Chichagov Vasily Yakovlevich short biography. Admiral Vasily Yakovlevich Chichagov: naval commander and polar explorer. War from defense

Admiral, known for his participation in Swedish war 1789-1790 Originally from the nobility of the Kostroma province, Ch. was born on February 28, 1726 and received his secondary education in Maritime School(School of Navigational Sciences), founded by Peter the Great in Moscow, after completing the course in which he left for England in order to replenish his knowledge. On April 10, 1742, he was enlisted in the naval service as a midshipman, and in 1744 he was assigned to the Revel coastal team, a year later he was promoted to midshipman, and in 1751 was appointed ship secretary.

Three years later he received the rank of lieutenant, and in 1757 he made his first voyage on the frigate "St. Michael", sent "on a secret commission" to Sound. He returned from Revel to Kronstadt as the commander of the named ship. In 1758 he received the rank of captain-lieutenant, after 4 years - captain of the 2nd rank, in the same 1762 he was on the ship "Saint Catherine" from St. Petersburg to Kronstadt. In 1763, we find him in Kazan, where he was sent to inspect the timber harvested on the pier, and the following year, already in the rank of captain of the 1st rank, he commands the Revel ship. 1764-1765 nominated Ch. from among his peers.

On the initiative of Lomonosov, by decree of May 14, 1764, a "secret" expedition to the Arctic Ocean, even from the Senate, was equipped, with the aim of exploring the path through the Polar Sea to Kamchatka.

Preparations were made in the summer and autumn, and in 1765, Ch., appointed head of the expedition, which consisted of three ships, went to sea from Kola, where he arrived in September 1764. The voyage was unsuccessful.

The expedition was immediately delayed by the ice and was forced to enter the Klokbaysky Bay on the island of Spitsbergen and stay there for some time. Coming out to sea in early July, Ch. headed west, but the solid ice encountered by the expedition forced him to turn north. On the 23rd of July it reached 80°26"" N. sh., but did not go further, since the approach of autumn and floating ice began to inspire fear for a successful outcome of the expedition.

After consulting with the captains of the ships, Ch. turned to Arkhangelsk, where he arrived on August 20th.

In St. Petersburg, they were dissatisfied with the result of the expedition and accused its leader of turning north, while, according to the exact meaning of the instructions he received, he had to keep the direction to the west, to the shores of Greenland. “The most important thing seems to be that the navigators seem to have thought of a return journey early, without waiting for real need or danger to force them to do so.” The following year, Ch., commanding the same three ships, again went to sea with the same goal - to find a sea route through the Arctic Ocean to Kamchatka.

This time the expedition was also unsuccessful.

Having reached 80 ° 30 "" with. sh., Ch. returned back, since there was no way to break through the ice encountered. Despite the failure, he, for a double voyage to the Northern Ocean, was awarded half the salary of a pension.

In 1767, Ch. returned by land from Arkhangelsk to St. Petersburg and was immediately appointed commander of the St. Petersburg ship crew.

In 1768, he took the post of head of the Arkhangelsk port, in which he remained until 1770, when, having received the rank of rear admiral, he was called to St. Petersburg.

In the same year, commanding a squadron, he sailed to the island of Gotland and, upon his return, was appointed head of the Revel port, but in 1771 he again went to the Baltic Sea, having a flag on the ship Graf Orlov and commanding a squadron, and in 1772, commanding three ships, sailed in the Mediterranean. In October, he returned by land to St. Petersburg, was awarded the order St. Anna and entered into the administration of his duties as the head of the Revel port. The following year, he was appointed head of the Kronstadt port and, commanding the Kronstadt squadron, cruised to the island of Gotland, having a flag on the ship "St. Andrei". In the same 1773, Ch. was sent to the Don expedition and, under the command of Admiral Senyavin, defended the Kerch Strait from Turkish fleet, and did not allow him to enter the Sea of \u200b\u200bAzov. Awarded with the Order of St. George of the 4th degree, Ch. On June 10, 1775, on the day of the celebration of the Kuchuk-Kainarji peace, he was promoted to vice admiral and appointed a member of the Admiralty Board.

In 1771, he was dismissed for a year's leave, and in 1776 he commanded a practical squadron at Krasnaya Gorka: in 1782 he received the rank of admiral and the Order of St.. Alexander Nevsky; in the same year he sailed at the head of a squadron in the Mediterranean; in 1788 he again sent the duties of the head of the Revel port. Appointed Commander Baltic Fleet and commanding a squadron of 20 ships, Ch. on July 15, 1789, met near the island of Öland with the Swedish flotilla, which included up to 22 ships, and, after a seven-hour battle, forced the Swedes to retreat to Karlskrona, and he went to the Gulf of Finland. On August 6 of the same year, Catherine II, dissatisfied with the actions of the Baltic Fleet, wrote to the Council: “From the reports received by Admiral Ch., it is clear that the Swedes attacked him, and not he attacked them, that he had a firefight with them, that in this he lost the captain of the brigade rank and several hundred other warriors without any benefit to the Empire, who finally returned to the local waters, as if to cover the Gulf of Finland.

I demand that the behavior of Admiral Ch. in the Council be compared with the instructions given to him ... "The Council, after considering Ch.'s course of action, found that" this admiral satisfied the instructions completely given to him, besides a single point - his return to the Gulf of Finland , which he did not need. " This was the end of the matter, and on May 2, 1790, the well-known Reval battle took place.

