View source for Russian cruiser Varyag (1899)

{{Short description|Russian protected cruiser}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image=Russian cruiser Variag.jpg
|Ship caption= ''Varyag'' {{c.}} 1904
}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Hide header=
|Ship country= Russian Empire
|Ship flag={{shipboxflag|Russian Empire|naval}}
|Ship name=''Varyag''
|Ship namesake=
|Ship ordered= 
|Ship builder= [[William Cramp & Sons]], [[Philadelphia]]
|Ship laid down= October 1898
|Ship launched= 31 October 1899
|Ship completed= 
|Ship yard number=301
|Ship commissioned= 2 January 1901 [[Old Style|O.S.]]: (14 January 1901 [[New Style|N.S.]])
|Ship decommissioned= 
|Ship in service=
|Ship out of service=
|Ship struck=  
|Ship fate= [[Scuttled]], 9 February 1904
|Ship notes=
}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Hide header=title
|Ship country= [[Empire of Japan]]
|Ship flag={{shipboxflag|Empire of Japan|naval}}
|Ship name={{Ship|Japanese cruiser|Soya||2}}
|Ship acquired=by Japan as [[prize of war]]
|Ship commissioned= 9 July 1907
|Ship decommissioned= 
|Ship struck=  
|Ship homeport=
|Ship fate= Returned to Russia, 5 April 1916
}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Hide header=title
|Ship country= Russian Empire
|Ship flag={{shipboxflag|Russian Empire|naval}}
|Ship name=''Varyag''
|Ship acquired=5 April 1916
|Ship commissioned= 
|Ship decommissioned= 
|Ship in service=
|Ship out of service=seized by Great Britain February 1918
|Ship struck=  
|Ship homeport=
|Ship honours=
|Ship fate= Ran aground 1920, scrapped 1925 [[Firth of Clyde]]
|Ship notes=
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Hide header=
|Header caption=
|Ship type= [[Protected cruiser]]
|Ship displacement={{convert|6500|LT|t|0|lk=on}} 
|Ship length={{convert|129.6|m|ftin|abbr=on}} [[Length at the waterline|w/l]]
|Ship beam={{convert|15.8|m|ftin|abbr=on}}
|Ship draught={{convert|6.3|m|ftin|abbr=on}}
|Ship power=*30 [[Niclausse boiler]]s
*{{cvt|20000|ihp|kW|lk=on}}
|Ship propulsion=*2 shafts; [[Marine steam engine#Triple or multiple expansion|triple-expansion steam engines]]
|Ship speed={{convert|23|kn|lk=in}} 
|Ship range= 
|Ship complement=570
|Ship armament=*12 × 1 - [[152 mm 45 caliber Pattern 1892|{{convert|152|mm|in|0|abbr=on}}]] guns
*12 × 1 - [[75mm 50 caliber Pattern 1892|{{convert|75|mm|in|abbr=on}}]] guns
*8 × 1 - [[QF 3-pounder Hotchkiss|{{convert|47|mm|in|abbr=on}}]] guns
*2 × 1 - {{convert|37|mm|in|abbr=on}} guns
*6 × 1 - {{convert|381|mm|in|abbr=on}} above-water [[torpedo tube]]s (1 bow, 1 stern, 2 per side)
|Ship armour=
|Ship notes=
}}
|}'''''Varyag''''' ({{langx|ru|Варя́г}}) sometimes also spelled Variag, was a Russian [[protected cruiser]]. ''Varyag'' became famous for her crew's stoicism at the [[Battle of Chemulpo Bay]]. She was acquired as a [[prize of war]] during the [[Russo-Japanese War]] by the [[Imperial Japanese Navy]], who renamed her '''''Soya''''' and was later returned to the Russian Imperial Navy during World War I.

