. The Turkish fleet was large in number of pennants and had extensive experience in combat operations. The Turks have been fighting for two centuries with the ground forces and fleets of Austria, France, Spain, Venice, the Order of Malta, Tuscany. Istanbul had excellent forests for building ships from the Black Sea coast, hemp and canvas came from Egypt, resin and lard came from Albania and Wallachia. The Turks had excellent harbors in the Black Sea, the Bosporus, the Sea of ​​Marmara. Military specialists (for example, gunners) were hired from the French, British, and Dutch. Slaves for rowing ships were supplied by the Crimean Tatars. The Turkish fleet completely dominated the Black Sea, could quickly replenish forces from the Bosphorus and the Mediterranean. Turkey, with the help of the fleet, could transfer additional troops to the garrisons of the Northern Black Sea region from the metropolis.

Thus, access to the Baltic and Black Seas was important both from the point of view of military-strategic necessity (access to natural defense lines) and the restoration of historical justice (the return of ancestral Russian lands), and from economic considerations. The Baltic and the Black Sea region had to be returned in order for Russian civilization to receive natural strategic boundaries in the northwest and southwest. Isolation from the main sea trade routes of Europe (Baltic - North Sea - Atlantic, Black Sea - Mediterranean - Atlantic) adversely affected the economic development of the Russian state. Therefore, the struggle for outlets to these seas acquired paramount importance for the future of Russia.

Russo-Turkish War

Since the 16th century, Russia has been fighting the Crimean and Nogai hordes. Moscow wanted to secure its southern borders, stop the practice of regular robbery campaigns and raids on Russian lands, and begin processing the rich southern lands (the so-called "Wild Field"). And in the future, get access to the Black and Azov Seas in order to develop economic communications. In the course of this struggle, Russia faced the Porte, whose vassal was the Crimean horde. Istanbul created a number of powerful strongholds in the Northern Black Sea region and planned to develop an offensive to the north, into the lands of the Commonwealth and the Russian state. So, the Ottomans planned to include in their sphere of influence the former lands of the Astrakhan and Kazan khanates, and Little Russia.

The Russian-Turkish war of 1672-1681, which went on with varying success, ended with the Bakhchisaray peace, concluded in 1681 for 20 years, on the terms of the existing situation. Western Little Russia, which became a real wasteland after the war, and Podolia remained in the hands of Turkey. The Ottoman Empire easily went to this world, as a war with Austria was coming. In this war, Austria, with the support of Poland, prevailed. However, the break between the wars was short.

In 1683, Poland and Austria entered into an alliance (Holy League) against the Ottomans. Venice joined the union, and it was supported by the papacy. The Allies planned to drive the Ottomans out of Europe and were about to bring in new allies. In 1684, negotiations about this began in the village of Andrusovo and lasted almost two years. Moscow agreed to join the alliance, but under the condition that Kyiv be ceded by Poland. The negotiations went on for a long time, the Polish ambassadors did not agree to the terms of the Russians for a long time, but under the pressure of the allies they were forced to give in. On April 26, 1686, the Eternal Peace of Russia was concluded with the Commonwealth. The Commonwealth for a reward of 146 thousand rubles yielded Kyiv to Russia, Smolensk forever retreated to Moscow, and the Right-bank "Ukraine" remained dependent on Poland, the Left-bank departed to Russia. Russia pledged to break the peace with the Porte and attack the Crimean Khanate. Thus, Russia in 1686 joined the Holy League.

Sophia's government wanted to strengthen its authority with this alliance. Sophia and her favorite, Prince Vasily Golitsyn, needed a resounding victory. In 1687 and 1689, under the leadership of Prince Vasily Golitsyn, campaigns were undertaken against the Crimean Khanate, but they did not bring success. They brought benefits only to the allies, diverted the enemy forces. And for the Russians, the campaigns turned into serious losses without any positive results.

