Kursk is a nuclear submarine that sank on August 12, 2000. It was the most modern submarine of the Russian Navy. Huge, the length of a football stadium, the height of a 7-story building, it is equipped with missiles, each of which is 40 times more powerful than the Hiroshima bomb.

Kursk, at a shallow depth for submarines of this type that conduct combat exercises, sank so shallow that it can be seen from the surface.

To understand well, you need to imagine Kursk in a vertical position, its rear part would protrude 50 meters above sea level, and the escape hatch would be above the water.

Despite all this, the Russian Navy officially states that it will take 30 hours to find Kursk.

Only 2 days later, on Monday evening, the incident was announced on television: On Sunday, August 13, Kursk sank with its entire crew. The fax sent to the media, signed by the Navy press service, begins with a lie: “Kursk went down on Sunday the 13th, technical problems occurred, nuclear weapons not on board."

Admiral Georgy Kostev: Nuclear boats don’t land on the ground, it must be something serious, and all submariners know this.

Norwegian and English divers opened the hatch in 25 minutes! While the Russians claimed that this was impossible. They note with their camera that Kursk is completely flooded with water. And all the submariners are dead. Unfortunately, by the time it became possible to use the LR-5, it was already too late.

Notes were found there, two of them were a note from Kolesnikov and a note from Sadilenko. From these notes it was known that after the explosion, the submariners in compartments 7 and 8 remained alive there for some time (2.5 days); the note said: we were killed. Only part of that note was shown to the media. Other pages are classified.

Journalists of the newspaper “Life” managed to obtain information from forensic expert Igor Gryaznov. He claims that another note was found in Dmitry Kolesnikov’s pockets, written 3 days after the accident. It was written for commanders-in-chief and contains information about the death of Kursk. The forensic expert claimed that Vice Admiral Motsak insistently asked to remain silent about this. The contents of this letter will never be published. These discoveries once again confirm that the authorities deliberately left the Kursk crew to die.

All the bodies of the sailors were recovered from Kursk and opened. Ustinov wants to minimize the responsibility of Putin, who did not take any action to save the sailors. Ustinov claims that the explosion and fire on board killed most of the crew. But out of 118 sailors, only 3 bodies that were in the torpedo compartment could not be identified, proving that only they died instantly.

The other day it was 18 years since the death of the nuclear-powered icebreaker "Kursk". The events of that tragedy are still discussed today. And not only in Russia.

...Mid-August, 2000. The whole country froze, glued to the television screens. Something out of the ordinary is happening in the Barents Sea... They are talking about our Antey-class superboat, which, for reasons that are not yet clear, “sank to the ground.” The crew is alive. They are knocking on the bulkheads, the announcer reports. Then a message flashes across Interfax channels: according to Russian intelligence services, a voluminous underwater object weighing up to 9 thousand tons and displacement is drifting in the Barents Sea towards the Norwegian border. Next comes another interesting message: CIA Director George Tennett is arriving in Moscow on a blitz visit.

After some time in " Russian newspaper“A fax arrives from the USA (apparently from fellow journalists) with a mysterious text: “Look for a boat with characteristic damage at the British Navy base in Scotland.” The fact of receiving such a telegram from overseas is confirmed by RG journalist (1997–2003) Elena Vasilkova.

The superboat from the Antey group is the nuclear submarine Kursk, the crew of which - 118 young, healthy and strong men - died on August 13, 2000. Why did this happen? “Arguments of the Week” offers a version of the events of that August as presented by French journalists.

Cinema in State Duma

JUNE 2007. State Duma deputies are preparing to leave for summer holidays, but in the spacious corridors of the building on Okhotny Ryad you don’t feel the onset of the holidays: the people’s representatives are excitedly discussing something in muffled voices. “It can’t be...”, “I don’t believe it,” “These are the tricks of the French secret services.” One of the State Duma deputies, a very famous person in our country (“Arguments of the Week,” he reads constantly and has great respect for our publication), carefully asks:

– Do you want to watch a thriller about the sinking of the Kursk submarine?

- Artistic?

- No, it's a documentary. This footage was filmed by the French intelligence services during the rescue operation of our nuclear submarine. They hung around there all the time along with the Americans and Norwegians. Then these shots fell into the hands of French journalists. On the French channel France-2, the film by Jean-Michel Carré was shown only once. And it was called “Kursk”: a submarine in troubled waters.”

Help "AN"

The nuclear submarine "Kursk" is a nuclear submarine of project 949A "Antey" (according to NATO classification - "Oscar-2"). Such nuclear-powered ships have a length of 154 m, a displacement of up to 18 thousand tons, a diving depth of up to 500 m, an underwater speed of up to 28 knots (approximately 52 km/h), a crew of 130 people. The Anteevs are armed with 24 launchers of the Granit cruise missile complex (each of which is 40 times more powerful than the bomb dropped over Hiroshima).