The Swedish fleet, which consisted of 26 battleships and various other ships, attacked the Russian squadron, which was under the command of Ch. on the Revel roadstead; in this squadron there were only 10 ships.

After a stubborn battle that lasted 2? hours, the Swedes were defeated, and the Russians captured the 64-gun ship "Prince Karl" and 300 people; another similar ship was burned.

They say, by the way, that when Catherine II sent C. to Revel, entrusting him with command over the squadron, then, after weighing the forces of the Russians and Swedes, she expressed concern about the outcome of the battle that was to take place.

To this Ch. coolly replied: “Well, what?.. They won’t swallow it!..” The Empress liked this answer so much that she instructed Derzhavin to compose an inscription for the admiral’s bust, which would certainly include his expression.

Derzhavin and the secretary of the Empress composed several more or less successful quatrains.

Not satisfied with this, Catherine II herself composed the following inscription: "The Swedes attacked him with triple strength. Upon learning, he said: God is my protector! They will not swallow us! Having repelled, captured and received victory." For the battle of Reval Ch. was awarded the Order of St.. Andrew the First-Called and the award of 1388 souls of peasants to hereditary possession.

Upon joining the Revel squadron with the Kronstadt squadron, Ch. blocked the Swedish fleet in the Vyborg Bay and, when the latter tried to break through, inflicted a decisive defeat on it, for which he received the Order of St. George of the 1st class, a sword with diamonds, a silver service and 2417 souls of peasants in hereditary possession.

In addition, Catherine II granted him a noble coat of arms with a handwritten rescript.

With the accession of Pavel Petrovich, Ch. in 1797, at the request, he was dismissed from service and last years lived in St. Petersburg, where he died on April 4, 1809. Ch. was buried in the Alexander Nevsky Lavra. In conclusion, to characterize Ch. as a person, let's quote Catherine II's review of him, taken from the letter of the Empress to Grimm dated September 14, 1790: "I cannot see Ch., so as not to recall the words of Prince de Ligne about Field Marshal Laudon when someone asked about him by what he could be recognized: “go,” he said, “you will find him outside the door, embarrassed by his dignity and his talents.” Here is an exact image of my admiral. For more details, see: "General Marine List", St. Petersburg, 1885, vol. II; "Portrait Gallery of Russian Figures", St. Petersburg, ed. Munster, 1865, Khmyrov's article; - A. S. Shishkov, "Military operations Russian fleet against Swedish in 1788, 89 and 90", ed. 1826; "Kronstadt Herald", 1876, No. 82; "Russian expeditions to describe the northern shores of Siberia", etc.; "The War of Russia with Sweden 1789-90, op. Brikner, in the Journal of Min. People's Education", 1869, No. 2, 3, 4, 6; "Marine Collection", 1857, No. 9, 1859, No. 10, 1871, No. 8; "Lomonosov's Project and Expedition Chichagov", published by the Hydrographic Department, 1854; "Readings in the Imp. Society of History and Antiquities of Russia", 1862, No. 1; I. Chistovich, "Historical note on the council in the reign of imp. Catherine II", St. Petersburg, 1870; Leonid Chichagov, "Archive of Admiral P.V. Chichagov", issue I, St. Petersburg, 1885; "Collection of Russ. Historical General, vol. XXIII, p. 495; "Russian Antiquity", 1873, No. 8; "Historical Bulletin", 1899, vol. LXXVI, p. 782, vol. LXXIII, p. 436; - " encyclopedic Dictionary"Efron, vol. LXXVI .; "Encyclopedia of military and naval sciences", vol. VIII; "Dictionary" Starchevsky, vol. XII; "SPb. Herald", 1805, part VI, p. 119; "Son of the Fatherland", 1849, No. 5, "Rus. Source", pp. 16-18; "Readings in General. History and Ancient. Ros.", 1862, vol. I, 174-177. B. Savinkov. (Polovtsov) Chichagov, Vasily Yakovlevich (1726-1809) - admiral.

After completing his studies in England, Ch. entered the naval service in 1742; appointed in 1764 as an assistant to the chief commander of the Arkhangelsk port, he twice (1765 and 1766) went with three ships from Kola on a "secret expedition" to find a "sea passage through the Northern Ocean to Kamchatka", but because of the ice he could only reach 80 ° 21"" north latitude.

Subsequently, he was the chief commander of the ports of Arkhangelsk, Revel and Kronstadt.

After the death of Admiral Greig, Catherine II entrusted Ch. with the main command of the fleet in the war with the Swedes (1789-1790), and he won three brilliant victories over a stronger enemy fleet - near the island of Eland, on the Revel raid and near Vyborg, - took captured many ships, frigates and other vessels, more than 5,000 soldiers and up to 200 officers, with a rear admiral at the head. This forced Gustav III to conclude peace as soon as possible. V. P-in. (Brockhaus) Chichagov, Vasily Yakovlevich admiral, hero of the Swedish war at Ekat. II; R. February 28, 1726, † April 4, 1809 (Polovtsov) Chichagov, Vasily Yakovlevich (February 28, 1726 - October 9, 1809) - Russian. polar navigator, admiral.

