Fort Emperor Pavel I. Fort Pavel I (Risbank) Explosion of Fort Pavel 1

TO The end of the 18th century, which passed through numerous wars, culminated in new methods of warfare at sea - surprise attacks by fire ships, arming ships with carronades, allowing for more dense fire at the enemy. It was necessary to take into account the new conditions, as well as the fact that ships with a shallow landing could escape from the fire of the Kronstadt batteries, taking a course south of the main fairway.
The Navy Ministry decided to build two forts, extended to the west from the main base of the fleet - the harbors of Kronstadt. The first to begin was to build a battery on rows on the southern side of the fairway, 2 km west of the Kronshlot fort.

The battery had two bastions connected by a curtain. The guns were located openly, except for the western bastion, which had blind embrasures. The length of the defense front was 408 meters.

Construction was completed in 1801. The fort housed 66 cannons and several mortars. It was a powerful defensive structure for its time, reliably protecting Kronstadt and St. Petersburg. The new battery was called “Riesbank”, which translated from German meant “Notch on the shallows”.

Even after the construction of Risbank, the naval department did not have complete confidence in the reliable protection of the southern fairway - in 1808, another battery was erected in the rear of Risbank, armed with 19 guns.

The military actions of the early 19th century did not affect Kronstadt, but the elements of 1824 completely destroyed the rear battery of the fort. On Risbank itself, only the western bastion survived.
Fort Risbank was not only quickly restored, but also a second tier was built. The upper parapet was located at a height of 7 meters from the ordinary. The guns of the second tier stood in a closed gallery. A new guardhouse and ammunition cellars were built.

In 1834, the fort was further expanded: the harbor was fenced with three curtains on rows, two barracks were built for caponiers (cannons) and three new gunpowder warehouses. After modernization, the fort was armed with 122 guns, which were served by 610 artillerymen.

Fort Risbank, due to its position, was on the front line of defense of the fortress, and therefore was of exceptional importance. Projects for the construction of the Risbank fort in stone appeared. The projects of outstanding engineers L. L. Carbonier, Feldman, Destrem, V. I. Maslov - each had its own advantages and disadvantages. But, Emperor Nicholas I approved Destrem’s project in connection with the successful experience of constructing Fort Alexander I. He ordered the construction of a new fort on the site of the inner harbor of the Risbank fort, which somewhat contradicted Destrem’s idea, but allowed not only to reduce the construction time, but also to save considerable money.

Construction began in the same year, 1844. The foundation of the Risbank fort was used to build platforms, scaffolding, accommodate construction workers, and install pile drivers for driving piles for the foundation of the new fort.

The foundation of the fort was completed in 1847, and they immediately began laying two rows of powerful granite slabs and building the first tier of defense. The construction of the foundation and the construction of walls were carried out as during the construction of Fort Alexander I. Construction progressed quickly. Emperor Nicholas I visited the construction of the fort several times, remaining satisfied with the progress of the work.

During the Russian-Turkish War of 1853 - 1856, the construction of the fort was not yet completed, but by order of the Emperor, ready-made defense tiers were armed to protect against a possible attack by the Anglo-French squadron. During these war years, 171 guns were placed on the unfinished fort, which is almost one and a half times more than on Fort Alexander I.

In 1854, Emperor Nicholas I ordered the rename of Risbank to the fort Emperor Paul I.

In May 1854, the world's first mine and artillery position of 105 Jacobi galvanic mines was installed between Forts Paul I and Alexander I. The galvanic battery was located at Fort Pavel I. In June of the same year, 92 impact mines of the Nobel system were placed in the area of the left flank and the mountainous part of Fort Pavel I. The mines were placed at a depth of 3.6 meters and at a distance of 24 meters from each other.

The new weapon was the main argument that sobered up the opponents, but it also turned out to be the weapon that put the finishing touches on the fate of the majestic Fort “Paul I” in 1923.

The Anglo-French squadron under the command of Admiral Napier approached Kronstadt in mid-June 1854 and anchored just west of the Tolbukhin lighthouse. The admiral did not dare to attack Kronstadt, and turned his squadron towards Vyborg.

