DOI 10.51255/2311–603X_2025_3_30

D. Yu. Kozlov. “This was the Achilles’ Heel of the Russian Colossus…”: On the Role and
Significance of the Black Sea Theater of the First World War // Petersburg Historical Journal,
no. 3, 2025, pp. 30–53

Abstract:

The article under scrutiny herein undertakes a thoroughgoing analysis of the impact of the
struggle between the Russian and Ottoman navies on the course and outcome of the First World War. The author’s primary focus is on the impact of naval operations in the Black Sea on the economic and, to a certain extent, socio-political situation in Russia and Turkey. It is concluded that the results of the struggle in the Black Sea, principally the actions of the opposing fleets on maritime communications, largely catalysed the economic and political problems in the Russian and Ottoman Empires, which ultimately led to their military defeat and subsequent disintegration.


Key words: World War I, Black Sea, disruption of sea supply, economic situation, “coal famine”.

Author:

Kozlov, Denis Yur’evich — Dr. of Sci. in History, Chief Researcher and Head of the Center for the
Military History of Russia, Institute of Russian History of Russian Academy of Sciences (Moscow, Russia).
E-mail: kozloff_d@mail.ru

References:

Ayrapetov, O. R. Kolchak u vrat Tsar’grada [Kolchak at the Gates of Tsargrad (In Russ.)]. In Rodina. 2004. No. 9, pp. 23–26.

Ayrapetov, O. R. Na Vostochnom napravlenii. Sud’ba Bosforskoi ekspeditsii v pravlenie imperatora Nikolaya II [In the Eastern Direction. The Fate of the Bosphorus Expedition during the Reign of Emperor Nicholas II (In Russ.)]. In Airapetov, O. R. (ed.). Poslednyaya voina Rossiiskoi imperii: sbornik statei. Moscow, Tri kvadrata, 2002. P. 158–261.

Ayrapetov, O. R. Uchastie Rossiiskoi imperii v Pervoi mirovoi voine (1914–1917) [Participation of the Russian Empire in World War I (1914–1917) (In Russ.)]: in 4 vols. Moscow, Kuchkovo pole, 2014–2016.

Aliev, G. Z. Turtsiya v period pravleniya mladoturok (1908–1918 gg.) [Turkey during the Rule of the Young Turks (1908–1918) (In Russ.)]. Moscow, Nauka, 1972. 388 p.

Bal, M. A. Trabzon’un Rus Donanmasınca Bombardımanı ve Bombardımanın Trabzon’a Etkileri (1914–1916). In Atatürk Araştırma Merkezi Dergisi. 2011 (Kasım). Cilt XXVII — Sayı 81. P. 545–576.

Bendert, H. Die UB-Boote der Kaiserlichen Marine 1914–1918. Einsätze. Erfolge. Schicksal. Hamburg; Berlin; Bonn, Verlag E. S. Mittler & Sohn GmbH, 2000. 214 S.

Büyüktuğrul, A. Osmanli Deniz Harp Tarihi. Cilt IV. İstanbul, Deniz Basimevi, 1974.

Çapraz, H. Birinci Dünya Savaşı’nda Rusya’nın Boğazlari Ele Geçirme Planlari. In Yıldız, G., Ünsal, C.
(eds.). Çarlık Rusyası ve Boğazlar. Harp Tarihi Çalıştayı Bildirileri 12 Haziran 2019. İstanbul, Milli Savunma Üniversitesi, 2022. P. 191–226.

Dankov, M. Yu. “Fenomenal’nyi proryv na Murman” [“Phenomenal Breakthrough to Murman”
(In Russ.)]. In Zashchitniki Otechestva: materialy XXI regional’nykh obshchestvenno-nauchnykh chtenii po voenno-istoricheskoi tematike. Arkhangel’sk. 28 oktyabrya 2006 g. Iss. 10. Arkhangel’sk, Pravda Severa, 2007. P. 211–219.

Emets, V. A. Problema Chernomorskikh prolivov vo vneshnei politike Rossii v period Pervoi mirovoi voiny [The Problem of the Black Sea Straits in Russian Foreign Policy During the First World War (In Russ.)]. In Rossiya i Chernomorskie prolivy (XVIII–XX stoletiya). Moscow, Mezhdunarodnye otnosheniya, 1999. P. 305–352.

