kaspyTHE CASPIAN REGION: politics, economics, culture1818-510XАстраханский государственный университет им. В. Н. Татищева254510.54398/1818-510X.2025.85.4.00794(470)“1894/1917”The role of the Novorossiysk Society of Homing Pigeon Sports in Training Birds for the Russian Imperial Navy (1895–1914)The role of the Novorossiysk Society of Homing Pigeon Sports in Training Birds for the Russian Imperial Navy (1895–1914)SaenkoMikhail A.SaenkoMikhail A.rv6lvt@rambler.ruMilitary Academy of Communications named after Marshal of the Soviet Union S. M. BudyonnyMilitary Academy of Communications named after Marshal of the Soviet Union S. M. Budyonny27012026477830708202530092025https://kaspy.asu-edu.ru/en/archive/2025/issue/4/article/2545https://kaspy.asu-edu.ru/storage/kaspy/archive/4(85)/77-83.pdf

This article examines the activities of the Novorossiysk Society of Homing Pigeon Sports in Odessa, including training and competitions among homing pigeons. The study of the activities of public associations for the development of the Russian Imperial Navy is of interest to historians. The homing pigeons of the Novorossiysk Society were intended for use by the navy during wartime. To analyze the activities of the Novorossiysk Society of Homing Pigeon Sports, a historical-systematic method is used to reveal the interaction between the sports association and the Russian Imperial Navy in the training and use of homing pigeons as a means of communication. Using specific historical material, the author examines the emergence of homing pigeon sports in the Russian Empire in the late 19th century. The Novorossiysk Society of Homing Pigeon Sports attracted not only individual military and naval officers but also military units with their own active dovecotes. The Honorary Chairman of the Novorossiysk Society, Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich, successfully used homing pigeons to establish communications from the open sea to the shore. Despite the subsequent development of wireless telegraphy and its widespread use on ships, even during World War I, homing pigeons continued to be used on ships in emergency situations to warn coastal fortresses of danger.

This article examines the activities of the Novorossiysk Society of Homing Pigeon Sports in Odessa, including training and competitions among homing pigeons. The study of the activities of public associations for the development of the Russian Imperial Navy is of interest to historians. The homing pigeons of the Novorossiysk Society were intended for use by the navy during wartime. To analyze the activities of the Novorossiysk Society of Homing Pigeon Sports, a historical-systematic method is used to reveal the interaction between the sports association and the Russian Imperial Navy in the training and use of homing pigeons as a means of communication. Using specific historical material, the author examines the emergence of homing pigeon sports in the Russian Empire in the late 19th century. The Novorossiysk Society of Homing Pigeon Sports attracted not only individual military and naval officers but also military units with their own active dovecotes. The Honorary Chairman of the Novorossiysk Society, Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich, successfully used homing pigeons to establish communications from the open sea to the shore. Despite the subsequent development of wireless telegraphy and its widespread use on ships, even during World War I, homing pigeons continued to be used on ships in emergency situations to warn coastal fortresses of danger.

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