How the imperial yachts were arranged, and why Empress Alexandra Feodorovna always smiled when she stepped on the deck of the "Standart"

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

Sea yachts for the first persons of the state are a special type of ships and a special type of residences. It seems quite natural that they embodied all the best that was invented for comfort and safety, but it is surprising that more than a century later, the level of equipment of the imperial ships at first glance seems unattainable for an ordinary person of the 21st century - however, opinions may differ here.

It all started with Peter the Great

The history of imperial yachts, that is, light, fast ships designed to transport the highest officials of the state, dates back to the era of Peter I. The Great Embassy of 1697-1698, in which the tsar took part under the name of Peter Mikhailov, allowed him to master many different professions, and including learning how to build ships. Peter already had some experience - back in the days of the Amusing Flotilla on Lake Pleshcheyevo, he designed a small boat "Fortuna" - a small oak boat for five pairs of oars.

Access to the sea and access to the Baltic waters gave the tsar an opportunity to create a Russian fleet, and a significant role was given to "executive" yachts in it. In 1697, the Dutch Emperor Wilhelm II of Orange presented Peter with the Transport Royal yacht, its displacement then was 297 tons, length - 25.6 meters.

Since 1702, at the Voronezh shipyard in Russia, the construction of "court" yachts began, and the "Saint Catherine", "Liebe", "Nadezhda" were born. Peter introduced the nobility and representatives of different social strata and different professions to the naval business. In 1713, the Hereditary Nevsky Fleet was established, its rules regulated the use of court yachts, and obligatory weekly "exercises" were arranged for their owners, exercises, which were not recommended to be skipped so as not to incur the sovereign's wrath. Peter, who passionately loved the sea and ships, made the Russian nobility fall in love with them, too, from him the craving for sea voyages was passed on to subsequent rulers, each of whom contributed to the development of the fleet as a whole, and the modernization of those ships that took on board the first persons the state.

In 1719 the yacht "Princess Anna" was laid down, the largest for its time, it was used by Peter's daughter Anna for travel after the wedding, and later - for trips of the royal family to Peterhof and Kronstadt.

Court and imperial yachts of the 18th - 19th centuries

If the first Russian emperor approached the construction of both palaces and ships rather practical than with the desire to amaze others with luxury, then for those who ruled Russia and the fleet after him, the priorities were already somewhat different. Catherine II, continuing the work of her great predecessor, was much more wasteful in the decoration of court courts. In 1764 the yacht "Happiness" was built, it was intended for His Highness Paul I, who, thanks to his mother, became admiral-general of the Russian fleet at the age of eight. He came up with such a name for his ship.

The yacht, richly decorated with valuable species of wood, served for ten years and was dismantled, after which Catherine ordered to create a ship for herself. The new yacht received the same name - "Happiness", but was larger - reaching 23.5 meters in length. The imperial cabins were decorated with mahogany and rosewood, furnished with luxurious furniture, decorated with mirrors and bronze, and covered with expensive carpets.

It must be said that in the history of Russian imperial yachts - and they began to be called "imperial" only since 1892 - there were quite a lot of such ships - "namesake". So the new "St. Catherine" was built in 1795 - shortly before the death of the empress. Paul I, who came to power, in contrast to his mother, strove for a more modest decoration of ships, such was the yacht "Emmanuel", laid down in 1797. During a trip on this ship, when the sea was rough, it turned out that the emperor did not tolerate rolling well.

Under Alexander I, court yachts were included in the "Marine Guards Crew". In total, 22 grand ducal, official and imperial yachts were created in the century before last. And the heyday of the construction and use of "executive class" ships in the 19th century came during the reign of his brother Nicholas I. Already in 1825, at the very beginning of his reign, he ordered to lay down the yacht "Druzhba", on which he sailed a lot on the Gulf of Finland. The emperor did not limit himself to "friendship"; with the development of shipbuilding technologies, more and more ships appeared for the august passengers. In 1831, the six-gun paddle steamer Alexandria was laid down, which was named after the palace in Peterhof, built for the Empress Alexandra Feodorovna. A steam engine with a capacity of 90 horsepower was installed on the ship. Richly decorated, "Alexandria" had its own coat of arms, which was also depicted on the service - it was unique for each of the imperial yachts. Since 1851, this ship became a military steamer, changing its name to "Tosna", and a new "Alexandria" was built for the ruling family.

