Russian brig Merkurii
Meeting of the Brig "Merkuriy" with a Turkish Squadron by Vladimir Kosov
History
Russian Empire
NameMerkuriy
BuilderSevastopol Shipyard
Laid downFebruary 9 [O.S. January 28] 1819[1]
LaunchedMay 19 [O.S. May 7] 1820[1]
Decommissioned1857
FateScrapped
General characteristics
Class & type20-gun brig
Displacement445 tonnes (438 long tons; 491 short tons)[2][a]
Length29.5 m (96 ft 8 in)[1][2]
Beam9.4 m (30 ft 10 in)[1][2]
Draught4.2 m (13 ft 9 in)[2]
Depth of hold4.1 m (13 ft 5 in)[2][b]
Propulsion
Sail plan
Complement115
Armament

Merkuriy (Russian: Меркурий, lit. 'Mercury'; Russian pre-reform: Меркурій) was a 20-gun brig—a two-masted sailing warship of the Imperial Russian Navy. It is famous for its lopsided battle with two Ottoman Navy ships, which took place on May 26 [O.S. May 14] 1829 during the Russo-Turkish War of 1828–1829.[5]

The name Pamiat Merkuria (Russian: Память Меркурия, lit. 'In Memory of Merkuriy') was given to a number of ships of the Russian Black Sea Fleet.

Battle on May 26, 1829

Summary

Brig "Mercury" Attacked by Two Turkish Ships by Ivan Aivazovsky; oil on canvas, 1892

Pursued by a Turkish fleet (6 ships of the line, 2 frigates, 2 corvettes, 1 brig, and 3 tenders),[6] the Russian brig Merkuriy engaged in a lopsided battle with the ships of the line Selimiye (110 guns) and Riyala Bey[d] (74 guns) near the Bosporus Strait.[9] After damaging the ships one by one, the brig escaped pursuit.[5]

Crew (as of May 1829)

Monument to Alexander Kazarsky in Sevastopol (Alexander Brullov, 1839)

Officers:

One hundred and ten enlisted personnel.

Damage and casualties

Brig "Merkuriy" after a Victory over Two Turkish Ships by Ivan Aivazovsky; oil on canvas, 1848

As a result of the battle, the brig took 12 casualties, including 4 killed and 8 wounded.[10] Damage to the ship included:

By official information, neither Turkish ships lost crew as the brig's main objective during the battle was to damage their spars and rigging.

In art

Ivan Aivazovsky created 3 paintings featuring the ship:

  • Brig "Merkuriy" Leading a Battle with Two Turkish Ships / Бриг «Меркурий» ведёт бой с двумя турецкими судами
  • Brig "Merkuriy" meets Russian Fleet after a Victory over Two Turkish Ships on 15.05.1829 / Бриг «Меркурий» после победы над двумя турецкими кораблями встречается с русской эскадрой 15.05.1829; oil on canvas, 123 × 190 cm, State Russian Museum, 1848
  • Brig "Mercury" Attacked by Two Turkish Ships / Бриг «Меркурий», атакованный двумя турецкими кораблями; oil on canvas, 212 × 339 cm, Aivazovsky Picture Gallery, Feodosia, 1892

Several other artists created notable works featuring Merkuriy:

  • Barri: Battle of Brig "Merkuriy" with Two Turkish Ships / Барри: Бой брига «Меркурий» с двумя турецкими кораблями
  • Ivanov: Brig "Merkuriy" / Иванов: Бриг «Меркурий»
  • A. N. Lubyanov: Brig "Merkuriy" / А. Н. Лубянов: Бриг «Меркурий»
  • N. P. Krasovskiy: Battle of Brig "Merkuriy" with Two Turkish Ships / Н. П. Красовский: Бой брига «Меркурий» с двумя турецкими кораблями
  • Mikhail Stepanovitch Tkachenko: Battle of Brig "Merkuriy" with Turkish Ships on May 14, 1829 / Бой брига "Меркурий" с турецкими кораблями 14 мая 1829 года; oil on canvas, Central Naval Museum, St. Petersburg, 1907

Critics of the Aivazovsky painting

The position of the ships portrayed by Aivazovsky in his work has been criticized as being historically inaccurate because of the brig's position between two significantly larger Turkish ships. Still, it's possible that Aivazovsky's artistic impression simply heightened the tension in the painting by accentuating the hopelessness of the brig's situation.

