The history of shipbuilding in our country is very rich, this industry has been developing for several centuries. In general, it is one of the oldest industries in the world, which appeared more than ten thousand years ago. This article will discuss how shipbuilding developed in Russia, how it all began, what state the fleet is in today.
Ancient times
In fact, the history of shipbuilding originates from small dugout shuttles that people used to develop rivers and lakes in time immemorial. At first, the ponds were exclusively hunting grounds for them, and with the development of shipbuilding they turned into convenient transport arteries for the transportation of goods.
The history of shipbuilding goes back to antiquity, since the most primitive ships appeared long before the invention of the wheel, and hence the wagon. Man began to explore the sea at the very dawn of his development. In mythology, one can find many descriptions of water travels, often they describe in detail how people equipped and built the very first ships. It was necessarily indicated that this was the will of the gods. That was the case with Noah's Ark.
The history of shipbuilding from ancient times actually originates from the shuttle discovered in the area of the Dutch Groningen. It was approximately built in 6 315 BC. Already two and a half thousand years BC, sea and river vessels were diverse. Separate ships and boats were made for transporting passengers and transporting goods.
They were set in motion by oars, poles and sails. Then the ships were mainly merchant, military and fishing. Over time, there were analogues of modern yachts that were used for recreation.
For example, the emperor Caligula, who ruled in the 1st century AD, ordered the construction of a ship for an entertaining trip along Lake Neli. This is how historians explain the unusual design of the ship, which was flat and wide, and its internal flooring was tiled with marble.
The appearance of ships in Russia
The history of shipbuilding in Russia is no less interesting. It has been known since ancient times. On the coast of the White Sea, drawings were found in which ancient people hunt from a boat armed with a harpoon. They were made around 3000 BC.
One of the oldest ships discovered on the territory of modern Russia dates back to the 5th century BC. It is known that in all, without exception, Slavic languages, the word "ship" exists. Its root “bark” also underlies the word “basket”. This is explained quite simply: in ancient times, ships were made from rods, like baskets, and hung from above with bark and later with skins.
Information has been preserved that already in the VIII century AD, the tribes that lived on the territory of Russia sailed along the Caspian Sea. By the 9th-10th centuries, they became full owners in the Black Sea.
Varieties of Slavic courts
In the XII century in Russia began to build the first deck ships. They were designed to house warriors.
It is known that the Slavs had a variety of ships. For example, one of the most famous is shitik. This is a flat-bottomed boat with a mounted steering wheel, which was equipped with oars and a mast with a direct sail.
The carbasa had two masts that carried sprint or straight rake sails. The Pomeranian boat had three masts, and her sail was straight.
An amusing ovoid shape was the underwater part of the body of the former. Due to this, she could swim even when squeezed by ice, since in this case she was literally squeezed to the surface. The vessel was not subjected to deformation, and with the divergence of ice could again plunge into the water.
Middle Ages
The history of shipbuilding in the Middle Ages in Russia is distinguished by the appearance of organized shipbuilding. It is believed that it arose in the XV century, when the shipyard for fishing vessels was founded on the basis of the Solovetsky Monastery.
In the XVI-XVII centuries, Zaporizhzhya Cossacks began to massively build "Seagulls", which went on raids on the Turks. The technique was similar to that used by the people of Kiev. They sought to increase the size of the ship by the middle. To do this, when hollowing, several boards were nailed from the sides.
New centers in the history of shipbuilding in Russia appear under Ivan the Terrible when they captured Astrakhan and Kazan. Under Boris Godunov, the first attempts were made to establish a navy. True, they failed.
In 1634, the first foreign-built marine vessel in our country was built at a shipyard in Nizhny Novgorod. This played an important role in the history of shipbuilding. It was a ship called Frederick. By 1669, the boyar Ordin-Nashchokin completed the construction of the Orel ship.
Peter I
The boom in the history of Russian shipbuilding began under Peter I. Already in 1693 in Arkhangelsk he laid the foundation for the first state shipyard, which was engaged in the construction of warships. Thus began the history of military shipbuilding in our country.
When Peter arrived in Arkhangelsk in 1694, the Holy Prophecy frigate, the 24-gun ship Apostol Pavel, the transport ship Flamov were ready, they sailed to the White Sea, forming the first Russian flotilla. After that, the construction of the Navy began on a regular basis.
Already in 1700, the 58-gun ship Goto Predestination was launched. Two years later, in Arkhangelsk completed work on the frigates "Mercury" and "Holy Spirit."
