Fort Ino or Fort Nikolaevsky (russian: форт «Ино» or форт Николаевский) is an abandoned early 20th-century

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eigh ...

coastal The coast, also known as the coastline or seashore, is defined as the area where land meets the ocean, or as a line that forms the boundary between the land and the coastline. The Earth has around of coastline. Coasts are important zones in n ...

fortification A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

situated on the northern shore of Neva Bay in the

Gulf of Finland The Gulf of Finland ( fi, Suomenlahti; et, Soome laht; rus, Фи́нский зали́в, r=Finskiy zaliv, p=ˈfʲinskʲɪj zɐˈlʲif; sv, Finska viken) is the easternmost arm of the Baltic Sea. It extends between Finland to the north and E ...

. The fort is close to the present-day settlement Privetninskoye (Former name was Ino before 1946) of Vyborgsky District of

Leningrad Oblast Leningrad Oblast ( rus, Ленинградская область, Leningradskaya oblast’, lʲɪnʲɪnˈgratskəjə ˈobləsʲtʲ, , ) is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast). It was established on 1 August 1927, although it was not until 1 ...

, opposite the Krasnaya Gorka fort on the southern shore. Fort Ino is still under Russian control. The ruins of the fortress, with an extensive system of tunnels, are now abandoned and are partially accessible to the public.

Early history

Fort Ino was constructed in 1909-1916 on Cape Inoniemi on the

Karelian Isthmus The Karelian Isthmus (russian: Карельский перешеек, Karelsky peresheyek; fi, Karjalankannas; sv, Karelska näset) is the approximately stretch of land, situated between the Gulf of Finland and Lake Ladoga in northwestern R ...

, within the borders of Viipuri Province of the autonomous

Grand Duchy of Finland The Grand Duchy of Finland ( fi, Suomen suuriruhtinaskunta; sv, Storfurstendömet Finland; russian: Великое княжество Финляндское, , all of which literally translate as Grand Principality of Finland) was the predecess ...

. It was intended to protect the capital city of

Petrograd 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 ...

(Saint Petersburg) and the naval base at

Kronstadt Kronstadt (russian: Кроншта́дт, Kronshtadt ), also spelled Kronshtadt, Cronstadt or Kronštádt (from german: link=no, Krone for " crown" and ''Stadt'' for "city") is a Russian port city in Kronshtadtsky District of the federal city ...

, and was served by a railroad and a harbor. As

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bo ...

had become independent, on March 1, 1918, during the

Finnish Civil War The Finnish Civil War; . Other designations: Brethren War, Citizen War, Class War, Freedom War, Red Rebellion and Revolution, . According to 1,005 interviews done by the newspaper '' Aamulehti'', the most popular names were as follows: Civil ...

, in a friendship treaty the Finnish Red Guards'

Edvard Gylling Edvard Otto Vilhelm Gylling (30 November 1881 – 14 June 1938) was a prominent Social Democratic and later Communist politician in Finland, later leader of Soviet Karelia. He was born in Kuopio. He was a member of Parliament of Finland for t ...

and

Oskari Tokoi Antti Oskari Tokoi (15 April 1873 – 4 April 1963) was a Finnish socialist who served as a leader of the Social Democratic Party of Finland. In 1917 Tokoi acted as a Chairman of the Senate of Finland and thus he was the world’s first social dem ...

in the name of the

Finnish Socialist Workers' Republic The Finnish Socialist Workers' Republic (FSWR), more commonly referred to as Red Finland, was a self-proclaimed Finnish socialist state that ruled parts of the country during the Finnish Civil War of 1918. It was outlined on 29 January 1918 by t ...

ceded the fortress to Soviet Russia in exchange for the city of Petsamo.Договор Об укреплении дружбы и братства между РСФСР и Финляндской Социалистической Рабочей Республикой
/ref> However, the Finnish White Guards, who ultimately came out victorious in the civil war, demanded the fortress back, without offering a similar return of Petsamo, and on April 24 the 5th Jaeger Regiment under Major

Hugo Viktor Österman Hugo or HUGO may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Hugo'' (film), a 2011 film directed by Martin Scorsese * Hugo Award, a science fiction and fantasy award named after Hugo Gernsback * Hugo (franchise), a children's media franchise based on a ...

laid siege to it. On May 8

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...

demanded Soviet Russia return the fort to Finland, and the

Soviet government The Government of the Soviet Union ( rus, Прави́тельство СССР, p=prɐˈvʲitʲɪlʲstvə ɛs ɛs ɛs ˈɛr, r=Pravítelstvo SSSR, lang=no), formally the All-Union Government of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, commonly ab ...

for fear of violating the

Treaty of Brest-Litovsk The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk (also known as the Treaty of Brest in Russia) was a separate peace treaty signed on 3 March 1918 between Russia and the Central Powers (Germany, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria, and the Ottoman Empire), that ended Russia's ...

withdrew its support to the crew. On May 14, 1918, the Soviet crew destroyed the batteries and evacuated to

aboard the battleship ''Respublika''. With the Treaty of Tartu in 1920, Finland undertook to disarm it completely within a year.

Commissars

* 1917-1918 Boris Donskoy * 1918 K.Artamonov

References

External links

* Гольянов, Владислав
Форт Николаевский - стройка века. Прошлого
"Выборг" № 17 (16118), February 5, 2009. * Михаленя, К.К
Форт "Ино". Строительство и разрушение
"Цитадель" № 2, 1996 - № 1, 1997. {{coord, 60, 09, 40, N, 29, 24, 30, E, type:landmark_region:RU_scale:50000, display=title Forts in Russia History of the Karelian Isthmus Military installations established in 1916 1916 establishments in Finland Military installations closed in 1920 1920 disestablishments in Finland Cultural heritage monuments in Leningrad Oblast