The cousin of Alexander Pushkin, Hannibal Ivan Abramovich was born in the north of Estonia in the Karjakula estate. Until our time, accurate information about the date of his birth has not been preserved. Only the number is known (October 12, according to the new style), but the year for biographers is controversial. This is either the 1735th, or 1736th, or 1737th.
Origin
Ivan was the eldest son of Abram Petrovich Hannibal - a military engineer and general-general. Alexander Pushkin dedicated the novel “Arap of Peter the Great” to this man (that is, his great-grandfather).
Father Ivan Abramovich was indeed closely associated with the emperor. He came to Russia in 1704, after being taken out by the Russian ambassador to Constantinople, Savva Raguzinsky. Abram was the son of an African prince, who was a vassal of the Turkish sultan. Ivan made an amazing career in Russia. His godfather was Peter I. Thanks to his father’s position, Hannibal Ivan Abramovich could count on no less successes in high society.
Education
As a child, the boy studied at the St. Petersburg Naval Artillery School. Already at this age it was clear that his life would be connected with military affairs. Then, Hannibal Ivan Abramovich graduated from the Marine Gentry Corps. The officer began to serve in naval artillery. In 1769, he received the rank of Zeichmeister.
The increase occurred at the beginning of the next Russian-Turkish war of 1768-1774. The fleet played a particularly important role in this campaign. In St. Petersburg, they decided to send the Baltic military squadron to the Aegean Sea, which was supposed to help the Slavic peoples of the Balkans. Thus began the Archipelago expedition, in which Ivan Abramovich Hannibal also took part. His life path led him to the most serious test, which was to determine the entire further course of his career as an officer.
First Archipelago Expedition
Camping in the Aegean was unprecedented. Hannibal Ivan Abramovich, like his colleagues, had no experience with such large-scale voyages. On the way, the ships hit several storms. Damage had to be fixed right on the way. Hannibal, on the other hand, was more fortunate than the crews of some other ships. For example, the most powerful ship Svyatoslav received a leak, due to which he had to return to Revel. In addition, the squadron suffered from diseases. When the expedition reached Denmark, the disease had already killed about 300 people. 50 sailors died at all.
The general command was in the hands of Admiral Grigory Spiridov. Ivan Abramovich Hannibal was one of those officers whom the head of the expedition was going to entrust important missions upon arrival in the Aegean Sea. Spiridov took it with him when part of the ships, along with the sick, remained in Denmark. The first real operation in February 1770 was the landing on the Peloponnese. Ivan Abramovich Hannibal did not participate in it, preparing to repeat something similar in the future.
The battle for Navarin
While most of the squadron's ships concentrated on shelling the important fort of Coron, Hannibal set off for shore in another part of the Peloponnese. Under his command were the battleships “Three Saints” and “St. Januarius”, as well as the frigate “St. Nicholas”. In this detachment there were 300 people and several siege artillery guns. Ships approached the Turkish fortress of Navarin. April 10, 1770 the siege began.
According to the plan, a few days later, on the 21st day, Russian troops landed near enemy walls. All the same brigade commander of naval artillery Ivan Abramovich Hannibal commanded them. The biography of this man as a military man is best known for this glorious episode. The bombardment of Navarin lasted six days. After it, the fortress was taken by a Russian detachment. The landing party managed to capture many weapons, guns, mortars, and hundreds of pounds of enemy gunpowder. The capture of Navarin allowed the Russian fleet to get a convenient bay, which housed its temporary base.
In Chesme Bay
On July 5, 1770, Hannibal Ivan Abramovich (1736-1801) took part in another important battle of that war against Turkey. On the eve of the Russian fleet discovered several Turkish ships on a raid in the Chesme Bay on the western coast of the Asia Minor Peninsula opposite the island of Chios. The command decided to give battle to the enemy.
Ivan Hannibal was given the task of preparing several firewalls (ships stuffed with explosives and flammable substances). At the crucial moment of the battle, these ships were sent to a bay teeming with enemy frigates and galleys. The Turks decided that Russian deserters were approaching them. This mistake made it possible to set fire to ships and inflict serious damage to the Ottoman Empire. The battle was won, and Hannibal made a significant contribution to this success.
Last years
After the war, Ivan Hannibal became a major general. In 1778, he was given the task of founding the new Black Sea port of Kherson. The initiative belonged to Empress Catherine II herself. Ivan Abramovich led the creation of special artisan teams that built the city from scratch. Three years later, the wasteland already had a shipyard, a fortress with a garrison, barracks, private houses, an arsenal, a foundry, etc. The harbor became a permanent parking lot for military and merchant ships. Hannibal did much to ensure that the city attracted not only the Russian colonialists, but also the Greeks and Italians.
In 1780, Ivan Abramovich received a large allotment of land (10 thousand acres). His state and military career ended prematurely due to a conflict with the favorite of the Empress Grigory Potemkin. In 1784, Hannibal resigned as General-General. Later he lived on his estate near St. Petersburg. A relative of Alexander Pushkin died on October 12, 1801. He was a childless bachelor.