In 1764 he was appointed head of an expedition with a secret mission to pass through the North. Arctic ca. to the banks of the North. America, then on 3. and through the Bering Strait. to Kamchatka.

In 1765 it reached 80°26"" N. sh. to the north-west. from Svalbard and, having met heavy ice, returned to Arkhangelsk; the second attempt in 1766 was also unsuccessful, during which he reached 80 ° 30 "" with. sh. During the Russo-Swedish war of 1788-90 commanded the Russian. fleet and distinguished himself in the Battle of Eland (1789) and the Battle of Revel (1790).

(1726-1809)

Chichagov Vasily Yakovlevich - Admiral, known for his participation in the Swedish War of 1789-1790. Originally from the nobility of the Kostroma province, Ch. was born on February 28, 1726 and received his secondary education at the Naval School (school of navigational sciences), established by Peter the Great in Moscow, after completing the course in which he left for England in order to replenish his knowledge. On April 10, 1742, he was enlisted in the naval service as a midshipman, and in 1744 he was assigned to the Revel coastal team, a year later he was promoted to midshipman, and in 1751 he was appointed ship secretary. Three years later he received the rank of lieutenant, and in 1757 he made his first voyage on the frigate St. Michael, sent "on a secret commission" to Sound. He returned from Revel to Kronstadt as the commander of the named ship. In 1758 he received the rank of captain-lieutenant, after 4 years - captain of the 2nd rank, in the same 1762 he was on the ship "Saint Catherine" from St. Petersburg to Kronstadt. In 1763, we find him in Kazan, where he was sent to inspect the timber harvested on the pier, and the following year, already in the rank of captain of the 1st rank, he commands the Revel ship.

1764-1765 nominated Ch. from among his peers. On the initiative of Lomonosov, by decree of May 14, 1764, a "secret" expedition to the Arctic Ocean, even from the Senate, was equipped, with the aim of exploring the path through the Polar Sea to Kamchatka. Preparations were made in the summer and autumn, and in 1765, Ch., appointed head of the expedition, which consisted of three ships, went to sea from Kola, where he arrived in September 1764. The voyage was unsuccessful. The expedition was immediately delayed by the ice and was forced to enter the Klokbaysky Bay on the island of Spitsbergen and stay there for some time. Coming out to sea in early July, Ch. headed west, but the solid ice encountered by the expedition forced him to turn north. On July 23, he reached 80 ° 26 "N, but did not go further, since the approach of autumn and floating ice began to inspire fear for a successful outcome of the expedition. After consulting with the captains of the ships, Ch. turned to Arkhangelsk, where he arrived 20 August 19. In St. Petersburg, they were dissatisfied with the result of the expedition and accused its leader of turning north, while, according to the exact meaning of the instructions he received, he had to keep the direction to the west, to the shores of Greenland. but it seems more important that the navigators, it seems, thought early about the return journey, without waiting for real need or danger to force them to do so. "The following year, Ch., commanding the same three ships, again went to sea with the same goal - to find a sea route through the Arctic Ocean to Kamchatka. This time the expedition was also unsuccessful. Having reached 80 ° 30 "N. sh., Ch. returned back, since there was no way to break through the ice encountered. Despite the failure, he, for a double voyage to the Northern Ocean, was awarded half the salary of a pension.

In 1767, Ch. returned by land from Arkhangelsk to St. Petersburg and was immediately appointed commander of the St. Petersburg ship crew. In 1768, he took the post of head of the Arkhangelsk port, in which he remained until 1770, when, having received the rank of rear admiral, he was called to St. Petersburg. In the same year, commanding a squadron, he sailed to the island of Gotland and, upon his return, was appointed head of the Revel port, but in 1771 he again went to the Baltic Sea, having a flag on the ship Graf Orlov and commanding a squadron, and in 1772, commanding three ships, sailed in the Mediterranean. In October, he returned by land to St. Petersburg, was awarded the Order of St.. Anna and entered into the administration of his duties as the head of the Revel port. The following year, he was appointed head of the Kronstadt port and, commanding the Kronstadt squadron, cruised to the island of Gotland, having a flag on the ship "St. Andrei". In the same 1773, Ch. was sent to the Don expedition and, under the command of Admiral Senyavin, defended the Kerch Strait from the Turkish fleet, and did not allow it to enter the Sea of Azov. Awarded with the Order of St. George of the 4th degree, Ch. On June 10, 1775, on the day of the celebration of the Kuchuk-Kainarji peace, he was promoted to vice admiral and appointed a member of the Admiralty Board. In 1771, he was dismissed for a year's leave, and in 1776 he commanded a practical squadron at Krasnaya Gorka: in 1782 he received the rank of admiral and the Order of St.. Alexander Nevsky; in the same year he sailed at the head of a squadron in the Mediterranean; in 1788 he again sent the duties of the head of the Revel port. Appointed commander of the Baltic Fleet and commanding a squadron of 20 ships, on July 15, 1789, Ch. Karlskrone, and he went to the Gulf of Finland. On August 6 of the same year, Catherine II, dissatisfied with the actions of the Baltic Fleet, wrote to the Council: “From the reports received by Admiral Ch., it is clear that the Swedes attacked him, and not he attacked them, that he had a firefight with them, that in this he lost the captain of the brigade rank and several hundred other soldiers, without any benefit to the Empire, who finally returned to the local waters, as if to cover the Gulf of Finland. I demand that the behavior of Admiral Ch. in the Council be compared with the instructions given to him ... "Council, upon consideration Ch.'s course of action, found that "this admiral satisfied the instructions completely given to him, besides a single point - his return to the Gulf of Finland, which he did not need." This was the end of the matter, and on May 2, 1790, the well-known Reval battle took place. The Swedish fleet, which consisted of 26 ships of the line and various other vessels, attacked the Russian squadron, which was under the command of Ch. on the Revel roadstead; in this squadron there were only 10 ships. After a stubborn battle lasting 2½ hours, the Swedes were defeated, and the 64-gun ship Prince Karl and 300 people were taken prisoner by the Russians; another similar ship was burned. They say, by the way, that when Catherine II sent C. to Revel, entrusting him with command over the squadron, then, after weighing the forces of the Russians and Swedes, she expressed concern about the outcome of the battle that was to take place. To this Ch. coolly replied: “Well, what?.. They won’t swallow it!..” The Empress liked this answer so much that she instructed Derzhavin to compose an inscription for the admiral’s bust, which would certainly include his expression. Derzhavin and the secretary of the Empress composed several more or less successful quatrains. Not content with this, Catherine II herself composed the following inscription:

