Marko Ivanovich Voinovich (russian: Ма́рко Ива́нович Во́йнович, ; 1750–1807) was an Admiral of the

Russian Imperial 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 ...

, one of the founders of the Black Sea Fleet.Voynovich, Mark Ivanovich
article in

Great Soviet Encyclopedia The ''Great Soviet Encyclopedia'' (GSE; ) is one of the largest Russian-language encyclopedias, published in the Soviet Union from 1926 to 1990. After 2002, the encyclopedia's data was partially included into the later ''Bolshaya rossiyskaya e ...

Life

Vojnović was born in

Herceg Novi Herceg Novi ( cyrl, Херцег Нови, ) is a coastal town in Montenegro located at the Western entrance to the Bay of Kotor and at the foot of Mount Orjen. It is the administrative center of the Herceg Novi Municipality with around 33,000 ...

Republic of Venice The Republic of Venice ( vec, Repùblega de Venèsia) or Venetian Republic ( vec, Repùblega Vèneta, links=no), traditionally known as La Serenissima ( en, Most Serene Republic of Venice, italics=yes; vec, Serenìsima Repùblega de Venèsia, ...

(now

Montenegro ) , image_map = Europe-Montenegro.svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Podgorica , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , official_languages = M ...

). He was a member of the

Vojnović noble family The Vojnović ( Serbian Cyrillic: Војновић, Vojnovići / Војновићи) or Vojinović (Serbian Cyrillic: Војиновић, Vojinovići / Војиновићи), was a Serbian noble family in the Bay of Kotor and Dalmatia activ ...

, a

Serb The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are the most numerous South Slavic ethnic group native to the Balkans in Southeastern Europe, who share a common Serbian ancestry, culture, history and language. The majority of Serbs live in their na ...

family recognized as nobility by Venice and

Trieste Trieste ( , ; sl, Trst ; german: Triest ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital city, and largest city, of the autonomous region of Friuli Venezia Giulia, one of two autonomous regions which are not subdivided into prov ...

in the Habsburg monarchy, and Imperial Russia. In 1770 Vojnović was accepted into the Russian Navy as an

ensign An ensign is the national flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality. The ensign is the largest flag, generally flown at the stern (rear) of the ship while in port. The naval ensign (also known as war ensign), used on warships, may be diffe ...

and saw distinguished service in the Mediterranean expedition of Russian Navy during the Russo-Turkish War (1768–1774). In 1780 Vojnović was appointed the Commander of the

Caspian Flotilla Kaspiyskaya flotiliya , image = Great emblem of the Caspian Flotilla.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = Great emblem of the Caspian Flotilla , dates = No ...

He led an expedition to the

Caspian Sea The Caspian Sea is the world's largest inland body of water, often described as the world's largest lake or a full-fledged sea. An endorheic basin, it lies between Europe and Asia; east of the Caucasus, west of the broad steppe of Central Asia ...

in 1781 and discovered offshore

oil An oil is any nonpolar chemical substance that is composed primarily of hydrocarbons and is hydrophobic (does not mix with water) & lipophilic (mixes with other oils). Oils are usually flammable and surface active. Most oils are unsaturated ...

and gas deposits near

Chilov Chilov ( az, Çilov adası, also spelt Zhiloy and Jiloi) is an island in the Caspian Sea. It is located off the Absheron Peninsula, east of Baku. Geography Chilov Island is located off the eastern end of the Apsheron Peninsula in the Caspian ...

Island. In 1783 Vojnović was appointed the commander of the first battleship of the nascent Black Sea Fleet. In 1785 he became the commander of

Sevastopol Sevastopol (; uk, Севасто́поль, Sevastópolʹ, ; gkm, Σεβαστούπολις, Sevastoúpolis, ; crh, Акъя́р, Aqyár, ), sometimes written Sebastopol, is the largest city in Crimea, and a major port on the Black Sea ...

Squadron Squadron may refer to: * Squadron (army), a military unit of cavalry, tanks, or equivalent subdivided into troops or tank companies * Squadron (aviation), a military unit that consists of three or four flights with a total of 12 to 24 aircraft, ...

. He fought in 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, Rom ...

against the

Turkish Navy The Turkish Naval Forces ( tr, ), or Turkish Navy ( tr, ) is the naval warfare service branch of the Turkish Armed Forces. The modern naval traditions and customs of the Turkish Navy can be traced back to 10 July 1920, when it was establis ...

led by Hassan Pasha in 1788. From the end of 1789 to the beginning 1790 Vojnović was the Chief of the Black Sea Fleet. Although the Russian Navy won the Battle of Fidonisi under his command, his actions in the Russo-Turkish War (1787–1792) were considered indecisive and he was dismissed from command of the Fleet in March 1790. In 1797 Vojnović became a member of the Black Sea Admiralty Administration. He was appointed a full Admiral in 1801 and retired in 1805.

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Vojnovic, Marko 18th-century people from the Russian Empire 1750 births 1807 deaths 18th-century Serbian nobility Imperial Russian Navy admirals Explorers from the Russian Empire Recipients of the Order of St. George of the Third Degree People from the Russian Empire of Serbian descent Marko Republic of Venice nobility Emigrants from the Republic of Venice to the Russian Empire

Life

See also

References

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