At the end of 1854, from Fort “Paul I” to the Oranienbaum coast, they began to urgently install a ryazhe barrier in order to prevent bypassing the fort from the south side. The ryazhi were installed by the spring of 1855, and they immediately began installing minefields. 217 shock mines were placed near the left flank of the fort. In May, another 54 shock mines were laid.

The new Anglo-French squadron, led by Vice Admiral Richard Dondas, was also forced to leave after the ships Merlin and Firefly were hit by mines.

But even after the enemy left, the fort continued to be armed - four 60-pound cannons were installed in the northwestern section of the open defense tier, and the hill part was strengthened with carronades. In March 1856, a peace treaty was signed. Construction work continued at the fort. The construction of the fort was finally completed in 1859. It was armed with more than 200 guns, was the most powerful fort in Russia in the mid-19th century, and was at the forefront of the defense of Kronstadt.

Artillery began to develop rapidly in the second half of the 19th century - rifled weapons and high-explosive shells appeared. The fleets of the leading powers put armored ships into service. The firing range increased year by year. With this development of events, it was necessary to re-equip the forts for new types of weapons and build new ones, even further from Kronstadt.
They began to build forts of a new generation: “Konstantin”, “Alexander-shanets”, “Milyutin”, “Totleben”, “Obruchev”; the forts of the mid-19th century could not withstand new types of weapons, and in 1896 many of them were removed from the defensive structures. But Fort “Paul I”, due to its position and the impression it made, remained in service, but was used to store cartridges, rifles and mine weapons, although the two lower tiers of the fort’s defenses were armed with outdated cannons for a long time.

In 1919, the front of the Civil War approached Kronstadt. In Kronstadt itself, opponents of the new regime tried to take power. The explosions of two mine depots in Kronstadt and the explosion at Fort Paul I sounded as a signal for the uprising. But the Socialist Revolutionaries and Mensheviks were not supported - the rebellion failed. The fort received serious damage, but survived. An ammunition depot was left at the fort, but it was removed from the military forts.

On July 20, 1923, one of the mine warehouses caught fire at the fort as a result of careless handling of fire by sailors who, after boat exercises, decided to relax at the fort. The fort was completely destroyed. All that remained were fragments of the walls, from which they later taught explosives.

During the Great Patriotic War, three 100-mm guns were placed in the ruins of the fort, which helped defend the Oranienbaum bridgehead.

Currently, only one fragment of the wall of the former fort “Emperor Paul I” remains.

The new fort was conceived as the strongest fortification of the Kronstadt fortress. Fort Paul I was the largest stone fort of that time. Its scale can only be matched by its tragic and rapid destruction.

Construction and history of the most powerful fort in Kronstadt

Fort Pavel was superior in combat power and size to any naval fortress of that time. And it was built just as thoroughly as other Kronstadt forts - standing the test not only of a potential enemy but also of time. However, its fate is tragic and, unfortunately, Fort Paul I today is a picturesque island growing on a pile of broken bricks and granite. All that was left of the powerful fortress was one lonely tower and part of the ground floor with fragments of the wall.

Whether a country is a power (that is, independent from anyone), or not to be a power, is determined by only one thing: whether it has a strong army and a first-class navy, or not.
But in the history of mankind, the brightest mark was left by those states that were truly great sea powers: Phenicia, Carthage, Ancient Rome, Byzantium, Genoa, Venice, Holland, Portugal, Spain, Russia of Peter the Great, England, Japan, Russia.

The power of the Russian fleet began from the Baltic. Here, under the protection of cannons, was the very first stop of the young Baltic Fleet. And this place was called - Kronshlot raid. Tsar Peter Alekseevich was immensely happy: the bottom is sandy, holds the anchor well, and the wind rose is suitable, and the waves are not as strong as on the open sea, and the depth allows the largest ships to stand here.

But the Russian Baltic Navy grew and matured... And the borders of the Kronshlot raid continuously expanded, retreating both to the west and to the east. And this raid, consisting of two parts, is now called the Kronstadt raid. Its eastern part is the Small Kronstadt Roadstead, the western part is the Big Roadstead.

In addition to the Big and Small Kronstadt raids, the Russian Navy had at its disposal many others, the most important of which were: Helsingfors, Revel, Libavsky, Sevastopol, Tendrovsky, Vladivostok. But priority, even among them, always remained with Great Kronstadt raid, which means the same thing for Russia as the Spithead Raid for England.