"With triple strength, the Swedes went to him,

Having learned, he rivers: God is my protector!

They won't swallow us!

Repulsed, captivated and received victory.

For the battle of Reval Ch. was awarded the Order of St.. Andrew the First-Called and the award of 1388 souls of peasants to hereditary possession.

With the accession of Pavel Petrovich, Ch. in 1797, at the request, he was dismissed from service and lived in St. Petersburg for the last years, where he died on April 4, 1809. Ch. was buried in the Alexander Nevsky Lavra.

Battles/warsKerch battle
Battle of Eland Battle of Reval Battle of Vyborg Awards and prizes

Connections

Vasily Yakovlevich Chichagov (February 28 (March 11) ( 17260311 ) - April 4 (16), St. Petersburg) - Russian naval commander of the Catherine era, who has been wearing the rank of admiral since 1782. Father of Admiral Pavel Chichagov.

Biography

came from noble family Chichagov. He studied initially at the School of Navigational Sciences, after which he received additional education in the UK in the Royal Navy. He completed his studies in 1742, after which, at the age of 16, he entered the service of the Russian fleet.

In 1764 he was appointed assistant to the chief commander of the Arkhangelsk port. While in this position, twice - in 1765 and 1766 - he went on "secret expeditions" on three ships from the port of Kola to Kamchatka and North America, with the goal of discovering "sea passage by the Northern Ocean to Kamchatka" (project of academician M. V. Lomonosov , who suggested that prolonged solar heating on a polar day leads to the release of the ocean around the pole from ice), where he was supposed to meet with the detachment of P. K. Krenitsyn. However, due to heavy ice, these expeditions reached only 80° 26' north latitude northwest of Svalbard for the first time and 80° 30' north latitude the second, after which they were forced to return to Arkhangelsk.

Subsequently, Chichagov served as chief commander of the Arkhangelsk, Revel and Kronstadt ports. During the Russian-Turkish war in 1772-1774, Chichagov commanded one of the detachments of the Don Flotilla, which defended the Kerch Strait. In 1782 he received the rank of admiral.

After the death of Admiral S. K. Greig, Catherine II appointed Chichagov as commander of the fleet during the war with the Swedes. In this position, he defeated superior enemy forces in the Eland (1789), Revel (1790) and Vyborg battles, while capturing many ships, frigates and other vessels, more than 5,000 soldiers and up to 200 officers, including Swedish rear admiral. These victories forced the Swedish king Gustav III to conclude peace soon.

A well-known historical anecdote is associated with the name of Chichagov, according to which, during an audience with Catherine II, the admiral, talking about the battle won, was so carried away that, forgetting about ethics and the rules of decency, he began to swear profusely, scolding the Swedes. Coming to his senses, Chichagov was embarrassed and began to ask for forgiveness, but Ekaterina tactfully pretended that she did not understand obscene expressions, saying: “Nothing, Vasily Yakovlevich, continue; I don't understand your marine terms."

He retired in 1797. He died on April 4, 1809, and was buried at the Lazarevsky cemetery of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra. The inscription on the tombstone, composed personally by Catherine II, reads:

The Swedes attacked him with triple strength. Having learned, he rivers: God is my protector. They won't swallow us. Reflecting, captivated and received victories.

Awards

Order of Saint Anna (October);
Order of St. George IV class (November 26) - for conducting 18 campaigns;
Order of St. Alexander Nevsky (November 24);
Order of the Holy Apostle Andrew the First-Called () - for the victory in the Reval battle;
Order of St. George, 1st class (July 26) - for the victory in the battle of Vyborg.

