Founded in the early 18th century byPeter the Great, it became an important international centre of commerce whose trade role was later eclipsed by its strategic significance as the primary maritime defence outpost of the former Russian capital.[4][5] The main base of the RussianBaltic Fleet was located in Kronstadt, guarding the approaches to Saint Petersburg. In March 1921, the island city was the site of theKronstadt rebellion.
The name of the city is alternatively spelled asKronshtadt,Cronstadt orKronštadt.[6] It is derived from GermanKronstadt (lit.'crown city').[7] The district is referred to asKronshtadtsky District.
Monument toPeter the Great, the city's founderKotlin island with Kronstadt on Saint Petersburg administrative mapThe Cathedral of St. Andrew (1817–1932), patron saint of theRussian Navy, destroyed by the Soviet regime in 1932.Map of the harbour and nearby fortifications of Kronstadt, 1724
Kronstadt was founded byPeter the Great, whoseImperial Russian forces took the island ofKotlin from theSwedes during theGreat Northern War in 1703.[8] The first fortifications were inaugurated on 18 May [O.S. 7 May] 1704. These fortifications, known asKronshlot [ru] (Кроншлот), were constructed very quickly. During the winter, the Gulf of Finland freezes over completely. Under the command of Governor-generalAlexander Danilovich Menshikov, workers used thousands of frames (caissons) made of logs from evergreen trees filled with stones which were moved by horses across the frozen sea, and placed in cuttings made in the ice. Thus, several new small islands were created, and forts were erected on them, virtually closing access to Saint-Petersburg by sea. Only two narrow navigable channels remained, with forts guarding them.
One of the first governors of Kronstadt was a veteran of theRoyal Scots Navy, AdmiralThomas Gordon who was a refugee in Russia from theScottish union with England and became chief commander of the port of Kronstadt from 1727 to 1741.
Just as Kronstadt became populated and fortified, it attracted merchants from maritime powers most notably, the Dutch, the British and the Germans through the oldHanse connections. The community of British merchants or "factors" came to be known as theEnglish Factory, despite the fact that many of them were Scots. They settled both in Kronstadt and in St Petersburg itself and for a time dominated both inward and outward trade, especially in the reign ofCatherine the Great. They became an integral part of British trade and foreign policy through theBoard of Trade in London. A number of the British settlers became naturalised Russians.[4] Trading alliances were sharply interrupted by the outbreak of theCrimean War (1854).
Kronstadt was thoroughly refortified in the 19th century. The old three-decker forts, five in number, which formerly constituted the principal defences and had resisted the Anglo-French fleets during theCrimean War, became of secondary importance. From the plans ofEduard Totleben a new fort,Fort Constantine, and four batteries were constructed (1856–1871) to defend the principal approach, and sevenbatteries to cover the shallower northern channel. All these fortifications were low and thickly armoured earthworks with heavyKrupp guns on their ramparts. The city is surrounded by anenceinte.[9]
During thePetrograd (now Saint Petersburg) riots of theFebruary Revolution, the sailors of Petrograd joined the revolution and executed their officers, thus gaining a reputation as dedicated revolutionaries. During the civil war, the sailors participated on thered side, until 1921, when they rebelled against Bolshevik rule in theKronstadt rebellion.
Kronstadt with its supporting forts and minefields was key in protecting Petrograd from foreign forces. Despite this, the cruiserOleg wastorpedoed and sunk by a small motor boat after participating in the bombardment ofKrasnaya Gorka fort that had revolted against the Bolsheviks.[10] This was followed on August 18, 1919, bya raid of sevenRoyal NavyCoastal Motor Boats inside the harbour of Kronstadt itself, damaging the SovietbattleshipsPetropavlovsk andAndrei Pervozvanny, and sinking a submarine supply ship, thePamiat Azova.
In 1921, a group of naval officers and men, together with soldiers and civilian supporters,rebelled against theBolshevik government in Soviet Kronstadt. Thegarrison had previously been a centre of major support for the Bolsheviks, and throughout theCivil War of 1917–1921, the naval forces at Kronstadt had been at the vanguard of the main Bolshevik attacks. Their demands includedfreedom of speech, the end of deportation to work camps, a change in Soviet war politics, and liberation of the soviets (workers' councils) from "party control".[11] After brief negotiations,Leon Trotsky (then the Minister of War in the Soviet Government, and the leader of theRed Army) responded by sending the army to Kronstadt, along with theCheka. The uprising was thus suppressed following amassacre.
