"I command the fleet. Schmidt."
Uprising on the Cruiser Ochakov. Artist: L. E. Muchnik.
Troubles
Armed uprisings on navy were associated with the general crisis of the Romanov empire, which was developing into turmoil, that is, into a catastrophe leading to the radical collapse of the entire previous system.
The Romanov project, which divided the Russian Empire into two worlds—a European "metropolis," educated and well-off, and a peasant labor "colony," exploited in the most brutal manner—was running its course. For a time, this brutal contradiction was mitigated, including by drowning peasant wars and uprisings in blood.
But by the beginning of the 20th century, the empire had reached a "transition point." The problem of the "boiling cauldron" needed to be resolved. Almost all the last Russian emperors understood this, but they never decided on a radical change, a "revolution from above."
The Russian Empire was piling up a mountain of problems and issues. Peasants wanted land, and the center of the country was overpopulated by agrarians. Workers and non-Russians were dissatisfied. The country needed accelerated industrialization and urbanization. It was essential to eliminate cultural and economic dependence on Western Europe. Illiteracy had to be eradicated and a strong education system had to be created, including technical education (half of the country's engineers were Germans, foreigners).
Destroy the parasitic, destructive caste-class system, whereby nobles, bourgeois, and capitalists "earned" their money in Russia and transferred it to Europe, where they lived. In general, transition from predatory capitalism to socialism.
However, the government of Nicholas II was unable to resolve these and a number of other issues. They were left to the Bolsheviks to resolve.
The 1905 Revolution served as a kind of final wake-up call for the tsarist government. By the beginning of the 20th century, capitalism in Russia, as elsewhere in the world, was experiencing yet another crisis. As a result, all the social, economic, and political contradictions of the bourgeois system reached their extreme aggravation.
The agrarian and industrial crisis that gripped the country, the resounding defeats during the Russo-Japanese War, caused by St. Petersburg's mistakes in the Far East and the provocative, hostile policies of our Western "partners," as well as the intensification of subversive activities by foreign agents (including Japanese intelligence) and revolutionary forces supported abroad, led to a revolutionary explosion. The Time of Troubles began (The approach of the Russian Time of Troubles; Anticipation of the apocalypse).
Black Sea Fleet Commander Vice-Admiral Grigory Pavlovich Chukhnin (1848–1906). Killed by revolutionaries.
Central
The sailors, among whom there were strong socialist and anarchist sentiments, also took a very active part in the revolution. While the soldiers, mostly former peasants, were traditionally passive, maintaining their faith in the "good tsar," the situation with the sailors was different.
Many of the sailors were blue-collar workers. The navy became armored and steam-powered, and the ships had complex internal components. Therefore, more literate people were recruited to serve the ships. Young workers had some education and were well-read. Consequently, revolutionary propaganda had an influence on them. Underground revolutionary cells formed in the navy.
The general situation in the navy is well described in the novel "Tsushima" by Alexei Novikov-Priboy, a Baltic Fleet sailor who participated in the 2nd Pacific Fleet's campaign and the Battle of Tsushima. A difficult and lengthy seven-year service, corruption and arbitrary rule by superiors, harsh drill and physical abuse. The best traditions of Ushakov, Lazarev, and Nazimov in educating officers and sailors were firmly forgotten.
The arbitrary nature of the regime and its repression provoked protests and resentment toward the officers among the sailors. It's no surprise that during the 1917 Revolution, the navy witnessed the most brutal and bloody excesses, including the extermination of officers.
And revolutionary propaganda found grateful converts. As early as 1901-1902, the first Social Democratic circles and cells emerged in the navy. The revolutionary movement in the navy quickly acquired an organized character.
In April 1904, the Central Fleet Committee (Tsentralka) was created as a result of the merger of the 37th Naval Crew in Nikolaev, the 32nd Crew in Sevastopol, and several other teams with the party organization of the training detachment. It became the military organization of the Sevastopol Committee of the RSDLP. Tsentralka maintained ties with revolutionary organizations in several cities. The Central Committee quickly spread its influence among the sailors.
Baron Alexander Nikolaevich Meller-Zakomelsky (1844–1928), in 1905 led the suppression of uprisings in Sevastopol and in Siberia, on the Trans-Siberian Railway
Revolutionary situation
Meanwhile, controlled chaos in the country was growing. Hundreds of thousands of workers participated in strikes and walkouts. A terrible peasant war broke out across the country, with estates ablaze. The situation was grave in the national borderlands—Finland, Poland, the Caucasus, and elsewhere. The criminal underworld became active. Revolutionary unrest was also occurring within the imperial armed forces, particularly in the navy and after the Tsushima disaster.
Guided by the decisions of the Third Party Congress, the Central Committee began preparing for an armed uprising in the Black Sea Fleet. The revolutionaries believed they could seize the fleet's main ships and seize power in Sevastopol. Sevastopol would then become the center of an uprising throughout Southern Russia. The uprising was planned for the end of the naval summer maneuvers, in August-September 1905, when the revolutionary movement in the country was expected to reach its peak.
This plan was thwarted by the spontaneous entry in June of the squadron battleship Prince Potemkin-Tavrichesky (Uprising on the battleship "Potemkin"). This rebellion led to increased repression and police activity, which thwarted the revolutionaries' plans to launch a major uprising.