Memory

In honor of Vasily Chichagov are named:

Mount Chichagov ( 55°43′ N. sh. 160°12′ W d. / 55.717° N sh. 160.200°W d. / 55.717; -160.200 (G) (I)), on the Alaska Peninsula;
Mount Chichagov (367 m), on the island of West Spitsbergen, Spitsbergen archipelago;
Chichagov Bay ( 55°39′ N. sh. 160°15′ W d. / 55.650° N sh. 160.250°W d. / 55.650; -160.250 (G) (I)), in the Pacific Ocean, on the southern coast of the Alaska Peninsula;
Chichagova Bay, in the Pacific Ocean, Nuku Hiva Island in South Polynesia, Marquesas Archipelago;
Cape Chichagov ( 58°22′ N. sh. 157°32′ W d. / 58.367° N sh. 157.533° W d. / 58.367; -157.533 (G) (I)), on the northwestern coast of the Alaska Peninsula;
Cape Chichagov (Sata), on the west coast of Kyushu, Japan;
Cape Chichagov, on the island of Nuku Khiva, Marquesas Archipelago;
Cape Chichagov, on the island of Western Svalbard;
Chichagov Island ( 57°52′ N. sh. 135°47′ W d. / 57.867° N sh. 135.783°W d. / 57.867; -135.783 (G) (I) listen)) in the Pacific Ocean, Alexander Archipelago, Alaska;
Chichagov Islands ( 81°32′ N. sh. 56°48′ E d. / 81.533° N sh. 56.800° E d. / 81.533; 56.800 (G) (I)), in the Novaya Zemlya archipelago;
Chichagov Strait ( 56°21′ N. sh. 132°29′ W d. / 56.350° N sh. 132.483°W d. / 56.350; -132.483 (G) (I)), between the islands of Etolin in the south and Voronkovsky in the north in the Alexander Archipelago, Alaska.

It is noteworthy that Chichagov is depicted on the postal block of stamps of the Republic of Chad.

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Notes

Literature

Lebedev A.A.. V.Ya. Chichagov and his role in the history of the Russian sailing fleet // Gangut. - 2011. - No. 63 - 64
Lebedev, A. A. The battle of Vyborg in 1790 in the light of a well-known but "inconvenient" source // St. Petersburg and the countries of Northern Europe: Proceedings of the Fifteenth Annual International Scientific Conference. - St. Petersburg, 2014. - S. 106-116.
Pasetsky V. M.. Arctic travels of Russians. - M.: Thought, 1974. - 230 p.: ill.
Pasetsky V. M. Russian discoveries in the Arctic. - Part 1. - St. Petersburg: Admiralty, 2000. - 606 p.: ill. - Series "The Golden Heritage of Russia".
Russian sailors/ Ed. V. S. Lupach. - M.: Military Publishing, 1953. - 672 p.
Skritsky N.V. Two admirals Chichagov. - M.: Tsentrpoligraf, 2012. - 559 p. - Series "Forgotten and Unknown Russia" - 3000 copies, ISBN 978-5-227-03207-2
Usyskin L. B. Admiral Vasily Chichagov / Lev Usyskin .. - M .: OGI, 2009. - 240 p. - 1,000 copies. - ISBN 978-5-94282-583-6.(in trans.)

An excerpt characterizing Chichagov, Vasily Yakovlevich

"But you didn't sleep," she said, suppressing her joy. “Try to sleep…please.”
He released her, shaking her hand, she went to the candle and again sat down in her previous position. Twice she looked back at him, his eyes shining towards her. She gave herself a lesson on the stocking and told herself that until then she would not look back until she finished it.
Indeed, soon after that he closed his eyes and fell asleep. He didn't sleep long and suddenly woke up in a cold sweat.
Falling asleep, he thought about the same thing that he thought about from time to time - about life and death. And more about death. He felt closer to her.
"Love? What is love? he thought. “Love interferes with death. Love is life. Everything, everything that I understand, I understand only because I love. Everything is, everything exists only because I love. Everything is connected by her. Love is God, and to die means for me, a particle of love, to return to the common and eternal source. These thoughts seemed to him comforting. But these were only thoughts. Something was lacking in them, something that was one-sidedly personal, mental - there was no evidence. And there was the same anxiety and uncertainty. He fell asleep.
He saw in a dream that he was lying in the same room in which he actually lay, but that he was not injured, but healthy. Many different persons, insignificant, indifferent, appear before Prince Andrei. He talks to them, argues about something unnecessary. They are going to go somewhere. Prince Andrei vaguely recalls that all this is insignificant and that he has other, most important concerns, but continues to speak, surprising them, with some empty, witty words. Little by little, imperceptibly, all these faces begin to disappear, and everything is replaced by one question about the closed door. He gets up and goes to the door to slide the bolt and lock it. Everything depends on whether or not he has time to lock it up. He walks, in a hurry, his legs do not move, and he knows that he will not have time to lock the door, but all the same, he painfully strains all his strength. And a tormenting fear seizes him. And this fear is the fear of death: it stands behind the door. But at the same time as he helplessly awkwardly crawls to the door, this is something terrible, on the other hand, already, pressing, breaking into it. Something not human - death - is breaking at the door, and we must keep it. He grabs the door, exerting his last efforts - it is no longer possible to lock it - at least to keep it; but his strength is weak, clumsy, and, pressed by the terrible, the door opens and closes again.
Once again, it pressed from there. The last, supernatural efforts are in vain, and both halves opened silently. It has entered, and it is death. And Prince Andrew died.
But at the same moment he died, Prince Andrei remembered that he was sleeping, and at the same moment he died, he, having made an effort on himself, woke up.
“Yes, it was death. I died - I woke up. Yes, death is an awakening! - suddenly brightened in his soul, and the veil that had hidden the unknown until now was lifted before his spiritual gaze. He felt, as it were, the release of the previously bound strength in him and that strange lightness that had not left him since then.
When he woke up in a cold sweat, stirred on the sofa, Natasha went up to him and asked what was wrong with him. He did not answer her and, not understanding her, looked at her with a strange look.
This was what happened to him two days before Princess Mary's arrival. From the same day, as the doctor said, the debilitating fever took on a bad character, but Natasha was not interested in what the doctor said: she saw these terrible, more undoubted, moral signs for her.
From that day on, for Prince Andrei, along with the awakening from sleep, the awakening from life began. And in relation to the duration of life, it did not seem to him more slowly than awakening from sleep in relation to the duration of a dream.

