Count Fyodor Matveyevich Apraksin (1661–1728) was a General Admiral of the Russian Navy, a statesman, a military commander, and an associate of Peter the Great. Fyodor Apraksin was born on November 27, 1661. His father, the stolnik Matvey Vasilyevich Apraksin was the brother of Tsarina Marfa Matveyevna Apraksina, the wife of Tsar Feodor III of Russia. Fyodor Apraksin also served as a stolnik for Feodor III and after his death — for his stepbrother Peter I. Apraksin was actively involved in organizing the toy army of the young tsar.
In 1693, the stolnik Apraksin was appointed the voivode of Dvina and governor of Arkhangelsk, Russia’s only seaport of the time that conducted trade with other countries. Apraksin supervised the construction of the first government-owned merchant ship. In 1696, he was nominated the chief of the Admiralty and the governor of Azov. He succeeded in building numerous war and merchant ships that made up the Azov Fleet, rebuilding the city of Azov itself, building a new town of Taganrog with a large harbor for war ships, and the Saint Trinity fortress. He also founded new shipyards in Tavrov and Novopavlovsk, as well as a cannon factory in the Liptsy village.
After 1706, Apraksin was put in charge of the armory, coach station, and mint. In 1708, as the commander of a corps in Ingria and Finland, he repelled the attack of the Swedish who had planned to capture Kronschlot and wipe out Saint Petersburg. In 1710, he undertook a two-day march with a corps of 13,000 people over the ice of the Gulf of Finland and forced the strong Swedish fortress of Vyborg to surrender. For that victory, the count was awarded the Order of St. Andrew the Apostle the First-Called and a golden sword with a diamond.
In Azov, the general admiral fulfilled the conditions of the Treaty of Pruth between Russia and the Ottoman Empire, governing Estonia, Ingria, and Karelia, and supervising both the naval and ground forces stationed there. In 1714, Apraksin commanded a galley fleet that secured the first major victory in a naval battle against the Swedish. Peter the Great who designed the plan of the battle considered it as important as the Battle of Poltava. In 1720, Apraksin organized the fortification of Kronstadt, and in 1722, he was appointed the commander of the Caspian Sea Fleet and participated in the Persian campaign of Peter the Great.
After the death of Peter the Great, Apraksin gradually retired from government business. General Admiral Count Fyodor Matveyevich Apraksin died in Moscow in November 1728 and was buried at the Chrysostom Monastery.
In 1693, the stolnik Apraksin was appointed the voivode of Dvina and governor of Arkhangelsk, Russia’s only seaport of the time that conducted trade with other countries. Apraksin supervised the construction of the first government-owned merchant ship. In 1696, he was nominated the chief of the Admiralty and the governor of Azov. He succeeded in building numerous war and merchant ships that made up the Azov Fleet, rebuilding the city of Azov itself, building a new town of Taganrog with a large harbor for war ships, and the Saint Trinity fortress. He also founded new shipyards in Tavrov and Novopavlovsk, as well as a cannon factory in the Liptsy village.
After 1706, Apraksin was put in charge of the armory, coach station, and mint. In 1708, as the commander of a corps in Ingria and Finland, he repelled the attack of the Swedish who had planned to capture Kronschlot and wipe out Saint Petersburg. In 1710, he undertook a two-day march with a corps of 13,000 people over the ice of the Gulf of Finland and forced the strong Swedish fortress of Vyborg to surrender. For that victory, the count was awarded the Order of St. Andrew the Apostle the First-Called and a golden sword with a diamond.
In Azov, the general admiral fulfilled the conditions of the Treaty of Pruth between Russia and the Ottoman Empire, governing Estonia, Ingria, and Karelia, and supervising both the naval and ground forces stationed there. In 1714, Apraksin commanded a galley fleet that secured the first major victory in a naval battle against the Swedish. Peter the Great who designed the plan of the battle considered it as important as the Battle of Poltava. In 1720, Apraksin organized the fortification of Kronstadt, and in 1722, he was appointed the commander of the Caspian Sea Fleet and participated in the Persian campaign of Peter the Great.
After the death of Peter the Great, Apraksin gradually retired from government business. General Admiral Count Fyodor Matveyevich Apraksin died in Moscow in November 1728 and was buried at the Chrysostom Monastery.
