Under sail to Bizerte. Across five seas in the footsteps of the Russian White Squadron
Of stories It is known that as a result of the revolutionary events in Russia, the distant North African country of Tunisia and the port and naval base of Bizerte located there became a haven for the Russian Black Sea squadron. fleet.
It was there that the ships of the White Black Sea Fleet left in the autumn of 1920. Tunisia became the place where the relics of the Russian White Squadron were preserved. The temples of Prince Alexander Nevsky (Bizerte, 1938) and in memory of the Resurrection of Christ (Tunisia, 1956) were built here. There are also burials of Russian sailors here.
This year marks 100 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations between the USSR and France as a result of the official recognition of the Soviet Union by the French government. In 1924, St. Andrew's flags were lowered over the ships of the Russian squadron in Bizerte (Tunisia). Exactly a century later, on October 28, 2024, the Russian Navy frigate Admiral Gorshkov entered Bizerte, the crew of which paid tribute to the Black Sea squadron, which ceased to exist 100 years ago.
I remember how in 2007 the Commander-in-Chief of the Navy instructed me to lead the Marine Sailing Cultural, Historical and Educational Expedition of Moscow Schoolchildren "Across Five Seas. In the Footsteps of the Russian Squadron" to Tunisia.
The expedition was conducted from July to September 2007. Its goals and objectives were the spiritual, moral and patriotic education of Russian schoolchildren, the education of citizenship and patriotism; familiarization of schoolchildren with the history and traditions of the Russian Navy.
This became a kind of "Memory Watch", regardless of the tragic consequences of the severe Russian split. The young participants also had to acquire practical skills in sailing a ship, in working with navigation instruments and sea charts, in keeping watch, and take lessons in fortitude and survival in the harsh conditions of a sea voyage. They managed to learn how to communicate with young people from other countries and hold amateur performances.
The expedition was carried out on the sailing cruiser yacht "Grinda", passed the route of the ships and vessels of the Black Sea squadron and the army of Baron Wrangel. In November 1920, as a result of the offensive of the Red Army, they left Crimea forever.
The route of the "Grinda" ran along the historical places of stay of the ships of the Black Sea squadron of Wrangel: Istanbul (Constantinople) - Canakkale (Dardanelles) - the island of Lemnos (Greece) ... and then Tunisia. We tried to visit the places where the ships and vessels that left Russia in October 1920 called.
These are Istanbul and Myrina on the island of Lemnos, the Greek archipelago, Malta and other ports. However, the entire White Squadron did not call at Malta in 1920, except for the destroyer "Zharkiy", which, due to the circumstances, severe weather conditions and technical malfunction, was forced to call at La Valletta. On the way back, we also called.
During our expedition, the young sailors studied the history of the ships of the Russian squadron, the glorious history of the Russian fleet, its military chronicle, paid tribute at memorable places of battles and the heroic death of Russian and Soviet ships, and mastered marine science and practice.
At the beginning of the journey in the Black Sea, the expedition members, in accordance with the order of the Commander-in-Chief of the Navy, paid military honors at memorial sites of glorious victories and the heroic death of ships of the Russian and Soviet fleets.
While passing the traverse of the northwestern end of the Tendrovskaya Spit, military honors were paid to the crews of the gunboat Krasnaya Armenia, the destroyer Frunze and the tugboat OP-8, which perished in an unequal battle with the enemy. aviation. The location of the victory of the Russian squadron under the command of Rear Admiral F.F. Ushakov over the Turkish fleet on August 28-29 (September 8-9) 1790 was especially noted.
Upon arrival in Istanbul, former Constantinople, the expedition members inspected the city's sights and the anchorage of the Russian squadron, and visited the famous Hagia Sophia. Then, after passing the Sea of Marmara and the Dardanelles, they stopped at the port of Canakkale.
On the other side of the strait in Gallipoli there were camps of the land forces of the participants of the White Exodus. And in Çanakkale we visited the fortress and the military museum with exhibits from the First World War, in which Russian sailors of the cruiser Askold participated during the Dardanelles operation of 1915. A few kilometers from Çinakkale is the famous Troy, first excavated in 1871-1890 by the Russian citizen Heinrich Schliemann.