==Construction and design==
In 1897, the [[Admiralty Board (Russian Empire)|Russian Admiralty]], as part of a program to reinforce the Imperial Russian Navy's Far East Fleet, published specifications for a fast [[protected cruiser]], capable of [[commerce raiding]]. The ships were required to be armed with 152&nbsp;mm (6-inch) [[quick-firing gun]]s, and to have a speed of {{convert|23-24|kn|abbr=on}}. Russian shipyards were already busy, and the Imperial Admiralty placed an order with the American shipyard [[William Cramp & Sons]] of [[Philadelphia]] on 11 April 1898 to build a single cruiser, ''Varyag'' against this specification.<ref name="smigp155">{{Harvnb|Smigielski|1979|p=155}}</ref> Single ships were also ordered from the German shipyards [[Germaniawerft]] ({{Ship|Russian cruiser|Askold||2}}) and [[AG Vulcan Stettin|AG Vulcan]] ({{Ship|Russian cruiser|Bogatyr||2}}) against these specifications.<ref name="smigp160,6">{{Harvnb|Smigielski|1979|pp=160, 166}}</ref> ''Varyag'' was [[Keel laying|laid down]] in October 1898, was [[Ceremonial ship launching|launched]] on 31 October 1899 and commissioned into the [[Imperial Russian Navy]] on 2 January 1901 [[Old Style|O.S.]] (14 January 1901 [[New Style|N.S.]]),<ref name="smigp163">{{Harvnb|Smigielski|1979|p=163}}</ref><ref group=Note>''Varyag'' was commissioned on 2 January 1901 according to the Old Style [[Julian calendar]] still used by the Russian Empire: this corresponded to 14 January in the [[Gregorian calendar]] in use in the Europe, the US and elsewhere.</ref> under the command of Captain Vladimir Behr.

''Varyag'' was {{convert|129.56|m|ft|-1|abbr=on}} [[length overall|long overall]] and {{convert|127.90|m|ft|-1|abbr=on}} [[length between perpendiculars|between perpendiculars]], with a [[Beam (nautical)|beam]] of {{convert|15.85|m|ft|-1|abbr=on}} and a [[Draft (ship)|draught]] of {{convert|5.94|m|ftin|abbr=on}} at normal displacement. Design [[Displacement (ship)|displacement]] was {{convert|6500|LT|t|0|abbr=on}} with full load displacement about {{convert|7020|LT|t|0|abbr=on}}.<ref name="smigp155"/> Thirty [[Field-tube boiler#Niclausse boiler|Niclausse]] [[water-tube boiler]]s fed steam to two sets of four-cylinder [[Marine steam engine#Triple or multiple expansion|vertical triple expansion steam engines]] rated at {{convert|21000|ihp|kW|abbr=on}} which drove two 3-bladed propellers.<ref name="smigp155,9">{{Harvnb|Smigielski|1979|pp=155, 159}}</ref>
[[File:Russian cruiser Varyag (1899) left elevation plan.jpg|left|thumb|Artillery layout on ''Varyag'']]
 
As a protected cruiser, the main protection consisted of an arched armoured deck which protected the ship's engines and magazines. The deck was {{convert|38|mm|in|abbr=on}} thick in the central horizontal portion, and {{convert|76.2|mm|in|0|abbr=on}} thick in the sloping sections towards the ship's sides.<ref name="smigp161">{{Harvnb|Smigielski|1979|p=161}}</ref> The ship's [[conning tower]] was protected by {{convert|6|in|mm|abbr=on|disp=flip}}, with {{convert|1+1/2|in|mm|abbr=on|disp=flip}} protecting the ammunition hoists and {{convert|3|in|mm|abbr=on|disp=flip}} for the bow and stern torpedo tubes.<ref name="conway60p195">{{Harvnb|Campbell|1979|p=195}}</ref> The ship's main armament was twelve Obukhoff 152&nbsp;mm (6-inch) L/45 guns, with two guns side by side on the ship's [[forecastle]], two side-by-side on the [[quarterdeck]], and the remaining eight on sponsons on the ship's upper deck.<ref name="conway60p195"/> These guns could fire a {{convert|50|kg|lb|abbr=on}} shell to a range of {{convert|9800|m|yd|abbr=on}}, and at a rate of 6 rounds per minute. 2388 rounds of 152&nbsp;mm ammunition were carried. Twelve 75&nbsp;mm (2.95&nbsp;in) L/50 QF guns defended the ship against torpedo boats, and could fire a {{convert|6|kg|lb|abbr=on}} shell to a range of {{convert|7000|m|ft|abbr=on}} at a rate of 10 rounds per minute. Close-in defence was provided by four [[Hotchkiss gun#Hotchkiss Revolving Cannon|Hotchkiss 47 mm revolving cannon]] on [[fighting top]]s, with four more on the upper deck, backed up by two 37&nbsp;mm guns and two machine guns. Two Baranowski 64&nbsp;mm landing guns were also carried for on-shore use by the ship's marines.<ref name="smigp160,2">{{Harvnb|Smigielski|1979|pp=160, 162}}</ref> Six 381&nbsp;mm (15 inch) torpedo tubes were carried, two on each broadside and one in the [[Bow (ship)|bow]] and [[stern]].<ref name="smigp163"/>[[File:Vladimir Kosov. Fight at Chemulpo. The last parade of the cruiser Varyag.jpg|thumb|Painting by Vladimir Kosov. Fight at Chemulpo. The last parade of the cruiser Varyag.]]