Hostilities were stopped, but Moscow and the Port did not conclude peace. In 1689, Sophia was overthrown, but the government was actually headed by Peter's mother, Natalya Kirillovna. The young tsar was busy with "Mars and Neptune fun", and the government of Natalia pursued a cautious policy, avoided sharp turns - they did not fight with fats, but they did not conclude peace, so as not to anger the allies. This suited the Ottomans, it was possible to wait with Russia, to transfer forces to other directions.

However, this lull was temporary. Istanbul was not going to give up its positions in the Northern Black Sea region, moreover, the Turks were clearly preparing for future battles. They launched the construction of new fortresses. Previously, near the mouth of the Dnieper, they had two strongholds, Ochakov and Kyzy-Kermen. Now five were built at once: Aslan-Kermen, Tavan, Mustrit-Kermen, Islam-Kermen, Mubarek-Kermen. The fortresses moved closer and closer to the Russian possessions. New fortresses were built both for defense and as springboards for future offensive operations. The Crimean Tatars, as before, "fought", that is, they plundered and devastated Little Russia, taking people into slavery. In 1692, the Crimean Khan tried to break into the Great Russian lands. However, Boris Sheremetev reacted with lightning speed and moved 40,000 troops towards the Crimean horde. army. The Crimean Tatars, as usual in this case, did not join the battle and left to rob the Polish lands (in fact, Western Russian, as part of the Commonwealth). Thus, the resumption of active hostilities sooner or later was inevitable. Russia and Turkey were divided (and are divided) by fundamental contradictions of a geopolitical, military-strategic, historical nature, which could only be resolved by a decisive victory of one of the parties.

In January 1694, Natalya Kirillovna died. The independent reign of Peter I began, although he never prepared for the kingdom, he did not study complex and diverse issues of state leadership. The year 1695 was a turning point in Peter's life. The war games that almost completely consumed his energy and time were left behind. They were replaced by a real war, which lasted almost the entire reign of Peter. The Azov campaigns became the first independent step of the reign of Peter Alekseevich.

As a result, the continuation of the war with the Porte became a priority in the foreign policy of Peter I in the first years of autocracy. There were several reasons for this:

Firstly, Moscow was at war with Istanbul, and the allies in the anti-Turkish alliance put pressure on Peter I and demanded to continue hostilities. The powers of the Holy League got it hard. The Ottoman army defeated the Austrians near Belgrade. The Crimean hordes completely ruined the Commonwealth with their raids. The Polish king Jan Sobessky began to blackmail Moscow. He wrote that the Russians do not make any contribution to the common struggle with Turkey. He promised that he would break the "eternal peace" with Russia, instead he would conclude a separate agreement with the Sultan, and demand from the king to return the lost Smolensk, Kyiv, Left-Bank Ukraine;

Secondly, the war with Turkey seemed an easier task than the conflict with Sweden, which closed the exit to the Baltic. Turkey fought on other fronts and could not throw significant forces into the war with Russia;

Thirdly, the capture of Azov could secure the southern borders of Russia from the raids of the Crimean Tatars;

Fourthly, Peter dreamed of creating a fleet, the establishment of the Azov Flotilla could be the first step towards the implementation of these plans.

First Azov campaign (1695)

The Russian high command drew up a solid campaign plan. It was decided not to attack the Crimean Khanate, where it was necessary to go through desert lands, exhausting the troops, which led to the failure of Golitsyn's campaigns, but to strike at Azov. They also changed the route - they decided to go along the Volga and Don regions. The first Russian army under the command of Count Boris Petrovich Sheremetyev, together with Mazepa's Cossacks, was to operate in the lower reaches of the Dnieper, attack enemy fortresses and divert the attention of the Ottomans. They planned to gather up to 100 thousand soldiers and Cossacks. The second 30 thousand the army under the command of Tsar Peter I and his closest associates Fyodor Golovin, Patrick Gordon, Franz Lefort was supposed to take Azov.

They tried to prepare the campaign against Azov in secret, the army was formed from the best regiments of the new regular army - Preobrazhensky, Semyonovsky, Lefortovsky, Butyrsky, and archers also entered it. The army was reinforced by the Don Cossacks, who knew the area of ​​hostilities well. In the winter and spring of 1695, transport ships were built on the Don: plows (river sailing and rowing vessel 25-30 m long), sea boats and rafts for the delivery of troops, artillery, ammunition and food.