There was nothing terrible and sharp in this relatively slow awakening.
His last days and hours passed in an ordinary and simple way. And Princess Marya and Natasha, who did not leave him, felt it. They did not cry, did not shudder, and lately, feeling it themselves, they no longer followed him (he was no longer there, he left them), but for the closest memory of him - for his body. The feelings of both were so strong that they were not affected by the outer, terrible side of death, and they did not find it necessary to exasperate their grief. They did not cry either with him or without him, but they never talked about him among themselves. They felt that they could not put into words what they understood.
They both saw him sinking deeper and deeper, slowly and calmly, away from them somewhere, and both knew that this was how it should be and that it was good.
He was confessed, communed; everyone came to say goodbye to him. When they brought him his son, he put his lips to him and turned away, not because he was hard or sorry (Princess Marya and Natasha understood this), but only because he believed that this was all that was required of him; but when they told him to bless him, he did what was required and looked around, as if asking if there was anything else to be done.
When the last shudders of the body left by the spirit took place, Princess Marya and Natasha were there.
- Is it over?! - said Princess Marya, after his body had been motionless for several minutes, growing cold, lying in front of them. Natasha came up, looked into the dead eyes and hurried to close them. She closed them and did not kiss them, but kissed what was the closest memory of him.
“Where did he go? Where is he now?..”

When the dressed, washed body lay in a coffin on the table, everyone came up to him to say goodbye, and everyone wept.
Nikolushka wept from the pained bewilderment that tore at his heart. The Countess and Sonya wept with pity for Natasha and that he was no more. The old count wept that soon, he felt, he was about to take the same terrible step.
Natasha and Princess Mary were weeping now too, but they were not weeping from their own personal grief; they wept from the reverent tenderness that seized their souls before the consciousness of the simple and solemn mystery of death that took place before them.

The totality of the causes of phenomena is inaccessible to the human mind. But the need to find causes is embedded in the human soul. And the human mind, not delving into the innumerability and complexity of the conditions of phenomena, each of which separately can be represented as a cause, grabs at the first, most understandable approximation and says: here is the cause. In historical events (where the subject of observation is the actions of people), the most primitive rapprochement is the will of the gods, then the will of those people who stand in the most prominent historical place - historical heroes. But one has only to delve into the essence of each historical event, that is, in the activity of the entire mass of people who participated in the event, in order to make sure that the will of the historical hero not only does not direct the actions of the masses, but is itself constantly guided. It would seem that it is all the same to understand the meaning of a historical event one way or another. But between the man who says that the peoples of the West went to the East because Napoleon wanted it, and the man who says that it happened because it had to happen, there is the same difference that existed between people who said that the land stands firmly and the planets move around it, and those who said that they did not know what the earth was based on, but they knew that there were laws governing the movement of both her and other planets. There are no and cannot be causes of a historical event, except for the single cause of all causes. But there are laws that govern events, partly unknown, partly groping for us. The discovery of these laws is possible only when we completely renounce the search for causes in the will of one person, just as the discovery of the laws of the motion of the planets became possible only when people renounced the notion of the affirmation of the earth.

Admiral Vasily Yakovlevich Chichagov in the 21st century is best known for a historical anecdote. According to him, Empress Catherine the Great invited the admiral to the Winter Palace and asked him to tell about one of the battles. The naval commander was embarrassed for some time, but then he got used to it and began to talk colorfully and emotionally, imperceptibly switching to the use of obscene expressions. Coming to his senses, Chichagov began to ask for forgiveness, but Ekaterina tactfully pretended that she did not understand obscene expressions, saying: “Nothing, Vasily Yakovlevich, continue; I don't understand your marine terms."

The fact that the memory of Chichagov was preserved primarily in historical anecdotes is understandable. Unlike Fyodor Ushakov or Pavel Nakhimov, Chichagov preferred caution and accuracy to decisive offensive actions at sea. As a result, the successes of the admiral in the theaters of operations were not so stunning.

A native of the noble family of the Chichagovs, Vasily was sent to study at the famous School of Navigational Sciences, founded Peter I. For further training in maritime affairs, Chichagov was sent for an internship in the UK, where he served on the ships of the Royal Navy.

At the age of 16, he returned to Russia and was enlisted in the Russian Navy.

Honest campaigner

In 1764, Chichagov was appointed assistant to the chief commander of the Arkhangelsk port. In this position, he twice went on expeditions to Kamchatka and North America, with the goal of discovering "a sea passage through the Northern Ocean to Kamchatka." These expeditions were designed Mikhail Lomonosov. Both times, however, the campaigns failed due to the impossibility of overcoming heavy ice.