Gerasimov, V. L. Vozdushnaya bombardirovka Zonguldaka. Stanovlenie rossiiskoi korabel’noi aviatsii [Aerial Bombardment of Zonguldak. The Formation of Russian Naval Aviation (In Russ.)]. In FlotoMaster. 2004. No. 1, pp. 20–29.

Gerasimov, V. V. (ed.). Vooruzhennye sily Rossii v Pervoi mirovoi voine (1914–1917) [The Armed Forces of Russia in World War I (1914–1917) (In Russ.)]: in 2 vols. Moscow, Megapolis, 2014.

Golubev, A. A. Murmanskaya zheleznaya doroga. Istoriya stroitel’stva (1894–1917 gg.) [Murmansk
Railway. History of Construction (1894–1917) (In Russ.)]. St. Petersburg, Peterburgskii gos. un-t putei soobshcheniya, 2011. 204 p.

Goncharov, A. S., Zablotskii, V. P. Podvodnye lodki kaizera na Chernom more (1915–1918 gody) [Kaiser’s Submarines in the Black Sea (1915–1918) (In Russ.)]. In Gangut. 2003. Iss. 34, pp. 71–81; Iss. 35, pp. 68–86; 2005. Iss. 36, pp. 86–97.

Greger, R. Die Russische Flotte im Ersten Weltkrieg 1914–1917. München, J. F. Lehmann, 1970. 176 p.

Gribovskii, V. Yu. Chernomorskii flot v boyakh s “Gebenom” (1914–1915 gody) [The Black Sea Fleet in Battles against the Goeben (1914–1915) (In Russ.)]. In Gangut. 1996. Iss. 10, pp. 21–34.

Gröner, E. Die deutschen Kriegsschiffe 1815–1945. Bd. 1. München, J. F. Lehmann, 1966.

Güleryüz, А. Ottoman Navy’s Cruisers. İstanbul, Denizier Kitabevi, 2011.

Heywood, A. J. The Logistical Significance of the Turkish Straits, Russo-Ottoman War and Gallipoli
Campaign in Imperial Russia’s Great War, 1914–1917. In Revolutionary Russia. 2017. Iss. 30, no. 1, pp. 6–34.

Heywood, A. J. Turetskie prolivy, Velikaya voina i Fevral’skaya revolyutsiya [The Turkish Straits, the
Great War and the February Revolution (In Russ.)]. In Epokha voin i revolyutsii 1914–1922. Materialy mezhdunarodnogo kollokviuma (Sankt-Peterburg, 9–11 iyunya 2016 goda). St. Petersburg, Nestor-Istoriya, 2017. P. 10–21.

Kireev, N. G. Istoriya Turtsii. XX vek [The History of Turkey. 20th century (In Russ.)]. Moscow, Institut vostokovedeniya RAN; Kraft+, 2007. 605 p.

Kondratenko, R. V. Morskaya politika Rossii 80-kh godov XIX veka [Maritime Policy of Russia in the 80s of the 19th Century (In Russ.)]. St. Petersburg, LeKo, 2006. 343 p.

Kostrikova, E. G. Bor’ba Rossii za peresmotr statusa prolivov v nachale XX v. [Russia’s Struggle to Revise the Status of the Straits in the Early 20th century (In Russ.)]. In Nezhinskii, L. N., Ignat’ev, A.V. (eds.). Rossiya i Chernomorskie prolivy (XVIII–XX stoletiya). Moscow, Mezhdunarodnye otnosheniya, 1999. P. 253–304.

Kozlov, D. Yu. Karadeniz’de Garip Bir Savaş (Ağustos — Ekim 1914), Çeviren Altan Aykut. Ankara, Türk Tarih Kurumu, 2021. 259 s.

Kozlov, D. Yu. Narushenie morskikh kommunikatsii po opytu deistvii Rossiiskogo flota v Pervoi mirovoi voine (1914–1917) [Disruption of Sea Communications Based on the Experience of the Russian Navy in the First World War (1914–1917) (In Russ.)]. Moscow, Russkii Fond Sodeistviya Obrazovaniyu i Nauke, 2012.

