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UKRAINE & THE USA

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PREVIOUS PART

’’.. having received my orders, I set out on the same day for Cherson, in company with the Chevalier de Ribas, Brigadier du Jour of the prince marshal.” (405)

The headquarters of the Russians was at Cherson. As one can already see, the part of the command of the Russian fleet consisted of the foreigners.

Chevalier de Ribas mentioned above, is the one after whom the central avenue in Odessa is named – Deribasovska street.

“on the journey M. de Ribas told me, 'that all the force of the Liman, comprehending that of the prince of Nassau, would be under my orders.'

­" I spent but one evening and night at Cherson. But even this short period was enough to show that I had entered on a critical and disagreeable service. Rear Admiral Mordwinoff", chief of the admiralty, did not affect to disguise his displeasure at my arrival ; and though he had orders from the prince marshall to communicate to me all the details concerning the force in the Liman, and to put me in possession of the silk flag belonging to my rank as rear admiral, he gave himself not the least trouble to comply therewith.” (406)

Prince of Nassau (appointed commander of the flotilla), and Brigadier Alexiano will be the ones intriguing against JPJ.

“I hoisted my flag on board the Wolodimer on the 26th of May, 1788.”

It’s interesting to note that the name of the Kiev Prince is spelled “Ukrainian-way” – Wolodimir, and not Wladimir. That spelling is historically correct by the way.

"In the meanwhile General Suvorrof, commandant of Kinbourn, made the rear admiral responsible for the safety of that place ; while Brigadier Alexiano and the prince of Nassau on their part, did all that was possible to make him distrustful of the means which he possessed for attack or defence.” (409)

“There is a note from Suvorrof to Jones, throwing upon him the responsibility spoken of in the text: you know well that, under the circumstances, the Radical of the operations regards Kinbourn, a principal, efficacious, and unequivocal point, and one on which all our cares and pains should be directed. It is plausible enough to wait for the approach of the land army. In the meanwhile, I cannot answer for results. Enough said, for a soldier who has never been a seaman. Ever your excellency's humble and obedient servant, Alexandre Suvorrof." (409)

The letter is dated May 31^st and it means that already on the 5^th day of his presence on the Black Sea theatre, even Suvorov shifts his responsibility on JPJ.

"By the 16th June, the patience of the capitan pacha was exhausted. He brought from his grand fleet, without Kinbourn, two thousand picked men, to reinforce the body under the vyalls of Oczakow; and being strengthened still farther by the troops of the garrison, he advanced with his whole fleet and flotilla, and with a fair wind, into the Liman, to attack and board us. The ship, which bore one of the admiral's flags, steered right towards the Wolodimer from the commencement of the movement. When within two verstes of us, or little more, this ship got aground, and all the vessels which accompanied it immediately dropt anchor. It was then about two in the afternoon.” (416)

" The rear admiral summoned a council of war to consult on what should be done. He addressed the council, at which were present all the commanders of the squadron and the flotilla, and concluded by telling them, ' that they must make up their minds to conquer or die for their country.

­" The wind, which was rather fresh, being against us; the only thing proposed by the rear admiral that was found practicable was, to draw up our force in an obtuse angle, by bringing forward, by anchors, the right of the line up to the centre. This movement was completed before midnight. The wind had shifted to N. N. E. and at break of day on the 17th, the rear admiral made signal, and the whole squadron immediately set sail to commence the attack on the Turks.

The Turks got into confusion the instant this manoeuvre was perceived. They raised their anchors or cut their cables with the greatest precipitation, and not the shadow of order remained in their fleet.

'" The plan of the capitan pacha was to bear down full sail on the vessels of our flotilla, and ran them to the bottom by the shock of the encounter of his large ships. He also proposed to burn our squadron by throwing in fire-balls, (grappins,) and setting fire to certain trading vessels which he had prepared as fire-ships. He had reason to calculate on success, had he not been thwarted by a circumstance which no man could have foreseen." — Note by PaulJones. (416 notes)

The rear admiral was so struck at finding the tongue of land at Kinbourn without any battery or block fort, that he instantly spoke of it to the commandant, General Suvorrof. This tongue of land, from its position, commands the only passage by which large vessels can either enter or come out of the Liman, and the fortress of Kinbourn is far too distant to be able to command this passage.

The rear admiral proposed to establish one or more strong batteries upon this stripe of land, and M. de Ribas seconded the proposition. After considerable delay. General Suvorrof resolved to establish a block fort with heavy cannon upon this point, and a battery farther within. But the capitan pacha had already got the twenty-one ships in question into the Liman.

