Alexei Naumovich Senyavin (also spelled Sinyavin) (russian: Алексей Наумович Сенявин) (5 October 1716 – 10 August 1797) was an

admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in some navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force, and is above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet, ...

of the

Imperial Russian Navy The Imperial Russian Navy () operated as the navy of the Russian Tsardom and later the Russian Empire from 1696 to 1917. Formally established in 1696, it lasted until dissolved in the wake of the February Revolution of 1917. It developed from a ...

, son of Naum Senyavin.

Early career

Senyavin began his career in the navy in 1734 as a

warrant officer Warrant officer (WO) is a rank or category of ranks in the armed forces of many countries. Depending on the country, service, or historical context, warrant officers are sometimes classified as the most junior of the commissioned ranks, the mos ...

. Serving in the Dnieper Flotilla, he took part in the Russo-Turkish War of 1735-1739. In 1739, Alexei Senyavin was transferred to the

Baltic Fleet , image = Great emblem of the Baltic fleet.svg , image_size = 150 , caption = Baltic Fleet Great ensign , dates = 18 May 1703 – present , country = , allegiance = (1703–1721) (1721–1917) (1917–1922) (1922–1991)(1991–present) ...

. At the height of the

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War (1756–1763) was a global conflict that involved most of the European Great Powers, and was fought primarily in Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific. Other concurrent conflicts include the French and Indian War (1754� ...

, Senyavin commanded a battleship during the blockade of Kolberg. Alexei Senyavin retired from the navy in 1762 as a captain, 1st rank.

Later career

Senyavin's later career in the navy coincided with the reign of

Catherine the Great , en, Catherine Alexeievna Romanova, link=yes , house = , father = Christian August, Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst , mother = Joanna Elisabeth of Holstein-Gottorp , birth_date = , birth_name = Princess Sophie of Anhal ...

. In 1766, he was called out for service yet again and promoted to the rank of

rear admiral Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to a major general and air vice marshal and above that of a commodore and captain, but below that of a vice admiral. It is regarded as a two star "admiral" rank. It is often regarde ...

two years later. Due to

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

's ongoing preparations for the war against the Turks, the empress entrusted Alexei Senyavin with the construction of different ships at the dockyards along the Don River, which would be able to reach the

Sea of Azov The Sea of Azov ( Crimean Tatar: ''Azaq deñizi''; russian: Азовское море, Azovskoye more; uk, Азовське море, Azovs'ke more) is a sea in Eastern Europe connected to the Black Sea by the narrow (about ) Strait of Kerch, ...

and the

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Roma ...

. Thus, Senyavin was made responsible for re-establishing the Don Military Flotilla, which was supposed to interoperate with the Russian ground forces along the

Crimea Crimea, crh, Къырым, Qırım, grc, Κιμμερία / Ταυρική, translit=Kimmería / Taurikḗ ( ) is a peninsula in Ukraine, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, that has been occupied by Russia since 2014. It has a pop ...

n coastline. Senyavin had to come up with a certain type of ships, which could navigate in shallow waters and meet combat requirements, at the same time. Alexei Senyavin managed to build a flotilla by 1771 and then sent it to Taganrog to assist the Russian troops in occupying the Crimea. In 1773, he was put in charge of this flotilla and succeeded in fighting off the Turks at sea, finally blocking their access to the Sea of Azov by capturing Yenikale and Kerch. In 1774, Senyavin rebuffed the attack of the Turkish fleet in the Strait of Kerch, making it retire with losses. Owing in large part to the actions of the Don Military Flotilla under Senyavin's command, Russia signed a favourable Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca with

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

, regaining Azov and Taganrog and gaining Kerch and Yenikale. Thus, Catherine II made

Peter the Great Peter I ( – ), most commonly known as Peter the Great,) or Pyotr Alekséyevich ( rus, Пётр Алексе́евич, p=ˈpʲɵtr ɐlʲɪˈksʲejɪvʲɪtɕ, , group=pron was a Russian monarch who ruled the Tsardom of Russia from t ...

's dream a reality – Russia finally got its first direct access to the Black Sea.

Honors

For his excellent service and achievements, Alexei Senyavin was first promoted to the rank of vice admiral (1769) and then admiral (1775). He was also awarded the

Order of St. Anna The Imperial Order of Saint Anna (russian: Орден Святой Анны; also "Order of Saint Anne" or "Order of Saint Ann") was a Holstein ducal and then Russian imperial order of chivalry. It was established by Karl Friedrich, Duke of Holst ...

and

Order of St. Alexander Nevsky The Imperial Order of Saint Alexander Nevsky was an order of chivalry of the Russian Empire first awarded on by Empress Catherine I of Russia. History The introduction of the Imperial Order of Saint Alexander Nevsky was envisioned by Empero ...

. In 1788, Alexei Senyavin retired from the navy due to his illness. Upon his recovery in 1794, he was asked to join the Admiralty Board.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Senyavin, Alexei Imperial Russian Navy admirals 1716 births 1797 deaths Recipients of the Order of St. Anna Burials at Lazarevskoe Cemetery (Saint Petersburg) Burials at Tikhvin Cemetery