So I watched a movie in the State Duma. 73 minutes of horror returning to those days of August 2000.

According to the French version, we were still on the brink of World War III. And only the restraint of the Russian leadership did not allow events to take an irreversible course. That’s what the French documentary “Kursk” tells about this, in any case: a submarine in troubled waters.”

Bell ringing

LET'S RETURN TO 2000. May. 11th. The Military News Agency reports: “In August of this year. The Northern Fleet will host exercises for the fleet's emergency search forces to assist a “sunken” nuclear submarine. The exercise plan has already been prepared and approved by the Navy Search and Rescue Directorate. As a result of the “accident,” the submarine should lie on the ground, and the rescue ship “Mikhail Rudnitsky” will provide access to the surface of the “injured crew.” People will be lifted from depths of over 100 m using a special rescue “bell”.

The rescuer “Mikhail Rudnitsky” really came to the aid of the nuclear submarine, but the scenario of this rescue turned out to be somewhat different... The same “flooded” one nuclear boat according to the script, it was supposed to be “Kursk”. And he became one. But the nuclear submarine actually sank. Evil fate?

Edmond Pope and the crazy cigar

FIRST frames of the French film: high-ranking Chinese military specialists are present at maneuvers in the Barents Sea. They should see the test launch of the new (crazy - as they call it) Shkval torpedo, capable of moving underwater at a speed of 500 km per hour. No one in the world has such a weapon. This torpedo seems to have been “born in a shirt”: it develops its speed in a gas shell. The weight of the torpedo is 2 tons. China, as the French emphasize, has already bought Shkval, but the Russians are offering an improved “model.”

The Americans strongly dislike these maneuvers and especially the “Chinese views”: they do not want Beijing to receive this crazy “cigar” from the Kremlin. And here French documentary filmmakers recall the story of the arrest in Moscow of the American businessman Edmond Pope, one of former employees US Navy Secret Service.

Pope is known to have discussed details of the design of the Shkval torpedo with its inventor, Anatoly Babkin. But on his 27th visit to Russia in April 2000, the agent was arrested right in the hotel. He was sentenced to 20 years in a maximum security colony. There was a lot of talk about this case, and soon after the death of the Kursk, Pope was sent home due to his skin cancer. By the way, he is still alive.

Depleted uranium tipped torpedo

WHILE our naval vessels were preparing for maneuvers, two American submarines, the Memphis and the Toledo, happened to be nearby. 11 o'clock 28 minutes. "Kursk" must fire a torpedo salvo. The boat floats to periscope depth. At this moment, the American submarine loses hydroacoustic contact with the target due to a sharp change in the depth of the Kursk and also floats to the surface. According to French documentary filmmakers, it was the Toledo submarine of the Los Angeles class. The Kursk commander Lyachin gives the command to circulate along a course to the right and left...

The boats were steadily approaching. And at some point, the Toledo’s stern stabilizer touched the Kursk’s bow. Then the steel wing ripped open the outer skin of the Russian submarine and crushed the side torpedo tube with the K-84 missile torpedo. Video footage shows long tears in the hull. What's next? According to the French version, in order to prevent a possible attack by the Kursk against the Toledo (it is assumed that the Americans seemed to have heard the opening of the plug of the Kursk torpedo tube), the Memphis also fires the latest MK-48 torpedo at the Kursk.

The American MK-48 torpedo has a metal tip made of so-called depleted uranium, which allows it to easily pierce any metal. The torpedo also carries many incendiary particles. This is precisely what can explain the severe fire in the bow compartments of the Kursk. Proof of the attack is a perfectly round hole with the metal of the hull of our submarine bent inward: in the film it is perfectly visible.

In the first minutes of the tragedy, 94 sailors immediately died. The boat began to fall to the ground. Upon impact, turbines moved from their foundations, steam lines burst, and electrical equipment caught fire. A second explosion occurred, 100 times more powerful than the first. This is what was recorded by Norwegian seismological stations. The boat sank to a depth of 108 meters. Two nuclear reactor stopped.

Later, in the second compartment, the rear cover of the torpedo tube will be found, knocked out by an explosion of such force that it was welded to the strong inter-compartment bulkhead.

"Memphis" also received damage in the bow. But I was able to leave. At low speed he moved to the Norwegian port of Bergen. From there he went to the British Isles and embarked on a three-week repair at Faslane (a British naval base in Scotland). Then I went home and walked halfway. But there was a big uproar in the US Congress: congressmen demanded an investigation, and Memphis was again sent to Britain.

Confessions of a Norwegian admiral

“SOME circumstances of the tragedy became known after the dismissal of the Norwegian admiral, commander of the northern group of Norwegian forces, Einar Skorgen,” say French documentarians.