In the late 1930s, the fortified city became the base of the Soviet Baltic Fleet. During that time it was an important training centre for the Soviet navy. The Kronstadt naval dockyard overhauled and repaired surface ships and submarines for the Baltic Fleet. All forts and batteries of the city were reconstructed.
At 23:37 on June 21, 1941, fleet operational readiness Number 1 was announced by Baltic Fleet Commander Vice AdmiralV. Tributs on the order of the People's Commissar of the Navy Admiral N.G. Kuznetsov. Several hours later the first German aircraft began dropping mines into the canal outside Kronstadt. The duty officer, first lieutenant S. Kushnerev, ordered anti-aircraft batteries to open fire on enemy planes. Several aircraft were shot down or damaged. Twenty-seven German planes took part in the first attack, and three were destroyed by the anti-aircraft guns of the 1st Air Defence Regiment of the Baltic Fleet. This regiment was situated in the southern forts.
Soviet battleship Marat at the Spithead Fleet Review 1937German aerial reconnaissance shot of Kronstadt, June 1, 1942
DuringWorld War II, Kronstadt was subject to several bombing raids by theLuftwaffe. In August 1941 the Luftwaffe began bombing Kronstadt repeatedly. The most notable bombing wasStuka aceHans-Ulrich Rudel's sinking of the battleshipMarat.
To prevent an enemy landing, 13 artillery batteries were established in Kronstadt with nine more batteries outside the city, on the island of Kotlin. The main lookout was located in theNaval Cathedral. Visual range reached 45 km (28 mi). The coastal defence forces of Kronstadt included two infantry regiments.
In late August, theRed Army in the Baltic States was in a critical situation.Tallinn, the main base of the fleet, was in danger and an order torelocate the fleet from Tallinn to Kronstadt was given. By the time the Soviets had decided on a maritime evacuation of Tallinn, over 200 Soviet civilian and military vessels had been assembled in Tallinn harbour.
After theevacuation of Tallinn, a submarine subdivision had been organized in Kronstadt. By the end of 1941, 82 naval operations had taken place. Hitler was enraged, because Soviet submarines frequently disrupted military supplies ofstrategic materials from Sweden to Germany. The Germans tried to block the exit completely from the Gulf of Finland with anti-submarine nets and mines. Despite these efforts, the Soviet submariners continued to attack German ships. In 1942, 29 German vessels were sunk. Submarines cooperated with reconnaissance aircraft in searching for military targets.
Soviet submarines had broken through the mine barrages in the Gulf of Finland in 1942. To keep the Soviet submarine force away from Baltic shipping stronger efforts were planned. The minefields would be larger and in addition a double submarine net would be laid fromPorkkala toNaissaar inOperation Walross. The blockade of the Gulf of Finland turned out to be 100% effective. But in 1944, when Finland signed a peace treaty with the Soviet Union, one of the conditions was that the Soviets could locate one naval base in Finland at Porkkala. Submarine warfare in the Baltic Sea reached its final stage after peace was reached with Finland.
The Baltic Fleet sent more than 125,000 people to serve on shore at the front. Eighty-three thousand people fought directly on the Leningrad Front. For the protection of Leningrad 10 brigades of naval infantry, four regiments, and more than 40 separate battalions and companies were formed in Kronstadt.
The Luftwaffe and German artillery sent thousands of bombs and shells onto the naval dockyard and the Arsenal factory. The German air raids in September 1941, damaged ships of the Baltic Fleet and the infrastructure of the naval dockyard. Several sections of the yard were destroyed, the docks were heavily bombed causing the death of dozens of workers and engineers. Nevertheless, the naval yard continued its work. Despite the siege, the workers persevered with their work, often working 18–20 hours a day.
Thanks to the power of the Kronstadt Fortress the destruction of Leningrad, then the main industrial and cultural centre of the Soviet Union, was successfully prevented. The honorary status of "City of Military Glory" was conferred on it by the President of the Russian FederationDmitriy Medvedev on April 27, 2009, citing the "courage, endurance and mass heroism, exhibited by defenders of the city in the struggle for the freedom and independence of the Motherland".
With changing historical trends, the population saw peaks and troughs partly determined by the expansion and then decline of the naval base and dockyard.
