Naval shipbuilding on the Don River during the 1721-1735

Abstract

The object of this research is the Russian navy during the ruling time of Peter the Great and Anna of Russia under the circumstances of escalation of foreign policy situation in Azov and Black Sea regions. The subject of this research is the history of restoration and development of naval shipbuilding on the Don River during the 1721-1735. Based on the published and archival materials, the author examines the process of formation of Don Flotilla comprised of nine large and six small prams, fifteen gallivants, and thirty small vessels. Methodological framework consists of the problematic-chronological, comparative-historical and structural-functional methods. Special role belongs to the method of historical reconstruction that allowed reproducing the stages of shipbuilding works on the Don River during the 1721-1735. The article demonstrates the details of the process of construction works during the 1721-1724, their demothballing in 1733, and further construction of the ships of Don Flotilla prior to Russo-Turkish War of 1735-1739. The author also analyzes the shipbuilding process itself, which main conclusions consist in the statement that the flotilla was not ready to the beginning of large-scale military operations against the Ottoman Empire.