The stubborn admiral did not agree with the leadership of NATO, or rather, with the command of the US Navy, and back in August 2000 he allowed himself unambiguous hints about the involvement of the Americans in the disaster in the Barents Sea.

On August 17, 2000, Skorgen had to scramble planes coast guard the Norwegian navy, because, according to the message received, 6 Russian aircraft invaded Norwegian airspace. Admiral Skorgen was very surprised, because... Russian pilots had never visited this area before. Einar Skorgen urgently contacted the Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Navy, Admiral Vladimir Kuroyedov, by telephone. He explained that the Russian pilots got carried away trying to track down an unknown submarine that was leaving Barents Sea. After a telephone conversation between the two admirals, the incident was resolved.

According to Skorgen, by that time he had already heard that the Kursk had been lost in a collision with an American submarine. At first, the gray-haired admiral was sure that this was “propaganda.” However, after the incident with the planes, Einar Skorgen changed his mind. He noted that the American submarine Memphis actually visited the Norwegian port of Bergen on August 19, where Norwegian journalists were able to photograph it. But the Norwegian military claimed that no repair work was carried out on the submarine. However, Admiral Skorgen believes, indirect evidence that something was wrong with the Memphis could be a secret order from the American command: to deliver 12 wives of American submarine crew officers to Norway from the United States. On the Memphis, 12 submariners were killed during a collision with the Kursk.

Later, the ship “Peter the Great”, not far from the scene of the tragedy in the Barents Sea, discovered a white and green emergency buoy (this is the NATO coloring, we have white and red buoys. - “AN”). This emergency buoy - as has already been clarified - belonged to the American submarine Memphis.

The Toledo, which was heavily damaged, hid after the collision. The bow of the boat was smashed, and the propeller and steering group were partially destroyed. Within two days the crew managed to cope with the consequences of the collision. And on August 15, 2000, under the cover of two NATO Orions, the crew was able to take the boat to depth. "Toledo" was sent to one of the US docks.

“The collision occurred on a collision course,” explain the filmmakers. – The Russian nuclear-powered submarine turned out to be lower than the foreign submarine, which struck the Kursk with its keel sheet. As a result of the collision, the Russian submarine's wheelhouse fences were demolished and elements providing access to the pop-up rescue chamber were damaged. An explosion on board the Kursk submarine led to the formation of a large hole measuring about one and a half square meters in the left side of its bow compartment.

DIRECT SPEECH

Admiral Eduard Baltin, Hero Soviet Union, nuclear submariner:

– I will not say anything about the death of the Kursk submarine. I have my personal, professional opinion. But I don't believe there was a collision with an American submarine. There is no authenticity. Doubtful. Very doubtful. As for the film. Have money. There is a director. Rental available. Need fried facts. And the film works!

Hero of the Soviet Union, Admiral Vladimir Chernavin (today – president of the Union of Submariners of the Russian Navy):

– In those days, I did not give a single interview about the death of the Kursk submarine. And I want to keep my alibi. I have not seen the film, but you must admit, all this is just speculation. There is no evidence! There is an official version.

Hydrogen peroxide torpedo

The Prosecutor General of Russia, Vladimir Ustinov (now former), was entrusted with conducting an investigation into the sinking of the Kursk nuclear submarine. But Ustinov, having not yet begun the investigation, is already reporting that the cause of the death of the Kursk nuclear submarine was the explosion of an old hydrogen peroxide training torpedo. However, hydrogen peroxide torpedoes have not been used in all fleets of the world for more than 30 years, and the Kursk is an ultra-modern boat! V. Ustinov will finish his investigation in 1 year and 10 months: it will fit on 2000 pages, but the Prosecutor General of Russia will make the same conclusion: the Kursk was destroyed by an old torpedo.” But a commission led by Deputy Prime Minister Ilya Klebanov in the first days after the sinking of the submarine named three possible versions of the disaster: a collision with an underwater object; explosion of a drifting wartime mine; an emergency situation in the first compartment of the nuclear-powered ship. The old hydrogen peroxide torpedo did not even pass through the versions of the Klebanov Commission.

In 2005, they celebrated 5 years since the sinking of the submarine. In one of his interviews, the former commander of the Northern Fleet, Admiral Vyacheslav Popov, when asked by a correspondent about the sinking of the Kursk nuclear submarine, suddenly said: “I know the truth about the Kursk, but the time has not yet come to tell it.”

