Monument to doomed Russian warship unveiled in Scotland
A monument in memory of a legendary Russian warship that sank off southern Scotland in 1920 was unveiled near the wreck site Saturday.
The Imperial cruiser Varyag, which was trapped by a Japanese squadron in the Korean port of Chemulpo in 1904, during the Russo-Japanese War, was badly damaged in battle and scuttled by the crew to prevent her from falling into enemy hands.
"The event we are attending is very important, as it is the first time a monument to Russian sailors has been unveiled in the United Kingdom," said Mikhail Slipenchuk, the general director of the Metropol group of investment companies and a co-founder of the Varyag Foundation.
The monument is in the shape of a cross about three meters (nine feet) high, with the ship's name engraved in the upper section and the cruiser's effigy in the lower.
The Varyag, built for Russia in the United States in 1899, was one of the most elegant and fastest ships of her time, with a cruising speed of almost 25 knots.
Raised by the Japanese off the seabed a year after her sinking, she spent the following decade sailing as a training vessel.
Bought back by Russia along with other ships captured by Japan, the Varyag was re-commissioned as the nation's Arctic Fleet flagship in 1916.
In 1917, it was sent for repairs to a Glasgow shipyard, only to be impounded by Britain following the Bolshevik government's refusal to pay Imperial debts.
Britain then sold the ship to German firms for scrap in 1920, and she sank off the Scottish coast while being towed to Germany.
A Russian expedition found the wreck site in 2003, and a plaque commemorating the cruiser was unveiled at the site last year.
A monument in memory of a legendary Russian warship that sank off southern Scotland in 1920 was unveiled near the wreck site Saturday.