It is worth noting that Azov was one of the main outposts of the Ottoman Empire in the Black Sea region. Azov had three lines of powerful fortifications - an earthen rampart with a moat and a palisade, a stone wall with 11 towers and an internal castle. The fortress was defended by more than 100 guns; higher up the Don, the Turks built two powerful towers-towers that blocked the river with chains and artillery. But the garrison was small, 3 thousand people, the Ottomans had the opportunity to reinforce it by sea, so they did not keep large forces in the fortress. Therefore, the Russian commanders built their calculation on surprise - to take the fortress on the move, to crush the enemy with a tenfold superiority. In order to move faster, they did not even take heavy guns.

However, these calculations crossed out gross errors. Instead of one commander in chief, Peter appointed a "consilium" of his comrades Lefort, Gordon and Golovin. They had to make a joint decision, and the king approved it. Although Golovin had no military experience, and Lefort did not lead large formations, having only the experience of a junior officer. The plan for the war with Turkey was not hidden, they talked about it at all feasts and feasts. Therefore, in Istanbul they learned about the preparation of the Russian expedition to Azov. The Turkish command managed to strengthen the Azov garrison to 7-10 thousand soldiers. Thus, a sudden blow did not happen. The enemy had time to prepare for defense.

In the spring of 1695, the army left Moscow, on plows and other river transports, it walked along the Moscow River, the Oka and the Volga. On the Volga we reached Tsaritsyn, where we crossed over to the Don. We moved slowly, waited out the spring thaw, waited for the stragglers. Only in early July, the army was at Azov and blocked it from land. On July 2, siege work and shelling of the fortress began. The siege went on stupidly: the Turks actively made sorties, siege structures prevented the construction of the camp; the Crimean cavalry from the steppe constantly made raids, attacked the carts, interfered with the supply of the army; when the batteries opened fire, it turned out that light guns could not harm the walls. The tsar himself behaved like a boy, fired from a cannon, dug trenches, all this was interspersed with noisy feasts. Gordon wrote: "Judging by our actions, sometimes it seemed as if we had started all this in earnest."

The Don Cossacks were able to capture the towers (fortifications) above Azov (July 14 - 16), this made it possible to transport goods to the Russian military camp itself. By the beginning of August, the advanced trenches were brought about 50 meters to the rampart of the fortress. We made the decision to go on the offensive. Although Gordon objected that it was impossible to attack. There were no breaks in the walls; without a sufficient number of assault ladders and fascines to fill the moat, the assault could end in failure. But they did not listen to him. In the early morning of August 5, the assault on the fortress began. More than 4 thousand Russian soldiers rushed to the Turkish stronghold, a bloody battle went on for several hours. The Turks fought back with great stamina. The Butyrsky and Tambov regiments were able to take the corner bastion at the cost of heavy losses. But Golovin's division was late with the attack. The Turks sent reinforcements and recaptured the fortification. As a result, all Russian attacks were repulsed. A detachment of Cossacks, which was supposed to attack the fortress from the Don, approaching in their boats, also did not succeed. The assault cost only 1.5 thousand people killed.

The unsuccessful assault revealed a number of serious shortcomings in the Russian army: they could not establish a blockade of the fortress from the sea; lacked experience in the siege of fortresses and the corresponding artillery, equipment; shortcomings in organization and discipline affected, there was no unity of command, a single supreme command. Golovin, Lefort, Gordon could not organize coordinated actions, they quarreled. Peter was unable to coordinate their actions. In addition, it is worth noting that during the planning period of the operation, the Russian command considered that the ground forces were sufficient for the assault, but underestimated the importance of the Turkish fleet. Ships were constantly sent from Istanbul to Azov, which transferred fresh units (to replenish the garrison, which suffered from artillery shelling), brought ammunition, food. The Black Sea at that time was actually a "Turkish lake". Russia did not have warships and could not interfere with the enemy. Therefore, the Turkish garrison was not exhausted by the siege and could successfully resist the Russian assaults.

