The Russian Volunteer Fleet (), also simply known as Dobroflot (, ) was a state-controlled

ship transport Maritime transport (or ocean transport) or more generally waterborne transport, is the transport of people (passengers or goods (cargo) via waterways. Freight transport by watercraft has been widely used throughout recorded history, as it provi ...

association established in the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

in 1878 funded from voluntary contributions collected by subscription (hence the name).

History

file:1881dobroflot-1.png, Rank insignia of the Dobroflot 1881:
1. ''Captain''
2. ''Senior Chief Mate''
3. ''Junior Chief Mate''
4. ''Senior Mate / Senior Engineer''
5. ''Junior Mate / Junior Engineer'' Dobroflot was founded in wake of the Russo-Turkish War (1877–78), with the intent of providing Russia with a fleet of fast armed merchantmen. By the time its first three ships were purchased from Hamburg American Line in June 1878, the war was already over, and the ships were instead used first as

troopship A troopship (also troop ship or troop transport or trooper) is a ship used to carry soldiers, either in peacetime or wartime. Troopships were often drafted from commercial shipping fleets, and were unable to land troops directly on shore, typic ...

s to repatriate Russian soldiers from Turkey, then as peacetime merchant ships. The establishment of Dobroflot started an

arms race An arms race occurs when two or more groups compete in military superiority. It consists of a competition between two or more State (polity), states to have superior armed forces, concerning production of weapons, the growth of a military, and ...

among the world's major maritime powers, in which governments would subsidize the constructions of privately owned merchant ships, on the stipulations that these would be available for conversions to

auxiliary cruiser An armed merchantman is a merchant ship equipped with guns, usually for defensive purposes, either by design or after the fact. In the days of sail, piracy and privateers, many merchantmen would be routinely armed, especially those engaging in lo ...

s during wartime. In 1902, an Italian company began negotiating with the committee of the Russian Volunteer Fleet to open a new line between the Black Sea and North America via Italy. The Russian Volunteer Fleet began sailing to New York carrying immigrants in November 1903. The

Hamburg-American Line The Hamburg-Amerikanische Packetfahrt-Actien-Gesellschaft (HAPAG), known in English as the Hamburg America Line, was a transatlantic shipping enterprise established in Hamburg, in 1847. Among those involved in its development were prominent Germ ...

, in July 1906 intended to start offering a service from Libau in direct competition with the Russian Volunteer Fleet. The announcement was received poorly, as Russia didn't want competition for the Russian Volunteer Fleet. Throughout its existence Dobroflot provided invaluable services for both the government and the economic development of Russia - particularly the

Russian Far East The Russian Far East ( rus, Дальний Восток России, p=ˈdalʲnʲɪj vɐˈstok rɐˈsʲiɪ) is a region in North Asia. It is the easternmost part of Russia and the Asia, Asian continent, and is coextensive with the Far Easte ...

, with Dobroflot established the first regular maritime link between

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 ...

and European Russia. Moreover, Dobroflot ships were requisitioned for naval services during both 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 ...

and

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, thereby fulfilling the original ''raison d'etre'' of Dobroflot. After the

Russian Revolution The Russian Revolution was a period of Political revolution (Trotskyism), political and social revolution, social change in Russian Empire, Russia, starting in 1917. This period saw Russia Dissolution of the Russian Empire, abolish its mona ...

and the

Russian Civil War The Russian Civil War () was a multi-party civil war in the former Russian Empire sparked by the 1917 overthrowing of the Russian Provisional Government in the October Revolution, as many factions vied to determine Russia's political future. I ...

the ships of the fleet became dispersed over various countries, and

Soviet Russia The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (Russian SFSR or RSFSR), previously known as the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic and the Russian Soviet Republic, and unofficially as Soviet Russia,Declaration of Rights of the labo ...

made efforts via international courts to have them returned. Dobroflot was restored in the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

in 1922 and included into the

Sovtorgflot Sovtorgflot (, "Soviet Commercial Fleet") was a shipping company in the Soviet Union. It was established as a joint-stock company on July 18, 1924. It united ships which belonged to different '' narkomats'' and companies, including the ones with fo ...

("Soviet Commercial Fleet") in 1925.

References

Bibliography

Dobroflot
at "Departmental Flags of the Russian Empire" page
People's Voluntary Fleet
В. Дукельский, Московский журнал № 8 — 2006 г. * Transport companies established in 1878 Defunct shipping companies of Russia Shipping companies of Russia Defunct transport companies of Russia Shipping companies of the Soviet Union 1878 establishments in the Russian Empire Transport companies disestablished in 1925 1925 disestablishments in the Soviet Union {{Russia-company-stub

History

See also

References

Bibliography