Throughout its history, the Russian Empire sought to gain access to the B altic Sea and because of this, more than once went to war with neighboring states. The 18th century was no exception.
Northern War
From the beginning of the 18th century, the Russian Empire was at war with Sweden (date of the Northern War: 1700-22-02 - 1721-10-09). On the eve of the end of the war, after the first grandiose naval victory of Russia in the battle of Gangut, the British stepped up their forces and directed their diplomacy towards rapprochement with the Swedes. The British naval alliance with Sweden was a response to the noticeably increased Russian fleet.
Participants in the war
In the Northern War, Russia entered into a coalition with the Commonwe alth, Denmark and Saxony against Sweden (in the north) and the Ottoman Empire (in the south), which England joined with its fleet during the war. The Russian commander-in-chief was Peter the Great, the generals who led the battles in all directions were Golitsyn, Sheremetev and Apraksin. On the part of the allies - August II, George I and Friedrich Wilhelm. They were opposed by the Swedish King Charles XII and the Ottoman Sultan Ahmed III.
AmbiguousHistorians give an assessment of participation in the Northern War to the Ukrainian Cossacks, since at first the Cossacks, led by Ivan Mazepa, took the side of Peter the Great, and after Charles XII promised to liberate the Ukrainian lands, they went over to the side of the Swedes.
First victories at sea
In the summer of 1714, the Russian fleet at the head of the vanguard, which was under the command of Peter the Great himself, defeated the Swedish fleet at Cape Gangut. The Russian command took advantage of the moment when the Swedes were forced to divide their fleet in two directions. As a result, Russian forces blocked the ships of the Swedish Rear Admiral Ehrenskiöld. They refused to surrender, and Peter ordered the attack.
The victory at Gangut dispelled the myth of the invincibility of the Swedes and marked the beginning of a series of successful military battles. July 27, 1714 - the date of the Northern War, which determined its further course and allowed to strengthen positions in Finland.
Fixing results
Six years later, the Russian fleet managed to repeat its brilliant naval maneuver of 1714. At the end of July 1720, according to the order of Peter the Great, the commander of the Russian fleet, General Golitsyn, put forward ships against the Swedish Vice Admiral Sheblat, who commanded the squadron. The Russian rowing fleet, assembled in the Gulf of Bothnia, consisted of more than 50 galleys and a little more than a dozen boats. In general, Russian ships were equipped with fifty-two guns and eleven thousand armed soldiers, ready to fight both on the water andand on land.
Despite the numerical superiority of the Swedish ships (but there were only about a thousand landing troops), General Golitsyn took a favorable location in the impassable Flisesund Strait. The Russian fleet is located in a semicircle, ready to meet enemy ships. A little earlier, a Russian detachment was released into the open sea as a bait. The Swedes rushed after the detachment and were ambushed. Two frigates participating in the chase ran aground, while blocking the further movement of two more frigates and a Swedish ship of the line. Russian rowing galleys were much more maneuverable and easily passed shallow water, determining the further alignment of forces at the moment when the naval battle took place off Grengam Island.
During the battle, Russian paratroopers boarded four frigates at once. Such an active and unexpected offensive turned the Swedish fleet into flight. According to general estimates, the losses of the Swedes amounted to more than a hundred killed, four hundred soldiers were captured. At the same time, the battle near Grengam Island claimed 82 lives among Russian soldiers, and two hundred people were captured by the Swedish.
Results of the Northern War and the signing of the Treaty of Nystadt
July 27, 1720, the Russian-Swedish naval battle near Grengam Island went down in military history as a battle that hastened the conclusion of the Treaty of Nishtad, which ended the Northern War. The concluded peace treaty ended the long Northern War with a positive result for the Russian Empire and a negative one for Sweden.
According to the agreement, Russia was transferred to the "eternalpossession "part of Karelia, the sea coast from Vyborg to Riga, that is, the entire Gulf of Finland, and the country received the coveted access to the B altic Sea. Sweden, Russia was supposed to return Finland and pay the state debt in the amount of two million rubles. After the conclusion of the Treaty of Nystadt in 1721, Sweden lost its former power. In 1723, Sweden moved closer to Russia in the hope of regaining the B altic coast, sacrificing an alliance with England.
In Russia, the conclusion of peace was marked by the release of a commemorative medal and rich feasts. The battle near Grengam Island brought the power of the Russian army and navy to a new level, and the participants in the battle were awarded gold and silver awards. The Treaty of Nystadt guaranteed a mutual amnesty to everyone, except for the Cossacks who betrayed Peter and went over to the side of Charles. The question of religion was even raised, since freedom of religion was introduced in the former territories of Sweden that had passed to Russia.