Note from Captain-Lieutenant Kolesnikov

The commander of the turbine group of the nuclear submarine Kursk, 26-year-old captain-lieutenant Dmitry Kolesnikov, did not take the “MORTHAL token U-865568” on that trip. Now this badge is worn by his widow, Olga Kolesnikova. Was this a bad omen? Dmitry Kolesnikov was the first to be lifted from the sunken submarine. In the breast pocket of his jacket they found a burnt piece of paper from a notebook: “Olya, I love you, don’t worry too much...” And further: “It’s dark to write here, but I’ll try by touch. Here on the list are the personnel of the compartments who are in the 8th and 9th and will try to leave. Hi all. There is no need to despair. Kolesnikov." On the back - detailed list sailors indicating combat numbers, with notes on the roll call. The captain of the Kursk submarine, Gennady Lyachin, died in the first seconds of the disaster: his first compartment was demolished as if by a guillotine. All that was left of the captain was his jacket and little finger...

And only 400 days later the relatives received the bodies of the dead sailors.

Six of the 24 Granit missiles with nuclear warheads were damaged. They were sent to the Nerpa plant in Olenya Bay (Kola Peninsula) for disposal. The Kursk nuclear submarine was lifted from the bottom of the Barents Sea without the first compartment. The relatives of the dead sailors were explained that there were explosives there, so lifting this compartment to the surface was dangerous. The compartment remained at the scene of the accident.

And then the nuclear submarine “Kursk” was taken to the island, cut up, sawn and melted.

There was a ship - and no longer...

Of course, in retelling the French version of those tragic events, we did not pursue the goal of casting doubt on the conclusions of the Prosecutor General’s Office about the true reason for the loss of the Kursk. But the mysterious death of the super-submarine belongs to that category of maritime mysteries that excite the imagination even after many years. Such, for example, was the death of the Titanic. What attracted us to the French version is that, if hypothetically everything happened like this, it becomes clear what happened next. In any case, a noticeable warming of relations with the United States has begun. All this could be considered as moral compensation to our leadership for their restraint. Just imagine what would have followed when the Toledo and Memphis were attacked and sunk by the Russian Navy? Actually, this would already be a war.

And one last thing. Today such a case is difficult to imagine. The army and navy are again becoming the main support of the state. And at the last maneuvers in the North Sea there were few curious people who risked being near our ships. There is such a law - an eye for an eye. Nobody canceled it.

HELP "AN"

IN THE HISTORY of the Soviet and Russian Navy there were more than two dozen collisions between submarines and foreign submarines.

Collisions in the Northern Fleet:

1. 1968. Nuclear submarine “K-131” with an unidentified US Navy nuclear submarine.

2. 1969 nuclear submarine “K-19” with the US Navy nuclear submarine Gateau;

3. 1970 nuclear submarine “K-69” with an unidentified US Navy nuclear submarine;

4. 1981 nuclear submarine “K-211” with an unidentified US Navy nuclear submarine;

5 1983 K-449 nuclear submarine with an unidentified US Navy nuclear submarine;

6. 1986 nuclear submarine “TK-12” with the nuclear submarine “Splendid” of the British Navy;

7. 1992 The nuclear submarine “K-276” in our territorial waters with the nuclear submarine “Baton Rouge” of the US Navy;

8. 1993. The nuclear submarine "Borisoglebsk" with the nuclear submarine "Grayling" of the US Navy.

On the Pacific Ocean:

1. 1970 at the combat training site near Kamchatka, nuclear submarine "K-108" and nuclear submarine "Totog" of the US Navy;

2. 1974, in the same area, the nuclear submarine “K-408” with the nuclear submarine “Pintado” of the US Navy;

3. 1981 in Peter the Great Bay nuclear submarine "K-324" with an unidentified US Navy nuclear submarine.

The list goes on.

Today is the anniversary of the tragedy on the Kursk submarine. Let us recall that on August 12, 2000, as a result of a disaster that occurred during exercises in the Barents Sea, the K-141 Kursk nuclear submarine sank at a depth of 108 m.

Under the cut suicide note from the Kursk submarine, written by Captain Dmitry Kolesnikov.

During the inspection of the submarine, only one body was identified - Dmitry Kolesnikov. Two notes were found on him. One was to his wife, a fragment of the text of which was nevertheless made public, the other, addressed to the command, was classified. It was in the second note that Kolesnikov outlined real reasons sinking of the nuclear submarine Kursk on August 12, 2000.

"15:45. It's dark to write here, but I'll try by touch... There seems to be no chance. 10-20 percent. Let's hope that at least someone will read. Here are the lists personnel compartments, some are in the ninth and will try to get out. Hello everyone, there is no need to despair.

The events will take place in several cities. Mourning the event will take place In Petersburg. At the Serafimovskoye cemetery, where 32 sailors out of 118 are buried, including the crew commander, captain of the first rank Gennady Lyachin.
A memorial service for the crew members of Kursk will be held in one of the city churches, where there is a copy of the icon painted in memory of the dead submariners. The submarine Kursk sank on August 12, 2000 during an exercise. All 118 sailors on board were killed. The cause of the crash was said to be an accidental explosion of ammunition on board the nuclear-powered ship.