Krest’yaninov, V. Ya. Chernomorskii flot v Pervoi mirovoi voine 1914–1918 godov [The Black Sea Fleet in World War I 1914–1918 (In Russ.)]. St. Petersburg, Morskoe nasledie, 2021. 424 p.

Krest’yannikov, V. V. Podgotovka desantnoi operatsii na Bosfor v kontse XIX — nachale XX v.
[Preparation of a Landing Operation on the Bosphorus in the Late 19th — Early 20th Centuries (In Russ.)]. In Sevastopol’: vzglyad v proshloe. Nauchnye stat’i sotrudnikov gosudarstvennogo arkhiva g. Sevastopolya. Sevastopol’, Ch. P. Aref’ev, 2006. P. 131–133.

Langensiepen, B., Güleryüz, A. The Ottoman Steam Navy 1828–1923. London, Conway Maritime Press, 1995. 201 p.

Langensiepen, B., Nottelmann, D., Krüsmann, J. Halbmond und Kaiseradler: Goeben und Breslau am Bosporus 1914–1918. Hamburg; Bonn; Berlin, Verlag E. S. Mittler & Song GmbH, 1999. 271 s.

Lebedev, A. A. Kreiserskaya voina po-russki (na primere istorii russkogo parusnogo flota) [Russian
Cruising War (Using the Example of the History of the Russian Sailing Navy) (In Russ.)]. In Gangut. 2012. Iss. 68, pp. 29–57.

Ludshuveit, E. F. Turtsiya v gody pervoi mirovoi voiny 1914–1918 gg. Voenno-politicheskii ocherk [Turkey during the First World War, 1914–1918. Military and political essay (In Russ.)]. Moscow, Moscow University Press, 1966. 386 p.

Lukin, V. K. Zametki o boevoi deyatel’nosti Chernomorskogo flota v period 1914–1918 gg. [Notes on the Combat Activities of the Black Sea Fleet in the Period 1914–1918 (In Russ.)]: in 2 vols. St. Petersburg, Petronii; Ostrov, 2008; 2012.

Luneva, Yu. V. Zakrytie Dardanell vo vremya italo-turetskoi voiny (1911–1912 gody) [Closure of the Dardanelles during the Italo-Turkish War (1911–1912) (In Russ.)]. In Novaya i noveishaya istoriya. 2011. No. 6, pp. 67–79.

Mansel, Ph. Konstantinopol’, 1453–1924 [Constantinople, 1453–1924 (In Russ.)]. Moscow, AST, 2017. 634 p.

McMeekin, S. The Russian Origins of the First World War. Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press, 2011. 324 p.

Menning, B. W. War Planning and Initial Operations in the Russian Context. In Hamilton, R. F.,
Herwig, H. H. (eds.). War Planning 1914. New York, Cambridge University Press, 2010. P. 80–142.

Nakhtigal, R. Murmanskaya zheleznaya doroga (1915–1919 gody): voennaya neobkhodimost’
i ekonomicheskie soobrazheniya [The Murmansk Railway (1915–1919): Military Necessity and Economic Considerations (In Russ.)]. St. Petersburg, Nestor-Istoriya, 2011. 318 p.

Öksüz, H., Usta, V. I. Dünya Savaşı Sırasında Rus Donanmasının Trabzon ve Çevresini Bombalaması. In Türkiyat Mecmuası. 2014. Cilt 24 (Bahar). S. 25–51.

Oleinikov, A. V. Turetskii front Rossii, 1914–1917 [Russian Turkish Front, 1914–1917 (In Russ.)].
Moscow, Veche, 2016. 288 p.

Pavlov, A. Yu. Skovannye odnoi tsel’yu. Strategicheskoe vzaimodeistvie Rossii i ee soyuznikov v gody Pervoi mirovoi voiny 1914–1917 gg. [Bound by One Goal. Strategic Interaction between Russia and Its Allies during the First World War, 1914–1917 (In Russ.)]. St. Petersburg, St. Petersburg University Press, 2008. 186 p.