Fight of the Brig "Merkuriy" by Vladimir Kosov; 65 × 120 oil on canvas, 2017–2021

Paintings by other artists (Krasovskiy, Barri, Pechatin) of the same battle, though less known, portray a more realistic depiction of the battle.

Notes

  1. ^ According to some sources, a displacement of 456 tonnes (449 long tons; 503 short tons).[3]
  2. ^ According to some sources, a depth of hold of 2.9 m (9 ft 8 in).[1]
  3. ^ According to some sources, an armament of eighteen 24-pounder carronades and two 8-pounder long guns.[3]
  4. ^ The Riyala Bey ship name (Russian: Реал-бей) is cited according to some Russian sources.[7] In reality, the name of the second Turkish ship of the line is not reliably known.[8]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Veselago 1872.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Chernyshyov 2002, p. 85.
  3. ^ a b c d Makareev & Bogoyavlenskaya 1998b.
  4. ^ a b Atavin 2001, p. 16.
  5. ^ a b "Maritime Expeditions". rusnavy.com. Retrieved 2018-07-27.
  6. ^ Makareev & Bogoyavlenskaya 1998a.
  7. ^ Atavin 2001.
  8. ^ Shcherbakova, Yevgeniya (May 30, 2025). Обнаружены новые факты о бриге «Меркурий» [New Facts About the Brig Merkuriy Have Been Discovered]. Sevastopolskaya Gazeta (in Russian). Sevastopol. Archived from the original on August 27, 2025. Retrieved August 28, 2025.
  9. ^ "XI. Say in one word, see the words below". StudFiles (in Russian). Retrieved 2018-07-27.
  10. ^ Chernyshyov 2002, p. 86.

Further reading

  • Veselago, Feodosiy F. (1872). Список русских военных судов с 1668 по 1860 год [List of Russian Naval Ships from 1668 to 1860] (in Russian). Saint Petersburg: Naval Ministry Printer Office. pp. 510–511. Retrieved August 18, 2025.
  • Makareev, Mikhail V.; Bogoyavlenskaya, Zinaida P. (1998a). Предисловие [Preface]. In Rybak, Sergei S. (ed.). А. И. Казарский [A. I. Kazarsky] (Materials for History of the Russian Navy) (in Russian). Sevastopol: Museum of the Black Sea Fleet. Archived from the original on July 15, 2014. Retrieved August 28, 2025.
  • Makareev, Mikhail V.; Bogoyavlenskaya, Zinaida P. (1998b). Материалы о бриге «Меркурий» [Materials About the Brig Merkuriy]. In Rybak, Sergei S. (ed.). А. И. Казарский [A. I. Kazarsky] (Materials for History of the Russian Navy) (in Russian). Sevastopol: Museum of the Black Sea Fleet. Archived from the original on July 15, 2014. Retrieved August 20, 2025.
  • Atavin, Gennady A. (2001). Бой брига «Меркурий» [Battle of the Brig Merkuriy]. Gangut (in Russian). No. 28. Saint Petersburg: Gangut. pp. 16–21. ISBN 5-85875-032-X. Archived from the original on August 18, 2025. Retrieved August 18, 2025.
  • Chernyshyov, Alexander A. (2002). Российский парусный флот [The Russian Sailing Navy] (PDF) (Handbook in 2 Volumes) (in Russian). Vol. 2. Moscow: Voenizdat. pp. 84–86. ISBN 5-203-01789-1. Retrieved August 18, 2025.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Mercury (ship, 1820).
  • Draft schematics of 20-gun brig Merkuriy, 1819, Russia
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