Throughout its history, the Russian Empire has sought to gain access to the Baltic Sea and because of this has repeatedly entered the war with neighboring states. The 18th century was no exception.
North War
Since the beginning of the 18th century, the Russian Empire was at war with Sweden (date of the Northern War: 02.22.1700 - 09.10.1721). In anticipation of the end of the war, after the first grandiose naval victory of Russia in the battle of Gangut, the British stepped up their forces and sent diplomacy towards rapprochement with the Swedes. The English naval alliance with Sweden was a response to a noticeably increased Russian fleet.
War veterans
In the Northern War, Russia entered into coalitions with the Commonwealth, Denmark and Saxony against Sweden (in the north) and the Ottoman Empire (in the south), which England joined in the course of the war with its fleet. The Russian commander in chief was Peter the Great, the generals who led the battles in all directions - Golitsyn, Sheremetev and Apraksin. From the side of the allies - August II, George I and Friedrich Wilhelm. They were opposed by the Swedish king Charles XII and the Ottoman sultan Ahmed III.
Historians give an ambiguous assessment of the participation of the Ukrainian Cossacks in the Northern War, since at first the Cossacks, led by Ivan Mazepa , sided with Peter the Great, and after Charles XII promised to free Ukrainian lands, they sided with the Swedes.
First victories at sea
In the summer of 1714, the Russian fleet at the head of the vanguard, under the command of Peter the Great, defeated the Swedish fleet at Cape Gangut. The Russian command took advantage of the moment when the Swedes were forced to split their fleet in two directions. As a result, the Russian forces blocked the ships of the Swedish Rear Admiral Erensheld. They refused to surrender, and Peter ordered to attack.
The victory at Gangut dispelled the myth of the invincibility of the Swedes and laid the foundation for a series of successful military battles. July 27, 1714 is the date of the Northern War, which determined its further course and made it possible to strengthen positions in Finland.
Consolidation of results
Six years later, the Russian fleet managed to repeat its brilliant naval maneuver of 1714. At the end of July 1720, according to the order of Peter the Great, the commander of the Russian fleet, General Golitsyn, advanced ships against the Swedish vice admiral Sheblat, who commanded the squadron. The Russian rowing fleet, assembled in the Gulf of Bothnia, totaled more than 50 galleys and a little more than a dozen boats. In general, Russian ships were equipped with fifty-two guns and eleven thousand armed soldiers, ready to engage in battle both on water and on land.
Despite the numerical superiority of the Swedish ships (but the landing forces were only about a thousand), General Golitsyn was occupied by a favorable location in the impassable Strait of Fliesund. The Russian fleet is semicircle, ready to meet the enemy ships. A little earlier, the Russian squad was released into the open sea as a bait. The Swedes rushed after the detachment and were ambushed. The two frigates involved in the pursuit ran aground, while blocking the further movement of two more frigates and a linear ship of Sweden. Russian rowing galleys were much more maneuverable and easily went through shallow water, determining the further alignment of forces at the moment when a naval battle near the island of Grengam occurred.
During the battle, the Russian paratroopers boarded four frigates at once. Such an active and unexpected offensive turned the Swedish fleet into flight. According to general estimates, the Swedes lost more than a hundred killed four hundred soldiers were captured. At the same time, the battle near the island of Grengam claimed 82 lives among Russian soldiers, and two hundred people were captured.
The results of the Northern War and the signing of the Nistadt Peace
On July 27, 1720, the Russian-Swedish naval battle near Grengam Island went down in military history as a battle that accelerated the conclusion of the Nishtad peace that ended the Northern War. The concluded peace treaty ended the long Northern War with a positive result for the Russian Empire and negative for Sweden.
According to the agreement, part of Karelia, the coast from Vyborg from Riga, that is, the entire Gulf of Finland, was transferred to Russia for “eternal possession”, and the country received the coveted access to the Baltic Sea. Sweden, Russia was supposed to return Finland and pay public debt in the amount of two million rubles. After the conclusion of the Nistadt Treaty in 1721, Sweden lost its former power. In 1723, Sweden went on a rapprochement with Russia in the hope of regaining the Baltic coast by sacrificing an alliance with England.
In Russia, the conclusion of peace was celebrated with the release of a commemorative medal and rich feasts. The battle at the Grengam island brought the power of the Russian army and navy to a new level, and the participants in the battle were awarded gold and silver awards. The Nishtadt Treaty guaranteed mutual amnesty to everyone except the Cossacks, who had betrayed Peter and switched to Charles. The question of religion was even raised, since freedom of religion was introduced in the former territories of Sweden that crossed Russia.