Exactly 120 years ago, on September 7, 1902, a monument to the battleship Rusalka was solemnly opened in Reval (now Tallinn)

It was put on funds raised from all over the Russian Empire – from Finland to the Far East. Tens of thousands of people of all classes – peasants, bourgeois, merchants, priests, nobles, as well as different faiths – Orthodox, Muslims, Buddhists, Livonian Lutherans and Polish Catholics contributed to the masterpiece, which is now considered one of the symbols of Tallinn, one of the few of its attractions.

On the way to Helsingfors

The death of the “Mermaid” is sad. Warships must either die in battle, or retire with honor, rework and remelt. “Mermaid” sank in peacetime in the internal waters of the Russian Empire due to the stupidity of the command.

It was a Coast Guard turret armored boat. She was laid down on Galerny Island near St. Petersburg and launched in 1867. She served in the armored squadron of the Baltic Fleet.

The term “Coast Guard” speaks for itself – the battleship was poorly adapted to the open sea, especially in bad weather. Due to heavy armament, the height of her freeboard was only 76 cm.

On September 7 (19 according to the old style), 1893, the battleship Rusalka received an order: to follow from Reval to Helsingfors (as Helsinki was then called) together with the gunboat Cloud. The weather was completely unsuitable for this. However, Rear Admiral Pavel Stepanovich Burachek gave the order, and the captains of the “Mermaid” and “Clouds” did not dare to disobey.

At 8:40 a.m. “Mermaid” and “Cloud” set off on their fateful journey. Modern hydrofoil ferries cover the distance from Tallinn to Helsinki in an average of 2 hours and 15 minutes. One hundred and thirty years ago, the speeds were somewhat different. The boat “Cloud” arrived in Helsingfors at three o’clock in the afternoon. One.

Subsequently, at the trial, her captain Nikolai Lushkov will give detailed testimony. The wind and excitement intensified with every minute. Lushkov was firmly convinced that the captain of the Rusalka would order her back, and therefore ordered the observers to keep a close eye on her. At 11 o’clock “Cloud” passed the Revelshtein lightship. “Mermaid” by that time noticeably lagged behind, and the captain gave the order to slow down. This did not help: at noon it began to rain frequently, it was very cloudy, and the darkness hid the armadillo from observers.

But the captain of the “Clouds” by this time had his own worries: the storm intensified to 8 points (and later to nine), the boat either took off on the crests of the waves, then flew headlong down.

“In a word, there was such a state of the sea in which not a single commander, even if part of his team falls into the sea, would not even think of saving her, so as not to increase the number of already dead. Feeling completely powerless under such conditions to be something useful for the Rusalka battleship, I decided to give full speed to the car and turned all my attention solely to preserving the boat entrusted to me and a hundred people of the team, ”Nikolai Lushkov later told the court.

However, the court considered that Captain Lushkov behaved unworthily and dishonored the rank of captain. A significant role in this was played by the fact that the captain dared to take his young wife with him – they say, he was concerned about her salvation. And Rear Admiral Skrydlov made a very interesting speech. It intertwined both the desire to hang all the dogs on the captain of the “Cloud” and the look of a person who is perfectly familiar with the realities of the sea. The admiral began his accusations with the fact that it was necessary to follow along with the “Mermaid” and period, continued by saying that it was necessary to at least pick up the dying from the water, and ended up saying that “even if the Cloud” had not been able to provide direct assistance , then Captain Lushkov, being present at her death, would save the fleet and the whole society from the feeling of uncertainty about the causes of this terrible incident … “.

The true culprit of the incident, Rear Admiral Pavel Burachek, got off with a reprimand …

About the “Mermaid” realized not immediately. Lushkov, arriving in Helsingfors, did not immediately report the absence of the “Mermaid”. Only the next day, September 8, he asked the rear admiral whether he should wait for the “Mermaid” or move on to Björkö (now the city of Primorsk in the Leningrad Region). But the rear admiral was very busy and did not take any measures.

And on September 10, on one of the islands of Cremare, they found a boat from the Mermaid. Under the can (that is, the bench) of the boat, the corpse of a sailor of the 2nd article, Ivan Prunsky, was stuck. A few more broken boats from the “Mermaid” were also found on September 10 on the island of Sandhamn – and this, by the way, is near Stockholm itself!

It is possible that on the dying battleship they managed to launch the boats and load the crew into them. And then people, most likely, were washed away into the sea.