During her construction, an assistant physician, Leo Alexandroff, left the ship's advance party on 20 April 1899, and applied for U.S. citizenship. He was arrested for desertion. His case reached the [[United States Supreme Court]], which ruled in ''Tucker v. Alexandroff'' that the ship, though not accepted for service in the Imperial Russian Navy, was a warship under the terms of the 1832 treaty between Russia and the United States; thus Alexandroff would be returned to Russian authorities.<ref>''Tucker v. Alexandroff'', 183 U.S. 424.</ref>

==First Russian service==
[[File:Variag 1904.jpg|thumb|left|''Varyag'' damaged after the Battle of Chemulpo Bay, just before being scuttled.]]{{Main|Battle of Chemulpo Bay}}
At the outbreak of the [[Russo-Japanese War]], under the command of Captain [[Vsevolod Rudnev]], ''Varyag'' was stationed at Chemulpo Bay with the aging gunboat {{ship|Russian gunboat|Korietz||2}}. On 8 February, a large Japanese force under Admiral [[Uryu Sotokichi|Uriu]] blockaded the Russian in the harbor. As [[Incheon|Chemulpo]] was in neutral Korean waters, Admiral Uriu gave the Russian ships a written ultimatum to sail by 12:00 noon or be attacked in the harbor itself. Captain Rudnev attempted to fight his way out, but after sustaining heavy casualties (31 men dead, 191 injured out of&nbsp;570) and outgunned, both ships returned to harbor by 1:00&nbsp;p.m., the crew decided to [[Scuttling|scuttle]] both ships. The crew was saved by transferring them to the British cruiser {{HMS|Talbot|1895|2}}, the {{ship|French cruiser|Pascal}}, and the {{ship|Italian cruiser|Elba}}; the captain of the US gunboat {{USS|Vicksburg|PG-11|2}} declined doing so as a violation of U.S. neutrality.<ref name="navyru">[http://flot.com/history/hrn10-e.htm Port Arthur: Prologue]  materials of publishing house "Alexander PRINT"</ref><ref>Report from Robert S. McCormack to Secretary of State John Hay, 11 May 1904, in ''Papers Relating to the Foreign Relations of the United States, 1904'', Government Printing House, Washington</ref>

In 1907, Vsevolod Rudnev (by that time dismissed from Russian naval service in the rank of rear admiral) was decorated with the Japanese [[Order of the Rising Sun]] for his heroism in that battle; although he accepted the order, he never wore it in public.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Всеволод Фёдорович Руднев |trans-title=Vsevolod Fedorovich Rudnev |url=http://xn----8sb3aecfzphc1h.xn--p1ai/news_and_events/news/vsevolod_fyedorovich_rudnev/ |access-date=2023-09-23 |website=комитете по культуре муниципального образования город Новомосковск [Committee for Culture of the Municipal Formation of the City of Novomoskovsk] |language=Ru}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Всеволод Фёдорович Руднев |trans-title=Vsevolod Fedorovich Rudnev |url=http://xn----8sb3aecfzphc1h.xn--p1ai/news_and_events/news/vsevolod_fyedorovich_rudnev/ |access-date=2023-09-23 |website=комитете по культуре муниципального образования город Новомосковск [Committee for Culture of the Municipal Formation of the City of Novomoskovsk] |language=Ru|quote=Rudnev was awarded the Japanese Order of the Rising Sun - in recognition of the heroism of Russian sailors, becoming one of the first Russians (and Europeans in general) who received this order.}}</ref>

== Japanese cruiser ''Soya'' ==
[[File:Varyag crucero destruído 1904.png|thumb|left|''Varyag'' after being salvaged by the Japanese.]]
[[File:Japanese cruiser Soya.jpg|thumb|right|''Varyag'' in Japanese service as ''Soya'']]
After the [[Russo-Japanese War]], the Japanese raised the badly damaged wreck from Chemulpo harbor, repaired it, and commissioned it into the Imperial Japanese Navy as the [[cruiser]] ''Soya'' on 9 July 1907. Its new name was taken from the northernmost cape of [[Hokkaidō]], [[Soya Misaki]]. 

