page_title: Russian cruiser Bogatyr
section_title: During the Russo-Japanese War
hierarchical_section_title: Russian cruiser Bogatyr / Operational history / During the Russo-Japanese War
caption_attribution_description: English: Sketch of the Russian protected cruisers Bogatyr class (slightly inaccurate).
context_page_description: The cruiser Bogatyr, launched 1901, was the lead ship of the Bogatyr class of four protected cruisers built between 1898 and 1907 for the Imperial Russian Navy. Her name can be translated to mean "Hercules".
context_section_description: At the start of the Russo-Japanese War of 1904–1905, Bogatyr was stationed at Vladivostok with the Russian Pacific Fleet's cruiser squadron under the overall command of Rear Admiral Karl Jessen. This squadron operated in the Sea of Japan and in waters near the Japanese home islands for commerce raiding and reconnaissance. During the first months of the war, the squadron made a number of sorties against Japanese shipping, but only one was reasonably successful when the merchant vessel Hitachi Maru, carrying eighteen 28-centimeter (11 in) siege howitzers and over 1000 troops intended for the siege of Port Arthur, was sunk in June 1904. In response, the Imperial Japanese Navy assigned Vice Admiral Kamimura Hikonojō with a squadron of eight cruisers to pursue and destroy the Russian squadron.
  However, on 15 May 1904, Bogatyr struck a rock in Amur Bay, and was so badly damaged that she could not be adequately repaired for the remainder of the war, and largely remained docked at Vladivostok.
  After the end of the war, Bogatyr was repaired, and reassigned to the Russian Baltic Fleet. Bogatyr was deployed in the Mediterranean when a large earthquake struck Sicily on 28 December 1908. Together with the Slava, Tsesarevich, and Admiral Makarov, Bogatyr assisted rescue efforts at Messina. Some crewmen were killed by aftershocks while attempting to rescue people from the rubble. In 1912, Bogatyr underwent a complete refit and modernization program at Kronstadt.
caption: Line drawing of the Bogatyr showing armament layout.
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