Matwei Christoforowitsch Smajewitsch
Matwei Christoforowitsch Smajewitsch ( Russian Матвей Христофорович Змаевич , also Matija Zmajević , born January 6, 1680 in Perast , Montenegro ; † August 23, 1735 in Tavrov , Russia ) was admiral of the Baltic Fleet and shipbuilder under Peter I.
Early life
He was born into a Catholic family in Perast. At the age of eighteen he became a captain in the Venetian fleet . The family of Smajewitsch found themselves in an interfamily conflict with another local clan. After a member of the opposing clan was killed in a dispute, Matija Perast had to leave because of his alleged involvement in the killing. At the time he was 28 years old. He escaped to the Republic of Ragusa and fled further to Istanbul , where he found refuge and made the acquaintance of the Russian ambassador Peter Tolstoy . In 1712 Tolstoy sent him with recommendations to Peter I. He was impressed by the maritime knowledge of Smajewitsch, took him into service and sent him to Saint Petersburg with the rank of frigate captain .
Smajewitsch had great success in the sea battles against Sweden in the Great Northern War for supremacy on the Baltic Sea . He captured seven smaller Swedish galleys in the 1714 naval battle of Hanko , in which he commanded the right wing of the Russian fleet, and fought in the naval battle of Grönham in 1720, the last naval battle of the war. Peter the Great sent some of his young officers to Perast to learn maritime skills.
He was then promoted to the rank of Vice Admiral. In 1725 he was given the honor of wearing the imperial crown at the funeral of Peter I. Catherine I awarded Smajewitsch the Alexander Nevsky Order , and in 1727 he received the rank of admiral.
After the death of Catherine I in 1727, Smajewitsch was accused of embezzlement and sentenced to death before a court martial. The verdict was overturned at the last minute. As governor of Astrakhan , he again received the rank of vice admiral. There he spent the last years of his life. He worked in building the Black Sea fleet .
He was buried with military honors in the Catholic Church of St. Louis of France in Moscow.
swell
- Ruski admiral Matija Zmajević , Lovorka Čoralić, Slobodna Dalmacija, April 14, 2004. (Croatian)
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Smajewitsch, Matwei Christoforowitsch |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Zmajević, Matija; Змаевич, Матвей Христофорович (Russian) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Admiral of the Baltic Fleet and shipbuilder |
| DATE OF BIRTH | January 6, 1680 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Perast , Montenegro |
| DATE OF DEATH | August 23, 1735 |
| Place of death | Tavrov , Russia |