­" At 10 o'clock on the night between the 17th and 18th of June, the capitan pacha attempted to carry the remains of his squadron, which had been defeated at eve, out of the Liman ; but the block fort and battery fired on his ships, of which nine of the largest were forced aground upon the sand bank which runs out from Oczakow, at the distance of cannon shot from the block fort.” (420)

General Suvorrof had the nobleness to say at court, in February, 1789, in a conversation with the Baron and General Elmt, that the plan of establishing this block fort belonged to the rear admiral. — Note by Jones. (420)

As can be seen even by this brief account, it was rear admiral John Paul Jones’ knowledge and leadership that won the battle with the surpassing enemy, but may have saved the whole Russian campaign in that war.

Next part will be about the Ukrainian Cossacks and a christened Cossack Pavel Dzhones.

TO BE CONTINUED

John Paul Jones, a U.S. Revolutionary War hero is also known as the father of the U.S. Navy. 

One year of his life he spent in the service of Russian Empress. It is very interesting to have a look at that time in view of what is currently going on in that area. Not many people may be aware that the places where John Paul Jones served are part of current day Ukraine - Ochakov, Kherson, Kinbourn, the Liman.

We will use the book written by John Paul Jones “Life and correspondence of John Paul Jones, including his narrative of the campaign of the Liman.” Free copy is at Archive.org 

“War had been impending between Russia and the Porte, since the disturbances in the Crimea, in 1777, occasioned by the election of a Khan, in which the former interfered to support one of the candidates, with the ultimate view of dispossessing him entirely. The empress, encouraged by her eccentric and overbearing favourite and general, Potemkin, in the ambitious desire of being crowned at Constatinople, never lost sight of this intention.” (p. 398)

Russian Empress Catherine had ambitious desire to be crowned in Constantinople. Why? It is the same idea of making Moscow “the Third Rome” we discussed in  earlier articles using material of a Yale Professor’s book.

“..the invasion of the Crimea was determined upon, as a necessary preliminary to operations against Turkey.” (p.398)

That is the time when Russia occupied Crimea. Please note that the invasion of the semi island in itself was an intermediate goal. The ultimate plan had totally different purpose – Turkey, or, as the first quote shows, the more precise aim was Constantinople.

“At the same time Potemkin and Suvorrof subdued and received the homage of the tribes of the Kuban, and the extensive wilds more remote. A manifesto was published to justify these unprovoked acts, and the annexation of those districts to the empire.” (p. 399)

They will resettle 25 000 Ukrainian Chernomorsky Cossacks to Kuban where they will found their new capital – Ekaterinodar (currently Krasnodar). English traveler Dr. Edward Clark describes it in his book we discussed earlier and will mention in the Part Three in more detail.

 “By a new treaty the sovereignty of Russia over the Crimea, and great part of Kuban, with the right of the dominion of the Euxine, and to the passage of the Dardanelles, was conceded to Russia. New usurpations followed immediately on the part of the latter.” (p. 399)

The last sentence is a perfect example of Russia’s constant Modus Operandi – the signed treaty is just a new incentive for new usurpations.

“In 1786, Catharine projected a magnificent progress to the Euxine (Black Sea), where, after having solemnly taken the sceptre of the Khan, it was her intention to conduct her young grandson, Constantine, to the gates of that city, with reference to whose contemplated destiny he had been named.” (399)

Empress Catherine named her grandson Constantine because she wanted to see him rule Constantinople.

“These and various other grievances led to the presentation on the 26th July, 1787, of a memorial from the grand vizier, and reis effendi, to the French minister ; to which an immediate answer was requested. The ambassador asked for time to consult his court, which was granted. But the influence of Great Britain now predominated, and war was declared before any answer was received from Russia. Eighty thousand men were ordered to march to cover Oczakow. A large army advanced to the Danube ; and a squadron of 16 ships of the line, 8 frigates, and several gallies entered the Euxine under the command of the capitan-pacha. The Greeks were disarmed, and the Tartars invited to return to their allegiance to the grand seignior. They complied with the call, and their Shah had soon under his orders an army of 40,000 men.

This news was received with joy at St. Petersburgh.” (p. 400)

Another trait of Moscow policy – to provoke as much as possible and try to play the role of victim of aggression to the end.