The Turks continued their sorties. Mine digs were discovered and blown up. Peter showed stubbornness, ordered to dig new ones. They completed them only on September 20th. On September 25, Russian troops launched a second assault. He was better prepared and organized, but the Turks recaptured him too. Of the two mines, one worked. The Lefortovo regiment burst into the gap, but was knocked out by a counterattack. And frost hit at night. As a result, the military council decided to lift the siege and withdraw the troops to winter quarters. In the winter, hostilities in Europe were mostly not conducted, due to natural conditions - cold, muddy roads, impassability, supply difficulties, etc. The retreat began in early October. 3 thousand detachment was left to guard the captured fortifications. The departure turned into a catastrophe: they wandered across the steppe under cold rains, with overnight stays in the cold. Soon the "great snow" fell. For soldiers with summer uniforms, it was a nightmare. Thousands of soldiers got frostbite and froze.

The Dnieper army, led by Sheremetyev, acted in a more organized manner, and therefore achieved victory. Sheremetev's troops recaptured three fortresses from the Turks: July 30 - Kyzy-Kermen (Berislav), August 1 - Eski-Tavan, August 3 - Aslan-Kermen. Kyzy-Kermen was weaker than Azov, but also a tough nut to crack - stone walls, 30 guns, a strong garrison under the command of Amir Bey. Nearby were the Tatars of the Khan's son, Tsarevich Nureddin, who planned to cut the communications of the Russian army and attack the rear. But Sheremetev knew his job well: he set up cavalry barriers against the Crimeans, erected a fortified camp, ordered to surround the fortress with trenches, and set up batteries. The Janissaries tried to arrange a sortie, but they were crushed in the oncoming battle and driven behind the walls.

On July 27, the bombardment was opened, mines began to be dug. On July 30, a mine explosion made a huge hole in the wall. Amir Pasha realized that it was useless to resist and capitulated. The Russians managed almost without losses, "they took a lot of people, as well as belongings." Other fortresses panicked and decided to flee. The garrisons of Aslan-Kermen and Tavan fled to Ochakov, they were occupied without a fight. Then Sheremetev took two more fortresses - Mustrit-Kermen and Mubarek-Kermen. He had no order to hold the fortress, and no means. Therefore, he destroyed the enemy fortifications and safely led the army to winter quarters.

In Port, they perceived the departure of the Russian army from Azov as a victory. The Turkish command considered that in the near future the Russians would not be able to repeat the siege and they should not expect a threat. But Peter was a stubborn, purposeful person, so failure did not embarrass him, he knew how to draw the right conclusions from defeats. No sooner had all the troops returned to Russia than they began to develop a plan for a new campaign.

To be continued…

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In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit!

Dear brothers and sisters, as we experience the events of this week, you and I can immerse ourselves in that state of mind that implies the need for a Christian to partake, at least to a small extent, of an event that is related to the feat of God for the sake of people.

The Path of Love presupposes a person’s readiness to learn the most complex art, the skill in which the Lord Himself showed when He came to earth, reduced Himself to a human body, put on flesh and then gave it to be crucified for human sins, showing an example of great humility. In this self-humiliation of the Lord, we see before us the amazing depth of His mercy and His readiness to show how many ways there are to the Heavenly Kingdom.

With His most pure hands He washes the feet of His disciples, people of low profession, His followers, called to the apostolic ministry. Inviting them with Himself to a special feast, to a meal where the first Eucharist is celebrated, He, lamenting, but loving the disciple who betrays Him, wishes to save him until the last moment, but the soul that has departed from God returns with difficulty to its Savior. Here is the tragedy of a student who, in speed, is an example of despair, leading to suicide. Next, we see the example of the apostle Peter, who claims that he will not deny, but then does just that. And each of us in his life, unfortunately, repeats his path, saying one thing with his mouth, and showing another with deeds. Then a prayer sounds in the Garden of Gethsemane. The Lord three times calls the disciples to joint prayer, but the apostles are asleep… And the Savior asks the Father to grant Him the mercy that He must bear.