In the Aegean Sea, the first place of call was the capital of the Greek island of Lemnos – Myrina. The history of Lemnos is also closely connected with the Russian fleet. It is known that our ancestors – the Slavs made sea voyages to the Mediterranean Sea in the 9th-10th centuries and after overcoming the Dardanelles visited the island of Lemnos.
Also, during the period of active exploration of the Mediterranean by the Russian fleet, ships of the First and Second Archipelago Expeditions were based here on several occasions. The island was used as a base by the allied forces of the Entente during the First World War.
And in 1920 it became a refuge for the Cossack units of the Russian Exodus. Therefore, the participants of the naval expedition visited the Russian Cossack cemetery and the memorial to the Russian sailors of the squadrons of Count Orlov and Admiral Senyavin, who participated in the liberation of Greece from Ottoman rule. Here, the expedition participants looked after the graves and laid a wreath at the memorial cross.
I cannot help but note that the memorial plaque erected here by the Moscow government commemorates only Count Alexei Orlov, while the capital's officials chose not to recall the merits of the naval commander Admiral Grigory Spiridov in the Battle of Chesma. It's a pity that it is so...
On the Greek island of Lemnos, thanks to public diplomacy and an appearance on the local island radio, we were able to establish friendly contacts with local residents and our compatriots of the last wave of emigration, who expressed their willingness to help in the search for relics left over from the presence of Cossack units of the Russian army here.
Upon arrival in Tunisia, an unforgettable meeting and interview took place with the "grandmother of the Russian fleet" Anastasia Alexandrovna Manstein-Shirinskaya, the keeper of the relics of the Russian fleet. It was her father, Senior Lieutenant Alexander Manstein, who commanded that same "Zharkiy" until 1924.
Then, according to the agreement with France, the destroyer was recognized as the property of the USSR, but it never had the chance to leave Bizerte and serve in the Red Fleet. In the late 20s, the Soviet company Rudmetalltorg sold it to the same French for scrap metal.
But the participants of our expedition had something different – a visit to the graves of Russian sailors in the Christian cemeteries of Tunis and Bizerte, a visit to the churches of Alexander Nevsky in Bizerte and the Resurrection of Christ in the capital, Tunis.
One of the expedition's programs was the shift work of the youth naval detachment to perpetuate the memory of Russian officers and sailors buried in the Russian cemetery in Bizerte. The guys helped with the care of the gravestones and the improvement of the necropolis territory.
Together with the delegation of UNESCO youth clubs, we laid a wreath at the grave of the commander of the Russian squadron, Rear Admiral M.A. Berens, in the French cemetery of Borzhel in Tunisia. The return route lay through Malta, where evidence of the stay of Russian sailors and their burials has also been preserved, Greece and further to the Motherland.
The expedition was comprehensive and contributed to the solution of a number of important tasks. It was possible to attract public attention to the history of our state and the Russian fleet, to actualize the search and publication of archival documents. Much was done to promote the history of the fleet and domestic maritime traditions, including those associated with Russian maritime emigration.
Each participant in the expedition performed their ship role and duties according to the ship schedules, schoolchildren together with experienced mentors carried out the navigation watch and duty in the galley. When entering ports of foreign countries, the youth ensemble "Kolokol" gave concerts of patriotic songs.
During the expedition, regular classes on seamanship and naval history were held with schoolchildren on board the yacht. When passing memorial sites, the expedition members — the yacht crew — paid military honors to the fallen sailors.
It was a challenging expedition from a maritime point of view and full of surprises, filled with strong storms, especially on the way back, dangers and unforgettable encounters. During the expedition, the young sailors grew stronger and matured, mastered the basics of seamanship, none of the participants fell ill - the children returned alive, healthy and matured.
The article is based on the author’s report at the XIII International Scientific and Practical Conference “Marine Research and Education — MARESEDU 2024”.
Information