On July 27, 1812, in the village of Prokhorovka, Poltava province (now the Cherkasy region of Ukraine), Vasily Zavoyko, an outstanding representative of the Russian navy, was born.
According to historians, the most striking moment of his biography was the organization of the defense of the Petropavlovsk port (today - the city of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky) from the Anglo-French squadron during the Crimean War.
Carier start
Vasily Zavoyko was born into the family of a military doctor.
He received his naval education in Nikolaev at the Black Sea Navigation School, after which he was transferred to the Baltic Fleet.
On the ship "Alexander Nevsky" 15-year-old midshipman Zavoyko made the transition to the Mediterranean and took part in the Battle of Navarino against the Turkish fleet.
“During the Battle of Navarino, Zavoyko commanded four guns aboard the Alexander Nevsky, which fought three enemy ships at once.
During the battle, one of the Turkish ships sank, and the second surrendered, ”Vasily Malov, a methodologist at the Tyumen historical park of the Russia - My History project, told RT.
Later, Zavoiko participated in the blockade of the Dardanelles, after which he returned to the Baltic and was assigned to the Pallada frigate, commanded by Pavel Nakhimov.
“The service on the Pallada at that time was front and took place in the waters of the Gulf of Finland.
This was not to Zavoiko’s liking, and he transferred to the America transport heading for the Pacific Ocean, ”said Andrey Bogdanov, a leading researcher at the IRI RAS, in an interview with RT.
Frigate "Pallada", watercolor by Andrey Bogolyubov, 1847
© Wikimedia Commons
In 1834-1839, Zavoiko made two trips around the world, during which he visited the Pacific islands, Kamchatka and the northwestern coast of America.
According to Vasily Malov, after returning from the first voyage, they wanted to appoint Zavoyko as the commander of the ship that carried out messenger orders under the command of the fleet in the Baltic, but he refused the promotion and succeeded in being re-sent around the world.
In 1840, Zavoyko joined the Russian-American Company, heading its trading post in Okhotsk.
“Zavoyko joined a group of Russian officers who believed that Russia should establish itself in the Pacific Ocean.
We can say that it was a “conspiracy”, since they had to fight against the courtiers and officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, who did not see any prospects in the development of the Far East region and dreamed of surrendering it to the Americans, the British, the French or the Chinese,” Andrey Bogdanov said.
Hero of the Peter and Paul Defense
In 1849 (some sources indicate the year 1850) Zavoiko was appointed military governor of Kamchatka and commander of the Petropavlovsk port.
On the
new duty station, he began large-scale transformation of the port and the entire region.
Under the leadership of Zavoyko, barracks and outbuildings for military personnel were erected in the Peter and Paul Port, private houses, trading shops, foundries were built, a pier, a brick factory and a treasury building were erected.
In addition, roads began to be laid in Kamchatka.
Zavoyko also initiated the vaccination of the population against smallpox and attracted doctors from the maritime department to treat leprosy in the local population.
According to Andrei Bogdanov, Zavoiko ordered to bring cows to Kamchatka and create a cattle farm.
In addition, on his initiative, a mill and a workshop for the production of nettle linen were built in the region, which was distinguished by high strength and practicality.
The population of Petropavlovsk from the end of the 1840s to 1854 increased from 370 to 1594 people.
“Zavoyko built a city in Petropavlovsk practically from scratch.
But his main task was, of course, the organization of the defense of the port and the whole of Kamchatka, ”Bogdanov emphasized.
As Vasily Malov said, under the leadership of Zavoiko, a new naval crew was created in Petropavlovsk and several ships were built.
“In 1854, the most striking event in the glorious biography of Vasily Zavoyko took place.
He was destined to lead the defense of Kamchatka from a powerful Anglo-French squadron directed against the Russian Far East by London and Paris as part of the Crimean War, ”said Vitaly Zakharov, professor at Moscow State Pedagogical University, in a conversation with RT.
Vasily Zavoyko, portrait by an unknown artist, 1870s
© Wikimedia Commons
According to historians, the European powers planned to seize Russian possessions in the Far East, destroy Russian military bases in the region and divert attention from the Black Sea theater of operations.
The Anglo-French squadron, intended to capture Kamchatka, included three frigates, a steam frigate, a corvette and a brig, equipped with a total of 218 artillery pieces.
The crews and landing force of the ships numbered about 2.6 thousand military personnel.
The garrison of Petropavlovsk could counter this power with only six coastal batteries, numbering 40 obsolete guns, as well as the Aurora frigate and the Dvina transport ship, on which a total of 27 guns were installed.
The garrison of the Petropavlovsk port, together with the crews of the ships and local volunteers, amounted to 920 people.
The enemy squadron approached the Petropavlovsk port and began a skirmish with coastal batteries on August 30, 1854.
The next day, the enemy landed a landing force of about 300 people and captured one of the batteries.
However, a combined detachment of Russian soldiers and sailors numbering about 230 people with a bayonet attack dropped an enemy landing into the sea.
On the same day, two more attempts to land Anglo-French forces ashore were prevented.
On September 5, the enemy repeated an attempt to capture the port of Petropavlovsk.
Having suppressed two Russian coastal batteries with fire, the ships of the enemy squadron landed troops on the shore, consisting of about 970 military personnel.
However, when trying to approach the city, he was stopped by a detachment of Russian soldiers and sailors.
After a four-hour battle, the enemy retreated.
“Defense of the Petropavlovsk Port”, painting by Andrey Bogolyubov, 19th century
© Wikimedia Commons
On September 8, the enemy squadron withdrew from the Petropavlovsk port.
During the fighting, the Anglo-French forces lost about 400 people killed and wounded, and the defenders of the port - 115.
“The defeat near Petropavlovsk was a great shame for England and France,” said Vitaly Zakharov.
However, according to Vasily Malov, the British and French command did not give up hope of destroying the Russian naval base in the Petropavlovsk port.
Therefore, in order to protect the garrison and the inhabitants of the city, Zavoyko decided to move the base to the mouth of the Amur.
Breaking down the fortifications and destroying the wooden buildings of the Petropavlovsk port, Zavoyko loaded people, weapons and valuables onto several ships, which were able to break through enemy ships with a fight.
“The squadron under the command of Zavoyko reached the Nikolaevsky post on the Amur (modern Nikolaevsk-on-Amur).
In two and a half months, a city and a port were built in this place,” Andrey Bogdanov said.
Subsequently, Zavoyko was appointed commander of all Russian naval and land forces at the mouth of the Amur.
A year later, he was transferred to St. Petersburg, where he was included in the Naval Auditor General (the highest naval court).
According to historians, while serving in the capital, Zavoyko was actively engaged in scientific activities and became a corresponding member of the Russian Geographical Society.
In 1874 he was promoted to the rank of admiral.
Zavoyko died in February 1898 in his estate in the village of Velikaya Mechetnya, Podolsk province.
“The role of Zavoiko in history is defined simply: without him, Russia might not have the Pacific Ocean, and, possibly, the whole of Eastern Siberia.
At first, together with his like-minded people, he insisted on the development of these territories, and then defended them in battle.
Largely thanks to him personally, we got Russia in its modern borders, ”summed up Andrei Bogdanov.