In August 1916, during World War I, the legendary Russian cruiser ‘Varyag’, called at Port Victoria, en route from the Far East to the Arctic and the crew received a very warm welcome on Mahé, thus expending friendly ties between the peoples of Russia and Seychelles.

To commemorate the 105th year since the call, which is considered an historic event that have contributed to the preservation of the memory of the Russian-Seychellois bilateral history, the embassy of Russia in Seychelles yesterday presented a miniature model of the ‘Varyag’ to the National History Museum.

It was Russian ambassador to Seychelles, Artem Alexandrovich Kozhin, who presented the model to the secretary general of the Seychelles National Institute for Culture, Heritage and the Arts, David Andre, who is also the Mayor of Victoria, in the presence of President Wavel Ramkalawan.

Also present at the ceremony held at the museum were Minister for Foreign Affairs and Tourism Sylvestre Radegonde, Chief of the Defence Forces (CDF) Brigadier Michael Rosette, Commander of the Seychelles Coast Guard Lieutenant Colonel Jean Attala, among other guests.

Ambassador Kozhin noted that 2021 has been a dynamic year in the relations between Russia and Seychelles.

He said apart from sharing the Sputnik V Covid-19 vaccine in fighting the pandemic, we saw the comeback of the Aeroflot, increasing the number Russian tourists, while we have significantly updated the bilateral legal framework and resumed the physical exchange of delegation, the latest being the visit of the delegation from the City of Rostov-on-Don, resulting in the signing of a twinning agreement between the two cities.

Ambassador Kozhin however noted that there is no future without the past, and that our countries have carefully kept the pages of joint history, as we celebrated 45 years of diplomatic relations.

On behalf of the Seychelles government, Mr Andre said the model is a very significant asset to the National History Museum since it is very important for the people of Seychelles to know about this particular part of our history.

He also commended the good bilateral relation and all the benefits that it brings about.

Those present had the chance to view a presentation on the voyages and legacy of ‘Varyag’ which was launched on October 31, 1899 and commissioned into the Imperial Russian Navy on January 2, 1901, under the command of Captain Vladimir Behr.

‘Varyag’ was 129.56m (430ft) long overall and 127.90m (420ft) between perpendiculars, with a beam of 15.85m (50ft) and a draught of 5.94m (19ft 6in) at normal displacement. Design displacement was 6,500 long tons (6,600t) with full load displacement about 7,020 long tons (7,130t).

Thirty Niclausse water-tube boilers fed steam to two sets of four-cylinder vertical triple expansion steam engines rated at 21,000 ihp (16,000kW) which drove two 3-bladed propellers.

As a protected cruiser, the main protection consisted of an arched armoured deck which protected the ship’s engines and magazines.

The deck was 38mm (1.5in) thick in the central horizontal portion, and 76.2mm (3in) thick in the sloping sections towards the ship’s sides.

Its conning tower was protected by 150mm (6in), with 38mm (1+1/2in) protecting the ammunition hoists and 76mm (3in) for the bow and stern torpedo tubes.

The ship’s main armament was twelve Obukhoff 152mm (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.

These guns could fire a 50kg (110lb) shell to a range of 9,800m (10,700yd), and at a rate of 6 rounds per minute. 2388 rounds of 152mm ammunition were carried.

Source: Seychelles Nation