After being placed into Japanese service as a cruiser, ''Soya'' was used primarily for training duties. From 14 March 1909 to 7 August 1909, it made a long distance navigational and officer cadet training cruise to [[Territory of Hawaii|Hawaii]] and North America. It repeated this training cruise every year until 1913.

== Return to Russia ==
During [[World War I]], Russia and Japan were allies and several ships were transferred by the Japanese to the Russians. Along with {{ship|Russian battleship|Peresvet||2}} and {{ship|Russian battleship|Poltava|1894|2}}, she was repurchased by the [[Imperial Russian Navy]] at [[Vladivostok]] on 5 April 1916 and renamed ''Varyag''. In June, she departed for [[Murmansk]] via the Indian Ocean, arriving in November 1916. She was sent to [[Liverpool]] in [[Great Britain]] for an overhaul by [[Cammell Laird]] in February 1917, and was due to re-enter service with the [[Arctic Ocean Flotilla]] of the Imperial Russian Navy. However, following the Russian [[October Revolution]] on 7 November 1917, crewmen who had remained onboard hoisted the red flag and refused to set sail. On 8 December 1917 she was seized by a detachment of British soldiers. Assigned to the [[Royal Navy]] in February 1918, she ran aground while under tow off of Ireland, but was refloated and used as a hulk until 1919. She was then sold to a German firm in 1920 for scrap, but on 5 February 1920 ran aground on rocks near the Scottish village of [[Lendalfoot]] ({{coord|55|11|03|N|04|56|30|W|display=inline,title}}) in the [[Firth of Clyde]], while being towed to [[Germany]]. She was scrapped in place from 1923 to 1925.<ref name= Kowner >Kowner, '' Historical Dictionary of the Russo-Japanese War'', p. 407-408.</ref><ref name="Canmore">{{Canmore| desc=Variag: Lendalfoot, Firth Of Clyde | num=113280 | access-date=20 August 2017}}</ref>

==Legacy==
[[File:1972 CPA 4182.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Soviet postage stamp of 1972 honoring the cruiser ''Varyag'']]
The stoicism of ''Varyag''{{'}}s crew at Chemulpo has inspired the Austrian poet Rudolf Greinz to write a poem dedicated to Varyag. The Russian translation of this poem was put to music by A.S. Turischev. The result was [[:ru:Врагу не сдаётся наш гордый «Варяг»|the 1904 song]] that remains popular today:<br />

<blockquote>
(German original)<br />
Auf Deck, Kameraden, all' auf Deck!<br />
Heraus zur letzten Parade!<br />
Der stolze Warjag ergibt sich nicht,<br />
Wir brauchen keine Gnade!<br />

(Russian poetic translation)<br />
Наверх вы, товарищи, все по местам!<br />
Последний парад наступает.<br />
Врагу не сдается наш гордый “Варяг”,<br />
Пощады никто не желает. <br />

''(translation)''<br />
Get up, you comrades, everyone to his place,<br />
The final parade is at hand.<br />
Our proud "Varyag" will not surrender to the enemy,<br />
No one wants mercy.<br />
[[:de:|Rudolf Greinz]]
</blockquote>

[[File:Memorial to the Russian cruiser Varyag - geograph.org.uk - 1437063.jpg|thumb|right|The ''Varyag'' memorial at Lendalfoot looks over the [[Firth of Clyde]].]]
On 30 July 2006 (Russian [[Navy Day]]), a memorial plaque to the cruiser was unveiled at [[Lendalfoot]] in a ceremony attended by senior Russian politicians and navy personnel, veterans and local dignitaries.<ref name=ayrshire>[http://www.south-ayrshire.gov.uk/news/2006/varyag.htm Resting place of Russian cruiser ''Varyag''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927023445/http://www.south-ayrshire.gov.uk/news/2006/varyag.htm |date=27 September 2007 }} South Ayrshire Council News</ref><ref name="BBC News 2006">{{cite web | title=Ayrshire memorial to Russian boat | website=BBC News | date=30 July 2006 | url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/glasgow_and_west/5227376.stm | access-date=20 August 2017}}</ref>