Pestushko, Yu. S. Rossiisko-yaponskie otnosheniya v gody Pervoi mirovoi voiny (1914–1917 gg.) [Russian-Japanese Relations during the First World War (1914–1917) (In Russ.)]. Khabarovsk, Izdatel’stvo DVGGU, 2008. 236 p.

Polmar, N., Noot, J. Submarines of the Russian and Soviet Navies, 1718–1990. Annapolis, Md., Naval Institute Press, 1991. 370 p.

Puzyrev, V. P. Torgovyi flot Rossii v Pervoi mirovoi voine 1914–1918 gg. [Russian Merchant Fleet in the First World War 1914–1918 (In Russ.)]. Moscow, 2006. 217 p.

Reynolds, M. Shattering Empires: The Clash and Collapse of the Ottoman and Russian Empires, 1908–1918. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2011. 324 p.

Sanborn, J. Imperial Apocalypse: The Great War and the Destruction of the Russian Empire. Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2014. 300 p.

Staff, G. German Battlecruisers of World War One: Their Design, Construction and Operations. Annapolis, Naval Institute Press, 2014. 320 p.

Stone, D. The Russian Army in the Great War: The Eastern Front, 1914–1917. Lawrence, University Press of Kansas, 2015. 368 p.

Stone, N. Pervaya mirovaya voina: Kratkaya istoriya [World War I: A Brief History (In Russ.)]. Moscow, AST, 2010. 224 p.

Strachan, H. The First World War: A New Illustrated History. London, Simon and Schuster, 2003. 368 p.

Strel’bitskii, K. B. Poteri Rossiiskogo flota v period Pervoi mirovoi voiny 1914–1918 (Spravochnik) [Losses of the Russian Navy during the First World War 1914–1918 (Reference) (In Russ.)]. L’vov, Mezhdunarodnyi Tsentr istorii flota, 1994. 38 p.

Troshina, T. I. Velikaya voina… Zabytaya voina… Arkhangel’sk v gody Pervoi mirovoi voiny (1914–1918 gg.) [The Great War… The Forgotten War… Arkhangelsk during the First World War (1914–1918) (In Russ.)]. Arkhangel’sk, KIRA, 2008. 169 p.

Turan, Ö. The Turkish Historiography of the First World War. In Middle East Critique. 2014. No. 23,
pp. 241–257.

Vasil’ev, A. D. Rossiya i Osmanskaya imperiya (1878–1918) [Russia and the Ottoman Empire (1878–1918) (In Russ.)]. In Chubar’yan, A. O. (ed.). Rossiya v sisteme mezhdunarodnykh otnoshenii nakanune i v gody Pervoi mirovoi voiny: in 3 vols. Vol. 1: Rossiya i Tsentral’nye derzhavy. Moscow, Mezhdunarodnye otnosheniya, 2020. P. 211–216.

Перейти к полноэкранному режиму

Similar Posts

PHJ № 2 (46) 2025 — I. V. Zykin. THE CONSEQUENCES OF THE WINTER WAR OF 1939–1940 FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE SOVIET PULP AND PAPER INDUSTRY

One of the tasks of industrialisation in the Soviet Union in the late 1920s and early 1940s was the development of the pulp and paper industry due to low production volumes and dependence on imported equipment and technologies. Despite the establishment of joint ventures, research institutes, and machine-building enterprises, it was not possible to overcome the quantitative and technological lag behind the countries of Europe and North America — the leaders of the pulp and paper industry. The article analyses the potential of pulp and paper enterprises on the Karelian isthmus at the turn of the 1930s and 1940s and the consequences of the Soviet-Finnish War for the pulp and paper industry of the USSR. At the end of the 19 th century — in the 1930s, a large complex for the deep processing of wood was built on the Karelian isthmus. Advanced technologies were used in the production of pulp and cardboard, which were not available in the Soviet Union. However, Soviet specialists paid little attention to Finland’s experience, preferring Germany, Sweden and the USA, where, in addition to technology, mechanical engineering was being developed. The accession of the Karelian isthmus to the Soviet Union after the Winter War of 1939–1940 became an important factor in the development of the pulp and paper industry. The work carried out between April 1940 and May 1941 showed the importance of coordinating the efforts of party-state, planning and economic bodies, concentrating human and technological potential in the restoration of enterprises and the development of their capacities, maintaining dependence on energy imports, control and measuring equipment for pulp cooking and the return of evacuated equipment. An advanced complex for deep processing of wood appeared in the Soviet Union, which significantly changed the spatial and technological development of the pulp and paper industry. The beginning of the Great Patriotic War, Finland’s attack on the side of Germany led to the evacuation of enterprises and the temporary loss of territories.

