49 
fleet, Russia began an intensive modernization of its navy. Several 
types of armored ships—ironclad, armored steamers, large gun- 
boats—were built. Russian preoccupation with mine-torpedo warfare 
resulted in the construction of the first minelayers and steamboats 
carrying torpedoes. The intensive shipbuilding program resulted in 
a rather strong naval force toward the mid-1860’s. During the last 
two decades of the 19th century the Russian Navy was reinforced 
with a considerable number of newly built ships, including battleships 
and cruisers. 
Russia’s defeat in the Russo-Japanese War (1904-05) reduced its 
place from third to sixth as a global naval power. The defeat was 
particularly bitter to the Russian Navy, for it was the first large- 
scale battle lost in its 200-year history. However the defeat did not 
discourage the Russians. Shortly thereafter, a new program of navy 
modernization and buildup was launched. The naval buildup among 
leading maritime nations clearly demonstrated the increased role of 
sea power. The government appropriation for shipbuilding and recon- 
struction of shipbuilding yards grew steadily prior to World War I. 
But those amounts were too late and too little. When the war started, 
the Russian Navy had a preponderance of old ships, repeating to 
a large degree the sad experience of the Russo-Japanese War. Not 
a single ship visualized by the large shipbuilding program was ready. 
When World War I started, the Russian Navy consisted of 9 battle- 
ships (predreadnought type), 4 battle cruisers, 6 cruisers, 36 
destroyers, and 18 submarines, with additional vessels in each category 
under construction.’ The Baltic and Black Sea battleships were 
completed during the war, but the majority of the planned ships 
were either never completed or never started. The prolonged construc- 
tion of ships was explained by a shortage of material, a weak industrial 
base and great dependence upon foreign deliveries some of which 
were obviously stopped as soon as hostilities commenced and some 
purposely delayed prior to the war.” 
Naval aviation was widely used during the war, particularly in the 
Black Sea. In addition, mine warfare was extensively used in the 
Baltic, the Black, and the North Seas. Both the Black Sea and Baltic 
fleets were also active in supporting the army’s maritime flanks. The 
combat activity of the Russian Navy continued even after the first 
revolution in February, 1917, despite the fact that the command of 
the navy was gradually disintegrating and was being replaced by com- 
mittees consisting of elected commissars. The October Revolution of 
1917 put an end to the Russian participation in World War I. 
By way of summary, it can be stated that at the time of the October 
Revolution, Russia had a well established naval tradition and a sizable 
navy, which managed to fulfill the basic tasks assigned to it, although 
not distinguishing itself in a major sea battle. The First World War 
interrupted the planned development of the Russian Navy. More than 
200 years of Russian naval history had to its credit a number of 
considerable achievements as well as disappointing failures. The pre- 
Revolutionary Russian Navy had traditionally combined the innovative- 
™Istoriya Voyenno-Morskoga Iskusstvg” (History of Naval Art). Textbook for higher naval schools 
edited by Admiral S. E. Zakharov, Moscow, Boyenizdat, 1969, p. 104. 
*This was the case with machinery for a battle cruiser, two light cruisers, and destroyers, machin- 
ery ordered in Germany. Surprisingly, a somewhat similar picture, though on a smaller scale, was re- 
peated at the beginning of World War II. 
