Admiralty Board was a supreme body for the administration of the
Imperial Russian NavyThe Imperial Russian Navy refers to the Tsarist fleets prior to the Bolshevik Revolution.-First Romanovs:Under Tsar Mikhail Feodorovich construction of the first three-masted ship, actually built within Russia, was completed in 1636. It was built in Balakhna by Danish shipbuilders from Holstein...
in the
Russian EmpireThe Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia, and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
, established by
Peter the GreatPeter I the Great or Pyotr Alexeyevich Romanov ruled Russia and later the Russian Empire from until his death, jointly ruling before 1696 with his weak and sickly half-brother, Ivan V....
on December 12, 1718.
The responsibilities of the Admiralty Board had been changing throughout its history. It supervised the construction of military
shipA ship is a large vessel that floats on water. Ships are generally distinguished from boats based on size and passenger capacity. Ships may be found on lakes, seas, and rivers and they allow for a variety of activities, such as the transport of people or goods, fishing, entertainment, public...
s,
port||-||-||-||-||-||-||-||-|}A port is a facility for receiving ships and/or transferring cargo. It is usually found at the edge of an ocean, sea, river, or lake. The best ports have deep water in channels or berths, and protection from the wind and waves...
s,
harborA harbor or harbour , or haven, is a place where ships may shelter from the weather or are stored. Harbors can be man-made or natural. A man-made harbor will have sea walls or breakwaters and may require dredging. A natural harbor is surrounded on most sides by land.Harbors and ports are often...
s, and
canalCanals are artificial channels for water. There are two types of canal: aqueduct canals are used for the conveyance and delivery of water, and waterway canals are navigable transportation canals used for passage of goods and people, often connected to existing lakes, rivers, or oceans.The word...
s and administered
Admiralty ShipyardThe Admiralty Shipyard is one of the oldest and largest shipyards in Russia, located in Saint Petersburg. The shipyard's building ways can accommodate ships of up to , 250 meters in length and 35 meters in width...
. The Admiralty Board was also in charge of naval armaments and equipment, preparation of naval officers etc. The first president of the Admiralty Board was
CountA count is a nobleman in European countries; his wife is a countess. The word count came into English from the French comte, itself from Latin comes—in its accusative comitem—meaning "companion", and later "companion of the emperor, delegate of the emperor". The British equivalent is an earl...
Fyodor Apraksin. In 1720, the Admiralty Board published a collection of naval
decreeA decree is a rule of law issued by a head of state , according to certain procedures . It has the force of law...
s called
Книга - устав морской о всем, что касается доброму управлению в бытность флота в море (A Naval Charter On Everything That Has To Do With Good Management Of A Fleet At Sea), authored by Peter the Great himself among other people. In 1802, the Admiralty Board became a part of the Ministry of the Navy. Along with the Admiralty Board, there was also the Admiralty Department in 1805-1827 with the responsibilities of the Chief Office of the Ministry. In 1827, the Admiralty Board was turned into the Admiralty Council (Адмиралтейств-совет), which would exist until the
October RevolutionTheOctober Revolution , also known as the Soviet Revolution or Bolshevik Revolution, was a political revolution and a part of the Russian Revolution. It began with an armed insurrection in Petrograd traditionally dated to 25 October 1917 Julian calendar...
of 1917.
Admiralty building
The Admiralty Board used to be headquartered in the
Admiralty building in St. Petersburg. The magnificent Empire Style edifice lining the Admiralty Quay was constructed to
Andreyan ZakharovAndreyan Zakharov was a Russian architect and representative of the Empire style. His designs also alternated neoclassicism with eclecticism. He was born to a family that was employed by the Admiralty board, and his greatest work was his renovation and expansion of the Admiralty building...
's design between 1806 and 1823. Located at the western end of the
Nevsky ProspektNevsky Prospekt , or the Nevsky Avenue, is the main street in the city of St Petersburg. Planned by Peter the Great as beginning the road to Novgorod and Moscow, the avenue runs from the Admiralty to the Moscow Railway Station and, after making a turn at Vosstaniya Square, to the Alexander Nevsky...
, with a gilded steeple topped by a golden weather-vane in the shape of a small ship, it is one of the city's most conspicuous landmarks. The spire is the focal point of old St. Petersburg's three main streets - Nevskiy Prospekt, Gorokhovaya Ulitsa, and Vosnesenskiy Prospekt underscoring the importance Peter I placed on Russia's Navy.
Vladimir NabokovVladimir Vladimirovich Nabokov was a multilingual Russian novelist and short story writer....
, famed writer and native of St. Petersburg, wrote a short story in May 1933 entitled "The Admiralty Spire."
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