Today Anapa is a purely peaceful city. A climatic and balneological resort, which has been remembered by many since Soviet times as a favorite place for children's recreation. But before that there was a fortress, for which bloody battles unfolded. It is no coincidence that Nikolai Veselovsky, the author of the Military-Historical Sketch of Anapa, published in Petrograd in 1914, described this southern city as follows: army and navy, which no other enemy fortress summoned … Four times it was blown up until it was completely destroyed. Anapa played a prominent historical role during the long struggle between Russia and Turkey, as well as in the pacification of the mountain population in the North Caucasus, why its military past deserves full attention."
WHY "ANAPA"
The name of the city is explained in different ways, mainly by finding consonant words in the languages of the peoples who inhabited this land. So, for example, among the Circassians this is the "edge of the rounded table." They say that the Anapa bay reminded them of a national table. The Abkhazians have a "hand", that is, a border outpost of their kingdom. And the Greeks called the high cape "anapa". Indeed, the coast is high and steep here. Finally, in Tatar, "anapai" - "maternal share". A military historian of the late 19th century explained that "the Turks, trying to alleviate the fate of their fellow believers, who were expelled from the Crimea, assigned them a place in the Kuban under the protection of this fortress."
In general, Anapa was not originally Anapa. There were many names. So let's talk about everything in order …
PASSAGE YARD
A few centuries before the birth of Christ, the Sindskaya harbor - Sindika was located in these places. In the 3rd century BC. she joined the Bosporus state and was named after its then ruler - Gorgippia. In modern Anapa there is a museum dedicated to that era. A significant part of the exposition - the site of archaeological excavations - is located right in the open air, in full view of the townspeople and tourists (but in order to see more and closer, it is still better to pay for the entrance to the territory and walk near the excavations themselves). You will see the foundations of ancient houses, their basements, fragments of pavements and the remains of the fortress wall, antique columns, sarcophagi and much more. The second part of the exhibition is housed in a museum building. There are traditional exhibits that tell about the life of the ancient state. Although there are also unusual sections: for example, dedicated to the local cult … Hercules. Twelve exploits are well known (not all, however, will be listed by heart), and the fact that the famous hero of Greece was deified is no longer known to so many.
Over time, the prosperous city of Gorgippia turned into a kind of passageway. Whoever this land has not seen: Bulgarians, and Huns, and Turks, and Kasogs, and Khazars, and Circassians!.. In the XI-XII centuries the peoples inhabiting this land discovered viticulture. And after another century, the era of domination of the Genoese begins on the Black Sea coast. On the site of Gorippia, the Mapa trading post arose. Overseas merchants poured into the city with exquisite goods: expensive fabrics, jewelry, glassware, precious stones, and weapons, of course. From Mapa they exported timber, furs, bread and wax.
The wealthy city was repeatedly attacked, but the Genoese retained control over it until 1475, when the trading post was captured by the Ottoman Sultan Muhammad II. Then the city received its present name, and the Turks placed their garrison in it. Although the local population - the Circassians - did not suit the new status quo. The Mapskys killed the intruders and recaptured the city, albeit not for long - only for four years. The Turks took revenge, and by 1481 a full-fledged fortress appeared here. French engineers helped the Ottomans to build and equip it.
UNDER TURKS
A description of the fortress, which was made by the Turkish writer Evliya Chelebi, who visited Anapa in 1641, has survived: “The castle lies at the tip of the cape separating the Abkhaz region from Circassia, on a clay rock; it is strong, but does not have a garrison and was repeatedly plundered by the Don Cossacks. Anapa Castle is well built and so well preserved, as if its construction had just been completed … The inhabitants, called Shefaki, pay tithes only when they are forced to do so, and in general are very prone to revolts; the castle has a large harbor in which 1000 ships, tied together by a rope, can stand safely. This harbor is protected against winds blowing from any direction. There is no such port on the Black Sea anymore … If this castle had been brought into good condition and provided with a sufficient garrison, it would not have been difficult to keep all Abkhazians and Circassians in perfect obedience."
However, for a long time, either the hands of the Turks did not reach, or they did not see the need for such a strong pressure on the Caucasian peoples. And only in the second floor. In the 18th century, the situation - primarily geopolitical - changed. The Russian Empire took possession of the Crimea and part of the Kuban, and Turkey decided to make Anapa its Caucasian outpost. So, in 1783, a new, modern by the standards of the fortress appeared, consisting of seven bastions. It stood on a promontory, and only one part of it - the eastern part - adjoined land. The defense was strengthened by a rampart and a moat with sheer walls paved with stones. By the way, the old moat could be seen until the middle. 50s of the last century. Now they covered him up and laid out a park on this place. One small area has survived - near the Park Hotel.
But let's go back to the 18th century. Anapa, as a nerve center for defense and trade, also became a local center for the Islamization of the peoples inhabiting this land. And, of course, on this basis, the Turks began to actively involve neophytes as their allies in the fight against Russia. It is just as natural that this could not suit Russia, and Petersburg undertook several campaigns against Anapa.