And, of course, doing defense Southern fairway, Tsar Peter Alekseevich also thought about the defense of the Great Kronstadt raid: only his own ships should be here, only his own ships and the ships of friendly peoples. And the enemy, no matter how personally he appears, cannot stand on the Great Kronstadt roadstead!
Engineer-Lieutenant General L.L. was also guided by the ideas of Peter the Great. Carboniere and all those who worked in this field after him.

Wooden battery "Risbank"

June 14, 1739, for the restoration of the Kronstadt fortress, Lieutenant General Baron Ludwig von was appointed Lyuberas, a talented military engineer who lived and died for a long time in Kronstadt.
And work began, which continued for a whole year, and took part in the work every day 2000 people.

From the list of works of that period it is clear that, first of all, they tried support what has already been built and what was needed finish building. And from the new - by the Maritime Department - it was erected on logs wooden battery, located beyond the Southern Fairway, in close proximity to the Great Kronstadt Roadstead. Paired with the two-story South, she was able to defend the Great Kronstadt raid!

The name of the new battery was given RIFSBANK. The name is purely geographical; it reflects some features of the location of the newly built battery: bank a is a slight elevation of the seabed, reef-an underwater, or rock located just above sea level in shallow water, formed when the bottom is eroded. Apparently, at one time this area, which was dangerous for swimming, was designated on maps as “Reef on the Bank.” In everyday life, as often happens, this phrase turned into “RIFSBANK.” And then the letter “F”, of course, dropped out as completely unnecessary, which made it easier for a Russian person to pronounce this word. Then they began to write in official papers: “RISBANK”.

In 1808, in January, Admiral V. Ya. Chichagov inspected the Kronstadt Fortress. And, according to his instructions, the Maritime Department found it necessary to carry out the following work regarding Southern fairway:

Fix worn parts on the RISBANK battery;
Instead of embrasures, make a barbette (an embankment for guns firing over the rampart);
Fill the parapet (shaft for protection from targeted shots) with clay and sand;
To the east and 50 fathoms in front of the fort, pile piles so that ships can be attracted (the intention is to place ships for defense).
Prepare two boats (wide, flat-bottomed, shallow-draft boats) for heating the kernels. ( First mention about shooting in Kronstadt with red-hot cannonballs. The cannonball, heated in a special furnace to a crimson color, when it hit an enemy ship, not only destroyed it, but also contributed to the outbreak of a fire on board).
In due time, install two old ships with reliable masts for placing guns on the tops (horizontal platforms at the top of the masts). ( First try in the Kronstadt fortress, introduce shelling of the decks of enemy ships from above).

In pursuance of this plan, to strengthen the RISBANK battery, the ship “Boleslav” was placed near it and, right up to the Oranienbaum coast, a floating boom was placed as a fence in case of attack by enemy small ships.

In September 1808 on the RISBANK battery it was already 69 guns on rotary platforms, which allowed the gun to smoothly follow the course of the enemy ship.
All these and other works indicated in the plan were, by the spring of next year, completed both along the Southern and Northern fairways, which strengthened and greatly expanded the scope of their defense.

Significant funds were allocated for these works. Every day they went to the construction of the facility from two seaports - 1500 people, from the garrison regiment - 700 people, from the crews - 350 people And 100 gunners. Thus, all jobs were occupied 2650 Human.
The RISBANK battery was commanded at that time by Captain 3rd Rank Kireev.

Autumn 1824, after a terrible flood, all the damage was corrected at the RISBANK battery and wooden sheds for artillery supplies, a guard house and a powder magazine were built. And Artillery Colonel Andreev was appointed commander of the RISBANK fortification. He owned all the power in the fortification entrusted to him, and he was entirely accountable only to the sovereign. And the king looked at the commanders of forts and batteries as independent and reliable commanders.