In 1703, Peter I himself laid the city of St. Petersburg, the center of which was the largest shipyard in the country, called the Admiralty. The first major project completed on it was the 54-gun ship Poltava. He was launched in 1712. Already by 1714 we can say that Russia had its own sailing fleet. The largest at that time was the 90-gun ship "Forest". The history of sailing shipbuilding in Russia under Peter I experienced a real rebirth.
It is worth noting that during the time of the first Russian emperor, ships from 40 to 55 meters in length were built, as well as frigates, buers, snyavas, parmas and flutes.
XVIII-XIX centuries
After the death of Peter I, there was a lull in the history of the development of shipbuilding in Russia, but it was replaced by a new rise in the second half of the 18th century. Its result was the creation of a full-fledged Black Sea Fleet.
In the 19th century, the classification of ships appeared, which was technically justified. During the reign of Emperor Alexander I, shipbuilding was reduced, only river shipbuilding was actively conducted. At that time, a bark appeared - a wooden cargo ship, perfect for its time.
In 1815 the first voyage steamer was launched, which began to run between St. Petersburg and Kronstadt.
In 1830, the Neva cargo and passenger ship was put into operation in the capital of the Russian Empire, which had both sails and two steam engines. In 1838, the first electric ship on the planet was successfully tested on the Neva. Ten years later, engineer-general Ivan Afanasevich Amosov built the first screw frigate, which was called "Archimedes".
Shipping Company Development
After the abolition of serfdom in 1861, a particularly rapid development of shipping on the Volga began. At that time, the Sormovo Shipyard, founded in 1849, became the key shipbuilding enterprise . It was on it that the country's first cargo and passenger ship and an iron barge were built.
It is noteworthy that it was in Russia for the first time in the world that an engine on a river ship was used. It happened in 1903.
The trend of the second half of the XIX century was the transition from wooden ships to iron. Interestingly, in our country, the first metal warships were submarines launched in 1834. The next year, work began on the construction of the semi-submarine ship "Brave", which could be submerged almost completely, leaving only a chimney on the surface.
In the XIX century, ships began to actively use steam engines. The real revolution in the history of shipbuilding in Russia is the use of wrought iron, and then rolled steel as the main material for the construction of ships. After the transition from wooden ships to iron ones, a complete re-equipment of all plants began. They now had to meet the new demands of technological progress.
First in everything
It is worth noting that in many branches of shipbuilding, Russian engineers were ahead of foreigners. It is in our country that several fundamentally new types of ships appeared at once.
In 1864, the first armored floating battery was built in Russia. Six years later, there were already 23 such ships in the Baltic Fleet. And in 1872, the battleship Peter the Great, which was considered one of the strongest ships in the world at that time, entered the Russian Navy.
It was in Russia that the world's first torpedo boats were designed. Experimental development in 1877 was completed by Stepan Osipovich Makarov. In the same year, the first destroyer "Explosion" was commissioned.
It should be noted that at the end of the 19th century, domestic civil shipbuilding lagged significantly behind the military.
Fishing fleet
During the Soviet Union, it was in our country that the world's first fishing fleet was created.
Soon, the fishing industry began to flourish in the country, which was facilitated by total technical re-equipment. In particular, the Sea of Okhotsk and the Barents Sea began to be actively developed.
If in 1950 the total catch was about 1.5 million tons per year, then by 1970 it had grown to almost 7.5 million tons.
In the 80s, 14 million tons of fish were harvested in the USSR, and seafood was exported at $ 4.5 billion. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the industry fell into decline. Only recently can we observe some recovery, which so far is not at the most active pace. In 2018, for the first time since the times of the USSR, it was possible to achieve a catch volume of 5 million tons of fish per year.
Current state
After the collapse of the Soviet Union, all shipbuilding was in crisis. For example, by 2000, the number of decommissioned transport fleets exceeded the number of new vessels by 13 times. Moreover, domestic customers were forced to place most orders for new vessels at foreign shipyards.
The situation began to improve in 2007, when Vladimir Putin signed a decree establishing the United Shipbuilding Corporation. Its main goal was just civil shipbuilding. A federal target program was also adopted.
Military shipbuilding
During the second decade of the XXI century, speaking about the development of shipbuilding in the country, first of all, we are talking about the navy. Naval equipment accounts for up to 70 percent of all orders received at factories. At the same time, a significant part of the warships is exported.
In providing peace for warships, Russia now occupies the second place in the world after the United States; it accounts for 12% of the world military shipbuilding.
Currently, shipbuilding enterprises that were in crisis during the 90s and even the “zero” years are fully provided with orders. With stable federal funding, their load will remain until at least 2020. And these are the most modest forecasts.