Today Russia celebrates Navy Day. The foundations of this holiday were laid more than three centuries ago – after the victory in the Battle of Gangut, Peter I ordered to celebrate the anniversary of Victoria with naval parades and fireworks. The Battle of Gangut took place on July 27 (August 7), 1714. In this battle, Russian sailors won a convincing victory over the Swedish fleet. At the beginning of the 18th century, one newspaper was published in Russia – Vedomosti. It published military news, domestic and foreign chronicles. After the victories of Russian weapons, the newspaper published reports, the author of which was often Peter the Great himself. The spelling, style and manner of presentation 300 years ago were very different from modern reports. For example, after Gangut, “Vedomosti” wrote: “On the 27th day in the morning, our lord admiral, with the entire future fleet with him, went from midnight, and the same morning approached the enemy and gave a decree to the provovatsky through him without raking around, that with the help of God and done. And so harmless that only one scampaway ran aground, which the enemy took. And all the rest, both ships and people, passed through without harm, although from all over the fleet they shot at our people beyond measure, from which the shooting actually knocked off one captain’s leg… It is truly impossible to describe the courage of ours, both the commanders and the rank and file.”
(“Vedomosti”, August 21, 1714) 
The Battle of Gangut is considered the first great victory of the Russian fleet. After this, ships flying the St. Andrew’s flag repeatedly defeated the enemies of Russia. Chesme, Athos, Sinop battles and dozens of other battles ended in victory for Russian weapons. Often sailors had to fight on land. During the Crimean War, the sailor Pyotr Koshka became famous throughout Russia for his bravery, and in 1941, the Red Navy heroically defended Leningrad, Sevastopol, Odessa and other cities. During the Great Patriotic War, Soviet sailors actively operated on the enemy’s communication routes in the Baltic and Black Seas and provided Lend-Lease supplies from Great Britain and the USA. On August 8, 1941, a detachment of bombers from the Baltic Fleet made the first raid on Berlin during the Great Patriotic War. Today, Russian sailors continue to fulfill their duty with honor and preserve the traditions that were established by Peter I. We congratulate everyone associated with naval service on Navy Day!
“ВЧК ОГПУ”
