The ''Standart'' was an Imperial Russian yacht serving

Emperor An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereignty, sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), ...

Nicholas II Nicholas II or Nikolai II Alexandrovich Romanov; spelled in pre-revolutionary script. ( 186817 July 1918), known in the Russian Orthodox Church as Saint Nicholas the Passion-Bearer,. was the last Emperor of Russia, King of Congress Pola ...

and his family, being in her time (late 19th/early 20th century) the largest Imperial Yacht afloat. After the Russian Revolution the ship was placed in drydock until 1936, when she was converted to a minelayer. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, she participated in the defence of

Leningrad Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

History

Imperial Yacht

The Imperial Yacht ''Standart'' (Штандартъ) was built by order of

Alexander III of Russia Alexander III ( rus, Алекса́ндр III Алекса́ндрович, r=Aleksandr III Aleksandrovich; 10 March 18451 November 1894) was Emperor of Russia, King of Poland and Grand Duke of Finland from 13 March 1881 until his death in 18 ...

, and constructed at the Danish shipyard of

Burmeister & Wain Burmeister & Wain was a large established Danish shipyard and leading diesel engine producer headquartered in Copenhagen, Denmark. Founded by two Danes and an Englishman, its earliest roots stretch back to 1846. Over its 150-year history, it g ...

, beginning in 1893. She was launched on 21 March 1895 and came into service early September 1896. ''Standart'' was fitted out with ornate fixtures, including

mahogany Mahogany is a straight-grained, reddish-brown timber of three tropical hardwood species of the genus ''Swietenia'', indigenous to the AmericasBridgewater, Samuel (2012). ''A Natural History of Belize: Inside the Maya Forest''. Austin: Unive ...

paneling, crystal chandeliers, and other amenities that made the vessel a suitable floating palace for the Russian Imperial Family. The ship was crewed by sailors from the Russian Imperial Navy. During the reign of

, ''Standart'' was commanded by a naval Captain, although the official commander was a Rear Admiral. Her commander in 1914 was

Nikolai Pavlovich Sablin Nikolai Pavlovich Sablin (russian: Николай Павлович Саблин) (16 April 1880 – 21 August 1937) was an officer in the Imperial Russian Navy Sablin was born into a naval family in Mykolaiv. His father was Vice Admiral Pavel Sa ...

On 29 August 1907, ''Standart'' ran aground on an uncharted rock off the Finnish coast. Although damaged, the ship did not sink. She was refloated on 1 September with assistance from the icebreaker ''No. 1''. Subsequently, repaired and returned to service. With the outbreak of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, ''Standart'' was placed in drydock. In 1912, Emperors Nicholas II of Russia and Wilhelm II of Germany met on the yacht at

Paldiski Paldiski is a town and Baltic Sea port situated on the Pakri Peninsula of northwestern Estonia. Since 2017, it's the administrative centre of Lääne-Harju Parish of Harju County. Previously a village of Estonia-Swedes known by the historical ...

naval harbour for negotiations.

Soviet minelayer Marti

After the fall of the Romanov Dynasty, ''Standart'' was stripped down and pressed into naval service. The ship was renamed ''18 marta'' (18 March), and later ''Marti'' (in honor of André Marty). In 1932–1936, ''Marti'' was converted into a minelayer by the Marti yard in

. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, ''Marti'' served in the

Baltic Baltic may refer to: Peoples and languages * Baltic languages, a subfamily of Indo-European languages, including Lithuanian, Latvian and extinct Old Prussian *Balts (or Baltic peoples), ethnic groups speaking the Baltic languages and/or originati ...

, laying mines and bombarding shore positions along the coast. On 23 September 1941, ''Marti'' was damaged in an air attack at Kronstadt, but later repaired and continued service until the end of the war. A mine laid off Hanko by ''Marti'' sunk the German submarine chaser UJ.117/''Gustav Kroner'' on 1 October 1941. After the war, ''Marti'' was converted into a training ship and renamed ''Oka'' in 1957. She continued serving in that role until she was scrapped at

Tallinn Tallinn () is the most populous and capital city of Estonia. Situated on a bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, Tallinn has a population of 437,811 (as of 2022) and administratively lies in the Harju ' ...

Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...

, in 1963.

Specifications

*Displacement: 5557 tons *Length: between perpendiculars *Length Overall: *Width: *Depth: *Maximum Speed: 21.18 knots

Previous Imperial Yachts

* Alexandria ( Александрия) * Livadia * Polyarnaya zvezda (Polar Star – Полярная звезда)

Notes

References

* * Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1922–1946 * *

External links

Russian Imperial Yacht Standart

{{DEFAULTSORT:Standart (Yacht) Royal and presidential yachts Ships of the Imperial Russian Navy 1895 ships Steam yachts Mine warfare vessels of the Soviet Navy Auxiliary ships of the Soviet Navy Maritime incidents in 1907