Nikolai Illarionovich Skrydlov (), (1 April 1844 – 4 October 1918) was an admiral in the

Imperial Russian Navy The Imperial Russian Navy () operated as the navy of the Russian Tsardom and later the Russian Empire from 1696 to 1917. Formally established in 1696, it lasted until being dissolved in the wake of the February Revolution and the declaration of ...

Biography

Skrydlov was born in

Pskov Pskov ( rus, Псков, a=Ru-Псков.oga, p=psˈkof; see also Names of Pskov in different languages, names in other languages) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city in northwestern Russia and the administrative center of Pskov O ...

to the family of a career naval officer in the Imperial Russian Navy, and graduated from the

Sea Cadet Corps Sea cadets are members of a cadets youth program sponsored by a national naval service, aimed for young people with an interest in waterborne activities and or the national navy. The organisation may be sponsored in whole or in part by the navy or ...

in 1862. He rose to prominence during the

Russo-Turkish War (1877–78) The Russo-Turkish wars ( ), or the Russo-Ottoman wars (), began in 1568 and continued intermittently until 1918. They consisted of twelve conflicts in total, making them one of the longest series of wars in the history of Europe. All but four of ...

, where he commanded the small river

minelayer A minelayer is any warship, submarine, military aircraft or land vehicle deploying explosive mines. Since World War I the term "minelayer" refers specifically to a naval ship used for deploying naval mines. "Mine planting" was the term for ins ...

''Shutka'' on the

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, which successful sank an Ottoman

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on 8 June 1877. He was awarded the

Order of St George Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * A socio-political or established or existing order, e.g. World order, Ancien Regime, Pax Britannica * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood * ...

, 4th class after he was wounded in combat.Kowner, '' Historical Dictionary of the Russo-Japanese War'', p. 356. Skrydlov was captain of the cruiser from 1886 to 1889. In 1887 he took Dmitrii ''Donskoi'' on a voyage to the Far East, calling on

Nagasaki , officially , is the capital and the largest Cities of Japan, city of Nagasaki Prefecture on the island of Kyushu in Japan. Founded by the Portuguese, the port of Portuguese_Nagasaki, Nagasaki became the sole Nanban trade, port used for tr ...

in Japan on 19 May and remaining in Japanese waters for several months before reaching

Vladivostok Vladivostok ( ; , ) is the largest city and the administrative center of Primorsky Krai and the capital of the Far Eastern Federal District of Russia. It is located around the Zolotoy Rog, Golden Horn Bay on the Sea of Japan, covering an area o ...

on 20 July. She overwintered in Japan and returned to the Baltic in January 1889. Skrydlov was reassigned to command the battleship from 1889 to 1893. Promoted to rear admiral on 30 August 1893, Skrydlov was placed in charge of Russian torpedo warfare operations from 1894 to 1898, and commanded detachments of ships in the Baltic in 1895 and 1896. He commanded the Russian squadron in the Mediterranean from 1898 to 1899, participating in the International Squadron in

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, and was the official representative of the Russian government at the funeral of French president

Félix Faure Félix François Faure (; 30 January 1841 – 16 February 1899) was President of France from 1895 until his death in 1899. A native of Paris, he worked as a tanner in his younger years. Faure became a member of the Chamber of Deputies for Seine- ...

in 1899. He was promoted to vice admiral on 3 July 1900. Skrydlov became commander of the Russian Pacific Squadron from 1900 to 1902, and then 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 ...

from 1903 to 1904. After the death of Admiral

Stepan Makarov Stepan Osipovich Makarov (, ; – ) was a Russian vice-admiral, commander in the Imperial Russian Navy, oceanographer, member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, and author of several books. He was a pioneer of insubmersibility theory (the ...

in combat during the

Russo-Japanese War The Russo-Japanese War (8 February 1904 – 5 September 1905) was fought between the Russian Empire and the Empire of Japan over rival imperial ambitions in Manchuria and the Korean Empire. The major land battles of the war were fought on the ...

, Skrydlov was reappointed commander of the Russian Pacific Squadron on 1 April 1904. However, due to the Japanese blockade of Port Arthur, he was unable to reach his command, and returned from

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on 20 December 1904 to accept an appointment to the Admiralty Board. He again commanded the Black Sea Fleet from 1906 to 1907, and retired from active service in August 1909 with the rank of admiral. In October 1918, Skrydlov either died from hunger, or arrested by the

Bolshevik The Bolsheviks, led by Vladimir Lenin, were a radical Faction (political), faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (RSDLP) which split with the Mensheviks at the 2nd Congress of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party, ...

s in the

Red Terror The Red Terror () was a campaign of political repression and Mass killing, executions in Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, Soviet Russia which was carried out by the Bolsheviks, chiefly through the Cheka, the Bolshevik secret police ...

and executed. His grave was at his family's ancestral estate in what is now the Oleninsky district of

Tver Tver (, ) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative centre of Tver Oblast, Russia. It is situated at the confluence of the Volga and Tvertsa rivers. Tver is located northwest of Moscow. Population: The city is ...

Awards

RUS Order of Saint George 4th class ribbon 2000

Order of St. George The Order of Saint George () is the highest military decoration of the Russian Federation. It was originally established on 26 November 1769 Julian (7 December 1769 Gregorian) as the highest military decoration of the Russian Empire for commiss ...

, 4th class (1877) * Order of Saint Anna ribbon bar

Order of St. Anne, 1st degree *

Order of St Vladimir The Imperial Order of Saint Prince Vladimir () was an Imperial Russian order established on by Empress Catherine II in memory of the deeds of Saint Vladimir, the Grand Prince and the Baptizer of the Kievan Rus'. Grades The order had four ...

4th degree, 2nd degree. * Order of St. Stanislaus 1st degree * RUS Order White Eagle BAR

Order of the White Eagle

References

*Connaughton, R.M (1988). ''The War of the Rising Sun and the Tumbling Bear—A Military History of the Russo-Japanese War 1904–5'', London, . * *Jukes, Geoffry. ''The Russo-Japanese War 1904–1905''. Osprey Essential Histories. (2002). . *Warner, Denis & Peggy. ''The Tide at Sunrise, A History of the Russo-Japanese War 1904–1905''. (1975). .

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Skrydlov, Nikolai 1844 births 1918 deaths People from Pskov Imperial Russian Navy admirals Victims of the Red Terror in Soviet Russia Executed military leaders Russian military personnel of the Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878) Russian military personnel of the Boxer Rebellion Russian military personnel of the Russo-Japanese War Naval Cadet Corps alumni