This "Alexandria" served the ruling family for more than half a century, and the families of four Russian emperors - Nicholas I, Alexander II, Alexander III and Nicholas II - went to sea on it. During the operation, she made 326 voyages, received foreign delegations on board, and became the venue for state ceremonies. Over the years, "Alexandria" was provided for the temporary disposal of the rulers of various states - the Queen of Denmark, the King of Greece, the Persian Shah.

In 1866, during the reign of Alexander II, the yacht Derzhava was built, the power of its steam engines was already 720 hp. She served the royal family until 1898. During travels and trips on the yacht there were 238 crew members, 50 people of the royal servants and retinue. On the bow of the ship was the figure of a two-headed eagle.

With the acquisition of the residence in the Crimea by the imperial family, the need arose to build a Black Sea yacht - the first was "Tiger", a steamer with a length of 62.8 meters, created back in 1855. Following were built two "Livadias" - the first, in 1869, withstood an 11-point storm, but died, hitting the reef. In 1880, a much more luxurious "Livadia" appeared - the total area of its cabins, halls and saloons was a little less than 4 thousand square meters, the yacht was electrified.

Nicholas II and his family: at home on a yacht

The most beloved yacht of the last Russian emperor was the Shtandart, which became a real dacha for the royal family. It was already the second "Standard" - the first, built in 1857, visited both the Mediterranean Sea and the Finnish skerries, which became a popular place for outings of Nicholas II and Alexandra Feodorovna.

The new "Standard", laid down in Copenhagen in 1893, became the largest yacht and, of course, the most perfect for that time. Its comfort even now boggles the imagination - the ship was provided with hot and cold water supply, there were water distillers, an electric brazier and a steam bakery were located. Each member of the imperial family was provided with its own living room, bedroom, bathroom. For Nicholas II, a study, a reception was created, and there was also a dining room for official receptions. The "Standard" was visited by the king of Siam, the German emperor, the president of France.

Since 1906, the last Romanovs spent a lot of time on the yacht. Only during sea voyages, according to the recollections of those close to the royal family, could Empress Alexandra Feodorovna be seen smiling. The illness of Tsarevich Alexei and the risks associated with it and with the publicity faded into the background on the "Standart" - the crew of the yacht was perceived by the empress as part of the family. By the way, the number of crew members was 373, not counting the servants.

The memories of those who were part of this society have been preserved about life on the "Shtandart" - including the photographer Nikolai Sablin, who took countless photographs and filmed many newsreels, thanks to which one can imagine the yachting life of the royal family. At 8 o'clock in the morning, the flag was raised on the ship, and Nikolai and his children were present at the ceremony. At 9 we drank morning tea with baked goods, which was baked right there. Milk and butter were delivered from the shore, from the Tsarskoye Selo or Peterhof farm.

After tea, the emperor went in for rowing in a boat or kayak. At 12 o'clock there was a hearty breakfast, soup was always served as one of the dishes. After breakfast we went ashore - there we had picnics, picked berries and mushrooms, and swam. At 5 o'clock tea was served, after which the emperor was busy with business and documents.

At 8 pm it was lunch time, they had dinner for a long time, at least an hour, then it was time for board games, bingo, dominoes, Alexandra Feodorovna was doing needlework. At 11pm, fruit and biscuits were served and it was time to go to bed. Nikolai went to bed late, working with documents until nightfall.

The yacht also hosted the royal family during the trip to the Crimea: despite the fact that a special vessel could receive the Romanovs on the Black Sea, they were too much attached to the "Standart", and therefore the yacht set off, skirting Europe, and waited for the arrival of Nicholas II with family traveling south by train.

After the revolution, the imperial yachts were dismantled or used as targets for testing anti-ship missiles.

More on luxury ships: what menu was offered to passengers of the "Titanic".