Commander George Nekrasov talks about the Imperial Russian Fleet in the Black Sea. The Allies in World War I – the Entente Powers – were a coalition of countries led by France, Britain, Imperial Russia, Italy, Japan and the United States against the Central Powers of Germany, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire, Bulgaria and their colonies. The Black Sea was the domain of both the Russian and Ottoman Empires but the Russian fleet dominated the waters and by the end of 1915, the Russian fleet had nearly complete control. It harassed the Ottoman armies as they tried to move along the coastline, and mined the exit from the Bosporus preventing nearly all Ottoman ships from entering the Black Sea. However, the Revolution and subsequent civil war devastated the Imperial Russian Navy. Only the Baltic fleet based at Petrograd remained largely intact, although it was attacked by the British Royal Navy in 1919. Most of the surviving Black Sea Fleet warships remained loyal to the White Russian movement, but Russian sailors fought on both sides in this bloody conflict. The surviving ships and crews would form the core of the Soviet Navy, formed in 1918.
Recorded in March 1976.
Duration 1 hour 15 minutes.
Note that photos and diagrams referred to in this address are not included in this audio-only podcast.