TEST FORCE
The first was actually intelligence, led by General-in-Chief Pyotr Tekeli in the fall of 1788. Serbian by origin, Tekeli moved to Russia in mid. 1740, more than once distinguished himself in battle, gained fame as a man who put an end to the willfulness of the Zaporozhye Cossacks (he simply burned the Zaporozhye Sich without further ado).
The second attempt to storm Anapa took place two years later. The campaign was commanded by Lieutenant-General Yuri Bibikov. An adventurer by nature, this commander decided to set off for the Kuban in early spring without any preparation and … without a convoy. For 42 days, the Russian troops marched to Anapa, sometimes freezing, then getting bogged down in a muddy road (the general, apparently, mistakenly assumed that since it was south, it should be warm and dry all year round). In this case, the day appointed for the assault should have finally convinced him: suddenly frost struck, and a blizzard began. This did not stop Bibikov, and the result was, alas, predictable. Our troops tried in vain to climb the fortress walls, suffered huge losses and finally withdrew.
Moreover, retreating, they had to fight off the Circassians who were attacking them all the time. To top it off, famine began - the wagon train did not take with him, and the pasture for the horses in early spring, so to speak, had not grown. However, there was no need to worry too much about horses - raw horse meat soon became the only addition that diversified the meager soldier's diet of roots that could be found …
At times it was necessary to force streams with icy water, which, due to the spring flood, turned into stormy rivers. As a result of this failed operation, Bibikov's detachment lost more than half of its strength. Empress Catherine II described the general as follows: “He must have gone mad if he kept people in water for forty days, almost without bread. It's amazing that anyone survived at all … If the army refused to obey, I would not be surprised. Rather, one has to wonder at their endurance and patience. " As a result, Bibikov was dismissed, and all participants in the campaign received medals "For Loyalty".
SMALL COIN
In order to debunk the image of an impregnable fortress, in 1791 a third campaign was sent to Anapa. At the head of our troops was the newly appointed commander-in-chief of the Kuban and Caucasian corps, General-in-Chief Ivan Gudovich. Taking into account the mistakes of his predecessor and preparing for the operation conscientiously, Gudovich understood that he did not have time for a long siege of the fortress - Turkish ships were coming to the aid of Anapa. The Russians began with shelling, then offered Anapa to surrender, and after being refused, they conducted a difficult but successful assault. Even despite the sudden attack of the mounted Circassians, the city was conquered. All the fortifications of Anapa were blown up, the inhabitants were moved to Tavrida, and Anapa itself was burned and … returned to Turkey. These were the conditions of the Yassy Peace Treaty. By the way, according to the same treaty, Crimea withdrew to Russia, and the border in the Caucasus was restored along the Kuban River. At the same time, Gudovich achieved his goal: Anapa was no longer considered impregnable …
And then the chain of events "the capture of Anapa by the Russians - its ruin - the return of Turkey" turned into a kind of tradition. This was the case in 1806, when Turkey declared war on Russia, and our squadron under the command of Rear Admiral Semyon Pustoshkin occupied the fortress in just a few hours, blew up its batteries and removed all the guns from there; so it was three years later, when the Russian troops occupied the city without encountering much resistance … Then a small garrison even settled in Anapa, but the highlanders did not give it rest, and according to another - this time Bucharest - treaty, the fortress was returned to the Ottomans. However, they continued to weave intrigues against us in the Caucasus, and in the spring of 1828 the sixth - now the last - campaign against Anapa was undertaken. It was commanded by Vice Admiral Alexey Greig and Adjutant General Prince Alexander Menshikov. The decisive battle took place at the end of May, then the Russian command offered to surrender the fortress, which the Turks did. Prince Menshikov reported to Nicholas I: "The enemy, not daring to withstand the attack, submitted, and the troops of Your Imperial Majesty entered the fortress." A year and two months later, according to the 4th Adrianople Peace Treaty, Anapa finally ceded to Russia forever, and we got the opportunity to strengthen our positions on the Black Sea coast of the Caucasus.
In 1837 the emperor personally visited Anapa. He ordered to destroy all military fortifications, leaving only the eastern gate as a keepsake. Now they are called Russians and are one of the main attractions of the city.
RESORT CITY
And in the second floor. XIX century Russian doctor Vladimir Budzinsky began to develop the resort direction in Anapa. By the end of the century, a sanatorium already existed there. The development of the "resort business" continued after the revolution. It is known that by the 1940s, a dozen or so sanatoriums and ten pioneer camps were accommodated in Anapa. By this time, planes were flying here!
Vityazevo Airport is still operating. The Great Patriotic War turned into terrible destruction for the city - Anapa fully recovered from its wounds only in the 1950s. Since then, the city has been living in its current rhythm, freezing during winter hibernation and turning into a huge multi-month fair of holidaymakers from May to September. At this time, it is difficult to see in Anapa a historic city with a long history, especially with a military history. Then go and see a place on the beach for a sun lounger - it is not even an hour, you will step on a vacationer.
However, the past is not forgotten. Five years ago, Anapa received the status of the "City of Military Glory".
