Grigory Spiridov
{{Short description|Russian naval commander and admiral}}
{{family name hatnote|Andreyevich|Spiridov|lang=Eastern Slavic}}
{{More citations needed|date=December 2009}}
{{Infobox person
| honorific_prefix =
| name = Grigory Spiridov
| image = Адмирал Григорий Андреевич Спиридов.jpg
| caption = Portrait by an unknown artist
| alt =
| birth_name = Grigory Andreyevich Spiridov
| native_name = {{nobold|Григорий Спиридов}}
| birth_date = 1713
| birth_place = Vyborg, Tsardom of Russia
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1790|4|19|1713||}}
| death_place = Moscow, Moskovsky Uyezd, Moscow Governorate, Russian Empire
| burial_place = Family crypt in the village of {{ill|Nagorye (Yaroslavl Oblast)|lt=Nagorye|ru|Нагорье (Ярославская область)|vertical-align=sup}}, Pereyaslavsky Uyezd, Vladimir Governorate
| nationality = Russian
| citizenship = {{flagicon|Tsardom of Russia}}{{flagicon|Russian Empire}}
| other_names =
| known_for = Battle of Chesma
| honours = Order of Saint Andrew
Order of Saint George
| occupation = {{Navy|Russian Empire}}
| years_active = 1723–1774
| era = Modern period
}}
Grigory Andreyevich Spiridov ({{Langx|ru|Григорий Андреевич Спиридов}}) (1713, Vyborg – {{OldStyleDate|19 April|1790|8 April}}, Moscow) was a leading Russian naval commander and admiral (1769). One of the greatest naval commanders in Russian history.{{Cite web |title=Сто великих полководцев – История.РФ |trans-title=A hundred great military commanders |url=http://100.histrf.ru/commanders/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230325050218/http://100.histrf.ru/commanders/ |website=100.histrf.ru |publisher=Russian Military Historical Society|archive-date=2023-03-25 }}
Life
=Russo-Turkish War (1768–1774)=
During the Russo-Turkish War of 1768–1774, Spiridov was in charge of a squadron, which would be sent from the Baltic Sea to the Mediterranean to assist the Greeks in their struggle against the Turks in the summer of 1769 (see Orlov Revolt and First Archipelago Expedition). In early 1770, he commanded the seizure of Mistra, Arcadia, and Navarino with the help of a landing party.
On {{OldStyleDate|5 July|1770|24 June}}, a Russian squadron under the nominal command of Count Alexey Grigoryevich Orlov with Spidirov in charge of the van attacked the Turkish fleet in the Chios Strait and forced it to hide in the Chesma Bay. On the night of 26 June (7 July), the Russian squadron under the actual command of Spiridov and Samuel Greig destroyed the Turkish fleet during the Battle of Chesma and established temporary supremacy in the Aegean Sea.{{Cite journal |title=Catherine’s Liberation of the Greeks: High-Minded Discourse and Everyday Realities |url=https://www.academia.edu/25278443/Elena_Smilianskaia_Catherines_Liberation_of_the_Greeks_High_Minded_Discourse_and_Everyday_Realities_in_Word_and_Image_in_Russian_History_Essays_in_Honor_of_Gary_Marker_Ed_by_M_Di_Salvo_Daniel_H_Kaiser_Valerie_A_Kivelson_Boston_Academic_Studies_Press_2015_P_71_89 |via=Academia.edu |journal=Higher School of Economics}} Soon thereafter, he participated in the failed siege of Lemnos.
Spiridov was awarded the Order of St. Andrew the First-Called, and Greig was awarded the Order of St. George. In 1771–1773, Spiridov commanded the Russian fleet in this region. When he resigned from the Russian Navy in 1774, many attributed it to his resentment that all the credit for his victories went to Orlov.
File:1987 CPA 5897.jpg postage stamp]]
References
{{reflist}}
- {{cite web|title=Статьи — История Выборга — Люди, повлиявшие на историю Выборга — СПИРИДОВ Григорий Андреевич (1713-8.04.1790)|url=http://www.vbrg.ru/articles/istorija_vyborga/istoricheskie_lichnosti_nashego_goroda/spiridov_grigorijj_andreevich_1713-8041790/|website=www.vbrg.ru|accessdate=9 February 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170211075622/http://www.vbrg.ru/articles/istorija_vyborga/istoricheskie_lichnosti_nashego_goroda/spiridov_grigorijj_andreevich_1713-8041790/|archive-date=2017-02-11|url-status=dead}}
{{commons category|Grigory Spiridov}}
{{Authority control}}
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Category:Military personnel from Vyborg