Fedor Fedorovich Ushakov (1745-1817) - the greatest Russian naval commander, commander of the Black Sea Fleet and the Russian-Turkish armada in the Mediterranean Sea. He went down in history as a victorious admiral who did not know a single defeat in naval battles. Ushakov there were 43 battles, but not one of his wards was captured, and not one of the ships was lost in battle.


The birthplace of the outstanding commander was the small village of Burnakovo, where he was born on February 13 (24), 1745 in a poor noble family.

From an early age, the boy dreamed of the sea, and all the "land" games were not interesting to him. With great pleasure he planed wooden ships and launched them into the water, imagining himself a great strategist.

16-year-old Fedya was sent by his parents to St. Petersburg, where he entered the Naval Cadet Corps. He gnawed the granite of science with great zeal and diligence, and in 1766 he graduated with honors with the rank of midshipman.
At the beginning of his naval career, young Ushakov was sent to the Baltic Fleet, but on the eve of the Russian-Turkish war he was transferred to Azov.

In 1783, Ushakov, already a captain of the 1st rank, received a ship at his disposal, which was only being rebuilt in Kherson. The construction was disrupted due to the outbreak of the plague, but Ushakov managed to take control of the situation and save all members of his crew from a deadly disease. As a result, the construction was completed, and the resourceful captain was awarded the Order of St. Vladimir, 4th class.


The war gave a talented, ambitious officer a chance to make himself known, and he did not miss it. In 1787, the ship "St. Paul" was in his command, on which he successfully repelled the attacks of the Turks.
Military glory came to Ushakov in 1790, when the Rear Admiral was entrusted with the leadership of the entire Black Sea Fleet. He began his brilliant company bypassing the eastern Black Sea coast, during which he destroyed 26 enemy ships.
Commanding the Black Sea flotilla, Ushakov victoriously ended the Russian-Turkish war, defeating the enemy in battles near the Kerch Strait, Cape Kaliakria and Tendra Island. The brilliant victories of Ushakov brought him numerous honors, awards and work and vice admirals.


In a brief biography of Ushakov, there were innovations in the conduct of naval combat: the strategist was the first in history to violate the unspoken code of battle and radically changed tactics. The ships of the Russian naval commander were rapidly approaching the enemy fleet and, without wasting time on rebuilding, attacked the main enemy ship, and then all the rest. Ushakov pursued and sank all Turkish ships to the last. He spared human lives and took prisoners, but mercilessly destroyed enemy ships.


In 1798, Emperor Paul I ordered Ushakov to send the Black Sea flotilla to the Ionian Islands, captured by the French, and to strengthen Russian power in the Mediterranean. It is noteworthy that this time Ushakov's ally was his recent adversary, the Ottoman Empire.

The Russian naval commander managed to free the Mediterranean archipelago from the presence of the French in the shortest possible time. At the end of a successful expedition, Ushakov was elevated to the rank of admiral, and the Turkish sultan presented him with rich gifts as a sign of respect.