Series:
Language:
Publisher:
City of publication: Moscow
The year of publishing:
ISBN: 978-5-699-59670-6 Size: 29 MB



Copyright holders!

The presented fragment of the work is posted in agreement with the distributor of legal content, LitRes LLC (no more than 20% of the original text). If you believe that posting material violates someone else's rights, then.

Readers!

You paid, but don’t know what to do next?



Attention! You are downloading an excerpt permitted by law and the copyright holder (no more than 20% of the text).
After reviewing, you will be asked to go to the copyright holder’s website and purchase full version works.


Description of the book

In the galaxy Russian sailors Vasily Mikhailovich Golovnin (1776–1831) occupies a special place. Vice Admiral, Corresponding Member of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences, he made a significant contribution to all areas of naval affairs, did a lot for the organization and construction Russian fleet, received well-deserved fame as a talented scientist and writer, trained a whole galaxy of brave Russian navigators: F. P. Litke, F. P. Wrangel, F. F. Matyushkin and others. A cape on the southwestern coast of North America – the former “Russian America”, and a mountain on the island are named after Golovnin New Earth, strait in the ridge Kuril Islands, bay in the Bering Sea.

Always despite circumstances and fate - this was the life of V. M. Golovnin.

A native of the land-based Ryazan province, he never thought of becoming a sailor, but ended up in Marine Corps. Without any “outside” support, he went through all the steps of the career ladder: from midshipman to vice admiral. He did not intend to stay in a foreign land for long, but fate decreed otherwise - he and his comrades had to pay for the unreasonable actions of others.

The round-the-world expedition on the sloop "Diana", commanded by Golovnin, had the most peaceful intentions. But twice Russian sailors were captured. First - in the British South Africa: entering a foreign port, the captain of the Diana simply did not know that a war had broken out between Russia and Britain. For a whole year the Russian ship was not allowed to leave the port, and then Vasily Mikhailovich decided to flee, right from under the nose of a large enemy squadron. And then - two years of unexpected forced stay in Japan. But Golovnin again managed to overcome the circumstances: he returned from Japanese captivity, which no one had managed before.

Golovnin did not look for dangers - they found him themselves. He didn’t curry favor, but he did a lot for the Russian fleet. I didn’t intend to “discover” Japan, but I used the opportunity to thoroughly study the country of my forced stay. He did not strive for literary fame - but it did not pass him by. Golovnin refuted the statement of Ivan Fedorovich Kruzenshtern himself, who liked to repeat: “Sailors write poorly, but sincerely.” “Notes from Captivity of the Japanese” by Golovnin was written as a sailor should write: sincerely and honestly – and at the same time with talent. Unique material about the then unknown country of Japan and its people plus a brilliant literary style - it is not surprising that Golovnin’s book immediately became a bestseller, received a lot of rave reviews and was translated into many European languages.

Vasily Mikhailovich Golovnin never followed the lead of fate. Navigator and shipbuilder, scientist and naval theorist, linguist and ethnographer, writer and philosopher, statesman and public figure– it seems that his talents are limitless!

And circumstances... obeying them is the lot of the weak. To subjugate them is a privilege given to strong and extraordinary individuals, including the great Russian navigator Vasily Mikhailovich Golovnin.

The electronic publication includes all the texts of the paper book by V. M. Golovnin and basic illustrative material. But for true connoisseurs of exclusive publications, we offer a gift classic book. Beautiful offset paper, dozens of color and more than 300 old black and white paintings and drawings not only decorate the book - they allow the reader to literally look into the past, to see distant lands in ancient times as the participants of that amazing expedition saw them. This edition, like all books in the Great Journeys series, is printed on beautiful offset paper and elegantly designed. Editions of the series will adorn any, even the most sophisticated library, and will be a wonderful gift for both young readers and discerning bibliophiles.

 Last impression of the book
  • MiraSirius:
  • 10-01-2019, 15:56

Most recently, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe vowed to put an end to negotiations with Russia over the Kuril Islands. It is believed that the problem of ownership of the southern Kuril Islands has been going on since the end of the Second World War.

It probably all started much earlier...

The collection "Notes of a Fleet Captain" includes introductory article Khoroshevsky, “Notes about adventures in captivity of the Japanese” (1811-1813), “Abridged notes of the fleet of captain-lieutenant (now captain of the first rank) Golovnin about his sailing on the sloop “Diana” for the inventory of the Kuril Islands in 1811” and notes Fleet Captain Ricord about his voyage to the Japanese shores in 1812 and 1813, and about communication with the Japanese.

