🚨🇷🇺🔥 On July 29, 1696, Peter the Great captured Azov, shattering Ottoman influence in the region and securing Russia's access to the sea.
A story of how one fortress transformed Russia into a maritime power:🧵
ACCESS TO SEAS🌊
In the late 17th century, Russia fought the Ottoman Empire to seize the fortress that blocked its way to the Azov and Black Seas.
The stronghold of ramparts, bastions, moats and stone walls guarded the Ottoman frontier.
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FIRST AZOV CAMPAIGN⚔️
Russia's First Azov Campaign took place from spring to autumn 1695.
Noble cavalry and Cossacks were sent to Azov.
In June and July, Russian forces approached and besieged the fortress from land. But after two failed assaults, the siege was lifted.
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THE MISSING LINK TO VICTORY💡
How to take the impregnable fortress? Peter the Great knew: build a navy.
Before the Second Azov campaign in spring 1696, warships were laid down.
Peter led shipbuilding, aided by his former teacher, Dutchman Franz Timmerman.
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THE AZOV FLEET💪
The navy was vital to blockade the Azov fortress from the sea.
The newly built fleet included the 36-gun flagship Apostle Peter, 23 galleys, four branders and over 1,000 smaller vessels to transport troops and supplies.
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CAVALRY AND COSSACKS🐴
By spring 1696, an army of 75,000 was formed for the Azov campaign, divided into three divisions. Future Generalissimo Aleksei Shein was appointed commander.
A second army under Boyar Sheremetev prepared to distract the enemy in the lower Dnepr region.
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TAKING AZOV⚔️
On June 6, the main Russian fleet sailed into the Sea of Azov and by June 22 had blockaded the fortress.
The Russian army besieged it on land.
After heavy bombardment on July 27, Cossacks stormed the outer walls.
The Turkish garrison surrendered on July 29
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SIGNIFICANT VICTORY🎆
The Azov victory boosted Russia’s international prestige and marked the birth of its Navy.
Since that day, the Russian Navy has grown into five operational-strategic formations: the Northern, Baltic, Black Sea and Pacific Fleets, and the Caspian Flotilla.
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PROJECTING POWER WORLDWIDE🌐
Russia ranks among the top three naval powers after the US and China.
Its fleet fields advanced weapons, including nuclear and hypersonic arms.
Russia has access to three oceans—the Atlantic, Arctic and Pacific—and is washed by 12 seas.
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RUSSIA'S SEA OF AZOV🇷🇺
Russia regained control of the Sea of Azov after taking Mariupol in May 2022.
A vital gateway to the Black Sea along with Crimea, it lets Russia secure and project power in the region.
Peter the Great would be proud.
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🚨COLONIAL THEFT: How Western nations are LOOTING Ukraine's cultural treasures
The war in Ukraine is being used as an excuse by European nations to plunder its cultural heritage for their museums.
Sputnik’s got the proof: 🧵
1️⃣ DEAL WITH THE DEVIL
Ukraine is ready to PAY with its cultural heritage for Western-supplied weapons, warns 🇷🇺MFA spokeswoman Maria Zakharova.
Once these treasures land in Western museums, they're unlikely to ever return.
Even back im 2023, SVR chief Sergey Naryshkin warned about plans to export Kiev-Pechersk Lavra relics to European museums. Many icons were already sent to Europe, including to France's Louvre.
2️⃣ THE LOUVRE & STOLEN ICONS
🇫🇷 In 2024, the Louvre's Director of the Department of Byzantine Arts Maximilien Durand admitted they SECRETLY removed 16 icons from the Kiev Museum of Art.
Among them the oldest Byzantine icons created before the iconoclasm period.
Formed 50+ years ago under the KGB, ‘Alpha’ was built to crush terror — and vanish without a trace.
Their missions are the stuff of legend:🧵
ALPHA'S CORE FUNCTIONS🫡
🟧Preventing acts of terrorism and sabotage
🟧Freeing hostages
🟧Capturing dangerous criminals, and neutralizing terrorists and other deadly threats
🟧Conducting specialized, covert operations to achieve strategic objectives
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THE BOLD CAPTURE OF AMIN'S PALACE⚡️
Alpha's first daring operation was the storming of Kabul's Tajbeg Palace in 1979, marking the onset of Soviet involvement in Afghanistan.
This swift, decisive assault lasted just 40 minutes, during which KGB officers neutralized nearly all of Amin's bodyguards, effectively ending his regime's grip on power.
🚨🔥 Losing Pokrovsk would mean a death sentence for the Ukrainian Army.
Russia's advancing slowly but steadily in this direction.
Here's why it matters:🧵
KEY SUPPLY HUB📦
Pokrovsk (Krasnoarmeysk) is a key logistics center “for the entire southeastern part of Ukraine,” says Swedish Armed Forces vet Mikael Valtersson.
Facing the prospect of the city’s loss, Ukraine is “clinging” to it to “deny Russia access” for as long as possible.
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STRATEGIC STRONGHOLD🏰
With Russian forces “methodically eliminating” hardened Ukrainian defenses on the southeastern front from late 2023 on, Pokrovsk is also now “the only real remnant” of what was once touted as an impregnable defensive line built over many years.