It must be understood that we are only partially revealed to what we can accommodate, only a part of that pain and suffering. It is about the dialogue of the Lord within Himself. After all, the Savior addresses God the Father, Who is in Him. This is one of the deepest mysteries of theology when it comes to the Holy Trinity. But at the same time, these words show us an example of what we must do in situations of special stress and trials: we must call on God for help, adding at the same time: “Thy will be done!”.

Then we hear about the betrayal that the disciple commits by kissing Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane. What was it for? It was a sign. The fact is that after Communion the apostles were transformed and became so similar to the Savior that it was difficult to determine who among these people was their Teacher. The apostle Judas points to Jesus, and He is arrested. And here mercy is shown when the Lord asks to remove the knife, saying that the one who came with a knife or a sword will perish. Both the external and the internal component of the life of a Christian are indicated here, suggesting prayer, humility and readiness to sacrifice oneself as weapons. An amazing door opens before us, difficult to pass, but the only one possible for the salvation of our soul.

Let's try, dear brothers and sisters, to be attentive to words as much as it is possible in our life. Let us learn the art of following Christ in the willingness to start small, in the determination to show our efforts in bearing our cross. Amen!

Archpriest Andrey Alekseev

The failure of the first campaign near Azov (1695) did not discourage Peter I. Well, it didn’t work out to play near Azov. Do not say anything, strong city. But you can take. You can take.

Peter arrived in Moscow with a ready plan for a new campaign. Messengers rode to the allies, to Vienna and Warsaw, with the message that an even larger army would go under Azov next year. The tsar asked the Austrian emperor to select and send efficient engineers to Moscow.

But the main thing is that it is necessary to block access to Azov for the Turkish naval squadron. And for this you need a fleet - dozens of ships. The royal company began to doubt, shook their heads, even Lefort whistled incredulously. It would be nice, of course, to move the fleet to Azov, but where can we get it? Buying in Holland - no treasury is enough, but building it yourself - how long will it take? Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich built only one ship in eight years. Yes, and Mr. skipper has no more than two ships a year.

Peter abruptly cut short the objections. It seems they don't understand him. He doesn't care about what happened before. He needs a fleet, a rowing flotilla - galleys, galleasses, hard labor, fireships. And another fifteen hundred plows and boats for transporting shells and food. By next spring. Everything.

The conversations ended, - and the axes rattled, the saws began to sing. Shipyards were built in the forest areas closest to the Don: in Voronezh, Kozlov, Dobry and Sokolsk. A galley was urgently ordered from Holland - for a sample. According to her drawing, the Preobrazhenians and Semyonovites laid down 30 ships. Arkhangelsk carpenters and shipbuilders gathered willy-nilly or not from foreign ships were brought to help them. Another 26,000 workers harvested timber for them. In the dense forests of Voronezh, there was a smell of bitter smoke from fires, the frosty silence was split by the booming sounds of felling; snow-covered pines fell into the snow, disappearing into clouds of sparkling white dust. Many forests were brought to the root - twenty miles or more.

At the end of February, Peter left for Voronezh. Lefort stayed in Moscow - he caught a cold while walking on butter. The personal presence of the king was indeed necessary: ​​thousands of peasants did not come to work, they fled from ship service; the soldiers sent to Boronezh were so foolish that Peter himself had to yell at the captains so that they would look more strictly for their subordinates. And then the weather got silly: it rained until the middle of March, and then suddenly such frosts struck that for four days it was impossible to leave the house. Nevertheless, the tsar managed, before April, to build with his own hands the easiest galley Principium on the move.

Things, however, piled on, and now the already ill Lefort was ordered to go to Voronezh without delay. I had to drag myself through snowstorms and blizzards in a carriage with a stove, with a whole staff of doctors. The coughing Genevan cheered up: "I will instruct myself in every circle of medicines, and the frosts will not get me." However, on the road, the doctors themselves had to be treated. “On Efremov,” Lefort reported to the tsar, “the doctors got together, began to drink, everyone began to praise his wine; after that, a dispute arose between them about medicines, and they came to swords, and three of them were wounded.

