Stepan Vasilievich Voyevodsky (; 1803 – September 17, 1884) was an admiral of 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 ...

, Governor of

Russian America Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

in 1854–1859, and military governor of

Astrakhan Astrakhan (, ) is the largest city and administrative centre of Astrakhan Oblast in southern Russia. The city lies on two banks of the Volga, in the upper part of the Volga Delta, on eleven islands of the Caspian Depression, from the Caspian Se ...

in the 1860s. Voyevodsky was born in

Smolensk Governorate Smolensk Governorate () was an administrative-territorial unit ('' guberniya'') of the Tsardom of Russia, the Russian Empire, and the Russian SFSR. It existed, with interruptions, between 1708 and 1929. Smolensk Governorate, together with seven o ...

in the family of a retired Army officer. He joined the Naval Cadets Corps in 1818 and was commissioned as a

midshipman A midshipman is an officer of the lowest Military rank#Subordinate/student officer, rank in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Royal Cana ...

() in March 1822. Voyevodsky served in the

Baltic Fleet The Baltic Fleet () is the Naval fleet, fleet of the Russian Navy in the Baltic Sea. Established 18 May 1703, under Tsar Peter the Great as part of the Imperial Russian Navy, the Baltic Fleet is the oldest Russian fleet. In 1918, the fleet w ...

until 1834. In 1824 Voyevodsky sailed to

Iceland Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...

, and in 1825 to the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern Eur ...

. In 1827–1830, lieutenant Voyevodsky served on ''Jezekiel'', a

ship-of-the-line A ship of the line was a type of naval warship constructed during the Age of Sail from the 17th century to the mid-19th century. The ship of the line was designed for the naval tactic known as the line of battle, which involved the two column ...

of count

Login Geiden Lodewijk Sigismund Vincent Gustaaf Reichsgraf van Heiden (; ; 6 September 1773 – 17 October 1850) was a Dutch naval officer and Orangist who went into exile from the Batavian Republic and served in the Russian Navy. He ultimately became ...

's Mediterranean squadron. He participated in the

Battle of Navarino The Battle of Navarino was a naval battle fought on 20 October (O.S. 8 October) 1827, during the Greek War of Independence (1821–1829), in Navarino Bay (modern Pylos), on the west coast of the Peloponnese peninsula, in the Ionian Sea. Allied ...

in October 1827 and in the

naval blockade A navy, naval force, military maritime fleet, war navy, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations ...

of the

Dardanelles The Dardanelles ( ; ; ), also known as the Strait of Gallipoli (after the Gallipoli peninsula) and in classical antiquity as the Hellespont ( ; ), is a narrow, natural strait and internationally significant waterway in northwestern Turkey th ...

during the Russo-Turkish War of 1828–1829. After four peaceful seasons with the Baltic Fleet (1830–1834) Voyevodsky was transferred from the Navy to the

Russian-American Company The Russian-American Company Under the High Patronage of His Imperial Majesty was a state-sponsored chartered company formed largely on the basis of the Shelikhov-Golikov Company, United American Company. Emperor Paul I of Russia chartered the c ...

. He crossed Asia by land, reaching

Okhotsk Okhotsk ( rus, Охотск, p=ɐˈxotsk) is an urban locality (a work settlement) and the administrative center of Okhotsky District of Khabarovsk Krai, Russia, located at the mouth of the Okhota River on the Sea of Okhotsk. Population: ...

, and sailed to Novoarkhangelsk with ''Sitka''. He commanded ''Sitka'' and ''Yelena'' until 1839 and was promoted to captain-lieutenant in 1837. In 1841 he sailed from the Pacific to

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

, and returned to the Baltic Fleet. By 1849 he attained the rank of captain () and was in command of a ship-of-the-line. In the beginning of the

Crimean War The Crimean War was fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the Ottoman Empire, the Second French Empire, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and the Kingdom of Sardinia (1720–1861), Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont fro ...

(July 1853), Voyevodsky was appointed Governor of

. He reached Novoarkhangelsk aboard ''Sitka'' in April 1854, but the ship was soon seized by the British. Apart from this accident, the war did not hurt Russian America directly: the lands of Russian America and the British

Hudson's Bay Company The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC), originally the Governor and Company of Adventurers of England Trading Into Hudson’s Bay, is a Canadian holding company of department stores, and the oldest corporation in North America. It was the owner of the ...

were declared neutral territories and remained neutral throughout the war. Voyevodsky remained in charge of Russian America until June 1859; upon his return to Russia he was appointed commander of

port and military governor of Astrakhan. Voyevodsky attained the rank of full admiral in 1877. He died in Saint Petersburg and was buried at the Smolenskoye Cemetery.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Voyevodsky, Stepan Vasiliyevich Governors of the Russian-American Company Imperial Russian Navy admirals 1803 births 1884 deaths Naval Cadet Corps alumni