In the second half of 1905, the turmoil in Russia continued to mount. An all-Russian political strike in October involved more than 2 million workers. Soviets of Workers' Deputies were formed in many cities. Tsar Nicholas II, under the influence of the head of government, Witte, made concessions. On October 17, a Manifesto was issued, promising the country parliamentary elections (the Duma), political rights, and freedoms.The October Manifesto and its significance).
Sevastopol was also unsettled in October. Rallies and demonstrations by workers, soldiers, and sailors were held, demanding the release of political prisoners. Martial law was declared in the city. At the end of October, a general strike of workers, railway workers, and merchant sailors began.
The crew of the cruiser Ochakov two weeks before the 1905 uprising and Lieutenant Schmidt (upper right corner)
Insurrection
On November 8 (21), 1905, unrest broke out on the cruiser Ochakov and the battleship Saint Panteleimon. On November 10 (23), after the farewell ceremony for the demobilized sailors, a large rally was held. The military organization of the Sevastopol Committee of the RSDLP attempted to prevent a spontaneous explosion, but failed. On November 11 (24), a spontaneous mutiny broke out in the naval division.
On November 11 (24), elections to the Council of Workers, Sailors, and Soldiers' Deputies were scheduled to take place. To prevent them, Black Sea Fleet Commander Grigory Chukhnin sent a combined detachment of sailors and soldiers from the Belostok Regiment to the barracks. They blocked the exits.
In a rapidly escalating situation, sailor Petrov fired at the commander of the free detachment, Pisarevsky, and mortally wounded the commander of the training team, Stein. Petrov was captured, but the mutinous sailors freed him. The duty officers were then disarmed and arrested, after which they were expelled from the barracks. The mutiny quickly spread, and the sailors of the naval division were joined by soldiers from the garrison and other naval units.
As a result, an uprising begins, which Lenin figuratively called Sevastopol fireOn November 12, a general strike engulfed the city. The Sevastopol Council of Sailors, Soldiers, and Workers' Deputies was elected. Political demands were put forward, including the convening of a Constituent Assembly. The naval command began to assemble loyal forces.
The mutiny escalates. On November 13 (26), the crew of the cruiser Ochakov mutinied. The officers were forced to flee the ship. The rebellion was led by Bolsheviks Chastnik, Antonenko, and Gladkov. General command of the mutinous forces on November 14 (27) was taken over by a popular revolutionary in the city, Lieutenant Pyotr Schmidt, who had previously been dismissed from the navy for desertion and embezzlement (he had squandered the ship's treasury). He declared himself commander of the Black Sea Fleet, giving the signal:
I command the fleet. Schmidt.
On the same day he sent a telegram to Tsar Nicholas II:
The glorious Black Sea Fleet, sacredly loyal to its people, demands that you, sir, immediately convene the Constituent Assembly and no longer obey your ministers. Fleet Commander P. Schmidt.
On the night of November 15 (28), revolutionaries seized several ships and vessels, and some crews joined them. Red flags were raised on the mutinous ships. The mutineers hoped that the remaining ships of the fleet would join them. But the command managed to take countermeasures: suspicious sailors were either discharged or arrested.
To win the entire squadron over to the rebels, "fleet commander" Schmidt circled around it on the destroyer Svirepy, but without much success. Command was already in control of the situation. Only the battleship Panteleimon (formerly Potemkin) joined the mutiny, but the ship itself was no longer a combat unit, having been stripped of its armament.
The rebel forces consisted of 14 ships and vessels, and approximately 4,5 sailors and soldiers on board and ashore. However, the combat potential of the revolutionary fleet and garrison was weak. Most of the naval guns had been disabled by officers and conductors (naval non-commissioned officers). The soldiers were poorly armed and lacked experienced leaders, as career officers and non-commissioned officers had not succumbed to revolutionary propaganda. The rebels also hesitated too long, losing time and initiative.
And among the high command, unlike in 1917, there were still decisive and proactive commanders ready to fight for the throne. General Alexander Kaulbars, commander of the Odessa Military District, Vice-Admiral Grigory Chukhnin, commander of the Black Sea Fleet, and General Alexander Meller-Zakomelsky, commander of the 7th Army Corps, amassed up to 10 soldiers and controlled 22 ships with a crew of 6.
On the afternoon of November 15 (28), the rebels were given an ultimatum to surrender. Receiving no response, troops loyal to the government launched an offensive and opened fire on "internal enemies."
The rebel resistance was crushed fairly quickly and decisively. In particular, the Ochakov was literally shelled. The cruiser sustained heavy damage: during repairs, 63 holes were counted in the hull, and repairs lasted over three years. The shelling of the revolutionary ships continued until 16:45 PM. Many ships were engulfed in flames, and the sailors escaped as best they could. Hundreds were killed and wounded. Schmidt was captured. On the morning of the 16th, the rebels, who had been hiding in the barracks, surrendered.
Overall, given the scale of the mutiny and the danger it posed to the nation, which included the potential for a significant portion of the Black Sea Fleet to revolt, supported by some ground forces, and then a revolt in major cities across southern Russia, the punishment was quite humane. The leaders of the Sevastopol uprising—Schmidt, Chastnik, Antonenko, and Gladkov—were executed by firing squad on Berezan Island by a naval court in March 1906. Over 300 others were sentenced to varying terms of imprisonment and hard labor. About a thousand others were subjected to disciplinary punishments without any trial.
A Soviet stamp from 1972. The crew of the cruiser Ochakov was the most revolutionary in the navy. After the events, the ship was renamed Kagul.
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