by Academician Zhores ALFEROV, Nobel Prize Laureate, Chairman of the St. Petersburg RAS Scientific Center, RAS Vice- President;

Anatoly RODIONOV, Dr. Sc. (Tech.), Chairman of the Hydrophysics Council of the same Center

Russia is on the threshold of a major historic date - the 300th anniversary of St. Petersburg, which is going to be widely marked in May 2003 in this and other countries. Our magazine is going to take an active part in preparations for the jubilee and publish articles about the unique historical past and the rich scientific and cultural traditions of the northern capital on the Neva. We now present the first article in this series, which reflects the continuity of times in the development of naval traditions, education, science and technology in St. Petersburg*.

* Abridged version of an article from the collection "Science in St. Petersburg and the Naval Might of Russia", St. Petersburg, Nauka Publishers, 2001.

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For three centuries St. Petersburg's townsfolk of many generations with their talent and labor have been gaining for Russia the status of a great naval power. Historically St. Petersburg, the Russian Navy, basic science and education emerged on the scene in our country almost simultaneously.

In order to strengthen the war might of Russia and to establish it in the Baltic region in the time of Peter I it was necessary, first of all, to build a powerful fleet, which in its turn would promote the development of industry, of marine sciences and would lead to cardinal changes of the educational system. It was no coincidence that this city on the Neva became the site of the Chief Admiralty, the Academy of Sciences and the first secondary and specialized schools.

St. Petersburg was founded on 16 (27) May, 1703, and already in 1705 construction began of the first marine vessels. One of the first to be launched by the local shipyard was a yacht bearing the name Nadezhda ("Hope") (1706), symbolizing the faith in a great future of the Russian Navy and of Russia itself as a naval power.

The first 56-gun battleship Poltava was built on the Neva shipyard in 1712. By 1714 there had already been 200 warships of different types in the Baltic fleet, which allowed it to score a brilliant victory over the Swedes at Cape Gangut (1714) and to take a worthy place among the fleets of the main naval powers. Built in the first quarter of the 18th century in St. Petersburg were as many sailing vessels as in Arkhangelsk, and galleys-even more. At the same time the capital's shipyards were training specialists and accumulating a store of knowledge and experience.

In the post-Petrine period for almost 40 years the number of ships coming off the stocks in Russia slightly decreased. At the same time maintaining the range of vessels helped to preserve the experience of shipbuilding in the reign of Catherine II, and to keep up the fleet which was able not only to ensure the interests of Russia in the Baltic region but to have a dominating position on the Black Sea. At that time new centres of shipbuilding appeared in the south of the country, namely Kherson and Nikolaev Nevertheless ships which came off the Neva yards were of a much higher quality and served twice longer thanks to the greater experience in shipbuilding.

When in the first quarter of the 19th century sails were being replaced by steam, St. Petersburg shipyards launched the steamer Elizabeth (1815), the naval steamer Skoriy (1817), and the frigate Bogatir (1836) - all were paddle-wheel steamers - and the screw steamer Otvazhniy (1843).

The building of ships of a new class was in line with the world tendency of applying the technical and scientific achievements of the time to naval construction. At the same time the advent of steamers did not change the general appearance of the fleet, which by the middle of the 19th century remained sailing for the most part. And even despite the Russian victory over the Turks at Sinop (1854), the imperial Navy was no match to its Western powers, consisting of screw ships, which were far superior to sail- ships and wheel steamers. Therefore in the second half of the 19th century Russia had to build up its Navy all over again. And by the start of the

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20th century this task had been carried out successfully.

The list of naval engineers who created the Russian Navy, who amassed and passed on practical knowledge and experience in shipbuilding includes the names of A. Katasonov, G. Skornyakov- Pisarev, A. Zenkov, S. Burachek and many others.

* * *

During the 20th century under the influence of domestic and foreign-policy factors Russia and then the USSR, repeatedly lost much of its Navy. This happened in 1904-1905 (the war with Japan), in 1914-1921 (World War I and the Civil War) and in 1941- 1945 (the Great Patriotic War). However, every time the Navy was restored and revived with a much greater combat potential. Its revival called for fundamental technical studies in many fields, use of practical experience, deep knowledge and wit as well as the concentration of the state's material resources and the combined will of different people-politicians, scientists, engineers and seamen.

From time immemorial scientific and technical achievements have been used for building ships, and in assimilating navigation skills, for, owing to objective reasons, seamen have to carry out their tasks in complicated or even extreme conditions. In their turn, the needs of the Navy focused the attention of scientists on problems, associated with the main avenues of development of mankind. Traced back to the times of Peter I can be a direct interdependence between the progress of science and the development of the Navy This interdependence, as a rule, was fruitful for both.