The idea with the Voronezh fleet was not easy for skipper Peter. “We,” he wrote to Moscow, “by the order of God to our great-grandfather Adam, we eat our bread in the sweat of our brow.” Doctors cut each other, contractors steal, peasants leave carts with timber... A new, terrible misfortune: the workers set fire to the forests around the shipyards where plows are built, and a great destruction is being done to the plow business, and the naval military campaign is stopped. And the captains in Voronezh shout and complain that there is no coal in the forges: “That’s why our business has stopped!” And Peter manages to do everything - either with an ax in his hand he gives an example of work, then he calculates the material sent, then he reconciles those who have fought, then he corrects the negligent with a club ... And he eats his bread, watered with sweat, in a small house of two chambers with a passage and a porch. The glorious skipper does not forget about Ivashka Khmelnitsky - fortunately, Lefort brought from Moscow a fair supply of Muskatelen wine and good beer.

And the matter, thank God, is not standing still, it is moving.

On April 1, the army, treasury and supplies began to be loaded onto galleys and plows. Holy Week passed in this lesson. Peter congratulated the entire company that remained in Moscow at once, in one letter to Vinius - "not for laziness, but for the sake of the great for the sake of shortcomings." Foreign engineers from Vienna, however, were late.

At the end of April, the noble militia set out on a campaign. A week later, a “sea caravan” with regiments of the new system moved after them. Admiral Lefort entrusted command over him to the captain of the Principium galley Pyotr Alekseev (the tsar himself was hiding under this name). The captains of other ships were read the naval regulations drawn up by the king. It was instructed to go together, "because the common good requires it, and warships, moving closely with each other, can go around the whole Universe." Who does not listen to the signals from the admiral's ship - the death penalty. Whoever goes into battle on his own initiative - the death penalty. Whoever leaves a comrade or a damaged galley in trouble - the death penalty.

Peter flew up to Azov before the main forces. In Cherkassk, he learned from the Cossacks that at the mouth of the Don, on the seashore, two Turkish ships were being unloaded. The Don people tried to board them - it did not work: the sides were too high; they tried to cut through them with axes, but were driven away by rifle and cannon fire. Peter caught fire: you need to attack as soon as possible before they leave. Together with the Cossack boats, the galleys hastily sailed to the lower reaches of the Don.

But while they were sailing, Borey screwed up - he drove water into the sea from the narrow channels into which the mouth of the Don is divided: the Cossack boats passed through the shallows, the galleys did not. Reseeding to the Cossacks, Peter nevertheless got out to sea, but instead of two ships he saw the entire Turkish squadron in front of him - about twenty galleys. Sad and frustrated, he returned to Azov. As soon as he sailed, the news immediately came: the Cossacks could not resist, suddenly attacked the Turks, burned ten ships and captured one. Peter bit his lip. Left for nothing! Early - oh, damn it! .. The fleet immediately moved to the mouth, but the Turks evaded a new battle.

Meanwhile, regiments of noble militia approached Azov. The Turks did not expect a second siege so soon: they barely straightened the sagging rampart and did not even fill last year's trenches under the city and did not rake the embankments. The Russians occupied their abandoned aproshi without hindrance. The Tatar cavalry, which tried to disturb the Russian camp from the side of the steppe, was quickly driven away.

On June 16, a letter on an arrow flew over the city wall with a proposal to surrender. The Turks responded with gunfire. In response, Russian guns spoke. Climbing on one of the batteries, Peter himself threw the first bombs into the city. The enemy batteries fell silent one after another. The Turks, like last time, waited out the cannonade, hiding in dugouts. However, foreign engineers still had not arrived, and the digging was going badly. The regiments grumbled that there would be no good from the mines, only we would kill our own again.