PHJ № 1 (37) 2023 – F. K. Yarmolich. The level and quality of life of a Leningrader in the 1950–1960s (on the materials of the leisure sphere)

In the article on the basis of the materials of Leningrad of 1950–1960s such element of the everyday life of a city dweller as the leisure sphere is scrutinized. The author pays his attention to the number and geographical location of cultural institutions in the urban space, the variety of forms of recreation and their financial affordability. Having analyzed these aspects the article assesses the extent to which the altered standard of living of a Leningrader during this historical period correlated with the quality of his life. 

PHJ № 3 (35) 2022 – S. A. Isaev. The Creation of the U. S. Constitution: Pennsylvanian context of the process

The U. S. Constitution, which is still in force, was created by the Constitutional Convention, working behind closed doors in Philadelphia, May — September 1787. That time Philadelphia was the capital city of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, but not of the U. S., whereas Continental Congress was working in New York City. The article deals with a question: how the events taking place in Pennsylvania could influence the constitutional process of the U. S.? Author demonstrates that the political development of both U. S., and Pennsylvania had the same trend. In Pennsylvania the State Constitution of 1776 was in force, and there was a struggle for its remodeling, approaching success in the year 1790.

|

PHJ № 3 (47) 2025 — V. A. Veremenko, Ju. V. Sutula. “THE ART OF PERSUASION” — FOREIGN INFANT FORMULA ON THE RUSSIAN MARKET IN THE LATE 19TH — EARLY 20TH CENTURIES

The article, drawing upon a comprehensive array of sources including advertising materials, professional literature by hygienists and physicians, publications from the specialist and women’s press, as well as corporate records, undertakes a thorough analysis of the pivotal role of advertising agencies in the dissemination of foreign infant formula within the domestic market during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. During this period, more than 20 foreign companies offering breast milk surrogates were represented in Russia. The significant cost of these products meant that they were accessible only to the wealthy segment of the country’s population. The advertisement, which promised high-quality, useful and easy-to-use products, was aimed at this educated public. The position of doctors, some of whom participated in the formulas’ advertising, the presence of these companies’ products at all hygiene exhibitions, with the attribution of “proper nutrition”, as well as a well-thought-out advertising campaign, provided foreign manufacturers with an almost monopoly position in the artificial baby food market.

PHJ № 1 (37) 2023 – G. N. Ivanov. The Treaty of Nystad in the history of Sweden and Swedish historiography

In Russian scientific literature the signature of the Treaty of Nystad is seen as a milestone event. A great number of scholarly works focused on the significance of the Treaty of Nystad to Russia and its place in Russian history. However, such approach overlooks the views of Swedish society on its significance and subsequent reflection of the Treaty of Nystad in the history of the country. The present work is intended to fill this gap and reveal whether the Treaty of Nystad is perceived as a significant event in the history of Sweden.

PHJ № 2 (46) 2025 — A. I. Bogomolov. “CAKE WITH TREASON”: THE POLITICAL GASTRONOMY OF THE URAL PROVINCES OF THE EARLY 20TH CENTURY

The issues of quotidian conduct and the symbolism of nutrition have hitherto been addressed principally in works dedicated to relatively distant epochs. Utilising the materials of the Ural provinces of the Russian Empire at the beginning of the 20 th century, this article examines the socio-cultural and political circumstances in which the practices of food and alcohol consumption acquired political meaning. The study places particular emphasis on the symbolic meaning of alcohol and associated practices, as well as the symbolic meaning of various dishes, their role and place in self-identification, in forming the image of the enemy and in politicising everyday life in the ideas of contemporaries — activists of the opposing political parties of Russia in the early 20th century. Participants in far-right and far-left political organizations frequently exhibited a similar stereotypical perception of their political opponents, adhering to the same criteria.