At the beginning of 1827, in view of the high mortality rate among the sailors, by order of the Highest, a commission was appointed consisting of engineer-general Opperman, adjutant general Senyavin and staff doctor Budkov, which examined everything in the fortress. In the act presented to the tsar, it was stated that in the Land Department the people were accommodated satisfactorily, but in the naval barracks and cockpits it was dirty, damp, and cramped. The food of the officials of the Naval Department was found without cabbage and any greens; meat was received twice a week, while in other parts - three times.
The anger of Emperor Nikolai Pavlovich was terrible. And he ordered the transfer of all the fortifications of Kronstadt from the hands of the Naval Department to the Land Department, as well as all the property located in the harbors of Military, Srednyaya and Kupecheskaya. It was ordered to be received in the presence of officers and deputies (representatives) of the Naval Department.

In 1838 the armament of the Kronstadt fortress was 1172 guns. Of these, the RISBANK battery had 83 cannons, 31 unicorns and 6 mortars. In total - 127. And there are 26,799 shells for them.
At this time, naval and land artillery began to differ significantly from each other in technical terms: the calibers of the guns did not match, and the shells of naval guns were not suitable for land ones and vice versa.

The situation was corrected by the Decree of May 11, 1834, according to which both types of artillery had a common caliber. And all these years, work was going on to streamline artillery affairs, which was of particular importance for Kronstadt, since the Naval Department and the Land Department interacted here to the same extent.

Stone Fort Emperor Paul I

In 1838 A royal review of the RISBANK fortification took place. The purpose of this review was to test new carriages for 36-pound guns.
The following year, on May 25, Emperor Nikolai Pavlovich inspected the RISBANK battery and the building under construction Fort Alexander the First. Then it was decided replace wooden fortification with stone ones.

The design of the new fort RISBANK was entrusted to engineer-colonel V.I. Maslov, who proposed to preserve the outlines of the existing fortification and make the lower part of the fort from granite, and build the walls above the variable water level from brick, facing them with granite.
However, the Engineering Department, after distributing this project, considered that the ryazhe foundation was unreliable, and it was recommended to build the fort on stilts.

A new option for rebuilding the RISBANK battery was proposed by the Vice-Director of the Engineering Department, Engineer Major General A.I. Feldman. According to this project, the fort also retained the outline of a wooden RISBANK and was supposed to be armed 383 guns. Old Ryazhi were used for its foundation, but the cobblestones in them were filled with liquid concrete. And on this basis it was planned to build three-tier and two-tier towers. And the curtains connecting them into one tier would be erected on a pile foundation. The space between the piles was supposed to be filled with cobblestones and concrete. The cost of the new fortification was expressed in the amount three million rubles, and for its construction, according to this project, it required 11 years.

The technical examination of this project was entrusted to engineer-lieutenant general M. G. Destrem, who, as an alternative, presented his own, already third, version of the future fort, instead of the old RISBANK fortification. According to this option, the fort consisted of one tower with a courtyard. In plan, this tower also retained the outlines of the RISBANK battery. However, the author of this project proposed to move the new fort closer to the fairway, thereby avoiding the dismantling of old ridges that could interfere with the construction of a pile foundation, especially since it is much easier to drive piles out of the blue. And the old fortification, in this case, could serve as an additional construction site.

At the end of 1844 Emperor Nikolai Pavlovich reviewed the projects of Feldman and Destrem.
And the emperor gave preference to Destrem’s project, but ordered the fort to be built not in a clean place, but inside the harbor of the old RISBANK fortification. This made it possible to use its ridges both as fencing and as protection against erosion of the base. In addition, the king’s happily found solution made it possible to start work a year earlier and, thereby, save significant money.

New fort RISBANK was intended as the strongest strengthening of the Kronstadt fortress. And it is no coincidence: having a complex configuration of walls, this fort could protect not only the approaches to the Southern Fairway, but also keep the waters of the Great Kronstadt Roadstead under fire from its guns!
And according to its size Fort RISBANK was superior to all other sea forts of Kronstadt: the perimeter of its outer walls was a length of 500 meters.
In plan, Fort RISBANK resembled an irregular trapezoid, with rounded and slightly protruding corners. The front facing the fairway had a semi-basement floor, and above it there were three tiers consisting of casemates, above which cannons should also be installed on the volgang (on the roof) (open defense).

It was supposed to have an open defense over the remaining three and two-tier parts of the fort. And everything was provided both in the casemates and above, to place over two hundred guns of the largest caliber.
It was planned to clad the outside of Fort RISBANK with granite. Each casemate, which housed two guns on the rear side, had arch-shaped openings for ventilation. The oval extensions of seven staircases and two rectangular volumes of powder magazines protruded into the courtyard. All ceilings were made in the form of vaults.