Next are the excerpts from John Paul Jones letters: 

“I afterwards set out for Paris, where I arrived on the 20th December, 1787.

Mr. Jefferson, the ambassador of the United States, visited me on the night of my arrival, and informed me that M. de Simolin, minister plenipotentiary of her imperial majesty of all the Russias, … appeared anxious to succeed in prevailing on me to go to Russia, to command the fleet against the Turks in the Black Sea. I regarded this proposal as a castle in the air; and as I did not wish for any employment in foreign service, I avoided meeting M. de Simolin, for whose character I had, at the same time, the highest respect.” (402)

" Though I foresaw many difficulties* in the way of my entering the service of Russia, I believed that I could not avoid going to St. Petersburgh, to thank the empress for the favourable opinion she had conceived of me.” (403)

" I arrived at St. Petersburgh in the evening on the 23d of April, old style, and on the 25th had my first audience of the empress. Her majesty gave me so flattering a reception, and up to the period of my departure treated me with so much distinction, that I was entirely captivated, and put myself into her hands without making any stipulation for my personal advantage.

" On the 7th May, I set out from the imperial palace of Sarscosello carrying with me a letter from her majesty to his high­ness the Prince Marshal Potemkin at St. Elizabeth, where I arrived on 19th. The prince marshal received me with much kindness, and destined me the command of the fleet of Sevastapol against the capitan pacha, who, he supposed, intended to make descents in the Crimea. His highness was mistaken in this, and the next day he received information that the capitan pacha was at anchor within Kinbourn, having come to succour Oczakow with a hundred and twenty armed vessels and other armed craft. The prince marshal then, requested me to assume command of the naval force stationed in the Liman, (which is at the embouchure of the Dnieper,) to act against the capitan pacha till Oczakow should fall. 1 considered this change as a mark of confidence flattering to myself;” (p. 405)

PART TWO

Maryna Viazovska’s work has been described as “simply magical,” “very beautiful” and “extremely unexpected.” 

Maryna Viazovska received her doctorate from the University of Bonn in 2013. She has been awarded the Salem Prize, the Clay Research Award, the SASTRA Ramanujan Prize, a European Prize in Combinatorics, and a New Horizons Prize in Mathematics. (Story)

In February 2017, Svitolina became the first Ukrainian woman to break into the top 10 of the WTA rankings. With 13 career titles and a best ranking of third in the world, she is her country's most successful tennis player by some distance. (Article)

1) Oleksandr Usyk (16-0, 12 KOs): This is a fighter who already makes huge paychecks and who, in 2018, catapulted himself into the pound for pound list. Usyk won the cruiserweight tournament in the inaugural World Boxing Super Series, where he made a total of about $5 million for winning all of his matches, and he’s the undisputed 200-pound champion. But in reality, after knocking out Tony Bellew in November where he reportedly earned about £4 million, there’s probably not much more money to be made for Usyk in this division. Where Usyk can continue to make big purses (and where he can possibly become a mainstream star) is to move up to heavyweight and start winning titles there. (Article)

There’s one man who works with more fighters in the current wave of Eastern European boxing champions than any other. That’s Anatoliy Lomachenko, and because of who those fighters are, what they did in 2018 and the role his steady hand and creative mind played in their respective rises, he’s Sport Illustrated’s Trainer of the Year. (Article)

Twenty-five years ago, Ukraine was the world's third-largest nuclear power, with more warheads than the United Kingdom, France and China combined. (Article)

Whatever the other motives for this staged attack, this kind of passivity may well be what the Russians are counting on. This is the modus operandi they have followed in the past: Take a few steps forward; wait for a reaction. If there isn’t one, move farther. If there is one, wait for the emotions to die down — and then move farther. This incident may or may not end here, but consider it a warning: If we don’t have a broader strategy for ending this war, that will be the pattern for years to come. (Article)

Since the 2014 “Revolution of Dignity”, Ukraine has made extraordinary progress.

The National Bank of Ukraine is strong, confident and widely regarded as a successful example; the country has introduced egovernment for public procurement and VAT repayments; it has rolled out, with the support of the EU and the EBRD, formidable teams of young Ukrainian professionals to rebuild public administration from within key ministries; and it has introduced professional governance in a small number of critically important state-owned enterprises.

A business ombudsman, created by the EBRD with donor support, has been a great success in resolving issues between companies and the administration. Clearly, the business environment today is much improved. More and more investors have growing and profitable operations. Ukraine has never been in a more advanced position in its process of transformation. (Full Story)