Voronezh Admiralty

In connection with the preparation of Peter I for military operations against the Ottoman Empire ^[2] , by the end of the XVII century there was a need to build a regular Russian navy, and only at the expense of the state and with the help of domestic experts.

Shipbuilding by kumpanism

Thus, the inefficiency of the construction of ships by private companies ^{[3] [4]} by 1700 led the government to think about the need to build ships only at the expense of state funds ^[5] . The main disadvantages of building ships by the kumpanism became clear to Peter I as early as 1698 . For example, in a letter dated November 28 ( December 7 ), 1698, the Ambassador of the Holy Roman Empire, Gwariant, reported to Vienna ^{[5] [6]} :

... The heat and enthusiasm with which they were preparing for the coming war, almost cooled; The emperor is exclusively busy with the alteration and construction of ships. Expensively built ships are bad and rather suitable for merchant cargo than for military operations

Another problem was the speedy termination of the contract of foreign ship masters ^[7] , who could take advantage of this and leave before they finish the construction of the ships they started. This forced Peter I to order to cordon off Voronezh and the adjacent shipyards with outposts . In his decree, under pain of the death penalty, residents were forbidden to give horses to any of the ship foremen and workers or to bring them in carts without special permission.

Establishment of the Voronezh Admiralty

Therefore, in 1700, the Voronezh Admiralty Order (Voronezh Admiralty) was created to centrally manage the construction of ships in Voronezh and cities on the Voronezh and Don rivers. F. I Apraksin appointed Peter I as its leader, according to General Theodosius Fedorovich Veselago ^{[8] [Comments 1]} - "Peter's relative, his beloved and active marine affairs officer ... who, in addition to shipbuilding, was also entrusted with the management of ship forests. "

With the entry into the management of Apraksin ^[8] :

the shipbuilding activity of the kumpanism was stopped, which proved to be very unsatisfactory in practice. The confusion in affairs and quarrels of the kumpanites caused each other (April 17, 1700) a decree on the final settlement with them and on the determination of a constant amount for the maintenance of the fleet.

- Veselago F.F. A Brief History of the Russian Navy.

• Voronezh (largest) - 122 vessels, including 36 liners (1696-1711)
• Tavrovskaya - 101 ships, including 17 liners (1707-1725)
• Chizhovskaya - 6 vessels, including 2 liners (1698-1702)
• Khoperskaya - 6 vessels, including 2 liners (1697-1702)
• Panshinskaya - 4 battleships (1697-1699)
• Stupinskaya - 10 battleships (1697-1700 gg.)
• Ramonskaya - 5 ships (1697-1699) and 1 ship (1702)
• Chertovitskaya - 1 vessel (1697-1699)
• Korotoyakskaya - 1 vessel (1697-1700)

Ships in the shipyards of the Voronezh Admiralty were built under the guidance of ship masters: O. Naya , F.M. Sklyaev , G.A. Menshikov, and others.

Also worked at the shipyards:

• Vereshchagin, Lukyan
• Guerence, Vybe
• Guerence, Peter Vybe
• Cosenz, Richard
• Molyarov, Anisim Yakimovich , a docking master, was in charge of all the “dirty and screwing affairs” in the Voronezh Admiralty.

At the shipyards of the Voronezh Admiralty were built:

• " Goto Predestination "
• " Swallow "
• Scorpio
• " Sulitsa "
• Turtle
• The epee
• other.

• History of Voronezh (1682-1725)
• List of ships of the Azov fleet

• History of the Russian fleet. The Azov Period on the Runivers website
• Veselago F. A Brief History of the Russian Navy. - ML: Naval publishing house of the NKVMF of the USSR, 1939. on the retinue "Military literature".