In 1811 at V.M. Golovnin was entrusted with describing the Kuril and Shantar Islands and the shore of the Tatar Strait.

After the Christian uprising in Shimabara, a policy of self-isolation from the outside world was introduced in Japan and was carried out by the shoguns of the Tokugawa clan for two centuries, from 1641 to 1853 (sakoku policy). The exceptions were the Dutch and Chinese, who were allowed to trade through the port of Nagasaki. While working off the island of Kunashir, Golovnin was accused by the Japanese of violating the principles of sakoku and was captured by the Japanese along with midshipman Moore, navigator's assistant Khlebnikov and four sailors, where he spent more than two years. In his notes, Golovnin talks in detail about his time in captivity, about the customs, morals, culture, traditions and rituals of the Japanese. Golovnin shows a very ambivalent attitude towards the Japanese. On the one hand, he writes about the kindness of this people. At the same time, the description of actions shows cunning and deceit, ranging from the capture of prisoners to false promises of liberation. It’s similar in the description of midshipman Moore. His cowardice and betrayal are shown throughout the book. But in the lines about Golovnin’s personal attitude to the midshipman’s actions, one can read justification and understanding. Perhaps this is my personal interpretation of what I read, but throughout the story there is ambiguity between the lines. It can be interpreted one way or another. The Japanese, at their core, are a unique people with unusual and original traditions that determine the behavior of the Japanese. Traditionally, they often prioritize quick and easy resolution of the issue. When Ricord turned to the Japanese with a request that they write their answers to his papers in simple language, and not the tall one, whose reading is unknown to the translator Kiselev, the Japanese responded as follows:

Regarding Rikord’s request to respond to his papers in simple language, they noted that such notes could only be signed by people of low status. If the answer must contain something important, then the bosses must sign it, but not a single Japanese official can, according to their law, sign any official paper written in simple language, which is why it is impossible to satisfy Ricord’s desire.

I would like to highlight human qualities Ricorda. This is a Man who evokes respect and admiration, thanks to him the prisoners returned to their homeland. This was the first time he was released from Japanese captivity. Understanding Japanese laws and the actual impossibility of liberation, he persistently and consistently achieved his goal through faith and perseverance, charisma and charm, education and intuition. He has a sense of duty and honor. Mediation is now in fashion as a way to resolve conflict, but what kind of ingenious skills should a person have in order to turn a Japanese from an enemy into an associate without knowing the Japanese language and having a huge number of cultural obstacles?

It should be noted that the book is very easy to read, despite the archaic style.

DP-2019, Team "Four Cheeses". 1 point

Collapse

⬇ Other comments

A. Khoroshevsky. Introductory article

G tins are an ancient genus. Not the Rurikovichs, of course, but family tree a century and a half is also a lot. The first of the surnames in historical documents was listed as “service man” Ignatius Golovnin. For special military merits he was granted a coat of arms and patrimony. However, the ancient is ancient, but impoverished and, as they say, without pretensions. They “made themselves nobility” on the sly in Gulynki, an old village in the Ryazan province. Here the first-born son of Mikhail Vasilyevich and Alexandra Ivanovna (nee Verderevskaya) appeared on April 8 (19), 1776, who was named Vasily.

For such small-scale noble offspring as Vasya Golovnin, their fate was written almost before birth. Grandfather and father served in the Preobrazhensky Guards Regiment, and Vasily was also registered as a sergeant there at the age of six. Further, as Mikhail Vasilyevich saw it, according to the established rules: the son needs to go through the ranks, rise to the rank of major, receive honorable retirement and settle in his native Gulynki.



Did not work out. His father and mother died early, and his relatives and guardians decided that the orphan (whose opinion had not been asked for many years) would go to sea. The reason was simple: the guard demanded money. Vasily did not have them, but his relatives did not want to spend money on undergrowth. In the Naval Cadet Corps, where the young man was assigned in 1788, everything was simpler.

The corps, founded in 1752 and transferred from St. Petersburg to Kronstadt in 1771, knew better times. The premises where the cadets lived and studied were dilapidated, the supplies, which were already poor, were aggravated by the traditional Russian “stealing”. The law of conservation of energy and supply from the state treasury worked here one hundred percent: if it arrives somewhere, then somewhere it necessarily decreases. It arrived in the pockets of the captains and, let’s be honest, the higher authorities, but it went out in the stomachs of the cadets, who, in order to provide themselves with food, often had to “use the services” of neighboring vegetable gardens.

Nevertheless, the Naval Cadet Corps regularly fulfilled its task - it regularly produced batches of midshipmen, many of whom glorified Russia in all corners of the world and ocean. Vasily Golovnin also learned. And he immediately went to war. On the one hand, here it is, the life of a naval sailor: a handsome battleship, a formidable but fair and all-knowing commander, “the smoke of formidable battles.” On the other hand... This, in fact, was the most real war, and they could very well actually kill on it. Cannonballs and bullets - they can’t tell who is in front of them: an old sea wolf, for whom death in battle is more honorable and sweeter than in bed from infirmities and illnesses, or a fourteen-year-old midshipman who has not yet truly seen life.