August 30, 1840 The foundation ceremony for Fort RISBANK took place and the disarmament and dismantling of the old fortification began, which continued before 1846. The work was carried out under the leadership of engineer-major general Maslov.

In 1849 the foundation of the fort was ready. The cost of this building was 1 million rubles. And this - 40 percent from the total cost of work, which amounted to 2708988 rubles. The hardest part was done. The construction of the walls of the fort no longer presented any particular difficulties, since a wealth of experience had been accumulated during the construction of the fort Emperor Alexander the First, which was completed with exceptional success.
Granite cladding made up more than two-thirds of the total volume of the external walls. Curved slabs for cladding were processed both in quarries in Finland and here on the construction site. These stones were fastened with pyrons filled with lead, and the seams between them were carefully filled with Portland cement mortar.

August 12, 1850 Emperor Nikolai Pavlovich, with his son and heir to the Russian throne, Grand Duke Alexander Nikolaevich, accompanied by His Serene Highness Prince A.S. Menshikov, the Chief Commander of the Kronstadt military port F.F. Bellingshausen and members of his retinue, visited Fort Risbank.
Disembarking from the steamship Nevka on the Tsarskaya pier, he looked around at the panorama of construction and said: “The work is growing like a mushroom.” Then he walked around the construction site and personally thanked the workers, saying: “You throw stones like beads.” During lunch, the Emperor demanded food to be served on his table. from the cauldron of workers, tasted it and approved. Addressing engineer-captain Tchaikovsky, the Emperor asked him: “Are there many sick people?” To which engineer-captain Tchaikovsky replied: “Almost no, except for minor, and even very rare, bruises.”
Before boarding the Nevka steamship, Emperor Nikolai Pavlovich once again thanked the workers with feeling and granted them 50 kopecks in silver and accompanied by a loud and friendly “Hurray!” left for Peterhof.

In 1851 The semi-basement floor was completed, and in the summer of next year the vaults of most of the first tier were covered. The Engineering Service was already preparing plans for covering the next tiers, and Emperor Nikolai Pavlovich had already ordered the start of work on arming the finished casemates. But at this time, cracks were discovered here and there in the walls of the fort. As it turned out, the reason for this was the uneven settlement of the walls, since they were of unequal thickness. To avoid this in the future, the project was slightly changed, reducing the height of the fort by one tier, and they decided not to install guns on the half-towers.

That’s when the difference in the soils on which the foundations of the forts Emperor Alexander the First and Risbank were built affected. In addition, there were miscalculations in planning the distance between the piles. But we must also take into account that laying concrete between the piles and compacting it in water is such a complex and time-consuming operation that the desired formation of a monolith is hardly 100 percent achievable. And the process of driving piles in soft soil, under water, and almost all of them were driven 19000 , it was practically impossible to thoroughly check in each individual case. Subsequently, the formation of new cracks in the walls of the fort was not observed and did not affect the strength of its magnificent walls.

Meanwhile, the situation in the world became more alarming. Terrible events were approaching Crimean War. Much has been done at Fort Risbank, and only eight casemates have not been vaulted. Therefore, Emperor Nikolai Pavlovich was in a hurry to complete the work. But the main armament of Fort Risbank continued successfully: platforms for all guns were built in the first tier, work was carried out in many casemates in the second tier, and permanent racks for shells and charges were installed in six powder magazines. And by the new year, 1854, when the centenary of the birth of Emperor Paul the First, the august parent of the reigning sovereign, was celebrated, the Highest Order was issued to rename Fort Risbank to Fort Emperor Pavel I.

Now the defense of the fortress has strengthened significantly. The southern fairway was reliably protected, and the Great Kronstadt roadstead could easily be shot through, in the event of enemy ships approaching it, by the mighty heroes of Fort Emperor Alexander the First, with its 123 - two guns and the fort Emperor Paul the First, which so far had in its arsenal 171 weapon But, despite the presence of the United Squadron in the Gulf of Finland, work was vigorously carried out to strengthen the combat power of Kronstadt: the structures on the forts and batteries were strengthened, and more powerful types of weapons were installed. Much has been improved at Fort Emperor Paul the First.

