The Russian Navy has two important dates in its holiday calendar. This is the last Sunday in July - Day of the Russian Navy, and this is today's date. On October 30, the Russian navy celebrates its birthday - a historical fact of the creation of a navy in the country. The event in question happened in 1696. It was then that the Boyar Duma (then an advisory body under the sovereign) approved the decision to create a new combat-ready formation for the country. The formation, which in the end will not only ensure the security of the state from the sea and superiority over, as they would say now, a real and potential enemy, but also make Russia an empire.
Despite the fact that the official date of birth of the Russian Navy is considered to be October 30, 1696, it cannot be said that before that there were no hints of a fleet in Russia. Historical science suggests that attempts to create a military fleet were also made under Rurikovich. In particular, it is quite possible to refer to the milestones in the formation of the military fleet of the events of the era of Tsar Ivan IV the Terrible, when the exit of the Russian State to the Baltic shores in the Narva region began to dictate the need to protect these lands not only from land, but also from the sea. Moreover, to protect, among other things, Russian trade, which began to actively develop in the North-West (in the Baltic) precisely with access to sea routes in 1558.
For obvious reasons, Russia's neighbors were far from delighted that the state, growing both in the east and in the west, led by Ivan IV, was able to replenish the treasury with the help of funds obtained from trade relations with the then major maritime powers.
And the neighbors decided to impose "sanctions" against Russia. Quite a real sanction. In the Baltic at the end of the 50s - 60s of the 16th century, the appearance of privateer ships became commonplace, the captains of which, in fact, received letters of protection from the governments of Europe on the ability to damage Russian trade by sea at any cost. In fact, we are talking about pirate fleets that robbed (or first robbed, and then sunk) most of the merchant ships (those that "could" be robbed) heading towards Russia. The Kingdom of Poland was especially zealous, which in 1569 "integrated" with neighboring Lithuania, forming a state called the Commonwealth. In addition to Poland, Sweden was also actively involved in attacks on ships going to Narva.
According to historians, Russia itself was losing up to 80% of the trade turnover in the Baltic, related to the trade and economic activity of Russia in the mentioned period. Lost precisely "thanks" to the neighbors with their pirate "sanctions".
What decision is taken in such a situation in Moscow? The solution, in fact, is the only possible one to preserve the landlocked in the Northwest. An understanding of the measures taken is given by the protection letter of Tsar Ivan IV from March 1570:
… to take the enemies by force, and to find their ships with fire and sword, hook and destroy according to our majesty letters … to keep honor, stock or whatever they need, how bargaining will raise, sell and not offend.
So, Ivan IV announces the preparation, in modern language, for counter-sanctions. And the main part of the responsibility for resolving this issue lies with the aforementioned Carsten Rode - a German who was a subject of the Danish crown. By and large, Rode was a pirate himself, but after 1570 he became a sovereign man in the Baltic. Its main task, as evidenced by the above text of the security letter, is to form a force capable of resisting the "force of enemies". This may well be considered a step towards the creation of a protective fleet of a step made by the then head of the Russian State.
The agreement with Rode provided for the capture of enemy ships so that every third ship had to be delivered to Narva, in fact, to form a Russian flotilla in the Baltic.
The first ship to be attacked by Karsten Rode's ship was a Swedish iceboat, which was loaded with salt and herring. The attack was successful - "counter-sanctions" started working. The cargo was sold in the same place where it became the prey of Rode - on the island of Bornholm. Within a week, Rode captured the warship as well. It was a Swedish flute. For a couple of months - more than a dozen ships.
Carsten Rode's team grew. Over time, it was based on the Arkhangelsk Pomors, who also knew a lot about maritime affairs. In addition, the archers and gunners of the so-called Pushkar order were assigned to the team. The formed squadron was originally based in Narva and Ivangorod. Then, after expanding at the expense of "acquired" ships, its parts began to be based also on Bornholm and even in Copenhagen. The reason that Copenhagen was among the bases of the Russian Baltic Flotilla was that the Danish monarch was at that time one of Russia's main allies in Europe. These are the kings of the Oldenburg dynasty, including the monarch Frederick II.
In fact, a real hunt was announced for Karsten Rod's flotilla in the Baltic. The main "hunters" are Swedish and Polish ships. But Rode's military career in the service of Denmark and Russia was not stopped by the Swedes or the Poles. It rolled down due to the decision of the aforementioned Frederick II, who, after conducting economic calculations, came to the conclusion that the maintenance of the flotilla in alliance with Russia is expensive for the treasury, and the activities of the flotilla itself began to bring less and less profit. The fact that Frederick's relations with Sweden have become warmer (if such a term can be used in this situation) has added effect. As a result, Rode was removed from the flotilla and placed in a Danish prison as a pirate.
After that, in Europe they began to say that the Danish monarch Frederick II "is waging a merciless war against piracy, which strikes at the encouragement of piracy by the Russian tsar." The fact that piracy in its then form was supported quite officially by literally all maritime powers was not accepted to voice. It was not customary to voice the fact that the attack on the merchant fleet in contact with Russia was started by those who suddenly rejoiced over the "cleansing of the eastern Baltic from the Rode flotilla." Something it reminds of today … In general, our "eternal friendship" with Europe.
An interesting fragment of a letter from Ivan IV to Frederick II from 1576 (a letter that remained unanswered):
For five years or more we sent Carsten Rode to the sea on ships with military men for the robbers who were destroying our guests from Gdansk at sea. And that Karsten Rode on the sea smashed those robbers … he took 22 ships, and he came to Bornholm, and then the people of the King of Sweden drove him down. And those ships that he caught, and our ships were caught from him, and the price of those ships and goods is five hundred thousand Yefimks. And that Carsten Rode, hoping for our agreement with Frederick, fled from the people of Sveisk to Kopnogov. And Frederick the King ordered him, having caught, to put in prison. And we were very surprised at that …
Such a story that could end with the fact that the Navy was created precisely by Tsar Ivan the Terrible. However, it didn’t happen.
The sovereign, who created the Russian Navy, will become, as you know, Peter I Romanov. It is from his era that the fleet officially counts its historical steps, reaching the present day as one of the main components to defend the borders of the Fatherland.
