Matija Zmajević (also Matej Zmajević; ; January 6, 1680 – August 23, 1735) was an admiral of the Russian

Baltic Fleet The Baltic Fleet () is the Naval fleet, fleet of the Russian Navy in the Baltic Sea. Established 18 May 1703, under Tsar Peter the Great as part of the Imperial Russian Navy, the Baltic Fleet is the oldest Russian fleet. In 1918, the fleet w ...

. He was also a shipbuilder for

Peter I of Russia Peter I (, ; – ), better known as Peter the Great, was the Tsar of all Russia from 1682 and the first Emperor of all Russia from 1721 until his death in 1725. He reigned jointly with his half-brother Ivan V until 1696. From this year, ...

, building a fleet in

Voronezh Voronezh ( ; , ) is a city and the administrative centre of Voronezh Oblast in southwestern Russia straddling the Voronezh River, located from where it flows into the Don River. The city sits on the Southeastern Railway, which connects wes ...

Early life

He was born in

Perast Perast () is a town in Coastal Montenegro, Coastal region of Montenegro. It is situated a few kilometres northwest of Kotor and is noted for its proximity to the islets of Sveti Đorđe Island, St. George and Our Lady of the Rocks. History Acc ...

in 1680, at the time located in

Venetian Albania Venetian Albania (, , , , ) was the official term for several possessions of the Republic of Venice in the southeastern Adriatic, encompassing coastal territories primarily in present-day southern Montenegro and partially in northern Albania. Se ...

, now in

Montenegro , image_flag = Flag of Montenegro.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Montenegro.svg , coa_size = 80 , national_motto = , national_anthem = () , image_map = Europe-Mont ...

. His uncle,

Andrija Zmajević Andrija Zmajević ( cyrl, Андрија Змајевић; 6 June 1628 - 7 September 1694) was a Baroque poet, Archbishop of Antivari, and Catholic theologian. Biography The Zmajević family hailed from Vrba, a village from the region of the N ...

, was an archbishop of

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Bar The Archdiocese of Bar (; ; ) is a Latin Church diocese of the Catholic Church in Montenegro.

and a poet. He was also a primate of Serbia. The family was in conflict with the Bujović family, another family from Perast. After Vicko Bujović was killed, Matija left Perast as he was accused of being involved in his death. He escaped to the

Republic of Ragusa The Republic of Ragusa, or the Republic of Dubrovnik, was an maritime republics, aristocratic maritime republic centered on the city of Dubrovnik (''Ragusa'' in Italian and Latin; ''Raguxa'' in Venetian) in South Dalmatia (today in southernmost ...

, and then to

Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...

, where he found refuge with Russian ambassador

Peter Tolstoy Count Pyotr Andreyevich Tolstoy (; 1645–1729) was a Russian statesman and diplomat, prominent during and after the reign of Peter the Great. He was the ancestor of all the Counts Tolstoy, including the novelist Leo Tolstoy (September 9 .S. A ...

. Zmajević had known Tolstoy since a 1698 training trip the latter took to Perast. In 1712, Tolstoy sent him with a recommendation to

Military career

Impressed with Zmajević's education and maritime skills, the

tsar Tsar (; also spelled ''czar'', ''tzar'', or ''csar''; ; ; sr-Cyrl-Latn, цар, car) is a title historically used by Slavic monarchs. The term is derived from the Latin word '' caesar'', which was intended to mean ''emperor'' in the Euro ...

accepted him into military service and sent him to

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

, where he became

commodore Commodore may refer to: Ranks * Commodore (rank), a naval rank ** Commodore (Royal Navy), in the United Kingdom ** Commodore (India), in India ** Commodore (United States) ** Commodore (Canada) ** Commodore (Finland) ** Commodore (Germany) or ' ...

captain and further rose in rank. Zmajević had great success in maritime battles against Sweden, against whom Russia fought the

Great Northern War In the Great Northern War (1700–1721) a coalition led by the Tsardom of Russia successfully contested the supremacy of the Swedish Empire in Northern Europe, Northern, Central Europe, Central and Eastern Europe. The initial leaders of the ant ...

for supremacy in the

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by the countries of Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden, and the North European Plain, North and Central European Plain regions. It is the ...