By the spring of 1855 in the Kronstadt fortress there was 893 guns, moreover, 79 of them were very powerful - two-, three-, and even five-pound bomb guns, the firing range of which reached 4 kilometers. The gunboat flotilla was replenished with fifteen new vessels with screw engines.
Everything was ready. But the enemy, in the person of Queen Victoria of England, was very determined. And the French Emperor Napoleon III demanded from the command of his squadron that it behave more actively. And the squadron came and approached almost closely, but, as you know, the Allied ships ran into minefield, near

Subsequently, the English biographer of Dondas, commander of the United Squadron, wrote that one of main affairs in the Baltic in 1855, it was “... catching small mines buried in large quantities in the northern passage to Kronstadt”.
In St. Petersburg they treated this calmly. In a letter dated May 21, 1855, the poet F. I. Tyutchev wrote to his wife: “...The enemy fleet again appeared on the horizon, and the number of curious people in Oranienbaum resumed more than before. The other day there was a rather alarming situation and even the sovereign arrived, but everything turned out to be just excitement.”.

Having returned home, Admiral Dondas began to think about everything that had happened, and began to develop new plans. He still harbored hopes of taking Kronstadt next year!

However, the departure of the enemy fleet was not perceived by the Russian command as a victory. The defense of Sevastopol continued, but the approaching disaster was already felt. And, if Sevastopol is occupied by the enemy, then the possibility cannot be ruled out that the Anglo-French fleet will deliver the Allied army from near Sevastopol directly to Kronstadt, and military operations in the Gulf of Finland will resume again.

And therefore, under the leadership of engineer-general I.I. Den, work continued to strengthen and arm the forts and batteries. The command paid special attention to the fort Emperor Paul the First: it was key fortification on the Great Kronstadt roadstead.

To repel possible attacks by small enemy ships, 60-pound cannons were installed instead of pound unicorns on the northwestern rounding of the tier of the fort's open defense. On a wooden platform in front of the gorge, carronades were installed to repel possible night attacks and platforms with railings were built there to accommodate a chain of sentries at night.
In the courtyard of the fort, on wooden frames, tents with floors and bunks were erected for the personnel of the fire guard (guard ship), which was transferred here from the Kronstadt port. The tasks of its personnel included patrols on boats at night, raids and constant surveillance of the sea.

August 27, 1855 the allies entered Sevastopol. And a few days later, new projects for the construction of batteries were approved, both on the Northern and Southern fairways. And General Den again took up the issue of strengthening the forts of the Southern Channel.

Engineer-Major General E.I. arrived in Kronstadt. Totleben, one of the leaders of the defense of Sevastopol, who became famous as a talented fortifier. He led the work to strengthen the defense of Kronstadt. And at the head of Kronstadt, His Serene Highness A.S. Menshikov, a descendant of the famous Alexander Danilovich Menshikov, an associate of Peter the Great, was placed at the head of Kronstadt, as governor-general and commander of the land and naval forces of the garrison.

And grandiose construction began. New barricades and sea forts were built, for which thousands of piles were hastily driven. Many thousands of people worked and lived in barracks built right on the ice. The guns, along with their accessories, were also brought here. And Fort Emperor Paul the First served as both a storage place and a transshipment point. The builders of new naval batteries had to overcome incredible difficulties, but they could put all of them before the enemy continuous curtain by the fire from the south shores of the Gulf of Finland to the north.
And in this fiery formation, the most honorable place was occupied by the fort of Emperor Paul the First. At that time there was no stronger fortification in this world: 220 guns of the largest caliber, 3 core furnaces, 18 powder magazines. And the personnel of the fort-hero numbered 1320 people, well done, one to one, be it an officer or a minister.

This fort towered over the sea like a formidable stronghold. And from everywhere one could see the St. Andrew’s flag raised above the fort playing in the free wind.
The other forts and batteries of Kronstadt looked just as calm and fearless. And the allied command never decided on anything.