Peter the Great himself realized quite well the necessity of using scientific achievements for the development of the Navy. It is not by accident that he initiated and set up both the Navy and the first science center of this country The idea of establishing the Academy of Sciences in Russia was expressed by Peter still in 1698 under the impression of his visits to Europe. An important step on this way was the establishment of the St. Petersburg Library (1714) and the opening of the first museum - Kunstkammer (a museum of oddities) (1718). G. Leibnitz, a prominent scientist, K. Wolf, a philosopher, F. Saltykov, a shipbuilder, the founder of naval research and the emperor's close associate, General- Admiral F. Apraksin, court physician L. Blumen-troth and other statesmen and military figures took part in the foundation of the higher scientific and educational centre. The absence of higher and secondary educational establishments in Russia demanded that the Academy of Sciences be integrated with a university and a college in a single complex.

The traditions of deep interconnection of the fundamental science with the Navy were laid in the foundation of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences. Among its first members, who developed the physical and mathematical base of shipping and navigation theory, were L. Euler and D. Bernoulli. And it was in St. Petersburg that D. Bernoulli started his liquid-flow studies, crowned with his fundamental work entitled "Hydrodynamics, or Notes on the Forces and Movements of Liquids" (1738). He introduced into scientific use the term "Hydrodynamics". Later on the scientist used to emphasize time and again that the

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fundamentals of this science were substantiated by him in Russia.

It was there, in the northern capital, that at the age of 20 L. Euler became Member of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences. In this city on the Neva he wrote works that covered a wide range of theoretical and applied problems. Thus, in his work entitled "The Marine Science" (1749) he systematized all the data on the resistance that the body experiences while moving straight through water, examined the problems of vessel's stability in storm, and the functioning of rudders and oars. These studies were conducted by Euler on the instructions of the Academy The great scientist became a model for researchers of many generations in solving complicated practical tasks on a strictly mathematical basis. His traditions were maintained and continued by M. Ostrogradsky, V Bunyakovsky, P. Chebyshev, A. Lyapunov, V. Steklov and others. They not only formulated the major tenets of various mathematical disciplines, but became the founders of the strict scientific theories in natural science and substantiated calculation methods which are still used in building ships, submarines, observation instruments and other systems of naval combat, as well as in navigation.

A significant contribution to the development of this country's Navy was made the outstanding Russian scientist Mikhail Lomonosov. He believed that the solution of the problems of navigation precision and safety depended on the progress of basic research and marine science. He suggested the idea to found the Academy of Navigation, which should have pooled together specialists in mathematics, astronomy, geography and mechanics for the solution of practical tasks of navigation. Lomonosov believed that the program of this academy should include studies of the theory of magnetism, investigations of factors causing sea currents and atmospheric changes, which would make it possible to forecast weather and wind

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characteristics in particular, as well as storms at sea. Russian scientists, working either independently or with his help, designed over 20 marine instruments. Lomonosov's study of the compressibility of continuous media underlined the need to take these phenomena into account in solving present-day hydrophysical problems.

* * *

Throughout history of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences its members and other specialists were directly involved in the formation and development of the marine science. Thus, Academician B. Yakobi, an electrical engineer, designed a boat with an electromagnetic engine, anticipating progress in this field for almost one hundred years, and he also worked on naval mine weapons. P. Shilling, Corresponding Member of the Academy designed an electromagnetic telegraph. Academicians V. Struve, O. Struve and G. Wild put into practice new methods of astronomic, meteorological and magnetic observations. The works by A. Butlerov and D. Mendeleyev promoted the development of chemical engineering necessary for arms production. And it was Mendeleyev who initiated a test basin for the needs of shipbuilding. Academician A. Krylov and I. Bubnov supervised the technical and scientific experiments in this basin*. Krylov's theoretical studies, his experiments and shipbuilding experience helped build one of the most perfect ships of the turn of the century It was a destroyer which bore the name Novik. S. Makarov, another Russian scientist, investigated the problems of sea craft floatability and survivability, mine and torpedo employment, worked out the tactics of armoured fleet engagement and stressed the importance of environmental parameters in naval tactics.

A new era in equipping the Navy with the radio electronic equipment was opened by A. Popov, who stressed the potential of the wireless and anticipated radars. Works by academicians A. Karpinsky and V. Vemadsky on the planet Earth, by N. Kumakov, V. Ipatyev and E. Fyodorov on the physical and chemical structure, by M. Rykachev and P. Shirshov on hydrometeorology and oceanography, by 0. Schmidt on exploration of the Arctic region and of the Northwestern Passage, by L. Orbeli and E. Kreps on deep-water exploration-all these studies promoted the growth of Russia's prestige as well as its economic and naval might.