Chichagov gained a reputation as a diligent and honest campaigner. He served as chief commander of the Arkhangelsk, Revel and Kronstadt ports. In all these positions, he put things in order, stopping abuses both among sailors and among officials.

In 1770, Chichagov received the rank of rear admiral and was called to St. Petersburg, where he trained crews for the ships of the Baltic Fleet. In 1772, he led one of the trained squadrons without loss to the Mediterranean Sea.

In 1772-1774 during Russian-Turkish war Chichagov was entrusted with the command of one of the detachments of the Don Flotilla, which defended the Kerch Strait. He did his job well.

In 1775, Chichagov became a member of the Admiralty Board, and in 1782 he received the rank of admiral.

War from defense

The finest hour of Vasily Chichagov came when he was already over 60. In 1788, another Russian-Swedish war broke out. The Swedes, relying on the support of Great Britain and Prussia, expected to take revenge for previous failures. A favorable circumstance for them was the diversion of the main forces of the Russian army to the war with Turkey.

The Swedes attached particular importance to the war at sea, where they intended to regain dominance in the Baltic.

After the battle near the island of Hogland, he fell ill and died suddenly. commander of the Russian fleet in the Baltic Samuil Greig. The Empress handed over command of the fleet to Admiral Chichagov.

The situation was not very favorable for the Russian sailors. In the Baltic, there was an acute shortage of experienced ship crews, which forced Russian commanders to act with extreme caution in battle.

Acting on the defensive, with the help of local covers, Chichagov compensated for the lack of experience of his people.

On July 26, 1789, 25 ships of the Russian fleet under the command of Admiral Chichagov met in battle near the island of Eland with 36 ships of the Swedish fleet, which were led by Duke Karl of Södermanland. The hours-long battle ended with the retreat of the Swedes, who could not overcome Chichagov's defensive formations.

Ekaterina was pleased

On May 13, 1790, the Swedish fleet attacked the Russian forces in the roadstead near the port of Revel. According to the plan of the chief of staff, Admiral Nordenskiöld, the Swedish fleet, continuously firing, was to pass in the wake column past the anchored Russian ships and repeat this maneuver until the Russian squadron was destroyed.

Cautious Chichagov, who left the ships at anchor, counted on the accuracy of the fire of his guns, which is higher in a static position. His calculation paid off. As a result, the Swedes fired past, and the Russians hit right on target. In the end, Duke Karl of Södermanland ordered the operation to be curtailed and retreat. The victory again remained with the Russians.

On July 3, 1790, Chichagov's squadron entered into battle with the Swedish fleet, blockaded in the northern part of the Vyborg Bay. The Swedes went on a breakthrough, which turned out to be serious losses for them - 7 battleships, 3 frigates, more than 50 small ships. The Swedish fleet also lost up to 7 thousand people killed and wounded.

Nevertheless, the Swedish ships managed to break through the blockade, which eventually led to the subsequent defeat of the Russian fleet in the Second Battle of Rochensalm.

Swedish historians believe that the latest failure nullified all the previous successes of the Russians, forcing them to make peace on pre-war terms.

Empress Catherine II thought differently. The confrontation with Sweden was secondary to the fight with Turkey. The main task in the Baltic was to prevent the strengthening of the positions of the Swedes, especially their navy. The Russian fleet under the command of Vasily Chichagov coped with the task of containment completely, for which the admiral was awarded. For the Battle of Revel, Chichagov was awarded the Order of St. Andrew the First-Called, and for the victory in the Battle of Vyborg he became the first sailor to be awarded St. George of the 1st degree.

Unknown artist. Portrait of Pavel Chichagov. Photo: commons.wikimedia.org

Father and son

In 1797, 70-year-old Vasily Chichagov retired and lived on his estate. He managed to catch the time when his son, Pavel Vasilievich Chichagov, who began his career as one of the officers of his father's squadron, took the post of Minister of Marine of the Russian Empire.

The fate of Pavel Chichagov was not easy. A man who did a lot for the Russian fleet, in 1812 he was declared the main culprit of the failure of the Russian troops at the Berezina, when the French army and Emperor Napoleon managed to escape from Russia. Chichagov was ridiculed even by a fabulist Ivan Krylov in the fable "Pike and the Cat". Pavel Chichagov, who considered the accusations unfair, left Russia and lived in exile until his death.

However, Chichagov Sr. did not live to see this dramatic turn in his son's life. He died on April 16, 1809 at the age of 83 and was buried at the Lazarevsky cemetery of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra. The epitaph on his grave reads: “The Swedes attacked him with triple strength. Having learned, he rivers: God is my protector. They won't swallow us. Having repulsed, he captured and received victories.

Admiral, known for his participation in the Swedish War of 1789-1790. Originally from the nobility of the Kostroma province, Ch. was born on February 28, 1726 and received his secondary education at the Naval School (school of navigational sciences), established by Peter the Great in Moscow, after completing the course in which he left for England in order to replenish his knowledge. On April 10, 1742, he was enlisted in the naval service as a midshipman, and in 1744 he was assigned to the Revel coastal team, a year later he was promoted to midshipman, and in 1751 he was appointed ship secretary. Three years later he received the rank of lieutenant, and in 1757 he made his first voyage on the frigate St. Michael, sent "on a secret commission" to Sound. He returned from Revel to Kronstadt as the commander of the named ship. In 1758 he received the rank of captain-lieutenant, after 4 years - captain of the 2nd rank, in the same 1762 he was on the ship "Saint Catherine" from St. Petersburg to Kronstadt. In 1763, we find him in Kazan, where he was sent to inspect the timber harvested on the pier, and the following year, already in the rank of captain of the 1st rank, he commands the Revel ship.