Upon the signing of peace, in March 1856, in Paris the warring parties ceased to be warring. And at the fort Emperor Paul the First opened terrible dampness, because of which both gunpowder and shells became completely unusable. And so all the guns were removed and the ammunition was taken out, after which they began to dry out the walls. And in order to prevent rainwater from penetrating into the casemates of the upper tiers, it was erected wooden roof.

In 1863 There was a smell of war again: a Polish uprising broke out against Russian rule. England and France, together with Austria, came out in support of the Polish rebels.
In anticipation of the “guests,” the defense of Kronstadt was again divided into three sections. And on left flank defense everything depended on forts of the Southern Fairway. And it was necessary to hastily arm the fort Emperor Paul the First, in the casemates of which it was located 125 guns.

But in May 1864 The Polish uprising was suppressed, and the defenders of Poland calmed down. But the tension in Kronstadt did not subside. The new era has declared itself - era of rifled artillery. It was necessary to raise the military economy of the fortress to a higher level as soon as possible. And, of course, new cannons appeared at Fort Emperor Paul the First. These were eight-inch guns. Ten of them were placed in casemates, and seven stood openly. Soon even more formidable ones appeared - 9-inch guns. But the matter did not end there either.

In 1872, at Fort Emperor Paul the First, the casemates were converted to install 11-inch guns. The artillery fire control system was also improved, and many other technical problems were solved.
But the next Russian-Turkish War of 1877-1878 began, and the threat of intervention by England and France in Russian affairs again arose. Many specialists left for the Danube, the Black Sea, where military operations were already underway, although Kronstadt also needed people.

Progress in artillery led to the appearance of guns capable of destroying any stone building. In response to this he was born concrete! Yes, concrete is a strong mixture of lime mortar or hydraulic cement with gravel or crushed stone. From this new material they now began to build casematized buildings, structures defensive walls, grounds under the guns parapets And underwater parts grandiose buildings.
And, of course, Kronstadt, the center of everything new and advanced, immediately responded to this idea. It was here that a type of concrete fortification was born, which was later borrowed other states to strengthen their defense. And they began to build new forts in Kronstadt. Concrete forts! And they stepped in soldier formation far forward, to the west, where over time a new line of defense of Kronstadt was formed.

What about the famous forts of the Southern Channel? They now find themselves in deep behind defense of the Kronstadt Fortress and lost their military significance. True, in some places old-style guns were preserved, and they could fire at a distance of up to 5 kilometers. But these forts served mainly to intimidate foreign ships passing by and to misinform foreign intelligence services: even though new forts are being built, Kronstadt is far from defenseless, don’t rely on it, “good” gentlemen.

"Ragged"

In 1903 Fort Emperor Paul the First was finally disarmed and turned into military warehouse. After the defeat of the first Kronstadt uprising against the autocracy (1905), the tsarist government decided remove all weapons from Kronstadt, in case of recurrence of unrest in the fortress. And this turned out to be very prudent: the small arms locked in the casemates of Fort Emperor Paul the First were not given to the rebels in the summer of 1906, which was one of the reasons for the defeat of the second Kronstadt uprising. And in vain the representatives of the Socialist Revolutionary Party and the Menshevik Party rushed about on the shore of Kotlin Island in search of at least some kind of boat or at least a boat or a fishing boat... They thought that, having reached the pier of Fort Pavel, they would make a speech in front of the sentries and immediately the gates of the fort would open, and take as many weapons as you want.

But it would hardly have been possible. They did not even manage to reach the fort. The service at the fort was well known. And they were faithful to the oath given to the legitimate sovereign. Fort Pavel was not affected by the events of the stormy 1917. The Provisional Government also had the intention of disarming Kronstadt under the pretext of strengthening the defense of the Moonsund Islands, but the capitalist ministers were unable to do anything against Bolshevik rule in Kronstadt. They came to terms with the fact that Kronstadt was living its own life, and after the storming of the Winter Palace, falling under the protection of Kronstadt sailors who safely delivered them to the Peter and Paul Fortress, they thanked God for somehow surviving.

Life went on quietly and calmly at Fort Pavel before 1919. But then the epic of the Tsarist General Yudenich began, who at the head of his army moved to Petrograd. These events are well known. Both campaigns against Petrograd failed for General Yudenich, although he was supported by the same English fleet and that part of the garrison of the Kronstadt fortress that pinned its secret hopes on the return of the previous order.