Relatives fought. Statesmen and historians probably knew well that the cousins, the Swedish king Gustav III and Russian empress Catherine II, but a 66-gun midshipman battleship Her Majesty's fleet "Don't touch me" Vasily Golovnin was not supposed to talk about this.

Immediately after entering the corps, Golovnin began keeping a “Notebook” - a remarkable document in which he meticulously recorded all the events that happened to him during his service from 1788 to 1817. Regarding his time in the war with the Swedes, Vasily is extremely laconic: “Participated in a threefold battle,” referring to two battles at Krasnaya Gorka on May 23 and 24, 1790, which ended without a clear advantage on either side, and the Battle of Vyborg on June 22, in which the Russian fleet was victorious. Already from his youth, Golovnin’s character is evident - modest, without flaunting his merits and talents. After all, he not only participated, but received a military medal. And this means that he did not sit in the hold, he proved himself, despite his “land” origin, as a real sailor.


* * *

Vasily was supposed to complete his studies at the Naval Corps in 1792. At the final exams, he was the second in the number of points scored among the entire graduating class. But his comrades became midshipmen, and he was made a “repeater.” The reason is the young age of midshipman Golovnin: he was not yet seventeen. Here it is, justice: you’re welcome to go to war at fourteen, but releasing a capable student and allowing him to put on a midshipman’s uniform is still too young.

And again Vasily showed a strong character beyond his years. A sailor, of course, is not supposed to cry, but it was offensive to the point of tears. However, he didn’t give up, he survived and, since this happened, he persistently continued to study further. This extra year gave Golovnin almost more than the previous four. He took up physics, literature, and the English language - which at that time was inferior in “fashionability” to French, but, as it turned out, was very useful in his future service. And then, in Last year in the building, devouring books about distant travels one after another, Vasily became passionate about travel.

In January 1793, the long-awaited promotion of Golovnin to midshipman finally took place. On the estate, in Gulynki, things were not going well; he should have taken care of the housekeeping, but Vasily prefers the duties of a landowner sea ​​voyages. He obtained an assignment on the transport on which the Russian embassy was heading to Stockholm, now friendly. In 1795–1796 served on the ships "Raphael" and "Pimen", as part of the squadron of Vice Admiral P.I. Khanykov, which opposed the French in the North Sea. And in April 1798, Vasily Golovnin was appointed flag officer to the squadron of Rear Admiral M.K. Makarov, junior flagship of Vice Admiral Khanykov.

This is already a serious position, “direct assistant to the commander,” as it was said in the naval manuals. Often “their own” were appointed to it, under patronage. Golovnin had no patronage, but Mikhail Kondratyevich Makarov noticed the energetic and inquisitive officer even without it. And I was not mistaken. “He has very good behavior, knows his position well and performs it with zeal for service,” Makarov wrote in 1801 about Golovnin, who had already become a lieutenant. - And besides, from knowing him in English, was used for translating English signals and other matters... Therefore, I make it my duty to recommend him to those worthy of promotion and henceforth I wish to have him on my team.”

Contrary to the wishes of Rear Admiral Makarov, Golovnin did not serve under him for long. In June 1802, he was among the twelve best young officers of the Russian fleet and was sent to England to improve, study, and gain experience. Then such business trips lasted not months but years. I had to see a lot, although Vasily Mikhailovich was brief in his “Notebook”: he served in different English ships, for four years to seven, swam in different seas. During these years, Britain competed with France for supremacy at sea, Golovnin had the opportunity to participate in the fighting of the British in the Mediterranean Sea and the West Indies, serving under the command of the famous admirals Cornwallis, Nelson, Collingwood. The last two left commendable certifications for the Russian sailor. A considerable honor, by the way, but Golovnin is true to himself - there is not a word about this in his notes.

At the beginning of August 1806, Vasily Mikhailovich returned to Kronstadt. Twenty days later, Lieutenant Golovnin received the first ship, the Diana, under his command. At first glance, the ship is inconspicuous - a three-masted sloop, converted from an ordinary timber transport, sixty crew, twenty-two guns. But "Diana" was not intended for battles.

Just a few days before Golovnin returned from England, the Nadezhda and Neva, the ships on which Ivan Kruzenshtern and Yuri Lisyansky made the first round-the-world expedition in the history of the Russian fleet, moored in the Kronstadt port. Golovnin and his “Diana” had to continue what they started. The government decided to send the sloop on an expedition around the world, main goal which were geographical discoveries in the northern part Pacific Ocean. Along the way, “Diana” was supposed to deliver cargo to Okhotsk, in those years - main port Russia on its eastern outskirts.