Subsequently, the writer Konstantin Paustovsky, after carefully questioning the sailors of the Baltic Fleet, wrote that at this time of the year storms are frequent in the Baltic Sea, which begin around noon. “Mermaid” had to leave two hours earlier – then she would have managed to slip through. But an order is an order…

Boy from Uuga-Ryatsep

In 1855, a boy was born on the farm of Uuga-Ryatsepa, who was named Amandus Heinrich Adamson. His father was a sailor and his mother was a farmer. The boy studied at the Reval school for poor children – it was there that she began to show herself as a creator: she carved sculptures from wood.

Usually, at that time, Estonian children did not receive special education. In these parts, the ruling class were Germans, Danes and Swedes – it was they who lived in the cities, studied at colleges, lyceums and the University of Tartu. Indigenous people had to leave in order to continue their education after the parochial school.

Twenty-year-old Amandus Adamson moved to St. Petersburg and entered the Imperial Academy of Arts. He successfully graduated, taught, worked in Paris. In 1907 he received the title of academician.

Many of Amandus Adamson’s works are related to the sea. He made sculptures for the “Monument to the Scuttled Ships” in Sevastopol, created the sculpture “Fisherman from Muhu Island”. Some of his sculptures were replicated in bisque. For example, the allegory “Last breath of the ship”, “Kiss of the wave” or “Listen to the whisper of the sea”, created to decorate the Mikhailovsky Palace. Copies of these sculptures can be seen in the Tretyakov Gallery and the Hermitage.

The work of a boy from an Estonian farm flaunts on Nevsky Prospekt, in Solyany Lane and on Troitsky Bridge in St. Petersburg. In Poltava there is a monument to Peter I made by him.

But most of his works, of course, in Estonia. And in 1900, when a subscription to raise funds for the creation of a monument was announced by the Highest Imperial Decree, it was completely clear to whom to entrust the work. Of course, the Estonian and Russian sculptor Amandus Heinrich Adamson.

Work on the manufacture of the monument cost 67,159 rubles, of which 61,000 were donations. It was opened and consecrated on September 7 (19 according to the old style), 1903, on the anniversary of the death of the battleship.

The monument stands on a platform tiled in such a way that a star with eight rays is formed – a wind rose, eight main points of the compass. Around there are columns with tablets and the names of the dead – 167 people. The names of the officers, however, are carved separately, on the rock itself. The base of the monument is the prow of a ship breaking through waves of rough pink granite. A panel that depicts the “Mermaid” on the day of death and a laurel wreath. And on top of the rock there is a figure of an angel with a golden cross.

The prediction came true

Much has changed in the past hundred and twenty years. Borders of countries, names of states and cities. The legend remained unchanged: as if a hundred years and one year after the installation of the monument, the shadow from the cross in the hand of an angel would point to the place of her death.

Among Russian sailors, there was even a custom: be sure to visit the “Mermaid” and go around it in a circle, reading the names of all the dead. This was a necessary condition: there had to be at least one mourner left on earth.

And indeed, a hundred years and one year later, in 2003, the “Mermaid” was found. It was discovered by an Estonian expedition led by explorer Vello Myassa.

Previously, Estonian specialists carefully studied the archives and chose a square for work – we recall that the boats were carried as far as Stockholm. After a long search, they found a strange object underwater. And the very first dive of divers showed: yes, this is it!

At a depth of 74 meters, in Finnish economic waters, 25 nautical miles south of Helsinki. The ship stood almost vertically, with its bow deep into the clay bottom. It was perfectly preserved: in the light of the searchlights, lead screws with specific curved blades, portholes, and skylights were visible.

The divers did not penetrate deep into the ship, the underwater grave remained untouched. They carefully measured and verified all the parameters of the ship. And we came to the conclusion: the error is excluded. This is Mermaid. The battleship managed to go two-thirds of the way to Helsingfors when the tragedy happened.

* * *

For a hundred and twenty years now, the monument to the battleship “Mermaid” has rightfully been considered one of the main attractions of Tallinn. All guests of the capital, all tourists are sure to be taken to it. On the columns around the rock there are not only Russian, but also Estonian names. They served on the battleship hand in hand.

Amandus Adamson is rightfully considered one of the greatest Estonian cultural figures of the 20th century. And one of the greatest sculptors of Russia – let’s add.

This is part of our common history. And in any circumstances, this must be remembered. This was the meaning of the legend: the grave of the “Mermaid” will be opened to the living, if at least one mourner remains on earth.

Whatever happens, we must always remember, grieve and keep the memory.

Yana MAYEVSKAYA.