Cruiser Potemkin

[dorupantos]

Few people knows that in Russia was a revolution also in 1905 . Nearby another social movements , also in tzarist navy were a lot of unsatisfactions . On cruiser (battleship ) POTEMKIN there was a muttiny against despotic officers . The crew tried to revolt Odessa but failed , run on sea and tried to reach shelter in Romania in Constanta harbour . Tzar maked diplomatic pressures that POTEMKIN returns in Russia and romanian authorithies agreeded (of course) but several hundreds of crewmen get refuge in Romania (sailors that have returned in Russia were killed!).
In 1926, EISENSTEIN , russian director of film , has made the movie(film) about POTEMKIN muttiny .

[dorupantos]

Battleship POTEMKIN in harbour .

[steve roberts]

Hi Doru.A lot of EISENSTEIN's films were used by the Soviets as Propoganda Films.Especially in the lead up to the German invasion of Russia.I think Stalin really knew he could not trust the Germans and tried to instill a natural fear of them.Unfortunately his "Purges" of the Russian officer corps had done great damage to the moral of his forces.People who had been as low a rank as Sergeant,suddenly found themselves as Marshalls and Generals.There were no Staff Colleges in those days,so no real battle tactics were known. Regards Steve.

[dorupantos]

You are right about some films of EISENSTEIN but, I don't wanna make propaganda , just to present a wonderfull battleship .

[dorupantos]

Some beautifull pics of this historic ship !

[astraltrader]

A great old ship Doru but I dont understand why you have called her a cruiser in the thread title as she was surely a pre-dreadnought Battleship?

[dorupantos]

POTEMKIN is doubtless a pre-dreadnought battleship . I named the thread "Cruiser Potemkin" because in Romania this ship is better known like that (romanian translation of title of Eisenstein film is "Cruiser Potemkin").

[astraltrader]

Thanks Doru - I understand what you mean - many times in books and films warships are often described as battleships when they are not. :)

[mik43]

Either way, super set of pix once again Doru, well done shipmate

Mik

[Alex Shenec]

Hi.

Strange title of a Thread... :cool:

Why "cruiser"?.. Why not "destroyer" or "gunboat"?..
Then "Canopus" and "Formidable" too a cruisers...

1. Blacksea Fleet in a campaign. First "Svyatoy Panteleimon" (ex-"Knyaz Potyomkin-Tavrichesky").
2. "Knyaz Potyomkin-Tavrichesky".
3. Very rare photo. "Potyomkin" under the Romanian flag in Constance. Romania had some hours the Battleship.

Best regards

Alex

[dorupantos]

You are right ! Unfortunelly for my countrymen Big Bear wanted the battleship back and we return it without a scratch (of course without the flag).

[Antoine]

Here are two more photos of the "Potyomkin" at Constanta under Romanian colours.

Unfortunelly for my countrymen Big Bear wanted the battleship back and we return it without a scratch (of course without the flag).

If you prefer that the Little I-Don't-Know-What-Animal would pocket the stolen battleship?

[Cicero]

I really like the predreadnought batttleships and built a model of the Potemkin when I was a teen. It got lost or destroyed sometime in the past though.
Thanks for the photos!

[dorupantos]

Dear Commander [Antoine] , you are full of good surprises ! Thank you once again !

[Cicero]

Parenthetically, do all know of the phrase Potemkin Village and the story behind it?

"Potemkin village" has come to mean any hollow or false construct, physical or figurative, meant to hide an undesirable or potentially damaging situation from the practice of Catherine's minister Grigory Potyomkin of constructing prefabricated fake villages along the desolate banks of the Dnieper River in order to impress the monarch and her travel party with the value of her new conquests, thus enhancing his standing in the empress' eyes.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potemkin_village#Examples_of_Potemkin_villages

[astraltrader]

Doru my friend unfortunately in my role as moderator I have to make a small moan to ask if you could call members by their name rather than as Commander, etc. Otherwise in the future when these ranks have changed then nobody will be able to understand who you were talking with!!

Thank you ;)

[dorupantos]

Drawing of battleship "Potemkin" .

[dorupantos]

Crewmen of POTEMKIN getting refuge after mutiny in Romania (Constanta-harbour) .

[ludsie]

This is a really interesting story as they also captured a torpedo boat during the mutiny

[dorupantos]

You are right Ludsie ! During the muttiny there was an torpedoboat who tried to riche supplies for POTEMKIN . It was torpedoboat IZMAIL .

[emason]

Doruptanus, I freely admit that I know next to nothing about this famous battleship other than Eisenstein's film. So why in the first picture of posts#1 and #3 is she flying the Union Jack? Or is it some other flag?

[astraltrader]

Doruptanus, I freely admit that I know next to nothing about this famous battleship other than Eisenstein's film. So why in the first picture of posts#1 and #3 is she flying the Union Jack? Or is it some other flag?


An easy mistake to make Bill, especially in black and white pictures.

In short the Russian Naval Flag used at that time was similar to the Union Jack mainly because it used the diagonal cross of St Andrew [Russia was of course Christian when the flag was first used - I think it was originally used back in the 17th or 18th century]

The difference between the two is far more evident in colour as you can see here.

Hope that answers your question, sir! :)

[BlackBat242]

Most western naval reference books refer to her under her 1905-1917 name of Panteleimon.

This confused me when I went to look for her technical details after reading the story of the mutiny in a book* back in the 1970s in the USA.

It took a number of years before I finally found a book that listed both names for the ship.



And to think... all that because the borscht was bad.



yes< I know the causes of the mutiny were more numerous and more complex, but that does seem to have been the trigger point.



* Hough, Richard, The Potemkin Mutiny, 1960, Hamish Hamilton Ltd, London

[emason]

An easy mistake to make Bill, especially in black and white pictures.

In short the Russian Naval Flag used at that time was similar to the Union Jack mainly because it used the diagonal cross of St Andrew [Russia was of course Christian when the flag was first used - I think it was originally used back in the 17th or 18th century]

The difference between the two is far more evident in colour as you can see here.

Hope that answers your question, sir! :)

Thank you Terry, it answers the question completely. As you say, the difference is obvious in colour, and now I know, it is obvious in the photographs also. I knew there had to be a simple explanation.

Thanks again.

[Alex Shenec]

Hi.

You are right Ludsie ! During the muttiny there was an torpedoboat who tried to riche supplies for POTEMKIN . It was torpedoboat IZMAIL .

In the first photo not a IZMAIL. It is a torpedo boat No105.

Best regards

Alex

[dorupantos]

Pictures with the creew of POTEMKIN .

[dorupantos]

Beautiful ship !

[dorupantos]

As usual I forgot to atach !

[hood51]

As usual I forgot to atach !

Nice pictures, Dorupantos.

Steve

[Antoine]

post #26 - 5th photo is of the Rostislav;
post #28 - 2nd photo is of the Evstafy.

[dorupantos]

Dear ANTOINE ,
You are quite right regarding this two photos !
Thank you !

[dorupantos]

Another two old photos of POTEMKIN !

[patroclus]

Another two old photos of POTEMKIN !

Very interesting. Keep them coming!

[Antoine]

Some photos of the Panteleimon. On the first photo the Knyaz Potemkin-Tavrichesky at Sevastopol, spring 1905.

[hood51]

Some photos of the Panteleimon. On the first photo the Knyaz Potemkin-Tavrichesky at Sevastopol, spring 1905.

Nice pictures, Antoine.

Steve