The Academy of Sciences contributed substantially to the development of professional skills and learning of Russian seamen. They studied astronomy, mathematics, mechanics, land- surveying and hydrography, and military science.

A special place in the history of the Russian Navy and associated research belongs to joint expeditions. During their distant voyages seamen and scientists were blazing new sea routes, discovering unknown lands, investigating physical oceanic and atmospheric fields and were drawing up maps.

The first expedition around the world was performed by I. Kru- senstem and Yu. Lisyansky on sloops Nadezhda ("Hope") and Neva (1803-1806). This expedition inscribed a vivid page in the history of the Russian Navy and became the starting point of oceanography**.

* See: Yu. Unkovsky, "Jubilee of 'Rubin'", Science in Russia, No. 5, 2001.- Ed.

** See: M. Tsiporukha, "First Russian Voyage Round the World", Science in Russia, No. 5, 1995. -Ed.

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In the course of the next expeditions around the world on the sloops Vostok and Mirny (1819-1821) F. Bellingshausen and M. Lazarev opened the Antarctic to the world.* Later still, Captain 0. Kotzebu and Academician E. Lenz on the sloop Predpriyatiye (1823-1826) investigated the vertical distribution of the physical fields in marine medium and thus marked the beginning of practical hydrophysics.

Many geographic discoveries were made by F. Litke during these expeditions around the world when he explored the Barents Sea shores, the Caroline Islands, Kamchatka and the Chukot Peninsula. For many years (1864-1882) Litke held the distinguished posts of the President of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences and of the First

* See: M. Tsiporukha, "Discovery of the Icy Continent", Science in Russia, No. 4, 1995 - Ed.

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Vice-Chairman of the Russian Geographical Society.*

In the Soviet years, when the might of this country continued to grow, our researchers passed from on-the-spot investigations to large-scale sea and oceanic explorations. Discovered and studied with the participation of the Leningrad experts were some hitherto unknown processes and phenomena, namely: a submarine sonic channel for propagation of acoustic waves, "fine" structure and microstructure of hydrophysical fields, inner waves, meso-and large-scale properties of oceanic dynamics.

The close links of science, technology and education with the Navy can be traced most vividly in the 20th century, especially at the turning points of our history. At the start of the Great Patriotic War, scientists joined the ranks of the defenders of their native land. Before the fascist Germany attacked the USSR, scientists of the Physics and Technical Institute headed by Academician A. Alexandrov achieved important basic results on ship demagnetization. This allowed to protect our warships already in the first sea battles. Academician N. Andreyev headed studies on deactivation of the acoustic mines. S. Vavilov was in charge of investigations on modernization of ship range finders and submarine periscopes.

During the siege of Leningrad its scientists helped maintain the "Road of Life" supply route, supported naval operations and the building of warships and auxiliary ships. During the war years and under extremely difficult conditions the Leningrad shipyards built 5 large submarines, a patrol ship, three mine-sweepers, over 300 small warships, and about 250 other vessels of various displacement.

The second half of the 20th century called for new methods of naval combat putting knotty problems before science and connected with the development of new types of warships, missile and nuclear weapons, nuclear power, radar and hydrosonic tracking systems, methods and equipment for reducing warships' and, particularly, of submarines physical fields, deep-water apparatuses and amphibian and shipbome aircraft.

One can hardly imagine the history of the science and the Navy of the 20th century without such names as academicians A. Alexandrov, A. Berg, N. Isanin and I. Kurchatov. The building of the atomic fleet in the former Soviet Union by scientists headed by Academician A. Alexandrov is a vivid proof of the might of our science, engineering and industry.

***

300 years ago St. Petersburg was founded as a naval capital of Russia, a status it retains to this day Over the three centuries new types of ships have been developed there, setting sail for naval battles and peaceful cruises. It was there that scientists built up the basic and applied data for modernization of shipbuilding and navigation.

The interconnection of science and technology, education and naval science has found its reflection in the architectural ensemble of St. Petersburg. Located in its centre, on both banks of the Neva there are the buildings of the Admiralty, the Academy of Sciences, the University and the Naval Corps, and next to them there are the monuments of Peter the Great and M. Lomonosov, two great founders of this city on the Neva, of the Russian Navy and Russian science.

* See: M. Tsiporukha, "Explorer and President of the Academy", Science in Russia, No. 1, 2000. -Ed.

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