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Revolutionary sailors

Various revolutionary parties had been conducting their illegal activities among the lower ranks of the Russian Navy for many years, and the results of their efforts became evident in both 1905 and 1917. The reason sailors proved to be such fertile soil for revolutionary ideas is largely due to their origin: the navy tended to recruit former factory workers with skills to operate sophisticated machinery, and many of those workers had been involved in party activities at their factories.

Sailors of the Baltic Fleet were more political than others – for a variety of reasons, including the fact that it was closer to the border. During World War I, the Baltic Fleet saw almost no action, and the time spent idly in ports also contributed to the spread of revolutionary ideas.

The most prominent and tragic manifestation on the Baltic in the early days of the revolution was the Kronstadt Uprising.

Sailors. Baltic Fleet. 1917. Sputnik

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Dozens of senior officers were killed, including the commander of the Kronstadt Base and the military governor of Kronstadt, Admiral Robert Viren. Yet this was more like a spontaneous rebellion that happened after the rumors of the revolution in Petrograd had reached Kronstadt (despite the efforts by Navy commanders who tried to isolate sailors from the news).

The rebellion was directed against navy commanders who were unpopular with lower ranks for a variety of reasons, and indeed involved brutal excesses. Later, unrest and the murders of officers spread to other bases, yet theses excesses did not continue long.

Later, sailors took initiative into their hands and began to contact the officers loyal to the new government. New commanders were being elected. Admiral Nepenin was replaced with Vice-Admiral Andrey Maksimov as commander of the Baltic Fleet.

After the new authorities allowed political activities in the armed forces, political ideas began to spread within the Baltic Fleet much faster. Yet there was no unity. Radical revolutionary ideas were popular in Kronstadt and Helsingfors, the Baltic Fleet’s main base.

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Reval (former name of Tallinn) sailors were more moderate. The Black Sea Fleet, commanded by Admiral Kolchak, maintained pretty good discipline until summer. In fact, a delegation of Black Sea Fleet sailors was even sent to the front lines to counter Bolshevik defeatist propaganda.

Political organizations were being set up in the Baltic Fleet. Officially, there were two rival committees coordinating political matters: a more moderate Centroflot in Petrograd and a much more radical, pro-Bolshevik Centrobalt in Helsingfors. Centrobalt had real influence on sailors. It was initially headquartered on the abandoned Finnish steamboat ‘Viola’, but soon Centrobalt received the royal yacht ‘Polar Star’.

Shortly before the October Revolution, a delegation of Centrobalt went to Petrograd on an “important” mission: to obtain and transport to Helsingfors the emperor’s most luxurious yacht, the ‘Standard’. (People who took part in this mission claimed later in their memoirs that they needed the yacht because it had a powerful radio transmitter).

Apart from a number of excesses, radical revolutionary sailors (both Bolshevik and anarchist) were not involved in too many major events. One was their involvement in the Petrograd uprising in July.

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Kronstadt sailors played a prominent role in that, and a Centrobalt delegation led by Pavel Dybenko went to Petrograd to arrest the minister for the navy. The uprising was suppressed, Dybenko was arrested, and for a time the Baltic Fleet was disorganized as a radical force. Yet later Baltic Fleet sailors played an active role in suppressing the Kornilov putsch, which soon made them a force to be reckoned with – and by that time the Bolsheviks had even more influence with the fleet.

By the autumn, the Bolsheviks effectively controlled the entire fleet. On October 2 (by the Gregorian calendar), Centrobalt raised red banners over ships and declared that it no longer took orders from the Provisional Government.

At the same time, the Baltic Fleet retained its efficiency as a military force, as evidenced by the role it played in the defense of Moon Sound against the Germans. In fact, the Baltic Fleet had to fight virtually on its own, as ground units vanishes as soon as Germany launched its offensive.

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Once the Bolsheviks decided to stage an armed uprising, the Baltic Fleet, being extremely politicized, came to the fore. From late October, Centrobalt started organizing reliable crews into armed groups to take part in the future rebellion. The group which joined the uprising was comprised of Kronstadt sailors and the crews of ships stationed in Petrograd. By the time sailors dispatched from Helsingfors arrived in Petrograd, the Bolsheviks had seized the city, so the sailors only took part in the defense of the city against General Krasnov.