Year
Inhabitants
1854
53,000
1897
59,525
1926
31,197
1939
38,071
1959
40,303
1970
39,477
1979
40,308
1989
45,053
2002
43,385
2010
43,005
Note Census data of 1897 includes military personnel
The Bypass canalThe Naval Cathedral in Kronstadt, exterior
The city of Kronstadt is built on level ground on the island and is thus exposed to flooding, most notably in 1824. The port is icebound for 140–160 days in the year, from the beginning of December to April. A very large proportion of the inhabitants are sailors. On the south side of the city there are three harbours: the large western or merchant harbour, the western flank of which is formed by a great pier joining the fortifications which traverse the breadth of the island on one side. The middle harbour was used chiefly for fitting out and repairing vessels. The eastern or military harbour was used for docking vessels of the Russian Navy. The Peter and Catherine Canals connected with the merchant and middle harbours across the city. Between them stood the oldItalian Palace of Prince Menshikov, whose site was later occupied by a school for pilots.[8] In the second half of the 18th century the building of the former Italian palace was used by various military training institutions. In 1771–1798the Sea Cadet Corps was housed there before being transferred to St Petersburg. From 1798 to 1872 the Navigation School was situated in the former palace.
Warehouse
The Kronstadttide gauge is situated near the former Italian palace. Sea level observations in Saint Petersburg began already in 1703. On Kotlin Island, the main naval fortress of the Russian Empire began observations in 1707. This monitoring was necessary because the water level of the Finnish Gulf could change considerably in a short time, creating problems for shipping. The annual flood also required close monitoring of the water level. The Kronstadt sea-gauge with the tide gauge pavilion is the zero level of the Baltic system of highs and lows. All depths and altitudes (even the heights of spacecraft) in Russia and some other countries of the former Russian Empire are measured according to the Kronstadt sea-gauge.Yuri Gagarin, the first man in space, said in 1967 that it was "the Hub of the Universe".
The modern city's most striking landmark is considered to be the enormousNaval Cathedral, dedicated toSt Nicholas and built between 1908 and 1913 in Anchor Square which also contains many military memorials. The cathedral is regarded as the culmination of RussianNeo-Byzantine architecture.The Pyotrovsky Gardens is a park that surrounds the monument to Peter the Great who founded the city.There are a number of historic buildings, such as theDutch Kitchen and the formerItalian Palace, that recall the city's mercantile and military past.
Fort Konstantin
Among other public buildings are the Naval Hospital, the British Seamen's Hospital (established in 1867), the Civic Hospital, the Admiralty (founded in 1785), the arsenal, dockyards and foundries, the School of Marine Engineering, and the English Church.[8]
The Kronstadt port was once considered the most fortified port in the world. It still retains some of its old "forts" on small fortified artificial islands. Originally, there were 22 such forts, situated in line with the southern and northern shores of the Gulf of Finland. Some fortifications were located inside the city itself and one was on the western shore of Kronslot Island, on the other side of the main navigational channel.
The construction of theSaint Petersburg Dam led to some of the forts being demolished. The dam, alevee-causeway-Seagate combination also enabled Kronstadt and some of the forts being reached by land. Among the most important surviving forts are:
The now demolished olderSt Andrew Cathedral (1817), once a prominent Kronstadt landmark, was destroyed on Communist orders in 1932. StJohn of Kronstadt, one of the most venerated Russian saints, served there as priest from 1855 to 1908.[14]
The controversial dam that took 30 years to build (1980–2011) now links Kotlin island to the mainland from north and south, not only acts as part of the flood defences, but lets through shipping and completes the St Petersburg ring-road system, across the island. It is a feat of marine engineering consisting of a combination of levee-causeway and seagate. Its construction on the shoals of the Gulf of Finland involved the removal of some of the historic fortifications.
Thomas Gordon (1658 -1741), admiral, governor, and commander-in-chief at Kronstadt from 1727 until his death in 1741. His granddaughter Anne Young married a Scot, Lt. Thomas MacKenzie (Foma Kalinovich Mekenzi, Фома Калинович Мекензи, son of Colin). Two years after their marriage in 1738 they had a son also called Thomas, (Foma Fomich Mekenzi (Фома Фомич Мекензи), son of Thomas), a Scottish-Russian rear admiral who founded the city ofSevastopol in the service of the Russian Empire in 1783.
Domenico Trezzini (1670–1734), Swiss-Italian architect who worked on first design of Kronstadt
William Tooke (1744–1820), chaplain (1772–75) to the English merchant community in Kronstadt, later moved to St. Petersburg
^Herbert H. KaplanRussian Overseas Commerce with Great Britain During the Reign of Catherine II. Volume 218 of "American Philosophical Society": Memoirs of the American Philosophical Society, 1995.ISBN978-087-1692-184
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