Allegiance Tsardom of Russia Name Matija Zmajevic | Rank Admiral | |
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Born January 6, 1680
Perast, Bay of Kotor
Ottoman Empire (today's Montenegro) ( 1680-01-06 ) Died August 23, 1735(1735-08-23) (aged 55)
Tavrov
Tsardom of Russia (today's Russia) | ||
Bokeljski pomorac Matija Zmajević
Matija Zmajevic (also Matej Zmajevic, in Russia Matvei Khristoforovich Zmayevich Russian: Matvei Hristoforovich Zmaevich) (January 6, 1680, Perast, Bay of Kotor - August 23, 1735, Tavrov, Russia) was admiral of the Baltic Fleet and the shipbuilder of the Russian Tsar Peter the Great, building a fleet in Voronezh.
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Early life
He was born in a prominent Bokelj Catholic family from Perast (Bay of Kotor). His uncle Andrija Zmajevic, a poet, was a renowned Roman Catholic bishop of Antivari (Bar). The family was in conflict with another Perast family of Bujovic, and after Vicko Bujovic was killed in a fight on city streets, Matija was forced to leave Perast for alleged involvement when he was 28. He escaped to the Republic of Ragusa (Dubrovnik) and then to Istanbul, where he found refuge with Russian ambassador Peter Tolstoy. In 1712, Tolstoy sent him with a recommendation to Peter I.
Military career
Impressed with Zmajevic's education and maritime skills, the Tsar accepted him in military service and sent him to Sankt Petersburg, with the rank of Captain of Fregate, and he quickly rose in rank.
Zmajevic had great success in maritime battles against Sweden, against whom Russia fought the Great Northern War for supremacy on Baltic Sea. He captured seven smaller Swedish galleys in the 1714 Battle of Gangut, and his fleet fought a minor Swedish force at Grengam in 1720, in the last naval battle of the Great Northern War. As a result of Zmajevic's victory, Peter the Great sent some of his young officers (boyars) to the town of Perast in Boka in order to study maritime science there. He was subsequently promoted to the rank of vice admiral and put in charge for building the river fleet of the Don. In 1725, he was given the honor of carrying the emperor's crown at the funeral of Peter the Great. Tsar's successor, Catherine I of Russia, decorated Zmajevic with the Order of Alexander Nevsky, and in 1727 he was awarded the ultimate rank of admiral.
After the death of Catherine I in 1727, Zmajevic was accused of embezzlement and sentenced to death by a court-martial. He was reprieved at the last minute and relegated to the post of governor of the Astrakhan area with the rank of vice-admiral, where he spent last years of his life. He worked on establishment of the Black Sea Fleet, which would play a significant role in Russian expansion to the south after his death.
Zmajevic made numerous donations to his hometown Perast and Boka Kotorska. He was buried with military honors in the Catholic Church of Saint Ludvig in Moscow.