"With triple strength, the Swedes went to him,

Having learned, he rivers: God is my protector!

They won't swallow us!

Repulsed, captivated and received victory.

For the battle of Reval Ch. was awarded the Order of St.. Andrew the First-Called and the award of 1388 souls of peasants to hereditary possession.

In conclusion, to characterize Ch. as a person, let's quote Catherine II's review of him, taken from the letter of the Empress to Grimm dated September 14, 1790: "I cannot see Ch., so as not to recall the words of Prince de Ligne about Field Marshal Laudon when someone asked about him by what he could be recognized: “go,” he said, “you will find him outside the door, embarrassed by his dignity and his talents.” Here is an exact image of my admiral.

For more details, see: "General Marine List", St. Petersburg, 1885, vol. II; "Portrait Gallery of Russian Figures", St. Petersburg, ed. Munster, 1865, Khmyrov's article; - A. S. Shishkov, "Military operations of the Russian fleet against the Swedish in 1788, 89 and 90", ed. 1826; "Kronstadt Herald", 1876, No. 82; "Russian Expeditions to Describe the Northern Shores of Siberia", etc.; "War of Russia with Sweden 1789-90", Op. Brikner, in the "Journal of the Ministry of National Education", 1869, Nos. 2, 3, 4, 6; "Sea Collection", 1857, No. 9, 1859, No. 10, 1871, No. 8; "The Lomonosov Project and the Chichagov Expedition", ed. Hydrograph. department, 1854; "Readings in the Imperial Society of History and Antiquities of Russia", 1862, No. 1; I. Chistovich, "Historical note on the council in the reign of Emperor Catherine II", St. Petersburg, 1870; Leonid Chichagov, "Archive of Admiral P. V. Chichagov", issue I, St. Petersburg, 1885; "Collection of Russian. Historical Society", vol. XXIII, p. 495; "Russian Antiquity", 1873, No. 8; Historical Bulletin, 1899, vol. LXXVI, p. 782, vol. LXXIII, p. 436; - "Encyclopedic Dictionary" of Efron, vol. LXXVI .; "Encyclopedia of Military and Naval Sciences", vol. VIII; "Dictionary" Starchevsky, v. XII; "SPb. Bulletin", 1805, part VI, p. 119; "Son of the Fatherland", 1849, No. 5, "Rus. Ist.", pp. 16-18; "Readings in General. History and Ancient. Ros.", 1862, vol. І, 174-177.

B. Savinkov.

(Polovtsov)

Chichagov, Vasily Yakovlevich

(1726-1809) - admiral. After completing his studies in England, Ch. entered the naval service in 1742; appointed in 1764 as an assistant to the chief commander of the Arkhangelsk port, he twice (1765 and 1766) went with three ships from Kola on a "secret expedition" to find a "sea passage through the Northern Ocean to Kamchatka", but because of the ice he could only reach 80 ° 21 "northern latitude. Subsequently, he was the chief commander of the ports of Arkhangelsk, Revel and Kronstadt. After the death of Admiral Greig, Catherine II entrusted Ch. with the main command of the fleet in the war with the Swedes (1789-1790), and he won three brilliant victories over a stronger enemy fleet - near the island of Elanda, on the Revel roadstead and near Vyborg - captured many ships, frigates and other vessels, more than 5,000 soldiers and up to 200 officers, with a rear admiral at the head.This forced Gustav III to conclude peace as soon as possible.

V. P-in.

(Brockhaus)

Chichagov, Vasily Yakovlevich

(Polovtsov)

Chichagov, Vasily Yakovlevich

(February 28, 1726 - October 9, 1809) - Russian. polar navigator, admiral. In 1764 he was appointed head of an expedition with a secret mission to pass through the North. Arctic ca. to the banks of the North. America, then on 3. and through the Bering Strait. to Kamchatka. In 1765, he reached 80°26" N to the northwest of Spitsbergen and, having encountered heavy ice, returned to Arkhangelsk; the second attempt in 1766 was also unsuccessful, during which he reached 80°30" N. sh. During the Russo-Swedish war of 1788-90 commanded the Russian. fleet and distinguished himself in the Battle of Eland (1789) and the Battle of Revel (1790).

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Honest campaigner

War from defense

Ekaterina was pleased

Father and son

"Chichagov, Vasily Yakovlevich" in books

VASILY YAKOVLEVICH CHICHAGOV

STRUVE VASILY YAKOVLEVICH (1793 - 1864)

Victory without extra blood V. Ya. Chichagov

Vasily Chichagov

Chichagov Vasily Yakovlevich

Vasily Yakovlevich Struve

Danilevsky Vasily Yakovlevich

Mirovich Vasily Yakovlevich

Struve Vasily Yakovlevich

Sofronov Vasily Yakovlevich

Yuriev Vasily Yakovlevich

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Chichagov Vasily Yakovlevich

Chichagov Pavel Vasilievich