“God grant that this difficult and shameful story is more likely to end”
On June 27, 1905, 110 years ago, in the midst of the First Russian Revolution, a rebellion broke out on the battleship “Prince Potemkin of Tauride”. This was the first serious uprising in the armed forces of the Russian Empire during the revolution. The team captured the ship and led the ship to Odessa to support the anti-government protests in the city and to raise uprising throughout the Black Sea navybut it didn’t work out. The command failed to suppress the rebellion with the help of other ships, they refused to shoot at the Potemkin. Then the ship went to the shores of Romania and surrendered in Constanta to the local authorities. Soon, the Romanian authorities returned the battleship of Russia, and the sailors remained abroad. Some sailors who returned to Russia were arrested and convicted.
Insurrection
The outbreak of the revolution and the unpopular war with Japan made the internal situation in Russia explosive. A wave of revolutionary terror swept across the country. Many sailors of the Black Sea Fleet, after a series of defeats, including the Tsushima catastrophe, feared that the Black Sea Fleet’s ships would send the Pacific Ocean (3-I Pacific Squadron).
The situation in Odessa was tense. In the spring, a “general strike” lasted for more than a month in the city, covering all of Odessa’s enterprises and workshops. The strike paralyzed city life. In Odessa, to strengthen the police introduced the Cossacks. The Jewish community of the city, which constituted almost half of the population of Odessa, frightened by rumors of pogroms, created self-defense units armed with firearms. weapons. In June, workers began armed clashes with police and Cossacks in many places. Provocateurs shot Cossacks and policemen from the windows of the upper floors, they threw bombs. There were killed and wounded. And at this moment the team of the new battleship "Prince Potyomkin-Tavricheskiy" revolted (it came into operation in May 1905).
The psychological situation on the ship was negative. Conditions of service were harsh. The command staff mocked the sailors. It was especially hard for the sailors during their training voyage to the Tendrovsky spit. Before the uprising, dozens of sailors petitioned for cancellation, and a few dozen sailors who were considered unreliable were written off by the ship's commander. It should be noted that the crew "Potemkin", compared with some other ships, was not considered "revolutionary."
12 (25) June 1905, the battleship Potemkin, escorted by the destroyer No. 267, left Sevastopol and arrived the next morning to the Tendrovsky spit, which is located approximately xNUMX nautical miles from Odessa. It was an educational way out. 100 (13) June 26 year battleship commander captain 1905 rank Yevgeny Nikolaevich Golikov sent a destroyer to Odessa to get food. Many shops were closed because of the strike, so they bought what they found. The meat was apparently not fresh. It should be remembered that under the conditions of life in the fleet and the absence of refrigeration chambers, meat with worms at that time was not uncommon and always did without conflicts.
14 (27) June 1905, half of the meat in the morning was used to cook borscht, the remaining carcasses hung for "airing." The sailors felt the smell of spoiled meat and refused to eat borsch. This was reported to the captain. The commander ordered the general assembly to be played and set off for the construction site on such an occasion - on the ship's quarters. The crew of the ship was built on the right and left side. The commander of the ship ordered the senior doctor Smirnov to write a second examination. The doctor recognized the soup as good.
The captain was angry and threatened the sailors with punishment for rebellion. He ordered all those who would eat borscht to move to the 12-inch tower. Those who did not want to conflict, including the group of the most conscious sailors with the Bolsheviks and their leader Grigory Vakulenchuk, failed and said that they agreed to eat borscht. They believed that the rebellion is premature, it must be started on the entire fleet at the same time, and a little later. Following this, they agree to eat borscht and the rest of the crew. The incident seems to be settled.
However, someone needed to be punished. Senior officer I. I. Gilyarovsky ordered the guard to detain the rest. This caused a new indignation of the sailors. The team considered that they wanted to shoot a group of 30 people and stood up for their comrades. There was a cry among the sailors: “Brothers, what are they doing with our comrades? Take rifles and ammunition! Beat them, boors! It’s enough to be slaves! ”Sailors shouting“ Hurray! ”Rushed into the battery room, breaking open pyramids with rifles and boxes of ammunition. A real insurrection began. Part of the team and the officers did not participate in this, taking a passive position and trying to escape.
During the confrontation, particularly hated officers, including captain Golikov, who did not manage to jump overboard, and Gilyarovsky, were killed. The surviving officers were arrested. Under the threat of shelling, a destroyer was captured. By one o'clock everything was completed.
The insurgents were led by quartermaster mine chief Afanasy Matyushenko (Vakulenchuk was mortally wounded during a short bout). What to do next, the sailors did not know, because the rebellion was spontaneous. Since the arrival of the entire fleet was expected at Tendra, the rebels needed to leave immediately. We decided to go to Odessa, where it was possible to replenish stocks. In addition, the team knew that there was excitement in the city. The commander of the ship was chosen ensign D. P. Alekseev. At the same time, the commander and navigator were told that if they ran aground, they would be killed. Alekseev did not sympathize with the rebels, but he did not have the strength of mind to resist them.
Battleship Potemkin and destroyer № 267 arrived to Odessa in the evening. The leaders of the uprising held a meeting. It was decided to associate with representatives of the Odessa Social Democrats, to solve the problem of fuel and provisions, solemnly bury Vakulenchuk. Then the Potemkin team seized transport Emerans loaded with coal and held a meeting with the local Social Democrats. The ship's commission called on the garrison and the townspeople to support the uprising.