. In 1714, as head of the tsar's Baltic fleet, he achieved a victory in the

Battle of Gangut The Battle of Gangut (; ; Finland Swedish: ''Slaget vid Rilax''; ) took place on 27 July Jul./ 7 August 1714 Greg. during the Great Northern War (1700–1721), in the waters of Riilahti Bay, north of the Hanko Peninsula, near the site of the mo ...

for which he received the war flag of the Russian fleet. In 1719, he was promoted to rear admiral and his fleet won the last naval battle of the Great Northern War, forcing the Swedes to sign the

Treaty of Nystad The Treaty of Nystad, or the Treaty of Uusikaupunki, was the last peace treaty of the Great Northern War of 1700–1721. It was concluded between the Tsardom of Russia and the Swedish Empire on in the then Swedish town of Nystad (, in th ...

. He was subsequently promoted to the rank of

vice admiral Vice admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, usually equivalent to lieutenant general and air marshal. A vice admiral is typically senior to a rear admiral and junior to an admiral. Australia In the Royal Australian Navy, the rank of Vice ...

and put in charge for building the river fleet of the Don. In 1725, he was given the honor of carrying the emperor's crown at the funeral of Peter the Great. The tsar's successor,

Catherine I Catherine I Alekseyevna Mikhailova (born Marta Samuilovna Skavronskaya; – ) was the second wife and Empress consort of Peter the Great, whom she succeeded as Emperor of all the Russias, Empress of Russia, ruling from 1725 until her death in 1 ...

, decorated Zmajević with the

Order of Alexander Nevsky The Order of Alexander Nevsky () is an Order (distinction), order of merit of the Russia, Russian Federation named in honour of saint Alexander Nevsky (1220–1263) and bestowed to civil servants for twenty years or more of highly meritorious ser ...

. In 1727, he was awarded the ultimate rank of

admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in many 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. Admiral is ranked above vice admiral and below admiral of ...

. After the death of Catherine I in 1727, Zmajević was accused of

embezzlement Embezzlement (from Anglo-Norman, from Old French ''besillier'' ("to torment, etc."), of unknown origin) is a type of financial crime, usually involving theft of money from a business or employer. It often involves a trusted individual taking ...

and sentenced to death by a

court-martial A court-martial (plural ''courts-martial'' or ''courts martial'', as "martial" is a postpositive adjective) is a military court or a trial conducted in such a court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of members of the arme ...

. He was reprieved at the last minute and relegated to the post of governor of the

Astrakhan Astrakhan (, ) is the largest city and administrative centre of Astrakhan Oblast in southern Russia. The city lies on two banks of the Volga, in the upper part of the Volga Delta, on eleven islands of the Caspian Depression, from the Caspian Se ...

area with the rank of

vice-admiral Vice admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, usually equivalent to lieutenant general and air marshal. A vice admiral is typically senior to a rear admiral and junior to an admiral. Australia In the Royal Australian Navy, the rank of vic ...

, where he spent last years of his life. He worked on establishment of the

Black Sea Fleet The Black Sea Fleet () is the Naval fleet, fleet of the Russian Navy in the Black Sea, the Sea of Azov and the Mediterranean Sea. The Black Sea Fleet, along with other Russian ground and air forces on the Crimea, Crimean Peninsula, are subordin ...

, which would play a significant role in Russian expansion to the south after his death. Zmajević made numerous donations to his hometown Perast and

Boka Kotorska The Bay of Kotor ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, Boka kotorska, Бока которска, separator=" / ", ), also known as the Boka ( sh-Cyrl, Бока), is a winding bay of the Adriatic Sea in southwestern Montenegro and the region of Montenegro concentrated a ...

. He was buried with military honors in the Catholic Church of Saint Ludvig in Moscow.

Legacy

The ''

Croatian Encyclopedia The ''Croatian Encyclopedia'' () is a Croatian general encyclopedia An encyclopedia is a reference work or compendium providing summaries of knowledge, either general or special, in a particular field or discipline. Encyclopedias are divid ...

'' describes him as a "Croatian sailor and Russian admiral". He was depicted on a Montenegrin stamp in 2012.

References

Sources

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Zmajevic, Matija 1680 births 1735 deaths Emigrants from the Republic of Venice Immigrants to the Tsardom of Russia People from Perast Imperial Russian Navy admirals Russian military personnel of the Great Northern War

Early life

Military career

Legacy

See also

References

Sources