Navy Day: history and traditions

In 2010, the member countries of the International Maritime Organization at the UN decided to supplement the list of professional holidays. And now every June 25 seafarers accept congratulations on the Day of the Seaman. However, for more than seventy years, one of the most beloved and widely celebrated celebrations in Russia is the Day of the Navy.

It was approved exactly two years before the Great Patriotic War and since then it is celebrated on the last Sunday of July. Perhaps this is an accidental coincidence, but it is interesting that the end of this summer month has firmly entered the history of the Russian Navy back in the early eighteenth century. July 26-27, 1714 Russian sailors won their first major victory, defeating the Baltic island Gangut detachment of Swedish ships, and commanded this operation is not a professional military, and the sovereign Peter the First. In commemoration of this victory, according to the decree of the ruler (and at the same time the creator of the Russian fleet) on July 27 of each year, solemn divine services, naval parades, and, of course, fireworks and cannon firing, which the naval tsar loved so much.

For residents of cities such as St. Petersburg or Vladivostok, the Day of the Navy is remarkable, above all, by the fact that they can admire the most beautiful sight - a grand parade of warships. It should be noted that only seamen have such a privilege on the occasion of their holiday. For other arms there are no special parades of this scale.

Of course, on the Day of the Navy, there is something to see! Destroyers, cruisers and ships of other types, adorned with colorful flags, line up near the shore, and along the sides of them, in solemn ranks, are the members of the team dressed in parade. The ships arrange demonstration artillery and missile firings, marines, accompanied by fire support from the sea, land ashore, demonstrating coherence and training in the conduct of amphibious operations, and from the sky they cover aircraft and helicopters of naval aviation. Also their art is shown by rescuers, fighters of underwater special forces and representatives of other naval professions. In the evening twilight, the silhouettes of the ships, on which, on the occasion of the festivities, all the side lights burn, look particularly impressive against the background of the watery surface, and at the end of the holiday a salute rattles.

Congratulations on this day with full right to that take not only the servicemen themselves, but also members of their families. And in general, the Day of the Navy is really a national holiday, because among several generations of Russian men there are many who served in the Navy. Even in the most distant cities from the sea, one can meet former "sea men" that proudly put on their vests and capes in honor of the holiday. Gathering in an agreed place (usually in green parks), they sometimes celebrate their holiday is too noisy, but such outdoor activities rarely end in unpleasant incidents.

In the evening, when the clusters of festive fireworks are scattered in the sky (and it is arranged in all major cities - both land and coastal), "brothers", as the sailors traditionally call themselves, announce the air with thunderous "Hurray! Hooray! Hurray! "And cries of" Happy Navy Day! ".