By order of the commander of the Odessa Military District, troops blocked the port. In the port itself, the troops were ordered not to enter, as there was a threat of shelling the city. Odessa Social Democrats have proposed landing troops to intensify the uprising in Odessa. However, the ship's commission refused, saving forces in case of a collision with the Black Sea Fleet. The port vessel "Milestone", which had just arrived in Odessa and did not know about the rebellion, was captured by the rebellious sailors. The officers were arrested, but then released into the city.
28-29 June in the port there was a pogrom. The criminal and marginal elements took advantage of the anarchy and began to loot, break the barrels of vodka and wine. The fires began. In the evening, the troops opened fire on those who wanted to leave the port. According to the official data of the then authorities, 123 people were killed and injured during the unrest in the port (in Soviet times, the numbers were clearly exaggerated in the 1200-1500 of the dead). Odessa port suffered heavy losses.
The events on the Black Sea have caused confusion among the authorities. The mutiny of the battleship Potemkin resembled the beginning of a civil war. This flash could cause a continuous revolutionary wave, confusion. Emperor Nicholas II wrote in his diary: “I received a stunning news from Odessa that the team of the battleship Prince Potemkin-Tavrichesky who had come there rebelled, interrupted the officers and seized the ship, threatening unrest in the city. I just can’t believe it! ”The king sent a telegram to the commander of the Odessa Military District:“ Take immediately the most brutal, decisive measures to suppress the uprising both on Potemkin and among the port population. Every hour of delay can turn into blood streams in the future. ” Cabinet Minister Sergei Witte called the incident "fabulous." Grand Duke Konstantin Konstantinovich wrote in his diary: “The horrors, the incredible news from Odessa. This is a complete revolution! ”The Odessa authorities were in complete confusion and prostration.
However, the authorities were afraid of nothing. The rebels had no far-reaching goals. The uprising was spontaneous and did not pose a threat. Most of the team itself was afraid of the consequences of their actions and did not want to aggravate the situation.
29 June Odessa was declared on martial law. On this day, the rebels released all the remaining officers of the ship, leaving only Alekseeva. Two more officers, Lieutenant A. M. Kovalenko and Second Lieutenant P. V. Kolyuzhnov, remained on the rebellious battleship voluntarily. The non-commissioned officers were released and forced to perform their duties under compulsion. During negotiations with the command of the Odessa Military District, an agreement was reached on the funeral of Vakulenchuk. After the funeral, the battleship suddenly gave three single shots in memory of Vakulenchuk and two shots with military shells around the city. Fortunately, there were no casualties.
June 30 held a "silent fight". Battleship Potemkin twice passed through the Black Sea squadron, the ships dispersed without opening fire. At the same time, the battleship of the George the Victorious battleship joined the rebellious battleship. Both rebel battleships came to Odessa. At the St. George the Victorious, the officers were not killed, but landed. The government squadron, due to the unreliability of the squadron teams, returned to the main fleet base in Sevastopol. In Sevastopol, opened a conspiracy on the battleship "Catherine II". The crew was written off, the ringleaders were arrested. In general, the situation in the Black Sea Fleet was difficult. The personnel was demoralized, the ships lost their combat capability. For the destroyers, who were to sink the battleship, recruited crews of volunteer officers. England even offered to enter their ships in the Black Sea and sink rebellious battleship.
Meanwhile, the crew of “George” changed his mind and surrendered to the authorities of Odessa. On the "Potemkin" panic began. Some demanded to follow the example of the “George the Victorious” team, others - to open fire on the “traitor”, but the majority were for flight. In the evening, the battleship Potemkin, accompanied by the destroyer No. 267 and the port vessel Vekha, left the Odessa raid. The team decided to follow to Romania. At night, Milestone fell behind the battleship and surrendered.
In the evening of July 2, Potemkin, hoping to replenish the running out of food and fuel, arrived at the Romanian port of Constanza. On July 3, the Romanian authorities offered the rebels to surrender on the terms of military deserters, which freed them from being extradited to Russia and guaranteed personal freedom. The Romanians refused to provide fuel and food. Then the rebels decided to return to Russia.
During the week, "Potemkin" plowing the Black Sea, causing distemper. He once again terrifies in Feodosia, and then, when coal ends, goes to Romania. The rebels reported that they accept the conditions proposed by the Romanian authorities, 3 July 1905 of the year. 8 July ship surrendered. The sailors became emigrants. Destroyer team number 267, freed from the supervision of the battleship, returned to Sevastopol. Already July 9 Romania returned the Potemkin to Russia. After the uprising, the battleship was renamed Panteleimon.
As a result, a spontaneous rebellion on one of the Black Sea Fleet ships, albeit the most powerful, shook the whole empire and dropped its international prestige. The naval command showed complete incompetence. It was not for nothing that Emperor Nicholas II, who was watching the fruitless attempts to find and neutralize a rebellious ship, left in his diary of 6 July 1905, the following entry: “God grant that this heavy and shameful story rather ended. "
Battleship Potemkin. Landing team in the port of Constanta
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