Hydrographic Society Russia

HSR Members - Making Russian Navy History Popular

On 31 May 2012, the presentation of a new book in 3 volumes, Chronicle of the Russian Navy, took place in the House of scientists of the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS) in St. Petersburg. The authors of the book are hydrographers and HSR members captain (retired) Vitaly I. Korjakin and Sergey V. Valchuk. The book was published by Nauka , and the editorial work at the publishing house was carried out by HSR member Ratmir Berkutov. The editorial council was headed by the Nobel prize winner, academic Zhores I. Alfyorov. It took more than 15 years to complete the book.

The book contains large amounts of rich actual material obtained from archives, historical works, reference books and periodicals.

This is the first time that the entire history of the Russian Navy has been covered chronologically, stating the many-sided activities since the first campaigns of Russian men in 860 to the Byzantium onwards through until now.

The chronological three-volume edition gives brief data on battles and great geographical openings by Russian seamen, their heroic feats and accidents, construction of their ships and the setting up of naval educational institutions and dates in the lives of naval commanders and scientists.

The presentation of the book took place in the presence of academics of the St. Petersburg centre of science of the RAS, directors of several research institutes of the RAS, and representatives of the archives of the Ministry of Defence and Navy, military academies and naval educational institutions. Among the participants there were also representatives from libraries and public organisations: the Hydrographic Society of Russia, the St.Petersburg Sea Assembly, the International association of public organisations of veterans of the Navy and submariners, veterans of the Navy.

Authors of the book had made a report on their work at ‘Chronicle’ which was accompanied by displays on the screen pictures of Russian artists devoted to events in Russia, the Soviet Union, to naval commanders and to outstanding scientists.

Academic Zhores Alfyorov highly valued the work of the authors and emphasised the value of the work of scientists in the development of the Russian Navy, including: L.Euler, D.Bernulli, M.V.Lomonosov, D.I.Mendeleyev, S.O.Makarov, A.N.Krylov, A.I.Berg and many others.

HSR president Nikolay Neronov expressed his satisfaction with the fact that the three-volume edition gave significant attention to the role of hydrographers in the research of oceans and seas and to navigational-hydrographic maintenance of its activities. He emphasised that the authors did not forgot to mention the contributions by discoverers and researchers of the world’s oceans: S.I. Dezhnev, A.I. Chirikov, I.F. Krusenstern, J.F. Lisjansky, F.P. Litke, G.I. Nevelskoy, S.O. Makarov and modern scientists including B.V. Davidov, O.J. Schmidt, M.V. Shulejkin, J.M. Shokalsky, V.A. Snezhinsky, A.I. Sorokin, V.P. Montelli, J.I. Maksjuta, V.A. Fufaev and many others.

At the end of the presentation, academics Zhores Alfyorov and admiral Vitaly Ivanov handed over letters of appreciation from St. Petersburg centre of science and awards of the St.Petersburg Sea Assembly to everyone who had contributed to the book.