The Swedish Origin of the Russian Naval Artillery Drill Regulations during the Time of Peter the Great

Abstract

The article is devoted to the study of the origin of the Russian Naval artillery drill regulations (so called exercise) of the era of Peter the Great. Previously only one Russian Naval artillery exercise of the 18th century, introduced by F. M. Apraksin in 1718, was known. The comparison of two printed treatises of D. Grundell (the head of the Swedish Naval artillery in 1712–1716) with the exercise of Apraksin has revealed their obvious similarity. The author has discovered the Russian exercise of the late 1740s. Its analysis enables to prove that in the Russian Navy (at least from 1717 to the middle of the 18th century) there existed one exercise, and this exercise was a translation and adaptation of the Swedish one. Russian and Swedish exercises were totally different compared to the French and English ones. The study confirms that two articles of the Russian Naval Charter of 1720 are a translation of the two passages of D. Grundell’s treatise of 1705, and this treatise itself was in circulation in Russia and, possibly, was known to Peter I. The biography of D. Grundell, who joined the Russian service in 1698 but did not actually serve, has been clarified. The current research raises questions of the dissemination of scientific, technical, and regulatory information of the 18th century. This process could take a variety of forms (oral, written, printed) — from the transfer of information by the teacher to the student to publications that referred to their approval by the relevant authorities or officials.