In order to arouse the morale of the troops, at the council of the gentlemen of the generals, it was decided to directly ask the army: in what way does it want to take Azov? As they say, so be it. Streltsy and noble servants replied that it was best to conduct a siege by the great-grandfather custom - to build a rampart on a level with the enemy and fill up the ditch: this is how Saint Prince Vladimir took Kherson. General Gordon found the idea interesting and, inspired, began to improve it: he drew up a project for such a rampart that would exceed the city walls - with passages for the attackers and peals for the batteries.

The whole army turned into diggers. The formidable earthen wall grew higher every day. The Turks, horrified, interfered with the work with one rifle fire. Like last year, Peter did not get out of the front lines. To an alarming letter from his sister, Princess Natalya, who heard rumors that the tsar was approaching the fortress at a distance of a rifle shot, he jokingly replied: “According to your letter, I don’t go close to the balls and bullets, but they go to me. Order them not to go; however, although they go around, only politely for the time being.

On July 11, the long-awaited Austrian engineers arrived. They marveled at the rampart and set about digging. By this time, the Azov batteries had finally calmed down - they had already run out of shells. And the Turkish squadron was white with sails in the sea in full view of the Russian galleys, not daring to enter the mouth of the Don. On July 22, Peter appointed the assault on the city.

However, the sapper art of overseas engineers turned out to be useless. The Cossacks were bored with earthworks. They agreed among themselves to strike at Azov and thereby drag the rest of the army with them. On July 18, Hetman Lizogub and Ataman Minyaev themselves led the brave men to attack. The Cossacks quickly knocked the Turks off the rampart and almost burst into the city, but at the stone castle the Turks stopped their onslaught with rifle fire, shooting chopped coins for lack of lead.

The Cossacks entrenched themselves on the rampart. The Janissaries rushed to the counterattack and began to push the Donets, but then, finally, the soldier and archery regiments of Golovin and Gordon arrived in time. After an hour-long battle, the Turks were beaten off and driven to the very city walls.

There was a short break. Peter announced a general assault, and the Russian regiments hastily pulled up to the rampart, tightly encircling the city. After some time, a Janissary aga in a red caftan came out of the gate. He shouted that the letter on the arrow was without the boyar seal - so the pasha did not believe him, and if it was the same with the seal again, then the pasha would surrender the city. The seal was applied, and negotiations began for surrender.

To celebrate, Peter agreed to the most honorable conditions for the Turks: he left them weapons and even offered to transport them on ships by the Don to the mouth of the Kagalnik. But he was adamant about one thing - to give him the traitor Yakushka Jansen. At first, the Turks were stubborn (the fact was that the Dutchman converted to Islam and became a Janissary), however, after thinking, they decided not to anger the winner - they gave him away.

On the morning of the next day, the Russian regiments lined up in two rows in front of the gates of Azov. The Turks poured out of the gates in a terrible disorder: some rushed to the ships, others ran into the steppe. One aga importantly marched with a banner and a hundred janissaries through a living corridor.

The Russians entered the deserted Azov. The city was a heap of ruins, as if it had been lying in ruins for several centuries. The Cossacks, looking for prey, broke into the dugouts of the remaining inhabitants, but found only household utensils and junk. War trophies amounted to about a hundred guns and mortars - all without shells.

Awards were handed out to the army from the treasury, according to grandfather's custom: for officers - gold medals, cups, fur coats, money, peasant households; soldiers - a gilded penny.

On the same day, having appointed boyar Matvey Stepanovich Pushkin as the governor of Azov, Peter left to look for a convenient harbor for the future fleet. The mouth of the Don with shallows did not suit him. He was lucky: not far from the Don lower reaches, at Cape Taganrog with strong rocky soil, he discovered a wide bay of sufficient depth. He ordered to lay the Trinity fortress here.

Returning to Azov, he drank with gentlemen generals for the fact that, thank God, the Moscow state already has one corner of the Black Sea, and in time it will have the whole sea. Intoxicated, but not losing seriousness, Gordon noticed that it would be difficult to do this. Peter smiled. Nothing. Not suddenly, but little by little.

