page_title: Imperial Russian Navy
section_title: Crimean War and aftermath
hierarchical_section_title: Imperial Russian Navy / Crimean War and aftermath
caption_attribution_description: Action between Russian steam frigate Vladimir and Ottoman-Egyptian steamer Pervaz-i Bahri of November 5, 1853 — first in the history action between steam ships.label QS:Len,"Action between Russian steam frigate Vladimir and Ottoman-Egyptian steamer Pervaz-i Bahri of November 5, 1853 — first in the history action between steam ships."label QS:Lru,"Бой пароходо-фрегата "Владимир" с турецким паровым фрегатом (çarklı vapur) "Перваз-и Бахри" 5 ноября 1853 года — первый в истории бой паровых судов. Художник А. П. Боголюбов. 1850-е гг. Холст, масло"
context_page_description: The Imperial Russian Navy was the navy of the Russian Empire from 1696 to 1917. It was formally established in 1696 and lasted until being dissolved during the February Revolution of 1917. It developed from a smaller force that had existed prior to Tsar Peter the Great's founding of the modern Russian Navy during the Second Azov campaign. It was expanded in the second half of the 18th century and reached its peak strength by the early part of the 19th century, behind only the British and French fleets in terms of size.
  Officers were drawn from the aristocracy of the Empire, who belonged to the state Russian Orthodox Church. Young aristocrats began to be trained for leadership at a national naval school. From 1818 on, only officers of the Imperial Russian Navy were appointed to the position of Chief Manager of the Russian-American Company, which was based in Russian America for colonization and fur trade development. After the navy was initially staffed by paid foreign sailors, the government began to recruit native-born sailors as conscripts, drafted as were men to serve in the army. Service in the navy was lifelong.
context_section_description: Russia's slow technical and economic development in the first half of the 19th century caused her to fall behind other European countries in the field of steamboat construction. By the outbreak of the Crimean War in 1853, Russia had the Baltic and Black Sea Fleets, Arkhangelsk Flotilla, Caspian Flotilla and Okhotsk Flotilla (altogether, 40 battleships, 15 frigates, 24 corvettes and brigs, 16 steam frigates etc.).
  The combined number of staff of all the fleets equaled 91,000 people. Despite all this, the reactionary serfdom system had an adverse effect on the development of the Russian Navy. It was especially typical of the Baltic Fleet, which was known for its harsh military drill.
  Thanks to admirals Mikhail Lazarev, Pavel Nakhimov, Vladimir Kornilov, and Vladimir Istomin, the sailors of the Black Sea Fleet were taught the art of warfare and upholding of military traditions of the Russian Navy, formed in the times of Admiral Ushakov.
  The Battle of Sinop in 1853 the Black Sea Fleet under Nakhimov made a number of tactical innovations. During the Siege of Sevastopol in 1854–1855, the Russian sailors used all means possible to defend their base from land and sea. In accordance with the Treaty of Paris, Russia lost the right to have a military fleet in the Black Sea. In the 1860s, the Russian fleet which had relied upon sails lost its significance and was gradually replaced by steam.
  After the Crimean War, Russia commenced construction of steam-powered ironclads, monitors, and floating batteries. These vessels had strong artillery and thick armor, but lacked seaworthiness, speed and long-distance abilities. In 1861, they built the first steel-armored gunship Opyt (Опыт). In 1869, the Russians began the construction of one of the first seafaring ironclads, Petr Veliky (Пётр Великий).
caption: Clash between the Russian steam frigate Vladimir (ship, 1848) [ru] and the Turkish steam frigate Pervaz-ı Bahrî on 5 November 1853 — the first naval battle between steam ships in history
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