For almost a year, Golovnin, his deputy Pyotr Rikord, with whom Vasily Mikhailovich had a long-term friendship, and the crew carefully selected by the captain himself prepared the Diana for long journeys. In addition, Golovnin processed materials from a business trip to England (the result was the book “Comparative Notes on the State of the English and Russian Fleets”) and, on instructions from the Navy Ministry, was involved in compiling a Code of Military and Naval Signals for Day and Night Time, which was used in the Russian Navy for more than quarter of a century.

On July 25, 1807, the Diana weighed anchor. The fact that the journey would not be easy became clear literally from the very first miles traveled: in the eastern part of the Gulf of Finland, the ship was caught in a storm, with a thunderstorm, which Golovnin had never seen in other seas.

The first stop was made on August 7 in Copenhagen. Here, bad news awaited the Russian sailors, which, as it turned out, became harbingers of future troubles. The situation in the Danish capital was tense. During times Napoleonic wars Denmark, largely due to the hostile actions of the British fleet, took the side of France. Having entered into an alliance with Napoleon, Denmark was preparing to join the continental blockade of Britain. But the British forestalled the enemy and landed troops on the Danish coast on August 16. Since the Kingdom of Denmark was at that time an ally of Russia in the Baltic, this caused discontent Russian government and led to a worsening of relations between St. Petersburg and London.

"Diana" managed to leave Copenhagen before the Anglo-Danish war began. But she was on her way to the British shores. Arriving in Portsmouth, Vasily Mikhailovich immediately realized that the situation was heating up. By agreement with the British government, the trade department was supposed to supply the Russian ship with the necessary supplies. However, Golovnin was required to pay the duty that was levied on merchant ships, although the Diana was listed as a warship. It took the intervention of the Russian consul to resolve this situation.

Vasily Mikhailovich felt how a “misunderstanding” between the two countries could turn out, and therefore decided to play it safe. While his Diana was in Portsmouth, he went to London to obtain special permission from the British government to conduct scientific research in the colonial waters of the empire. At some point in the capital, it seemed that his fears were in vain - he learned that Admiral Senyavin’s squadron was about to arrive in Portsmouth for a friendly (!) visit. But I still received the necessary paper.

By the end of October, all formalities were settled, and on the 31st the Diana left Portsmouth. The sloop crossed the Atlantic Ocean for two months. On January 2, 1808, land appeared on the horizon - acquaintance with South America for Russian sailors began from the small Brazilian island of St. Catherine. After a ten-day stay, the captain had to make a decision on how to move on. There are two options: go around Cape Horn or head for Africa, go around the cape Good Hope and through the Indian Ocean to the Pacific. The first route is shorter, but the Diana, which was not very fast, will not reach Cape Horn before March. This means that there is a high probability of becoming “hostage” to the strongest westerly winds. And Golovnin decided to change the route, turning to the Cape of Good Hope.


* * *

Transition to the shores African continent went well, the weather was favorable for the Russian sailors. On April 18, Vasily Mikhailovich noted in his “Notebook”: “At 6 o’clock, the coast of the Cape of Good Hope suddenly appeared to us, right in front of us... It is hardly possible to imagine a more magnificent picture than the view of this coast in which it appeared to us. The sky above him was completely clear, and not a single cloud was visible either on the high Table Mountain or on the others surrounding it. The rays of the sun rising from behind the mountains, spilling a reddish color in the air, depicted, or, better to say, cast perfectly all the slopes, steepnesses and small elevations and irregularities located on the tops of the mountains.”

Vasily Mikhailovich, like any sailor, was pleased - the long journey was over, there was time and opportunity to relax and enjoy the surrounding beauty. In Simon's Town Bay, in the British Cape Colony, where the Diana dropped anchor, there was an English squadron. There, on the flagship Rezonable, Golovnin sent his deputy on an obligatory courtesy visit.

Time passed, but Ricord did not return. Finally, a boat appeared, but instead of Ricord, a British lieutenant boarded the Diana. Courteously, but very coldly, he said: two empires, British and Russian, are at war.

What happened while the Diana was sailing from South America to the shores of Africa? Without going into details and without ranking according to the principle of “who is right and who is wrong,” we will note the main thing. Having been defeated in the campaigns of 1806 and 1807, Alexander I was forced to begin negotiations with Napoleon. On June 25, a meeting of two emperors took place in Tilsit (now Sovetsk, Kaliningrad region), as a result of which peace was signed between Russia and Prussia on one side and France on the other. Russian empire joined the continental blockade of Great Britain, and after the British captured Copenhagen on November 7, 1807, fighting began.