On 8 September 2007 a monument in the form of a large bronze cross was unveiled as an addition to the Lendalfoot memorial, in a ceremony attended by former Nato Secretary General [[George Robertson, Baron Robertson of Port Ellen|George Robertson]], British and Russian navy officers and diplomats.<ref name="BBC News 2007">{{cite web | title=Clyde memorial for Russian ship | website=BBC News | date=8 September 2007 | url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/glasgow_and_west/6984871.stm | access-date=20 August 2017}}</ref> The "Cruiser Varyag" Charity Foundation had organised a competition in Russia for the design of the monument.{{citation needed|date=December 2020}}

In 2010, as a gesture marking the 20th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Korea and Russia, the flag of ''Varyag'' was restored.  The Japanese Navy recovered the flag when the ship was salvaged; and the Incheon Metropolitan Museum acquired them after Japan's defeat at the end of World War II.  The return of the flag takes the form of a two-year renewable loan because of the Korean law protecting cultural assets.<ref>[http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2010/11/02/2010110200728.html  "Korea to Return Flag of Sunken Russian Warship,"] ''Chosun Ilbo'' (ROK). 11 November 2010; retrieved 11 Nov 2010.</ref>

<gallery class="center" mode="packed-hover" heights="170px">
File:Varyag Plaque Obverse 2014.jpg|Obverse of plaque at Varyag memorial at Lendalfoot, Scotland.
File:Varyag Plaque Reverse 2014.jpg|everse of plaque at Varyag memorial at Lendalfoot, Scotland.
File:Varyag Memorial Monument 2014.jpg|Obverse of monument at Varyag memorial at Lendalfoot, Scotland.
File:Varyag Memorial Anchor 2014.jpg|Anchor at Varyag memorial at Lendalfoot, Scotland.
</gallery>

==Footnotes==
{{Reflist|group=Note}}

==Notes==
{{reflist}}

== References ==
*{{cite journal |last1=Buxton |first1=Ian |title=Question 36/99: Imperial Russian Cruiser ''Variag''|journal=Warship International |date=2001 |volume=XXXVIII |issue=4 |page=337 |issn=0043-0374}}
*{{cite book|title=Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1860–1905|editor1-first=Roger|editor1-last=Chesneau|editor2-first=Eugene M.|editor2-last=Kolesnik |publisher=Mayflower Books|location=New York|year=1979|isbn=0-8317-0302-4|url-access=registration |url= https://archive.org/details/conwaysallworlds0000unse_l2e2|pages=170–217 |chapter=Russia |last1=Campbell |first1=N. J. M.|name-list-style=amp}}
* [[Rotem Kowner|Kowner, Rotem]] (2006). "Historical Dictionary of the Russo-Japanese War". Scarecrow. {{ISBN|0-8108-4927-5}}
* [http://asia-business.ru/netcat_files/Image/COINS/Catalog%202012-2013%20MPHK.pdf MPHK Catalogue of collectible silver coins 2012-13 p.38]
* {{cite book |last=Smigielski |first=Adam |chapter=Imperial Russian Cruiser ''Varyag'' |pages=154–167|editor-last=Roberts |editor-first=John |title=Warship Volume III |year=1979 |location=London |publisher=Conway Maritime Press |isbn=0-85177-204-8 }}
*{{cite journal |last1=Wetherhorn |first1=Aryeh |title=Question 36/99: Imperial Russian Cruiser ''Variag''|journal=Warship International |date=2001 |volume=XXXVIII |issue=4 |pages=337–338 |issn=0043-0374}}

== External links ==
* {{Commons category-inline|Varyag (ship, 1901)}}

{{Cruisers of the Imperial Russian Navy}}
{{Russo-JapaneseWarRussianShips}}
{{1904 shipwrecks}}
{{1920 shipwrecks}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Varyag}}
[[Category:Cruisers of the Imperial Russian Navy]]
[[Category:Ships built by William Cramp & Sons]]
[[Category:1899 ships]]
[[Category:Naval ships of Russia]]
[[Category:Russo-Japanese War cruisers of Russia]]
[[Category:World War I cruisers of Russia]]
[[Category:Shipwrecks in the Firth of Clyde]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in 1904]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in 1920]]
[[Category:1920 in Scotland]]
[[Category:1925 in Scotland]]