He was in no hurry to Moscow. The first victory of the Russians over the Turks was to be celebrated as magnificently as possible. The clerk Vinius was instructed to build a triumphal arch on the Stone Bridge across the Moscow River, and the clerk reported that the arch would not be ready until mid-September.

In order not to waste time, Peter went to the Tula factories. Along the way, he learned what impression the Azov victory made in allied Poland. At the meeting of the Sejm, the senators listened to the report sent to them from Moscow and shook their heads: “What a brave and careless person! And what will happen to him in the future? Voivode Matchinsky sneered contemptuously: “Muscovites need to remember the late King Jan, who raised them and made them military men. And if he had not concluded an alliance with them, then to this day they would have paid tribute to the Crimea, and they themselves would have been lying at home. Voivode Pototsky, thoughtfully twirling his mustache, answered him: “It would be better if they were sitting at home, it would not harm us, and when they are polished and blood is sniffed, you will see what will come of them - what, Lord God, do not allow .. .” However, the gentry of the Orthodox faith shouted on the streets of Warsaw and Krakow: “Vivat his grace to the king!” - and the people picked up three times: “Vivat! Neh be sir God blessed!”

In the center is depicted the sovereign sitting on the throne. It is surrounded by allegorical figures of the virtues. Above Peter I is the Russian coat of arms, surrounded by various symbols, in front of the throne are the Turks offering the crowns of foreign states to the Russian Tsar. To the left of the central composition is an image of the bombardment of Azov. On the right is the plan of Azov, under which is a chariot with a gallows, on which the traitor Yakov Jansen is hanged.

On September 30, the victorious army, having passed through Zamoskvorechye, entered the Stone Bridge, decorated with a huge triumphal arch. Above its pediment, among the banners and weapons, sat a double-headed eagle under three crowns. On the vault of the arch in three places one could see the inscription: “I came, I saw, I won.” Soaring Glory held a laurel wreath in one hand, and an olive branch in the other. The inscription under it read: "Worthy is the worker of his reward." The pediment was supported by statues of Hercules and Mars. Under Hercules on a pedestal were depicted a Pasha of Azov in a turban and two chained Turks; under Mars - Tatar Murza with two chained Tatars.

Above both verses. Above pasha:

Oh! Azov we lost

And so they got themselves into trouble.

Above Murza:

Before on the steppes we fought,

Now they were barely fleeing from Moscow.

Near Hercules and Mars towered pyramids entwined with green branches - one "in praise of the brave howls of the sea", the other "in praise of the brave howls of the field." On both sides of the gate canvases were stretched with paintings depicting a naval battle and Neptune, saying: “Behold, I congratulate you on the capture of Azov and submit.”

In front of the army, lounging in a carriage, rode Prince-Papa Nikita Zotov. Lefort followed him on a gilded sleigh drawn by six horses; behind walked the captain of the third company of the Preobrazhensky regiment, Pyotr Alekseev, in a hat with a white feather and a dagger* in his hand.

* Protazan - a spear with a flat and long metal tip, an honorary weapon of an officer.

The organizer of the celebration, Vinius, who was sitting on the arch, greeted Lefort into the trumpet with loud verses:

Admiral General! Marine of all forces head.

He came, matured, defeated the proud enemy.

The greeting was accompanied by gun salvos. Doxology in their honor was heard by other military leaders who passed under the arch.

Soldiers dragged Turkish banners across the ground. The traitor Jansen, dressed in a Turkish dress, was carried on a cart with a platform and a gallows, under which stood two executioners. On the Dutchman's chest hung a board with the inscription: "For Christians, a villain." Behind him were captured Turks in white robes.

The people marveled at the royal entrance, but without joy. Spitting and crossing themselves, the Muscovites looked at the statues of the Hellenic devils, at the drunkard leading the procession ... Most of all they were indignant that the tsar was marching in a German dress and on foot. People crowded along the streets and silently followed the columns of troops with their eyes.

Jansen was executed later, by quartering. According to an eyewitness, “they broke his arms and legs with a wheel and stuck his head on a stake.”