Planning of Russian military operations fleet on the Black sea the day before the First world war

Planning of Russian military operations fleet on the Black sea the day before the First world war

Annotation

The article analyzes the development of a plan of military operations for the Russian Imperial Navy in the Black Sea theater by Admiral V. S. Sarnavsky on the eve of World War I. The aim of the study was to characterize the plans of the Russian naval command in the Black Sea. It is shown that the developer of the said plan, Admiral V. S. Sarnavsky, who participated in two wars (the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–1878 and the Russo-Japanese War of 1904–1905), served in all major naval formations of the Russian Empire during his naval career. For several years on the eve of World War I, Admiral V. S. Sarnavsky held senior command positions in the Black Sea Fleet and, thanks to his professional experience, was able to create a plan of military operations in the Black Sea naval theater in the event of an impending war. Using materials from the funds of the Russian State Archive of the Navy, the features of the Russian command's plan for the future war in the Black Sea naval theater are revealed. It is noted that Admiral V. S. Sarnavsky's plan was drawn up in the context of the foreign policy confrontation between two military blocs, the Entente and the Triple Alliance, on the eve of World War I, and the admiral's strategy was aimed at implementing the plans of the Russian Empire to control the Black Sea straits.

Keywords

References

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Citation
Zaitsev I. E. Planning of Russian military operations fleet on the Black sea the day before the First world war. Kaspiyskiy region: politika, ekonomika, kultura [The Caspian Region: Politics, Economics, Culture]. 2025, no. 3 (84), pp. 25–30. https://doi.org/10.54398/1818-510X.2025.84.3.003
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