Russian cruiser Oleg

Oleg (Олег) was the 4th and final Bogatyr-class cruiser protected cruiser built for the Imperial Russian Navy.

Operational history
Oleg was laid down at the Admiralty Shipyards at St. Petersburg on July 6, 1902, launched on August 14, 1903 and commissioned into the Russian Baltic Fleet on June 24, 1904. With the Russo-Japanese War already in progress, she was seconded to the Russian Second Pacific Squadron

Russo-Japanese War
Under the command of Admiral Oskar Enkvist, Oleg was part of the Russian Second Pacific Squadron, which sailed from the Baltic Sea around the world to relieve the Japanese blockade of the Russian Pacific Fleet at Port Arthur during the Russo-Japanese War. The squadron engaged Japanese Admiral Togo Heihachiro’s Combined Fleet at the Battle of Tsushima on May 15, 1905. During the battle, Oleg was damaged, but managed to escape and, together with RUSSIAN CRUISER Aurora and RUSSIAN CRUISER Zhemchug reached the protection of the neutral port of Manila, where she was interned to the end of the war.

After returning to the Russian Baltic Fleet, Oleg was refit and her torpedo nets removed. She was available for active service again from October 17, 1908.

World War I
At the start of World War I, Oleg was part of the Russian 1st Cruiser Brigade in the Baltic Sea. On August 26, 1914, together with RUSSIAN CRUISER Bogatyr, she covered minelaying operations in the Baltic, as well as laying mines herself. Mines laid by Oleg are credited with sinking the German light cruiser SMS Augsburg off Bornholm.

On July 2, 1915, Oleg participated in the Battle of Åland Islands during which she assisted in driving the German light cruiser SMS Albatross (1907) onto the beach.

In June 1916, the Russian Baltic Fleet launched a major offensive against German convoys off the Swedish cost, near Gotland.

Russian Revolution
During the October Revolution of 1917, the crew of the Oleg quickly declared support for the Bolshevik cause. The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk required the Soviets to evacuate their base at Helsinki in March 1918 or have their ships interned by newly independent Finland even though the Gulf of Finland was still frozen over. Oleg sailed to Kronstadt in what became known as the 'Ice Voyage'. In November 1918, Oleg and Bogatyr participated in the aborted invasion of Estonia by the Red Army. Oleg was torpedoed and sunk on the night of June 17, 1919 by Royal Navy speedboat CMB-4 commanded by Captain Augustus Agar in an attack on the Red Navy facilities at Kronstadt. Parts of the ship were salvaged in 1919 and 1933, and the rest of hulk was raised and scrapped in 1938.