Military historian Miroslav Morozov — about the ancient Greek past and the current strategic importance of a small island in the Black Sea
The name of the island of the Snake is not the first time it appears in the world media after the start of the special military operation of the Russian Federation in Ukraine. It is enough to recall its occupation by the forces of the Black Sea Fleet on the first day of its operation and the surrender of its entire garrison, which the President of Ukraine, Vladimir Zelensky, hastened to declare dead and posthumously awarded. On April 14, in the area of the same island, according to the official version of the Russian Defense Ministry, there was a fire on the missile cruiser "Moscow", after which, at the time of towing to Sevastopol, the ship sank.
In early May and June 20, the VFU made at least two attempts to recapture the island, which ended for them not only with a major failure, but also with heavy material and human losses. During all this time, various experts, columnists and bloggers, each in their own way, are trying to solve the mystery of the island and answer the two-sided question: does the island have strategic importance and, if so, what determines it, and what does the possession of this island give each of the opposing sides.
There were also those who claim that the island has no military significance, and all attempts to seize it are connected only with the sacred meaning that since the beginning of the conflict it has acquired for the President of Ukraine Zelensky, who thinks to achieve a loud PR success by capturing it, while the fate of the military campaign is being decided in the Donbass. We will also try to offer our own version of the solution, making a small excursion into historical events for this purpose.
The island has been known since at least the VII century BC. The ancient Greeks called it the island of Achilles, and its creation was attributed to the mother of the famous hero, the goddess Thetis. Much later, during the Byzantine Empire, the name Fidonisi was assigned to it, which translated from Greek meant "Snake Island". The Byzantines were replaced by the Turks, until in 1829, after the victory in the Russian-Turkish War, it fell to Russia. In 1878, the latter ceded it to its ally in the last Russian-Turkish War — Romania. The main contribution of Romanians to the history of the island was its next renaming to Serpilor, which translated from Romanian meant the same thing — Snake. Since 1948, the island has become a Soviet territory. According to the administrative division, it was transferred to the Ukrainian SSR, as a result of which it belonged to Ukraine since 1991.
This is not the first time that the island and the waters surrounding it have become the scene of historical events. He entered Russian military history for the first time in July 1788. Then a powerful Turkish battle fleet and ships of the newly created Sevastopol squadron, commanded by Admiral M.I. Voinovich, converged near the island. Despite the significant numerical superiority of the enemy, the Russian ships repulsed his attack and forced him to flee. The success was largely achieved thanks to the brave actions of the commander of the vanguard, Brigadier F.F. Ushakov, who with his ships "took in two fires" (fired at the enemy ship from both sides) the Turkish flagship and forced it to withdraw from the battle.
This glorious victory was not forgotten in Russia, as a result of which the destroyer "Fidonisi" joined the Russian fleet in the summer of 1917. Unfortunately, he did not have a chance to serve the Fatherland for a long time: by order of the Soviet government in June 1918, in order to prevent the Germans from surrendering under the terms of the Brest Peace, the crew sank their ship in Tsemesskaya Bay.
But not only the ship was at war, the island itself was at war. The Russian observation post, which had been on the side of the Entente since Romania entered the war, was attacked in June 1917 by the German-Turkish cruiser "Midilli" ("Breslau"). Having discovered the enemy, the personnel of the post broadcast a message about it and began to call a nearby submarine. Then the commander of the Breslau was ordered to destroy the lighthouse and the radio station. For 10 minutes, the ship fired at Fidonisi, after which it landed troops. The latter took over all the buildings around the lighthouse without resistance, capturing 11 people of the garrison, the rest managed to hide in rocks and crevices. Nevertheless, the signalmen completed their task.
The ships of the Black Sea Fleet that left Sevastopol intercepted the enemy cruiser on the way back, but still could not destroy it due to the superiority of the enemy in speed. A month later, the destroyer of the Black Sea Fleet "Lieutenant Zatsarenny" exploded and sank on the coast of the island on the mine exposed by "Breslau". At the same time, his commander, Senior Lieutenant Pavel Gustavovich Stilberg and 44 other sailors from the crew were killed. Many bodies were washed up on the island by the waves, where they were buried in a mass grave. In 1988, a memorial plaque with the names of the victims was installed on it, and in 2007, the skeleton of the ship itself was discovered less than 500 m from the shore. Thus, among other things, Zmeiny is also a place of military burial of Russian Black Sea sailors who fell during the First World War in defense of the Fatherland.
This mournful list can be continued by 44 crew members of the submarine Shch-212, which went missing in a position near the island in December 1942. The pike was accidentally found five miles southwest of Zmeiny in 1975, after which it was examined by an expedition of the Black Sea Fleet. Both 45-millimeter guns removed from the submarine are on display today at the Sapun-Gora memorial complex in Sevastopol.
All this proves not only that the waters near the island in all world wars turned out to be an area where active hostilities were conducted, but also the fact that this land became the resting place of many Russian sailors who laid their lives on the altar of the Fatherland.
The facts given above alone give every reason to consider Snake Island a strategically important object, despite its modest appearance and unsightly dimensions (area — about 0.2 sq. km, size — 615x560 m). The distance to the continental coast at 35 km makes it an advantageous observation point for shipping, which in this area resembles a busy intersection. On the one hand there is an exit from the Danube to the Black Sea, on the other — the sea routes leading from Odessa and the ports of the Dnieper-Bug estuary in the southern direction, to the Bosphorus Strait. Whoever possesses it has the ability to either defend or strike effectively at these sea communications, or rather, at moving vessels.
In addition, the island can be considered an unsinkable platform for the deployment of air defense, reconnaissance, and a small aircraft base, including unmanned aerial vehicles. It is absolutely clear that the possession of such a point makes it possible for its owner to deploy military operations there against targets and objects located in southern Ukraine and in the westernmost part of its Black Sea coast.
There is another aspect that should not be overlooked: it is important not only to own the island, but even to simply displace enemy forces from it, depriving it of the opportunity to use obvious advantages. All this leads to the conclusion that the struggle for it is not over, and in the near future we will all witness new victories of some and defeats of others.
The author is a military historian and writer, candidate of historical sciences, colonel of the reserve, author of books on military-historical topics
The editorial board's position may not coincide with the author's opinion