June 11, 1919 scary explosion thundered at Fort Pavel, which was at that time naval mine warehouse. In all likelihood, this was still a sabotage with the aim of causing disorganization in the orderly ranks of the Kronstadt revolutionaries. And a few days later, a White Guard uprising broke out at the Krasnaya Gorka fort, as well as at the Gray Horse and General Obruchev forts.
Having suppressed this uprising, the Soviet government began to reorganize the Kronstadt fortress, turning it into a base for the Baltic Navy: this point was too important in the defense of the young Soviet Republic.

What about Fort Paul? He Suffered and very strongly. Some of its premises are completely out of order. However naval mine warehouse remained in the surviving casemates.
In 1922 The revival of the Soviet navy and, of course, the fortifications of the Kronstadt Fortress began. But this did not affect Fort Pavel. He was completely abandoned. Many more mines remained at this fort from the time of the Civil War and repelling the attacks of the English fleet, but there were no workers there. But near- The Great Kronstadt Raid! And the ships that retained their combat capability had their anchorage there. And those that are being restored also show off on the Great Kronstadt roadstead, causing delight and admiration among everyone.

And it never occurred to anyone that nearby, in an old abandoned fortification, accumulated over many years 900 sea mines barriers, suitable and defective, many empty mine casings and all sorts of other similar things explosive property.
Huge black balls of sea mines, piled on top of each other, filled the casemates and the courtyard, lay in rows on the coastal sand, and the waves rushed over them with a quiet rustle. For the time being, for the time being...

At night from 19 to 20 July 1923, black smoke rose above Fort Paul. This smoke was noticed from the cruiser Aurora, which entered service after a major overhaul. On board the cruiser there was a group of cadets assigned to the first practical voyages calling at foreign ports.
That evening, the cruiser commander L.A. Polenov and the cadets’ training supervisors B.F. Winter and V.V. Gedae made a tour of the ship. The following entry was made in the logbook at that moment: “22:30 - fire and smoke were noticed at Fort Paul, what is burning is unknown, because the fire is hidden by the building”.
A semaphore was transmitted from the Aurora to the flagship ship of the Training Detachment Komsomolets: “I’m sending a boat. Winter”. A few minutes later the boat with volunteers was launched. It was headed by V.V. Gedle. Approaching the shore, the boat saw that mine is burning, surrounded by black, evil balls just like her. A shower of sparks flew out of the open neck. Throwing down the oars, the cadets ran towards the mine. They tried to fill the neck with sand. The mine hummed and shook even more. Having wrapped a cable around the burning mine, they dragged it to the water, but when there were only a few meters left to the water, an explosion was heard...

“23.05. Explosion on Pavel. In the form of fireworks. There was smoke"- was recorded in the Aurora's logbook. And from the cruiser a twenty-oared boat was already rushing towards the fort. The Aurors found cadet Sokolsky near the broken boat. The wounded and shell-shocked Sedelnikov was lifted and carried to the boat in his arms. He was seriously wounded and died in hospital a few hours later. Alman, Kazakov and Usherovich died... The Revolutionary Military Council of the Republic, by order No. 121, awarded nine sailors (four posthumously) Orders of the Red Banner. And cadets Poleshchuk, Evseev, Moralev, Sokolsky and Sedelnikov continued their service on the Aurora.

In an instant, the pre-war years flew by. And Fort Paul waited for another war. In 1941 in its ruins was located three 100-millimeter guns and with them were combat crews.

In the post-war years, combat trawling continued for ten years: hundreds of thousands of mines were laid on the approaches to Kronstadt. And then they were caught and neutralized. For some reason, many of them were blown up in the immediate vicinity of Fort Pavel, or even on its sites. And as a result, an ancient, powerful building, an amazing monument of military architecture, turned into a pathetic, mournful ruin... And if, looking out over the panorama of the southern part of the Gulf of Finland, you see a pile of ruins around the pink tower, among the waves - know that these are the remains of the once mighty and glorious fort Emperor Paul the First, which gave rise to the local name - “Ragged”.

Photo gallery: Fort Paul I

PHOTOS OF THE FORT - OLEG ZYRYANOV, ZYRYAN.RU

Summer

Fort Paul I "Risbank"