On July 1, 1736, the Turkish garrison of Azov handed over the keys to the fortress to the command of the Russian troops besieging it.

From that moment on, the mouth of the Don fell under the control of Russia forever.

As historians note, this event was of great importance, as it created the preconditions for the expansion of the influence of the Russian Empire in the Northern Black Sea region.

Struggle for the mouth of the Don

In the 1470s, the Turks invading the Northern Black Sea and Azov regions captured the Genoese-Venetian colony of Tana located at the mouth of the Don and founded the Azak fortress (in Russian sources - Azov. -

RT

).

“Azov occupied a strategic position, as it allowed controlling the exit to the Sea of ​​Azov.

It had both military-political and economic significance, "said Alexander Belousov, a junior researcher at the Institute of History of St. Petersburg State University, head of the editorial and publishing department of the Peterhof State Museum-Reserve, in an interview with RT.

According to historians, the presence of a garrison in Azov allowed the Ottomans to control the movement in the lower reaches of the Don and the Azov steppes, in which immigrants from Russia settled from the 15th century, which later formed the Don Cossacks.

In the 15th-17th centuries, the Don Cossacks began clashes with the Ottoman Empire and the Crimean Khanate.

They attacked Turkish and Tatar fortresses in the Black Sea region, seizing rich trophies in them and freeing Christian slaves from captivity.

In 1637, a detachment of several thousand Don and Zaporozhye Cossacks besieged and captured the fortress of Azov.

Four years later, a 100,000-strong Ottoman army approached the walls of Azov.

Despite the fact that at that time there were only 5.5 thousand people in the fortress, including 800 women, the Cossacks refused to surrender and repulsed 24 attacks, forcing the Turks to retreat.

The Cossacks offered Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich to officially recognize Azov as part of Russia, but the authorities in 1642 decided that the country was not ready for a full-scale war with the Ottoman Empire.

The Cossacks tore down the fortifications and retreated from the mouth of the Don, and the Turks restored the fortress.

  • Taking Azov

  • © Wikimedia Commons

As the professor of the Moscow State Pedagogical University, Doctor of Historical Sciences Vitaly Zakharov reminds, in 1696 Azov was taken by the troops of Peter I. However, Russia again failed to gain a foothold in the mouth of the Don.

Under the terms of the Prut Peace, concluded against the backdrop of Peter's failures in the campaign to the territory of Moldova, Azov had to be given to the Ottoman Empire.

“Russia was unable to gain a foothold in Azov for a long time due to problems with communications.

It was difficult to bring significant military contingents to the fortress.

In addition, Tatar cavalry attacked the troops on the way, ”historian and writer Dmitry Volodikhin said in a conversation with RT.

In the 1730s, Russian-Turkish relations again deteriorated against the background of a difficult geopolitical situation in Europe and the increasingly frequent raids on Russia by the troops of the Crimean Khanate.

In 1735, a new Russian-Turkish war began.

Siege of Azov

In March 1736, the Russian commander, Count Christopher von Minich, decided to begin the siege of Azov.

A corps numbering about 5 thousand regular and 3.2 thousand irregular troops was sent to the fortress (in some sources its total number is estimated at about 14 thousand people).

Foreign observers in the Russian army were skeptical about the Minich plan, considering it unpromising.

At that time, the Turkish garrison of Azov numbered almost 6 thousand people with 211 cannons and 15 mortars.

Fortifications of Azov included three citadels with nine towers and earthen ramparts with a protective ditch.

As Vitaly Zakharov said, before the start of the main maneuvers to siege the fortress, a detachment of about 500 soldiers of the regular army and 1.2 thousand Don Cossacks captured fortifications in the Azov region: towers (watchtowers) on the banks of the Don and Fort Buttercup.

“Minich took the Turks by surprise - they did not expect the Russian army to approach so quickly.

In addition, being an engineer, he competently designed the necessary siege structures, "said Alexander Belousov.

Minikh soon left Azov, going to the Dnieper army.

And Field Marshal Pyotr Lassi arrived at the fortress besieged by Russian troops.

“Lassi was famous for his ability to supply the army with everything necessary and at the same time maintain discipline in the troops.

He enjoyed considerable authority among soldiers and officers, ”Zakharov said.

  • Peter Lassi

  • © Wikimedia Commons

Organizing the siege of Azov, Lassi, according to the expert, actively used intelligence data.

Local residents of non-Turkish origin told about the vulnerable places of the fortress.

In May, the Russian Don flotilla approached Azov, which, according to historians, consisted of about 15 pram (flat-bottomed artillery ships) and 35 sailing and rowing ships (half-galera and scampaway).

In May, about 140 Turkish ships arrived in Crimea from the Ottoman Empire, which were supposed to go to the aid of Azov.

However, they did not take part in the battles on the Don.

According to one version - because of the low water level at the mouth of the river, according to another - because of the need to provide urgent assistance to the Crimean Khanate, on whose territory the second Russian army entered.

  • Russian pram

  • © Wikimedia Commons

The Russian siege artillery brought to Azov was intensively shelling the fortress.

The losses of the Ottoman garrison, according to historians, ranged from 1.5 to 2.4 thousand people.

In addition, a powder magazine exploded from a Russian bomb hit in Azov.

At first, the Turks tried to hold the fortifications and even made sorties against the Russian troops.

However, on June 29, 1736, a Russian infantry detachment seized the "covered path" - a strip of land adjacent to the embankment in front of the moat, which the Turks used to organize sorties.

The Ottoman garrison initiated negotiations for surrender, and on July 1 handed over the keys to the fortress to the Russian command.

A week later, the soldiers of the Turkish garrison left the fortifications, retaining their personal weapons, but leaving the artillery in the fortress.

The losses of the Russian army, according to various estimates, ranged from 200 to 400 people.

“The capture of Azov was one of the most important steps in the confrontation between Russia and Turkey in the Azov-Black Sea region,” stressed Dmitry Volodikhin.

  • Siege of Azov (1736)

  • © Wikimedia Commons

Russian troops also operated successfully in other theaters of operations.

They took Perekop and Ochakov, occupied Bakhchisarai for a time, defeated the Crimean Khanate in the Salgir battle, and the Ottomans in the Stavuchansky battle.

However, Russia's ally, the Holy Roman Empire, suffered a series of defeats.

After her withdrawal from the war, St. Petersburg also had to enter into negotiations with Turkey.

In 1739, the Peace of Belgrade was concluded between the Russian and Ottoman empires.

Under its terms, Big and Small Kabarda were recognized as a neutral zone, Russia abandoned its own fleet in the Black and Azov Seas, and its maritime trade was provided by Turkish ships.

Pilgrims from the Russian Empire gained access to Jerusalem.

Russia kept Azov for itself, but removed its fortifications.

Instead, a Russian fortress was being built on the Don island of Cherkas.

“Actions near Azov laid the foundation for the future expansion of Russia in the Northern Black Sea region, the creation of the Black Sea Fleet and the annexation of the Crimea. Azov and the mouth of the Don became a springboard that allowed Russia to conduct successful military operations in the era of Catherine II, "summed up Alexander Belousov.